[4] The Ujjainiyas, a Rajput clan that claimed ancestry from the Paramara dynasty that had ruled from Dhar and Ujjain,[4] migrated to the Bhojpur region sometime around 1320.

[3] The founding figure, Sanatan[6] or Santana[7] Sahi, came to settle in the village of Karur in the pargana of Danwar at that time, while returning from a pilgrimage to Gaya.

Ram Sahi attempted to reestablish his rule by building thanas on the banks of the Karmanasa River, but to little effect.

[6] A clearer picture of the Bhojpur raj begins to emerge from the time of Raja Durlabh Deo, who ascended to the throne in 1489.

It was especially a snub to Badal Singh, the eldest son, who ended up leaving Bhojpur and venturing off in search of supporters.

After Farid was given charge of Sasaram and Khawaspur Tanda in 1511, he helped restore Badal Singh to his aging father's good graces.

Later, in 1532, Badal Singh's widow met with Farid — now known as Sher Khan — and asked for assistance in raising her two sons (Gajpati Sahi, then 18, and Bairi Sal, then 15) to the throne.

Sher Khan obliged and sent an army that, in 1534, defeated and killed Shivram Singh, and Gajpati Sahi became raja, with his seat at Jagdishpur.

Sher Khan, highly pleased, granted Gajpati the region of Buxar, and gave a sword to his younger brother, Bairi Sal.

He helped Humayun escape pursuit by Sher Khan's general, Mir Farid Gaur, by crossing the Ganges near Mirzapur.

[3] In the meantime, the dispossessed Gajpati had again joined forces with Sher Khan, bringing a contingent of his own troops to the Battle of Chausa.

[3] Under Humayun's successor Akbar, Gajpati originally resisted Mughal power but later, in 1568–69, he submitted to Munim Khan, the governor of Jaunpur, and agreed to pay 500,000 rupees per year as malguzari.

The siege lasted for three months before the fort surrendered, while Gajpati, along with his son Ram Singh and his brother Bairi Sal, escaped into the hilly forests nearby.

[3] Meanwhile, Dalpati Sahi, the son of Mahipal Singh who had briefly reigned in 1538-39 before being ousted by Gajpati, took advantage of the opportunity to press his claim.

He had joined an existing rebellion in Bihar and Bengal led by an Afghan named Arab Bahadur, who had besieged Patna.

Now joined by Shahbaz Khan, the Mughal army under Aziz Koka sacked Jagdishpur, but the two rebels fled to the jungles.

Meanwhile, Dalpati Sahi and Arab Bahadur attacked the fort of Kant and killed its commander, Saadat Ali Khan.

Arab Bahadur fled to Saran, where he continued to harass the area before moving again to Jaunpur to join the rebels of Masum Khan Farankhudi.

He was, however, captured and pardoned; the Akbarnama says that Dalpat's daughter was married to Daniyal and in 1604 she had a son named Farhang Hushang.

[3] Narayan Mal died in 1624 and was succeeded by his younger brother Pratap Singh, who was granted the title of Raja by Jahangir, along with a mansab of 1,000/8000 (later raised to 1,500/1,000 by Shah Jahan).

Pratap Singh moved his capital from Jagdishpur to Bhojpur Kadim, where he built a palace called Navratna.

Then they found out that he had not paid revenue for the past 9 years, and demanded that he pay the full sum immediately as well as present himself before the emperor and explain his conduct.

He then moved his capital away from Bhojpur Kadim in favor of Mithila, 20 km southwest of Dumraon in the present Buxar district.

[3] During the wars that followed, Amar Singh unwaveringly gave support to Shah Shuja, including at the Battle of Bahadurpur between the two brothers in February 1658.

Shah Shuja expressed appreciation in several firmans to Amar Singh during the course of the year, and promised rewards and favours in return, but after his defeat by Aurangzeb at the Battle of Khajwa in 1659, he was chased out of India altogether and ended up dying in exile in Arakan.

Amar Singh ended up switching allegiance to Aurangzeb, who continued to recognize his rank and titles, and he died in 1665 after a peaceful final few years.

Rudra Singh agreed to apologise for his rebellion and pay an indemnity of 130,000 rupees to the Mughal government, while in return he was granted a pardon and restoration of his father's rank and title.

Around that time, Rudra Singh was also appointed faujdar of the sarkar of Shahabad, indicating that he had fully won back the confidence of the Mughal administration.