Bengal–Jaunpur Confrontation
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The Bengal-Jaunpaur war was an early 15th-century conflict that stemmed from the
Jaunpur Sultanate The Jaunpur Sultanate () was a late medieval Indian Muslim state which ruled over much of what is now the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and southern Nepal between 1394 and 1494. It was founded in 1394 by Khwajah-i-Jahan Malik Sarwar ...
's opposition to the overthrowing of the
Bengal Sultanate The Bengal Sultanate (Middle Bengali: , Classical Persian: ) was a Post-classical history, 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- ...
's founding dynasty, the Ilyas Shahi, by
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 ...
. After diplomatic pressure from the
Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire of ...
and
Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...
empires and direct combat support of Shivasimha, the King of Mithila. Jaunpur's sultan Ibrahim Shah Sharqi was convinced to abstain from attacking Bengal.


Nur Qutb Alam

With the persecution of
Bengali Muslims Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work.are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest et ...
following
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 ...
's
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
,
Nur Qutb Alam Nūr Qut̤b ʿĀlam (, ) was a 14th-century Bengali Islamic scholar, author and poet. Based in the erstwhile Bengali capital Hazrat Pandua, he was the son and successor of Alaul Haq, a senior scholar of the Bengal Sultanate. He is noted for his ...
wrote a letter to Sultan Ibrahim Sharqi of Jaunpur to liberate Bengal. He also sent a letter to his father's disciple
Ashraf Jahangir Semnani Sultan Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Semnani (; (1285–1386) was an Iranian Sufi saint from Semnan, Iran. He was the founder of the Ashrafi Sufi order. He is India's third most influential Sufi saint after Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer and Niz ...
, who was in Jaunpur, to also request Sharqi to do so. Responding to the request, Ibrahim Sharqi proceeded towards Bengal, which threatened Ganesha's rule. Ganesha pleaded to Alam to stop the invasion, but Alam's condition was for him to accept
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 ...
. However, Ganesha's wife forbade her husband to convert and instead they offered his son, Jadu, to the Shaykh. With Alam's guidance and mentorship, Jadu became a
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
with the name Muhammad, and ascended the throne 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 ...
. Alam then requested Sharqi to return to Bengal, though he refused, thus continuing the Bengal-Jaunpaur war. Another account of
Nur Qutb Alam Nūr Qut̤b ʿĀlam (, ) was a 14th-century Bengali Islamic scholar, author and poet. Based in the erstwhile Bengali capital Hazrat Pandua, he was the son and successor of Alaul Haq, a senior scholar of the Bengal Sultanate. He is noted for his ...
and his role during the conflict was that he was asked by
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 ...
for help due to the immanent threat of invasion soon after Ganesha usurped the throne. Qutb Alam eventually came to the agreement that Raja Ganesha's son, Jadu, would convert to Islam and rule in his place. Raja Ganesha agreed and Jadu started ruling Bengal 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 ...
in 1415.


Foreign mediation

A diplomat in the court of
Shahrukh Mirza Shah Rukh or Shahrukh Mirza (, ''Šāhrokh''; 20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447. He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who founded the Timurid dynasty in 1370. ...
recorded that the
Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire of ...
ruler of
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intervened during the Bengal-Jaunpur conflict after a request from the Sultan of Bengal. The record speaks of Shahrukh Mirza "directing the ruler of Jaunpur to abstain from attacking the King of Bengal, or to take the consequence upon himself. To which the intimation of the Jaunpur ruler was obedient, and desisted from his attacks upon Bengal". Records from
Ming China The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
state that the
Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzu of Ming, personal name Zhu Di, was the third List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 142 ...
also mediated between Jaunpur and Bengal after the Bengali ambassador in his
Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...
court complained of the conflict. He was also directly supported by the King of Mithila who was also his friend,
Shiva Singh Shiva Singh (born 16 October 1999) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Uttar Pradesh. Career Singh made his List A debut for Uttar Pradesh in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 21 September 2018. Prior to his List A debut, he was named in In ...
of Oiniwar Dynasty in his battle against Ibrahim Sharqi of
Jaunpur Sultanate The Jaunpur Sultanate () was a late medieval Indian Muslim state which ruled over much of what is now the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and southern Nepal between 1394 and 1494. It was founded in 1394 by Khwajah-i-Jahan Malik Sarwar ...
. The mention of this battle is stated in both Arakanese accounts and Mithila accounts.


Power struggle of Raja Ganesha

The war began in 1415 and ended in 1420. The Jaunpaur Sultanate challenged the newly emerged Hindu dynasty of
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 ...
.
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 ...
was later removed as a result but his son
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 ...
converted to Islam and ruled the Sultanate. Parts of the
Jaunpur Sultanate The Jaunpur Sultanate () was a late medieval Indian Muslim state which ruled over much of what is now the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and southern Nepal between 1394 and 1494. It was founded in 1394 by Khwajah-i-Jahan Malik Sarwar ...
was annexed by Bengal and peace was established between the two states.


See also

* Jaunpur-Bhojpur War


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bengal Sultanate-Jaunpur Sultanate War Conflicts in 1415 Conflicts in 1416 Conflicts in 1417 Conflicts in 1418 Conflicts in 1419 Conflicts in 1420 1415 in Asia 1416 in Asia 1417 in Asia 1418 in Asia 1419 in Asia 1420 in Asia Wars involving the Bengal Sultanate Timurid Empire History of the foreign relations of China Jaunpur Sultanate