Burhan Nizam Shah I () was ruler of the Ahmednagar Sultanate, in Central India. He ascended the throne on the death of his father Ahmad Nizam Shah I in 1508 or 1510 when he was seven years old. He died in 1553 and was succeeded by Hussain Nizam Shah I. He converted to Shia Islam and royals and commoners followed suit. Sunni theologians and their followers resented this but were crushed. His reign was characterized by

religious tolerance Religious tolerance or religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, ...

, art and flourishing trade. Skirmishes with the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

Bijapur Bijapur (officially Vijayapura) is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importa ...

& various other small states continued through his reign. A palace built for Burhan Shah, the second Nizam, stands in ruins two miles south-east of the city of

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impre ...

Reign

Burhan fought against the Imad Shahi forces at the battle of Ranubari. Upon the declaration of Shi'ism as the state religion, Pir Muhammad Khan Sherwani raised about 3000 men in rebellion, and camped outside Ahmednagar. The rebels sought to depose Burhan and install his

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

son Abdul Qadir as sultan. They had surrounded the house of Shah Tahir, but eventually the rebellion ended and Burhan ordered the execution of Pir Muhammad. However, Shah Tahir interceded on his behalf, and he was imprisoned instead.

Family

Burhan Nizam Shah had at least two wives. The first, his favourite, was Bibi Amina. The second was Bibi Mariam, the daughter of Yusuf Adil Shah, Sultan of

. He had six sons: By Bibi Amina * Hussain Nizam Shah I, Sultan of Ahmednagar; *Abdul Qadir; By Bibi Mariam *Miran Muhammad Baqir; *Shah Ali, father of Murtaza Nizam Shah II; By other women *Shah Haidar, married the daughter of Khwaja Jahan, the ruler of Parinda; *Muhammad Khudabanda;

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Burham, 01 Burham 1553 deaths Year of birth unknown 1553 in India