View source for Gidhaur chieftaincy

{{Infobox country
|image_map= Gidhaur during the early 19th century.jpg
|image_map_caption= Gidhaur (Guidore) and its surrounding area in the early 19th century
|native_name = 
|conventional_long_name = Gidhaur Raj
|common_name = Gidhaur
|religion = [[Hinduism]]
|era = [[Medieval India|Middle Ages]]
|status = * Independent (till 1570s)

* Tributary of the Mughal Empire (1570s onwards)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Raza Khan |first1=Ahsan |title=Chieftains in the Mughal Empire During the Reign of Akbar |date=1977 |publisher=Indian Institute of Advanced Studies |isbn=9780896843769 |pages=170–171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=shAdAAAAMAAJ&q=gidhaur+chieftaincy}}</ref>
|government_type = 
|life_span =
|year_start = 13th century
|year_end = 1952
|event_start = 
|date_start =
|event1 = 
|date_event1 = 
|event2 = 
|date_event2 = 
|event_end = 
|date_end =
|capital = [[Khaira, Bihar|Khaira]], [[Lachhuar]], [[Gidhaur]]
|leader1 = 
|leader2 = 
|year_leader1 = 
|year_leader2 = 
|title_leader = }}
The '''Gidhaur Chieftaincy''' was a principality which controlled parts of South [[Bihar]] for much of the medieval period in [[India]]. The chieftaincy was named after the town of Gidhaur in [[Jamui district]] but its territory extended into the wider region.<ref name="Ansari2019">{{cite book|author=Tahir Hussain Ansari|title=Mughal Administration and the Zamindars of Bihar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUueDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT234|date=20 June 2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-00-065152-2|pages=234–240}}</ref>

==Origins==
[[File:Gidhaur lalkothi.jpg|thumb|186x186px|Lalkothi palace which belonged to the [[Gidhaur]] estate]]
The Gidhaur chieftaincy was founded by Bir Bikram Shah who was a [[Chandel (Rajput clan)|Chandel]] [[Rajput]]. The family accounts detail that his family originally held a small chieftaincy in [[Mahoba]] in [[Bundelkhand]] but were driven out by various foreign incursions including the invasion of [[Mahmud of Ghazni]].<ref name="Bose2019">{{cite book|author=Ruma Bose|title=Walking with Pilgrims: The Kanwar Pilgrimage of Bihar, Jharkhand and the Terai of Nepal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DUuxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT133|date=23 September 2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-00-073250-4|page=133}}</ref> From here they arrived in the [[Rewa, Madhya Pradesh|Rewa]] area where they established the estate of Bardi. Bir Bikram Shah, who was the younger brother of the chief of Bardi, left his home and arrived in South Bihar where he established his power in the region by defeating the chief, Nagoria in 1262. From here, he continued to expand the extent of his chiefdom.<ref name="Ansari2019" />

The Gidhaur chiefs were part of a larger movement of Rajput immigrants into Bihar from the 13th century onwards which included the rulers of [[Kharagpur Raj]] and [[Deo Raj]].<ref name="Prakash2003">{{cite book|author=Gyan Prakash|title=Bonded Histories: Genealogies of Labor Servitude in Colonial India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQFvks7lahoC|date=30 October 2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52658-6|page=64}}</ref>
[[File:Ruined fort of Naulakhagarh, Gidhaur.jpg|thumb|149x149px|Ruins of Naulakhagarh Fort]]
The Gidhaur dynasty's first capital may have been the nearby town of [[Khaira, Bihar|Khaira]], where there are ruins of an old stone fort.<!-- Gazetteers --> Another prominent ruined fort that probably belonged to the Gidhaur dynasty is [[Naulakhagarh]], a bit southwest of Khaira at the foot of the hills.<!-- Gazetteers --> Although popularly attributed to Akbar or Sher Shah, the Naulakhagarh fort likely was built by the Gidhaur rajas while they were based at Khaira, and Naulakhagarh may have served as a capital as well.<ref name="Gazetteer 1960">{{cite book |last1=Choudhury |first1=P. C. Roy |title=Bihar District Gazetteers: Monghyr |date=1960 |publisher=Superintendent Secretariat Press |location=Patna |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.128747 |access-date=4 August 2023}}</ref>{{rp|466–8, 483–4, 507–8}}

==History==
===War against Lodhis===
Ibrahim khan lodhi(sultan of delhi) and his brother jalal khan lodhi(sultan of jaunpur) on there conquest of bihar attacked the [[Gidhaur raj]] with an army of 60,000 soldiers in 1524, the ruler of gidhaur was [[Raja Raghunath Singh]],he resisted the attack but lost the battle and has to give his treasury to save the empire.
While returning the lodhis attacked the kuldevi temple of the [[Tomar Rajput's]] in ratanpur village,this triggered the Rajputs of gidhaur and with the permission of Raja raghunath singh the chandels and tomars combined army being  6000 attacked the lodhis large army.Historian Abbas sarwani notes that only 3000 soldier along with ibrahim lodhi and his brother could escape the territory rest all were killed by the Rajputs,out of 6000 rajputs 5000 died that day protecting there kuldevi temple.Ibrahim Lodhi in his whole life couldn't capture Bihar.

===Mughal period===
After Bir Bikram Shah's death in 1339, he was succeeded by various descendants however Raghunath Singh was the first of his descendants to receive much attention in sources from the time. The 16th-century historian, [[Abbas Sarwani]] noted that Raghunath Singh accepted the rule of [[Sher Shah Suri]] and assisted him in his war against [[Humayun]]. Such was Sher Shah's trust in him, that he was even deputed to escort Saif Khan. His son was Bariar Singh who ruled Gidhaur till 1572. After Bariar Singh came Raja Puran Mal who was a contemporary of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] Emperor [[Akbar]].<ref name="Ansari2019" /> In 1580, Puran Mal joined a rebellion against the imperial authority which was led by Masum Khan Kabuli. [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak|Abu Fazl]] detailed that Puran Mal rescued  Masum Khan and his soldiers from [[Munger]] where they were trapped by Mughal soldiers. Puran Mal's disloyalty to the Mughals seems to have been temporary however as later sources note that he served with the Mughal commander, [[Shahbaz Khan Kamboh]] in an expedition against the [[Afghans]]. His son, Hari Singh, was kept as a hostage for the Mughals to ensure his continued compliance with the imperial authority.
Puran Mal also engaged in multiple clashes with the neighbouring chief of [[Kharagpur Raj]], Sangram Singh and defeated him, both the Raja’s were known to have a deep enmity.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

Puran Mal is also known for constructing the [[Baidyanath Temple]] at [[Deoghar]], which happened in 1596.<!-- Gazetteers --> A Sanskrit inscription at the temple refers to him as ''nṛpati'', or "lord of men".<!-- Gazetteers --> Puran Mal's capital was at [[Lachhuar]], west of Gidhaur.<ref name="Gazetteer 1960"/>{{rp|467}}

After Pural Mal's death, the principality was divided between his sons Hari Singh and Bishambhar Singh.<!-- Gazetteers --> Because Hari Singh was being kept as a hostage in Delhi, he was absent when Puran Mal died, and Bishambhar Singh had taken charge of ruling the principality in the meantime.<!-- Gazetteers --> The two brothers ended up working out a friendly agreement: Hari Singh would receive territories in ''[[pargana]]''s Gidhaur and [[Bishazari]], while Bishambhar Singh would keep the rest.
[[File:Ruined fort of Naulakhagarh,Gidhaur.jpg|left|thumb|164x164px|Fort of Naulakhagarh]]
<!-- Gazetteers -->Hari Singh's descendants were the rajas of Gidhaur, while Bishambhar Singh's descendants were the ''kumar''s of Khaira.<ref name="Gazetteer 1960" />{{rp|467}}

Subsequent chiefs of Gidhaur seemed to have maintained their loyalty to the Mughal authorities and supported them in various expeditions. In the war of succession between [[Dara Shikoh]] and  [[Shah Shuja (Mughal prince)|Shah Shuja]] in 1658, both princes appealed for the assistance of Raja Dal Singh of Gidhaur who ended up supporting the former.

The rulers of Gidhaur were granted the title of ''raja'' in 1651, via a [[firman]] (which still exists) issued under [[Shah Jahan]] and dated to 21 [[Rajab]], 1068 AH.<ref name="Gazetteer 1960"/>{{rp|467}}

===British period===
[[File:Rajput courtiers Of Maharaja Bahadur Pratap Singh of Gidhaur.jpg|thumb|270x270px|Rajput Courtiers of Maharaja Bahadur of Gidhaur During Durbar]]
The [[British East India Company]] assumed control of the region in the 18th century.  By the time when Raja Shyam Singh's elder son Raja Amar Singh sat on the throne, the British rule had started spreading in the country.The Raja supported the Bengal Nawab in the battle of Buxar, as a result his kingdom was seized and a large part of it was settled with the Ghatwals in the form of Ghatwali tenure.According to Bangal District Gazeteer and two reported cases i.e Gopi Ram Bhotica Vs. Thakur Jagarnath Singh reported in Indian Law Reports 1929(Pat) page 4 and Sukhdeo Singh Vs. Maharaja Bahadur of Gidhaur reported in 1951 AIR 288(SC) it is clear that after seizure of considerable part of estate of Gidhaur, Jagir of Katauna was settled with the family of Gidhaur Raj and two ghatwali taluk i.e Maheshwari and Dumri were also settled directly to the Chandel Raja of Khaira and Gidhaur due to irresponsible behaviour of their ghatwal. Raja Gopal Singh regained it's estate from British Raj, but with a less area than to their ancestors and in the form of a Zamindari estate. Gidhaur chief, Raja Jai Mangal Singh assisted them during the suppression of [[Santhal rebellion]] and the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|Indian rebellion of 1857]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/invention-of-tradition/B9973971357795DC86BE856F321C34B3|title=The Invention of Tradition|date=March 2012|website=Cambridge Core|language=en|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref> For his services, he was granted the title of [[Maharaja]] and made an [[Order of the Star of India|Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] in 1865.<ref name="Ansari2019" />
[[File:Maharaja Bahadur of Gidhaur with Raja Ajay Singh of manda and kunwar Abhay Singh Of manda.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Bahadur Rajrajeshwar Prasad Singh(Right) with Raja Ajay Singh of Manda(centre) and Kunwar Abhay Singh of Manda(Left)]]

==Notable rulers==

Gidhaur was ruled by the following Rajas after its establishment:<ref name="Ansari2019" />

* Bir Bikram Singh - founder of Gidhaur
* Raghunath Singh - ally of [[Sher Shah Suri]]
* Raja [[Pural Mal of Gidhaur|Puran Mal]] 
* Raja Bisambhar Singh
* Raja Dalar Singh
* Raja Srikrishna Singh 1717 
* Raja Praduman Singh (1717-1725)
* Raja Shyam Singh (1725- 1741)
* Raja Amar Singh (1741-1765)
* Raja Bharat Singh(1765-1798)
* Raja Gopal Singh
* Raja Jaswant Singh
* Raja Nawab Singh
* Maharaja Bahadur Jai Mangal Singh
* Maharaja Bahadur Shiv Prasad Singh
* Maharaja Bahadur Ravneshwar Singh
* Maharaja Bahadur Chandramoleshwar Singh
* Maharaja Bahadur Chandrachud Singh
* Maharaja Bahadur Pratap Singh

==See also==
*[[Zamindars of Bihar]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Dynasties of India]]
[[Category:Rajput estates]]
[[Category:Kingdoms of Bihar]]