Bihar under the Delhi Sultanate, Mughals and the Eighteenth-Century Transition

BPSC demand

Keep Bihar at the centre: conquest, Afghan resurgence, Mughal provincial organisation and the transition to Bengal’s influence. Use source-supported anchors rather than sweeping claims: Bakhtiyar Khalji, Tirhut/Mithila, Sasaram, Patna, Akbar’s Subah of Bihar, and Buxar.

Timeline

Core Bihar pairs

Person/event	Safe clue
Bakhtiyar Khalji	Early Turkish conquest in Bihar; associated with attacks on major Buddhist mahaviharas in the region.
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq	Campaign in Tirhut; government district histories link it with the end of Karnata authority.
Babur / Ghaghra	Battle of Ghaghra in 1529; Mughal influence established in Bihar.
Sher Shah Suri	Sasaram; Afghan ruler, 1540–1545; administrative legacy.
Akbar	Defeated Daud Khan’s Afghan challenge; separate Subah of Bihar under a Mughal governor.
Azim-ush-Shan	Given Bengal together with Bihar’s subah in 1703.

Administrative and political sequence

Phase	Bihar connection
Delhi Sultanate / Bengal governors	Contested influence over Bihar and Tirhut.
Lodi–Afghan phase	Nuhani/Lohani Afghan chiefs became strong in Bihar.
Sur phase	Sher Shah’s Sasaram base and reforms.
Mughal phase	Separate Subah of Bihar after Akbar’s victory over Daud Khan.
Early eighteenth century	Bihar again governed with Bengal; regional instability grew.

Bihar under the Delhi Sultanate, Mughals and the Eighteenth-Century Transition

Bihar under the Delhi Sultanate, Mughals and the Eighteenth-Century Transition

BPSC demand

Timeline

Core Bihar pairs

Administrative and political sequence

20 practice questions