Burhan Nizam Shah II (ruled 1591–1595) was the ruler of Ahmadnagar Sultanate in the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

. He was the second son of Hussain Nizam Shah I and Khunza Humayun Begum.

Background

Burhan was imprisoned alongside his mother by his elder brother Murtaza Nizam Shah I, though he escaped in 1580. He subsequently attempted two rebellions against Murtaza. Following the failure of the second in 1585, he fled and took asylum at the court of the Mughal emperor

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 ...

. In 1591, with Akbar's approval and the promise to accept Mughal suzerainty, Burhan made another attempt to claim the throne, then held by his own 12 year-old son Ismail Nizam Shah, who had been placed there by nobles. With the backing of a large number of Nizam Shahi troops as well as support from

Ibrahim Adil Shah II Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1570 – 12 September 1627) was Sultan of the Sultanate of Bijapur and a member of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Under his reign the sultanate had its greatest period as he extended its frontier as far south as Mysore. He ...

of Bijapur and Raja Ali Khan of

Khandesh Khandesh is a geographic region in Maharashtra, India. It was made up of present Jalgaon, Dhule and Nandurbar districts. It also said that Burhanpur District of Madhya Pradesh was also its part. The region have seen many geographical ch ...

, Burhan invaded Ahmadnagar and captured Ismail, whom he forgave, and ascended the throne.

Reign

Coming to the throne at an advanced age, Burhan Nizam Shah proved to be a weak and incapable monarch, addicted to women and wine. During his short rule the Mahdawi movement, which had been aggressively propagated during Ismail's reign, was criminalised, and

Shia Islam Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

was reintroduced to Ahmadnagar. Burhan angered Akbar by ignoring the earlier pledge to acknowledge the suzerainty of the latter and mistreated Mughal envoys. He also quarrelled with Ibrahim Adil Shah II, leading a failed invasion of Bijapur and later supporting Ibrahim's rebellious brother. Burhan died on 18 April 1595, having rode out to defeat a rebellion while suffering from chronic

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

. His son Ibrahim Nizam Shah succeeded him, though himself was killed in a skirmish against Bijapur after a reign of only four months. A civil war subsequently ensued over who should rule, with the eventual victor being Burhan's sister Chand Bibi, who ruled in the name of his infant grandson.

References

Sources

* John F. Richards. ''

The New Cambridge History of India ''The New Cambridge History of India'' is a major multi-volume work of historical scholarship published by Cambridge University Press. It replaced '' The Cambridge History of India'' published between 1922 and 1937. The new history is being publi ...

: The Mughals''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993. p. 51. * * 1595 deaths Sultans of Ahmadnagar Year of birth unknown {{india-royal-stub