Ghurid Sultanate Shansabānī
← 1148–1215 →   →
This map is showing the Ghurid Empire without their south-eastern territories of north-western India.
Capital	Herat, Ghor, Ghazni, Lahore
Language(s)	Persian (court poetry)[1]
Religion	Sunni Islam
Government	Sultanate
Sultan
- 1148–1157	Ala-ud-din Jahan-Suz
- 1157–1202	Ghiyasuddin Ghori
- 1202–1206	Muhammad of Ghor
- 1206–1210	Qutbuddin Aibak
History
- Established	1148
- Disestablished	1215

The Ghurids or Ghorids (Persian: سلسله غوریان‎; self-designation: Shansabānī) were a medieval Muslim dynasty of Iranian origin that ruled during the 12th and 13th centuries in Khorasan.^[2] At its zenith, their empire, centred at Ghōr (now a province in Afghanistan), stretched over an area that included the whole of modern Afghanistan, the eastern parts of Iran, Pakistan and the northern section of the India, as far as Delhi. The Ghurids were succeeded in Persia by the Khwārazm-Shāh dynasty and in North India by the Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.

Origins[link]

In the 19th century, some European scholars, such as Mountstuart Elphinstone, favoured the idea that the Ghurid dynasty was Pashtun,^[3][4][5] but this is generally rejected by modern scholarship, and, as explained by Morgenstierne in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, is for "various reasons very improbable".^[6] Instead, the consensus in modern scholarship (incl. Morgenstierne, Bosworth, Dupree, Gibb, Ghirshman, Longworth Dames and others) holds that the dynasty was most likely of Tajik origin.^[7][8][9] Bosworth further points out that the actual name of the Ghurid family, Āl-e Šansab (Persianized: Šansabānī), is the Arabic pronunciation of the originally Middle Persian name Wišnasp, perhaps hinting at a (Sassanian) Persian origin.^[10]

Language[link]

The language of the Ghurids is subject to some controversy. What is known with certainty is that it was considerably different from the New Persian literary language of the Ghaznavid court. Nevertheless, like the Samanids and Ghaznavids, the Ghurids were great patrons of New Persian literature, poetry, and culture, and promoted these in their courts as their own. There is nothing to confirm the recent surmise (as claimed in the Paṭa Khazāna) that the Ghurids were Pashto-speaking,^[11] and there is no evidence that the inhabitants of Ghor were originally Pashto-speaking.^[7]

History[link]

Before the mid-12th century, the Ghurids had been bound to the Ghaznavids and Seljuks for about 150 years. Beginning in the mid-12th century, Ghor expressed its independence from the Ghaznavid Empire. In 1149 the Ghaznavid ruler Bahram Shāh poisoned a local Ghūrid leader, Quṭb ud-Dīn, who had taken refuge in the city of Ghazna after a family quarrel. In revenge, the Ghūrid chief ʿAlāʾ-ud-Dīn Ḥusayn sacked and burned the city of Ghazna and put the city into fire for seven days and seven nights. It earned him the title of Jahānsūz, meaning "the world burner".^[12] The Ghaznavids retook the city with Seljuk help, but lost it to Oghuz Turk freebooters.^[12] In 1152, Ala ad-Din Jahan-Suz Husain refused to pay tribute to the Seljuks and instead marched an army from Firuzkuh but was defeat at Nab by Sultan Ahmed Sanjar.^[13]

In 1173, Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori reconquered the city of Ghazna and assisted his brother Ghiyasuddin—to whom he was a loyal subordinate—in his contest with Khwarezmid Empire for the lordship of Khorāsān. Shahabuddin Ghori captured Multan and Uch in 1175 and annexed the Ghaznavid principality of Lahore in 1186. After the death of his brother Ghiyas-ud-Din in 1202, he became the successor of his empire and ruled until his assassination in 1206 near Jhelum by Khokhar tribesmen (in modern-day Pakistan).^[14] A confused struggle then ensued among the remaining Ghūrid leaders, and the Khwarezmids were able to take over the Ghūrids' empire in about 1215. Though the Ghūrids' empire was short-lived, Shahabuddin Ghori's conquests strengthened the foundations of Muslim rule in India. On his death, the importance of Ghazna and Ghur dissipated and they were replaced by Delhi as the centre of Islamic influence during the rule of his successor Sultans in India.^[15]

Ghurid Dynasty[link]

• Blue shaded rows signifies Ghurid vassalage under the Ghaznavids.
• Yellow shaded rows signifies Ghurid vassalage under the Seljuks.

Ghor Branch[link]

• Green shaded row signifies Ghurid vassalage under the Khwārazm-Shāh dynasty.

Bamiyan Branch[link]

• Green shaded row signifies Ghurid vassalage under the Khwārazm-Shāh dynasty.

Cultural influences[link]

The Ghurids were great patrons of Persian culture and literature and lay the basis for a Persianized state in India.^[17][18] They also transferred the Khorasanian architecture of their native lands to India, of which several great examples have been preserved to this date (see gallery). However, most of the literature produced during the Ghurid era has been lost.

Out of the Ghurid state grew the Delhi Sultanate which established the Persian language as the lingua franca of the region – a status it retained until the fall of the Mughal Empire in the 19th century.

History of Afghanistan

See also: Timeline

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See also[link]

• Minaret of Jam
• Mandesh

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Encyclopaedia Britannica (Online Edition) – Ghurid Sultanate
• Encyclopaedia Britannica (Online Edition) – Muizz-ud-Din-Muhammad a.k.a. Mohammad of Ghor
• Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition) – Muhammad of Ghor
• The Ghurid Rulers
• The Ghurids
• The Ghurids´ Firuzkuh, the summer capital of the Sultans

Sher Shah Suri
Sultan of the Suri Empire
Reign	17 May 1540 – 22 May 1545 (&100000000000000050000005 years, &100000000000000050000005 days)
Coronation	1540
Predecessor	Humayun
Successor	Islam Shah Suri
Consort	Malika Bibi
Issue
Jalal Khan
House	Sur dynasty
Father	Mian Hassan Khan Sur
Born	1472[1] Sasaram, Rohtas district in India[2]
Died	22 May 1545 Kalinjar, Bundelkhand
Burial	Sher Shah Suri Tomb, Sasaram
Religion	Islam

Sher Shah Suri (1486 – May 22, 1545) (Pashto: فريد خان شیر شاہ سوری - Šīr Šāh Sūrī, Bengali: শের শাহ সুরি), birth name Farid Khan, also known as Sher Khan (The Lion King), was the founder of the Muslim Sur Empire in northern India, with its capital at Delhi.^[3] An Afghan (Pathan) by origin, he rebelled against the Mughals and took control of India in 1540 until an accidental death in 1545 when Islam Shah Suri became his successor.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal Army under Babur and then as the governor of Bihar. In 1537, when Babur's son Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Khan, power hungry turned on his true master and overran the state of Bengal and established the Sur Empire.^[9] A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself a gifted administrator as well as an able general. His reorganization of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar the Great, son of Humayun.^[9]

During his five year rule from 1540 to 1545, he set up a new template for civic and military administration, issued the first Rupee and re-organised the postal system of India.^[10] He further developed Humayun's Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh and revived the historical city of Pataliputra as Patna which had been in decline since the 7th century CE.^[11] He is also famously remembered for killing a fully grown tiger with his bare hands in a jungle of Bihar.^[4][9]

Early life and origin[link]

Sher Shah was born as Farid Khan in the Hisar district of India, according to Tarikh-i Khan Jahan Lodi (MS. p. 151).^[2] However, the online Encyclopædia Britannica states that he was born in Sasaram (Bihar), in the Rohtas district.^[4] He was one of about eight sons of Mian Hassan Khan Sur, a prominent figure in the government of Bahlul Khan Lodi. Sher Khan belonged to the Pashtun Sur tribe (the Pashtuns are known as Afghans in historical Persian language sources).^[12] His grandfather, Ibrahim Khan Sur, was a noble adventurer who was recruited much earlier by Sultan Bahlul Lodi of Delhi during his long contest with the Jaunpur Sultanate.

It was at the time of this bounty of Sultán Bahlol, that the grandfather of Sher Sháh, by name Ibráhím Khán Súri,*[The Súr represent themselves as descendants of Muhammad Súri, one of the princes of the house of the Ghorian, who left his native country, and married a daughter of one of the Afghán chiefs of Roh.] with his son Hasan Khán, the father of Sher Sháh, came to Hindu-stán from Afghánistán, from a place which is called in the Afghán tongue “Shargarí,”* but in the Multán tongue “Rohrí.” It is a ridge, a spur of the Sulaimán Mountains, about six or seven kos in length, situated on the banks of the Gumal. They entered into the service of Muhabbat Khán Súr, Dáúd Sáhú-khail, to whom Sultán Bahlol had given in jágír the parganas of Hariána and Bahkála, etc., in the Panjáb, and they settled in the pargana of Bajwára.^[2]

—Abbas Khan Sarwani, 1580

During his early age, Farid was given a village in Fargana, Shahabad (comprising present day districts of Bhojpur, Buxar, Bhabhua of Bihar) by Omar Khan, the counselor and courtier of Bahlul Khan Lodi. Farid Khan and his father, who had several wives, did not get along for a while so he decided to run away from home. When his father discovered that he fled to serve Jamal Khan, the governor of Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, he wrote Jamal Khan a letter that stated:

"Faríd Khán, being an­noyed with me, has gone to you without sufficient cause. I trust in your kindness to appease him, and send him back; but if refusing to listen to you, he will not return, I trust you will keep him with you, for I wish him to be instructed in religious and polite learning."^[13]

Jamal Khan had advised Farid to return home but he refused. Farid replied in a letter:

"If my father wants me back to instruct me in learning, there are in this city many learned men: I will study here."^[13]

Conquering Bihar and Bengal[link]

Farid Khan started his service under Bahar Khan Lohani, the Mughal Governor of Bihar.^[1][4] Because of his valor, Bahar Khan rewarded him the title Sher Khan (Tiger Lord). After the death of Bahar Khan, Sher Khan became the regent ruler of the minor Sultan, Jalal Khan. Later sensing the growth Sher Shah's power in Bihar, Jalal sought assistance of Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah, the independent Sultan of Bengal. Ghiyasuddin sent an army under General Ibrahim Khan. But, Sher Khan defeated the force at the battle of Surajgarh in 1534. Thus he achieved complete control of Bihar.^[1]

In 1538, Sher Khan attacked Bengal and defeated Ghiyashuddin Shah.^[1] But he lost to capture the kingdom because of sudden expedition of Emperor Humayun.^[1] In 1539, Sher Khan faced Humayun in the battle of Chausa. He forced Humayun out of India. Assuming the title Sher Shah, he ascended the throne of Delhi.^[4]

Government and administration[link]

Sher Shah rebuilt the longest highway in South Asia. The highway was called the Shahrah-e-Azam (also Sadak-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak and later Grand Trunk Road by the British). It is still in use in present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab region Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal.

Rupiya released by Sher Shah Suri, 1540–1545 CE, was the first Rupee

The system of tri-metalism which came to characterize Mughal coinage was introduced by Sher Shah. While the term rūpya had previously been used as a generic term for any silver coin, during his rule the term rūpiya came to be used as the name for a silver coin of a standard weight of 178 grains, which was the precursor of the modern rupee.^[10] Rupee is today used as the national currency in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Mauritius, Maldives, Seychelles among other countries. Gold coins called the Mohur weighing 169 grains and copper coins called Dam were also minted by his government.^[10][14]

Sher Shah built monuments including Rohtas Fort (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Pakistan), many structures in the Rohtasgarh Fort in Bihar, Sher Shah Suri Masjid, in Patna, built in 1540–1545 to commemorate his reign.

Qila-i-Kuhna mosque, built by Sher Shah in 1541, at Purana Qila, Delhi, a Humayun citadel started in 1533, and later extended by him, along with the construction of Sher Mandal, an octagonal building inside the Purana Qila complex, which later served as the library of Humayun.

Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi (History of Sher Shah), written by Abbas Khan Sarwani, a waqia-navis under later Mughal Emperor, Akbar around 1580, provides a detailed documentation about Sher Shah's administration.

Death and succession[link]

Sher Shah Suri Tomb at Sasaram

Sher Shah died from a gunpowder explosion during the siege of Kalinjar fort on May 22, 1545 fighting against the Chandel Rajputs. His death has also been claimed to have been caused by a fire in his store room.

Sher Shah Suri was succeeded by his son, Jalal Khan who took the title of Islam Shah Suri. His mausoleum, the Sher Shah Suri Tomb (122 ft high) stands in the middle of an artificial lake at Sasaram, a town that stands on the Grand Trunk Road.^[15]

Legacy[link]

Grand Trunk Road[link]

For centuries, the Grand Trunk Road has served as the main artery from travel across northern India. A scene from the Ambala cantonment during the British Raj.

Mughals extended Grand Trunk Road westwards: at one time, it extended to Kabul in Afghanistan, crossing the Khyber Pass. The road was later improved by the British rulers of colonial India. It was extended to run from Calcutta to Peshawar (present-day Pakistan). Over the centuries, the road acted as a major trade routes in the region and facilitated both travel and postal communication. Since the era of Sher Shah, the road was dotted with caravansarais (highway inns) at regular intervals, and trees were planted on both sides of the road to give shade to the travellers and merchants.

Shersabadia community[link]

Some soldiers were left behind by Sher Shah Suri as he escaped from Bengal, avoiding the Humayun invasion. These people are known as Shersabadia. They made a colony named Shershahabad which is no more due to a course change of Ganges. Today the people of this community are found in parts of Malda, Murshidabad, Chapai Nawabganj and a few other parts of Bengal

Karachi[link]

Sher Shah neighbourhood and Sher Shah Bridge in Kiamari Town of Karachi, Pakistan, are named in the honour of Sher Shah.

Gallery[link]

• 

  Presently a part of Comilla's Court Road, the photographed street had once been an extension of Grand Trunk Road, to communicate with the port facilities of Chittagong

• 

  Lal Darwaza or Sher Shah Gate, the Southern Gate to the Sher Shah Suri's city, Shergarh, opposite Purana Qila, Delhi, also showing with the adjoining curon walls and bastions

• 

  Rohtas Fort's magnificent Kabuli Gate

• 

  Qila-i-Kuhna mosque, built by Sher Shah in 1541, Purana Qila, Delhi

• 

  Sher Mandal built in his honour by the Mughals,

• 

  Rupee, round area type

• 

  Copper Dam issued from Narnul mint

Additional reading[link]

• Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi
• Tarikh-e-Afghani
• Tarikh-i Khan Jahani wa Makhzan-i Afghani
• Edward Thomas (1871) The Chronicles of the Pathan Kings of Delhi
• Kalkar Nijan, Sher Shah And His Times
• Sir Olaf Caroe, The Pathans
• Syed Bahadur Shah Zafar Kakakhel, Pashtoon
• Burgess, James (1913). The Chronology of Modern India for Four Hundred Years from the Close of the Fifteenth Century, AD. 1494–1894.. John Grant, Edinburgh. http://www.archive.org/stream/chronologyofmode00burg#page/n5/mode/2up. 

See also[link]

• Delhi Sultanate
• Shere Khan
• Pathan of Bihar
• List of rulers of Bengal
• History of Bengal
• History of Bangladesh
• History of India

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sher Shah Suri

• Encyclopædia Britannica – Sher Shah of Sur
• Encyclopædia Britannica – Sur Dynasty
• Columbia Encyclopedia – Sher Khan
• Sher Shah Suri – The Lion King
• Sher Shah brief biography as ruler

v t e Pashtuns Key figures Amir Kror Suri · Ibrahim Lodi · Sher Shah Suri · Khushal Khan Khattak · Rahman Baba · Ghiasuddin Ghori · Shahabuddin Ghori · Ala'uddin Ghilzai · Bahlul Khan Lodi · Nazo Tokhi · Mirwais Hotak · Ashraf Hotaki · Mahmud Hotaki · Mahmud Hotaki · Ahmad Shah Durrani · Timur Shah Durrani · Zaman Shah Durrani · Azad Shah Afghan · Jamaluddin Afghan · Akbar Khan · Malalai of Maiwand · Ayub Khan · Abdur Rahman Khan · Mullah Powindah · Faqir of Ipi · Amanullah Khan · Nadir Shah · Bacha Khan · Zahir Shah · Daoud Khan · Abdul Ahad Mohmand · Samad Khan · Nur Muhammad Taraki · Hafizullah Amin · Wali Khan Culture Pashtunwali · Pashto language · Pashtun tribes · Pashtun dress · Loya jirga · Attan · Khattak Dance · Mahsud Dance · Adam Khan and Durkhanai · Yusuf Khan and Sherbano Poets Amir Kror Suri · Pir Roshan · Rahman Baba · Khushal Khan Khattak · Nazo Tokhi · Abdul Hamid Baba · Hussain Hotaki · Ahmad Shah Durrani · Hamza Baba · Malang Jan · Ajmal Khattak · Kabir Stori · Ghani Khan Topics and controversies Durand Line · Khudai Khidmatgar · Pashtunistan · Kalabagh Dam · Taliban · Names of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Battles and conflicts First Battle of Panipat · Battle of Gulnabad · Third Battle of Panipat · First Anglo-Afghan War · Battle of Attock · Battle of Multan · Battle of Shopian · Battle of Nowshera · Battle of Jamrud (1837) · Siege of Malakand · Second Anglo-Afghan War · Battle of Maiwand · Tirah Campaign · Battle of Saragarhi · Third Anglo-Afghan War · Soviet war in Afghanistan · War in Afghanistan (2001–present) · War in North-West Pakistan