The House of Ganesha (, ) was the second

royal house A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

of the late medieval

Sultanate of Bengal The Bengal Sultanate ( Middle Bengali: , Classical Persian: ) was a late medieval sultanate based in the Bengal region in the eastern South Asia between the 14th and 16th century. It was the dominant power of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, ...

. It is named after its founder

Raja Ganesha Raja Ganesha was a zamindar ruler and the first Hindu Sultan of the Bengal Sultanate, who took advantage of the weakness of the first Ilyas Shahi dynasty and seized power in Bengal. Contemporary historians of the medieval period considered him ...

, a wealthy Hindu nobleman, who succeeded the former

Ilyas Shahi dynasty The Ilyas Shahi dynasty (, ) was the first independent dynasty to set the foundations of the late medieval Sunni Muslim Sultanate of Bengal. Their rule extended from 1342 to 1487, though interrupted with interregna by their slaves as well as th ...

. His son embraced

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and ruled as

Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah (; born as Jadu/যদু) was a 15th-century Sultan of Bengal and an important figure in medieval Bengali history. Born a Hindu to his aristocratic father Raja Ganesha, the patriarch of the Ganesha dynasty, he assumed t ...

, and was succeeded by his son

Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah Shamsuddīn Aḥmad Shāh (, ; 1433–1436) was the last Sultan of Bengal belonging to the House of Ganesha. 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. Ear ...

History

The Ganesha dynasty began with

in 1414, from the

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

region of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. After Raja Ganesha seized control over Bengal, he faced an imminent threat of invasion. Ganesha appealed to a powerful Muslim holy man named Qutb al Alam to stop the threat. The saint agreed on the condition that Raja Ganesha's son, Jadu, would convert to Islam and rule in his place. Raja Ganesha agreed and Jadu started ruling Bengal as

in 1415. Qutb al Alam died in 1416 and Raja Ganesha was emboldened to depose his son and return to the throne as Danujamarddana Deva. Jalaluddin was reconverted to Hinduism by the ''Golden Cow'' ritual. After the death of his father, Jalaluddin once again converted to Islam and started ruling again.Biographical encyclopedia of Sufis By N. Hanif, pg.320 Jalaluddin's son,

ruled for only 3 years due to chaos and anarchy. The dynasty is known for its liberal policies as well as its focus on justice and charity. Raja Ganesha.jpg, A sketch of Raja Ganesha, the 1st ruler of the Ganesha dynasty, on the cover of a late 19th-century Bengali work, ''Raja Ganesh''. Eklakhi Mausoleum.jpg, Mausoleum of

, the 2nd ruler of the Ganesha dynasty, in Gaur, West Bengal,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. মহজমপুর শাহী মসজিদ.jpg, Firuz Khan and Ali Musa established Muazzampur Shahi Mosque in

Sonargaon Sonargaon (; ; Literary translation, lit. ''Golden Hamlet (place), Hamlet'') is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division. Sonargaon is one of the old capitals of ...

during

's reign.

List of rulers

References

Medieval Bengal Sultans of Bengal 15th-century Indian monarchs {{India-royal-stub