Raja Bakht-Mal Pathania (1513–1558) was a King of Nurpur, who succeeded Raja Bhil Pal in 1513 who was in good terms with the

Lodi dynasty The Lodi dynasty was an Afghan royal family that ruled Sultanate of Delhi from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Lodi when he replaced the Sayyid dynasty. Bahlul Lodi Followin ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. During the conquest of India by

Babar Babar (), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Persian language, Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian language, Persian ''babr'' (Persian ...

in 1526 the Nurpur kingdom became an ally to Babur's conquest. Later, on the flight of Babar's son

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

in 1540 and the accession of

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

at Delhi, Bakht-Mal switched sides to the

Sur dynasty The Sur Empire was an empire ruled by the Afghan (ethnonym), Afghan-origin Sur dynasty in North India, northern India for nearly 16 or 18 years, between 1538/1540 and 1556, with Sasaram (in modern-day Bihar) serving as its capital. It was fou ...

. The Tarikh-i-Daudi says that the famous fortress of Maukot was erected in the Nurpur kingdom by

Islam Shah Suri Islam Shah Suri (born Jalal Khan; 1507 – 22 November 1554) also known as Salim Shah Suri, was Sur Empire#List of rulers of the Sur Empire, Sultan of Hindustan from 27 May 1545 until his death in 1554. He was the second ruler of the Sur Empire ...

(1545–53) or it was fortified. It was nearest to the plains, almost halfway to Nurpur from Pathankot, situated on a low hill of Shiwalik range running east to the Chakki river. It was an enclosure surrounded by dense forests, a castle of great strength. It was a legend in its times, a saying was in vogue: ''Mau Ki Muhim Yaro Maut Ki Nishani Hai'', 'The expedition to Mau, friends is a call to death'.

had a narrow escape in an assassination attempt at Maukot. While ascending the hill via a narrow path, a man suddenly rushed upon him with a drawn sword, but he was cut down. It was then discovered that the sword had been presented some time before to one of his own officers. The fort of Maukot is frequently referred to by the Muslim historians, and figures prominently in the history of the Pathania Rajputs till the time of Shahjahan, when it was completely demolished because of the threat it imposed on the Mughals. In 1553, Mirza Kamran, younger brother of Humayun, on being driven out of Kabul retired to India and sought an asylum with Islam Shah Sur. He was detained as a prisoner but succeeded in making his escape and fled to Raja Bakht-Mal. He made his way to Maukot in disguise, there he found himself in danger and escaped to the

Gakhars The Gakhar () is a historical Punjabi tribe, originating in the Pothohar Plateau of Punjab, Pakistan. They predominantly adhere to Islam. History In the Muslim historiography, the Gakhars have been frequently confused with the Khokhars, who ...

, by whom he was surrendered to Humayun and blinded.

Sikandar Shah Suri Sikandar Shah Suri (died 1559) was the last ruling Sur Empire#List of rulers of the Sur Empire, Sultan of Hindustan from the Sur Empire, Sur dynasty from February 1555 until his defeat on 22 June 1555, and the second-to-last ruler of the Sur E ...

after being driven out of Delhi took refuge in the fortress of Maukot. Bakht-Mal was always in good terms with the

therefore he supported him and defended Maukot, which was besieged by the Mughals for six months. On surrender of the fort in July 1557,

was permitted to retire to Bengal where a Jagir was assigned to him. A passage in the Maasir-ul-Umara says that after the capture of Sikandar Shah Suri, Raja Bakht-Mal was captured and taken to the fort of Lahore where he was killed by

Bairam Khan Muhammad Bairam Khan (; 18 January 1501 – 31 January 1561), commonly known as Bairam Khan or Bayram Khan was an important military commander, and later commander-in-chief of the Mughal Empire, Mughal army, a powerful statesman and regent at ...

. After his death, his brother, Pahari-Mal ascended on the throne in 1557.

took some of their area Rey

Shikargah Shikargah ( śikārgāh), from Persian shikārgāh meaning shikār hunting + gāh ground, is often described as a hunting Ground (unit), ground where 'qamargah' or encircling of Game (hunting), game occurs, an overtone of war exercise performed wit ...

then part of Nurpur kingdom and raised his special army.

References

*Akbarnamah by Abul Fazl Allami (1556–1605) *Ferishta, Brigs'trans., Volume II 1909 and 1901 *Maasir-ul-Umara by Shah Nawaz Khan & Abdul Hai, 1741 to 1780. *Elliots History, Volume IV *Tarikh-i-Daudi by Abdullah 1575 to 1576. *Twarikh Rajgan-E-Pathania-E-Nurpur (History of the Pathania Rajas) by Mian Rughunath Singh Pathania *History of the Punjab Hill States - by John Hutchison, Jean Philippe Vogel, J. Ph Vogel {{DEFAULTSORT:Mal, Bakht 1558 deaths People from the Nurpur kingdom 16th-century Indian monarchs 1513 births