Rukunuddin Kaikaus (, ) was an independent

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 ruled from 1291 to 1300 CE. He succeeded his father

Nasiruddin Bughra Khan Nasiruddin Bughra Khan (, ) was the governor (1281–1287) and later the independent sultan of Bengal (1287–1291). He was the son of Delhi Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban. Earlier Bughra Khan was the governor of Samana (Patiala) and Sanam (Sangru ...

. In several inscriptions and coins he styled himself as ''Sultan bin al-Sultan bin al-Sultan'' (the Sultan, son of a Sultan, son of a Sultan), ''Sultan-us-Salatin'' (the Sultan of Sultans).

History

Kaikaus ascended the throne after the abdication of his father

. During his reign, he had divided his kingdom into two parts -

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

and Lakhnauti, and appointed Ikhtiyaruddin Firoz Itgin as the Governor of Bihar and Shahabuddin Zafar Khan Bahram Itgin as the Governor of Lakhnauti. Zafar Khan Itgin conquered

Satgaon Saptagram (colloquially called ''Satgaon'') was an ancient major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times of Bengal, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of ...

in south-western

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

. His kingdom extended to Bihar in the west, Devkot in the north and Satgaon in the south. He put a vast kingdom under his control. Delhi Sultan

Alauddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji (; ), born Ali Gurshasp, was a ruler from the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes in the Delhi Sultanate, related to revenue ...

also accepted Kaikaus's independent dominance of Bengal. On Muharram 692 AH (1292-1293 CE), Kaikaus ordered Ikhtiyaruddin Firuz Aitigin to construct a mosque north of Maheswar in

, on the banks of the

Burhi Gandak River The Burhi Gandak River is a tributary of the Ganges. It is also known as the Sikrahna river. The Burhi (“Old”) Gandak flows parallel to and east of the Gandak River in an old channel. Course The Burhi Gandak originates from Chautarwa Chaur n ...

. In mosque inscriptions he styled himself "the great Sultan, master of the necks of nations, the king of the kings of Turks and Persians, the lord of the crown, and the seal," as well as "the right hand of the vice regent of God"—that is, "helper of the

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

." On another mosque he even styled himself the "shadow of God" Rukunuddin Kaikaus ruled

for nine years and died in 1300. It is assumed that he was childless. He was succeeded by his probable brother,

Shamsuddin Firoz Shah Shamsuddin Firuz Shah (, , ''Shams Ad-Dīn Firūz Shāh''; reigned: 1301–1322) was the independent ruler of the Lakhnauti Kingdom. He ascended the throne with the title of ''Al-Sultan Al-Azam Shams Al-Duniya wa Al-Din Abu Al-Muzaffar Firuz Shah ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaikaus, Rukunuddin 1300 deaths 13th-century Indian Muslims 13th-century Indian people 13th-century Indian monarchs Sultans of Bengal Year of birth unknown

History

See also

References