Assignment on: 01 Subject Name: Bangladesh Studies Subject Code: 110

Topic: Bangladesh History & Muslim Rule.

Submitted to:Sobnom Jahan Lecturer Dept. Of Management Studies University Of Dhaka. Submitted by:Group No.: 07 Group Name: Dept. Of Management Studies University of Dhaka. Submission Date: 13-08-2011

Group members

Name Marjanul Husna Momeetut Dastgir Golam Samdani Syed Alam Sonet Mollik

Id No. 106 159 114 216 124

Contents:
Introduction Sher khan Samsuddin Ilyas Shah Sikandar Shah I Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah Saifuddin Hamzah Shah Raja Ganesh Jalaluddin Shah Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah Ruknuddin Barbak Shah Sikandar Shah II Jalaluddin Fateh Shah Habshi Rule Alauddin Hussain Shah Feroj Shah Mahmud Shah Samsuddin Mujaffar Shah Conclusion References

Introduction
The Middle age in Bengal coincided with the Muslim rule. Out of about 550 years of Muslim rule, Bengal was effectively ruled by Delhi-based all India empires for only about 200 years. For about 350 years Bengal remained virtually independent. The Muslim rule in Bengal is usually divided into three phases. The first phase which lasted from 1204 to 1342 witnessed the consolidation of Muslim rule in Bengal. It was characterized by extreme political instability. The second phase which spanned the period 1342 to 1575 saw the emergence of independent local dynasties such as the IlyasShahi dynasty (13421414), the dynasty of King Ganesha (1414 1442) and Husain Shahi dynasty (14931539). The third phase which lasted from 1575 to 1757 witnessed the emergence of a centralized administration in Bengal within the framework of the Mughal Empire. The Mughal viceroys in Bengal curbed the independence of powerful landlords who were known as Bara Bhuiyans and suppressed the Portuguese pirates who frequently interfered with the flow of foreign trade.

There were two major achievements of Muslim rule in the region. Firstprior to Muslim rule in this area, Bengal was an ever-shifting mosaic of principalities. The natural limits of Bengal were not clearly perceived till its political unification by the Ilyas Shahi rulers in the fourteenth century. The political unification of Bengal was thus a gift of the Muslim rulers. Secondly, the political unity fashioned by the Muslim rulers also promoted linguistic homogeneity. Unlike their predecessors, the Muslim rulers were ardent patrons of Bangla language and literature. Prior to Muslim rule, the Bengali vernacular was despised for its impurities and vulgarities by Hindu elites who were the beneficiaries and champions of Sanskrit education. The spread of Islam challenged the spiritual leadership of upper caste Hindus. The intense competition between Islam and resurgent Hinduism in the form of Vaisnavism for capturing the imagination of unlettered masses resulted in an outpouring of their stirring messages in the vernacular.

The Muslim rule in Bengal also witnessed the gradual expansion of Islam in this region. Contrary to popular beliefs, the Muslim rulers in Bengal were not in the least idealists and proselytizers: they were primarily adventurers whose sole aim was to perpetuate their rule. The preponderance of the Muslims in Bangladesh region stands out in striking contrast to signal failure of the Muslims in converting local people in other parts of north and south India. The distribution of Muslims in different regions of south Asia clearly contradicts the hypothesis that the patronage of the temporal authority was the most crucial variable in the spread of Islam. If this hypothesis was correct there would have been Muslim preponderance in areas around the seats of Muslim rule in north India. The fact that the Muslims remained an insignificant minority

in the Delhi region where they ruled for more than 600 years clearly suggests that Islam in south Asia was not imposed from above. In Bengal also, the share of Muslims in the total population was higher in areas remote from the seats of Muslim rule.

Islam was propagated in the Bangladesh region by a large number of Muslim saints who were mostly active from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. Among these missionaries Hazart Shah Jalal, Rasti Shah, Khan Jahan Au, Shaikh Sharafuddin Abu Tawamah, Shah Makhdoom Ruposh, Shaikh Baba Adam Shahid, Shah Sultan Mahisawar, Shaikh Alauddin Alaul Huq, Shah Au Bagdadi, etc. deserve special mention. While similar Muslim missionary activities failed in other regions of south Asia, Islam ultimately succeeded in penetrating deeply into Bengal because the social environment of this region was congenial to the diffusion of a new religion. In much of south Asia, strong village communities were impenetrable barriers to the spread of alien faiths.

In Bengal, the corporations of village institutions was weak in eastern areas; it gradually increased towards the western areas. The distribution of Muslim population also followed similar pattern in this region. The Muslims in Bengal were concentrated in the eastern areas and the share of Hindu population was much higher in western areas.

The gradual process of conversion to Islam in Bengal resulted in an intense interaction between Islam and Hinduism. At the folk level, however, there was less confrontation and more interaction between Hinduism and Islam. A syncretic tradition developed around the cult and pantheons of Pirs. The actual practices of local Muslim converts were an anathema to both Hindu and Muslim religious leaders.

The orthodox Hindus, despite their political reconciliation with Muslim rulers, despised the local Muslims as untouchables (Mlechhas). The Muslim religious leaders were equally scornful of the customs and practices of local converts. Hated by immigrant religious leaders for their ways of life and by the local aristocracy for their adherence to an alien faith, local converts faced a dichotomy of faith and habitat which found expression in an emotional conflict between religion and language. This dichotomy can be traced in Bengali literature as early as the fourteenth century. Those who are born in Bengal but hate Bengali language, asserted the seventeenth century poet Abdul Hakim had doubtful parentage. Those who are not satisfied with their mother tongue should migrate to other lands

Sher Shah Suri

(Emperor of Sur Empire)

Reign: 1540-1545 Coronation:1540 Predecessor: Humayun Successor: Islam Shah Sur House: Sur dynasty Father : Mian Hasan Khan Sur Born:1486 Sasaram, Rohtas district in India Died: May 22,1545 Kalinjar,Bundelkhand Burial: Sher Shah Suri Tomb,Sasaram Religion: Sunni Islam

Sher Shah Suri (1486 - May 22, 1545) (Pashto: - r h Sr), birth name Farid Khan, also known as Sher Khan (The Lion King), was an Afghan emperor who founded the Sur dynasty with its capital at Delhi in India. The people of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia refer to him as an ethnic Pathan. He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal Army under Babur and then as the governor of Bihar. In 1537, when Babur's son Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Khan overran the state of Bengal and established the Sur Empire.

A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself a gifted administrator as well as an able general. His reorganization of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar, son of Humayun. During his five year rule from 1540 to 1545, he set up a new template for civic and military administration, issued the first Rupee and re-organised the postal system of India. He further developed Humayun's Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh and revived the historical city of Pataliputra as Patna which had been in decline since the 7th century.He is also famously remembered for killing a fully-grown tiger with his bare hands in a jungle of Bihar.

Rupiya released by Sher Shah Suri, 1540-1545 CE, was the first Rupee.

Rupee, round area type.

Copper Dam issued from Narnul mint.

Sher Shah became a commander by Babur after serving previously as a private in the Mughal army. After becoming the governor of Bihar, he began reorganizing the administration efficiently. He organized a well disciplined, one of the largest and most efficient army. He also introduced tax collection system, built roads along with resting areas for travelers, dug wells, improved the jurisdiction, founded hospitals, established free kitchens, organized mail services and the police. His management proved so efficient that even one of the greatest rulers of human history, the Mughal Emperor Akbar, organized the South Asia on his measures, and the system which lasted until the 20th century

He is also credited with rebuilding the longest highway in South Asia. The highway called the "Shahrahe-Azam"/Sadak-e-Azam or the "Badshahi Sadak" (renamed "Grand Trunk Road" by the British) survives til this day. It is in use in present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab region Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal, however he never himself came to Dhaka.

Sher Shah Suri Tomb at Sasaram.

Sher Shah Suri died from a gunpowder explosion during the siege of Kalinjar fort on May 22, 1545 fighting against the Chandel Rajputs. Sher was also the last and the main personality of India to offer serious resistance to the Mughals on their advance to the south, and his death during the siege of Kalinjar (Bundelkhand) in 1545, cleared the path to the return of Mughal emperor Humayun.

Samsuddin Ilyas Shah

Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah (reigned 13421358) was an independent ruler of Bengal, who became the sultan of the kingdom of Lakhnauti in 1342 and after conquering the kingdom of Sonargoan in 1352, he became the sole ruler of whole Bengal and thus he became the founder of a sultanate of the unified Bengal. He founded the Ilyas Shahi dynasty which ruled Bengal for 73 years (13421415) and after a gap of 20 years (14151435) the dynasty again ruled Bengal for 52 years (14351487). Ilyas Shah was succeeded by his son Sikandar Shah.

Early life:
He worked under the service of Delhi but facing problems he escaped to Bengal.Then Ilyas started working under Ijjuddin Yahya, the provincial governor of Satgaon under the Delhi Sultanate. In 1338, after Ijjuddin Yahya's death, Ilyas Shah took control of Satgaon, which became independent from the Delhi Sultanate under him. Consolidating his authority at Satgaon, he waged a long drawn war (13391342) against Sultan Alauddin Ali Shah of Lakhnauti and after defeating him, Ilyas Shah ascended the throne of Lakhnauti in 1342 under the title of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah.

Sultan of the unified Bengal:

During the early period of his reign, he occupied Tirhut region and raided Nepal. He advanced as far as the capital Kathmandu, destroyed the Svayambhunatha temple there and returned with a huge booty. Next, he invaded Orissa. Due to the weakness of Bhanudeva II, the Eastern Ganga dynasty ruler, he could advance through Jajpur and Katak as far as the Chilika Lake and returned with an immense booty which included forty-four elephants. Finally he led a campaign against Sultan Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah, the ruler of Sonargaon and annexed his dominions after defeating him in 1352. Thus he became the sole ruler of the whole Bengal. Towards the end of his reign, he also led a successful campaign against Kamarupa (present-day Assam).

Campaign of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq:

In November, 1353 Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq of Delhi led a formidable army against Bengal. His army marched direct to Pandua. Unable to resist the army, Ilyas evacuated Pandua and took shelter in the fortress city of Ekdala. Sultan Firuz occupied Pandua without any opposition. Next, Sultan Firuz marched to Ekdala. Unable to capture the fort by assault, Sultan Firuz laid a siege. After continuing for two months, he raised the siege. Ilyas pursued Firuz 's troops with his entire army. Firuz 's army fought back with Ilyas' army. The battle probably ended in the discomfiture of Ilyas' army. According to Yahya Sirhindi, after staying two days in the battlefield, Sultan Firuz made his way to Delhi on the third day. After he left for Delhi in September 1355, Ilyas reoccupied Pandua and re-established his authority up to the banks of the Koshi River.

Sikandar Shah I
Sikandar Shah was a sultan of Bengal of the later Ilyas Shahi dynasty. He ascended the throne of Bengal in 1481 AD. According to Riyaz-us-Salatin, he was a son of Sultan Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah. Both Ghulam Hussain and Nizamuddin Ahmad hold that Sikandar lacked mental equilibrium and hence he disposed within a day or two after he had ascended the throne. On a close examination it appears that he lost the confidence of the nobles and this cost him the throne. He might have ruled Bengal for two months .No coins and inscriptions bearing the name of Sikandar Shah 2 have yet been found. His name is only mentioned in the chronicles of the later period.

Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah (1393-1410)

Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah was the third sultan of the first Ilyas Shahi dynasty of Bengal and one of the more widely known of medieval sultans of Bengal. His tomb is situated in Narayanganj of current day Bangladesh. Narayanganj is a city in central Bangladesh. It is located in the Narayanganj district, 20km southeast from the capital city of Dhaka and has a population 1.5 million. The city is on the bank of the Shitalakshya river. It is the oldest and the most prominent river port of Bangladesh, grew into a place of trade and commerce and therefore, become known as a ganj. Narayanganj is one of the industrial areas of Bangladesh. It is a center of business and industry, especially the jute trade and processing plants and the textile sector of the country. It is nicknamed the Dundee of Bangladesh due to the presence of lots of jute mills. Dundee was the first industrialized juteopolis in the world.

Foreign relation:
In the initial period of his reign, he led a military expedition and successfully conquered kamarupa. But he mostly consolidated his power rather than annexation of territory during his reign. He sent envoys and gifts to Khawaja Jahan of Jaunpur. He was also in good relationship with Young-le the contemporary emperor of china. Ghiyasuddin sent ambassadors to china in1405, 1408 and 1409. Young le also exchanged envoys and valuable gifts for him.

Ghiyasuddin also sent envoys to Macca and Madina.He financially helped building two Madrasas known as Ghiyasia Madrasa in two places.During his time Raja Ganesha, the hindu zamindar rose to power.

Interest in literature:
Ghiyasuddin was a patron of scholars and poets.Persian poet Hafiz-e Sirazi was in correspondence with him.Shah Muhammad Sagir ,a muslim Bengali poet wrote his famous work Yusuf Zulekha during Ghiyasuddin reign. Also during his time KrittivasiRamayan ,a translation of the Ramayan into Bengali was written by a hindu poet Krittibas ojha.

Saifuddin Hamza Shah (1410-1412)

Saifuddin Hamza Shah was the son and successor of Sultan GHIYASUDDIN AZAM SHAH, ruled Bengal for about two years (1410-12). After the murder of Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah the nobles and the generals of the army raised Saifuddin to the throne. He assumed the tittle of Sultan-usSalatin and issued a number of coins from Firuzabad (Capital), SATGAON and Muazzamabad (eastern Bengal). Though sober and liberal in character, he was, nonetheless, a weak ruler. He exchanged envoys with Emperor Yung Lo of China. A civil war broke out between him and his kinsmen in which RAJA GANESHA had a role. Ultimately Hamza Shah was killed by his slave Shihabuddin.

Raja Ganesha
Raja Ganesha (Bengali: ) (reigned 1415) was a Hindu ruler of Bengal for a very short period, who overthrew the Ilyas dynasty rule from Bengal. The Indo-Persian historians of the medieval period considered him as an infidel (Kafir) usurper. The dynasty founded by him ruled over Bengal from 1415-1435. His name mentioned in the coins of his son, sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah as Kans Rao or Kans Shah. The Indo-Persian historians mentioned his name as Raja Kans or Kansi. A number of modern scholars identified him with Danujamardanadeva, but this identification is not universally accepted.

Early life:
According to the Riaz-us-Salatin (a chronicle written in 1788), Raja Ganesha was a landlord of Bhaturia and according to Francis Buchanan Hamilton he was the Hakim (Governor) of Dinajpur in the northern Bengal. In a contemporary letter, he was described as a member of a landholder family of 400 years' standing. Later, he became an officer of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty rulers in Pandua. According to a very late authority, the Riaz-us-Salatin, he killed Sultan Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah (reigned 13901410), but the earlier authorities like Firishta and Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad do not refer to any such event and probably he died a natural death. Ghiyas-ud-Din Azam Shah was succeeded by his son Saifuddin Hamza Shah (reigned 141012) and the latter by Shihabuddin Bayazid Shah (reigned 141314). Firishta says that he became very powerful during the rule of Shihabuddin Bayazid Shah. While the earlier authorities like Firishta and Nizam-ud-Din say that Ganesha ascended to the throne after the death of Shihabuddin but again the Riaz-us-Salatin says that he killed Shihabuddin and seized the throne. Shihabuddin was succeeded by his son Alauddin Firuz Shah (reigned 141415) but he was soon deposed by Raja Ganesha.

Reign:
According to Firishta, the reign of Raja Ganesha was marked by his conciliatory policies toward the Muslims in Pandua. He mentioned that, "although Raja Ganesha was not a Muslim, he mixed freely with them and had so much love for them that some Muslims, witnessing to his faith in Islam, wanted to bury him in the Islamic manner." But according to the Riaz, soon after he took over the power in Pandua, he oppressed the Muslims of Bengal and slew a number of them. Thereupon, a Muslim Chishti saint Shaikh Nur Qutb-ul-Alam wrote a letter to the Jaunpur Sultan, Ibrahim Shah Sharqi, with an appeal to invade Bengal. Purport of this letter is found in a letter written by Hazrat Ashraf Jahangir Sinnani, a saint of Jaunpur. According to a tradition, recorded by Mulla Taqyya, a courtier of Akbar and Jahangir, Ibrahim Shah, while proceeding to chastise Raja Ganesha, was opposed by Sivasimha, the ruler of Mithila. Mulla Taqyya gives the date of this event as 805 AH (1402-3), which is obviously wrong but there may be some truth in his statement about the alliance of Sivasimha with Raja Ganesha.

According to the narrative given in the Riaz, when Ibrahim Shah reached Bengal with his army, Ganesha asked saint Shaikh Nur Qutb-ul-Alam for his forgiveness and protetion. The saint agreed and Jadu, the twelve year old son of Ganesha, was converted to Islam by him and renamed Jalaluddin. He was placed on the throne under the title Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah Sultan Ibrahim returned to Jaunpur. Ganesha ascended the throne immediately after the return of Ibrahim Shah for the second time. But this time, he was killed by some servants of his son, who re-occupied the throne after his death. The earlier accounts of the invasion of Ibrahim Shah Sharqi are different from the account given in the Riaz. A Chinese source mentioned that a kingdom to the west of Bengal had indeed invaded, but desisted when placated with gold and money. Abd-ur Razzaq Samarqandi, in his Mala'-us-Sadain wa Majma'-ul-Bahrain mentioned that in 1442, a diplomat in the service of Shah Rukh, the Timurid ruler of Herat (reigned 140547), wrote that his master had intervened in the Bengal-Jaunpur crisis at the request of the sultan of Bengal, "directing the ruler of Jaunpur to abstain from attacking the King of Bengal, or to take the consequences upon himself. To which intimidation the ruler of Jaunpur was obedient, and resisted from his attacks upon Bengal". A contemporary Arakanese tradition recorded that the army of Raja Ganesha, then firmly in control of Pandua, had defeated Ibrahim in battle. According to this tradition, one of the rulers of Arakan, who had been given refuge in Pandua after having been defeated by a Burman monarch in 1406, gave Raja Ganesha the military advice that enabled his army to defeat Ibrahim.

Krishna Temple established by Maharaja Ganesh in his Palace as visible from outside road.

Gateway to the Dinajpur Rajbari.

Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah

Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah (original name was Yadu or Jadu]) was the son and successor of Raja Ganesha. He ruled Bengal in two phases first 1415 to 1416 and then 1418 to 1433. He was converted to Islam by Qutb al Alam and was named Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah. During his reign in second phase, he assumed the titles of Sultan, Amir and Khalifa Allah.

First Phase (1415-1416):

According to Goron and Goenka, Raja Ganesha seized control over Bengal soon after the death of Sultan Bayazid (1412-1414). Facing an imminent threat of invasion at the behest of a powerful Muslim holy man named Qutb al Alam, he appealed to the saint to call off his threat. The saint agreed on the condition that Raja Ganesha's son Jadu would convert to Islam and rule in his place. Raja Ganesha agreed and Jadu started ruling Bengal as Jalal al-Din in 1415 AD. Nur Qutb died in 1416 AD and Raja Ganesha was emboldened to depose his son and accede to the throne himself as Danujamarddana Deva. Jalaluddin was reconverted to Hinduism by the Golden Cow ritual. After the death of his father he once again converted to Islam and started ruling his second phase.

Second Phase (1418-1433):

Jalaluddin maintained a peaceful kingdom during his second phase. His authority stretched to eastern Bengal (present-day Muazzamabad) and south-eastern Bengal (present-day Chittagong). He also conquered Fathabad (present-day Faridpur) and the southern Bengal. During his reign Firuzabad Pandua became a populous and flourishing town. It is recorded in the Ming shi that a Chinese explorer, Cheng Ho, visited the city twice in 1421-22 and 1431-33. He later transferred the capital from Pandua to Gaur. The city of Gaur began to be re-populated during his reign. Jalaluddin himself constructed a number of buildings and sarais there.

Relation with non-Muslims:

He maintained good rapport with Non-Muslims in his kingdom. According to an interpretation of a Sanskrit sloka by D. C. Bhattacharya, Jalaluddin appointed Rajyadhar, a Hindu, as the commander of his army. He gained support of Muslim scholars - Ulama and the Shaikhs. He reconstructed and repaired the mosques and other religious architectures destroyed by Raja Ganesha. 17th century Persian historian, Firishta, applauded him by saying:

He upheld the principles of justice and equity and became the Naushirwan of the age. His remark is corroborated by the evidence of the Smritiratnahara and the Padachandrika. According to the Padachandrika, a commentary on the Amarakosha in Sanskrit, Brihaspati Mishra, a Brahmin from Kulingram (present-day Bardhaman district), was promoted by Sultan Jalaluddin to the position of the Sarvabhaumapandita (Court Scholar). And Vishvasrai, son of Brihaspati Mishra, was also appointed a minister by the Sultan.But according to a 19th-century chronicle written by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, Jalaluddin compelled many Hindus to convert to Islam, resulting in many Hindus fleeing to Kamrup.

Relation with foreign rulers:

He also maintained good diplomatic relations. He was in correspondence with the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh of Herat, Yung Le of China and al-Ashraf Barsbay, the Mamluk ruler of Egypt. Ibrahim Sharqi attacked his kingdom but censure from Yung Le and Shah Rukh caused him to withdraw. Jalaluddin helped Meng Soamun Narmeikhla, King of Arakan, to recover his kingdom from Burma; in return he became the overlord of Arakan. He, at some point, also ruled over parts of Tripura and southern Bihar. Jalaluddin tried to legitimize his rule by publicly displaying his credentials as a devout and correct Muslim. Contemporary Arab sources hold that upon his conversion to Islam, Jalaluddin adopted the Hanafi legal tradition. Between 1428-31, he also supported the construction of a religious college in Mecca and established close ties with Barsbay. With the exchange of gifts, Jalaluddin requested in return a letter of recognition from the Egyptian Mamluk Sultan. Barsbay was the most prestigious Muslim ruler in the Islamic heartlands and the custodian of a remnant line of the Abbasid caliphs. The Mamluk Sultan complied with the request by sending him a robe of honor and the letter of recognition. In 1427, Jalaluddin described himself in an inscription as Al-sultan al-azam al-muazzamin khalifat Allah 'ali al-makunin Jalal al-Dunya wal-Din (the most exalted of the great sultans, the caliph of Allah in the universe).

Coins

Silver tanka of Jalaluddin Muhammad, showing a lion on the obverse.

Several undated issues of his silver coins and a huge commemorative silver coin minted at in Pandua in 1421, bear the stylized figure of a lion, the vehicle of the Goddess Chandi. Another theory says that they were issued to celebrate the arrival of a Chinese ambassador and yet another theory says that they marked the withdrawal of Jaunpur's threatening army.Regardless, they are the most unusual and were copied by two later Bengal sultans and by the kings of Tripura. In 1430, he included Khalifat al-Allah (the caliph of Allah) as one of his titles on his coins.In 1431 AD he issued a new coin inscribing Kalema-tut-shahadat. Thus he reintroduced on his coins the Kalimah, which had disappeared from Bengal Sultanate coins for several centuries. He died in Rabi 2, 837 AH (1433 AD) and was buried in Eklakhi Mausoleum at Pandua.

Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (1435-1459)

Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah was the sultan of Bengal. He was a descendant of Sultan Shamsuddin ILYAS SHAH and ascended the throne of Bengal under the title of Nasiruddin Abul Muzaffar Mahmud Shah in 839 AH/1435 AD. His accession to the throne marks the restoration of the House of Iliyas Shah after a gap of about twenty three (1412-1435) years. Nasiruddin Mahmud was a man of peaceful disposition. During his reign the Sharqi sultans of neighbouring Jaunpur, who had been in rivalry with the sultans of Bengal since the time of JALALUDDIN MUHAMMED SHAH, were involved in a deadly conflict with the Ludi sutlans of Delhi and hence neither the Sharqis nor the Ludis could turn their covetous eye to Bengal. This situation helped Nassiruddin Mahmud to devote his time and attention to the task of reconstruction and development. Nassiruddin Mahmud was also able to recover Bengal's military strength which he used in gaining certain military achievements. During his reign, KHAN JAHAN conquered Khulna and Jessore. An Oriya grant reveals that Nasiruddin Mahmud suffered defeat in an engagement with Kapilendra Deva, the king of Orissa. But this assumption, based on a very vague expression, is purely conjectural. Nasiruddin Mahmud is ascribed to have marched upon Mithila which was, however, baffled by Bhairab Singh, the king of Mithila. The find spots of the inscription of Nasiruddin Mahmud and the minttowns mentioned on his coins show that Nasiruddin Mahmud ruled over a vast kingdom bounded by the districts of Bhagalpur to the West, Mymensingh and Sylhet to the east, Gaur Pandua to the north and Hughli to the south. The most important social development during Nasirudddin Mahmud's reign was a steady expansion of Muslim colonisation and settlement in different parts of Bengal. The leader of this process of Muslim settlements in south Bengal was Khan Jahan. He undertook a systematic work of settlement and colonisation by constructing mosques, excavating tanks and adopting similar other public measures. Similar expansion of Muslim settlement and colonisation were also in progress in other parts of the country as well. Nasiruddin Mahmud was a great patron of art and architecture and during his reign a large number of mosques, khanqas, bridges and tombs were built. The important mosques of his reign were the imposing SHATGUMBAD MOSQUE erected by Khan Jahan at Bagerhat, two mosques built by Sarfaraz Khan at Jangipur in the district of Murshidabad (1443 AD), the mosque built by one Hilali in the neighbourhood of Gaur (1455 AD), the mosque built by Bakht Binat at Dhaka (1455 AD) and the mosque built by Khurshid Khan at Bhagalpur (1446 AD). The tomb of Khan Jahan at Bagerhat and the tomb of an allama at Hazrat Pandua were erected during his time. Nasiruddin Mahmud himself laid the foundations of the citadel and palace at Gaur and beautified the city with other architectural monuments. Of these, a five-arched stone-bridge, part of the massive walls of the fort and the KOTWALI DARWAZA are still extant. These works indicate the prevailing peace and prosperity of the reign.

Nizamuddin Ahmad and Firishtah praise Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah as an ideal sultan. Ghulam Husain Salim says that by his good administration the wounds of oppression inflicted by the previous Sultan SHAMSUDDIN AHMAD SHAH were healed. This generous sultan after a peaceful reign of twenty four years died in 864 AH/ 1459 AD.

Ruknuddin Barbak Shah (1459-1474)

Ruknuddin Barbak Shah (1459-1474) was the sultan of Bengal of the Later Iliyas Shahi dynasty. He succeeded his father, NASIRUDDIN MAHMUD SHAH, in 864 AH/1459 AD. Prior to his accession to the throne he served as governor of SATGAON. The inflow of Muslims from abroad and their settlement in Bengal continued during Barbak Shah's reign. The most notable example of this process was the arrival of SHAH ISMAIL GHAZI with one hundred and twenty associates. After his arrival at LAKHNAUTI, Shah Ismail was able to draw the attention of the sultan and gain his favour by successfully constructing a bridge over the Chutia Putia River. Ruknuddin Barbak Shah's reign witnessed an all-round expansion of his sultanate. According to the RISALAT-US-SHUHADA, the sultan sent Shah Ismail Ghazi against Gajapati, the rebel Raja of Mandaran who was defeated, taken prisoner and beheaded. An army under Shah Ismail was also sent against Kameswar, the Raja of KAMARUPA. Though Ismail Ghazi suffered defeat in the battle his saintly character overwhelmed the Raja who surrendered voluntarily to him and embraced Islam. The Raja agreed to pay tribute and withdrew from Muslim territory, and as a result Bengal's northeastern frontier ran along the Karatoya River. The fort of Hajipur and its adjoining areas, which once formed a part of ILIYAS SHAH's sultanate were now included in the Sharqi Kingdom of Jaunpur. Barbak Shah, with the help of Afghan veterans, invaded Tirhut in 875 AH and established effective authority over the fort of Hajipur and its adjoining areas. With this new acquisition, his political authority extended up to the Buri Gandak river in the north. The Hatkhola inscription, found in Sylhet, indicates that Sylhet continued to be under Barbak Shah's jurisdiction. It is also evident from the Mirzaganj inscription that the Bakerganj area was also included in his sultanate. Towards the end of his reign Barbak Shah's authority was also re-established in Chittagong. Most of the regions of north, east, south and southeast and west Bengal, and parts of Bihar were included in his sultanate. Barbak Shah is known to have recruited about eight thousand Abyssinian slaves and employed them in the army and in various key posts of the state. This influx of a large number of Abyssinians had a far-reaching effect in Bengal history. A good administrator and a lover of justice, Barbak Shah was tolerant and benevolent. During his reign, along with the Muslims, the Hindus played a prominent part in the civil and military administration of the Sultanate. Krttivas mentions the following Hindu officers and courtiers of Barbak Shah - Kedar Rai, Narayan Das, Jagadananda Rai, Sunanda, Gandharva Rai, Tarani, Sundar and Mukunda.

Barbak Shah, himself a learned man, was a patron of scholars and poets, both Muslim and Hindus. He claimed himself to be a Fazil and Kamil and showed great interest in Bengali literature. Under his patronage JAINUDDIN wrote his Rasul Vijaya and Ibrahim Qawam Faruqi composed a Persian lexicon Farhang-i-Ibrahim, better known as SHARAFNAMAH, which contains the names of a few scholars and poets of the time. Amir Zainuddin Harwi, Amir Shihabuddin Hakim Kirmani, Mansur Shiraji, Malik Yusuf bin Hamid, Sayyid Jalal, Sayyid Muhammad Rukn, Sayyid Hasan and Shaikh Wahed were among the Muslim celebrities. Among the most noted Hindu scholars receiving Barbak Shah's favour were Raimukuta Brhaspati Mishra, MALADHAR BASU and Krttivas. Barbak Shah honoured the poet Maladhar Basu and his son with the titles of Gunaraj Khan and Satyaraj Khan respectively. He also honored one Kuladhar with the title of Satya Khan and Shuvaraj Khan. A great builder, Barbak Shah built a number of mosques at Gaur and Deotala. A just, liberal, learned, wise and deeply religious king, Barbak Shah died in 879 AH/1474 AD.

Sikandar Shah II (1358-1393)

Sikandar Shah was the second sultan of Ilyas dynasty of Bengal. He succeeded his father Ilyas Shah. He built the celebrated Adina Mosque in Pandua in1368. Adina mosque was built in 1363 by Sultan Sikandar Shah, the second sultan of the Ilyas dynasty, the Adina mosque is one of the largest mosques to be built in the subcontinent and the only hypostyle mosque in Bengal. Located twenty kilometers north of the town of Malda and along a major road leading to north Bengal, the sultan probably built it as a visual proclamation of his victory over the Delhi ruler, Firuz Shah Tughluq. The mosque is mostly in ruins today following the damages sustained during the earthquakes in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Similar in plan to the Great Mosque of Damascus, it is a rectangular, hypostyle structure, with an open central courtyard. Externally it measures 524x322 with the longer side running north south, while the courtyard measures 426-6x 147-7. The prayer hall is located to the west and is divided into two symmetrical wings by a central nave that was originally covered by a pointed barrel vault. The high central vaulted nave may be traced to Persian antecedents, Taq-i-Kisra, a pre-Muslim monument at Ctesiphon. The prayer hall is five aisles deep, while the north, south, and east cloisters around the courtyard consists of triple aisles .In total, these aisles had 260 pillars and 387 domed bays. The interior of the courtyard is a continuous faade of 92 arches surmounted by a parapet, beyond which the domes of the bays can be seen.

Pandua or Hazrat Pandua or Firuzabad is a historical city, presently lying in the ruined condition in Malada district of the Indian state of west Bengal. Pandua is now almost synonymously known as Adina, a small town located about 18km north of Malada town. The city was probably founded by Samsuddin Firuz Shah. In 1339, Ala-ud-Din Ali Shah transferred his capital from nearby town of Lakhnauti or Gaur to Pandua.Later , Haji Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah ,the first independent sultan of Bengal ,made the city the capital of his Bengal sultanate. However, Panduas glory was short lived. In 1453, the capital was transferred back to Gaur by Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah, perhaps necessitated by a change in the course of river on which Pandua stood.

Jalaluddin Fateh Shah

Sultan of Bengal from 886 AH - 892 AH (1481 AD-1487 AD). On his accession he assumed the title of Jalaluddin Abul Muzaffar Fath Shah. He was a son of Sultan NASIRUDDIN MAHMUD SHAH and a brother of Sultan RUKNUDDIN BARBAK SHAH. There is no reference whether Fath Shah undertook any military expedition or not. But from the evidence of coins and inscriptions, it can be presumed that he ruled over a vast Sultanate which extended to Sylhet in the east and to the river Damodar in the southwest. The Persian chroniclers have described Fath Shah as a wise and sagacious sultan. He pursued a liberal policy towards his subjects and patronised the people according to their rank. In his time, the people were happy and prosperous. Jalaluddin Fath Shah built a number of mosques Towards the close of his reign, the Abyssinian slaves became very powerful and played vital role in the politics of Bengal. They occupied most of the important positions at court and manned the palace-guards of the sultan. Fath Shah realised the danger of the growing power of the Abyssinians and took some steps to curb their influence. They hatched a conspiracy against the sultan under the leadership of Shahzada, commander of the palace-guards which resulted in the murder of the sultan in 892 AH/ 1487 AD. With the murder of Fath Shah, the rule of the Illyas Shahi dynasty came to an end.

Habshi Rule
African migration into the Indian Sub-Continent has occurred in both voluntary and involuntary waves. It is critical to emphasize that Indias most ancient existing inhabitants known as Adivasis are also of African origins. This has been recently confirmed on anthropological, linguistic and biological foundations. Therefore, we shall not needlessly lay controversy on such definitions and direct our efforts towards more pressing topics. In this article we shall focus on a specific subset of Africans, namely a small group of Ethiopians that rose to great prominence during the 15th century CE. During this period a great Abyssinian dynasty ruled over the entirety of Bengal under a single unified Muslim sultanate. Moreover, this episode of Abyssinian rule marked one of the most unique eras of Bengals history, where the Habshi rulers imparted great benevolence to the poor and destitute, as well as demonstrated impressive patronage of the arts, literature, architecture, science, and medicine. The period of Ethiopian rule is a largely untold and neglected period of Bengals history, stemming from the dishonesty and bias of the predominant historical literature, written mostly by the upper caste Hindu, and Ashraf Muslim authors that have traditionally held a monopoly over the intellectuals spheres, whilst embracing formal academic routes. One can only condemn these misguided and unethical scholars that have championed their history at the expense of others. Therefore, the surviving Hindu eyewitness reports written in Bengali are fanatically skewed and riddled with inconsistencies while the external accounts written by Chinese, Portuguese and Arab travelers into the region are widely accepted by the historical community as being more reliable. It is only in recent times this unmerited monopoly has been challenged. I praise the efforts of those intellectuals that have paid a tremendous sacrifice for depicting a more accurate account of Indias history. Consequently, I dedicate this article to the following individuals that have provided me with invaluable inspiration: Dr. J. K. Jamandas, Professor Kancha Iliah, Professor K.P. Aravaanan, U. P. Upadhyaya, Dr. Hadwa Dom, Professor Uthaya Naidu, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, V.T. Rajshekar, Dr. Runoko Rashidi, Shankar Nadar and Periyar Ramaswami. I urge the readers to locate and read their classic works. Lastly, I remark that this article is not meant to be the final, comprehensive source on this particular subject. Rather it is a brief introduction that will hopefully spark dialogue and more thorough primary investigations, specifically historical, archeological and anthropological research into the African presence in India. In a much broader context, this field is still in its infancy and there is a great deal more to uncover.

Muslims in India: Ashrafs, Ajlafs, and Habshis

Before we delve into the chronology of the Abyssinian dynasty, of which is the focus of this article, let us briefly provide the necessary background information about the diverse categories of Indian Muslims in order to avoid confusion in later sections. It is historically recognized that the members of the Islamic faith first embarked upon organized military campaigns into the

Indian Subcontinent with the Arab conquest of Sindh in the 8th century CE. It was much later, during the end of the12th century (1192-1206) that North India was effectively conquered and the Delhi sultanate, or kingdom was established. During the 14th century (1338-1407) the Delhi sultanate fractured into six independent sultanates, located in Malwa, Gujarat, Jaunpur, the Deccan, Khandesh, and Bengal. It was during this period that a large number of Ethiopians entered into the Indian Subcontinent as slaves, soldiers, eunuchs, and as military administrators. It is important that we elucidate certain distinctions in terms of the social stratification of Muslims in India. Most of the Muslim foreigners that claim aristocratic Arab or Indo-European origins outside of India are designated the title Ashraf. The Ashrafs can be divided into 4 major categories. In particular, there are Sheiks, Sayeds, Moghuls, and Pathans. For many years during the sultanate period, the Islamic leadership exclusively consisted of Ashrafs. However in terms of their relative population, the Ashrafs were primarily concentrated in the northwestern part of India, in modern day Pakistan. During the territorial consolidation of the Mughal Empire in 1526 CE, the entirety of the Indian Subcontinent was ruled until 1689 CE. It was chiefly during this period did the Ashrafs proselytize towards the underclass indigenous ethnic groups in India and thus the remainder of the Muslim population consisted of former low-caste and Dalit converts known as the Ajlafs, with sizeable numbers in East Bengal or modern day Bangladesh. Apparently, it was a more favorable social climate to escape the Hindu caste hierarchy by converting to Islam. Although, the very notion of social distinctions based on race and ethnicity violate the essential egalitarianism of Islam, the Ajlafs have always been perceived as subordinate to the Ashrafs. However, these class distinctions are of no comparison to the social rigidity of racial apartheid present in the Hindu caste system, for the intermarriage between Ashrafs and Ajlafs was a common occurrence, both in the past and in present day IndoMuslim societies. East African Muslims have enjoyed a distinguished presence ubiquitously across a large stretch of the medieval Islamic empires, from the Mediterranean, to North Africa, to the Middle East, and ultimately the Indian Sub-Continent. These remarkable assemblages of Africans derive mostly from the East African littoral states and the Red Sea region of the African and Arabian coastlines. They are better known as Habshis and Siddis. The term Habshi is an Arabic word for an Ethiopian or Abyssinian, while the term Siddi can be literally related to the Ashraf identity Sayed, of which means my lord, or those direct descendants of prophet Muhammad. Their inception into the various Islamic territories as mercenaries and soldiers was often voluntary, as many adventurous individuals joined to escape routine life while others were interned by force. Unlike North American slavery, the Habshis were able to serve as reputable military administrators and numerous individuals were granted unrestricted upward mobility. Furthermore, many would rise to undisputed positions of power, ruling over largely nonEthiopian populations in India. We now direct our focus to the region of Bengal.

FiruzMinarofGaur,WestBengal
A lasting monument built by the Habshi Sultan Firuz Shah

The son of Firuz Shah, Mahmud Shah took power in 1490 CE along with his top advisor, another Abyssinian named Habash Khan. Not long after their emergence into leadership was a successful coup detat staged by a rival faction under the auspices of an Abyssinian named Sidi Badr Diwana. The rebel leader executed Mahmud Shah and his entire cabinet, capturing the sultanate under the title Shams al-Din Muzaffar Shah. In spite of its rather violent beginnings, for the next three years Muzaffar Shah lead an extension of the cultural patronage of Firuz Shah, developing a sophisticated currency coinage system and the construction of a famous mosque built in 1491 CE. During the last few months of his reign the anti-Abyssinian sentiment of the upper caste Hindus and the Ashrafs was reaching a climax. Finally, the last Habshi Sultan was killed under the orchestration of the Ashraf, Hussain Shah, with the assistance of the Hindu paiks or military guards. He subsequently cleansed the administration of the Abyssinian nobles, expelling them to the Deccan. Thus, the Habshi rule of Bengal ended as it began. However it should never be forgotten, as it is an important slice of Bengals vast history.

Alauddin Hussain Shah (1494-1518)

Alauddin Hussain Shah was an independent late medieval Sultan of Bengal, who founded the Hussain Shahi dynasty. He became the ruler of Bengal after assassinating the Abyssinian sultan, Shamsuddin Mujaffar Shah, whom he had served under as wazir. After his death in 1519 his son Nusrat Shah succeeded him. Hussain Shahs original name is Sayyid Hussain. Except a number of legends, no information is available regarding his ancestry and early life. According to some accounts, he was an Arab from Mecca, who had recently settled in Bengal. The stages by which Hussain came to occupy the post of Wazir of Sultan Shamsuddin Mujaffer Shah is also not known to us. Initially he secretly sympathized with the rebels but ultimately he put himself openly as their head and besieged the citadel, where Muzaffer Shah shut with a few thousand soldiers. According to Nizamuddin, sultan was secretly assassinated by Husain with the help of the paiks, which ended the Abyssinian rule in Bengal. According to Rajmala a late royal chronical of Tripura, Hussain Shah dispatched his army four times to Tripura, but the Tripura army offered stiff resistance and did not yield any territory. But the Sonargaon inscription of Khawas Khan is interpreted by a number of modern scholars as an evidence of annexure of at least a part of Tripura by Hussain Shahs army. The reign of Hussain Shah witnessed a remarkable development of Bengali literature .Under the patronage of Paragal Khan, Hussain Shahs governor of Chittagong, Kabindraparameshvar wrote his Pandabbija, a Bengali adaptarion of the Mahabharata. The reign of Hussain Shah is also known for religious tolerance towards his Hindu subjects of Bengal .But during his Orissa campaigns, he destroyed numerous Hindu temples, which Vrindavana Dasa Thakura has mentioned in his Chaitanya Bhagavata.

Shamsuddin Firuz Shah (1301-1322)

Shamsuddin Firuz Shah was the sultan of the Muslim kingdom of LAKHNAUTI from 701-722 AH (1301-1322 AD). He ascended the throne with the title of Al-Sultan Al-Azam Shams Al-Duniya wa Al-Din Abu Al-Muzaffar Firuz Shah Al-Sultan and invoked the name of the Abbaside Caliph Mustasim Billah in his coins. Controversies persist among scholars regarding his origin and identity. According to IBN BATUTA he was a son of Nasiruddin BUGHRA KHAN and, hence, the grandson of Sultan GHIYASUDDIN BALBAN. Amir Khusrau mentions the names of two sons of Bughra Khan- Kaikobad and RUKNUDDIN KAIKAUS and does not mention the name of Shamsuddin Firuz. Moreover, Ghiyasuddin Balban, following the Iranian tradition, named his grandsons as Kaikobad, Kaikaus, Kaikhusrau, Kaimurs etc. But the name 'Firuz' does not agree with the Iranian tradition. Furthermore, Kaikobad was only 19 at the time of his accession to the throne of Delhi in 1288 AD. Kaikaus was a younger brother of Kaikobad and hence, if Firuz was a younger brother of Kaikaus, he would be in his mid-thirties at the time of his accession to the throne in 1301 AD. Two of his grown-up sons are found helping their father in affairs of state. But at such an age it is unlikely for a person to have two or more grown-up sons. On these grounds and on a close examination of his coins modern scholars hold that he did not belong to the House of Balban. Shamsuddin Firuz nowhere claims himself to be the son of a sultan, but all his sons and successors call themselves Sultan bin Sultan. It is assumed that Shamsuddin Firuz was one of the two Firuzes left by Balban to assist his son Bughra Khan, who was appointed to the governorship of Lakhnauti. Of these two officers, Firuz Iitigin, the ruler of Bihar, was more competent. Probably Firuz Iitigin, one of the two Firuzes, after the death of Kaikaus or displacing him forcibly, came to the throne of Bengal in 701 AH/1301 AD with the title of Sultan Shamsuddin Firuz Shah. On his accession to the throne Sultan Shamsuddin Firuz Shah entrusted the governorship of Bihar to Tajuddin Hatim Khan, one of his sons. Having consolidated his position, Firuz Shah turned his attention towards the expansion of his kingdom. The Muslim principality of Lakhnauti was limited to Bihar, north and northwest Bengal and up to Lakhnur in southwest Bengal. Kaikaus had already started the conquest of the eastern part of Bengal, and the task was completed during the time of Firuz Shah. It is said that Kaikaus issued coins for the first time from the Kharaj of Bang. But during the time of Firuz Shah the SONARGAON area (southeast Bengal) was included in the Muslim Kingdom. He built a mint at Sonargaon from where a large number of coins were issued. Similarly, the conquest of SATGAON, begun during the time of Kaikaus under his general Zafar Khan, was completed during the time of Firuz Shah. From an inscription of Firuz, it is learnt that one Zafar Khan built a madrasa called Dar-ul-Khairat in 713 AH/1313 AD. Very little is known about his conquest of Mymensingh. It is only known that his son Ghiyasuddin Bahadur issued coins from Ghiyaspur mint, identified with a village having the same name, about 24 km from Mymensingh. During the reign of Firuz Shah, Sikandar Khan Ghazi led a fruitful expedition against Matuk, a Hindu

Raja of the Sundarban area. A coin of Sultan Firuz has been discovered in a village in the extreme south of Satkhira distirct. The most important event of the reign of Shamsuddin Firuz Shah was the conquest of Sylhet. According to an inscription Firuz Shah conquered Sylhet in 703 AH/1303 AD. The names of the famous Sufi-saint Hazrat SHAH JALAL (R) and the commander Syed Nasiruddin are associated in connection with the conquest of Sylhet. Firuz Shah also held Bihar firmly against the Khaljis. Two inscriptions of his reign, discovered in Bihar, prove this. Thus the Bengal Sultanate during the time of Sultan Shamsuddin Firuz Shah extended from at least the rivers Son and Ghogra in the west to Sylhet in the east and from Dinajpur-Rangpur in the north to Hughli and the Sundarbans in the south. Firuz had six grown-up sons - Shihabuddin Bughda, Jalaluddin Mahmud, Ghiyasuddin Bahadur, Nasiruddin Ibrahim, Hatim Khan and Kutlu Khan. Of these six, Tajuddin Hatim Khan was the governor of Bihar. It is evident from numismatic evidence that during the lifetime of Firuz Shah, his sons Jalaluddin Mahmud, Shihabuddin Bughda and Ghiyasuddin Bahadur issued coins in their own names from the Lakhnauti mint. Ghiyasuddin Bahadur also issued coins from the mints of Sonargaon and Ghiyaspur. A group of scholars, on the basis of these coins, have argued that the sons of Firuz Shah rose in rebellion against their father and alternately ruled Lakhnauti. But the minting of coins by the sons of Firuz Shah was not the result of their rebellion; rather it was the result of their sharing of power with their father. In fact, Shamsuddin Firuz Shah ascended the throne of Lakhnauti at quite an advanced age when he was the father of half a dozen grown-up sons who helped him in the affairs of the kingdom. Being satisfied with the co-operation of his sons, Firuz Shah allowed his sons to run the administration of some portions of his kingdom independently and to exercise royal authority as in the minting of coins. Had the sons revolted against their father, chaos and confusion would have prevailed and expansion of the kingdom would not have been possible. Shamsuddin Firuz Shah died in 722 AH/1322 AD. An experienced soldier, he proved himself strong and vigorous as a ruler and skillful as a diplomat. He directly encouraged and helped in the propagation of Islam for which he is specially remembered. He succeeded in establishing a dynasty of his own.

Mahmud Shah
Mahmud Shah was the Sultan of Malacca from 1488 until capture of the city by the Portuguese in 1511, after which he founded the kingdom of Johore (Johor). At the time of Mahmud Shah's accession the city-state of Malacca (Melaka) was at the peak of its power and was the preeminent trade centre of Southeast Asia because of its strategic location on the Malay Peninsula, commanding the strait between it and the island of Sumatra. The bendahara (chief minister) Tun Perak, architect of Malacca's greatness, was an old man, and the Malaccan court under Mahmud Shah apparently was rife with intrigue and favoritism. Mahmud Shah was not an effective ruler, but he was also a victim of circumstances. Portugal in the early 16th century was in the midst of establishing its overseas empire. Portuguese ships were in Malacca's waters before 1510, and on Aug. 15, 1511, troops commanded by Afonso de Albuquerque succeeded in capturing the city. Mahmud Shah fled across the Malay Peninsula to Pahang on the east coast, where he made a futile effort to enlist Chinese aid. Mahmud Shah then moved south and founded the kingdom of Johore as a rival trade centre to Malacca. With his capital on the island of Bintang, or Bintan, southeast of modern Singapore, he continued to receive the tribute and allegiance from surrounding states that had been rendered him as ruler of Malacca. He became the leader of a Malay and Muslim confederacy and launched several unsuccessful attacks against Malacca. In 1526 the Portuguese responded to the threat of Mahmud Shah's forces by destroying his capital at Bintang. Mahmud Shah fled to Sumatra, but his successors went on to build Johore into a substantial empire whose power culminated in the 18th and 19th centuries. He died in 1528 in Kampar, Sumatra.

Mahmud Shah
(Sultan of Malacca) Reign Died Place of death Predecessor Successor Wives Malacca Sultanate: 1488 - 1528 1528 Kampar, Sumatera Alauddin Riayat Shah Sultan Ahmad Shah of Malacca Princess of Sultan of Pahang, Princess Onang Kening, Tun Teja Ratna Menggala, Tun Kudu, Tun Fatimah Royal House Father House of Malacca-Johor Alauddin Riayat Shah

Shamsuddin Mujaffar Shah

Shamsuddin Muzaffar Shah (reigned 1491-94) was an Abyssinian sultan of late medieval Bengal. Sidi Badr, an Abyssinian, first killed Habash Khan, the regent of the boy-king Mahmud Shah II and later killed the sultan also. He ascended the throne under the title of Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah. He was killed in 1494 by the rebels led by his wazir Sayyid Husain, who succeeded him as Alauddin Husain Shah. He is described by the Indo-Persian historians as a tyrant, whose cruelty alienated the nobles as well as his common subjects. Preceded by Mahmud Shah II Habshi dynasty of Bengal 1491-1494 Succeeded by Alauddin Husain Shah, Hussain Shahi dynasty

Conclusion
The Muslim rulers played a significant part in building the Muslim society in Bengal. The aim of the sultans was not only to continue Muslim rule but also build institutions and initiate works that helped Muslim society and culture .One of their first act was the creation of mosques. Mosques formed the most important feature of Muslim society and culture as the places of prayer. A large number of Sufis came to Bengal .According to local tradition some of them had come even before the Muslim conquest. There is hardly any town where the Sufis had not come and settled. Their contribution in the preaching and expansion of Islam in rural Bengal were very great. But actions and reactions between Islam and local Hinduism continued all through the Muslim rule in Bengal.

References:
1) Goron, Stan. "The Habshi Sultans of Bengal." African Elites in India - Habshi Amarat. Ed. Kenneth X. Robbins and John McLeod. Ahmedabad: Mapin, 2006. 2) Ali, Shanti S. The African Dispersal in the Deccan. New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1996. 3) Chauhan, R. R. S. Africans in India - From Slavery to Royalty. New Delhi: Asian Publication Services, 1995. 4) Ahmed, Nazimuddin. Discover the Monuments of Bangladesh. Ed. John Sanday. Dhaka: The UP Limited, 1984. 5) Ahmad, Imtiaz, ed. Caste and Social Stratification Among Muslims in India. 2nd ed. New Delhi: Mohohar, 1978. 6) Banglapedia & Wikipedia