Shams-ud-Din Shah Mir () was a ruler of

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

and founder of the

Shah Mir dynasty The Shah Mir dynasty was a dynasty that ruled the region of Kashmir in the Indian subcontinent. The dynasty is named after its founder, Shah Mir. During the rule of the dynasty from 1339 to 1561, Islam forcefully established in Kashmir. Origin ...

. Shah Mir is believed to have come to

during the rule of Suhadeva (), where he rose to prominence. After the death of Suhadeva and his brother Udayanadeva, Shah Mir proposed for marriage to

Kota Rani Kota Rani (d. 1344) was the last ruler of the Hindu Lohara dynasty in Kashmir.She was also the last female ruler of Kashmir. She was regent during the minority of her son in 1323−1338, and ruled as monarch in 1338−1339. She was deposed by Sha ...

, she refused and continued her rule for five months till 1339 and appointed Bhutta Bhikshana as prime minister. After the death of

, Shah Mir established his own kingship, founding the Shah Mir dynasty in 1339, which lasted till 1561.

Origin

There are two theories regarding Shah Mir's origin. Some Persian chronicles of Kashmir describe Shah Mir as a descendant of the rulers of

Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

. Historian A. Q. Rafiqi thinks it more likely that he was a descendant of Persian or Turkic immigrants to Swat. It has also been suggested that he belonged to a Sufi or Qadiri family. Some scholars state that the Panjgabbar valley, the location described by Jonaraja, was actually peopled by

Khasas Khasas (Devanāgarī: खश; ') were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and a late Janapada kingdom from Himalayan regions of northern Indian subcontinent mentioned in the various historical Indian inscriptions and ancient Indian Hindu and Tibetan lite ...

and so ascribe a Khasa ethnicity to Shah Mir. Most modern historians accept the Swati origins of Shah Mir. Kashmiri scholar N. K. Zutshi, having critically examined the sources, reconciles the two versions by noting that the Persian chronicles mentions ''Swadgir'' rather than Swat, which he interprets as ''Swadgabar'', meaning "suburbs of Gabar", which coincides with Jonaraja's description of ''Panchagahvara-Simani'' (on the borders of Panchagagvara). A. Q. Rafiqi states:

Career

Early Service

During the reign of Suhadeva, a Tatar chief by the name of Zulju invaded Kashmir and ravaged it. Suhadeva fled the country and his general Ramachandra occupied the throne. In the confusion

Rinchan Sadruddin Shah, also known as Rinchan, was the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir. He ruled Kashmir from 1320 to 1323. Background Around 1313, an invader named "Du'l-Qadr"—mentioned by Jonaraja to be the commander of a ''Karmasena''—invaded Kas ...

(),Majumdar, R.C. (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.372–80 sought the aid of various generals, including Shah Mir, and caused an internal uprising, seizing the throne. He married

, the daughter of Ramachandra. Rinchan embraced

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

at the hands of the ascetic,

Bulbul Shah Syed Sharf-Ud-Din Abdul Rehman Shah ( Persian:سيٌد شرف الدٌين عبد الرٌَحمان شاه) popularly known as Bulbul Shah ( Persian: بلبل شاه ) was a 14th-century Turkistani Sufi of Suhrawardi order. He introduced first ...

, and took the

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 ...

name of Sultan Sadruddin. He was later attacked by rebels, and was badly wounded, dying in 1323 A.D. Just before his death Sultan Sadruddin summoned his trusted minister, Shah Mir, who had since then risen to some prominence, and put his son, Haider, and wife,

, in his care. After the death of Sadruddin,

married Udayanadeva, the brother of Suhadeva. However he was a weak ruler, so nearly all duties associated with governance fell on Kota Rani.

During and After the Later Turco-Mongol Invasion

During the reign of Udayanadeva, the Kashmir Valley was again invaded by

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

- Turk forces, and Udayanadeva fled to Ladakh. Kota Rani, along with Shah Mir, called upon the many disorganized Damara (warlords of Kashmir), rallying them together. This now unified resistance defeated the invading armies, prompting their retreat from the valley.

Revolt Against Kota Rani

In the aftermath of the conflict, Shah Mir won prestige for his role in unifying the people. Kota Rani took notice of his increasing popularity, and in an effort to check him, appointed Bhatta Bhiksana, a powerful man within the kingdom, as her Prime Minister. She also decided to move her capital to Andarkot, away from Srinagar, where Shah Mir had a great influence. This enraged Shah Mir, as he felt ignored in spite of his great labors for the kingdom. He had Bhiksana assassinated , and asked Kota Rani to marry him and share power, threatening to wage war on her if she was to refuse. She declined, and the two of them began organizing their armies. Shah Mir set out with his army from Srinagar towards Andarkot. Kota Rani sent out a force to check his advance, but it was promptly defeated. The fort at Andarkot was then laid siege to. While this was going on, many of Kota Rani's troops, seeing the futility of the situation, deserted and joined Shah Mir, to whom most important chiefs in the kingdom had already pledged allegiance. Kota Rani soon surrendered, and accepted Shah Mir's earlier proposal. However given the awkward situation in which Kota Rani accepted, and the possibility for a counter-uprising, made more probable when accounting for the small slivers of support Kota Ranis till had, Shah Mir could not take any risks. Kota Rani and her two sons were imprisoned, where they later died.

Aftermath and Establishment of the Sultanate

With Kota Rani defeated, Shar Mir declared himself ruler, taking on the title Sultan Shams-ud-Din. Shams-ud-Din worked to establish Islam in Kashmir and was aided by his descendants. In an effort to keep the local feudal chiefs in check, he raised to power two indigenous families, the Magres and the Chaks. He also introduced a new era to the people of Kashmir, called the Kashmiri Era. This replaced the Laukika Era that had existed prior to this. The Kashmiri Era began with Rinchan's accession and conversion to Islam in 720 A.H. (~1320 CE) This Era remained in use until the Mughal Conquest of Kashmir in 1586. Shams-ud-Din had two sons, Jamshed and Ali Sher. Shah Mir Tomb

He reigned for three years and five months from 1339–42. He is currently buried in Andarkot, near Sambal.

Succession

Sultan Shah Mir died in 1342. He was buried in Andarkot, near Sambal. He was succeeded by Sultan Jamshed as the second sultan of ShahMiri Sultanate.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

Baharistan-i-Shahi: A Chronicle of Mediaeval Kashmir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah Mir Sultans of Kashmir 14th-century Indian Muslims