The Malwa Sultanate was a late medieval kingdom in the Malwa region, covering the present day

Indian states India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

and south-eastern

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

from 1401 to 1562. It was founded by Dilawar Khan, who following

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

's invasion and the disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1401, made Malwa an independent realm. Following the Battle of Gagron in 1519, much of the Sultanate came under the brief control of Maharana of Mewar

Rana Sanga Sangram Singh I (12 April 1482 – 30 January 1528), most commonly known as Rana Sanga, was the Rana of Mewar, Maharana of Mewar from 1509 to 1528. A member of the List of Ranas of Mewar, Sisodia dynasty, he controlled parts of present-day Ra ...

, and he appointed one of his vassals,

Medini Rai Medini Rai (died 1528) was a vassal chief of Sisodia Dynasty, Sisodia king Rana Sanga. He ruled much of the Malwa under the lordship of Rana Sanga, who helped him in defeating the Sultan of Malwa and conquering Malwa, Chanderi was his capital. ...

, to rule over the Sultanate. In 1562, the Sultanate was conquered from its last ruler,

Baz Bahadur Bayazid Baz Bahadur Khan was the last Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate, who reigned from 1555 to 1562. He succeeded his father, Shuja'at Khan. He is known for his romantic liaison with Roopmati. Baz Bahadur as sultan did not bother to look aft ...

, by the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

under

Akbar the Great Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor exp ...

, and it became a

subah A ''Subah'' is a term for a province or state in several South Asian languages. It was introduced by the Mughal Empire to refer to its subdivisions or provinces; and was also adopted by other polities of the Indian subcontinent. The word is derive ...

of the empire. The Sultanate was predominantly ruled by Afghan and Turco-Afghan dynasties throughout its existence.

History

Dilawar Khan Ghuri was an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

Turco-Afghan In the historiography of the Indian subcontinent, the term Turco-Afghan refers to the successive Islamic dynasties of the Ghaznavids, and the Delhi Sultanate, all of which had their origin in Turkic peoples from Central Asia. The Turco-Afghan period ...

governor of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

. Dilawar Khan had ceased to pay tribute to Delhi after 1392. In 1437, the Ghurid dynasty of Dilawar Khan was overthrown by Mahmud Khan, a Khalji Turko-Afghan descendant of the

Khalji dynasty The Khalji or Khilji dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate for three decades between 1290 and 1320. It was the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate which covered large swaths of the Indian subcontinent.

of the

. After the Khiljis were deposed, it was ruled by Shujaat Khan, an Afghan governor of Malwa under

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

. Shujaat Khan's son,

declared independence in 1555, and ruled until the end of the Malwa Sultanate.

Ghurid dynasty

The sultanate of

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

was founded by Dilawar Khan Ghuri, the governor of Malwa for the

, who asserted his independence in 1392 and founded a "Ghurid dynasty", but did not actually assume the ensigns of royalty till 1401. Initially

Dhar Dhar is a city located in Dhar district of the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great Britain, it was the capital of the Dhar ...

was the capital of the new kingdom, but soon it was shifted to

Mandu Mandu may refer to: Geographic toponyms * Mandu River, a river in Minas Gerais, Brazil * Mandu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a village * Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, a ruined city in Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh, India * Mandu, Jharkhand, ...

, which was renamed Shadiabad (the city of joy). After his death, he was succeeded by his son Alp Khan, who assumed the title of Hoshang Shah. The Muzaffarids under Zafar Khan Muzaffar Shah I accused Hoshang of

parricide Parricide is the deliberate killing of one's own parent, spouse, child, or other close relative. However, the term is sometimes used more generally to refer to the intentional killing of a near relative. It is an umbrella term that can be used to ...

and invaded Malwa. Hoshang was defeated and captured as a prisoner, while a Muzaffarid governor was appointed at

Khalji dynasty

The Ghurid dynasty, founded by Dilawar Khan Ghuri, was replaced by Mahmud Shah I, who proclaimed himself king on 16 May 1436. The Khalji dynasty, founded by him, ruled over Malwa till 1531. Sweets 1

The sultanate saw heavy decline in 1519 after the continues invasions of Rajput chief

Mewar Mewar, also spelled as Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasth ...

Mahmud Khalji Mahmud Khalji (1436–1469), also known as Mahmud Khilji and Ala-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I, was the Sultan of Malwa, in present-day Madhya Pradesh, India. He ascended the throne in 1435 after assassinating Mohammad, the son of the previous ruler, Ho ...

I was succeeded by his eldest son Ghiyas-ud-Din. The last days of Ghiyas-ud-Din were embittered by a struggle for throne between his two sons, with Nasir-ud-Din emerging victorious over Ala-ud-Din and ascending the throne on 22 October 1510, The last ruler Mahmud Shah II surrendered to Bahadur Shah, the

sultan of Gujarat The Gujarat Sultanate or Sultanate of Gujarat was a late medieval Islamic Indian kingdom in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat. The kingdom was established in 1394 when Muzaffar Shah I, the Governor of Gujarat, declar ...

after the fort of Mandu fell to Bahadur on 25 May 1531.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.173-86

Muzaffarid Conquest

Since 1518, Mahmud Shah II was a vassal of the Gujarat Sultan. The last ruler Mahmud Shah II surrendered to Bahadur Shah, the

after the fort of Mandu fell to Bahadur on 25 May 1531. During 1531 – 1537 the kingdom was annexed under the control of Bahadur Shah, though the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

emperor

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

captured it for a short period during 1535–36. The Gujaratis regained Malwa giving allegiance to Bahadur Shah until 1542.

Restored Khalji dynasty

In 1537, Qadir Shah, an ex-officer of the previous Khalji dynasty rulers, regained control over a part of the erstwhile kingdom. But in 1542,

conquered the kingdom, defeating him and appointed Shuja'at Khan as the governor. His son,

, declared himself independent in 1555. Darya Khan Gujarati, the ex-Wazir of Mahmud Khan of Gujarat ruled Ujjain. In 1561, emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

sent the Mughal army, led by

Adham Khan Adham Khan (1531 – 16 May 1562) was a general of Mughal emperor Akbar. He was the younger son of Maham Anga, and thus, was the foster brother of Akbar. In his fourth regnal year, Akbar married him to Javeda Begum, the daughter of Baqi Khan B ...

and Pir Muhammad Khan, which attacked

and defeated Baz Bahadur in the battle of Sarangpur on 29 March 1561, culminating in the Mughal conquest of Malwa. Akbar soon recalled Adham Khan and made over command to Pir Muhammad. Pir Muhammad attacked

Khandesh Khandesh is a geographic region in Maharashtra, India. It was made up of present Jalgaon, Dhule and Nandurbar districts. It also said that Burhanpur District of Madhya Pradesh was also its part. The region have seen many geographical ch ...

and proceeded up to

Burhanpur Burhanpur is a historical city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative seat of Burhanpur District. It is situated on the north bank of the Tapti River and northeast of city of Mumbai , southwest of the state's capita ...

, but he was defeated by a coalition of three powers: Miran Mubarak Shah II of

, Tufal Khan of Berar Sultanate and Baz Bahadur. Pir Muhammad died while retreating. The confederate army pursued the Mughals and drove them out of Malwa. Baz Bahadur regained his kingdom for a short period. In 1562, Akbar sent another army, led by Abdullah Khan, an Uzbeg, which finally defeated Baz Bahadur. He fled to

Chittor Chittorgarh (; also Chitror or Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It wa ...

. It became the Malwa Subah (top-level province) of the Mughal empire, with seat at

Ujjain Ujjain (, , old name Avantika, ) or Ujjayinī is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative as well as religious centre of Ujjain ...

and Abdullah Khan became its first governor.

Art

Many remarkable illustrated manuscripts were prepared during the period of the sultanate. An illustrated manuscript of ''Kalpa Sutra'' (1439) (presently in the National Museum, Delhi) was prepared in Mandu during the reign of Mahmud Shah IKhare, M.D. (ed.) (1981). ''Malwa through the Ages'', Bhopal: the Directorate of Archaeology & Museums, Government of M.P., pp.193-5 But the most interesting is a manuscript of the '' Nimat Nama'', a treatise on the art of cooking, which bears many portraits of Ghiyas-ud-Din Shah but the colophon bears the name of Nasir-ud-Din Shah. The other notable illustrated manuscripts of this period are of the ''Miftah-ul-Fuzala'', a dictionary of rare words, the ''Bustan'' (1502) painted by Haji Mahmud and the ''Aja'ib-us-San'ati'' (1508). Another manuscript of the ''Anwar-i-Suhaili'' (now in the National Museum, Delhi) probably also belong to this period.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). ''The Mughul Empire'', Mumbai:Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ,pp.804-5

List of rulers

Notes

External links

Coins of the Malwa Sultanate
at the Coin India Galleries {{Authority control History of Ujjain States and territories disestablished in the 1560s