L-13 National Culture And Heritage

Independent rule of Bengal Sultanate: (sultan period)

In 1342 A.D. Haji Ilyas killed Alauddin Ali Shah the ruler of Lakhnauti assumed
the title of Sultan Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah. It is for the first time he united (by 1332 A.D.)
the three regions of Bengal under his independent Sultanate. He had a great quality of
winning and unituing people. So he was able to win over the local people to his side,
gave a distinct character to his administration and earned the title of Shah-i-Bangalah.
Hence, encouraged by his initial success Ilias Shah also sent an expedition to Tirhut,
Nepal, Orissa and Bihar. He however, occupied khasi and gurukpur near Bihar from the
Sultan of Delhi. Sultan Ilyas Shah was ambitions and he subdued Tripura and part of
Kanrup. Sultan Iliyas Shah displayed his ability and encourage on overwhelming
authority over Bengal, he had the far sight of maintaining friendly relation with the rulers
of Delhi. He maintained peace all over his territory.

After Iliyas Shah’s death his son Sikander Shah becomes the Independent
ruler of Bengal. He was a great patron of architecture. The Adina mosque of Pandua
was built in the later half of the fourteenth century bears testimony to this. He ruled for
long thirty years and maintained the unity of his territory and firmly ruled the whole
country after his father’s death. He was succeeded by his son Ghyasuddin Azam Shah.
Azam Shah devoted himself to the patrouage of poets and the learned, his devotion to
the Sufi-saint and Islamic culture and his foreign relations earned him a distinct place in
the history of medieval Bengal. He corresponded with many famous Iranian poets
“Hafez”. He established Madrassas at Mecca and a rest house at Madina, exchange
gifts between China and ambassador between China and Bengal are very well known.
During his reign, a hindu zamindar Raja Ganesh become very powerful and in the end
he captured power in 1415 A.D. by killing of Giyasuddin Azam Shah. But his son and
successor Saifuddin Hamza Shah usurped the throne from a slave named Shehabuddin
Baized to his master saifuddin Hamza Shah.

Thus, Raja Ganesh and his family dominated the history of Bengal for about
three decades. It seems that the Muslim military achievement in Bengal along with
cultural liberalism produced for the first time to a new kind of society that ultimately
shaped the real identity of Bengal.

During the reign of Barbek Shah and his son Yusuf Shah, the Habshis (Dark
skinned slave came from Abyssinia) became prominent by their position they held over
the past years. The growing weakness of the last Iliyas Shahi ruler Jalaluddin Fateh
Shah who was murdered by his palace guard sultan Shahjada. This ended the Iliyas
Shahi rule and in its place the “Habshi rule” began in Bengal. The habshi rule and
domination lasted for six years only from 1487 to 1493 A.D. Needless to say their rule
came to be known as the darkest period of Bengal as it did mark by conspiracy,
Courtesy by: Kaisar Syed 1
L-13 National Culture And Heritage

rebellion murder and usurpation of power. However, Habshi rule came to an end by the
murder of the last Habshi ruler, the most cruel oppressor, and with his death the Habshi
rule came to an end. In Bengal history the four Sultans of this dynasty ruled Bengal from
1493 to 1538 A.D. It is said that the Hosain Shahi family originated from Arabia and
settled in Murshidabad (west Bengal). Husain Shah’s son Nusrat Shah succeeded him
and kept a good relationship with the original ruler Baber. Therefore, Baber treated all
his subjects equally. He brought the greatest internal peace and stability by suppressing
the Habshis. He was an efficient ruler and brought internal peace by suppressing the
bad elements in the court and the society.

Baber also created welfare administration and brought prosperity to Bengal.

Husain Shahi was a great patron of learning, under his patronage many Bengali books
were written in Bengali language. Mahabharata and Bhagavata Gita were also
translated into Bengali. Various literary works earned fame for the country. He erected
many buildings including mosques, madrasas, khanqas and other tombs. Choto sona
masjid of Gaur and other buildings were the fine examples of architecture. His tolerance
for the other religions earned him the respect of Sri Chaitanya Dev, the founder of
Vaishnavism. Workshop of Satya Pir was in his time is also another example of his
liberal views. He wanted to bring Hindu Muslim closer. Thus, the glories of Hussain
Shahi Bengal included territorial expansion, administrative stability and developments of
economy, literature religion and architecture.

It was this period which saw the significant forces deeply affecting the political
and economic history of Bengal. Between the first advent of the European and end of
Mughal rule, this period saw the historical processes which shaped the life of the
country for centuries to come. “Mughal rule touched only the outer fringe of Bengal
politics and the European trade was yet to have a proper beginning. But the period in
question showed the signs of a new Bengal to be brought into existence through the
working of those forces”. However it must be pointed out that the most important and
fundamental point of Bengal being an independent country for four centuries defying the
Delhi authority. It is said that “the first phase of independence in Bengal was
represented by the Iliyas Shah’s rule”. The rulers who had to depend upon regional
patriotism in the process of countering the authority of Delhi adopted a secular policy in
the administration. The Muslim rule brought Bengal from rural to urban phase of
civilization based on the introduction of money economy.

Courtesy by: Kaisar Syed 2