State of Malwa after delhi sultanate
Malwa was annexed to the Delhi Sultanate by Ala-ud-din Khalji in 1305 and it continued to be under the authority of Delhi till 1398 when it became independent, like other provinces of the Sultanate, taking advantage of the disorder and confusion that had resulted from the invasion of Timur. It was Dilawar Khan Ghur, probably appointed governor of Malawa by Firuz Shah Tughluq, who made himself independent of the Delhi Sultanate in 1401 although he did neither formally threw off the allegiance of Delhi nor assume royal title.
During Timur’s invasion of India when Sultan Mahmud Tughluq sought asylum in Gujarat but was not received there with the dignity of the sovereign by Muzaffar Shah of Gujarat, he came over to Malwa and stayed there for about three years.
He was received with all honour and dignity of the sovereign by Dilawar Khan which irked his son Alp Khan who retired to Mandu and laid the foundations of a fort there which later became one of the strongest forts of Malwa. On the return of Sultan Mahmud Khan Tughluq to Delhi, Dilawar Khan at the instance of his son Alp Khan assumed the paraphernalia of royalty.
On Dilawar’s death, his ambitious son Alp Khan succeeded him and assumed the title Hushang Shah. Alp Khan was a brave, restless, ambitious ruler who remained engaged in adventurous enterprises and wars all throughout the period of his reign. In 1422 he appeared before Orissa in the guise of a merchant and made a surprise attack on the Raja who had to buy him off by giving him seventy-five elephants.
On his return journey he captured Kherla and took the Raja of the place as a prisoner with him. He fought against the Sultans of Delhi, Jaunpur, Gujarat and of the Bahmani kingdom but met with defeat and disaster. On his death in 1435, his son Ghazni Khan ascended the throne as Muhammad Shah.
His incompetence and lack of attention to the business of state led to his deposition by his minister Mahmud Khan who assumed the title Shah and founded a new dynasty known as the Khalji dynasty of Malwa. His usurpation of the throne was opposed by a section of the nobles and Ahmad Shah of Gujarat who supported Muhammad Shah’s son as the rightful claimant to the throne. But Mahmud Khalji succeeded in overcoming the opposition.
Mahmud Khalji was an intrepid warrior and a successful commander. He fought against Ahmad Shah of Gujarat, Muhammad Shah of Delhi, Muhammad Shah III Bahmani and Rana Kumbha of Mewar. He was defeated in his contests with the Muslim Sultans and his war with Rana Kumbha was indecisive and both sides claimed victory and while Rana of Mewar erected a tower of victory.
Mahmud Khalji built a seven-storeyed column in Mandu in commemoration of the victory. But Mahmud Khalji was decidedly the ablest Sultan of Malwa. He extended the territories of Malwa upto the Satpura range in the south, to the border of Gujarat in the west, to ‘Bundelkhand in the east and Mewar and Harauti in the north’. His fame spread beyond India and the Sultan of Egypt, i.e. the Caliph. Recognised him as Sultan; he also received a mission from Sultan Abu Said.
According to Ferishta, “he was polite, brave, just and learned and during his reign his subjects, Mohammedans as well as Hindus, were happy and maintained a friendly intercourse with each other. Scarcely a year passed when he did not take the field, so that his tent became his home and the field of battle his resting place. His leisure hours were devoted to hearing the histories and memoirs of the courts of different kings of the world.” He was a just, impartial and active administrator. He died in 1469 after long thirty-four years of rule.
Ghiyas-ud-din succeeded his father in 1469. He was a highly religious minded man and passed his time in prayers. He was a devout Muslim, said his daily prayers, did not touch wine or food prohibited by Islam, He was a peace-loving man but his’ last days were rendered unhappy by the quarrels of his two sons. He was poisoned to death by his eldest son Nasir-ud-din who seized the throne in 1500.
Nasir-ud-din was given to drinking and debauchery, and he maintained a harem of 15,000 women. In a fit of drunkenness he one day fell into a lake and was drowned (1510) and was succeeded by his second son Mahmud II. Mahmud II called in Medini Rai, a Rajput chief, to crush his recalcitrant nobles, and appointed him his prime minister. The ascendancy of the Rajputs in the court gave rise to jealousy among the Muslim nobles who invited Muzaffar Shah II of Gujarat against the powerful Rajput prime minister.
state of bengal after delhi sultanate
The Bengal Sultanate seceded from the Delhi Sultanate under Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah in 1352 and had capitals in Gaur, Pandua and Sonargaon. Delhi recognized Bengal’s independence after it was defeated by Ilyas Shah and his son, Sikandar Shah. The kingdom enjoyed a strategic relationship with Ming China. It reached the height of its power during the reigns of Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah and Alauddin Hussain Shah in the 15th and early 16th centuries, when it controlled most of the eastern subcontinent. Trade links were fostered with the Horn of Africa, the Maldives and Malacca. Its political economy featured the Taka as its standard currency. Bengali Muslim architecture flourished under the sultanate’s distinct regional genre, incorporating Bengali and Persian elements. A cosmopolitan literary culture developed in the kingdom.
state of gujrat after delhi sultanate
It was in 1297 that the rich province of Gujarat was conquered and annexed to the Delhi Sultanate by Ala-ud-din Khalji, and continued to remain a province of the Sultanate till 1401. In 1391 Zafar Khan, a son of Rajput convert was appointed governor of Gujarat by Muhammad Shah II Tughluq.
The invasion of Timur gave Zafar Khan the opportunity to throw off the allegiance of Delhi and make himself independent (1401). Zalar Khan was for a time deposed by his son Tatar Khan who occupied the throne as Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Shah but he was put to death by his uncle Shams Khan Zafar Khan now recovered his throne and assumed the title of Sultan Muzaffar Shah and ruled upto 1411.
His reign was marked by a prolonged conflict between Gujarat and Malwa in which Husang Shah was defeated. Muzaffar Shah succeeded in capturing Dhar. On his death his grandson Ahmad Shah became the ruler of Gujarat (1411) who ruled till 1442. He was a good warrior and an ambitious ruler and extended his kingdom by conquest. He waged wars against Malwa, Asirgarh, Rajasthan and other neighbouring states.
With ambition, energy and power of organisation, he first reorganized the administrative system of the kingdom, then he built the modern city of Ahmedabad on the site of the old town of Aswal and made it his capital. He built several stately buildings in this new city, also a grand mosque which exists till today. He is noted for his liberality munificence and impartial justice. But he was a religious fanatic and was intolerant towards his non-Muslim subjects. On his death in 1442, the throne passed to his son Muhammad Shah after whom the successors were both weak and incapable. Of the last two successive weak kings, Daud was deposed by the nobles who raised a grandson of Ahmad Shah to the throne who took the title of Mahmud Begarha.
Mahmud Begarha was the ablest and the greatest king of the dynasty. He possessed a huge physique and his appetite was unusually great. He was an intrepid warrior a successful conqueror and an efficient administrator. He added ‘glory and lusture’ to the kingdom of Gujarat. His rule was of an inordinately long period of fifty-three years during which he put down the recalcitrant courtiers who conspired to put his brother Hasan Khan to the throne.
He then launched upon a career of conquests. He defeated the chiefs of Kutch, conquered the forts of Junagarh and Champaner. He suppressed the pirates of Dwarka. He took the side of Nizam Shah Bahamani against Mahmud Khalji of Malwas whom he defeated signally.
The boundaries of Gujarat extended to the extreme limits under him. In alliance with the Sultan of Egypt he defeated the Portuguese who had monopolised the sea-borne trade in the Indian Ocean. But after their initial defeat the Portuguese recovered their position by defeating the allies near Diu. Mahmud Begarha was obliged to grant them a site for a factory at Diu. Mahmud Begarha died in 1511 and was succeeded by his son Muzaffar Shah II who fought with the Rajputs under Medini Rai and succeeded in restoring Mahmud Khalji of Malwa to the throne.
His death in 1526 was followed by the succession of two incompetent rulers for a few months after which Bahadur Shah, another son of Muzaffar II, became king. He was one of the ablest and most capable rulers of the dynasty and was endowed with courage, valour and love of adventure. He embarked on a career of conquest soon after his accession and defeated Mahmud II of Malwa and annexed it to Gujarat.
He then invaded Mewar and stormed the fort of Chitor. But he got involved in a conflict with the Mughals by giving shelter to Humayun’s rebellious cousins. Humayun defeated him and Malwa was taken away from him. Later he was driven out of Gujarat also. But Humayun had to withdraw his troops from Gujarat which gave Bahadur Shah Opportunity to recover Gujarat.
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