Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah

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Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah
Sultan of Bengal
Reign1352–1358
SuccessorSikandar Shah
Burial
SpousePhulwara Begum
IssueShahzada Sikandar
HouseIlyas Shahi dynasty
ReligionSunni Islam

Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah was the founder of the

Sultanate of Bengal and its inaugural Ilyas Shahi dynasty. The Ilyas Shahi Dynasty ruled Bengal for 145 years (1342–1487), except for a 21-year interregnum by the descendants of Raja Ganesha. The Ilyas Shahi rulers are considered to be among the most important political, diplomatic and military leaders of Bengal during the sultanate period. In Bengali history, Ilyas Shah himself has been compared with Alexander the Great because of his ability to conquer large swathes of the Indian subcontinent.[3] Ilyas Shah was instrumental in unifying the principalities of Bengal into a single state.[4]

Born in

Satgaon in South Bengal, Sonargaon in East Bengal, and Lakhnauti in North Bengal. The purpose was to improve administration as Delhi's sway over Bengal weakened. Ilyas Shah was appointed Governor of Satgaon. In the middle of the 14th-century, the governors of the three city-states declared independence. The three city-states began warring against one another. Ilyas Shah eventually defeated the ruler of Lakhnauti, Alauddin Ali Shah, and the ruler of Sonargaon, Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah. He unified Bengal into an independent sultanate, establishing his capital in Pandua
.

As Sultan, Ilyas Shah waged a war against the Delhi Sultanate to secure recognition of Bengal's independence. He raided cities across northern and eastern subcontinent, becoming the first Muslim ruler to invade the Kathmandu Valley. Under Ilyas Shah, the territory of the Bengal Sultanate expanded to include parts of north India, northeast India, Nepal and Orissa.

Personal life and family

He was of Turk

Sunni Muslim
by faith.

According to a narrative by

nikah as he could not allow the girl to live as an outcast in her society or fall into harlotry.[12] This narrative is supported by Dinesh Chandra Sen. However, many reputed historians such as R. D. Banerji and Ahmad Hasan Dani have refuted Sanyal's narrative, due to no historical sources being cited other than quotes from a certain "Mir Farazand Husayn", who is unheard of in the Muslim chronicles for Indian history. Dani considers Sanyal's narrative to be imaginary, and simply an attempt to glorify the history of the Sanyal and Bhaduri Brahmins of Varendra.[13][14] Banerji questioned whether Sanyal had ever read previous history books before writing his book as it had several mistakes regarding the members and history of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty.[15] Citing Nalini Kanta Bhattasali, Abdul Karim also mentions that Ilyas married a Hindu woman according to tradition, without mentioning her name as Fulmati.[16]

Unification of Bengal

A former mosque in Pandua, where Ilyas Shah established the capital of Bengal

Ilyas worked under the service of the

Satgaon in present-day South Bengal
.

Following Yahya's death in 1338, Ilyas declared himself as the independent

Government

Ilyas Shah displayed an

.

Military campaigns

As the ruler of

Oiniwar dynasty, while Ilyas kept the southern part for himself, stretching from Begusarai to Nepal Terai. Its headquarters was situated in the village of Ukkacala (later known as Hajipur in his honour),[19] where Ilyas had constructed a large fort and urbanised the area.[20] Ilyas then thrust through the Terai plains with his army, into the Kathmandu Valley ruled by Jayaraja Deva. His army sacked the temple of Swayambhunath and looted Kathmandu city for three days,[1] returning to Bengal
with plentiful spoils.

Ilyas Shah then invaded

Jagannath Temple was also desecrated during the invasion. He also led a successful campaign against the Kamarupa kingdom in present-day Assam, being the first Muslim king to capture Guwahati. Ilyas Shah also founded the city of Hajipur
and first settled in 1350 AD.

In November 1353, the Delhi Sultan

The extent of Ilyas Shah's campaigns, including his conquest of major Indian cultural centers, was considered "world-conquering" in the context of medieval India.[21] This led to him being styled as "the second Alexander" in the same manner as Alauddin Khalji.[21]

Death

Ilyas Shah died on January 1358, and was buried in

mela every year during his urs.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ . Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  2. ^ Ahmad Hasan Dani (1957). "Analysis of the Inscriptions". Asiatic Society Of Pakistan Vol-ii. p. 10.
  3. ^ https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/heritage/6858/the-alexander-of-bangladesh
  4. ^ https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Bangladesh
  5. .
  6. ^ Concise History of Islam, Muzaffar Husain, s. 276
  7. ^ a b "Iliyas Shahi Dynasty". Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  8. ^ Muhammad Nurul Haque. Arab Relations with Bangladesh: From the Earliest Period Down 656 AH, 1258 AC. Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. p. 187.
  9. .
  10. , p. 653
  11. ^ Abdul Karim (1977). বাংলার ইতিহাস: সুলতানী আমল. Bangla Academy. p. 266.
  12. ^ "The House of Raja Ganesa of Bengal". Journal of the Asiatic Society. 18. 1952.
  13. ^ R. D. Banerji. বাঙ্গালার ইতিহাস (in Bengali). Vol. 2. pp. 145–146.
  14. Asiatic Society of Pakistan
    . pp. 145–146.
  15. ^ a b Tabori, Paul (1957). "Bridge, Bastion, or Gate". Bengali Literary Review. 3–5: 9–20.
  16. ^ "The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760". publishing.cdlib.org. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  17. ^ Prajñā-bhāratī. Vol. 6. K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute. 1992. pp. 175–178.
  18. ^ Hussain, Syed Ejaz (2000). Numismatic Digest. Vol. 21–22. Numismatic Society of Bombay. pp. 63–64.
  19. ^ .
  20. .
  21. ^ "'Entrance to the Mosque at Hadjipore. Novbr. 1831'". British Library. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Jami Mosque, Hajipur". Your Heritage. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  23. ^ Christian, John (1891). "On some names of places in Bihar: their origin and history". Calcutta Review. 92–93. University of Calcutta: 39.
Preceded by
Sultanate of Bengal

1342–1358
Succeeded by