Siege of Bidar and the Dawn of Adil Shahi Sultanate

A tragedy occurs when a great empire ends. Even though there was no good in the existence of a generation of royals, an end always saddens the mind especially when that end was not foreseen. Out of the blue came an attack that engulfed the future plans of a flourishing empire. This is the story of the event, a war that leads to the end of the Adil Shahi Sultanate.

Illustration of the fortress of Bidar, Source: Pinterest

Once there was a kingdom, a dynasty to be precise, so short-lived that many tend to confuse it to be a subsidiary of the illustrious Mughal Empire, but it was an independent dynasty with its own dynamic history. The Adil Shahi Sultanate headed by Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah was a dynasty in its own short-lived yet vibrant right. Even though the dynasty was short-lived it managed to create a distinguished impact on the foresight of every empire which tried to stand up to it.

But Adil Shah’s apparent end came in the form of the giganticness of the Mughal Empire when the Siege of Bidar commenced and was tragically lost by the Adil Shah, it was a definite end for the Adil Shahi Sultanate. The dawn of this sultanate came in the form of the last-second ruler of the Mughal Empire, in 1657. Prince Aurangzeb, who was still fighting for himself in the war of succession, saw Bidar as a golden opportunity to prove his worth to his father, Emperor Shah Jahan.

The Mughal Empire had been battling quite relentlessly and tirelessly to scrap off Adil Shah and impose their rule over the dominion of India as a whole. The Adil Shahi Sultanate had captured quite important southern parts of India primarily Karnataka. So, Aurangzeb promised his father that he will win Bidar for him, one of the richest and most cultured cities of Karnataka.

Little did the hot-blooded Prince know that Adil Shah was no simpleton enemy, he had been ruling in Bijapur for the past 2 centuries and was quite adamant to keep ruling over Karnataka. So Aurangzeb had to go to the battlefield after due preparation. He studied everything about the Sidi Marjan, Kiladaar of Bidar, the fortress head of Bidar.

Sultan Adil Shah, Source: Google Images

Aurangzeb learned that Marjan was quite a loyal and courageous man, a formal war general who was sure to give a tough fight to the Mughal army. The Mughals still had the plus point of being large in numbers and the fact that the conquest was going to be a total surprised attack for which Marjan would not be prepared.

As it happened, even though Aurangzeb had predicted everything right about the drawbacks of Marjan, he still faced tough resistance from the enemy side. Marjan was not a man to accept defeat so easily even though in numbers his side was proving to be a weakling. Both sides were not ready to give up. The war went on for 27 days until Marjan was accidentally killed after stepping on a gunpowder magazine. Bidar was of the Mughals, another feather on Aurangzeb’s head evidencing his eligibility for becoming the next Emperor of the Sultanate.

The Siege of Bidar was an event of hope for both parties. Aurangzeb hoped to win his father’s confidence and Adil Shah hoped to cement his position strongly in India, even though surface cracks had started to emerge in the foundations of his Sultanate. While Bidar harbored hope for everyone, it also proved the futility of the human desire, to accumulate one’s all life on an event so fragile that no strong future could be built on it. While Bidar still exists, all strong and prosperous, the empires who once fought over it have ended tragically. Bidar Fort still stands erect reminiscing the sagas of a futile past.