| Conquest of Sylhet | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofIslam in Bangladesh,Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Lakhnauti Sultanate | Gour Kingdom (inc.Tungachal) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Shams-ud-Din Firuz Shah Sayyid Nasir-ud-Din Sikandar Khan Ghazi Ghazi Burhan-ud-Din Shah Jalal Haydar Ghazi Shah Farhan | Gour Govinda  Mona Rai † Achak Narayan Prince Nirvana Prince Garuda † | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| <10,000 | 100,000+ infantry, thousands of cavalry[1] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
TheConquest of Sylhet (Bengali:শ্রীহট্টের বিজয়,romanized: Śrihôṭṭer Bijôẏ,IPA:[ˈsɾiɦɔʈːeɾˈbidʒɔe̯]; 'Conquest of Srihatta') predominantly refers to aMuslim conquest ofSrihatta (present-daySylhet,Bangladesh) led bySikandar Khan Ghazi, the military general of SultanShamsuddin Firoz Shah of theLakhnauti Sultanate, against the Hindu kingGour Govinda. The conquest was aided by aMuslim saint known asShah Jalal, who later ordered his disciples to scatter throughout easternBengal and propagate the religion of Islam. The Conquest of Sylhet may also include other minor incidents taking place after Govinda's defeat, such as the capture of nearbyTaraf.
TheGreater Sylhet region historically consisted of many Hindupetty kingdoms such asSrihatta (Gour),Laur andJaintia. Govinda was a conservativeHindu ruler of theGour Kingdom, intolerant and harsh towards other faiths such as Islam, Buddhism and even certain denominations of Hinduism.[2] It was known by his people that Govinda practiced magic which he had learnt in themountains ofKamaru and was religiously and militarily educated for twelve years in theKamakhya Temple, and KulsiaAshram (on the banks of theKulsi River in modern-daySualkuchi or Kulsi Reserve Forest) respectively.[3] During his reign, he built forts all over his kingdom and established many military training camps. He is famously known to have built a seven-storey brick tower.[4]
There was a small minority ofMuslim families living in the country, following the short-livedAzmardan Invasion in 1254 led by the Governor of Bengal,Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Iuzbak.[5] The Gour Kingdom bordered the independentBengali principality ofLakhnauti ruled by the Muslim SultanShamsuddin Firoz Shah of the Balban dynasty. The war began whenBurhanuddin, a Muslim living in the village of Tultikar, sacrificed a cow for his newborn son'saqiqah or celebration of birth.[6] The beef was supposedly picked up by a crow, which then flew to Govinda's Hindu temple and dropped it there. Govinda, in a fury for what he saw as sacrilege due to hisHindu beliefs, had the newborn killed as well as having Burhanuddin's right hand cut off.[7] Shortly after this incident, Qadi Nuruddin ofTaraf celebrated his son's marriage ceremony by slaughtering a cow for them to eat. TheQadi was executed by the feudal ruler Achack Narayan. After both men being punished, Burhanuddin and Nooruddin's brother, Helimuddin, travelled to lower Bengal where they addressed their issued with Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah.
At the same time, aSufi missionary by the name ofShah Jalal was due to arrive in the region of Bengal. After being commanded by his uncle, Sheikh Kabir before his journey to reside andpropagate Islam in a region in which the soil matches the one that was given to him in his home country, Shah Jalal knew that it is in Srihatta where he shall reside in for the rest of his life.[8] Shah Jalal journeyed eastward and reached India in c. 1300, where he met many great scholars and Sufi mystics.[8]
As Govinda's minister,Mona Rai, was based near the port, Rai decided to stop river transport and ferries making it difficult for the opponents as the only other option was through the hills.[9] When word of this reached SultanShamsuddin Firoz Shah, the commanded his nephewSikandar Khan Ghazi to lead an army against the Raja. Sikandar marched with his soldiers towards the low-lying hills of Sylhet viaMymensingh. Govinda appointed Chakrapani as his commander-in-chief. The army was confronted by Govinda's skilful archery. Govinda's army was noted asBengal's first army which practised the skillful art ofarchery. TheBengali army, inexperienced in the foreign terrain which consisted of many low-lying hills and valleys, were brought to utter shame by Govinda's archers and had no option but to retreat back to MuslimBengal to avoid casualties.[10]
The Sultan was not happy at all with the result of the first battle and decided that the army should train and prepare before readying themselves for another battle. In the second expedition, Sikandar took the same recognised route through Mymensingh. As the army marched through the hills, a storm took place. Due to heavy rainfall and flooding, nearly half of the army died by the time Sikandar reached Govinda. They were defeated once again and Sikandar retreated back to Bengal for a second time, humiliated by what had occurred.[10]
Firoz Shah then turned to hisSipah Salar (commander-in-chief)Syed Nasiruddin as he realised that this undertaking was much bigger than he anticipated and he would need a larger and more skilled army. The two armies decided to attack together but it ended in failure due to Govinda's superior military strategy.[11][7] Govinda's family rejoiced over the three consecutive victories and his aunt Apurna, the queen-mother and wife of the previousRaja Govardhan, celebrated by building a large 20-acre water tank in Ambarkhana known asRajar Mar Dighi.[4][12]In the meantime, a religious scholar and mistic Saint from Yamen arrived in the palace of Firuz Shah with his companions. He decided to join the army of Nasiruddin. It madeNasiruddin very happy. They returned to Bengal where they heard that Govinda and his army blocked the crossing of the river Borak (present Surma river) before arrival of the famous saintShah Jalal, as well as his companions who at this point numbered around 360.[13] There were no boats available to cross the river. Also the river bank was spread over with rice as Govinda knew that Muslims don't walking over any food. Shah Jalal was a pair of pigeon by another Indian saint Nizam Uddin Awliya as a gift. Shaj Jalal asked his region to clear out a way to the river by eating the rice spread in the river bank. Once the pigeon eat the rice and made way to the river, he put his prayers mat over the water and asked everyone to hold hands each other with him and close their eyes. Shahjalal was famed for his strong miracles and extra ordinary knowledge. He crossed the river along with his companions. When Govinda saw the miracles of Shahjalal, he ran away with his family! It's their third time war against Govinda and Shah Jalal won the battle without any loss. He called out for theadhan as the time forsalah approached and the sound of Adhan destroy Govinda's 7-storey Gorduar palace. His army was lost against Shahjalal and his companions. After hearing that his commanderMona Rai was killed, Govinda was forced to retreat and Srihatta was brought under Muslim control. According to tradition, another disciple of Shah Jalal, Shah Chashni Pir at this point compared the soil in Srihatta with that which was previously given by Ahmad Kabir, finding them to be identical. In any case, following the battle,Shah Jalal along with his followers permanently settled in Sylhet.[6][13]
Govinda retreated with his family toHarong Hurong cave in Mulnicherra. He then went to the shrine of Grivakali, where he left his aunt, Apurna, and his cousinGaruda and cousin-in-law Shantipriya (or Shantirani) in the care of the priest. Following this, he took his wife, Hiravati, and son, Nirvana, with him toKamrup.[citation needed]
An granite inscription dated (918 AH) 1512-13 AD during the reign ofAlauddin Husain Shah, records the conquest of Sylhet in (703 AH) 1302–1303 corresponding with the reign of SultanShams al-Din Firuz Shah (r. 1301–1316) as follows:
In honour of the exalted Shaykh al-Mashāyikh (spiritual master), Shaykh Jalāl ibn Muḥammad
The first Islamic conquest of the city in the 'arṣah (an administrative unit) of Sylhet was accomplished at the hand of Sikandar Khān Ghāzī during the reign of Sulṭān Fīruz Shāh Dalwi (Dahlawi), the year seven hundred three.
This edifice (has been erected) by Rukn Khān who conquered Hasht Kāmhāriyān (the eight tribes), being the vizier and the chief of the army for months at the time of the conquest of Kamrup and Kamta and Jaznagar and Orissa as he served the army at different places following the king in the year nine hundred and eighteen.[14]
Garuda and his family, taking shelter at Grivakali shrine, then decided to head off toTungachal. They set on a boat at Dhanuhatta driven by the royal servants Ghaturam and Jharuram. However, they were seen by Subid, a rebel from the time of Raja Govardhan's fall, who informed the Muslims of their actions; leading to Garuda's boat being followed by the Muslims. Out of embarrassment, Garuda appeared to committed suicide, jumping off the boat at Punibeel. The boatmen, however, continued taking Apurna and Shantipriya to Tungachal, eventually finding refuge with Raja Achak Narayan, though the boatmen themselves were killed. Apurna and Shantipriya made a vow in Tunganath Shiva temple to fast for ninety days, hoping for safety.[4] The incident is mentioned in a ballad known asShantiranir Baromashi (Shantirani's twelve months).[15] After the successful conquest of Gour,Syed Nasiruddin set off on an expedition against the feudal Raja Achak Narayan of Tungachal, which had been a part of theGour Kingdom. Nasiruddin arrived with 1000lascars and 12 Saints sent by Shahjalal (r) to help him. He camped in a place now known as Laskarpur.[16] Raja Achak Narayan was also defeated and fled with his family toMathura. Shantipriya was said to have also committed suicide.[4] Following a victory, Tungachal was annexed to Bengal and renamed asTaraf. The 12 saints who accompanied Nasiruddin are as follows:
.JPG)
Gour andTaraf were then incorporated intoShamsuddin Firoz Shah's kingdom withSikandar Khan Ghazi being the first Wazir of Sylhet. Gour was nicknamed Jalalabad afterShah Jalal for his aid in deliveringIslam to the population. To this day, the remains of Gour Govinda's fort can be found in Chowhatta,Sylhet. Many ofShah Jalal's companions migrated to other places in Eastern India to preach the religion of Islam. The Muslims were not interested in conquering other neighbouring kingdoms such asLaur,Jaintia andTwipra, which would be conquered much later duringMughal rule andBritish rule.[17]
