The Pinnacle of Gujarat's Glory

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The Renegade Prince 

       The year was 1525, in the dead of the night, a 20 years old royal prince sneaked out of Ahmedabad , the then capital of the Gujarat sultanate. Prince Bahadur had a hanging sword on his head as his brother and heir to the throne of Gujarat, Sikander was conspiring to eliminate him. Bahadur in order to evade any mishap ventured out of Gujarat and headed Northwards. 

Ahmedabad established in 1411
by Sultan Ahmed Shah

The Enchanting Offers

     After a brief stay at Chittor, Bahadur went to Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi to seek a favorable position at his court. But Sultan himself was in a precarious situation as the news of Babur's invasion of Hindustan had just arrived. 

 Looking at the illustrious and royal background of prince Bahadur, he was offered the throne of Delhi by some of the nobles who were fed up of the weary Lodhi Sultan. Another proposal offering him the seat of Jaunpur sultanate also came, but the fate had decided something else for the young prince. 

  Babur mentions Bahadur Khan as an ambitious and bloodthirsty young prince in his autobiography.

The first battle of Panipat 1526


A Sultan Par Excellence

   The sudden death of his brother Sultan Sikander prompted Bahadur to head back to Gujarat at once. He returned in 1526 and proclaimed himself Sultan Bahadur Shah in Patan. Next 8 years saw the meteoric rise of this Gujarati Sultan who for some time, overshadowed every power in the region including two of his strongest rivals, Mewar and Malwa. 

    Within this time period, he consolidated the Gujarat territories, conquered Ahmadnagar in Maharashtra; Malwa in Madhya Pradesh; Chittor,Ajmer and Ranthambore in Rajasthan. 

    Gujarat had never seen and evinced such a glory and hegemony except during the reign of Raja Sidhhraj Jaysinh(1092-1142) of the Solanki dynasty.

Extent of Gujarat sultanate under 
Sultan Bahadur Shah

    But this imbalance of power in the Western India had alarmed Humayun, the son and successor of Babur. The Mughal emperor in 1534 marched forth with his army towards Gujarat to taste and test the valour and strength of Sultan Bahadur Shah. The next few years will see the gut wrenching twists and turns in the life of both the sovereign paramounts. 

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