Chand Bibi

Over four hundred years ago, a Muslim queen defied an empire. Chand Bibi—ruler, military strategist, and diplomat—stands among the most remarkable figures of early modern India. This book brings her world to life, moving between palace intrigue, battlefield strategy, poetry, and politics. Historian Sarah Waheed uncovers the multilayered world of the Deccan region that shaped Chand Bibi and her battles against the Mughal empire under Akbar. Interwoven with the queen’s storied past is the author’s personal journey across archives, crumbling forts, and Sufi shrines; through forgotten manuscripts and contested memories; and into the mysteries that both illuminate and conceal Chand Bibi’s life. Deeply researched and narratively evocative, this is the definitive portrait of a woman who fought for her homeland and sought to unify a fractured region—and of the quest to bring her story back into view.