Sultanate of Gujarat | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1394–1573 | |||||||||||
![Gujarat Sultanate in 1525.[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aIndia_in_1525_Joppen.jpg) Gujarat Sultanate in 1525.[1] | |||||||||||
| Capital | Anhilwad Patan (1407–1411) Ahmedabad (1411–1484, 1535–1573)Champaner (1484–1535) | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Persian (official) Middle Gujarati (Lingua franca) | ||||||||||
| Religion | Islam (official) Hinduism Jainism | ||||||||||
| Government | Absolute Monarchy | ||||||||||
| Sultan | |||||||||||
• 1407–1411 | Muzaffar Shah I(first) | ||||||||||
• 1561–1573, 1584 | Muzaffar Shah III(last) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Declared independence from Delhi Sultanate | 1394 | ||||||||||
• Annexed by Mughals | 1573 | ||||||||||
| Currency | Taka | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | India | ||||||||||
| Gujarat Sultanate Muzaffarid dynasty |
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TheGujarat Sultanate orSultanate of Gujarat was a latemedieval Islamic Indian kingdom inWestern India, primarily in the present-day state ofGujarat. The kingdom was established in 1394 whenMuzaffar Shah I, the Governor of Gujarat, declared independence from theTughlaq dynasty ofDelhi.[2]
FollowingTimur's invasion of theDelhi Sultanate, Delhi was devastated and its rule weakened considerably, leading Muzaffar Shah to declare himself independent in 1394, and formally established the Sultanate inGujarat. The next sultan, his grandsonAhmad Shah I, moved the capital toAhmedabad in 1411. His successorMuhammad Shah II subdued mostRajput chieftains. The prosperity of the sultanate reached its zenith during the rule ofMahmud Begada. He also subdued most Gujarati Rajput chieftains and built a navy off the coast ofDiu.
In 1509, thePortuguese Empire wrestedDiu from the Sultanate in theBattle of Diu (1509). The Mughal emperorHumayun attacked Gujarat in 1535 and briefly occupied it, during whichBombay, Bassein & Daman would become a Portuguese colony, thereafterBahadur Shah was killed by the Portuguese while making a deal in 1537. The end of the sultanate came in 1573, whenAkbar annexed the Gujarat Sultanate into his empire. The last ruler,Muzaffar Shah III, was taken a prisoner toAgra. In 1583, he escaped from the prison, and with the help of the nobles, succeeded to regain the throne for a short period before being defeated by Akbar's ministerAbdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan.[3]
TheMuzaffarid dynasty of Gujarat was founded by Zafar Khan, who was later titled Muzaffar Shah I. According to various historical sources and scholarism, Zafar Khan was of indigenous Indian origins. There have been various claims from medieval to modern historians about their origin. According toSikandar Ibn Manjhu, author of the 16th-century chronicleMir’āt-i-Sikandarī, Zafar Khan belonged to a sect of the Khatris known as Tanks. The Tanks and Khatris were one community, later separated when the former were expelled for their fondness for drinking.[4] On the basis of this account, modern historians such asAndré Wink andS.C. Misra, and others claim that Zafar Khan hailed from the Tank (Persian tāk or tānk) subdivision of theKhatri caste, originally fromPunjab, though he was born inDelhi.[5][6][7][8][9]
However, some historians such as Aparna Kapadia offer another account, asserting that Sahāran (also spelled Sadhāran), the father of Zafar Khan, was a Tank Rajput who originally lived in Thanesar in present-day Haryana.[10] There have been other historians who also suggest the Tanks were of Rajput origin.[11][12] Kapadia also highlights that the Gujarati historian Sikandar recounts that the Tanks were once Hindu Khatris who were expelled from their original community due to adopting the habit of wine drinking.[13] Meanwhile, some scholars interpret the Tank Rajputs as likely considered a lower or ignoble class of Rajputs, as suggested by Misra.[14]
In contrast, some other historians, such asRichard M. Eaton, describe Zafar Khan simply as the son of a "peasant convert to Islam," while historians like V.K. Agnihotri andSaiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi identify Sadhāran as aJat convert to Islam rather than Rajput or Khatri.[15][16]
Some modern historians identify Zafar Khan’s family with the Kalal tribe, traditionally a wine-brewing and selling caste.[17][18][19]. These historians include Kiran Pawar and Shauqat Ali Khan.[20][21]. Medieval historians likeIbn Battuta andZiauddin Barani, who lived between 13th and 14th century mentioned the origin of Kalals asKhumars orvinteners inPersian. Later, medieval historians described them with theirHindustani name, Kalal.[22] Originally non-Muslims, their conversion toIslam is linked to a marriage alliance between Sahāran's sister and SultanFiroz Shah Tughlaq, which facilitated the family’s rise in status and influence.[23]
It is said that Zafar Khan's father Wajih-ul-Mulk (Saharan) and his brother were influentialChaudharis who were agriculturists by profession but could also muster thousands of fighting men on their call.[24] Delhi SultanFiruz Shah Tughluq appointed Malik Mufarrah, also known as Farhat-ul-Mulk and Rasti Khan governor of Gujarat in 1377. In 1387, Sikandar Khan was sent to replace him, but he was defeated and killed by Farhat-ul-Mulk. In 1391, Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad bin Tughluq appointed Zafar Khan, the son of Wajih-ul-Mulk as governor of Gujarat and conferred him the title of Muzaffar Khan (r. 1391–1403, 1404–1411). In 1392, he defeated Farhat-ul-Mulk in the battle of Kamboi, near Anhilwada Patan and occupied the city of Anhilwada Patan.[25][26][27]
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 ofMuhammad 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 SultanMuzaffar 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.[28][25][27]
Soon after his accession,Ahmad Shah I was faced with a rebellion of his uncles. The rebellion was led by his eldest uncle Firuz Khan, who declared himself king. Ultimately Firuz and his brothers surrendered to him. During this rebellion SultanHushang Shah ofMalwa Sultanate invaded Gujarat. He was repelled this time but he invaded again in 1417 along with Nasir Khan, theFarooqi dynasty ruler ofKhandesh and occupied Sultanpur and Nandurbar. Gujarat army defeated them and later Ahmad Shah led four expeditions into Malwa in 1419, 1420, 1422 and 1438.[29][27]
In 1429, Kanha Raja ofJhalawad with the help of the Bahmani Sultan Ahmad Shah ravaged Nandurbar. But Ahmad Shah's army defeated the Bahmani army and they fled to Daulatabad. The Bahmani Sultan Ahmad Shah sent strong reinforcements and the Khandesh army also joined them. They were again defeated by the Gujarat army. Finally, Ahmad Shah annexedThana andMahim fromBahmani Sultanate.[29][27]
At the beginning of his reign, he founded the city ofAhmedabad which he styled asShahr-i-Mu'azzam (the great city) on the banks ofSabarmati River. He shifted the capital fromAnhilwada Patan to Ahmedabad. TheJami Masjid (1423) in Ahmedabad were built during his reign.[30] Sultan Ahmad Shah died in 1443 and succeeded by his eldest sonMuhammad Shah II.[29][27]
Muhammad Shah II (r. 1442–1451) first led a campaign against Idar and forced its ruler, Raja Hari Rai or Bir Rai to submit to his authority. He then exacted tribute from the Rawal ofDungarpur. In 1449, he marched againstChampaner, but the ruler of Champaner, Raja Kanak Das, with the help of Malwa SultanMahmud Khilji forced him to retreat. On the return journey, he fell seriously ill and died in February 1451. After his death, he was succeeded by his son Qutb-ud-DinAhmad Shah II (r. 1451–1458).[31] Ahmad Shah II defeated Khilji atKapadvanj. He helped Firuz Khan ruling fromNagaur againstRana Kumbha ofChittor's attempt to overthrow him. After death of Ahmad Shah II in 1458, the nobles raised his uncleDaud Khan, son of Ahmad Shah I, to the throne.[27]
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 sobriquetBegada, which literally means the conqueror of two forts, probably after conqueringGirnar andChampaner forts. Mahmud died on 23 November 1511.[33][27]
Khalil Khan, son of Mahmud Begada succeeded his father with the titleMuzaffar Shah II. In 1519,Rana Sanga of Chittor defeated a joint army ofMalwa and Gujarat sultanates and took Mahmud Shah II of Malwa captive. Muzaffar Shah sent an army to Malwa but their service was not required as Rana Sanga had generously restored Mahmud Shah II to the throne. However, Rana Sanga defeatedIbrahim Lodhi of Delhi atBattle of Dholpur around the same time and Conquered Much ofMalwa along withChanderi and he bestowed it to his VassalMedini Rai who ruled overMalwa under his lordship withChanderi as his capital.[34]The victory brought Rajputs within day's march ofAgra andDelhi and made them contender of supremacy ofNorthern India.[35] Rana Sanga later invaded Gujarat and plundered the Sultanate's treasuries, greatly damaging its prestige, Sanga also annexed northern Gujarat and appointed one of hisRajput vassals to rule there. The invasion of Rana weakened Gujarat, however after Rana Sanga's death, the sultans of Gujarat freed their kingdom fromRajputs and grew even more powerful as they sacked Chittor fort in 1535.[36][37] He died on 5 April 1526 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sikandar.[38][27]
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 ofBahádur Sháh.[27]
Bahadur Shah expanded his kingdom and made expeditions to help neighbouring kingdoms. In 1532, Gujarat came under attack of theMughal EmperorHumayun and fell. Bahadur Shah regained the kingdom in 1536 but he was killed by the Portuguese on board the ship when making a deal with them.[27][39]
Bahadur had no son, hence there was some uncertainty regarding succession after his death.Muhammad Zaman Mirza, the fugitive Mughal prince made his claim on the ground that Bahadur's mother adopted him as her son. The nobles selected Bahadur's nephewMiran Muhammad Shah of Khandesh as his successor, but he died on his way to Gujarat. Finally, the nobles selected Mahmud Khan, the son of Bahadur's brother Latif Khan as his successor and he ascended to the throne asMahmud Shah III in 1538.[40] Mahmud Shah III had to battle with his nobles who were interested in independence. He was killed in 1554 by his servant.Ahmad Shah III succeeded him but now the reigns of the state were controlled by the nobles who divided the kingdom between themselves. He was assassinated in 1561. He was succeeded byMuzaffar Shah III.[27]
Muzaffar Shah III's army was legendary in some parts ofAfrica and theAsian mainland with the exception ofChina, and freesoldiers,mercenaries, andslaves forced to join wars alike came from these places.[41] Its stealth specialists performed several duties includingbodyguard work and skirmish combat.[41] Many stealth warriors wereHabshi or Africans.[41]
However, Mughal EmperorAkbar annexed Gujarat in his empire in 1573 and Gujarat became a Mughalsubah. Muzaffar Shah III was taken prisoner to Agra. In 1583, he escaped from the prison and with the help of the nobles succeeded to regain the throne for a short period before being defeated by Akbar's generalAbdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana in January 1584.[3] He fled and finally took asylum under Jam Sataji ofNawanagar State. TheBattle of Bhuchar Mori was fought between the Mughal forces led byMirza Aziz Koka and the combined Kathiawar forces in 1591 to protect him. He finally committed suicide when he was surrendered to the Mughal.[27]
The Gujarat Sultanate was the second empire in theIndian subcontinent to utilize and inventfirearms and gunpowder artillery extensively, following theBahmani Sultanate.
Gujarát was divided politically into two main parts; one, called thekhálsah 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 calledmulkgíri or country-seizing circuits.[27]
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 theChaulukya kings. The revenue consisted, as before, of a share of the crops received in kind, supplemented by the levy of special cesses, trade, and transit dues. The chief's share of the crops differed according to the locality; it rarely exceeded one-third of the produce, it rarely fell short of one-sixth. From some parts the chief's share was realised directly from the cultivator by agents calledmantris; from other parts the collection was through superior landowners.[27]
The Áhmedábád kings divided the portion of their territory which was under their direct authority into districts orsarkárs. 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 calledmuktiă. 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 calledthánás, varying in number according to the character of the country and the temper of the people. These posts were in charge of officers calledthánadárs 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.[27] The Gujarat Sultanate had comprised twenty-fivesarkars (administrative units).[42]
For fiscal purposes each district or sarkár was distributed among a certain number of sub-divisions orparganáhs, each under a paid official styledámil ortahsildár. 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 styledPatel or according to Muslim writersmukaddams and in the simple villages of the south they were known asDesai. 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 theMirăt-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.[27]
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 areTarikh-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 akaTabaqat-i-Husam Khani,Tarikh-i-Gujarat by Abu Turab Vali,Mirat-i-Ahmadi. Other important work in Arabic about history of Gujarat includesZafarul-Walih bi Muzaffar wa Alih by Hajji Dabir.[43]
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The distinctive Indo-Islamic architecture style of Gujarat drew micro-architectural elements from earlierMaru-Gurjara architecture and employed them inmihrab, roofs, doors, minarets and facades.[44] In the 15th century, the Indo-Islamic style of Gujarat is especially notable for its inventive and elegant use ofminarets. 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 theJama Mosque, Ahmedabad,[45] which fell down inan 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.[46]The Gujarat Sultans built lavishly, particularly in the capital, Ahmedabad.[47] The sultanate commissioned mosques such as theJami 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 asTeen Darwaza,Bhadra Fort and theDada Harir Stepwell in Ahmedabad.
TheChampaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, the 16th century capital of Gujarat Sultanate, documents the early Islamic and pre-Mughal city that has remained without any change.[48]
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 inMughal architecture, including ornatemihrabs and minarets,jali (perforated screens carved in stone), andchattris (pavilions topped withcupolas).
| History of Gujarat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Stone Age(before 4000 BCE)
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Iron Age(1500–300 BCE)
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Classical period(380 BCE – 1299 CE)
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Medieval and early modern periods(1299–1819)
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Colonial period(1819–1961)
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Post-independence(1947–)
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In the very beginning, Sikandar writes that the Tanks and Khatris were brothers and that their customs and practices resembled very greatly, yet the former were expelled by the latter due to their fondness for drinking; and since that time, they came to be known as Tank or expelled
Firuzšāh Shah Toḡloq (752–90/1351–88) appointed as governor of Gujarat one of his most trusted lieutenants, Ẓafar Khan I, a Punjabi Khatri convert.
The latter sultanate was founded by a former Tughluq governor, perhaps from a family of Punjabi Khatri converts, who took the title Muzaffar Shah in the early fifteenth century but reigned for only a short time.
Zaffar Khan Muzaffar, the first independent ruler of Gujarat was not a foreign Muslim but a Khatri convert, of low subdivision called Tank, originally from southern Punjab.
Zafar Khan was not a foreign Muslim. He was a convert to Islam from a sect of the Khatris known as Tank.
Zafar Khan (entitled Muzaffar Shah) himself was a convert to Islam from a sub-caste of the Khatris known as Tank.
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).
Ahmedabad in Gujarat received its great congregational mosque in 1423, though it had been a province of Delhi since 1297. It was built by Ahmad Shah, a converted Rajput, who, when governor, declared the province an independent sultanate in 1411.
Sadharan a Rajput who converted to Islam
Zafar Khan, a son of Rajput convert to Islam was appointed as governor of Gujarat in 1391AD.
These men, a certain Saharan and his brother Sadhu, were, mostly likely peasants or pastoralists, non-Muslim Tank Rajputs fromThanesar in northwestern India (modern-dayHaryana).
The Gujarati historian Sikandar narrates the story of their ancestors having once been Hindu 'Tanks', a branch of Khatris who were expelled from their community because they took to drinking wine.
The independent kingdom of Gujarat was founded by Zafar Khan, son of Sadharan, a Jat convert to Islam.
Zafar Khan, the founder of the Sultanate of Gujarat, was the son of Saharan, a member of the Kalal (a low caste, the members that dealt in the trade of liquor).
Similarly, the founder of the Gujarat Sultanate, Zafar Khan was a Kalal.
Traditions which seventeenth-century writers incorporated in their works about the origin of the founders of the regional dynasties of Nagaur and Gujarat in the beginning of the fifteenth century not only shed light on the social mobility of low-caste converts to Islam but also hint that close contact with the Muslim élites could have attracted some Hindus towards Islam. According to these traditions, Zafar Khan, founder of the Sultanate of Gujarat and his brother, Shams Khan Dandani (who founded the principality of Nagaur) were the sons of Saharan, member of the Kalal caste.
Similarly, the founder of the Gujarat Sultanate, Zafar Khan was a Kalal.
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
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
{{isbn}}: ignored ISBN errors (link), pp.391-8{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
