1536.—(As a proper name.) "Itaq̃ ille potentissimus Rex Badur, Indiae universae terror, a quo nonulli regnũ Pori maximi quõdam regis teneri affirmant...."—Letter from John III. of Portugal to Pope Paul III.
Hardly any native name occurs more frequently in the Portuguese Hist. of India than this of Badur—viz. Bahādur Shāh, the warlike and powerful king of Guzerat (1526-37), killed in a fray which closed an interview with the Viceroy, Nuno da Cunha, at Diu.
1754.—"The Kirgeese Tartars ... are divided into three Hordas, under the Government of a Khan. That part which borders on the Russian dominions was under the authority of Jean Beek, whose name on all occasions was honoured with the title of Bater."—Hanway, i. 239. The name Jean Beek is probably Janibek, a name which one finds among the hordes as far back as the early part of the 14th century (see Ibn Batuta, ii. 397).
1759.—"From Shah Alum Bahadre, son of Alum Guire, the Great Mogul, and successor of the Empire, to Colonel Sabut Jung Bahadre" (i.e. Clive).—Letter in Long, p. 163.
We have said that the title Behauder (Bahādur) was one by which Hyder Ali of Mysore was commonly known in his day. Thus in the two next quotations:
1781.—"Sheikh Hussein upon the guard tells me that our army has beat the Behauder [i.e. Hyder Ali], and that peace was making. Another sepoy in the afternoon tells us that the Behauder had destroyed our army, and was besieging Madras."—Captivity of Hon. John Lindsay, in Lives of the Lindsays, iii. 296.
1800.—"One lac of Behaudry pagodas."—Wellington, i. 148.
1801.—"Thomas, who was much in liquor, now turned round to his sowars, and said—'Could any one have stopped Sahib Bahaudoor at this gate but one month ago?' 'No, no,' replied they; on which——"—Skinner, Mil. Mem. i. 236.
1872.—"... the word 'Bahádur' ... (at the Mogul's Court) ... was only used as an epithet. Ahmed Shah used it as a title and ordered his name to be read in the Friday prayer as 'Mujahid ud dín Muhammad Abú naçr Ahmad Sháh Bahádur. Hence also 'Kampaní Bahadur,' the name by which the E. I. Company is still known in India. The modern 'Khan Bahádur' is, in Bengal, by permission assumed by Muhammedan Deputy Magistrates, whilst Hindu Deputy Magistrates assume 'Rái Bahádur'; it stands, of course, for 'Khán-i-Bahádur,' 'the courageous Khán.' The compound, however, is a modern abnormal one; for 'Khán' was conferred by the Dihli Emperors, and so also 'Bahádur' and 'Bahádur Khán,' but not 'Khán Bahádur.'"—Prof. Blochmann, in Ind. Antiquary, i. 261.
1876.—"Reverencing at the same time bravery, dash, and boldness, and loving their freedom, they (the Kirghiz) were always ready to follow the standard of any batyr, or hero, ... who might appear on the stage."—Schuyler's Turkistan, i. 33.