Khurshid Khan ( bn, খুরশিদ খান, fa, ), was an officer of 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 ...

, stationed across various locations such as

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 ...

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

North Bengal North Bengal ( bn, উত্তরবঙ্গ/উত্তর বাংলা) is a term used for the north-western part of Bangladesh and northern part of West Bengal. The Bangladesh part denotes the Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division. Gen ...

and

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

Background

According to the Muzaffar Shah's Nawabganj inscription, Khurshid's name was also Ulugh. This suggests he is of Turkic origin.

Life

Khan was known to have established many mosques throughout Eastern India. In

, he constructed a mosque in

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Silk ...

on 3 August 1446 under the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah. On 19 October 1463, he built a mosque in Hatkhola,

Patharkandi Patharkandi is a township located in Karimganj district in the Indian state of Assam. It is 350 kilometres south of the state capital Guwahati and 32 kilometres south of the district headquarters Karimganj. Politics Patharkandi is part of the Pa ...

during the reign of

Rukunuddin Barbak Shah Ruknuddīn Bārbak Shāh ( bn, রোকনউদ্দীন বারবক শাহ, fa, ; r. 1459–1474) was the son and successor of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah. Initially appointed as the governor of Satgaon during the reign of his fa ...

, the Sultan of Bengal of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. The

tughra A tughra ( ota, طغرا, ṭuġrā) is a calligraphic monogram, seal or signature of a sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. Inspired by the tamgha, it was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted du ...

inscription, which was discovered by a farmer in nearby Anair Haor, refers to the builder as "the Great Khan, Khurshid Khan, chief of the royal palace guards" ( ar, خان معظم خرشيد خان محليان نوبت عالي, Khān Muʿazzam Khurshīd Khān Maḥaliyān Nawbat ʿĀlī). This is the earliest extant

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

stone tablet in the Sylhet region. On 31 May 1465, he built someone's tomb in

and referred to himself in the inscription as Majlis Khurshīd Nawbat Ghayr Maḥaliyān (مجلس خرشيد نوبت خير محليان). It is said that he is the person who, during the reign of Habshi 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 ...

, built a mosque near Nawabganj on the banks of the

Mahananda River The Mahananda River (Pron:/ˌməhɑːˈnʌndə or ˌmɑːhəˈnʌndə/) is a trans-boundary river that flows through the Indian states of Bihar and West Bengal, and Bangladesh. It is an important tributary of the Ganges. Course The Mahananda ...

. This took place on 30 December 1492 and the inscription mentions him as Majlis al-Muʿazzam wal-Mukarram Majlis Ulugh Khurshīd (مجلس المعظم والمكرم مجلس ألغ خرشيد). During the reign of

Alauddin Husayn 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 also constructed a mosque in Diwan Hat,

. The inscription was recently discovered in the mosque's gateway and contained

calligraphy.

Death

During the reign of

, Muqarrab Khan ibn Chand Malik constructed a jama masjid in

Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. During ...

in 1503. At the end of the inscription, the writer prays and wishes well for Majlis Khurshid's

akhirah al-Ākhirah ( ar, الآخرة, derived from ''Akhir'' which means last, ultimate, end or close) is an Arabic term for "the Hereafter". In Islamic eschatology, on the Day of Last Judgment, the natural or temporal world (''dunya'') will come to ...

suggesting that Khurshid died around this time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Khurshid Rulers of Sylhet 15th-century rulers in Asia 15th-century Indian Muslims 1503 deaths Bengal Sultanate officers

Background

Life

Death

See also

References