Islam Shah Suri (born Jalal Khan; 1507 – 22 November 1554) also known as Salim Shah Suri, was Sultan of Hindustan from 27 May 1545 until his death in 1554. He was the second ruler of the

Sur Empire The Sur Empire was an empire ruled by the Afghan (ethnonym), Afghan-origin Sur dynasty in North India, northern India for nearly 16 or 18 years, between 1538/1540 and 1556, with Sasaram (in modern-day Bihar) serving as its capital. It was fou ...

which ruled parts of India in the mid-16th century. He was the second son of

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

History

On his father's death, an emergency meeting of nobles chose Jalal Khan to be successor instead of his elder brother Adil Khan, since he had shown greater military ability. Jalal Khan was crowned on 26 May 1545 and took the title "Islam Shah". He was still worried that his brother would threaten his power and tried to have him captured. But Adil Khan evaded his grasp and raised an army. It marched on Islam Shah Suri while he was at

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

. In the battle Islam Shah came out victorious and Adil Khan fled eastwards, never to be seen again. The support some nobles had given his brother made Islam Shah suspicious, leading him to ruthlessly purge their ranks and strictly subordinate the nobility to the crown. He continued his father's policies of efficient administration and increased centralization. He had little opportunity for military campaigning; the fugitive Mughal emperor

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

, whom his father had overthrown, made one abortive attempt to attack him. Islam Shah did, however, lead one major campaign against Kalinjar.

Death

Islam Shah died on 22 November 1554. He was succeeded by his son Firuz Shah Suri, who was only twelve. Within a few days the boy ruler had been murdered by Sher Shah's nephew Muhammad Mubariz Khan, who then ascended the throne as Muhammad Adil Shah Suri. The incomplete tomb of Islam Shah lies about a kilometer to the north-west of Sher Shah Suri's tomb.

References

External links

Islam Shah Sur, the forerunner of Akbar in reforms and policies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islam Shah Suri 1554 deaths Sultans of the Sur Empire 16th-century Indian Muslims 16th-century Indian monarchs Indian people of Pashtun descent Year of birth unknown