Extent of the Sultanate of Bengal under the Hussain Shahi dynasty.
Status
Sultanate
Capital
Pandua (1352–1390) Sonargaon[note 1][1] (1390–1466) Gaur (1466–1565) Tanda (1565–1576)
Common languages
Persian Bengali Arabic
Religion
State religion: Sunni Islam Hinduism[note 2] Minority religions: Hinduism Buddhism
Government
Absolute monarchy
Sultan
• 1342–1358 (first)
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah
• 1572–1576 (last)
Daud Khan Karrani
History
• Unification
1352
• Independence from Delhi
1353–1359
• Raja Ganesha's rebellion
1414
• Bengal–Jaunpur War
1415–1420
• Reconquest of Arakan
1429–1430
• Conquest of Chittagong
1512–1516
• Suri invasion
1539
• Restoration
1554
• Mughal invasion
1572–1576
• Baro-Bhuyan resistance
1576–1611
• Battle of Raj Mahal
12 July 1576
Currency
Taka
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Delhi Sultanate
Sonargaon Sultanate
Satgaon Sultanate
Bhoi dynasty
Oiniwar dynasty
Sur Empire
Mughal Empire
Today part of
Bangladesh India Myanmar
South Asia 1400 CE
DELHI
SULTANATE
(TUGHLAQS)
TIMURID EMPIRE
SHAH MIR SULTANATE
PHAGMODRUPAS
SAMMAS
MARYUL
GUGE
KUMAON
KANGRA
KALMAT
GUJARAT GOVERNORATE
BAHMANI SULTANATE
KHANDESH SULTANATE
TOMARAS
TWIPRA
EASTERN GANGAS
SUGAUNAS
MALLA
CHEROS
NAGVANSIS
AHOM
KAMATAS
CHUTIA
BENGAL SULTANATE
VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE
REDDI
MALWA SULTANATE
JAISALMER
MEWAR
MARWAR
KARAULI
AMBER
SIROHI
AMARKOT
VAGAD
MEWAT
JAUNPUR SULTANATE
GONDWANA
◁ ▷
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The Bengal Sultanate and contemporary South Asian polities in 1400 CE.[2]
The Bengal Sultanate (Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা Shahī Baṅgala, Classical Persian: سلطنت بنگالهSaltanat-i-Bangālah)[3] was a late medieval sultanate based in the Bengal region between the 14th and 16th century. It was the dominant power of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, with a network of mint towns spread across the region. The Bengal Sultanate had a circle of vassal states in the Indian subcontinent, including parts of Odisha in the southwest, Arakan in the southeast,[4] and Tripura in the east.[5]
The Bengal Sultanate controlled large parts of the eastern subcontinent during its five dynastic periods, reaching its peak under Hussain Shahi dynasty. Its raids and conquests reached Nepal in the north, Brahmaputra valley (modern-day Assam) in the east, and Jaunpur and Varanasi in the west. It was reputed as a thriving trading nation and one of Asia's strongest states. Its decline began with an interregnum by the Suri Empire, followed by Mughal conquest and disintegration into petty kingdoms. The Bengal Sultanate was a Sunni Muslim monarchy[6][7][8] with Bengali, Turco-Persian, Indo-Afghan and Abyssinian elites.[9] The most prominent dynasties were the Ilyas Shahi, House of Ganesha and Hussain Shahi. The empire was known for its religious pluralism where non-Muslim communities co-existed peacefully. While Persian was used as the primary official, diplomatic and commercial language, it was under the Sultans that Bengali first received court recognition as an official language.[10][11] The cities of the Bengal Sultanate are termed as Mint Towns where the historical taka was minted. These cities were adorned with stately medieval buildings.[12] In 1500, the royal capital of Gaur was the fifth-most populous city in the world.[13][14] Other notable cities included the initial royal capital of Pandua, the economic hub of Sonargaon, the Mosque City of Bagerhat, and the seaport and trading hub of Chittagong. The Bengal Sultanate was connected to states in Asia, Africa, the Indian Ocean, and Europe through maritime links and overland trade routes. The Bengal Sultanate was a major trading center on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. It attracted immigrants and traders from different parts of the world. Bengali ships and merchants traded across the region, including in Malacca, China, and the Maldives.
The Bengal Sultanate was described by contemporary European and Chinese visitors as a prosperous kingdom. Due to the abundance of goods in Bengal, the region was described as the "richest country to trade with". The Bengal Sultanate left a strong architectural legacy. Buildings from the period show foreign influences merged into a distinct Bengali style.[9] The Bengal Sultanate was also the largest and most prestigious authority among the independent medieval Muslim-ruled states in the history of Bengal.[15]
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
^"Sonargaon". Banglapedia. Archived from the original on 18 December 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
^Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 147, map XIV.3 (c). ISBN 0226742210. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
^"History". Banglapedia. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017. Shah-i-Bangalah, Shah-i-Bangaliyan and Sultan-i-Bangalah
^Keat Gin Ooi (2004). Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor. ABC-CLIO. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-57607-770-2. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
^Richard M. Eaton (31 July 1996). The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760. University of California Press. pp. 64–. ISBN 978-0-520-20507-9. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
^Wink, André (2003). Indo-Islamic society: 14th – 15th centuries. BRILL. ISBN 978-9004135611.
^Uhlig, Siegbert (2003). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. p. 151.
^Embree, Ainslie (1988). Encyclopedia of Asian history. Asia Society. p. 149.
^ ab"Gaur and Pandua Architecture". Sahapedia. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^Cite error: The named reference stars was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Saikia, Mohini Kumar (1978). Assam-Muslim Relation and Its Cultural Significance. Luit Printers. p. 20.
^Safvi, Rana (2 March 2019). "Once upon a fort: Gaur's Firoz Minar is still an imposing sight". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^Cite error: The named reference ft was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Kapadia, Aparna (30 March 2019). "Gujarat's medieval cities were once the biggest in the world – as a viral video reminds us". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
^Barbara Watson Andaya; Leonard Y. Andaya (19 February 2015). A History of Early Modern Southeast Asia, 1400-1830. Cambridge University Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-521-88992-6. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
centuries. By the 14th century, Bengal was absorbed by Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent. An independent BengalSultanate was formed and became the...
copied the sultanate's governance, currency and fashion. A relationship with Ming China flourished under the sultanate. The BengalSultanate was notable...
late 18th centuries, including the Bahmani, Bengal, Gujarat, Malwa, Mysore, Carnatic and Deccan Sultanates. Though the Muslim dynasties in India were diversed...
jurisprudence. The Bengal region was a supreme power of the medieval Islamic East. European traders identified the BengalSultanate as "the richest country...
The Bengalsultanate conquest of Orissa in 1568 was a military campaign led by the Karrani dynasty of the BengalSultanate under Sulaiman Khan Karrani...
century and the BengalSultanate from the 14th to the 16th century. In the 16th century, after the fall of the BengalSultanate, West Bengal came under the...
Mughal invasion of Bengal was an invasion of the Sultanate of Bengal, then ruled by the Afghan Karrani dynasty, by the Mughal Empire in 1572–1576. After...
Shah. It hosted a royal court and mint of the BengalSultanate and also the capital of the BengalSultanate under the reign of Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah. Sonargaon...
surviving mosque was built during the Delhi Sultanate. The mosque architecture of the independent BengalSultanate period (14th, 15 and 16th centuries) represents...
period, the BengalSultanate had its own military, and took part in various wars and armed conflicts. In 1576, the Mughal Empire conquered Bengal and turned...
sultanate and Mughal periods, during which an independent BengalSultanate and a wealthy Mughal Bengal transformed the region into an important centre of regional...
Islam first arrived in Bengal in the year 1204. The establishment of the first Muslim state in Bengal, the BengalSultanate, in 1352 by Shamsuddin Ilyas...
as a vassal state of the BengalSultanate. It later asserted its independence and adopted the customs of the BengalSultanate, including Muslim titles...
dissolution of the BengalSultanate, a major trading nation in the world, when the region was absorbed into the Mughal Empire. Bengal was the wealthiest...
aegis of a Muslim holy man named Nur Qutb Alam, he threatened the Sultanate of Bengal under Raja Ganesha. Ibrahim Shah was a patron of Islamic learning...
the Muslim conquest of Bengal during the 14th century. It was the site of a royal mint under the Delhi Sultanate, BengalSultanate and Mughal Empire. Between...
female sovereign ruler.[citation needed] Following Delhi Sultanate's reign, the BengalSultanate, a major trading nation in the world, was founded by Shamsuddin...
establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, the Muslim faith spread across the entire Bengal region. During the BengalSultanate, the territory was a major...
Bengal had a cosmopolitan military, including Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and mercenaries from Africa, Central and West Asia. The BengalSultanate was...
later displaced in 1498 by Alauddin Hussain Shah, the ruler of the BengalSultanate. Though Hussain Shah developed extensive administrative structures...
Shah was the founder of the Sultanate of Bengal and its inaugural Ilyas Shahi dynasty. The Ilyas Shahi Dynasty ruled Bengal for 145 years (1342–1487),...
assumed the throne of Bengal after a coup which overthrew the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. He converted to Islam and ruled the BengalSultanate for 16 years. As a...
as the "golden age" of the BengalSultanate. Nasrat was born into an aristocratic Sunni Muslim family in the BengalSultanate. His father Alauddin Husain...
Division, Bangladesh. Though started out as a protectorate of the BengalSultanate from 1429 to 1531, Mrauk-U went on to conquer Chittagong with the help...
Hindu Sultan of the BengalSultanate, who took advantage of the weakness of the first Ilyas Shahi dynasty and seized power in Bengal. Contemporary historians...