Bakht Buland Shah (?–1706; born Bhagtu ) was a ruler of the Rajgond dynasty. He added to his kingdom the territories of Chanda and

Mandla Mandla is a city with municipality in Mandla district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandla District. The city is situated in a loop of the Narmada River, which surrounds it on three sides, and ...

, and portions of

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

, Balaghat,

Seoni Seoni, formerly spelled Seeonee, is a city and a municipality in Seoni district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This tribal household dominated district was formed in the year 1956. Rudyard Kipling used the forests of the Satpura Ran ...

, Bhandara and the adjoining Rajput kingdom of Kherla/Khedla. The present districts of

Chhindwara Chhindwara is a major city in India and a Municipal Corporation in the Chhindwara district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The city is the administrative headquarters of Chhindwara District. Chhindwara is reachable by rail or road fro ...

and Betul in India also fell under his control. A great warrior, he went on to conquer Pauni, Dongartal, Sivni, and Katangi.

Ascension to the throne

Bakht Buland's initial name was Bhagtu. After his father Kok Shah's death, a war of succession broke out. He was the younger son of Gorakh Shah, the Gond ruler of Deogarh. To regain his throne from his brother, Bakht Buland went to Mughal capital of

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 ...

in 1686 and reluctantly accepted

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, in order to get military assistance from the Mughal emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

. In exchange, he was recognized as the Raja of Deogarh. With

's help, he was firmly established as the ruler of Deogarh in 1686.

Reign

Bakht Buland Shah later rebelled against the Mughals in 1700 and snatched portions of their territory, when the empire had grown weak due to the long Mughal war against the Marathas. He even plundered the Mughal territory on both sides of the Wardha river. Thus he earned the disfavour of

, who thereupon ordered that the title "Bakht Buland" () should be changed to "Nigun Bakht" (). Nothing is known of the army sent to punish Bakht. He was ceded the district of Seoni, Chauri, Dongartal, and Ghansour by Narendra Shah of Mandla for his aid against the rebellious Pathan jagirdars in the Garha Kingdom. He also added parts of the Chanda Kingdom to his domain. His kingdom included the present-day districts of

, Betul, Balaghat, Sivni (Seoni), and Bhandara. He is chiefly remembered for founding the present settlement of

city. Bakht Buland Shah founded the city of Nagpur in 1702 by joining the twelve hamlets formerly known as Rajapur Barsa or Barasta. He built roads and a strong wall around the city. According to Sir Richard Jenkins, "He indiscriminately employed Musalmans and Hindus of ability to introduce order and regularity into his immediate domain. Industrious settlers from all quarters were attracted to Gondwana, thousands of villages were founded, and agriculture, manufacture and even commerce made considerable advances. It may be said that much of the success of the Maratha administration was owing to the groundwork established by him." He died in about 1706 and was succeeded by his elder son Chand Sultan.

References

{{reflist Maharajas of Nagpur Converts to Islam from Hinduism