Background
Around 1313, an invader named "Du'l-Qadr"—mentioned by Jonaraja to be the commander of a ''Karmasena''—invaded Kashmir with heavy cavalry. Baharistan-i-shahi (''BIS''; anon.) notes him to be a Turko-Mongol raider; the name is given as "Zulchu". Jonaraja notes that Suhadeva, the-then ruler of Kashmir to have had received him with all honors; he sought to pay his way out of a conflict and levied new taxes on all subjects. This did not go down well with the Brahmins who threatened to fast until death, bringing Suhadeva's plans to an end and spurring the inevitable. In contrast, ''BIS'' does not mention any negotiation — the sole aim was said to be to massacre Kashmiris and gain wealth.Biography
Early life
Little is known about the antecedents of Rinchan. While ''BIS'' claims him to have arrived from "Tibet", Jonaraja says that he was a Ladakhi nobleman of Buddhist faith whose father and other relatives were treacherously murdered at the hands of Kalamanya (probably Balti) clan. Rinchan took his revenge by feigning to make peace with the Kalamanyas, lured them unarmed to drink the chalice at a river-bank and had them murdered with a hidden axe. Despite this success, there were ample adversaries left in Ladakh, and he chose to ply his trade in North Kashmir.Ascension to Power
Rinchan was allowed to reside at Gaganagiri by Ramchandra, Governor of Lahara and began to ascend the hierarchy of power; Suhadeva allowed this with the aim of keeping Ramchandra in check. Before long, Rinchan had gained tremendous wealth by selling off Kashmiris as slaves to Ladakh — this trade ran in parallel to Qadr's depredations and did not draw any imperial response. By the time, Qadr decided to return (Jonaraja blames the impending winters whereas ''BIS'' blames the lack of food), Kashmir was in a state of total ruin with the elites dead or distant; Suhadeva lacked popular legitimacy and Rinchan had his eyes set on the throne. That the people were allowed to form armed groups to ward off robbers etc. helped Rinchan; he utilized the loopholes to raise a group of faithful soldiers in Lahar. However, Ramchandra proved to be a hard obstacle to his machinations and Rinchan had him assassinated by sneaking in fellow Ladakhis into Lahara Fort as cloth-merchants over the course of days. The fort was seized, his relatives imprisoned, and Kota—the daughter of Ramchandra—married to Rinchan himself, by force. According to Jonaraja, there was none left to oppose Rinchan's rise to power, Suhadeva fled Kashmir; however, ''BIS'' notes of a battle where Suhadeva was defeated.Rule and conversion
Both Jonaraja and ''BIS'' commend Rinchan to be a kind and just ruler. The rule of law was sacrosanct for everybody irrespective of closeness to the King and his sagacious ways led subjects to believe that the Golden Age of Kashmir had been restored. Shah Mir was appointed as the Prime Minister. Jonaraja notes that soon after his ascension, Rinchan had sought initiation intoArt and Architecture
Rinchan built aDeath and heir
The winters of 1323 worsened Rinchan's headache; he never recovered and breathed his last on 25 November. His remains remain interred near Bud Masheed — the tomb was discovered by archaeologist A. H. Francke in 1909 and reconstructed by Kashmiri Government in 1990. He had a son, Haidar Khan, by his queen Kota, whom he entrusted to the care of Shah Mir. Mir would later kill Haider along with Rani, establishing theNotes
References
{{reflist 1323 deaths 14th-century Indian monarchs Ladakhi people Medieval India People from Ladakh Sultans of Kashmir