Adil Shah Suri

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

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 launched a surprise attack on the unprepared regent Tardi Beg Khan, who was defeated and fled the city. This was Hemu's 22nd successive victory in battle and he appointed himself ruler, or Raja Vikramjit, instead of Adil Shah.

On November 5, 1556 Akbar's Mughal army, under the stewardship of Bairam Khan, defeated the numerically superior forces of Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat, fifty miles north of Delhi, thanks to a chance arrow into Hemu's eye. Hemu was brought before Akbar unconscious, and was beheaded.

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.

Preceded by: Sikandar Shah Suri

Shah of Delhi 1556-1556

Succeeded by: Humayun