Sherashamak (

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

: شِیراشَامَک ''The Lion's Claw'') commonly known as Shihabu'd-Din Shah Miri (

: شہاب الدین شاہ میری,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: شِہابُ الدِین شَاہ مِیری), (r. 1354 – 1373), or simply Shihabu'd-Din Shah, was a ruler from 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 ...

based in

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 ...

. He was the fifth Sultan of Kashmir who ruled from 1354 to 1373. Shihab is considered to be one of the most powerful kings of Kashmir as his empire extended from

Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

West Punjab West Punjab ( pnb, ; ur, ) was a province in the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 159,344 km2 (61523 sq mi), including much of the current Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Te ...

and from

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

Chamba Chamba may refer to: People *Gilberto Chamba (born 1961), Ecuadorian serial killer *Jessica Chamba (born 1981), European activist Places Ghana *Chamba, a town in the Northern Region India *Chamba (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Himachal Pradesh *Ch ...

Introduction

Sultan Shihabu’d-din Shah, the fifth Sultan of Kashmir, reigned from 1354 to 1373. Born as (

: شِیراشَامَک) meaning "The Lion's Claw". Shihabu’d-din is considered to be one of the most powerful kings of Kashmiri rulers. His rule marked a period of significant expansion, consolidating an empire that stretched from

and from

Under his reign Kashmiri Sultanate reached its greatest territorial extent.

Military Triumphs

Conquests

As a broad minded intellectual, Shihab'ud-Din, in the first half of his tenure, took care of the Sultanate and brought stability to the social and integral structure of Kashmir. Full of animation and efficiency, Shihab'ud-Din set out to conquer its neighbour polities to expand and glorify his state. Marching through Baramulla, he first occupied

Pakhli Pakhli Sultanate was an ancient sarkar (district) of the Mughal Subah of Punjab, now part of Hazara, Pakistan. It roughly corresponds to the ancient Urasa, the Aρσa or Οΰaρσa which Ptolemy placed between the Bidaspes (Jhelum) and the Indus. ...

and went on to add

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 ...

to his realm. Next, he invaded the Khokhar dominated

Pothohar The Pothohar Plateau ( ur, ) is a plateau in north-eastern Pakistan, located between Indus River and the Jhelum River, forming the northern part of Punjab. Geography Potohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the ...

, which extended from

Attock Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larg ...

to Sialkot. His commander-in-chief (Mir Bakhshi), Malik Candra, on the other hand, subdued

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

, Kishtwar,

, and other

hill states The Hill States of India were princely states lying in the northern border regions of the British Indian Empire. History During the colonial Raj period, two groups of princely states in direct relations with the Province of British Punjab ...

. Occupying all the bordering states in the south, Shihab'ud-Din went on to defeat the Dardic forces of

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...

and the hill states of the north.

Baltistan Baltistan ( ur, ; bft, སྦལ་ཏི་སྟཱན, script=Tibt), also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet ( bft, སྦལ་ཏི་ཡུལ་།, script=Tibt), is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilg ...

under the Maqpons and

under the

Maryul Maryul (also called ''Mar-yul'' of ''mNgah-ris''), later the Kingdom of Ladakh, was a west Tibetan kingdom based in modern-day Ladakh and Tibet. The kingdom had its capital at Shey. The kingdom was founded by Lhachen Palgyigon, during the rul ...

s were, at that time, tributary states of Moghulistan and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, respectively. Shihab'ud-Din, along with Malik Candra, faced the

Baltis Baltis was an ancient Arabian goddess. She was revered at Carrhae and identified with the planet Venus. Isaac of Antioch mentions Baltis in a text written in the middle of the 5th century CE as a deity worshipped by the Arabs. Baltis here is e ...

and Kashgaris, defeating them easily and soundly. He then moved towards Ladakh, beating the joint forces of

Ladakhis Ladakhis or Ladakhi people or Ladakspa are an ethnic group and first-language speakers of the Ladakhi language living in the Ladakh region in the northernmost part of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country ...

and Tibetis. After all these conquests, Shihab'ud-Din returned to Srinagar around 1370 and rather ought to live the rest of his life peacefully but just after some years, in 1373, he died due to a viral illness. One of Sultan Shihabu’d-din's remarkable feats was his victory against the ruler of

, who invaded Kashmir with a formidable army. Despite numerical inferiority, Shihabu’d-din's strategic prowess led to the defeat of the Kashgar forces. This triumph resulted in the annexation of

and

into the Kashmiri rule

March towards Delhi

Sultan Shihabu’d-din's ambitions extended beyond Kashmir, prompting a march towards Delhi. The confrontation occurred at the banks of the River Satluj against

Feroz Shah Tughlaq Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388) was a Muslim ruler from the Tughlaq dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388.

's army. A peace agreement was reached, stipulating that territories from

Sirhind Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Demographics In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and female ...

to Kashmir now belonged to the Kashmiri Empire.

Administration

Hindu Courtiers in a Muslim Court

An intriguing aspect of Shihabu’d-din's reign was his embrace of diversity. He notably retained Hindu courtiers in his administration, with Kota Bhat and Udyashri being prominent figures. This unusual practice set him apart from his predecessors.

References

{{reflist 1373 deaths Sultans of Kashmir Shah Mir dynasty