Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan

Abu'l-Hasan Khan
Portrait of Asaf Khan
Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire
In office 1628–1641
Monarch	Shah Jahan
Wakil of the Mughal Empire
In office 1611–1627
Monarch	Jahangir
Personal details
Born	Abu'l-Hasan c. 1569 Safavid Iran
Died	12 June 1641 (aged 71-72) Bundi, Mughal India
Spouse(s)	Diwanji Begum
Children	Mumtaz Mahal Shaista Khan Malika Banu Begum Parwar Khanam Farzana Begum
Mother	Asmat Begam
Father	Mirza Ghiyas Beg
Relatives	Mohammad-Sharif (brother) Ebrahim Khan Fath Jang (brother) E'teqad Khan (brother) Nur Jahan (sister) Jahangir (brother-in-law) Shah Jahan (son-in-law)

Abu'l-Hasan (c. 1569 - 12 June 1641) entitled by the Mughal emperor Jahangir as Asaf Khan, was the Grand Vizier (Prime minister) of the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. He previously served as the wakil (the highest Mughal administrative office) of Shah Jahan's father, Jahangir. Asaf Khan is perhaps best known for being the father of Arjumand Banu Begum (better known by her title Mumtaz Mahal), the chief consort of Shah Jahan and the older brother of Empress Nur Jahan, the chief consort of Jahangir.

Asaf Khan was the son of the Persian noble Mirza Ghias Beg (popularly known by his title of Itimad-ud-Daulah), who served as the Prime minister of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Ghiyas Beg was a native of Tehran, and was the youngest son of Khvajeh Mohammad-Sharif, a poet and vizier of Mohammad Khan Tekkelu and his son Tatar Soltan, who was the governor of the Safavid province of Khorasan. Asaf Khan's mother, Asmat Begam, was the daughter of Mirza Ala-ud-Daula Aqa Mulla.

Both of Asaf Khan's parents were descendants of illustrious families – Ghias Beg from Muhammad Sharif and Asmat Begam from the Aqa Mulla clan. Asaf Khan's family had come to India impoverished in 1577, when his father, Mirza Ghias Beg, was taken into the service of Emperor Akbar in Agra.

In his prime youth, Asaf Khan was married to Diwanji Begum, the daughter of a Persian noble, Khwaja Ghias-ud-din of Qazvin. The couple had at least five children together: Arjumand Banu Begum (later known as Mumtaz Mahal), Malika Banu Begum, Parwar Khanam, Farzana Begum, and a son, Shaista Khan.

Arjumand was married to Jahangir's third son, Prince Khurram (later known as Shah Jahan) in 1612 and became his most beloved wife. Parwar Khanam was married to Mohtashim Khan, the son of Jahangir's foster brother Qutubuddin Koka.