Nasir al-Dunya wa'l-Din Abu'l-Mujahid Mahmud Shah () better known as Mahmud Shah II, was a
Sultan of Bengal
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- ...
, who briefly ruled Bengal during the late 15th century.
Ascending to the throne as a young child, he was unable to exercise real power during his short reign, with effective control of the Sultanate held by his
regent
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
, the
Abyssinian slave Habash Khan. His reign marked a period of political instability in the Bengal Sultanate, characterized by the dominance of Abyssinian slaves (Habshis).
Early Life and Succession
Mahmud Shah ascended the throne following the death of Sultan
Saifuddin Firuz Shah
Malik Andil Habshi (), better known by his regnal title Saifuddin Firoze Shah (, ) was the second "Habshi" ruler of the Bengal Sultanate's Habshi dynasty. He was a former army commander of the Sultanate's Ilyas Shahi dynasty.
Biography
Andil was ...
. There is scholarly debate regarding his parentage, with historical sources such ''
Riyaz-us-Salatin
Riyaz-us-Salatin () is the first British-era historic book on the Muslim rule in Bengal that was published in Bengal in 1788. It was written by Ghulam Husain Salim Zaidpuri.
Content
The books starts with the arrival of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar K ...
'' and ''
Tarikh-i-Firishta'' providing some conflicting accounts.
According to recently discovered numismatic evidence studied by historian Syed Ejaz Hussain, coins from Mahmud Shah's reign suggest he was the son of Firuz Shah.
However, some historical accounts, including those by Muhammad Qandahari, identify him as the son of Sultan
Jalaluddin Fateh Shah
Jalaluddin Fateh Shah (, ) was the last ruler of later Ilyas Shahi dynasty of the Bengal Sultanate 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-centu ...
.
Ferishta
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 ...
, p. 202 It has been suggested that Firuz Shah may have treated his master's infant son as his own and possibly adopted him, which could explain the conflicting genealogical claims on the coins.
Reign under Regency
Due to his young age at the time of succession, Mahmud Shah was unable to govern the Sultanate by himself. Real power was exercised by Habash Khan, an Abyssinian slave who became the regent.
According to Qandahari, he had been entrusted by Firuz Shah to place Mahmud on the throne, but took power for himself within a few months.
Habash Khan's influence was so extensive that, according to Ghulam's ''Riyaz-us-Salatin'', "except a bare title, nothing of sovereignty was left to Mahmud Shah."
Ghulam
Ghulam (, ) is an Arabic word meaning ''servant'', ''assistant'', ''boy'', or ''youth''. It is used to describe young servants in Jannah. It is also used to refer to slave-soldiers in the Abbasid, Ottoman, Safavid and to a lesser extent, Mughal e ...
,
p. 126 Habash Khan effectively controlled all financial and administrative affairs as an "Administrator-General", reducing the young Sultan to a figurehead.
Assassination
Mahmud Shah's brief reign came to a violent end through palace conspiracy. Sidi Badr Diwana, another Abyssinian described as a slave, grew jealous of Habash Khan's power and murdered him. After eliminating his rival, Sidi Badr consolidated control over the government.
Subsequently, Sidi Badr conspired with the Paiks (palace guards) and their commandant. One night, he gained unauthorized access to the palace and assassinated the young Sultan Mahmud. The following morning, with the presence of palace nobles who had been complicit in the conspiracy, Sidi Badr ascended the throne, taking the title Sultan
Shamsuddin Muzaffar Shah
Sidi Badr, later known by his regnal name Shams ad-Dīn Muẓaffar Shāh (, ), was the Sultan of Bengal from 1491 to 1493. Described by the Indo-Persian historians as a tyrant, his cruelty was said to have alienated the nobles as well as his comm ...
.
See also
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List of rulers of Bengal
This is a list of rulers of Bengal. For much of History of Bengal, its history, Bengal was split up into several independent kingdoms, completely unifying only several times. In Kingdoms of Ancient India, ancient times, Bengal consisted of the ...
*
History of Bengal
The history of Bengal is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It includes modern-day Bangladesh and the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...
*
History of India
Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...
References
Sultans of Bengal
1490 deaths
Year of birth unknown
15th-century Indian monarchs
Bibliography
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