Chand Bibi

Chand Bibi
Regent of Bijapur and Regent of Ahmednagar
Chand Bibi hawking, an 18th-century painting
Born	1550 CE
Died	1599 CE
Spouse	Ali Adil Shah I
Father	Hussain Nizam Shah I
Religion	Islam

Chand Bibi (1550–1599 CE), was a Muslim woman warrior from medieval India. She acted as the Regent of Bijapur (1580–90) and Regent of Ahmednagar (1596–99). Chand Bibi is best known for defending Ahmednagar against the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar in 1595.

Chand Bibi was the daughter of Hussain Nizam Shah I of Ahmednagar, and the sister of Burhan-ul-Mulk, the Sultan of Ahmednagar. She knew many languages, including Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Marathi and Kannada. She played sitar, and painting flowers was her hobby.

Following an alliance policy, Chand Bibi was married to Ali Adil Shah I of the Bijapur Sultanate. A stepwell (bawdi) constructed near the eastern boundary of Bijapur by her husband was named Chand Bawdi after her.

Ali Adil Shah's father, Ibrahim Adil Shah I, had divided power between the Sunni nobles, the Habshis and the Deccanis. However, Ali Adil Shah favored Shi'as. After his death in 1580, the Shi'a nobles proclaimed his nine-year-old nephew Ibrahim Adil Shah II as the ruler. A Deccani general called Kamal Khan seized power and became the regent. Kamal Khan showed disrespect to Chand Bibi, who felt that he had ambitions to usurp the throne. Chand Bibi plotted an attack against Kamal Khan with help from another general, Haji Kishvar Khan. Kamal Khan was captured while fleeing and was beheaded in the fort.