Dānyāl, Prince of Bengal ( fa, , d. 1500s), also known as Dulāl Ghāzī ( Bengali–Assamese: দুলাল গাজী), was the eldest son of the

Sultan of Bengal The Sultanate of Bengal (Middle Bengali language, Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centu ...

Alauddin Hussain Shah Ala-ud-din Husain Shah ( bn, আলাউদ্দিন হোসেন শাহ (1494–1519)Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.215-20 was an independent late medieval Sultan of Bengal, who ...

. He performed official duties and engagements on behalf of his father. In 1495, Danyal secured a peace treaty with the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

, and served as the regional Governor of Bihar under the Bengal Sultanate. He was appointed as the Governor of

Kamata Kamata can refer to: Places *Kamata, Tokyo, a neighborhood in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan **Kamata High School, a school located in the Kamata neighborhood, Ōta, Tokyo, Japan * Kamata Kingdom, a 13th-century kingdom in Assam, India * Kamata, New Zealand ...

following its conquest in 1498.

Early life and background

Danyal was born in the 15th-century into an aristocratic

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

family in the

Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...

. In 1494, his father

Husain Husain, a variant spelling of Hussein, is a common Arabic name, especially among Muslims because of the status of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of Mohammad. Notable people with the name include: Arts and literature * Adrian A. Husain, Pakistani poet ...

, the Wazir (prime minister) of Bengal, established a new ruling dynasty of the Sultanate after defeating Sultan

Shamsuddin Muzaffar Shah Sidi Badr, later known by his regnal name Shams ad-Dīn Muẓaffar Shāh ( fa, , bn, শামসউদ্দীন মোজাফফর শাহ), was the Sultan of Bengal from 1490 to 1494. Described by the Indo-Persian historians as a tyran ...

. Danyal is thought to be the eldest son of Husain Shah. Among his seventeen other brothers and at least eleven sisters, Nasrat and

Mahmud Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 199 ...

were future Sultans of Bengal.

Princeship

As the prince of the

Sultanate of Bengal The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...

, Danyal played several important roles during his father's reign.

Sikandar Lodi Sikandar Khan Lodi (died 21 November 1517), born Nizam Khan, was a Pashtun Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate between 1489 and 1517. He became ruler of the Lodi dynasty after the death of his father Bahlul Khan Lodi in July 1489. The second and most ...

, the Afghan ruler of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

, led an expedition to Bengal in 1495 as a result of Danyal's father granting refuge to

Hussain Shah Sharqi The Jaunpur Sultanate ( fa, ) was an independent Islamic state in northern India between 1394 and 1479, ruled by the Sharqi dynasty. It was founded in 1394 by Khwajah-i-Jahan Malik Sarwar, a former wazir of Sultan Nasiruddin Muhammad Shah IV ...

of the defeated

Jaunpur Sultanate The Jaunpur Sultanate ( fa, ) was an independent Islamic state in northern India between 1394 and 1479, ruled by the Sharqi dynasty. It was founded in 1394 by Khwajah-i-Jahan Malik Sarwar, a former wazir of Sultan Nasiruddin Muhammad Shah IV ...

. Danyal was appointed by his father to command the Bengali army against Lodi's forces. The two armies met at

Barh Barh is a town and one of the 6 sub-division of Patna District, Bihar in India. It is located on the southern bank of the Ganges. Population , Barh had a total population of 316,348 residents, with 162,354 males and 153,994 females. Barh ha ...

, and Danyal managed to form a treaty, thus saving Bengal from a possible invasion. The treaty made the town of Barh be the official border of the two sultanates.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.143, 192 A view within the fort of Monghyr

In 903 AH (1497-1498 CE), Danyal was responsible for the construction of a vault at the

Munger Fort The Munger Fort, located at Munger (also spelt as Monghyr during the British Raj), in the state of Bihar, India, is built on a rocky hillock on the south bank of the Ganges River. Its history is not completely dated but it is believed that it wa ...

and an inscription commemorating this was hung on the eastern wall of the nearby

Dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

Shah Nafa Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

(also known as ''Pir Nafa''). There are also local legends about Danyal that are prevalent, and it is generally thought that Danyal ultimately constructed the ''dargah'' too. In 1498, he took part in the

Conquest of Kamata Conquest is the act of military wiktionary:subjugation, subjugation of an enemy by force of Weapon, arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast area ...

commanded by

Shah Ismail Ghazi Shah Ismail Ghazi ( bn, শাহ ইসমাঈল গাজী) was a 15th-century Sufi Muslim preacher based in Bengal. He came to Bengal in the mid-fifteenth century during the reign of Rukunuddin Barbak Shah, settling in the country's capit ...

against King Nilambar of the

Khen dynasty The Khen dynasty (also Khyen dynasty) of Assam was a late medieval dynasty of erstwhile Kamata kingdom. After the fall of the Pala dynasty of Kamrupa, the western region was reorganized into Kamata kingdom, when Sandhya moved his capital from ...

.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.215-20 Following the victory, his father appointed him as the governor of the newly conquered region; that reached up to

Hajo Hajo is a historic town set in the hills northwest of Guwahati, Assam, India. It is a meeting point of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims due to the various pilgrimage sites on the different hills of Hajo. To the Hindus, the Manikut Parbat of Hajo ...

and intended to expand to Central Assam. On

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's co ...

905 AH (July 1500), Danyal constructed a

congregational mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...

in Bengal. Danyal governed Kamata for several more years until the Assamese Bhuyans led by Harup Narayan led a campaign against him. In this campaign, the Bhuyans seized and killed Danyal and his officers, thus ending the Sultanate's short rule over the territory some time before 1509."But the rule of the Muslims was short. The Bhuyans made a united attack on Daniel's garrison and destroyed it to the last man." Musundar Ghazi succeeded Danyal as Bengal's representative in Kamrup.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Hussain Shahi dynasty 1515 deaths 15th-century births Sunni Muslims 16th-century Indian Muslims 15th-century Indian Muslims Hussain Shahi dynasty 15th-century Bengalis 16th-century Bengalis Bengal Sultanate officers

Early life and background

Princeship

See also

References

Bibliography