Gidhaur chieftaincy

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.

Origins
The Gidhaur chieftaincy was founded by Bir Bikram Shah who was a 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. From here they arrived in the 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.

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. The Gidhaur dynasty's first capital may have been the nearby town of Khaira, where there are ruins of an old stone fort. Another prominent ruined fort that probably belonged to the Gidhaur dynasty is Naulakhagarh, a bit southwest of Khaira at the foot of the hills. 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.

War against Lodis
Ibrahim khan lodi(sultan of Delhi) and his brother jalal khan lodi(sultan of Jaunpur) in the conquest of Bihar attacked the GIDHAUR CHIEFTAINCY with an army of 60,000 soldiers in the year 1524, at that time the Raja of Gidhaur was Raghunath Singh, he resisted the attack firstly but signed the piece treaty for the safety of his people. While returning the soldiers of ibrahim lodi attacked the Kuldevi temple of Tomar Rajput's in the Abhaipur village(presently in Jamui district of Bihar), this triggered the Rajputs of Gidhaur and they attacked the lodis large army with an army of only 6000 soldiers.The temple was saved and only 3000 out of 60,000 soldiers of ibrahim lodi could escape the battle and out of 6000 Rajputs 5000 Rajputs died that day saving there kuldevi from destruction. Historian Abd al-Qadir Badayuni states that lodi dynasty would have ended that day if lodi had not escaped the battle.Ibrahim khan lodi 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 Emperor Akbar. In 1580, Puran Mal joined a rebellion against the imperial authority which was led by Masum Khan Kabuli. 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.

Puran Mal is also known for constructing the Baidyanath Temple at Deoghar, which happened in 1596. A Sanskrit inscription at the temple refers to him as nṛpati, or "lord of men". Puran Mal's capital was at Lachhuar, west of Gidhaur.

After Pural Mal's death, the principality was divided between his sons Hari Singh and Bishambhar Singh. 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. The two brothers ended up working out a friendly agreement: Hari Singh would receive territories in parganas Gidhaur and Bishazari, while Bishambhar Singh would keep the rest. Hari Singh's descendants were the rajas of Gidhaur, while Bishambhar Singh's descendants were the kumars of Khaira.

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 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.

British period
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. For his services, he was granted the title of Maharaja and made an Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India in 1865.

Notable rulers
Gidhaur was ruled by the following Rajas after its establishment:


 * Bir Bikram Singh - founder of Gidhaur
 * Raghunath Singh - ally of Sher Shah Suri
 * Raja 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