Ghiyath Shah
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Ghiyath Shah, also known as Ghiyas-ud-Din Shah or Ghiyasuddin, was a Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate in the fifteenth century. The son of his predecessor Mahmud Shah I, he reigned from 1469 to 1500. A military leader before his accession, he was known during his reign for his religious devotion and cultural life. During his reign, the Nimatnama-i-Nasiruddin-Shahi was written and illustrated. His exiled son Nasir-ud-Din Shah revolted and took the throne in October 1500. Ghiyasuddin was found dead four months later and is believed to have been poisoned by his son and successor.


Biography

The eldest son of
Mahmud Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Given name Mahmood * Mahmood Ali (1928 ...
, Ghiyath served his father as a military leader. He was made Shah at the death of his father in 1469. According to
Firishta Firishta or Ferešte (), full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi (), was a Persian historian, who later settled in India and served the Deccan Sultans as their court historian. He was born in 1570 and died between 1611 and 1623. Life F ...
, shortly after his accession, he held a grand feast at which he announced that after thirty-four years on the field he was yielding his military rule to his son. He was also known as Ghiyas-ud-Din Shah and Ghiyasuddin. Ghiyasuddin then retired to a life away from the battlefield, constructing the palace of Jahaz Mahal, and created a court that was a place of culture. He was also known as an eccentric lover of art. For example, '' Nimatnama-i-Nasiruddin-Shahi'' (Book of Delights) is a cookery book produced between 1495 and 1505 for the sultan that is richly illustrated in a fusion of Persian and pre-Islamic Indian styles. The book contains fifty images, including the sultan, servants, landscapes and buildings as well as food preparation. He was devoutly religious. He abstained from intoxicating drink and foods forbidden on religious grounds. According to Firishta, he gave instructions to his attendants that he should always be woken at the hour of prayer and that they were known to pull him out of bed while he was asleep. He was a follower of
Moinuddin Chishti Mu'in al-Din Hasan Chishti Sijzi (; February 1143 – March 1236), known reverentially as Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (), was a Persians, Persian Islamic scholar and Sufism, mystic from Sistan, who eventually ended up settling in the Indian subcontin ...
and is believed to have erected a high ceremonial gateway named ''Buland Darwaza'' at the
Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...
Sharif
Dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...
in honour of the scholar. Towards the end of his life, there was conflict between his eldest son Nasir-ud-Din Shah, who had commanded the army, and his youngest son Ala-ud-Din. Nasir-ud-Din was chased from the capital Mando in 1499, but ultimately triumphed, returning to the palace on 22 October 1500. Nasir-ud-Din then executed his brother, along with his children and the rest of his family, and was formally crowned. Ghiyasuddin was found dead four months later, widely believed to have been poisoned by his son and successor.


Attitude towards women

There were allegedly 12,000 women in Ghiyasuddin's court, including musicians, dancers and wrestlers. Ghiyath was interested in female education and set up a Madrasa in Sarangpur to teach the women of his court. Tutors were engaged to teach the royal princesses and over seventy women were well versed in the Quran.


References


See also

*
List of rulers of Malwa The Kingdom of Malwa (disambiguation), Kingdom of Malwa was ruled by kings discontinuously from 350 to 1462. Later Gupta dynasty (575–606) * Mahasenagupta (575–601) * Devagupta (601–606) Paramara dynasty (c. 800–1305 CE) Accord ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghiyath Shah Year of birth missing 1500 deaths Sultans of Malwa 15th-century Indian Muslims 15th-century Indian people 15th-century monarchs in Asia Sons of sultans