Bidar Bakht

Bidar Bakht
بیدار بخت
Shahzada of the Mughal Empire
Mirza[1]
The Mughal prince Bidar Bakht
Subahdar of Malwa
Reign3 August 1704 – April 1706
PadishahAurangzeb
Subahdar of Gujrat
Reign1706 - 1707
PadishahAurangzeb
Born4 August 1670
Agra, India
Died20 June 1707(1707-06-20) (aged 36)
Jajau, near Agra, India
Burial
Spouses
Shams-un-Nisa Begum (Puti Begum)
(m. 1686)
Issue
  • Muhammad Firuz Bakht
  • Bidar Dil
  • Dindar Dil
  • Said Bakht
  • Hayatullah
  • Bakht Afzun Banu Begum
  • Bakht un-Nissa Begum
Names
Muhammad Bidar Bakht
HouseHouse of Babur
Dynasty Timurid dynasty
FatherAzam Shah
MotherJahanzeb Banu Begum
ReligionIslam (Sunni Muslim)

Muhammad Bidar Bakht (Urdu: مُحمّد بیدار بخت; 4 August 1670 – 20 June 1707) was a Mughal prince. His father, Muhammad Azam Shah, briefly reigned as Mughal emperor in 1707. Bidar was noted for being a gallant, skilful and successful general and was regarded as the most able Mughal prince of his time.[2] He was the favourite grandson of Emperor Aurangzeb.[3]

From the age of seventeen, Bidar held senior military and administrative positions. One of his first actions involved storming Fort Sinsani, which was carried after fierce fighting and heavy losses. Aged nineteen, he led a Mughal force which defeated an invading Maratha army and pursued it for ten days. He was appointed viceroy of Aurangabad and then of Malwa alongside it. He constantly had to suppress uprisings and beat off incursions from neighbouring states. In 1707 Emperor Aurangzeb died and Bidar's father succeeded him; Bidar and his father were killed at the Battle of Jajau against Bidar's uncle.

  1. ^ Mughal title Mirza, the title of Mirza and not Khan or Padshah, which were the titles of the Mongol rulers.
  2. ^ Richards, J.F. (1995). Mughal empire (Transferred to digital print. ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 272. ISBN 9780521566032.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sarkar1933 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).