Dānyāl, Prince of Bengal (, d. 1500s), also known as Dulāl Ghāzī ( Bengali–Assamese: দুলাল গাজী), was the eldest son of the

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- ...

Alauddin Hussain Shah Ala-ud-din Husain Shah (; ; ) was an independent late medieval Sultan of the Bengal Sultanate, who founded the Hussain Shahi dynasty. He became the ruler of Bengal after assassinating the People of Ethiopia, Abyssinian Sultan, Shamsuddin Muzaff ...

. He performed official duties and engagements on behalf of his father. In 1495, Danyal secured a peace treaty with 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.

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 served as the regional governor of Bihar under the Bengal Sultanate. He was appointed as the governor of Kamata following its conquest in 1498.

Early life and background

Danyal was born in the 15th-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 ...

Syed Syed may refer to: * Seyd, alternative for Sayyid (name) * Alternative for Sayyid, an honorific title * Ahsan Ali Syed (born 1973), Indian businessman * Ghulam Murtaza Syed (1904-1995), prominent Sindhi politician * Ibrahim Bijli Syed (born 1939) ...

family in 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- ...

. In 1494, his father

Husain Husain, a variant spelling of Hussein, is a common Arabic name, especially among Muslims because of the status of Husayn ibn Ali Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 Common Era, CE) was a social, political and religious leader ...

, the Wazir (prime minister) of Bengal, established a new ruling dynasty of the Sultanate after defeating Sultan Shamsuddin Muzaffar Shah. Danyal is thought to be the eldest son of Husain Shah. Among his seventeen other brothers and at least eleven sisters, Nasrat and Mahmud were future Sultans of Bengal.

Crown Princeship

As the prince of the

Sultanate of Bengal The Bengal Sultanate ( Middle Bengali: , Classical Persian: ) was a 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-Brahmaputra Delta, ...

, Danyal played several important roles during his father's reign. Sikandar Lodi, the Afghan ruler of the

, led an expedition to Bengal in 1495 as a result of Danyal's father granting refuge to Hussain Shah Sharqi of the defeated

Jaunpur Sultanate The Jaunpur Sultanate () was a late medieval Indian Muslim state which ruled over much of what is now the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and southern Nepal between 1394 and 1494. It was founded in 1394 by Khwajah-i-Jahan Malik Sarwar ...

. Danyal was appointed by his father to command the Bengali army against Lodi's forces. The two armies faced off at Barh, and Danyal managed to conclude a treaty, thus saving Bengal from a possible invasion. The treaty made the town of Barh the official border of the two sultanates. A view within the fort of Monghyr

In 903 AH (1497-1498 CE), Danyal was responsible for the construction of a vault at the

Munger Fort The Munger Fort, located at Munger (also spelt as Monghyr during the British Raj), in the state of Bihar, India, is built on a rocky hillock on the south bank of the Ganges River. Its history is not completely dated but it is believed that it wa ...

and an inscription commemorating this was hung on the eastern wall of the nearby

Dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

of Shah Nafa (also known as ''Pir Nafa''). There are also local legends about Danyal that are prevalent, and it is generally thought that Danyal ultimately constructed the ''dargah'' too. In 1498, Shah Ismail Ghazi conquered Kamata by defeating King Nilambar of the Khen dynasty. Following the victory, Danyal's father appointed him as the governor of the newly conquered region; that reached up to

Hajo Hajo is a historic town set in the hills northwest of Guwahati, Assam, India. It is a meeting point of Buddhism, Buddhists, Hinduism, Hindus and Islam, Muslims due to the various pilgrimage sites on the different hills of Hajo. To the Hindus, ...

and intended to expand to Central Assam. On

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

905 AH (July 1500), Danyal constructed a

congregational mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''Friday prayer, jumu'ah' ...

in Bengal. Danyal governed Kamata for several more years until the Assamese Bhuyans led by Harup Narayan led a campaign against him. In this campaign, the Bhuyans seized and killed Danyal and his officers, thus ending the Sultanate's short rule over the territory some time before 1509."But the rule of the Muslims was short. The Bhuyans made a united attack on Daniel's garrison and destroyed it to the last man." Musundar Ghazi succeeded Danyal as Bengal's representative in Kamrup.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Hussain Shahi dynasty 1515 deaths 15th-century births Sunni Muslims 16th-century Indian Muslims 15th-century Indian Muslims 15th-century Indian people Hussain Shahi dynasty 15th-century Bengalis 16th-century Bengalis Bengal Sultanate officers

Early life and background

Crown Princeship

See also

References

Bibliography