Malik Ikhtiyār ad-Dīn Yūzbak ( fa, ملک اختیار الدین یوزبک), and later Mughith ad-Din Abu al-Muzaffar ( fa, مغیث الدین ابو المظفر) was the appointed as 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).

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

from 1251 CE to 1255 CE. He became an independent Sultan of North Bengal from 1255 CE to 1257 CE.

As governor

Yuzbak was appointed Governor of

after Masud Jani was unable to defeat the forces delegated by Emperor

Narasingha Deva I Gajapati Langula Narasingha Deva I was an Odia Emperor of Eastern Ganga Dynasty, and a warrior of the early medieval Odisha region who reigned from 1238 CE to 1264 CE. He defeated the Muslim forces of Bengal who constantly threatened the Easter ...

of Eastern Ganga for four years. In 1254, he invaded the Azmardan Raj (present-day

Ajmiriganj Ajmiriganj ( bn, আজমিরিগঞ্জ) is an upazila of Habiganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. History In 1254, the Governor of Bengal Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Iuzbak invaded the Azmardan Raj (present-day Ajmiriganj). He ...

) in northeast Bengal and managed to defeat the local Raja. In 1255, Yuzbak succeeded in repulsing Emperor Narasingha's forces, led by the emperor's son-in-law Savantar, away from south-western

. After capturing Mandaran in western Bengal, Yuzbak fixed the border between the two empires at the

Damodar River Damodar River (Pron: /ˈdʌmoˌdaː/) is a river flowing across the Indian states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. Rich in mineral resources, the valley is home to large-scale mining and industrial activity. Earlier known as the Sorrow of Bengal bec ...

As independent Sultan

Following the recapture of Mandaran and southwestern Bengal, he signed a treaty of alliance with Narasingha and declared himself independent 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).

. He styled himself as Sultan Mughithuddin Abul Muzaffar Iuzbak and struck coins in his own name. As an independent Sultan, Yuzbak had control over much of northern and northwestern Bengal with his capital in Lakhnauti. By 1256, he captured

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

Awadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

from Delhi rule with his own army and war-boats, thus extending his powerful domain.

Defeat

In 1257, Yuzbak commenced an expedition to the

Kamrup region Kamrup is the modern region situated between two rivers, the Manas and the Barnadi in Western Assam, with the same territorial extent as the Colonial and post-Colonial "Undivided Kamrup district". It was the capital region of two of the thr ...

and

Koch Hajo Koch Hajo (1581-1616) was the kingdom under Raghudev and his son Parikshit Narayan of the Koch dynasty that stretched from Sankosh river in the west to the Bhareli river in the east on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river. It was created by di ...

, both in present-day

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. There, Yuzbak and his forces were faced by the battalion of Sandhya, the erstwhile

Rai RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

of Kamrup in Kamarupanagara. With the help of the seasonal spring floods, Sandhya defeated and captured Yuzbak and had him executed in due course. Following the execution, Yuzbak's domain was split into two with

Narasimhadeva I Gajapati Langula Narasingha Deva I was an Odia Emperor of Eastern Ganga Dynasty, and a warrior of the early medieval Odisha region who reigned from 1238 CE to 1264 CE. He defeated the Muslim forces of Bengal who constantly threatened the Easter ...

of Eastern Ganga breaking the alliance and taking over the areas he had lost. Yuzbak's fellow tribesman, Ijjauddin Balban Iuzbaki, succeeded him as Governor of Bengal for 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).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuzbak, Malik Ikhtiyaruddin 13th-century Indian Muslims 13th-century Indian monarchs Governors of Bengal

As governor

As independent Sultan

Defeat

See also

References