Sultanate of Ma'bar | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1335–1378 | |||||||||
| Capital | Madurai | ||||||||
| Official languages | Persian Hindustani[1] | ||||||||
| Common languages | Tamil | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam (official) | ||||||||
| Government | Absolute Monarchy | ||||||||
• 1335–1339 | Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan (first) | ||||||||
• 1368–1378 | Sikandar Shah (last) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1335 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1378 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of |  India | ||||||||
| Part ofa series on |
| History of Tamil Nadu |
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TheMa'bar Sultanate, also known as theMadurai Sultanate, was a short lived kingdom based in the city ofMadurai in modern-dayTamil Nadu,India. It was dominated byHindustani speakingMuslims.[1] The sultanate was proclaimed in 1335 in Madurai led byJalaluddin Ahsan Khan, a native ofKaithal inNorth India,[2] declared his independence from theSultanate of Delhi.
Ahsan Khan and his descendants ruled the Madurai Sultanate and surrounding territories until 1378 when the last sultan, Ala-ud-Din Sikandar Shah was killed in the battle of Madurai byKumara Kampana and his forces were defeated byVijayanagara forces and the Vijayanagara Empire conquered the Sultanate. During this short span of 43 years, the Sultanate had eight different rulers.
The founder of the Madurai Sultanate,Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, was called aSayyid native ofKaithal,[3][4] while also being called anAfghan.[5]
In 1325 CE, Fakhruddin Jauna Khan acceded to the throne in Delhi asMuhammad bin Tughluq. His plans for invadingIran andGreater Khorasan was destroyed by the bankruptcy of his treasury and led to the issuing of token currency. This led to counterfeiting and further worsened the sultanate's finances. He was unable to pay his huge army and the soldiers stationed in distant provinces revolted. The first province to rebel was Bengal and Ma'bar soon followed and both of them became independent. The ruler of Ma'bar,Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan declared independence from the Delhi Sultanate and set up the Madurai Sultanate.[6] The exact year of founding of the Madurai Sultanate is not clear. Numismatic evidence points to 1335 CE as the founding year.[7] The Iranian historianFirishta however places the year of Ma'bar's revolt as 1340 CE.[8]
This short lived Madurai Sultanate dynasty at Madurai came into existence following the rule of thePandya dynasty inTenkasi, and it ruledMadurai,Tiruchirapalli and parts ofSouth Arcot, for the next 43 years, first as feudatories of theDelhi Sultanate and later an independent Sultanate until 1378 CE when the Vijayanagara Empire destroyed and conquered them.[9] The Madurai Sultanate was destroyed and conquered by theVijayanagara Empire, later followed by theMadurai Nayakas.
A rich merchant from the Madurai Sultanate, Abu Ali (P'aehali 孛哈里), was associated closely with the Madurai Sultanate royal family. After falling out with them, he moved toYuan China, received an appointment and a Korean woman as his wife; the woman was formerly married to Sangha (桑哥, a Tibetan[10]) and her father was Ch'ae In'gyu (蔡仁揆).[11][12]
Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan declared independence fromDelhi Sultanate around 1335 CE. His daughter was married to the historianIbn Battuta and his son Ibrahim was the purse bearer ofMuhammad bin Tughluq.[13] When Tughluq heard of Jalaluddin's rebellion he had Ibrahim killed in retaliation. Jalaluddin is variously referred to as "Syed", "Hasan" or "Hussun" by the historiansFirishta andZiauddin Barani. Tughluq tried to conquer theTamil region, known in Muslim chronicles as Ma'bar back in 1337 CE. But he fell ill at Bidar on the way to Ma'bar and had to return toDeogiri. His army was defeated by Jalaluddin.[14] Jalaluddin was killed by one of his nobles in 1340 CE.
After Jalaluddin's murder, Ala-ud-Din Udauji Shah took power in 1340 CE. He was succeeded by his son in law Qutb-ud-Din Firuz Shah, who in turn was assassinated within forty days of taking power. Qutbuddin's killer Ghiyas-ud-din Dhamagani took over as Sultan in 1340.
Ghiyasuddin was defeated by the Hoysala kingVeera Ballala III at first, but later managed to capture and kill Ballala in 1343 CE duringthe siege of Kannanur Koppam. Ghiyasuddin captured Balalla, robbed him of his wealth, had him killed and his stuffed body displayed on the walls ofMadurai.[15] Ghiyasuddin died in 1344 CE from the after effects of anaphrodisiac.
During his reign,Ibn Battuta, theMuslimMoroccan explorer known for his extensive travels through Africa, Asia, Europe visited his court while on his way toChina. He marriedJalaluddin Ahsan Khan's daughter. His travel notes mention Ghiyas-ud-Din Muhammad Damghani's atrocious behaviour towards the local population. His army under his personal orders had the habit of frequently rounding up the local Hindu villagers, indiscriminatelyimpaling them on sharpened wooden spikes and leaving them to die.[16] These accounts of were published in a travelogue that has come to be known asThe Rihla (lit. "The Journey"). This history is also displayed in theIbn Battuta Mall,Dubai,United Arab Emirates.
Ghiyasuddin was succeeded by his nephew Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Damghan Shah, reportedly a soldier who originated fromDelhi. He fled Hindustan and joined his uncle in Madurai.[17] He upon ascension quickly started dismissing and killing many of the officers and nobles and various political enemies who were likely to disturb his possession of the throne.[16] He too fell into decline and was killed in a short time.
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From contemporary historical accounts, the rulers of Madurai Sultanate come across as tyrants and persecutors of Hindus. BothIbn Batutta's andGangadevi's accounts contain graphic descriptions of atrocities committed by the Sultans on the Hindu population.
Ibn Batuta describes Ghiyasuddin Dhamgani's actions as:
the Hindu prisoners were divided into four sections and taken to each of the four gates of the great catcar. There, on the stakes they had carried, the prisoners were impaled. Afterwards their wives were killed and tied by their hair to these pales. Little children were massacred on the bosoms of their mothers and their corpses left there. Then, the camp was razed, and they started cutting down the trees of another forest. In the same manner did they treat their later Hindu prisoners. This is shameful conduct such as I have not known any other sovereign guilty of. It is for this that God hastened the death of Ghiyasuddin.
One day whilst theQazi and I were having our food with (Ghiyasuddin), the Qazi to his right and I to his left, an infidel was brought before him accompanied by his wife and son aged seven years. The Sultan made a sign with his hand to the executioners to cut off the head of this man; then he said to them in Arabic: 'and the son and the wife.' They cut off their heads and I turned my eyes away. When I looked again, I saw their heads lying on the ground.
I was another time with the Sultan Ghiyasuddin when a Hindu was brought into his presence. He uttered words I did not understand, and immediately several of his followers drew their daggers. I rose hurriedly, and he said to me; 'Where are you going' ? I replied: 'I am going to say my afternoon (4 o'clock) prayers.' He understood my reason, smiled, and ordered the hands and feet of the idolater to be cut off. On my return I found the unfortunate swimming in his blood.[18]
— Ibn Battuta,The Rihla, Page 236
Gangadevi'sMadhura Vijayam declares the Madurai Sultanate's rule to be the pain to thethree worlds:
O mighty and brave king! Go forth then, and without further delay, uproot from my lands, this Kingdom of the Turushkas, the pain to the three worlds. Go forth my dear king, and securing your victory, establish one hundred victory pillars in middle of the famed Ramasetu![19]
— Gangadevi,Madhura Vijayam, A portion from the Madhura Vijayam
On the condition ofMadurai under the Madurai Sultanate's rule, Gangadevi writes:
I very much lament for what has happened to the groves in Madurai. The coconut trees have all been cut and in their place are to be seen rows of iron spikes with human skulls dangling at the points.
In the highways which were once charming with the sounds of anklets of beautiful women, are now heard the ear-piercing noises of Brahmanas being dragged, bound in iron fetters and then beheaded.
The waters of Tambraparni which were once white with sandal paste rubbed away from the breasts of charming girls are now flowing red with the blood of cattle slaughtered by the Turushka miscreants.[20]
— Gangadevi,Madhura Vijayam, Chattopadhyaya
Ibn Batuta describes a plague afflicting Madurai:
When I arrived at Madurai, there was a contagious disease prevalent there which killed people in a short time. Those who were attacked died in two or three days. If their death was delayed, it was only until the fourth day, that they died. On leaving my dwelling, I saw people either sick and then dead or already dead.[21]
— Ibn Battuta,The Rihla, Page 240
Gangadevi agrees with the Ibn Battuta on the prevalence of unnatural death by plague:
Yama takes his undue toll of death on what are left of the lives if undestroyed by the Turushkas.[22]
— Gangadevi,Madhura Vijayam, Chattopadhyaya
Between 1344 CE and 1357 CE, the Madurai Sultanate went into a decline due to infighting and the conquest of the Madurai Sultanate by the Vijayanagara Empire in the North and South, East and West. This is inferred by the lack of any coinage issued during this period. However coins from 1358 CE to 1378 CE bearing the names of three Madurai Sultans – Shams-ud-Din Adil Shah, Fakhr-ud-Din Mubarak Shah and Ala-ud-Din Sikandar Shah – have been found. This indicates a destruction of the Madurai Sultanate's power during 1344 CE – 1357 CE and a brief revival and destruction during 1357 CE – 1378 CE.[23]
TheVijayanagara Empire under the rule ofBukka Raya I conquered nearly the entirety ofSouth India. A series of Vijayanagaran invasions in the mid-14th century CE succeeded in conquering the Madurai Sultanate. Vijayanagar's armies were led by Bukka Raya I's son,Kumara Kampana of Nayaka clan. Kumara Kampana and his forces first destroyed and conquered theSambuvarayar dynasty in present-dayKanchipuram district, then an ally ofTughlaq dynasty who refused to do the Madurai Sultanate's destruction and conquest and then conquered and destroyed the entire Madurai Sultanate. Bowman states that the Madurai Sultanate was conquered and destroyed by Kumara Kampana and his forces in 1370 CE.[24] Kampana and his forces's conquest and destruction of the entire Madurai Sultanate has been chronicled in the Sanskrit epic poemMadhura Vijayam ("The Victory of Madurai"), written by Kumara Kampana's wifeGangadevi. Kumara Kampana and his forces's conquest and destruction of the entire Madurai Sultanate is celebrated by the restoration of theSrirangamRanganatha Ranganayaki Temple to its all glory in 1371 CE. Vijayanagara formally made Madurai to be its possession duringHarihara II's rule in 1378 CE. It is known that the arrival of Nayakas has changed the course of Madurai's history there by conquering entire South India and destroying and conquering the entire Madurai Sultanate.[25]
| Titular name | Personal name | Reign | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence fromTughlaq dynasty ofDelhi Sultanate. | |||
| Jalal-ud-din Shah جلال الدین شاہ | Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan | 1335 CE – 1339 CE | |
| Ala-ud-din Shah علاء الدین شاہ | Ala-ud-din Udauji Shah | 1339 CE | |
| Qutb-ud-din Shah قطب الدین شاہ | Qutb-ud-Din Firuz Shah | 1339 CE – 1340 CE | |
| Ghiyath-ud-din Shah غیاث الدین شاہ | Ghiyas-ud-Din Muhammad Damghani | 1340 CE – 1344 CE | |
| Nasir-ud-din Shah ناصر الدین شاہ | Nadir-ud-Din Mahmud Damghani | 1344 CE – 1345 CE | |
| Shams-ud-din Shah شمس الدین شاہ | Shams-ud-Din Adil Shah | 1356 CE – 1358 CE | |
| Fakhr-ud-din Shah فخرالدین شاہ | Fakhr-ud-Din Mubarak Shah | 1358 CE – 1368 CE | |
| Ala-ud-din Shah II علاء الدین شاہ | Ala-ud-Din Sikandar Shah | 1368 CE – 1378 CE | |
| Destroyed and Conquered byVijayanagara Empire'sSangama dynasty | |||
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