Muhammad Shah I, born Tatar Khan, was a ruler of the Muzaffarid dynasty, who reigned over the

Gujarat Sultanate The Gujarat Sultanate or Sultanate of Gujarat was a late medieval Islamic Indian kingdom in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat. The kingdom was established in 1394 when Muzaffar Shah I, the Governor of Gujarat, decla ...

briefly from 1403 (when he deposed his father, Zafar Khan), until 1404, when Zafar Khan regained the throne.

Early life

About 1396, Tatar Khan, leaving his baggage in the fort of

Panipat Panipat () is an industrial , located 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-44 in Panipat district, Haryana, India. It is famous for three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761. The city is also known as ...

, made an attempt to capture

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. But Iqbál Khán took the fort of Pánipat, captured Tátár Khán's baggage, and forced him to withdraw to Gujarát. On the death of Nasir ud din Muhammad Shah III in 1392, Nasir's son Sikandar assumed the throne but died after just after 45 days. Sikandar was succeeded by his brother

Mahmud II Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...

but their cousin Nusrat Khan also claimed similar rank in Firuzabad. In the prevailing situation,

Tamerlane Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timuri ...

invaded India and marched on Delhi in 1398. In early 1399, Tamerlane defeated Mahmud II and looted and destroyed much of Delhi. Sultan Mahmud II escaped and after many wanderings, reached Patan. Mahmud II hoped to secure Zafar Khan's alliance to march to Delhi but Zafar Khan declined. Mahmud II went to Malwa, where he was declined again by local governor. Meanwhile, Mahmud II's son Wazir Iqbal Khan had expelled Nusrat Khan from Delhi. Mahmud returned to Delhi, but no longer enough authority over provinces, which were ruled independently by his governors.

Reign

In 1403, Zafar Khan's son Tatar Khan urged his father to march on Delhi to take advantage of the situation, but Zafar declined. As a result, in 1403, Tatar imprisoned Zafar in Ashaval (now

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

) and declared himself Sultan of Gujarat, reigning as Muhammad Shah I. Tatar humbled the chief of Nandod in

Rajpipla Rajpipla is a town and a municipality in the Narmada district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was the capital of the former Kingdom of Rajpipla. Name Bhil population gave it the name Rajpipla for the ruler resided first under a pipal t ...

, and marched towards Delhi. On the way, Tatar was poisoned by his uncle, Shams Khán Dandáni, at Sinor on the north bank of

Narmada River The Narmada River, previously also known as ''Narbada'' or anglicised as ''Nerbudda'', is the 5th longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest flowing river in the state of Madhya Prade ...

. Some sources says he died naturally due to weather or due to his habit of heavy drinking. After the death of Tatar, Zafar was released from the prison in 1404. Zafar Khán asked his own younger brother Shams Khán Dandáni to carry on the government, but Shams refused. Zafar took over the control over administration. In 1407, he declared himself as Sultan

Muzaffar Shah I Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah I (born Zafar Khan; 30 June 1342 – 10 January 1411) was the founder of the Muzaffarid dynasty in Medieval India, reigning over the Gujarat Sultanate from 1391 to 1403 and again from 1404 to 1411. He was appoint ...

at Birpur or Sherpur, took the insignia of royalty and issued coins in his name.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muhammad Shah I Gujarat sultans 1404 deaths 14th-century Indian monarchs