Adil Shah Suri

Who was Adil Shah Suri?

Adil Shah Suri was the seventh and final ruler of the Sur dynasty. He was the brother of Sikandar Shah Suri, who ruled over a region east of Delhi after Sikandar Shah Suri was defeated by Humayun in 1555. He and Sikandar Shah Suri were contenders for the Delhi throne against the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great.

Early in Adil Shah's reign, he fought back a challenge from Muhammad Shah, ruler of Bengal. At the battle of Chhapparghatta in December 1555, Adil Shah and his Hindu general Hemu Hemachandra Bhargava routed the Bengal forces and the Muhammad Shah was killed. The following year, following the child-Emperor Akbar's absence from Delhi on a campaign, Hemu attacked and defeated the regent Tardi Beg Khan who fled the city. This was Hemu's 22nd successive victory in battle and rather than appoint Adil Shah as ruler he appointed himself ruler.

Meanwhile, the Bengal throne had passed on to Ghiyasuddin Abul Muzaffar Bahadur Shah, son of the slain Muhammad Shah. After killing an ambitious uncle, Bahadur Shah marched against Adil Shah to avenge his father's murder. In the battle of Fathpur in Munghyr in April 1557 AD Adil Shah's army was routed and Adil himself was captured and killed.