Ilyas Shah Dynasty

Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah killed Ali Mubarak Shah, the ruler of Lakhnauti, and established the independent Ilyas Shahi dynasty in Bengal in 1342.

Ziauddin Barani’s book ‘Tarikh-e-Firojshahi‘ describes the condition of Bengal before the establishment of this independent dynasty. The story of the repeated revolts of the rulers of Bengal in the absence of a strong central rule was narrated in his book.

The last notable rebellion in Bengal before the establishment of independent rule was that led by Tughril Khan against Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban. The period of independent rule of Bengal can be divided into 3 phases: Ilyas Shahi dynasty, Hasi dynasty and Hussain Shahi dynasty.

The reign of Ilyas Shahi dynasty in Bengal was divided into 2 phases –

1342-1414 AD – was the first phase.
1435-1487 AD – was the second phase.

Between these two phases of Ilyas Shahi dynasty, the Ganesha-founded Hindu dynasty ruled Bengal from 1414-1435 AD.

Notable Rulers from First Phase of Ilyas Shahi Dynasty (1342-1414 AD):

Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah [1342-1357 AD]

Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah was the first sultan of entire Bengal.
1342: Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah established an independent sultanate by merging the Lakhnauti of Gaur in the northern part, Sonargaon in the eastern part and Satgaon in the southern part of Bengal.
1346 & 1350: Shamsuddin Ilyas invaded Nepal two times. He destroyed the ‘Swayambhnath Stupa’, the famous statue of Pashupatinath, located in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
1350: He founded the city of Hajipur.
1350: During the reign of the Ganga king Bhanudeva II, Shamsuddin invaded Orissa. As a result of this raid, his army looted a lot of wealth from the temple of Jagannathdev at Megheshwar Balaram, Puri.
1352: He shifted the capital of Bengal from Lucknow to Pandua.
1353: During his time Feroze Shah Tughlaq captured Pandua and besieged Ekdala fort. But Feroze Shah accepted the independence of Bengal.
1355: Feroze Shah Tughlaq returned to Delhi and the Koshi River was marked as the boundary between Delhi Sultanate and Bengal.
1357: He conquered parts of Kamarupa and established a mint at Kamarupa.
1358: Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah died and was buried in Ukkacala.

Info: His contemporaries were three Muslim saints – Akhi Sirajuddin, Alaul Haque and Raja Thiabani.

Info: Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah’s 3 major titles were Shah-i-Bangala, Sultan-i-Bangala, and Shah-i-Bangaliana.

Info: Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah was known as “the second Alexander” and “world-conquerer“.

Sikandar Shah [1358-1391 AD]

1358: Shamsuddin was succeeded by his son Sikandar Shah. His reign lasted around 30 years.
1359: Delhi Sultan Firoz Shah invaded Bengal for the second time. Sikandar Shah took refuge in Ekdala fort. Firoz Shah Tughlaq besieged Ekdala fort but the incident was not finally resolved.
But with the beginning of the monsoon season, it became difficult for Feroz Shah’s cavalry to fight in the lowlands of Bengal.
1359: Finally peace was made between Feroze Shah and Sikandar Shah. Feroze Shah again accepted the independence of Bengal.
During the reign of Sikandar Shah, significant progress was made in the field of architecture.
1369: Sikandar Shah built the Adina Mosque in Pandua in 1369, modeled after the mosque in Damascus.
Other architectures built during his period are – All-e-Sirajuddin Mosque, Kotwali Darwaza at Gaur, Mulla Atar Mosque at Gangarampur, Mulla Simlai’s Mosque at Hooghly.
1391: He was killed in a battle (Battle of Goalpara) with his rebel son Ghiyasuddin Azam.

Info: The famous Adina Masjid is built from the ruins of various temples in Lakhnauti.

Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah [1391-1411 AD]

1391: Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah sat on the throne of Bengal after killing his father Sikandar Shah in the Battle of Golpar.
1405, 1408, 1409: He sent delegates to the Chinese Ming Emperor Jung-lo three times in 1405 AD, 1408 AD and 1409 AD, and also received delegates from China. During this period Bengal’s trade relations with China increased.
Ghiyasuddin was the patron of literature and culture.
During his reign, Ma-Kuan (bilingual) came to Bengal.
His royal court was graced by Hafez (Persian poet), Shah Mohammad Sagir and Krittivas Ojha.
He built (provided financial support) two madrasahs in Mecca and Medina. He also built an inn and a canal in Mecca.

Later rulers:

After Ghiyasuddin, Sikandar’s successor Saifuddin Hamza Shah ruled from 1411-1422 AD.
The next two nominal sultans were Sihabuddin Bayazid Shah (1412-1413 AD) and Alauddin Firoz Shah (1414-1415 AD).
Ganesh, a Hindu zamindar of Bhaturia, rose to power by exploiting the weakness of the Sultan of Bengal. These two Sultans of Bengal became his puppet.

Raja Ganesh killed Alauddin Firoz Shah. As a result, Ilyas Shahi rule in Bengal temporarily ended and the Hindu dynasty was established.

Focus: The famous Adina Mosque in Bengal was built by – Sikandar Shah. [WBCS Prelims 2008]

Focus: Which sultan of Bengal established madrasa in Mecca and Medina? – Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah. [WBCS Prelims 2014]

Notable Rulers from Second Phase of Ilyas Shahi Dynasty (1442-1487 AD):

Nasiruddin Mamud Shah [1435-1459 AD]

1435: After the death of Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah, the Amirs and nobles unanimously elected Ilyas Shah’s descendant Nasiruddin Mamud Shah as Sultan. As a result, the Ilyas Shahi dynasty was re-established.
He clashed with the Gajapati king Kapilendradeva of Orissa.
He gave more importance to the military strengthening of Bengal.
During his period, the architecture of Bengal was also enriched.
It was known that he sent ambassadors from his royal house to China twice.

Info: Nasiruddin Mamud Shah took the title ‘Samiruddin Abul Muzaffar Mamud’.

Ruknuddin Barbak Shah [1459-1474 AD]

1459: Bukhanuddin Barbak Shah ascended the throne after Nasiruddin Mamud Shah.
He gave Pandit Brihaspati Misra the title of ‘Pandita Sarvabhaum‘.
He adopted the method of recruiting foreign troops, mainly Hasis and Arabs, to reduce dependence on feudal powers.
At that time, his main supporter in the expansion of Bengal’s borders was Ismail Ghazi, an Arab general.
When the Gajapati king of Orissa attacked and occupied Garmandaran of Hooghly, Ruknuddin Barbak Shah was able to recover it.
He defeated Kamarupraja Kamesvara and also conquered the kingdom of Tirhrita.
His titles were – ‘Al Fazil‘, ‘Al Kamil‘.
He patronized both Hindu and Muslim scholars.
He conferred the title of ‘Pandita Sarvabhaum‘ on Brihaspati Misra and ‘Gunaraj Khan‘ on Maladhar Bose.
Krittivas Ojha received his patronage.
Ibrahim Farooqui also received his patronage.

Info: Barbak Shah’s Hindu councilors were Kedar Ray, Gandharva Ray, Mukunda (royal scholar), Ananta Sen (royal physician).

Info: Barbak Shah introduced Gold Tanka in Bengal.

Later sultans of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty

1476: Barbak Shah’s son Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah ascended the throne of Bengal.
He banned alcohol in his empire and introduced ‘Sharia Law‘ on the matter.
1481: After Shamsuddin’s death in 1481 AD, Sikandar Shah II and Jalaluddin Fateh Shah, the youngest son of Nasiruddin, ascended the throne.
Jalaluddin Fateh Shah was the last Sultan of this dynasty.
During Jalaluddin’s rule the Hasis became powerful and played an important role in the royal court.
Habsis (Abyssinians) forces led by Shahzada Barbak captured the throne after killing Jalaluddin.

Literature Architecture & Art

Among the literary works of Ilyas Shahi dynasty, the most notable are-

Bengali translation of Ramayana by Krittivas Ojha (Krittivasi Ramayana),
Padachandrika (Tika of Amarkosha) by Brihaspati Misra,
Srikrishthavijay by Maladhar Bose,
Shahrafnama by Ibrahim Faruqi etc.
Most of these literatures were written under the patronage of Sultan Ruknuddin Barbak Shah.

Ilyas Shahi dynasty architectural masterpieces are-

Hajipur city built by Haji Ilyas,
Sikandar Shah built Adina Masjid, Al-Isirajuddin Masjid, Kotowali Darwaza,
Jami Masjid built by Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah,
Lotan Masjid (Gaur), Chamkati Masjid, Tantipara Masjid (Gaur), Baish Darwaza Masjid (Hooghly) etc.