Sidi Badr, later known by his

regnal name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...

Shams ad-Dīn Muẓaffar Shāh ( fa, , bn, শামসউদ্দীন মোজাফফর শাহ), was 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 ...

from 1490 to 1494. Described by the Indo-Persian historians as a tyrant, his cruelty was said to have alienated the nobles as well as his common subjects.

Biography

Sidi Badr was born to a

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 ...

family of

Habshi The Siddi (), also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, or Habshi are an ethnic group inhabiting India and Pakistan. They are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa and Ethiopia, most whom arrived to ...

descent. Intending to takeover

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 ...

, he first killed Habash Khan, the regent of the young Sultan

Mahmud Shah II Mahmud Shah II (reigned: 1489–1490) was an infant Sultan of Bengal with Habsh Khan as his regent. Both of them were killed in 1490 CE by Shamsuddin Muzaffar Shah. See also *List of rulers of Bengal *History of Bengal *History of India ...

, before proceeding to also kill the Sultan. Badr ascended the throne under the title of ''Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah''. He developed an army of 30,000 soldiers; recruiting thousands of

Afghans Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry f ...

and 5,000 Abyssinians. In 896 AH (1490-1491 AD), he constructed a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

Gangarampur Gangarampur is one of the cities and a municipality in Dakshin Dinajpur district in the state of West Bengal, India. Buniadpur is the headquarters of the Gangarampur subdivision. The city is located on the bank of river Punarbhaba. Gangarampur ...

, adjacent to the

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 ...

of Makhdum Mawlana Ata. On 30 December 1492, his governor

Khurshid Khan Khurshid Khan ( bn, খুরশিদ খান, fa, ), was an officer of the Bengal Sultanate, stationed across various locations such as Bihar, Sylhet, Dhaka, North Bengal and Chittagong. Background According to the Muzaffar Shah's Nawa ...

established a Jama 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 ...

. He defeated the

Kamata Kingdom The Kamata Kingdom (pron: ˈkʌmətɑ) emerged in western Kamarupa probably when Sandhya, a ruler of Kamarupanagara, moved his capital west to Kamatapur sometime after 1257 CE. Since it originated in the old seat of the Kamarupa kingdom, a ...

in battle and conquered their territory in the year 898 AH (1492-93 AD) and subsequently issued coins bearing ''Kamata Mardan 898''. On 2 July 1493, the Sultan constructed a building near the

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 ...

Nur Qutb Alam Nūr Quṭb ʿĀlam ( ar, , bn, নূর কুতুব আলম) was a 14th-century Bengali Islamic scholar, author and poet. Based in the erstwhile Bengali capital Hazrat Pandua, he was the son and successor of Alaul Haq, a senior scholar ...

Hazrat Pandua Pandua ( bn, পাণ্ডুয়া), also historically known as Hazrat Pandua ( bn, হজরত পাণ্ডুয়া) and later Firuzabad ( bn, ফিরোজাবাদ), is a ruined city in the Malda district of the Indian sta ...

. In 1494, his wazir (chief minister) Sayyid Husain led a rebellion in which he was killed. Husain succeeded as Sultan, assuming the name

Alauddin Husain 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 ...

, and founded the

Hussain Shahi dynasty The Hussain Shahi dynasty ( bn, হোসেন শাহী খান্দান, fa, حسين شاهی خاندان) was a family which ruled the late medieval Sunni Muslim Sultanate of Bengal from 1494 to 1538. History The dynasty's founder, ...

of Bengal. He also removed all

s from administrative posts, ending Habshi rule in Bengal. These Habshis eventually migrated to

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and the

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in South India, southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bou ...

References

Sultans of Bengal 1494 deaths Year of birth unknown 15th-century Indian monarchs Habshis of Bengal {{india-royal-stub