Abul Mujāhid Sikandar Shāh ( bn, আবুল মুজাহিদ সিকান্দর শাহ, fa, ), commonly known as Sikandar Shah; was the second Sultan of Bengal and the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. He was the son of

Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah Haji Ilyas, better known as Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah ( bn, শামসুদ্দীন ইলিয়াস শাহ, fa, ), was the founder of the Sultanate of Bengal and its inaugural Ilyas Shahi dynasty which ruled the region for 150 ye ...

. Sikandar Shah continued to project the imperial ambitions of his father. He defeated the

Sultan of Delhi The following list of Indian monarchs is one of several lists of incumbents. It includes those said to have ruled a portion of the Indian subcontinent, including Sri Lanka. The earliest Indian rulers are known from epigraphical sources fou ...

in 1359. His reign is also noted for its grandiose

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

projects.Majummdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.201-3

Reign

Adina Mosque at Malda district of West Bengal 08

Sikandar Shah assumed the throne after the death of his father. He continued to consolidate and expand the territory of the

Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( 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 centuries. It was the domina ...

, which had emerged as one of the leading powers in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

. The most significant event of his reign was the second invasion of Bengal by the

Firuz Shah Tughluq 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.

in 1359. The Tughlaqs declared Zafar Khan Fars, a Persian noble and son-in-law of

Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah ( bn, ফখরুদ্দীন মুবারক শাহ, fa, ; reigned: 1338–1349), also known simply as Fakhra, was the founder of an independent sultanate comprising modern-day eastern and southeastern Banglad ...

, as the legitimate ruler of Bengal. Firuz Shah Tughluq led an army consisting of 80,000 cavalry, a large infantry and 470 elephants to Bengal. Sikandar Shah took refuge in the fortress of Ekdala, in the same way his father did earlier. The Delhi forces besieged the fort. The Bengal army strongly defended their stronghold until the start of the monsoon. Eventually, Sikandar Shah and Firuz Shah reached a peace treaty, in which Delhi recognized Bengal's independence and withdrew its armed forces. The reign of Sikandar Shah lasted for three decades. It was characterized by stability and prosperity. He constructed many grand buildings and mosques, including the Adina Mosque, which became the largest mosque in the

for a long time. Other structures built during his reign were the tomb and mosque of

Akhi Siraj ʿUthmān Sirāj ad-Dīn al-Bangālī ( ar, عثمان سراج الدين البنغالي; 1258-1357), known affectionately by followers as Akhi Siraj ( bn, আখি সিরাজ), was a 14th-century Bengali Muslim scholar. He was a Sufi bel ...

, the Kotwali Gateway at the southern entrance of Lakhnauti, a vault at Ganagarampur,

Dinajpur Dinajpur ( bn, দিনাজপুর ) is a city and the District headquarters of Dinajpur district situated in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. It was founded in 1786. It is located 413 km north-west of Dhaka in Bangladesh. It is bound ...

and a mosque at Mulla Simla, Hughli. Known as sober and gentle, Sikandar Shah liked the association of learned persons and respected the clergy and Sufis. He continued the liberal and tolerant practices of his father.

Succession

In 1390, one of Sikandar Shah's eighteen sons revolted and occupied

Sonargaon Sonargaon ( bn, সোনারগাঁও; pronounced as ''Show-naar-gaa''; lit. ''Golden Hamlet'') is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division. Sonargaon is on ...

and

Satgaon Saptagram ( Bengali: সপ্তগ্রাম; colloquially called ''Satgaon'') was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in ...

. A war of succession raged. At the Battle of Goalpara, near the capital Pandua, Sikandar Shah was killed by the forces led by his son, despite his son's orders that his father, the Sultan, should not be harmed in any way. That son then assumed the throne of Bengal as Sultan

Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah Ghiyasuddin A'zam Shah ( bn, গিয়াসউদ্দীন আজম শাহ, fa, ) was the third Sultan of Bengal and the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. He was one of the most prominent medieval Bengali sultans. He established diplomatic relatio ...

.KingListsFarEast
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Sikandar Sultans of Bengal 1390 deaths 14th-century Indian Muslims 14th-century Indian monarchs Ilyas Shahi dynasty

Reign

Succession

See also

References