Adil Shah Suri
Encyclopedia
Adil Shah Suri was the seventh and final ruler of the Sur dynasty
. He was the brother of Sikandar Shah Suri
, who ruled over a region east of Delhi
after Sikandar Shah Suri was defeated by Humayun
in 1555. He and Sikandar Shah Suri were contenders for the Delhi throne against the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great
.
Early in Adil Shah's reign, he fought back a challenge from Muhammad Shah, ruler of Bengal
. At the battle of Chhapparghatta in December 1555, Adil Shah and his Hindu general Hemu
Hemachandra Bhargava routed the Bengal forces and the Muhammad Shah was killed. The following year, following the child-Emperor Akbar's absence from Delhi on a campaign, Hemu launched a surprise attack on the unprepared regent Tardi Beg Khan, who was defeated and fled the city. This was Hemu's 22nd successive victory in battle and he appointed himself ruler, or Raja Vikramjit, instead of Adil Shah.
On November 5, 1556 Akbar's Mughal
army, under the stewardship of Bairam Khan
, defeated the numerically superior forces of Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat
, fifty miles north of Delhi
, thanks to a chance arrow into Hemu's eye. Hemu was brought before Akbar unconscious, and was beheaded.
Meanwhile, the Bengal throne had passed on to Ghiyasuddin Abul Muzaffar Bahadur Shah, son of the slain Muhammad Shah. After killing an ambitious uncle, Bahadur Shah marched
against Adil Shah to avenge his father's murder. In the battle
of Fathpur in Munghyr in April 1557 AD Adil Shah's army was routed and Adil himself was captured and killed.
Sur Dynasty
The Suri Empire was established by a Muslim dynasty of Afghan origin who ruled a vast territory in the Indian subcontinent between 1540 to 1557, with Delhi serving as its capital...
. He was the brother of Sikandar Shah Suri
Sikandar Shah Suri
Sikandar Shah Suri was the sixth ruler of Sur dynasty, a late medieval Pashtun dynasty of northern India. He became the sultan of Delhi after overthrowing Ibrahim Shah Suri.-Early life:...
, who ruled over a region east of Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
after Sikandar Shah Suri was defeated by Humayun
Humayun
Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...
in 1555. He and Sikandar Shah Suri were contenders for the Delhi throne against the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great
Akbar the Great
Akbar , also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great , was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of the Mughal Emperor Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India...
.
Early in Adil Shah's reign, he fought back a challenge from Muhammad Shah, ruler of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. At the battle of Chhapparghatta in December 1555, Adil Shah and his Hindu general Hemu
Hemu
Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, Hemu Vikramaditya or simply Hemu was a Hindu Emperor of India during the sixteenth century, in medieval times...
Hemachandra Bhargava routed the Bengal forces and the Muhammad Shah was killed. The following year, following the child-Emperor Akbar's absence from Delhi on a campaign, Hemu launched a surprise attack on the unprepared regent Tardi Beg Khan, who was defeated and fled the city. This was Hemu's 22nd successive victory in battle and he appointed himself ruler, or Raja Vikramjit, instead of Adil Shah.
On November 5, 1556 Akbar's Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
army, under the stewardship of Bairam Khan
Bairam Khan
Bairam Khan also Bayram Khan was a important military commander, general of the Mughal army, a powerful statesman and regent at the court of the Mughal emperors Humayun and Akbar.-Background:...
, defeated the numerically superior forces of Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat
Second battle of Panipat
The Second Battle of Panipat was fought between the forces of Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, popularly called Hemu, the Hindu king who was ruling North India from Delhi, and the army of Jalal ud-Din Muhammad Akbar, on November 5, 1556...
, fifty miles north of Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, thanks to a chance arrow into Hemu's eye. Hemu was brought before Akbar unconscious, and was beheaded.
Meanwhile, the Bengal throne had passed on to Ghiyasuddin Abul Muzaffar Bahadur Shah, son of the slain Muhammad Shah. After killing an ambitious uncle, Bahadur Shah marched
against Adil Shah to avenge his father's murder. In the battle
of Fathpur in Munghyr in April 1557 AD Adil Shah's army was routed and Adil himself was captured and killed.
See also
- History of IndiaHistory of IndiaThe history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...