Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah

2021-07-27T10:59:22Z

2A02:C7E:FC7:E900:7CE4:E5EB:BFA3:E7D1: Fixed typo

{{short description|Shah of Bengal.}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah
| title = Shams ad-Dunyā wa ad-Dīn Abu al-Muẓaffar Ilyās Shāh<ref name=dani>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.126929/page/n17/mode/2up|title=Asiatic Society Of Pakistan Vol-ii|author=Ahmad Hasan Dani|author-link=Ahmad Hasan Dani|chapter=Analysis of the Inscriptions|pages=10}}</ref>
| succession = Ruler of Satgaon
| reign = 1342–1352
| predecessor = [[Izzuddin Yahya]]
| succession1 = [[Sultan of Bengal]]
| reign1 = 1352–1358
| successor1 = [[Sikandar Shah]]
| issue = [[Sikandar Shah|Shahzada Sikandar]]
| house = [[Ilyas Shahi dynasty]]
| religion = [[Sunni Islam]]
}}
{{Bengal Sultanate}}
'''Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah''' ({{lang-bn|শামসুদ্দীন ইলিয়াস শাহ}}, {{lang-fa|{{Nastaliq|شمس الدین الیاس شاه}}}}) was the founder of the [[Bengal Sultanate]]. He established the [[Ilyas Shahi dynasty]], a [[Sunni Muslim]] dynasty which ruled Bengal for 150 years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=David |author-link=David Lewis (academic) |date=2011 |title=Bangladesh: Politics, Economy and Civil Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5lH40gT7xvYC&pg=PA44 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=44 |isbn=978-1-139-50257-3}}</ref>

Ilyas Shah was a [[Sistan]]i [[Sunni Muslim]] who rose through the ranks of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. In the early 14th-century, the Delhi Sultanate divided Bengal into three provinces based in the towns of [[Satgaon]] in South Bengal, [[Sonargaon]] in East Bengal, and [[Gauḍa (city)|Lakhnauti]] in North Bengal. The purpose was to improve administration as Delhi's sway over Bengal weakened. Ilyas Shah was appointed Governor of Satgaon. In the middle of the 14th-century, the governors of the three city-states declared independence. The three city-states began warring against one another. Ilyas Shah eventually defeated the ruler of Lakhnauti [[Alauddin Ali Shah]] and the ruler of Sonargaon [[Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah]]. He unified Bengal into an independent sultanate and established his capital in [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua]].

As Sultan, Ilyas Shah waged a war against the Delhi Sultanate to secure recognition of Bengal's independence. He raided cities across the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, becoming the first Muslim ruler to invade the [[Kathmandu Valley]]. Eventually, he reached an agreement with Delhi to pay an annual tribute in return for a cessation of hostilities.

==Early life==
Shamsuddin Ilyas was born into an [[aristocratic]] [[Sunni Muslim]] family in the [[Sistan]] region of what is today eastern [[Iran]] and southern [[Afghanistan]]. He worked under the service of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. He migrated to [[Bengal]] and worked under [[Izzuddin Yahya]], the imperial provincial governor of [[Satgaon]].

==Unification of Bengal==
[[File:Qutub Shahi Mosque in Pandua at Malda district 26.jpg|thumb|left|A former mosque in Pandua, where Ilyas Shah established the capital of Bengal]]
By the mid 14th century, three [[city state]]s emerged in Bengal after declaring independence from the Delhi Sultanate: [[Gauḍa (city)|Lakhnauti]] (ancient Gauda) in North Bengal, [[Sonargaon]] in East Bengal and Satgaon in South Bengal. In 1338, after [[Izz al-Din Yahya|Izzuddin Yahya]]'s death, Ilyas declared himself as the [[Sultan]] of Satgaon, with the title Shamsuddin Ilyas [[Shah]]. He then waged a long drawn war from 1339 to 1352 against Sultan [[Alauddin Ali Shah]] of Lakhnauti and Sultan [[Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah]] of Sonargaon.<ref name="Tabori1957">{{cite journal |last=Tabori |first=Paul |date=1957 |title=Bridge, Bastion, or Gate |journal=Bengali Literary Review |volume=3–5 |pages=9–20}}</ref>

Ilyas Shah emerged victorious after conquering Lakhnauti and Sonargaon in 1342 and 1352 respectively. He then proclaimed the establishment of the [[Sultanate of bengal|Sultanate of Bengal]] in 1352 through unification of the three regions: Satgaon, Lakhnauti and Sonargaon. This region became known as "''Bangalah''" or ''"Mulk-i-Bangalah"''. Capital of this region was in [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua.]] He was known as ''"Shah-i-Bangalah"'' during his tenure, and the people living in this region were formally given the name of "[[Bengali people|Bengali]]".<ref name=bpedia/> He established his capital in [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua]]. The area was the former capital of the [[Gauda (city)|Gauda]] kings and [[Pala Empire|Pala emperors]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99v9&chunk.id=d0e768&toc.id=d0e768&brand=ucpress|access-date=2020-09-28|website=publishing.cdlib.org}}</ref>

==Government==
Ilyas Shah displayed an [[Egalitarianism|egalitarian]] attitude towards his subjects; his administration was known for its [[equal opportunity|equality]] and acceptance of members from different religious, caste, social, and ethnic communities. Ilyas Shah also founded the city of [[Hajipur]] and first settled in 1350 AD. He standardized the people of Bengal under the banner of one politico-social and linguistic platform, including the [[Bengali language]].<ref name=bpedia>{{cite Banglapedia|author=Ahmed, ABM Shamsuddin|article=Iliyas_Shah}}</ref> The region received immigrants from across the Muslim world, including North Indians, Turks, Abyssinians, Arabs and Persians.

==Military campaigns==
{{See also|Bengal Sultanate–Delhi Sultanate War}}
During the early period of his reign, Ilyas Shah led the first [[Muslim]] army into [[Nepal]].<ref name=bpedia/> He occupied the [[Tirhut]] region and thrust through the [[Terai]] plains into the [[Kathmandu Valley]]. His army sacked the temple of Svayambhunath,<ref name=bpedia/> returning to Bengal with plentiful spoils. Ilyas Shah then invaded [[Odisha#History|Orissa]], which was ruled by Bhanudeva II of the [[Eastern Ganga dynasty]]. He further sacked [[Jajpur]], [[Cuttack]] and reached as far as the [[Chilika Lake]]. He also led a successful campaign against the [[Kamarupa]] kingdom in present-day [[Assam]].

In November 1353, the Delhi Sultan [[Firuz Shah Tughluq]] launched an invasion of Bengal. His army occupied Pandua. Ilyas Shah and his forces retreated to the [[fortress]] of Ekdala. The Delhi Sultan laid siege to the fortress for two months. The Delhi Sultanate's forces then began withdrawing. Ilyas Shah began to pursue the Delhi army and reached as far as [[Varanasi]]. The Delhi army formidably fought back. Firuz Shah returned to Delhi in 1355. Ilyas Shah regained control of Bengal and his realm extended up to the [[Koshi River]].<ref name="Tabori1957" />

The extent of Ilyas Shah's campaigns, including his conquest of major Indian cultural centers, was considered "world-conquering" in the context of medieval India.<ref name="Eaton1996">{{cite book |last=Eaton |first=Richard Maxwell |date=1996 |title=The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760 |url=https://archive.org/details/riseofislambenga00eato |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-20507-9 |url-access=registration }}</ref> This led to him being styled as "the second [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]]" in the same manner as [[Alauddin Khalji]].<ref name="Eaton1996" />

==See also==
* [[History of Bengal]]
* [[List of rulers of Bengal]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box
|before= [[Ilyas Shahi dynasty|Dynasty created]]
|title=[[Sultanate of Bengal]]
|years=1342–1358
|after=[[Sikandar Shah]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Illyas}}
[[Category:Rulers of Bengal]]
[[Category:1358 deaths]]
[[Category:Bengali Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:14th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Ilyas Shahi dynasty]]

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Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah