Early Sultanate Period
The Muslim rule in Bengal had its beginning in the opening years of the thirteenth century (1204 AD). Long before this, the Arab Muslims had contact with Bengal, which was primarily commercial and religious in nature and limited to the coastal regions.
The process of Muslim expansion in Bengal began with the military exploits of Bakhtiyar Khalji. After his conquest of Bihar in 1203 AD, Bakhtiyar Khalji went to Badaun to pay Qutbuddin Aibak, the viceroy of Sultan Muhammad Ghuri in India, a courteous visit. Aibak entrusted him with the administration of the conquered territories, and encouraged him to continue further onslaughts. On his return from there he reinforced his armies and made a sudden attack on Bengal in 1204-05 AD and captured nadia, the temporary capital of king Laksmanasena. Bakhtiyar took possession of immense wealth and many elephants. He then captured gaur, the traditional capital of Bengal, made it his capital and spent there about two years in making administrative settlement of his newly conquered territories.
He established a kind of clannish feudalism in his territory. He parcelled out the conquered area into units and placed them in charge of his trusted generals. Such a unit was known as iqta and the administrator thereof was called a muqta. Besides administrative settlements Bakhtiyar also found time to lay the foundation of Muslim society in Bengal. To this end he built mosques for congregation, madrasahs for the schooling of Muslim children, and khanqahs for the Sufis to preach religion.
Bakhtiyar then embarked upon his Tibet Expedition. Before proceeding to Tibet, Bakhtiyar made adequate arrangements for the defence and administration of the conquered region in his absence. shiran khalji was sent with an army to Lakhnor (in Birbhum) to guard the frontier region against any possible attack from Orissa (Jajnagar). The western region was placed in charge of iwaz khalji to guard it in the direction of Tirhut and Oudh. ali mardan khalji was posted in the northeastern region, in the vicinity of Rangpur. His Tibet expedition, however, met with a total disaster and he, a broken man, either died of fever or was put to death by Ali Mardan Khalji only three months after his return to devkot.
On the basis of the contemporary and modern sources a fair idea of the geographical extent of Bakhtiyar's dominion may be determined. It comprised, besides his original jagir in the Mirzapur district of Oudh, southern Bihar and a strip of northern Bihar along the northern bank of the Ganges. In Bengal proper it included the districts of Rajmahal, Malda, Dinajpur, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Bogra in the north. The Tista-Brahmaputra-Karatoya river system is regarded as setting the eastern limit of the lakhnauti principality.
The Initial period (1206-1227 AD)
Bakhtiyar's death was too sudden to enable him to pay any attention to the question of succession. Ali Mardan, Husamuddin Iwaz and Muhammad Shiran now fell out amongst themselves for the throne.
The period from Bakhtiyar's death in 1206 to Iwaz's death in 1227 may be regarded as the initial period of Muslim rule in Bengal. The first six years of this period were marked by struggles for succession among the generals of Bakhtiyar. The period from 1212 to 1227 was covered by the rule of Iwaz Khalji, the first notable ruler of Muslim Bengal who tried to expand and consolidate the Muslim rule in Bengal in a planned way.
Struggle for power after Bakhtiyar
Ali Mardan, the governor of the northeastern region seems to have been present at Devkot at the time of Bakhtiyar's death. He was, therefore, the first to capture power. But Shiran, governor of the southwestern region, left his post at Lakhnor, marched on Devkot and on his approach, Ali Mardan withdrew to Ghoraghat. Shiran defeated and captured him and kept him confined under Baba Haji Isphani, the Kotwal. The Khalji nobles, then, accepted Shiran as the ruler of Lakhnauti.
Shiran Khalji attempted to consolidate his position by following a policy of conciliation towards the partisans of Ali Mardan by confirming them in their posts. But Ali Mardan, somehow, managed to escape from his confinement, went to Delhi and instigated Qutabuddin against Shiran. Qutbuddin asked Quimaz Rumi, the governor of Oudh, to march upon Lakhnauti and settle affairs there. Accordingly Quimaz Rumi proceeded against Lakhnauti and Ali Mardan stayed on at Delhi.
Hitherto Iwaz, governor of the western region, had not taken part in the struggle. On the advance of Quimaz, he placed his services at his disposal and marched with him towards Devkot. Finding it impossible to oppose the combined forces of Quimaz and Iwaz, Shiran vacated Devkot and withdrew eastward. Quimaz Rumi placed Iwaz in charge of the Lakhnauti dominion and started his return march. At this juncture Shiran gathered his forces and advanced towards Devkot. Quimaz Rumi retraced his steps and inflicted a decisive defeat upon Shiran, who fled towards Moseda and Santosh (Mahiganj in Bogra district) and it appears that his own nobles killed him. Iwaz ruled Lakhnauti for about two years (1208-1210 AD) as governor of Delhi. Meanwhile Ali Mardan had accompanied Qutbuddin to Ghazni and rendered valuable services.
In recognition of this the sultan appointed him governor of Lakhnauti in place of Iwaz. Armed with formal appointment and accompanied by a sufficient number of fresh recruits Ali Mardan proceeded to Lakhnauti. Iwaz submitted peacefully to Delhi's nominee, received him with due respect, made over the charges of the province and went back to his own place. Soon after this Qutbuddin died (1210). In the backdrop of the chaos at Delhi following Qutbuddin's death, Ali Mardan assumed independence at Lakhnauti and styled himself Sultan Alauddin Ali Shah. He thus became the first independent ruler of the Muslim territory in Bengal. Later Iwaz inherited independence from him (1212) and remained so till 1227.
Ali Shah, though a capable and vigorous ruler, was vindictive and ruthless. He mercilessly suppressed the partisans of the deceased Shiran. However, he reasserted the Muslim authority over the southwestern region that Shiran had abandoned when he marched upon Devkot. During his time Bihar was also within the principality of Lakhnauti.
Ali Mardan's ruthless policy of 'blood and iron' soon made him unpopular with the Khalji nobles. Taking advantage of this situation Iwaz emerged from the background, organised the discontented nobles, overthrew and killed Ali Mardan and ascended the throne in 1212 AD with the title of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Iwaz Khalji.
Ghiyasuddin Iwaz Khalji
The reign of Iwaz was significant in a number of ways. It marked the end of the struggle for succession that started after Bakhtiyar's death. He was the first Muslim ruler in Bengal whose coins have come to light and he too pioneered the expansion of Muslim territory in Bengal in a planned way giving new orientation to the mode of warfare and strategy. His policy resulted in appreciable expansion as well as consolidation of the Muslim dominion in Bengal.
He conducted campaigns to the southwest, southeast, northeast and northwest from his capital. He recovered Lakhnor (Birbhum) from Ananga Bhima III (1211-1238), the king of Orissa, and posted his Amirs there. He extended his domain further south to the river Damodar in the Bankura district. The territories of Jajnagar (Orissa), Bang (eastern Bengal), Kamarupa (Assam) and Tirhut (north Bihar) sent him tributes.
In 1225 iltutmish, in order to bring back Lakhnauti to the fold of Delhi, led an expedition against Iwaz, which ended in a treaty. Iwaz had to pay an indemnity of eighty Lakhs of Tankas and 38 elephants, acknowledge the Delhi sultan's authority and read the Khutba and issue coins in his name. Iltutmish then separated Bihar from Lakhnauti, put it in charge of Alauddin masud jani and returned to Delhi. Shortly after Iltutmish's departure, Iwaz expelled Jani. At this Iltutmish sent his son prince Nasiruddin to put down Iwaz. In a pitched battle near Lakhnauti, Iwaz was defeated and along with some of his principal nobles beheaded (1227). Thus came to an end the significant career of Iwaz, by far the ablest of Bakhtiyar's deputies who contributed most to the consolidation of Muslim rule in Bengal.
The Muslim dominion under Iwaz comprised, besides southern Bihar, a compact and fairly extensive area in Bengal embracing the modern districts of Malda, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bogra and Rajshahi in the north, the districts of Murshidabad, Pabna, Nadia and northern Jessore in the south and those of Birbhum and Burdwan in the southwest. [The districts shall be taken in the sense of their pre-1947 position]
Lakhnauti under Delhi Sultanate (1227-1287) The period from Iwaz's death in 1227 till the establishment of Ilyas Shahi dynasty in 1342 was one of steady expansion and consolidation. Prince Nasiruddin succeeded Iwaz to the governorship of Lakhnauti territory. He united his original province of Oudh with Bengal and Bihar, and fixed his capital at Lakhnauti. This enlargement of his jurisdiction and the fact of his being the son of the Delhi sultan naturally increased the importance of his dominion in contemporary eyes. It was further enhanced when Iltutmish bestowed upon him the title of 'Malik-us- Sharq' (king of the East). He ruled the combined territory for a year and a half. He continued the policy of consolidation started by Iwaz.
On his death in 1229 Malik Ikhtiyaruddin balka khalji, a partisan of Iwaz, assumed power at Lakhnauti. He issued coins in 1230 in the joint name of himself and Iltutmish. But this could not satisfy the Delhi sultan. Iltutmish immediately led an expedition against Balka Khalji and killed him. Then Malik alauddin jani, governor of Bihar, was put in charge of Lakhnauti. Bihar was placed under a separate governor, malik saifuddin aibak.
For some reasons, however, Alauddin Jani was transferred from Lakhnauti only after one year and Saifuddin Aibak was placed over it. Saifuddin Aibak, who ruled over Lakhnauti for a little more than three years, led an expedition to 'Bang', captured a number of elephants and sent them to Iltutmish as presents. Saifuddin died at Lakhnauti in 1236 shortly after Iltutmish.
On Saifuddin's death one of his companions, aur khan aibak assumed power at Lakhnauti. He was challenged in his position, however, by the Bihar governor tughral tughan khan who marched against him, defeated and killed him and became the master of the united territory of Lakhnauti and Bihar. During his rule of about ten years he, instead of seeking an expansion of territory towards the east and southwest Bengal, sought to bring Oudh and the adjoining region of north India under his control. Tughral successfully repulsed an Orissan invasion under Raja Narasimhadava I (son of Anangabhima III) with assistance from Delhi (March 1245). Delhi's assistance came in the shape of the combined army of Malik Qara Qash Khan, governors of Kara-Manikpur (Allahabad) and Malik Tamar Khan, governor of Oudh. Immediately after the retreat of the Orissan invaders, Malik Tamar Khan pressed Tughral Khan for relinquishing the charge of the Lakhnauti province to him. Through the negotiation of Minhaj, the historian, an agreement was reached between the two; Tughral surrendered Lakhnauti and Bihar to Tamar Khan and in return he was allowed to depart unmolested with his treasures and followers.
Tamar Khan died in 1246. He was followed by Malik Jalaluddin Masud Jani (1247-1251) and Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Yuzbak (1251 -1258), both appointed by Delhi. Yuzbak took up the task of extending the territory in the southwest. Through repeated attempts he defeated Savantar, a son-in-law of Narasimhadeva of Orissa, and captured Mandaran (in modern Hughli). Emboldened by this success Yuzbak assumed independence and struck coins in his own name. He advanced with his army and war-boats upon Oudh and captured it (1255). Thus he became supreme over Lakhnauti, Bihar and Oudh.
Yuzbak next turned his attention towards the northeast and embarked upon a disastrous expedition against Kamarupa (Assam), then under one Koch Hajo, in 1257. After initial success he had to return mortally wounded by an arrow to which he succumbed shortly afterwards. Thus the second Muslim attempt to advance towards the northeast also ended in failure.
After Yuzbak's death one of his fellow tribesmen, Malik Izzuddin Yuzbak, assumed power at Lakhnauti and got the formal appointment from Delhi in 1259. Izzuddin undertook an expedition against 'Bang' but suffered the same fate as had befallen Iwaz a few years earlier. Taking advantage of his absence in eastern Bengal Malik Tajuddin Arslan Khan, governor of Kara, marched upon Lakhnauti and occupied it. In the ensuing fight with his adversary Izzuddin was defeated and killed.
Perhaps Tajuddin Arslan ruled over Bihar and Lakhnauti from 1259 to1265. His son Tatar Khan (1265-1268) succeeded him, and was followed by Sher Khan (1268-1272), a member of Tajuddin Arslan Khan's family. Sultan Balban then appointed amin khan, governor of Oudh to administer Lakhnauti in addition to his original province, and associated with him mughisuddin tughral Khan as deputy governor. This practice of having a deputy governor was an innovation. Balban probably did it either to have a better administration or to ensure check and balance. Amin Khan appears to have remained busy with Oudh affairs, and Tughral did the real work at Lakhnauti.
Tughral's achievement was the conquest of east Bengal from the hands of the lingering Sena dynasty. He led several expeditions to eastern Bengal and reached very near to sonargaon and built the Qila-i-Tughral at Narkilla identified with Larikal about 25 miles due south of Dhaka. The only important Hindu chieftain of east Bengal, who remained outside the realm of the Muslims, was danuj rai in chandradvipa (Barisal). Tughral also led a number of campaigns to the southwestern areas. He aspired to become independent and the rumour of Balban's death provoked him to declare independence openly in 1277; he assumed the title of Sultan Mughisuddin Tughral, issued coins and had the 'khutba' read in his name. Balban, however, suppressed him in 1281 and meted out severe retribution upon Tughral and his supporters
Balban placed prince bughra khan in charge of the province, and started for Delhi early in 1282. On the eve of his departure he instructed Bughra Khan to conquer Diyar-i-Bangala, meaning the remaining portion of eastern Bengal. Balban died in 1287 and Bughra Khan immediately declared independence at Lakhnauti.
House of Balban (1287-1301)
Bughra Khan and Kaikaus ruled Bengal independently from 1287 to 1301. At the end of Bughra Khan's rule (1282-1290) the Muslim dominion in Bengal consisted of four distinct divisions: Bihar, the Lakhnauti-Devkot region of north Bengal, the Satgaon-Hughli in southwest Bengal and Sonargaon region in east Bengal. Bugra Khan was succeeded by his younger son ruknuddin kaikaus (1290-1301), whose reign witnessed the expansion of Muslim territory in Bengal in the eastern region and from the revenue 'Bang' he issued coins. His empire extended to Bihar in the west, Devkot in the north and Satgaon in the south.
Kaikaus made important changes in the administration. Probably he divided his empire into two provinces: the province of Bihar under its governor Firuz Aitigin and the province of Lakhnauti, which extended from Devkot in the north to Satgaon in the south, under its governor Jafar Khan Bahram Aitigin, both the provincial governors took the title of Sikandar-i- Sani (second Alexander). Kaikaus himself also assumed pompous title. These titles imply the pomp and power of Bengal.
Shamsuddin Firuz and his successors (1301-1324)
Shamsuddin firuz shah (1301-1322), who was erroneously thought to be connected with the Balbani family, succeeded Kaikaus. After Bakhtiyar; it was under him that the Muslim territories extended most. Till his time Lakhnauti dominion was confined within Bihar, north and northwestern Bengal, and Lakhnor in southwestern Bengal. Occupation of satgaon in Hughli and Bang towards Sonargaon started in the reign of Kaikaus and under Firuz the process was completed. He also conquered Mymensingh and Sylhet.
Tughlaq intervention
Firuz Shah's death was followed by a struggle for succession among his sons. Firuz Shah left the throne to his son Shihabuddin Bughda. However, his ruthless brother ghiyasuddin bahadur, ousted him and seized power. It seems he eliminated all his brothers except Nasiruddin Ibrahim who escaped the slaughter and sent some of his chief men to Delhi for help. It thus offered the much-desired opportunity to the Tughlaqs for intervention in Bengal and Sultan ghiyasuddin tughlaq marched towards Bengal with a large army in 1324.
The Delhi sultan sent a strong army under his adopted son Bahram Khan alias tatar khan along with Nasiruddin Ibrahim; Ghiyasuddin Bahadur was defeated and imprisoned. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq reorganised the administration of Muslim dominion in Bengal; divided it into three administrative units of Lakhnauti, Satgaon and Sonargaon. He confirmed Nasiruddin Ibrahim in the government of Lakhnauti with special power of issuing coins in joint names. Bahram Khan was made governor of Sonargaon and Satgaon. Ghiyasuddin Bahadur was made a captive and taken to Delhi.
Muhammad bin tughlaq, successor of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, thoroughly re-arranged the administration of Bengal. He freed Ghiyasuddin Bahadur and made him joint-governor with Bahram Khan in Sonargaon on conditions that the latter was to send his son as hostage to Delhi; to strike coins in the joint names of himself and the sultan and to read the Khutba in their joint names. Qadar Khan was appointed governor of Lakhnauti. Nasiruddin Ibrahim was called to Delhi. Satgaon was constituted into a separate governorship with Izzuddin Yahya as the governor.
Ghiyasuddin Bahadur carried out all the terms of the agreement except sending his son to the Delhi court. He continued to issue coins from Sonargaon mint in the joint names of himself and the Tughluq sultan till 1328. However, in 1328, he attempted to shake off his allegiance. Bahram Khan, assisted by other amirs, defeated and killed him, flayed his skin and sent it to Delhi where it was exhibited as a warning to future rebels.
The three regions of Lakhnauti, Satgaon, and Sonargaon were governed for the following ten years (1328-1338) respectively by Qadar Khan, Izzuddin Yahya, and Bahram Khan. In 1338 Bahram Khan died. On his death at Sonargaon his armour-bearer (Silhadar) Fakhruddin captured power, proclaimed independence and assumed the title of Sultan fakhruddin mubarak shah. This acted as a signal for a new series of struggles for power which ultimately led to the establishment of Ilyas Shahi rule in Bengal. It heralded the beginning of the Independent Sultanate that continued for two hundred years (1338 - 1538). [Delwar Hussain]
Bibliography
1. JN Sarkar (ed), History of Bengal, vol. II, Dhaka, 1948;
2. A Karim, Banglar Itihasa - Sultani Amal, (Bangla) Dhaka, 1977;
3. Muhammad Mohar Ali, History of the Muslims of Bengal (1203-1757), Riyadh, 1985;
4. Sukhamay Mukhopadhyaya, Banglay Muslim Adhikarer Adi Parba (Bangla), Calcutta, 1988.
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