Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah
Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah | |||||
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Sultan of Bengal | |||||
Reign | 1433 - 1436 | ||||
Predecessor | Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah | ||||
Successor | Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah | ||||
Born | Ahmad ibn Muhammad 1419 Bengal Sultanate | ||||
Died | 1436 (aged 16–17) Bengal Sultanate | ||||
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House | Ganesha dynasty | ||||
Father | Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah | ||||
Religion | Sunni Islam |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0_%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%80_%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A6.jpg/220px-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0_%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%80_%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A6.jpg)
Shamsuddīn Aḥmad Shāh (Persian: شمس الدین احمد شاه; Bengali: শামসুদ্দীন আহমদ শাহ ; r. 1433–1436) was a Sultan of Bengal and member of the Ganesha dynasty. He was the son and successor of Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah. After his father's death, he ascended the throne at the age of 14.[1]
Early life[]
Ahmad was born into the ruling family of the Bengal Sultanate, during the reign of his father Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah in 1419. They belonged to the Ganesha dynasty, and Ahmad's grandfather was Raja Ganesha, a Bengali Hindu. Ahmad's father had become a Muslim in 1415 and so Ahmad was born a Bengali Muslim.[1]
Reign[]
Ahmad's father died in Rabiʽ al-Thani 837 AH (November/December 1433 CE) and so Ahmad ascended the throne at 14 years of age.[2]
The Muazzampur Shahi Mosque, adjoining the dargah of Shah Alam Shah Langar, in Muazzampur, Sonargaon was built during the reign of Ahmad Shah.[3] The Persian inscription mentions officers by the name of Firuz Khan and Ali Musa Sultan.[4][5]
According to Firishta, he followed the liberal policy of his father and was known for justice and charity.[6] His father had good ties with Barsbay,[7] a Mamluk sultan who had gifted Jalaluddin with investiture, a robe of honour and a letter of recognition.[8][9] Jalaluddin had died before his own gifts could be dispatched to Barsbay, and so the job was left for Ahmad Shah to complete. Ahmad Shah had slightly delayed the dispatching but nevertheless sent the initial gifts of his father off whilst also adding more gifts of his own.[10] In total, the package was worth over 12,000 red tankas and included clothes, cotton, ginger, myrobalan and other spices. The envoy, travelling from Bengal to Cairo via the Indian Ocean, sank whilst at Jeddah's coast. In 1436, the Governor of Jeddah sent some men to search the Red Sea for the gifts and they came back with the textiles although the spices were damaged by the water. After Barsbay was informed of this by the Governor, he ordered for the arrest of all members of the Bengali embassy, the confiscation of their envoy's merchandise, and banned them from ever travelling to Cairo again.[11]
Death[]
Ahmad Shah ruled for only 3 years. His reign was marked with chaos and anarchy including an invasion led by Ibrahim Shah Sharqi. Later Ahmad Shah was killed by two of his powerful and influential servants, Sadi Khan and Nasir Khan in 1436 AD.[1] He was buried in the Eklakhi Mausoleum with his mother and father.[12] After his assassination, Sadi Khan and Nasir Khan fell out and were eventually overthrown. Bengal became under the Ilyas Shahi dynasty again after the ascension of Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah in 1437.[6]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b c Taher, MA (2012). "Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ Taher, MA (2012). "Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ Muazzam Hussain Khan (2012). "Muazzampur Shahi Mosque". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ Ahmad Hasan Dani (1957). "Analysis of the Inscriptions". Asiatic Society Of Pakistan Vol-ii. pp. 38–41.
- ^ Siddiq, Mohammad Yusuf (19 November 2015). "Inscriptions of the Sultanate period". Epigraphy and Islamic Culture: Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205-1494). Routledge. p. 139.
- ^ a b Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, p.211
- ^ MA Taher (2012). "Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ Al-Sakhawi. Al-Daw al-lami` li ahli al-Qarni al-Tasi (in Arabic).
- ^ ʻAbdallāh Muḥammad Ibn-ʻUmar al-Makkī al-Āṣafī al-Ulughkhānī Hajjī ad-Dabir. Zafar ul wālih bi Muzaffar wa ālihi (in Arabic).
- ^ Abdul Karim (1960). Corpus of the Muslim Coins of Bengal: (down to A. D. 1538). Asiatic Society of Pakistan.
- ^ Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (16 May 2014). Practising Diplomacy in the Mamluk Sultanate: Gifts and Material Culture in the Medieval Islamic World. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 9, 29, 46.
- ^ "Adina Masjid". ASI, Kolkata Circle. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- Rulers of Bengal
- History of West Bengal
- History of Bangladesh
- Indian Muslims
- 15th-century Indian monarchs
- 1436 deaths
- 15th-century Bengalis
- Sunni Muslims
- Bengali Muslims
- People from Dinajpur District, Bangladesh