The Ilyas Shahi dynasty ( bn, ইলিয়াস শাহী খান্দান, fa, الیاس شاهی خاندان) was the first independent dynasty to set the foundations of the late medieval

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

Sultanate of Bengal 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 ...

. Hailing from the

Sistan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan (N ...

region, their rule extended from 1342 to 1487, though interrupted with an

interregna An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

by their slaves as well as the House of Ganesha.

Initial dynasty

Adina Mosque at Malda district of West Bengal 08

The ancestors of Ilyas Shah originated from

, and according to Syed A M R Haque, arrived to

the 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, India ...

as Muslim missionaries and the family were granted

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

s in Bengal in the year 1227. Bengal was under the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

at the time. During the governorship of

Izz al-Din Yahya ʻIzz ad-Dīn Yaḥyā ( fa, , bn, ইজ্জউদ্দীন ইয়াহিয়া, died 1338) was the Governor of the provincial Satgaon who reigned from 1328 to 1338. History Izzuddin was appointed the governor under the Tughlaq De ...

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 t ...

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 year ...

took service under him. Following Yahya's death in 1338, Ilyas Shah took control of Satgaon and declared himself as a Sultan, independent of Delhi. He then waged a campaign, defeating both the Sultans

Alauddin Ali Shah Alī Mubārak ( fa, علی مبارک), better known by his regnal title `Alā ad-Dīn `Alī Shāh ( bn, আলাউদ্দীন আলী শাহ, fa, علاء الدین علی شاه; r. 1338–1342) was an independent Sultan of Lakh ...

and

Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah ( bn, ইখতিয়ারউদ্দিন গাজী শাহ, fa, ; reigned 1349–1352) was an independent sultan of Sonargaon. History Ikhtiyaruddin was the son and successor of Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah. ...

of Lakhnauti and

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 one ...

respectively by 1342. This led to the foundation of Bengal as single political entity and the start 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 dominan ...

and its first dynasty, the Ilyas Shahi. After Shamsuddin's death, his son

Sikandar Shah 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 Sha ...

ascended the throne. Sikandar ruled for the next 30 years and built the Adina Masjid in Pandua in 1368 and Kotwali Darwaza in Gauḍa.

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 ...

, son of Sikandar Shah succeeded the throne and established friendly relationships with the

Ming Empire The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

of China and encouraged trade. During his reign,

Ma Huan Ma Huan (, Xiao'erjing: ) (c. 1380–1460), courtesy name Zongdao (), pen name Mountain-woodcutter (會稽山樵), was a Chinese voyager and translator who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on three of his seven expeditions to the Western Oceans. Ma ...

, a Chinese traveller visited Bengal.

Instability

In 1415, political confusion and weakness of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty led to

Saifuddin Hamza Shah Saifuddin Hamza Shah ( fa, سیف الدین حمزه شاه, bn, সাইফুদ্দীন হামজ়া শাহ) was the fourth Sultan of the first Ilyas dynasty of Bengal reigning from 1410 to 1412. Early life and background Hamza ...

's rule being overthrown by slave

Shihabuddin Bayazid Shah Shihabuddin Bayazid Shah ( fa, شهاب الدین بایزید شاه, bn, শিহাবুদ্দীন বায়েজ়ীদ শাহ) was a Sultan of Bengal for a brief period between 1413 and 1414 CE. He succeeded his father Saifud ...

's family and the House of Ganesha shortly after. Ganesha's son Jadu embraced Islam and assumed the title of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Shah. He was succeeded by his son, Shams ad-Din Ahmad Shah. Ahmad was killed by his nobles in 1436 in an attempt to restore the Ilyas Shahi dynasty.

Restored dynasty

After the death of Shams ad-Din Ahmad, the rule of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty was restored by Mahmud Shah, a descendant of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, who ascended the throne in 1437 as Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah I. In 1487, the last ruler of this dynasty Jalal ad-Din Fatih Shah was killed by his

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 ...

commander of the palace guards, Shahzada Barbak, who ascended the throne under the title, Sultan Barbak Shah. With this, the Ilyas Shahi dynasty's rule over Bengal came to an end.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.205–14 The current

List of rulers

} , align="center",

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 year ...

bn, ইলিয়াস শাহ , align="center", 1342–1358 , - , align="center", ''Sultan Abu al-Mujahid''

bn, সুলতান আবুল মুজাহ্বিদ , align="center",

bn, সিকান্দর শাহ , align="center", 1358–1390 , - , align="center", ''Sultan Ghiyath ad-Din''

bn, সুলতান গিয়াসউদ্দীন , align="center",

Azam Shah Qutb-ud-Din Muhammad Azam (28 June 1653 – 20 June 1707), commonly known as Azam Shah, was briefly the Mughal emperor who reigned from 14 March 1707 to 20 June 1707. He was the third son of the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his chief cons ...

bn, আজ়ম শাহ , align="center", 1390–1411 , - , align="center", ''Sultan Sayf ad-Din''

bn, সুলতান সাইফউদ্দীন , align="center", Hamzah Shah

bn, হামজ়া শাহ , align="center", 1411–1413 , - , align="center", ''Sultan Abu al-Muzaffar''

bn, সুলতান আবুল মুজ়াফফর , align="center",

Muhammad Shah Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the 13th Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the ...

bn, মোহাম্মদ শাহ , align="center", 1413 , - style="background:silver" , align="center", ''Sultan Nasir ad-Din Abu al-Muzaffar''

bn, সুলতান নাসিরউদ্দীন আবুল মোজ়াফ্ফর , align="center", Mahmud Shah

bn, মাহমূদ শাহ , align="center", 1435–1459 , - , align="center", ''Sultan Rukun ad-Din''

bn, সুলতান রোকনউদ্দীন , align="center", Barbak Shah

bn, বারবক শাহ , align="center", 1459–1474 , - , align="center", ''Sultan Shams ad-Din Abu al-Muzaffar''

bn, সুলতান শামসউদ্দীন আবুল মোজ়াফ্ফর , align="center",

Yusuf Shah Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin meaning "God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning "YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name ...

bn, ইউসুফ শাহ , align="center", 1474–1481 , - , align="center", ''Sultan Nur ad-Din''

bn, সুলতান নূরউদ্দীন , align="center",

bn, সিকান্দর শাহ , align="center", 1481 , - , align="center", ''Sultan Jalal ad-Din''

bn, সুলতান জালালউদ্দীন , align="center",

Fateh Shah Fateh Shah was the Hindu Rajput king of Garhwal, a small kingdom in North India, from 1684 to 1716. Campaigns H. G. Walton states that Fateh Shah led an attack from Dehradun on Saharanpur in 1692. Pundirs and Gurjars were expelled out of Dehra ...

bn, ফতেহ শাহ , align="center", 1481–1487 , - , colspan=4 align="middle",

rule takes over

under Shahzada Barbak in 1487 C.E. *''Silver shaded row signifies the start of the Restored Ilyas Shahi dynasty.''

References

External links