Bhopal State (pronounced [bʱoːpaːl] ^ⓘ) was an Islamic principality, founded in the beginning of 18th-century India by the Afghan Mughal noble Dost Muhammad Khan. It was a tributary state within the Maratha Empire during the 18th century (1737–1818), a princely state with rights to a 19-gun salute in a subsidiary alliance with British India from 1818 to 1947, and an independent state from 1947 to 1949. Islamnagar was founded and served as the State's first capital, which was later shifted to the city of Bhopal.

The state was founded in 1707 by Dost Mohammad Khan, a Pashtun soldier in the Mughal army, who became a mercenary after the Emperor Aurangzeb's death and annexed several territories to his fiefdom. It came under the suzerainty of the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1723 shortly after its foundation. In 1737, the Marathas defeated the Mughals and the Nawab of Bhopal in the Battle of Bhopal, and started collecting tribute from the state. After the defeat of the Marathas in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, Bhopal became a British princely state in 1818. The state was merged into the Union of India in 1949 as Bhopal. In 1901 the state had a population of 665,961 people occupying 6,902 sq. miles of land and an average revenue of Rs. 25,00,000.

Bhopal state was unique for a continuous lineage of four female Nawabs who ruled its throne for over a century between 1819 and 1926. During this period, the state was noteworthy for its immense contributions to the development of Islamic religious activities, cultural reform and educational efforts which caused a growing appreciation for its rulers in Indian political circles. Some of the Islamic revival activities of the Bhopal state were met with disapproval by the British authorities.

The State of Bhopal was established by Dost Mohammad Khan (1672–1728), a pashtun soldier in the Mughal Army. After the death of the emperor Aurangzeb, Khan started providing mercenary services to several local chieftains in the politically unstable Malwa region. In 1709, he took on the lease of the Berasia estate. Later, he usurped the Rajput principality of Mangalgarh and the Gond kingdom of Rani Kamlapati, after the death of their female rulers to whom he had been providing mercenary services. He also annexed several other territories in Malwa to his state.

During the early 1720s, Khan founded the city of Bhopal into a fortified city and assumed the title of Nawab. Khan became close to the Sayyid Brothers, who had become highly influential king-makers in the Mughal court. Khan's support to the Sayyids earned him the enmity of the rival Mughal nobleman Nizam-ul-Mulk, who invaded Bhopal in March 1724, forcing Khan to cede much of his territory, give up his son as a hostage, and accept the Nizam's suzerainty.

Dost Mohammad Khan and his Pakhtun Orakzai dynasty brought Islamic influence to the culture and architecture in the foundation of Bhopal. Aside from the city of Bhopal, which was his capital, Dost Mohammad Khan also renovated the nearby fort of Jagdishpur and renamed it Islamnagar. Yet, Dost Mohammad was fated to suffer defeat in his declining years. After Khan's death in 1728, the Bhopal state remained under the influence of the Orakzai dynasty.

In 1737, Marathas under the leadership of Peshwa Baji Rao I, defeated the forces of the Mughals and the Nawab of Bhopal in the Battle of Bhopal. Following the victory of the Marathas, Bhopal came under the suzerainty of the Maratha Empire as a semi-autonomous state and remained so until the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818.

Dost Mohammad Khan's son and successor, Nawab Yar Mohammad Khan (r.1728-1742), moved the capital from Bhopal to Islamnagar. However, his successor, Nawab Faiz Muhammed Khan (r.1742–1777), moved back to Bhopal, which would remain the capital of Bhopal State until its fall in 1949. Faiz Muhammad Khan was a religious recluse, and the state was effectively ruled by his influential stepmother Mamola Bai.