Mughal conquest of Malwa

{{more citations needed|date=May 2024}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Mughal conquest of Malwa

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| image = The Defeat of Baz Bahadur of Malwa by the Mughal Troops, Akbarnama.jpg

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| caption = Mughal troops storm the fort at Mandu, defeating Baz Bahadur

| date = 1560–November 1570

| place = Malwa Sultanate

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| result = Mughal victory

| territory = Mughal annexation of Malwa

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| combatant1 = Mughal Empire

| combatant2 = Malwa Sultanate
Khandesh Sultanate
Berar Sultanate

| combatant3 =

| commander1 = Adham Khan
Pir Muhammad Khan Shirwani{{KIA}}
Abdullah Khan Uzbeg

| commander2 = Baz Bahadur

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| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Akbar}}

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The Mughal conquest of Malwa was a military campaign launched by the Mughal Empire in 1560 during the reign of Akbar (r. 1556–1605) against the Sultanate of Malwa, which had broken free from Mughal rule during the rebellion of Sher Shah Suri from the emperor Humayun. Thus, Akbar had a claim to the province. Baz Bahadur had been the governor of Malwa in the Sur Empire but broke away after the death of Sher Shah.{{cite book |last1=Chandra |first1=Satish |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat To The Mughals-Mughal Empire (1526-1748) - Part II |date=2007 |pages=103–104}}

The conquest was led by Akbar's foster brother Adham Khan and the general Pir Muhammad Khan. They defeated Baz Bahadur at the Battle of Sarangpur in 1561, when his forces deserted him. The Mughals occupied the capital Mandu, perpetrating massacres on the populace, according to the historian Badauni, and appropriating the wealth and harem of the Sultan. Akbar himself intervened, riding to Malwa and removing Adham Khan from governorship of the province, seizing his spoils. He sent Pir Muhammad Khan south to give chase to Baz Bahadur. Adham Khan is said to have desired the Sultan of Malwa's wife Roopmati, who committed suicide by consuming poison rather than be taken by the Mughal military commander.{{cite book |last1=Agrawal |first1=Ashvini |title=Motilal Banarsidass|date=1983 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=8120823265 |page=75}}

After the conquest, Baz Bahadur fled Malwa to Khandesh, and was there pursued by Mughal military commander Pir Muhammad Khan who occupied Burhanpur, the capital of the area. However, Khan was defeated and killed by a coalition of Baz Bahadur, Khandesh Sultanate, and Berar Sultanate, leading to Baz Bahadur regaining Malwa for a brief period in 1562 before renewed Mughal attacks.{{cite journal |last1=King |first1=L. White |title=History and Coinage of Malwa |journal=The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Numismatic Society |date=1903 |volume=3 |pages=358 |jstor=42680007 }}{{cite book |last1=Richards |first1=John F. |title=The New Cambridge History of India |date=1995 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=18 |chapter=The Mughal Empire}}

Akbar sent Abdullah Khan Uzbeg to recover Malwa. Baz Bahadur again escaped, first to the hills of Gondwara to conduct guerrilla warfare, then seeking shelter with Udai Singh II in 1568. Meanwhile, Abdullah Khan became governor of Malwa. Baz Bahadur finally surrendered to the Mughals in November 1570 and was awarded a mansabdari of 2,000 by Akbar, becoming a part of the Mughal nobility.{{cite book|last1=Majumdar|first1=R. C.|author-link1=R. C. Majumdar|last2=Chaudhuri|first2=J. N.|last3=Chaudhuri|first3=S.|title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Mughal empire|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.553379/page/n142/mode/1up|year=1974|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|location=Bombay|pages=112–13}} The conquered areas were later organized into the Malwa Subah.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}