https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Bihar_SubahBihar Subah - Revision history2026-07-30T17:16:50ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Bihar_Subah&diff=491560&oldid=prevCaraVanOtterloo at 10:18, 3 February 20262026-02-03T10:18:50Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Subdivision of the Mughal Empire between 1575–1733}}<br />
{{Infobox former country <br />
| conventional_long_name = Bihar Subah<br />
| area_label = 1601<br />
| area_sq_mi = 55478<ref>{{Cite book |last=Habib |first=Irfan |url= |title=An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detained Notes, Bibliography and Index |date=1986 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-560379-8 |language=en|chapter=Table I: Area and ''ʽJama'' of the Mughal Empire, c. 1601|author-link=Irfan Habib|pp=xii–xiii}}</ref><br />
| common_name = Bihar<br />
| era = Early modern period<br />
| year_start = 1575<br />
| year_end = 1733<br />
| life_span = <br />
| p1 = Sur Empire<br />
| s1 = Bengal Subah<br />
| flag_s1 = <br />
| image_map = File:Hindoostan, divided into Soubahs according to the Ayin Acbaree," a historical map of Akbar's India from Wilkinson's Atlas, 1815 North max size.jpg<br />
| image_map_caption = The Suba of Bihar situated between Awadh and Bengal<br />
| capital = [[Patna]]<br />
| today = {{plainlist|<br />
* [[India]]}}<br />
}}The '''Bihar Subah''' ({{langx|fa|{{nq|صوبه بهار}}}}) was a province ([[Subah|suba]]) of the [[Mughal Empire]] that was formed in 1575. It was one of the original twelve subas established by Emperor [[Akbar]]. Its seat was in the city of [[Patna]] which was also known as [[Azimabad]]. The seat of Azimabad was named after the Mughal prince, [[Azim-ush-Shan]] who was the son of Emperor [[Shah Alam I]].<ref name="Chatterjee96">{{cite book |last1=Chatterjee |first1=Kumkum |title=Merchants, Politics and Society in Early Modern India: Bihar: 1733-1820 |date=1996 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004644748 |pages=13–16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VuP7EAAAQBAJ&q=merchants+politics+bihar}}</ref><br />
<br />
The suba was bordered to the west by the subas of [[Illahabad Subah|Illahabad]] and [[Oudh State|Awadh]] and to the east by [[Bengal Subah]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mahbubul Karim |first1=Khondkar |title=The Provinces of Bihar and Bengal Under Shahjahan |date=1974 |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |pages=35–38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYsKAQAAIAAJ&q=The+Provinces+of+Bihar+and+Bengal+Under+Shahjahan}}</ref><br />
<br />
==History==<br />
The subah of Bihar functioned as a link between [[Hindustan]] and [[Bengal Subah|Bengal]]. On its northern boundary, it reached into the foothills of the [[Himalayas]] although this border was poorly defined as it was covered by the forested [[Terai]]. Under Emperor [[Akbar]], Bihar was divided into seven [[Sarkar (administrative division)|sarkars]] which were:<ref name= "Chatterjee96" /><br />
<br />
*Bihar <br />
*[[Munger district|Monghyr]] <br />
*[[Champaran]] <br />
*[[Rohtas district|Rohtas]] <br />
*[[Hajipur]] <br />
*[[Saran district|Saran]] <br />
*[[Tirhut division|Tirhut]]<br />
<br />
Much of the region was now fully integrated into the Empire, particularly around Monghhy and Khokhrah where it was said that "the laws and commands of the provincial administration could be ignored without incurring too many problems." The sarkar of Purnea was not fully integrated into the suba of Bihar but was under an independent faujdar known as the [[Faujdars of Purnea]] which acted as a small military frontier between Bihar and Bengal.<ref name= "Chatterjee96" /> <br />
<br />
In 1733, Emperor [[Muhammad Shah]] granted the subah of Bihar to the subadar of Bengal, [[Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan]] at which point Bihar and Bengal were merged with one another.<ref name= "Chatterjee96" /><br />
<br />
==Zamindars==<br />
{{Main article|Zamindars of Bihar}}<br />
Much of Bihar Suba during this time was under the control of semi-autonomous zamindars. Within Bihar, the Zamindars had both economic and military power. Each zamindari would have their own standing army which was typically composed of their own clansmen. Some notable zamindaris include:<ref name="Ansari2019">{{cite book|author=Tahir Hussain Ansari|title=Mughal Administration and the Zamindars of Bihar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUueDwAAQBAJ|date=20 June 2019|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-00-065152-2|page=2}}</ref><br />
*[[Hathwa Raj]]<br />
*[[Tekari Raj]]<br />
*[[Kharagpur Raj]]<br />
*[[Bettiah Raj]]<br />
*[[Khokhra Chieftaincy]]<br />
*[[Jagdishpur estate]]<br />
*[[Dumraon Raj]]<br />
*[[Raj Darbhanga]]<br />
*[[Chero dynasty|Cheros of Palamu]]<br />
*[[Gidhaur_chieftaincy|Gidhaur Raj]]<br />
<br />
==Notable subahdars==<br />
Notable [[Subahdar]]s of Bihar during the Reign of Akbar and Jahangir include:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ahmad |first1=Imtiaz |title=MUGHAL GOVERNORS OF BIHAR UNDER AKBAR AND JAHANGIR |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=2002 |volume=63 |pages=281-288 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44158096}}</ref><br />
* [[Mirza Aziz Koka]] (1580–1583)<br />
* Saeed Khan Chaghta<br />
* Mirza Yusuf Mashhadi (1585–1587)<br />
* [[Man Singh I]] (1587–1594)<br />
* [[Jahangir Quli Beg]] (1605–1607)<br />
* [[Islam Khan I]] (1607–1608)<br />
* Afzal Khan<br />
* Zafar Khan<br />
* [[Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang]]<br />
* [[Jahangir Quli Beg|Jahangir Quli Khan Ii]] (1618–1620)<br />
* [[Rustam Mirza Safavi]] (1626–1627)<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
[[Category:Mughal subahs]]<br />
[[Category:History of Bihar]]</div>CaraVanOtterloo