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{{Short description|Sultan of Delhi from 1434 to 1445}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image =
| caption =
| reign = 19 February 1434 – 1 January 1445
| coronation =
| full name =
| predecessor = [[Mubarak Shah (Sayyid dynasty)|Mubarak Shah]]
| successor = [[Alam Shah]]
| regent = [[Shah Rukh]]
| reg-type = Under the nominal [[suzerainty]]
| spouse =
| issue = [[Alam Shah]]
| royal house =
| dynasty = [[Sayyid dynasty|Sayyid]]
| father =
| mother =
| birth_date = 1397
| birth_place = Delhi
| death_date = 1 January 1445 (aged 48)
| death_place =
| date of burial =
| place of burial =
| religion = [[Islam]]
| succession = 27th [[Sultan of Delhi]]
| title =
}}

[[File:Lodhi Garden, New Delhi. taken by Anita Mishra.JPG|thumb|Tomb of Muhammad Shah]]
'''Muhammad Shah IV''' ({{langx|fa|{{nq|محمد شاه}}}}) was the third monarch of the [[Sayyid dynasty]] which ruled the [[Delhi Sultanate]].

== Life ==
After Mubarak Shah’s death, his nephew Muhammad Khan bin Farid Khan ascended the throne as Sultan Muhammad Shah. For the first six months of his reign, however, true power lay in the hands of Sarvar-ul-Mulk, also called Khan-i-Jahan. He set about purging the old nobility, but the displaced nobles rallied under a leader named Kamal-ul-Mulk.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Majumdar |first=Ramesh Chandra |title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Delhi Sultanate |year=1951 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |pages=134-135}}</ref>

The first spark of rebellion lit up in Bayana, where its ruler, Yusuf Khan Auhadi, resisted Sarvar-ul-Mulk’s attempt to seize the local fort and killed the officer sent to take it. Other regional chiefs soon joined the uprising. Under cover of feigned loyalty, Kamal-ul-Mulk won Sarvar-ul-Mulk’s confidence and was given command of the royal army to crush the rebels. Rather than marching straight to [[Bayana]], he halted at Ahar. When the rebel leaders learned of his true intentions in May 1434, they sided with him and together they advanced on Delhi to avenge the late sultan’s death.<ref name=":0" />

Deprived of the army’s support, Sarvar-ul-Mulk tried to assassinate the new king, but Muhammad Shah’s bodyguards intervened and slew him and his conspirators. After a three-month siege, the rebel forces entered Delhi, and the nobles renewed their allegiance to Muhammad Shah. Kamal-ul-Mulk was then appointed as the chief minister.<ref name=":0" />

Despite this opportunity to stabilize the realm, Kamal-ul-Mulk soon disappointed everyone by neglecting his duties in favor of a life of leisure. Disorder spread throughout the kingdom, and even prominent [[Delhi]] figures joined [[Khanzada Jalal Khan|Jalal Khan]] of [[Mewat]] in inviting Sultan [[Mahmud Khalji]] of [[Malwa]] to intervene. The Malwa army encamped near [[Delhi]] at [[Talpat]]. Unable to defend his capital alone, Muhammad Shah summoned [[Bahlul Lodi]] of [[Sirhind]], who arrived with twenty thousand horsemen. The two armies clashed, but as neither side prevailed on the first day, Muhammad Shah secretly sued for peace the following morning. Alarmed by an ominous vision, the Khalji ruler accepted and withdrew to Mandu.<ref name=":0" />

[[Bahlul Lodi]], frustrated by the king’s caution, seized the initiative by ambushing the Khalji rear guard that same night, seizing supplies and cutting down their soldiers. Sultan Mahmud Khalji, impressed, embraced Bahlul as a son and bestowed upon him the title Khan-i-Khanan. In gratitude, Muhammad Shah granted Bahlul authority over much of the [[Punjab]] and charged him with subduing the Khokhar rebel [[Jasrath]], who ultimately negotiated his own settlement.<ref name=":0" />

By the early 1440s, the Lodis had grown powerful enough to attempt an assault on [[Delhi]], though Bahlul’s 1443 attack failed. In the last years of Muhammad Shah’s rule, his grip on the sultanate unraveled. [[Multan]] under the [[Langah dynasty]] declared its independence, the [[Sharqi dynasty]] seized eastern territories, numerous local chiefs ceased paying tribute, and even lords close to Delhi asserted their autonomy. Shortly before his death in 1445, Muhammad Shah summoned his son Alam Shah from the provinces and officially named him his heir.<ref name=":0" />

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=Peter|title=The Delhi Sultanate : a political and military history|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=9780521543293|edition=1st|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lt2tqOpVRKgC}}
* {{cite web|title=Sayyid dynasty|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sayyid-dynasty|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|ref={{harvid|EB}}|language=en}}

{{Commons category}}

[[Category:Sayyid dynasty]]
[[Category:1445 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian people of Arab descent]]
[[Category:People from Delhi]]

{{India-royal-stub}}

Muhammad Shah IV - Revision history

Omhospital at 12:38, 2 July 2025