Bahadur Shah was the son of Muzaffar II who ascended the throne of Gujarat in 1511. He was not satisfied with his father’s arrangement regarding the distribution of Jagirs. He himself was given the villages of Kenj, Koha and Nabtah as a Jagir.

He came under the influence of the Shaikhs of Islam. Not satisfied with his father’s treatment, Bahadur Shah went to Delhi where he was received well by Ibrahim Lodi who at that time was making preparations to fight against Babur. According to Abu TUrab, Bahadur Shah was present in the Battle of Panipat ((1526), but Babur tells us that Bahadur Shah did not take part in the battle.

It is stated that Bahadur Shah was so popular among the Afghan Nobles that a plot was prepared to put him on the Delhi Throne. Ibrahim Lodi became jealous and consequently Bahadur Shah left Delhi for Jaunpur to become its head. At that time, he heard the news that his father had died and another person had been put on the throne of Gujarat; Bahadur Shah marched towards Gujarat and after defeating the usurper, put himself on the throne of his parents. All his rivals were disposed of one by one.

After seating himself on the throne, Bahadur Shah organised a large army which contained 10,000 foreign mercenaries. He captured Ahmednagar in 1528. He fought against Sultan Mahmud Khilji of Mandu, defeated him, imprisoned him and annexed his territory in 1531. Niamshah and the Ruler of Khandesh acknowledged him as their superior and agreed to his name being read in the Khtuba.

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Bahadur Shah had a large army. He employed two Turkish Captains, Amir Mustafa, who was given the title of Rumi Khan, and Khwaja Safar called Salmani. Bahadur tried to crush the power of the Portuguese but in 1534 entered into a treaty with them by which Bassein and the adjoining territory were given to them. Master of a rich kingdom and vast resources, Bahadur Shah desired to extend his sphere of influence towards Rajaputana.

It is to be observed that Bahadur Shah was a brave, warlike and generous ruler of high ambitions and winsome manners. Kind-hearted and generous he was ferocious in dealing with his enemies and slew them ruthlessly. He was found of displacing the trappings of royalty and loved magnificence and power.