Bahadur Nizam Shah was the Sultan of Ahmadnagar from 1596 to 1600. Only a small child when he gained the throne, he spent almost his entire reign under the regency of his great-aunt

Chand Bibi Sultana Chand Bibi (1550 – 18 April 1600) was the regent of the Bijapur Sultanate during the minority of Ibrahim Adil Shah II in 1580–1590, and the regent of the Ahmednagar Sultanate during the minority of her great nephew Bahadur S ...

Life

Born in 1593, Bahadur was the only son of Sultan Ibrahim Nizam Shah. Following his father's death in battle in August 1595, various nobles pressed the rights of opposing claimants to the throne, the most prominent being his cousin Ahmad Nizam Shah II. Bahadur, who was supported by his great-aunt

, was captured and imprisoned by Ahmad's chief benefactor, the Prime minister Miyan Manjhu. However, the latter was forced to leave Ahmadnagar city when the

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

dispatched his army to take advantage of the chaos. Chand Bibi retook the city to oppose the Mughals and released Bahadur, proclaiming him

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

under the name Bahadur Nizam Shah. Akbar's son

Murad Murad or Mourad () is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East. Etymology It is derived ...

laid siege to the city while Chand Bibi gained the support of the nobles for Bahadur's rule, including the powerful Bijapuri commander Ikhlas Khan. Following a failed assault by Murad which was thrown back by Chand Bibi, the Mughal prince chose to agree to a settlement in March 1596. In return for the kingdom accepting Mughal suzerainty and seceding the province of

Berar Berar may refer to: *Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra, India, historically known as Berar * Berar Sultanate (1490–1596), one of the Deccan sultanates *Berar Subah (1596–1724), a subah (province) of the Mughal Empire *Berar Province ( ...

, Murad withdrew his forces and recognised Bahadur as the ruler of Ahmadnagar. Chand Bibi was appointed regent for Bahadur by the nobles and administered the kingdom in his name. However, in spite of the accord, skirmishes and intermittent fighting continued between Ahmadnagar and the Mughals. In 1599, Akbar launched another invasion of the Deccan, sending his younger son

Daniyal Daniyal () was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict that was located 5 km east of Ramla and southeast of Lydda. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 10, 1948, by the Yiftach Brigade under the first phase ...

against Ahmadnagar. After the city was besieged for several months, Chand Bibi eventually chose to surrender, on the condition of the lives of the garrison, as well as her and Bahadur being allowed to retire safely to

Junnar Junnar (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʒunːəɾ is a city in the Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city has history dating back to the first millennium. The nearby fort of Shivneri was the birthplace of Maratha king Shivaji ...

. Disagreeing with her, one of her advisers, Hamid Khan, announced to the city that the Regent was in league with the Mughals. A frenzied mob subsequently stormed her apartments and murdered her. The ensuing confusion among the garrison rendered orderly defence impossible and on 18 August 1600, mines planted by the Mughals were detonated, resulting in the destruction of a large section of the city walls. The Mughal troops assaulted and occupied the Ahmadnagar, looting the fort of its valuables. Bahadur himself was captured and sent, along with all the other children of the royal family, to Akbar at

Burhanpur Burhanpur is a historical city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative seat of Burhanpur District. It is situated on the north bank of the Tapti River and northeast of city of Mumbai , southwest of the state's capita ...

. From there, he was escorted to

Gwalior Fort The Fort of Gwalior or the Gwalior Fort is a 6th century defence hill fort in Gwalior, India. Mughal Emperor Babur called it the "pearl amongst the fortresses of Hind" because of its impregnability and magnificence and it has also been nickna ...

to be imprisoned. He was still confined to the fort in 1633, when he was also joined by his distant cousin Hussain Nizam Shah III. Bahadur's ultimate fate is unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahadur Nizam Shah Sultans of Ahmadnagar 16th-century Indian monarchs 1593 births Year of death unknown Monarchs deposed as children