Jalaluddin Fateh Shah (, ) was the last ruler of later

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 ...

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- ...

reigning from 1481 to 1487. He was the uncle and successor of Sultan Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah.

Early life and family

Fateh was born in the 14th-century into an aristocratic

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> 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 ...

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

family in the

. His forefathers – the Ilyas Shahis – were the inaugural dynasty of Bengal. Despite his family's long presence in the region, historians such as

Ghulam Husain Salim Ğulām Husayn "Salīm" Zaydpūrī was a historian who migrated to Bengal and was employed there as a postmaster to the English East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was ...

assert that Fateh's ancestors were of

Sistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspond ...

i origin, hailing from what is now eastern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and southern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. His predecessors lost control of Bengal to the Ganesha dynasty, and his father,

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 ...

, was a farmer of rural Bengal in his early life. Following a coup in 1435, the nobles of Bengal installed Fateh's father to the throne, thus re-establishing Ilyas Shahi rule in Bengal.

Accession and reign

Fateh Shah's accession occurred in 1481, as the nobles of Bengal deemed his brother Nuruddin Sikandar Shah to be mentally unfit. No reference of military expedition led by Fateh Shah is found. But from the numismatic evidence it can be presumed that his kingdom extended to

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

in the northeast and to the river Damodar in the southwest. During his reign, the Habshis took important and influential positions in his court. Fateh Shah took some measures to take back control. But a conspiracy rose against him and later he was assassinated by the commander of the Habshi palace-guards, Shahzada Barbak, in 1487. By his death, the rule of Ilyas dynasty came to an end.

References

1487 deaths Year of birth unknown 15th-century Indian monarchs Ilyas Shahi dynasty 15th-century Bengalis {{India-royal-stub

Early life and family

Accession and reign

See also

References