BAHADURPUR, BATTLE OF

(Feb. 24, 1658), conflict that helped decide the war of succession among the sons of Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor of India (reigned 162857/58). When Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657, his four sonsDara Shikoh, Shah Shuja', Aurangzeb, and Murad Bakhshfought for power. Shuja', the second sonwho had quickly set himself up as the independent governor of Bengalwas defeated at Bahadurpur, 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Varanasi (Benares) in Uttar Pradesh, by Dara's son Sulayman Shikoh. Shikoh was later captured and executed by his uncle Aurangzeb, who in June 1658 imprisoned Shah Jahan and a month later crowned himself emperor. He also defeated Dara, Murad, and Shuja' (who became a fugitive and died in Myanmar in 1660).