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{{Short description|Mughal prince (1670–1707)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Bidar Bakht<br /> {{Nastaliq|بیدار بخت}}
| title = [[Shahzada (title)|Shahzada]] of the [[Mughal Empire]] <br />[[Mirza (noble)|Mirza]]<ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/595548/past-present-emperors-new-names Mughal title ''Mirza''], the title of Mirza and not Khan or Padshah, which were the titles of the Mongol rulers.</ref>
| image = Shahzada Bidar Bakht.jpg
| caption = Prince Bidar Bakht holding a matchlock {{circa|1705}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1670|8|4|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Agra]], [[Agra Subah|Subah of Agra]], Mughal Empire (present-day [[India]])
| death_date = {{death date and age|1707|6|20|1670|8|4|df=yes}}
| succession = [[Malwa Subah|Subahdar of Malwa]]
| reign = 3 August 1704 – April 1706
| reg-type = [[Mughal emperor|Padishah]]
| regent = [[Aurangzeb]]
| succession1 = [[Subahdar]] of [[Gujarat Subah|Gujrat]]
| reign1 = 1706–1707
| reg-type1 = [[Mughal emperor|Padishah]]
| regent1 = [[Aurangzeb]]
| death_place = Jajau, near [[Agra]], Subah of Agra, Mughal Empire (present-day India)
| full name = Muhammad Bidar Bakht
| house = [[Mughal dynasty]]
| father = [[Muhammad Azam Shah|Azam Shah]]
| mother = [[Jahanzeb Banu Begum]]
| religion = [[Islam]] ([[Sunni Muslim]])
| dynasty = [[Timurid dynasty]]
| spouses = {{marriage|Shams-un-Nissa Begum|1686}}
| issue = {{ubl|Muhammad Firuz Bakht
| Bidar Dil
| Dindar Dil
| Said Bakht
| Hayatullah
| Bakht Afzun Banu Begum
| Bakht un-Nissa Begum}}
| burial_place = [[Humayun's Tomb]], [[Delhi]]
}}

'''Muhammad Bidar Bakht''' ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|مُحمّد بیدار بخت}}}}; 4 August 1670 – 20 June 1707) was a [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] prince. His father, [[Muhammad Azam Shah]], briefly reigned as [[Mughal emperor]] in 1707. Bidar was noted for being a gallant, skillful and successful general and was regarded as the most able Mughal prince of his time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Richards|first=J.F.|title=Mughal empire|year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521566032|edition=Transferred to digital print.|page=272}}</ref> He was the favourite grandson of Emperor [[Aurangzeb]].<ref name=Sarkar1933/>

From the age of seventeen, Bidar held senior military and administrative positions. One of his first actions involved storming [[Sinsini|Fort Sinsani]], which was carried after fierce fighting and heavy losses. At 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 [[Bahadur Shah I]].

==Early life==
Muhammad Bidar Bakht was born on 4 August 1670 in [[Agra]] to Prince Muhammad Azam and his wife, Jahanzeb "Jani" Banu Begum. He was named Bidar Bakht by [[Mughal emperor|Emperor]] Aurangzeb, his paternal grandfather.<ref>{{cite book |last=Commissariat |first=Mānekshāh Sorābshāh |title=A History of Gujarat: Mughal period, from 1573 to 1758 |year=1957 |publisher=Longmans |location=Bombay |oclc=452623680 |page=214}}</ref> Bidar's mother was a Mughal princess and the daughter of Crown Prince [[Dara Shikoh]], the deceased eldest son and heir-apparent of the previous emperor, [[Shah Jahan]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hansen |first1=Waldemar |title=The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India |year=1972 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |location=Delhi |isbn=812080225X |page=122 |edition=1st Indian ed., repr.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Sell |editor-first1=Jonathan P. A. |title=Metaphor and Diaspora in Contemporary Writing |year=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK |isbn=9780230358454 |page=62}}</ref> Aurangzeb showed marks of exceptional love to Azam and Jahanzeb and to Prince Bidar Bakht, lavishing gifts on all three.<ref name=Sarkar1933>{{cite book |first=Sir Jadunath |last=Sarkar |title=Studies in Aurangzib's reign: (being Studies in Mughal India, first series) |year=1933 |publisher=Orient Longman |oclc=81717298 |location=Calcutta |pages=43, 53, 56}}</ref> Bidar Bakht was his grandfather's favourite grandson.<ref>{{cite book |first=Sir Jadunath |last=Sarkar |title=History of Aurangzib: Mainly based on Persian Sources |volume=3 |publisher=Orient Longman |oclc=452587536 |location=New Delhi |year=1924 |page=31}}</ref>

===Marriage===
At the age of sixteen, Bidar Bakht married Shams-un-Nissa Begum (surnamed Puti Begum), the daughter of Qamr-ud-din (titled Mukhtar Khan) on 3{{spaces}}December 1686. She belonged to the Ben-i-Mukhtar family which enjoyed great respect among [[Muslims]]. Bidar had always showed affection and favour to Shams-un-Nisa, who seems to have been proud and imperious. Shams-un-Nisa gave birth to Bidar's son, Shahzada Firuz Bakht on 23{{spaces}}August 1695.<ref name="k112">{{cite book | last=Chatterjee | first=Ramananda | title=The Modern Review | publisher=Modern Review Office | date=1909 | page=319}}</ref>

==Military commander==
[[File:Aurangzeb.png|thumb|220px|Emperor Aurangazeb]]

In 1688, the Emperor sent the 17-year-old Prince Bidar Bakht to assume supreme command in the Jat War. Bishan Singh Kachhawa, the new [[Raja]] of [[Kingdom of Amber|Amber]] ([[Jaipur]]), was appointed as commandant of Muttra with a special charge to root out the ''[[Jats]]''. Bidar Bakht infused vigour into the Mughal operations. Bidar Bakht managed to conquer many forts including Tarkand, Navalkhand, Khelna, as well as Sinsani.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Rukat I Alamgiri (Letters of Aurangzeb)|last=Bilimoria|first=Jamshid|publisher=Forgotten Books|year=1908|isbn=978-1-331-44738-2|pages=81}}</ref> The Prince laid siege to Fort Sinsani where his troops underwent hardships from the scarcity of provisions and water. They fired a mine, stormed the breach and captured the fort after three hours of obstinate fighting, losing 900 men to 1,500 Jat casualties. The Jat leaders Churaman and Fateh Singh were able to escape. Although Imperial forces were able to win 52 Jat Forts including the strongholds like Khair, Jawar, Sonkh, Sogar, etc. and kill thousands of them they found themselves "at sea with the Jats". The imperial army was called in 1696 from Agra Province. The Jat War remained proved to be a failure.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Jats-Their Role in Mughal Empire|last=Dwivedi|first=Dr Girish Chandra}}</ref>

Bidar Bakht received a royal order, that he should reduce Sorseeny, and return again to the presence. He invested the place for three or four months, and Zorawar Singh, finding his treasure exhausted, delivered himself up. The prince carried him with him to the [[Deccan]], where [[Aurangzeb]] caused him to be blown from the mouth of a cannon.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Tracts, Political, Geographical, and Commercial on the Dominions of Ava, and the North Western Parts of Hindostaun}}</ref>{{Full|date=July 2025}}

===Defeat of Rajaram===
In 1699 the Emperor sent urgent orders to Bidar Bakht to pursue and defeat the hostile force of Chhatrapati [[Rajaram Chhatrapati|Rajaram]] at [[Surat]], in the imperial territory. Bidar Bakht was {{convert|20|mi|km|abbr=on}} west of [[Miraj]], on his way to [[Panhala]]; he immediately turned aside and leaving his family and baggage in Miraj, rapidly advanced on the enemy. Bidar Bakht came upon the Marathas {{convert|20|mi|km|abbr=on}} beyond the fort of Parenda. Rajaram stopped in safety {{convert|8|mi|km|abbr=on}} further east, while he sent back his generals under [[Dhanaji Jadhav]] to check the Prince's advance. After a bloody fight the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] were broken and driven towards [[Ahmednagar]] on 13 or 14{{spaces}} November. Two days later, the Prince was joined by Chin Qalich Khan at Barsi, {{convert|20|mi|km|abbr=on}} east of Parenda, and resuming the pursuit of Ausa on 22 or 23 November.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sir Jadunath Sarkar|title=History of Aurangzib: The closing years, 1689–1707|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.513883|year=1924|publisher=M.C. Sarkar & Sons|location=Bombay|oclc=704062695|pages=132, 133}}</ref>

==Viceroyalty==

===Malwa: 1704–1706===
[[File:Ajit Singh.jpg|thumb|220px|Ajit Singh]]

Bidar was appointed [[Viceroy]] of [[Malwa]] on 3{{spaces}}August 1704 by Aurangzeb. The Prince had proved himself a brave and skilful general. He was already the viceroy of [[Aurangabad, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]] and kept that position with his new appointment. He had to shift from Malwa to [[Khandesh]] or vice versa as the situation demanded, regarding the tribute which reached [[Agra]] from the northern provinces and had to put down the local uprisings of the Bhils and [[Kolis]]. These risings were caused by the [[Maratha]] invasion of the previous year. The Bhils also caused disturbances on the north-western frontier, building the fort Gagron. After the danger of another invasion by Nima had disappeared, the Prince went to Malwa to escort the tribute. There he fell ill during December 1703 and January 1705. He appointed [[Jai Singh II]] of [[Amber (state)|Amber]], his trusted assistant, to escort the tribute and to act as his deputy in Malwa.<ref name=Sinh>{{cite book |last=Sinh |first=Raghubir |title=Malwa in Transition or A Century of Anarchy: The First Phase, 1698–1765 |year=1993 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788120607507 |pages=34–37}}</ref> The Emperor objected to this appointment, ordering the Prince to recall Jai Singh. He appointed Khan Alam instead and ordered that no [[Rajput]] was to be appointed as a provincial governor or garrison commander. Bidar Bakht was ordered to go to Sansani, a fort near [[Bharatpur, Rajasthan|Bharatpur]], which had recently been taken by the ''[[Jats]]'' and to recapture it. The Prince intend to comply but due to his illness and other engagements in Malwa, did not. During the 1705 rainy season, the Prince stayed in Malwa. During the closing months of 1705, his responsibilities were lightened. The provinces of Aurangabad and Khandesh were taken from his charge and entrusted to his father, Prince Azam, who was now on his way back from [[Gujarat]].<ref name=Sinh />

[[File:Prince Bedar Bakht Grandson of Aurangzeb and the Governor of Western Deccan enjoying music.jpg|thumb|250px|Prince Bedar Bakht and the Governor of Western Deccan enjoying music]]

Bidar Bakht continued on active service against the Marathas. He travelled to Malwa in November 1705 to investigate complaints against some of the assistants of Jai Singh. Bidar then went to [[Dhar]] to meet his father, angering the Emperor for not having returned to [[Burhanpur]] to hunt for the Marathas. The Prince had to move down to Nolai ([[Badnagar]]) to meet the Maratha forces sent by Parsu Maratha, to help Gopal Singh Chandrawat once again in his revolt. The province of Gujarat was invaded by the Marathas and the Emperor summarily ordered Bidar Bakht to start for Gujarat immediately. The Prince left Malwa in April 1706.<ref name=Sinh />

===Gujarat: 1706–1707===

On arrival in Gujarat Bidar was put in charge of the province, replacing his father, pending the arrival of the new governor, Ibrahim Khan from [[Kashmir]], who died on the way. Malwa and Khandesh were placed under Khan-i-Alam and Najabat Khan respectively. In 1706 a Maratha incursion into Gujarat was followed by a crushing defeat of the Mughal army at [[Ratanpur]], which encouraged all of the enemies of the empire. Ajit Singh raised an army in rebellion for the third time. Durgadas again fled the Mughal camp and began to act in concert with him, causing uprisings in Therad and other places. Bidar sent a force against Durgadas who fled to the broken Koli country, south of [[Surat]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Sir Jadunath Sarkar|title=History of Aurangzib: The closing years, 1689–1707|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.513883|oclc=704062695|year=1924|location=Bombay|publisher=M.C. Sarkar & Sons|page=291}}</ref>

== Death of Aurangzeb : 1707 ==
On the 3rd of March 1707 emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir died at his military camp in Ahmadnagar. Prince Bidar Bakht was informed about the death of the emperor by his father Azam Shah who was proclaimed as the new Mughal emperor. On hearing the news of his grandfather's demise Bidar Bakht was overwhelmed with grief. It was reported that the death of the late emperor dwelt long upon the mind of the prince who would frequently weep recollecting the late emperor whom he dearly loved.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A translation of the memoirs of Eradut Khan. A Nobleman of Hindostan|last=Erdaut|first=Khan|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2014|isbn=9781139505932|location=United Kingdom}}</ref>

==Death==
Bidar Bakht was killed on 20{{spaces}}June 1707, during the [[Battle of Jajau]], part of the succession struggle on the death of Emperor Aurangzeb. His father, who had become emperor on the death of Aurangzeb on 17{{spaces}}March, was also killed during the battle.<ref>{{cite book |last=Commissariat |first=Mānekshāh Sorābshāh |title=A History of Gujarat: Mughal period, from 1573 to 1758 |year=1957 |publisher=Longmans |location=Bombay |oclc=452623680 |pages=215}}</ref>

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
| 1 = 1. '''Bidar Bakht'''
| 2 = 2. [[Muhammad Azam Shah|Muhammad Azam Shah, Mughal Emperor]]
| 3 = 3. [[Jahanzeb Banu Begum]]
| 4 = 4. [[Aurangzeb|Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor]]
| 5 = 5. [[Dilras Banu Begum]]
| 6 = 6. [[Dara Shikoh]]
| 7 = 7. [[Nadira Banu]]
| 8 = 8. [[Shah Jahan|Shah Jahan, Mughal Emperor]] (= 12)
| 9 = 9. [[Mumtaz Mahal|Arjumand Banu Begum]] (= 13)
|10 = 10. [[Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safavi]]
|11 = 11. Nauras Banu Begum
|12 = 12. [[Shah Jahan|Shah Jahan, Mughal Emperor]] (= 8)
|13 = 13. [[Mumtaz Mahal|Arjumand Banu Begum]] (= 9)
|14 = 14. [[Parviz (Mughal prince)|''Shahzada'' Parviz]]
|15 = 15. Iffat Jahan Banu
|16 = 16. [[Jahangir|Jahangir, Mughal Emperor]] (= 9, 24)
|17 = 17. [[Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani]] (= 25.)
|18 = 18. [[Abul-Hasan ibn Mirza Ghiyas Beg]] (= 26)
|19 = 19. Diwanji Begum (= 27)
|20 = 20. [[Rustam Mirza Safavi|Mirza Rustam Safavi]]
|21 =
|22 = 22. Mirza Muhammad Sharif
|23 =
|24 = 24. [[Jahangir|Jahangir, Mughal Emperor]] (= 16, 28)
|25 = 25. [[Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani]] (= 17)
|26 = 26. [[Abul-Hasan ibn Mirza Ghiyas Beg]] (= 18)
|27 = Diwanji Begum (= 19)
|28 = 28. [[Jahangir|Jahangir, Mughal Emperor]] (= 16, 24)
|29 = 29. [[Sahib-i-Jamal]]
|30 = 30. [[Murad Mirza (son of Akbar)|Murad Mirza]]
|31 =
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakht, Bidar}}
[[Category:1670 births]]
[[Category:1707 deaths]]
[[Category:Mughal princes]]
[[Category:People from Agra]]
[[Category:People killed in action]]
[[Category:Subahdars of Gujarat]]
[[Category:Sons of emperors]]
[[Category:Subahdars of Malwa]]
[[Category:17th-century Mughal Empire people]]
[[Category:18th-century Mughal Empire people]]

Bidar Bakht - Revision history

Associatedin21 at 02:38, 30 April 2026