The Muzaffarid dynasty, also called the Muzaffarids, and sometimes, the Ahmedabad dynasty, ruled the Sultanate of Gujarat in western

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

from 1391 to 1583. The founder of the dynasty was Zafar Khan (later

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 ...

) who was governor of Gujarat under the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

. When the Sultanate was weakened by the sacking of

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 ...

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

in 1398, and Zafar Khan took the opportunity to establish himself as sultan of an independent Gujarat. His Grand son, Ahmed Shah I established the capital at

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 ...

. The dynasty ruled for almost 200 years, until the conquest of Gujarat by the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

in 1572. The sultanate reached its peak of expansion under

Mahmud Begada Abu'l Fath Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I ( Gujarati: અબુલ ફત નાસીર ઉદ દિન મહમુદ શાહ), more famously known as Mahmud Begada, was a Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate. Raised to the throne at a young age ...

, reaching east into

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

and west to the

Gulf of Kutch The Gulf of Kutch is located between the peninsula regions of Kutch and Saurashtra, bounded in the state of Gujarat that borders Pakistan. It opens towards the Arabian Sea facing the Gulf of Oman. It is about 50 km wide at the entrance b ...

Origins

The Muzaffarid dynasty was founded by Zafar Khan. He has been described to be of Indian origins by scholars. There have been various claims about their origin from medieval to modern historians. According to medieval historians, he was son of Saharan who was a Muslim Kalal or wine seller. His aunt (sister of Saharan) married

Firuz Shah Tughlaq Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388), also known as Firuz III, was Sultan of Delhi from 1351 until his death in 1388. He succeeded his cousin Muhammad bin Tughlaq following the latter's death at Thatta, Sindh. His father was ...

after which they converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and rose to prominence. Medieval historians including

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

and Ziauddin Barani wrote about his family belonging to ''Khumars'' or vinteners, known for wine selling. Later, other medieval historians described them with their Hindustani name Kalal. Historians like Kiran Pawar and Iqtidar Khan Siddiqi suggest their origin to be of Kalal tribe. Pawar credited their rise with high positions to the love affair turned marriage of Saharan's sister and Tughlaq. Zafar Khan's father Saharan, has been variously described as a

Chaudhary Chowdhury (also: Choudhuri, Chaudhuri, Choudhury, Chaudhri, Chaudhary) is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminen ...

who was an agriculturist by profession of a caste lower in traditional hierarchy. Other historians including Aparna Kapadia suggest that he might have been a Tank

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

. Kapadia has described him to hail from

Thanesar Thanesar (IAST: Sthāṇvīśvara) is a historic city and Hindu pilgrimage sites, Hindu pilgrimage centre in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana, India. It is located approximately 160 km northwest of Delhi. The city Kurukshetra's area merge ...

in modern-day

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

. Meanwhile, historians like Andre Wink suggest Zafar Khan's origin to be of a Tānk

Khatri Khatri () is a caste system in India, caste originating from the Malwa (Punjab), Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are war ...

from southern

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. Some historians like V.K. Agnihotri and S.A.A. Rizvi describe him to be a Jat convert to Islam. During the reign of Bahadur Shah, the Gujarat kingdom was described to be of

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

origin. Zafar Khan adopted the name Wajih-ul-Mulk. Wajih-ul-Mulk and his brother were influential Chaudharis who were agriculturists by profession but could also muster thousands of fighting men on their call. His Hindu forebears claimed descent from Rāmachandra, who the Hindus worshipped as God. Such genealogies were fabricated to glorify royalty and were generally not accepted. When the Sultanate was weakened by the sacking of

in 1398, and Zafar Khan took the opportunity to establish himself as sultan of an independent Gujarat. His grand son, Ahmed Shah I established the capital at

. The dynasty ruled for almost 200 years, until the conquest of Gujarat by the

in 1572. The sultanate reached its peak of expansion under

, reaching east into

and west to the

Sultans of Gujarat Sultanate

Family tree

Notes

{{Authority control Dynasties of India Gujarat Sultanate 1583 disestablishments States and territories established in 1391 Sunni dynasties

Origins

Sultans of Gujarat Sultanate

Family tree

See also

Notes