Gujarat Sultanate
Sultanate of Gujarat Gujarāta Saltanata ( Anhilwad Patan (1407–1411) (1411–1484, 1535–1573)
Ahmedabad Absolute Monarchy | |||||||||||
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Sultan | |||||||||||
• 1407–1411 | Muzaffar Shah I (first) | ||||||||||
• 1561–1573, 1584 | Muzaffar Shah III (last) | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
• Declared independence from Delhi Sultanate by Muzaffar Shah I | 1394 | ||||||||||
• Annexed by Akbar | 1573 | ||||||||||
Currency | Taka | ||||||||||
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Today part of | India |
Gujarat Sultanate Muzaffarid dynasty |
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Gujarat Subah under Akbar → |
The Gujarat Sultanate or Sultanate of Guzerat was a late
Following Timur's invasion of the Delhi Sultanate, Delhi was devastated and its rule weakened considerably, leading Muzaffar Shah to declare himself independent in 1394, and formally established the Sultanate. The next sultan, his grandson Ahmad Shah I, moved the capital to Ahmedabad in 1411. His successor Muhammad Shah II subdued most Rajput chieftains. The prosperity of the sultanate reached its zenith during the rule of Mahmud Begada. He also subdued most Gujarati Rajput chieftains and built a navy off the coast of Diu.
In 1509, the
Origin
The Muzaffarid dynasty was founded by Zafar Khan, a Punjabi Khatri[4] or Rajput.[5] According to André Wink, Zafar Khan was from the Tank Khatri caste of southern Punjab but was born in Delhi.[6] However, Aparna Kapadia thinks it more probable that Sahāran (Sadhāran), the father of Zafar Khan, was a Tank Rajput who lived in Thanesar in modern-day Haryana.[7] American historian Richard M. Eaton simply described Zafar Khan being the son of a "peasant convert to Islam",[8] with historians such as V. K. Agnihotri and Abbas Rizvi even writing that Sadhāran was a Jat convert to Islam.[9][10] According to Shaikh Sikandar Ibn Muhammad's Mirati Sikandari, who was a contemporary of Gujarat Sultans, Sadhāran had a long list of ancestors that eventually traced to Rāmacandra and that he was a Khatri of the Tank subdivision. This claim of the sultans’ links with the solar lineage is not found very often in texts and inscriptions they patronised.[11]
History
Early rulers
It is said that Zafar Khan's father Wajih-ul-Mulk (Saharan) and his brother were influential
In 1403, Zafar Khan's son Tatar Khan urged his father to march on Delhi, which he declined. As a result, in 1408, Tatar imprisoned him in Ashawal (future Ahmedabad) and declared himself sultan under the title of Muhammad Shah I (r. 1403–1404). He marched towards Delhi, but on the way he was poisoned by his uncle, Shams Khan. After the death of Muhammad Shah, Muzaffar was released from the prison and he took over the control over administration. In 1407, he declared himself as Sultan Muzaffar Shah I, took the insignia of royalty and issued coins in his name. After his death in 1411, he was succeeded by his grandson, the son of Tatar Khan, Ahmad Shah I.[16][13][15]
Ahmad Shah I
Soon after his accession,
In 1429, Kanha Raja of
At the beginning of his reign, he founded the city of
Successors of Ahmad Shah I
Mahmud Begada
SULTANATE
But within a short period of seven or twenty-seven days, the nobles deposed Daud Khan and set on the throne Fath Khan, son of Muhammad Shah II. Fath Khan, on his accession, adopted the title Abu-al Fath Mahmud Shah, popularly known as Mahmud Begada. He expanded the kingdom in all directions. He received the sobriquet Begada, which literally means the conqueror of two forts, probably after conquering Girnar and Champaner forts. Mahmud died on 23 November 1511.[21][15]
Muzaffar Shah II and his successors
Khalil Khan, son of Mahmud Begada succeeded his father with the title
After few months, Sikandar Sháh was murdered by a noble Imád-ul-Mulk, who seated a younger brother of Sikandar, named Násir Khán, on the throne with the title of Mahmúd Shah II and governed on his behalf. Other son of Muzaffar Shah II, Bhadur Khan returned from outside of Gujarat and the nobles joined him. Bahádur marched at once on Chámpáner, captured and executed Imád-ul-Mulk and poisoning Násir Khán ascended the throne in 1527 with the title of Bahádur Sháh.[15]
Bahadur Shah and his successors
Bahadur had no son, hence there was some uncertainty regarding succession after his death.
Muzaffar Shah III
Muzaffar Shah III's army was legendary in some parts of Africa and the Asian mainland with the exception of China, and free soldiers, mercenaries, and slaves forced to join wars alike came from these places.[29] Its stealth specialists performed several duties including bodyguard work and skirmish combat.[29] Many stealth warriors were Habshi or Africans.[29]
However, Mughal Emperor
Gunpowder weapons
The Gujarat Sultanate was the second empire in the
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Close up of the gun
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Alternate view
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Arabic inscriptions
List of rulers
Administration
Gujarát was divided politically into two main parts; one, called the khálsah or crown domain administered directly by the central authority; the other, on payment of tribute in service or in money, left under the control of its former rulers. The amount of tribute paid by the different chiefs depended, not on the value of their territory, but on the terms granted to them when they agreed to become feudatories of the king. This tribute was occasionally collected by military expeditions headed by the king in person and called mulkgíri or country-seizing circuits.[15]
The internal management of the feudatory states was unaffected by their payment of tribute. Justice was administered and the revenue collected in the same way as under the
- Districts and crown lands
The Áhmedábád kings divided the portion of their territory which was under their direct authority into districts or sarkárs. These districts were administered in one of two ways. They were either assigned to nobles in support of a contingent of troops, or they were set apart as crown domains and managed by paid officers. The officers placed in charge of districts set apart as crown domains were called muktiă. Their chief duties were to preserve the peace and to collect the revenue. For the maintenance of order, a body of soldiers from the army headquarters at Áhmedábád was detached for service in each of these divisions, and placed under the command of the district governor. At the same time, in addition to the presence of this detachment of regular troops, every district contained certain fortified outposts called thánás, varying in number according to the character of the country and the temper of the people. These posts were in charge of officers called thánadárs subordinate to the district governor. They were garrisoned by bodies of local soldiery, for whose maintenance, in addition to money payments, a small assignment of land was set apart in the neighbourhood of the post. On the arrival of the tribute-collecting army the governors of the districts through which it passed were expected to join the main body with their local contingents. At other times the district governors had little control over the feudatory chiefs in the neighbourhood of their charge.[15] The Gujarat Sultanate had comprised twenty-five sarkars (administrative units).[30]
- Fiscal
For fiscal purposes each district or sarkár was distributed among a certain number of sub-divisions or parganáhs, each under a paid official styled ámil or tahsildár. These sub-divisional officers realised the state demand, nominally one-half of the produce, by the help of the headmen of the villages under their charge. In the sharehold and simple villages of North Gujarát these village headmen were styled Patel or according to Muslim writers mukaddams and in the simple villages of the south they were known as Desai. They arranged for the final distribution of the total demand in joint villages among the shareholders, and in simple villages from the individual cultivators. The sub-divisional officer presented a statement of the accounts of the villages in his sub-division to the district officer, whose record of the revenue of his whole district was in turn forwarded to the head revenue officer at court. As a check on the internal management of his charge, and especially to help him in the work of collecting the revenue, with each district governor was associated an accountant. Further that each of these officers might be the greater check on the other, Ahmad Shah I enforced the rule that when the governor was chosen from among the royal slaves the accountant should be a free man, and that when the accountant was a slave the district governor should be chosen from some other class. This practise was maintained till the end of the reign of Muzaffar Sháh II, when, according to the Mirăt-i-Áhmedi, the army became much increased, and the ministers, condensing the details of revenue, farmed it on contract, so that many parts formerly yielding one rupee now produced ten, and many others seven eight or nine, and in no place was there a less increase than from ten to twenty per cent. Many other changes occurred at the same time, and the spirit of innovation creeping into the administration the wholesome system of checking the accounts was given up and mutiny and confusion spread over Gujarát.[15]
Sources of history
Mirat-i-Sikandari is a Persian work on the complete history of Gujarat Sultanate written by Sikandar, son of Muhammad aka Manjhu, son of Akbar who wrote it soon after Akbar conquered Gujarat. He had consulted earlier works of history and the people of authority. Other Persian works of the history of Gujarat Sultanate are Tarikh-i-Muzaffar Shahi about reign of Muzaffar Shah I, Tarik-i-Ahmad Shah in verse by Hulvi Shirazi, Tarikh-i-Mahmud Shahi, Tabaqat-i-Mahmud Shahi, Maathi-i-Mahmud Shahi about Mahmud I, Tarikh-i-Muzaffar Shahi about Muzaffar Shah II's conquest of Mandu, Tarikh-i-Bahadur Shahi aka Tabaqat-i-Husam Khani, Tarikh-i-Gujarat by Abu Turab Vali, Mirat-i-Ahmadi. Other important work in Arabic about history of Gujarat includes Zafarul-Walih bi Muzaffar wa Alih by Hajji Dabir.[31]
Architecture
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2024) |
The distinctive Indo-Islamic architecture style of Gujarat drew micro-architectural elements from earlier Maru-Gurjara architecture and employed them in mihrab, roofs, doors, minarets and facades.[32] In the 15th century, the Indo-Islamic style of Gujarat is especially notable for its inventive and elegant use of minarets. They are often in pairs flanking the main entrance, mostly rather thin and with elaborate carving at least at the lower levels. Some designs push out balconies at intervals up the shaft; the most extreme version of this was in the lost upper parts of the so-called "shaking minarets" at the Jama Mosque, Ahmedabad,[33] which fell down in an earthquake in 1819. This carving draws on the traditional skills of local stone-carvers, previously exercised on Hindu temples in the Māru-Gurjara and other local styles.[34]
The Gujarat Sultans built lavishly, particularly in the capital, Ahmedabad.[35] The sultanate commissioned mosques such as the Jami Masjid of Ahmedabad, Jama Masjid at Champaner, Qutbuddin Mosque, Rani Rupamati Mosque, Sarkhej Roza, Sidi Bashir Mosque, Kevada Mosque, Sidi Sayyed Mosque, Nagina Mosque and Pattharwali Masjid, as well as structures such as Teen Darwaza, Bhadra Fort and the Dada Harir Stepwell in Ahmedabad.
The Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, the 16th century capital of Gujarat Sultanate, documents the early Islamic and pre-Mughal city that has remained without any change.[36]
Upon his passing at the age of 111,[citation needed] Ahmed Shah's son erected a mausoleum and mosque in his honor. Sultan Mahmud Begada, enamored with the site as a summer retreat, expanded it with additional structures such as a small mosque, mausoleum, and palaces, alongside the water tank. Spanning 72 acres, it comprised these edifices, as well as gardens teeming with flowering plants and fruit trees. Serving as a focal point of royal life, it hosted gatherings, religious ceremonies, and spiritual discussions within its palaces, pavilions, and water tanks.
Indo-Islamic architecture style of Gujarat presages many of the architectural elements later found in
Gallery
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Jami Mosque, Champaner
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Tomb of Sikandar Shah of Gujarat
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Queen Palace Ruins in Ahamdabad
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Pavagadh Mosque, built by Sultan Mahmud Begada
References
History of Gujarat |
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- ISBN 0226742210.
- ISBN 978-81-208-4301-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-7387-183-2.
- ISBN 978-1-107-15331-8.. Internet Archive. New York, Asia Pub. House. p. 137.
the Gujarati historian Sikandar does narrate the story of their ancestors having once been Hindu 'Tanks', a branch of Khatris.
Misra, S. C. (Satish Chandra) (1963). The rise of Muslim power in Gujarat; a history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442Zafar Khan was not a foreign Muslim. He was a convert to Islam from a sect of the Khatris known as Tank.
Khan, Iqtidar Alam (2004). Gunpowder and Firearms: Warfare in Medieval India. Oxford University Press. p. 57.ISBN 978-0-19-566526-0.Zafar Khan (entitled Muzaffar Shah) himself was a convert to Islam from a sub-caste of the Khatris known as Tank.
- ISBN 9781107153318.
- ISBN 978-1-108-41774-7.
- ISBN 9781107153318.).
These men, a certain Saharan and his brother Sadhu, were, mostly likely peasants or pastoralists, non-Muslim Tank Rajputs from Thanesar in northwestern India (modern-day Haryana
- ISBN 9780520974234.
- ISBN 9788184245684.
- ISBN 9788184245684.
The independent kingdom of Gujarat was founded by Zafar Khan, son of Sadharan, a Jat convert to Islam.
- ISBN 978-1-107-15331-8.
- ^ "The Rise of Muslim Power in Gujarat. A history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442. [With a map.] | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. p. 138. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
The two brothers were chaudharis of a rather numerous agrarian community, tilling the soil, not high in the caste hierarchy but not without strength in the neighborhood
- ^ a b Majumdar, R.C. (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp. 155-7
- ^ Taylor 1902, pp. 4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p James Macnabb Campbell, ed. (1896). "MUSALMÁN GUJARÁT. (A.D. 1297–1760): Introduction) and II. Áhmedábád King. (A.D. 1403–1573.". History of Gujarát. Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency. Vol. I(II). The Government Central Press. pp. 210–212, 236–270. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Taylor 1902, pp. 6.
- ^ a b c Majumdar, R.C. (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp. 157-60
- ^ Majumdar, R.C. (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp. 709-23
- ^ Majumdar, R.C. (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp. 160-1
- ISBN 0226742210.
- ^ Majumdar, R.C. (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp. 162-7
- ^ Chaurasia 2002, pp. 156.
- ^ Chaurasia 2002, pp. 155.
- ^ Sharma 1954, p. 18.
- ^ Chaube 1975, p. 132-137.
- ^ Majumdar, R.C. (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp. 167-9
- ^ "The Cambridge History of the British Empire". CUP Archive. 26 July 2017 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 81-7276-407-1, pp.391-8
- ^ OCLC 1091716966.
- )
- ^ Desai, Z. A. (March 1961). "Mirat-i-Sikandari as a Source for the Study of Cultural and Social Condition of Gujarat under the Sultanate (1403-1572)". In Sandesara, B. J. (ed.). Journal Of Oriental Institute Baroda Vol.10. Vol. X. Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. pp. 235–240.
- JSTOR 25769695.
- ^ "The Shaking Minarets at Ahmedabad, drawn in 1809", British Library
- ^ Harle, 429-430
- ^ "Historic City of Ahmadabad". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "Champaner-Pavagadh". Worldheritagesite.org. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
Bibliography
- Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam (2002). History of Medieval India: From 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-269-0123-4.
- Chaube, J. (1975). History of Gujarat Kingdom, 1458-1537. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. ISBN 9780883865736.
- Sharma, Gopi Nath (1954). Mewar & the Mughal Emperors (1526-1707 A.D.). S.L. Agarwala.
- Taylor, Georg P. (1902). The Coins Of The Gujarat Saltanat. Vol. XXI. Mumbai: Royal Asiatic Society of Bombay. hdl:2015/104269. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Parikh, Rasiklal Chhotalal; Shastri, Hariprasad Gangashankar, eds. (1977). ગુજરાતનો રાજકીય અને સાંસ્કૃતિક ઇતિહાસ: સલ્તનત કાલ [Political and Cultural History of Gujarat: Sultanate Era]. Research Series - Book No. 71 (in Gujarati). Vol. V. Ahmedabad: Bholabhai Jeshingbhai Institute of Learning and Research. pp. 50–136.