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{{distinguish|text=Chand Bibi, a wife of [[Humayun]]}}
{{unreliable sources|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Sultana Chand Bibi
| image = Chandbibi1800.jpg
| birth_date = 1550
| image_size = 300px
| caption = ''Chand Bibi hawking'', an 18th-century painting
| birth_place = [[Ahmednagar Fort]], [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate]] <br /> {{resize|(now in [[Maharashtra]], [[India]])}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1600|4|18|1550|||df=y}}<ref name="e889">{{cite web | title=Islamic Hijri Calendar For Shawwal | website=hijri.habibur.com | url=https://hijri.habibur.com/1008/10/ | access-date=2024-11-07}}</ref>
| death_place =
| religion = [[Shia Islam]]
| title = Regent of [[Bijapur Sultanate|Bijapur]] and [[Ahmednagar Sultanate|Ahmednagar]]
| spouse = [[Ali Adil Shah I]]
| father = [[Hussain Nizam Shah I]]
| house = ''[[Nizam Shahi]]'' (by birth)
''[[Adil Shahi]]'' (by marriage)
|mother = [[Khunza Humayun Begum]]
| issue =
}}

'''Sultana Chand Bibi''' (1550 &ndash; 18 April 1600) was the [[regent]] of the [[Bijapur Sultanate]] during the minority of [[Ibrahim Adil Shah II]] in 1580–1590, and the regent of the [[Ahmednagar Sultanate]] during the minority of her great nephew [[Bahadur Nizam Shah|Bahadur Shah]] in 1595–1600. Chand Bibi is best known for defending [[Ahmednagar Sultanate|Ahmednagar]] against the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] forces of Emperor [[Akbar]] in 1595.<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=118–119}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Chand Bibi was the daughter of [[Hussain Nizam Shah I]] of [[Ahmednagar Sultanate|Ahmednagar]], [[India]]<ref name="sify_adil_shahi">{{Cite web |url=http://sify.com/itihaas/fullstory.php?id=13366961 |title=The Adil Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur |website=[[Sify]] |access-date=2006-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060508184635/http://sify.com/itihaas/fullstory.php?id=13366961 |archive-date=8 May 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2017}} and the sister of [[Burhan Nizam Shah II]], the Sultan of Ahmednagar. She was versed in many languages, including [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[Kannada]]. She played the [[setar]] and painting flowers was her hobby.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kamat.com/database/books/kareducation/islamic_education.htm |title=Education in Karnataka through the ages: Education Among Muslims |last=Jyotsna Kamat |access-date=2006-12-24}}</ref>

==Bijapur Sultanate==
{{main article|Adil Shahi}}
Following an alliance policy, Chand Bibi was married to [[Ali Adil Shah I]] of the [[Bijapur Sultanate]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3310 |title=A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar; A Contribution to the History of India |last=Sewell |first=Robert |year=2006 |orig-year=1900 |author-link=Robert Sewell (historian)}}</ref> A [[stepwell]] (''bawdi'') constructed near the eastern boundary of Bijapur by her husband was named ''Chand Bawdi'' after her.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/10/stories/2005101002460400.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060217095342/http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/10/stories/2005101002460400.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-02-17 |title=Reviving an ancient tank |date=2005-10-10 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=2006-12-24}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2017}}

Ali Adil Shah's father, Ibrahim Adil Shah I, had divided power between the [[Sunni]] nobles, the [[Habshi]]s and the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]]is. However, Ali Adil Shah favored [[Shi'a]]s.<ref name="pankhurst_habshi">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/ethiopia.html |title=Great Habshis in Ethiopian/Indian history: History of the Ethiopian Diaspora, in India - Part IV |last=Dr. Richard Pankhurst |access-date=2006-12-24}}</ref> After his death in 1580, the Shi'a nobles proclaimed his nine-year-old nephew [[Ibrahim Adil Shah II]] as the ruler.<ref name="orbat_wars">{{Cite web |url=http://orbat.com/site/cimh/kings_master/kings/ibrahimII_adil_shahi/ibrahimII_adil_shahi.html |title=The Wars & Campaigns of Ibrahim Adil Shahi II of Bijapur 1576-1626 |last=Ravi Rikhye |date=2005-03-07 |access-date=2006-12-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020232641/http://orbat.com/site/cimh/kings_master/kings/ibrahimII_adil_shahi/ibrahimII_adil_shahi.html |archivedate=2006-10-20 }}</ref> A Deccani general called Kamal Khan seized power and became the regent. Kamal Khan was disrespectful towards Chand Bibi, who felt that he had ambitions to usurp the throne. Chand Bibi plotted an attack against Kamal Khan with help from another general, Haji Kishvar Khan.<ref name="orbat_wars" /> Kamal Khan was captured while fleeing and was beheaded in the fort.

Kishvar Khan became the second regent of Ibrahim. In a battle against the Ahmednagar Sultanate at Dharaseo, the Bijapur army led by him captured all the artillery and [[war elephant|elephants]] of the enemy army. After the victory, Kishvar Khan ordered other Bijapuri generals to surrender all the captured elephants to him. The elephants were highly valued, and the other generals took great offense. Along with Chand Bibi, they hatched a plan to eliminate Kishvar Khan with help from General Mustafa Khan of Bankapur. Kishvar Khan's spies informed him of the conspiracy, and he sent troops against Mustafa Khan, who was captured and killed in the battle.<ref name="orbat_wars" /> Chand Bibi challenged Kishvar Khan, but he got her imprisoned at the [[Satara district|Satara]] fort and tried to declare himself the king. However, Kishvar Khan became very unpopular among the rest of the generals. He was forced to flee when a joint army led by a [[Habshi]] general called Ikhlas Khan marched to Bijapur. The army consisted of the forces of three Habshi nobles: Ikhlas Khan, Hamid Khan and Dilavar Khan.<ref name="pankhurst_habshi" /> Kishvar Khan tried his luck at Ahmednagar unsuccessfully, and then fled to Golconda. He was killed in exile by a relative of Mustafa Khan. Following this, Chand Bibi acted as the regent for a short time.<ref name="orbat_wars" />

Ikhlas Khan then became the regent, but he was dismissed by Chand Bibi shortly afterwards. Later, he resumed his dictatorship, which was soon challenged by the other Habshi generals.<ref name="pankhurst_habshi" /> Taking advantage of the situation in Bijapur, Ahmednagar's [[Nizam Shahi dynasty|Nizam Shahi]] sultan allied with the [[Qutb Shahi dynasty|Qutb Shahi]] of Golconda to attack Bijapur. The troops available at Bijapur were not sufficient to repulse the joint attack.<ref name="orbat_wars" /> The Habshi generals realized that they could not defend the city alone, and tended their resignation to Chand Bibi.<ref name="pankhurst_habshi" /> Abu-ul-Hassan, a [[Shi'a]] general appointed by Chand Bibi, called for the [[Maratha]] forces in Carnatic. The Marathas attacked the invaders' supply lines,<ref name="orbat_wars" /> forcing the Ahmednagar-Golconda allied army to retreat.

Ikhlas Khan then attacked Dilavar Khan to seize the control of Bijapur. However, he was defeated, and Dilavar Khan became the regent from 1582 to 1591.<ref name="pankhurst_habshi" /> When order was restored in Bijapur kingdom, Chand Bibi returned to [[Ahmednagar Sultanate|Ahmednagar]].

==Ahmednagar Sultanate==
[[File:Ikhlas Khan chief minister of Muhammad 'Adil Shah of Bijapur.jpg|thumb|Ikhlas Khan chief minister of Ali Adil Shah of Bijapur]]
In 1591, the [[Mughal (tribe)|Mughal]] emperor [[Akbar]] had asked all the four [[Deccan sultanates]] to acknowledge his supremacy. All the sultanates evaded compliance, and Akbar's ambassadors returned in 1593. In 1595, [[Ibrahim Nizam Shah]], the ruler of Ahmednagar Sultanate was killed in a severe battle about 40 miles from [[Ahmednagar State|Ahmednagar]] at Shahdurg against [[Ibrahim Adil Shah II]] of Bijapur.<ref name="maharashtra_gov_medieval">{{Cite web |url=http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/Beed/his_mediaeval_period.html |title=Medieval Period |publisher=The Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra |access-date=2006-12-24}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2017}} After his death, some nobles felt that his infant son [[Bahadur Nizam Shah|Bahadur Shah]] should be proclaimed the King under the regency of Chand Bibi (his father's aunt).<ref name="ahmednagar_gov_history">{{Cite web |url=http://ahmednagar.gov.in/html_docs/..%5Chtml_docs%5Chistory_of_ahmedngar_district.htm |title=The History of Ahmednagar |access-date=2006-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509023530/http://ahmednagar.gov.in/html_docs/history_of_ahmedngar_district.htm |archive-date=9 May 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2017}}

However, the Deccani minister Miyan Manju proclaimed the twelve-year-old son of Shah Tahir, Ahmad Nizam Shah II, as the ruler on 6 August 1595. The [[Habshi]] nobles of [[Ahmednagar]], led by Ikhlas Khan, were opposed to this plan. The rising dissent among the nobles prompted Miyan Manju to invite [[Akbar]]'s son [[Murad Mirza (son of Akbar)|Murad Mirza]] (who was in Gujarat) to march his army to Ahmednagar. Murad came to [[Malwa]], where he joined Mughal forces led by [[Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana]]. Raja Ali Khan joined them at [[Mandu, Madhya Pradesh|Mandu]], and the united army advanced on Ahmednagar.<ref name="maharashtra_gov_medieval" />

However, while Murad was on march to Ahmednagar, many noblemen left Ikhlas Khan and joined Miyan Manju. Miyan Manju defeated Ikhlas Khan and other opponents. Now, he regretted having invited the Mughals, but it was too late. He requested Chand Bibi to accept the regency, and marched out of Ahmednagar with Ahmed Shah II. Ikhlas Khan also escaped to [[Paithan]], where he was attacked and defeated by the Mughals.<ref name="maharashtra_gov_medieval" />

Chand Bibi accepted the regency and proclaimed Bahadur Shah king of Ahmednagar.<ref name="ahmednagar_gov_history" />

===Defence of Ahmednagar===
[[File:Princess Chand Bibi defends Ahmadnagar 1595.jpg|thumb|Princess Chand Bibi defends Ahmadnagar 1595]]
Ahmednagar was invaded by the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] in November 1595.<ref name="maharashtra_gov_medieval" /> Chand Bibi took the leadership in Ahmednagar and defended the [[Ahmednagar fort]] successfully.<ref name="indhistory_akbar">{{Cite web |url=http://www.indhistory.com/last-conquest-akbar.html |title=Akbar conquers Ahmednagar |access-date=2006-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123150612/http://indhistory.com/last-conquest-akbar.html |archive-date=23 November 2010 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2017}} Later, Shah Murad sent an envoy to Chand Bibi, offering to raise the siege in return for the cession of [[Berar Subah|Berar]]. Chand Bibi's troops were suffering from famine. On 23 February 1596, she decided to make peace by ceding Berar to Murad, who retreated.<ref name="r198">{{cite web|title = THE RELATIONS OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE WITH THE AHMADNAGAR KINGDOM (1526-1636) | url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/144512553.pdf | access-date=2024-11-07|last=Anwar|first=Mohammad Siraj}}</ref>

Chand Bibi appealed to her nephews [[Ibrahim Adil Shah II]] of Bijapur and [[Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah]] of Golconda, asking them to unite against the Mughal forces.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0-521-56321-6 |title=Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates |last1=Michell |first1=George |last2=Mark Zebrowski |isbn=0-521-56321-6 |year=1999 }}</ref> Ibrahim Adil Shah II sent a contingent of 25,000 men under Sohail Khan, which was joined by the remainder of Yekhlas Khan's force at [[Naldurg]]. Later, it was joined by a contingent of 6,000 men from Golconda.<ref name="maharashtra_gov_medieval" />

Chand Bibi had appointed Muhammad Khan as the minister, but he proved treacherous. He made overtures to the [[Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana|Khan-I-Khana]], offering to surrender the whole Sultanate to the Mughals. Meanwhile, Khan-I-Khana started taking possession of districts that were not included in the cession of Berar.<ref name="maharashtra_gov_medieval" /> Sohail Khan, who was returning to Bijapur, was ordered to come back and attack Khan-I-Khana's Mughal forces. The Mughal forces under Khan-I-Khana and Mirza Shah Rukh left Murad's camp at Sahpur in Berar and encountered the combined forces of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golconda under Sohail Khan near Sonpet (or Supa) on the banks of [[Godavari River]]. In a fierce battle on 8–9 February 1597, the Mughals won.<ref name="maharashtra_gov_medieval" />

In spite of their victory, the Mughal forces were too weak to pursue their attack and returned to Sahpur. One of their commanders, Raja Ali Khan, was killed in the battle and there were frequent disputes between other commanders. Due to these disputes, Khan-I-Khana was recalled by Akbar in 1597. Prince Murad died shortly thereafter.<ref name="maharashtra_gov_medieval" /> Akbar then sent his son [[Daniyal Mirza|Daniyal]] and Khan-I-Khana with fresh troops. Akbar himself followed and encamped at Barhanpur.<ref name="indhistory_akbar" />

In Ahmednagar, Chand Bibi's authority was being resisted by the newly appointed minister Nehang Khan. Nehang Khan had recaptured the town of [[Beed]], taking advantage of Khan-I-Khana's absence and of the rainy season. In 1599, Akbar dispatched Daniyal, Mirza Yusuf Khan and Khan-I-Khana to relieve the governor of Beed. Nehang Khan also marched to seize the Jaipur Kotli pass, expecting the Mughals to meet him there. However, Daniyal avoided the pass and reached Ahmednagar fort through an alternative route. His forces laid siege to the fort.

[[File:ChandBibiTomb.jpg|thumb|right|''The [[Tomb of Salabat Khan II]]'' (wrongly thought to be Chand Bibi's Tomb), [[Ahmednagar Fort|Ahmednagar]]]]

Chand Bibi again defended the fort. However, she could not bring about an effective resistance, and decided to negotiate terms with Daniyal.<ref name="ahmednagar_gov_history" /> Hamid Khan, a nobleman, exaggerated and spread the false news that Chand Bibi was in treaty with the Mughals.<ref name="ahmednagar_gov_history" /> According to another version, Jita Khan, a [[eunuch]] [[valet]] of Chand Bibi, thought that her decision to negotiate with the Mughals was treacherous and spread the news that Chand Bibi was betraying the fort.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/archive/050102/dmag12.htm |title=A woman of substance |last=Altaf Hussain Asad |date=2005-01-02 |publisher=Dawn Magazine |access-date=2007-06-18}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2017}} Chand Bibi was then killed by an enraged mob of her own troops. After her death, and a siege of four months and four days, Ahmednagar was captured by the Mughal forces of Daniyal and Mirza Yusuf Khan on 18 August 1600.<ref>{{cite web |title=History Part II, Chapter 3 |url=https://gazetteers.maharashtra.gov.in/cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/History%20Part/History_II/chapter_3.pdf |website=Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra |publisher=Cultural Maharashtra |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="maharashtra_gov_medieval" />

== Chand Bibi's Palace ==
The [[Tomb of Salabat Khan II]] is wrongly known locally as "Chand bibi ka Mahal [Chand Bibi's Palace]" and similar names.<ref name="Islamic Culture">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5OX6eT7dEgC |title=Islamic Culture |publisher=Islamic Culture Board |year=1944 |access-date=17 January 2013}}</ref>{{rp|199}}

== In popular culture ==
Indian filmmaker Narayanrao D. Sarpotdar made ''Chandbibi'' (or ''Queen of Ahmednagar'') a silent film in 1931. ''Sultana Chand bibi'', an Indian [[Hindi]]-language film about the queen, starring [[Shakuntala Paranjpye]] released in 1937.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rajadhyaksha|first1=Ashish|last2=Willemen|first2=Paul|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian cinema|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofi0000raja|url-access=registration|accessdate=12 August 2012|year=1999|publisher=British Film Institute}}</ref>

==Burial place==
Mirabutorab Torabi Mashhadi<ref>{{Cite web |title=ترابی مشهدی - ویکی فقه |url=https://fa.wikifeqh.ir/%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%DB%8C_%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF%DB%8C |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=fa.wikifeqh.ir}}</ref> received a mission from Nizam Shah of [[Deccan sultanates|Deccan]] to bring the bones of Chand Bibi to [[Mashhad]] and bury them next to the [[Imam Reza shrine]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jalali |first=Ghulam Reza |trans-title=Dignitaries Buried in the Holy Shrine of Imam al-Rida |publisher=Islamic Research Foundation, Astan Quds Razavi |year=2008 |isbn=9789649712390 |location=Mashhad, Iran |pages=113 |language=Persian |title=مشاهیر مدفون در حرم رضوی}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[History of women in early modern warfare]]

==References==
{{commons category|Chand Bibi}}
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibi, Chand}}
[[Category:1550 births]]
[[Category:1600 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century women regents]]
[[Category:16th-century regents]]
[[Category:Women in 16th-century warfare]]
[[Category:Indian women in war]]

[[Category:People from the Ahmadnagar Sultanate]]
[[Category:Indian queens consort]]

[[Category:16th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:16th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:Burials at Imam Reza Shrine]]
[[Category:People from the Sultanate of Bijapur]]

Chand Bibi - Revision history

CleanupBot at 18:06, 21 March 2026