| Bengal–Jaunpur confrontation | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Bengal Sultanate (House of Ganesha)Supported by:  Mithila KingdomDiplomatic support:  Timurid Empire Ming China | Jaunpur Sultanate Supported by: Ilyas Shahi dynasty | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Raja Ganesha Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah Shiva Simha Singh | Ibrahim Shah Nur Qutb Alam[a] | ||||||
TheBengal-Jaunpaur war was an early 15th-century conflict that stemmed from theJaunpur Sultanate's opposition to theoverthrowing of theBengal Sultanate's founding dynasty, theIlyas Shahi, byRaja Ganesha. After diplomatic pressure from theTimurid andMing empires and direct combat support ofShivasimha, the King of Mithila. Jaunpur's sultan Ibrahim Shah Sharqi was convinced to abstain from attacking Bengal.[2]
With the persecution ofBengali Muslims followingRaja Ganesha'scoup d'état,Nur Qutb Alam wrote a letter toSultan Ibrahim Sharqi ofJaunpur to liberate Bengal. He also sent a letter to his father's discipleAshraf Jahangir Semnani, who was in Jaunpur, to also request Sharqi to do so. Responding to the request, Ibrahim Sharqi proceeded towards Bengal, which threatened Ganesha's rule. Ganesha pleaded to Alam to stop the invasion, but Alam's condition was for him to acceptIslam. However, Ganesha's wife forbade her husband to convert and instead they offered his son,Jadu, to the Shaykh. With Alam's guidance and mentorship, Jadu became aMuslim with the name Muhammad, and ascended the throne asJalaluddin Muhammad Shah.[3] Alam then requested Sharqi to return to Bengal, though he refused, thus continuing the Bengal-Jaunpaur war.[4]
Another account ofNur Qutb Alam and his role during the conflict was that he was asked byRaja Ganesha for help due to the immanent threat of invasion soon after Ganesha usurped the throne. Qutb Alam eventually came to the agreement that Raja Ganesha's son, Jadu, would convert to Islam and rule in his place. Raja Ganesha agreed and Jadu started ruling Bengal asJalaluddin Muhammad Shah in 1415.
A diplomat in the court ofShahrukh Mirza recorded that theTimurid ruler ofHerat intervened during the Bengal-Jaunpur conflict after a request from the Sultan of Bengal. The record speaks of Shahrukh Mirza "directing the ruler of Jaunpur to abstain from attacking the King of Bengal, or to take the consequence upon himself. To which the intimation of the Jaunpur ruler was obedient, and desisted from his attacks upon Bengal".[1] Records fromMing China state that theYongle Emperor also mediated between Jaunpur and Bengal after the Bengali ambassador in hisPeking court complained of the conflict.[5]
He was also directly supported by the King of Mithila who was also his friend,Shiva Singh ofOiniwar Dynasty in his battle against Ibrahim Sharqi ofJaunpur Sultanate. The mention of this battle is stated in both Arakanese accounts and Mithila accounts.[6]
The war began in 1415 and ended in 1420.[7] TheJaunpaur Sultanate challenged the newly emerged Hindu dynasty ofRaja Ganesha.Raja Ganesha was later removed as a result but his sonJalaluddin Muhammad Shah converted to Islam and ruled the Sultanate. Parts of theJaunpur Sultanate was annexed by Bengal and peace was established between the two states.[citation needed]
The Bengali envoy complained at the Ming court ... The 'Zhaonapuer'/Jaunpur troops withdrew from Bengal. (Here is a unique episode of China's mediating in the conflict between two Indian states. - Tan)
