The Hussain Shahi dynasty ( bn, হোসেন শাহী খান্দান, fa, حسين شاهی خاندان) was a family which ruled 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 disagre ...

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 ...

from 1494 to 1538.

History

The dynasty's founder,

Alauddin Husain Shah Ala-ud-din Husain Shah ( bn, আলাউদ্দিন হোসেন শাহ (1494–1519)Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.215-20 was an independent late medieval Sultan of Bengal, who ...

, a descendant of

Husayn ibn Ali Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

, is considered as the greatest of all the sultans of Bengal for bringing a cultural renaissance during his reign. He conquered Kamrup-Kamata and

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

and extended the Sultanate all the way to the port of

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in ...

, which witnessed the arrival of the first Portuguese merchants. His supposed heir, Shahzada Danyal, who he had appointed as the governor of Kamata, was executed by rebellious chieftains in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. Husain Shah's son and successor,

Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah Nāsir ad-Dīn Naṣrat Shāh ( bn, নাসিরউদ্দীন নুসরত শাহ, fa, ناصر الدین نصرت شاه; r. 1519–1533), also known as Nusrat Shah, was the second Sultan of Bengal belonging to the Hussain Shahi ...

, gave refuge to the Afghans during the invasion of

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through hi ...

though he remained neutral. Known as the Akbar of Bengal, Nasrat was known by the Hindus of Bengal as Nripati Tilak and Jagatbhusan. He encouraged the translation of

Sanskrit literature Sanskrit literature broadly comprises all literature in the Sanskrit language. This includes texts composed in the earliest attested descendant of the Proto-Indo-Aryan language known as Vedic Sanskrit, texts in Classical Sanskrit as well as ...

into the

Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken ...

and built the Chota Sona Masjid. Nasrat Shah's treaty with Babur saved Bengal from a Mughal invasion. The last Sultan of the dynasty,

Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah ( bn, গিয়াসউদ্দীন মাহমুদ শাহ, fa, غیاث الدین محمود شاه) was the last Sultan of the Hussain Shahi dynasty of the Bengal Sultanate, reigning from 1533 to 1538 CE. Th ...

, who continued to rule from

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 ...

, had to contend with rising Afghan activity on his northwestern border. Eventually, the Afghans under the

Sur Empire The Sur Empire ( ps, د سرو امپراتورۍ, dë sru amparāturəi; fa, امپراطوری سور, emperâturi sur) was an Afghan dynasty which ruled a large territory in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent for nearly 16 year ...

broke through and sacked the capital in 1538 where they remained for several decades, successively establishing two independent dynasties ( Muhammad Shahi and Karrani). However, 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 ...

collapsed not long after, transforming Bengal into a confederacy of chieftains known as the

Baro-Bhuiyan The Baro-Bhuyans (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and Baro-Bhuiyans) refers to the confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loose ...

s. This loose confederacy of Bengal was ruled by

Isa Khan Isa Khan (c. 1529 – September 1599) was a Muslim Rajput zamindar who was one of the Baro Bhuiyans (twelve landlords) and a Zamindar of Khizirpur in 16th-century Bengal. Throughout his reign he resisted the Mughal empire invasion. It was o ...

, one of Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah's grandsons through his daughter

Syeda Momena Khatun Syeda Momena Khatun ( bn, সৈয়দা মোমেনা খাঁতুন, fa, , Sayyidah Muʾminah Khātūn) was a princess of the Sultanate of Bengal's Hussain Shahi dynasty. She was the mother of Isa Khan, the leader of the Baro-Bh ...

. Khan was subsequently succeeded by his son, Musa Khan, though his grandson, Masum Khan, was a mere

zamindar A zamindar (Hindustani language, Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian language, Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous Raja, ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughal Em ...

Rulers

} , align="center", Husayn Shah

bn, হুসেন শাহ , align="center", 1494–1519 , - , align="center", ''Sultan Nasir ad-Din''

bn, সুলতান নাসিরউদ্দীন , align="center", Nasrat Shah

bn, নসরত শাহ , align="center", 1519–1533 , - , align="center", ''Sultan `Ala ad-Din''

bn, সুলতান আলাউদ্দীন , align="center",

Firuz Shah Feroz or Firuz is a Persian name meaning 'victorious', derived from the middle Persian name Peroz or Piruz. Related names are Phiroze, Feroze, and Parviz. It may refer to: People (historical) * Peroz I (), Sasanian king of Iran * Peroz II (), Sas ...

bn, ফিরোজ শাহ , align="center", 1533 , - , align="center", ''Sultan Ghiyath ad-Din''

bn, সুলতান গিয়াসউদ্দীন , align="center", Mahmud Shah

bn, মাহমূদ শাহ , align="center", 1533–1538 , - , colspan=4 align="middle", Suri rule takes over Bengal under

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...

in 1538 C.E.

References

1538 in India Sunni dynasties {{Bangladesh-bio-stub

History

Rulers

See also

References