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For the recipient of the Victoria Cross, see Sher Shah (VC). Sher Shah Awan VC ( 14 February 1917 - 20 January 1945) was a British Indian from the village of Chakrala, about
Sher Shah Suri, also known as Farid Khan, Sher Khan or the Lion King.
Sher Shah Suri, also known as Farid Khan, Sher Khan or the Lion King.

Sher Shah Suri (1486 – May 22, 1545) (Pashto: شېرشاه سوري, Urdu/Persian: شیر شاہ سوری), also known as Farid Khan, Sher Khan or the Lion King, was a powerful Afghan emperor[1][2] who founded the Sur Dynasty in 1540 in South Asia. Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. Pashto ( Naskh: پښتو‎ pəʂ'to also rendered as Pakhto, Pushto, Pukhto, Pashtu, Pushtu, also known as Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised An emperor (from the Latin " Imperator " is a (male Monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an Empire or another type of The Suri Dynasty was founded by the powerful Afghan conqueror Sher Shah, an ethnic Pasthun who's family hailed from Peshawer ( Pakistan) He established his empire after conquering a huge swathe of territory that is now eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country

Contents

Early life

An ethnic Afghan (Pashtun)[2][1], Sher Shah Suri was born in Sasaram, Bihar. Pashtuns ( Pashto: پښتون Paṣtūn, Paxtūn, also rendered as Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, Pukhtuns) also called Pashtuns ( Pashto: پښتون Paṣtūn, Paxtūn, also rendered as Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, Pukhtuns) also called WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Sasaram (sometimes also spelled as Sahsaram is the administrative headquarters of Rohtas district in the Bihar ( Hindi:बिहार Urdu: بہار bɪhaːr) is a state in eastern India. [2][3] He descended from an Afghan adventurer recruited by Sultan Bahlol Lodhi during his long contest with the Sharqi Sultans. Lodhi Dynasty ( Pashto / Persian: سلطنت لودھی) was a Ghilzai (khilji Afghan ( ethnic Pashtun) dynasty [4] The Kakar tribe at the time inhabited the northeastern plains of Balochistan and stretched into southern Punjab region, near the city of Multan. Kakar is the name one of the largest Pashtun tribes, with members living in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Punjab ( ਪੰਜਾਬ پنجاب, पंजाब پنجاب also Panjab (پنجاب meaning "Land of the Five Rivers") (c ( Urdu:, Punjabi ملتان، ਮੁਲਤਾਨ is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District Kakar and Suri affiliated sub-tribes are also found on the outskirts Peshewar, in Kandahar and as far as Sialkot. ( پښور; Urdu: پشاور) is the capital of the North-West Frontier Province and the administrative centre for the Federally Administered For the 2001 film see Kandahar (film; for the Kandahar meteorite of 1959 see Meteorite falls; for the places in Azerbaijan see Cəndəhar and Sialkot ( Urdu / Punjabi:) the capital of Sialkot District, is a city situated in the north-east of the Punjab province in

Sher Shah Suri's given birth name was Farid Khan. Sher Shah Suri (1486 Sasaram &ndash May 22, 1545 Kalinjar) ( - Šīr Šāh Sūrī) also known as Farid Khan or His father (Hasan Khan) was the Jagirdar (landlord) of an estate located in Sasaram, Bihar, which had been conquered by various rulers previously. Ill treated by his stepmother, Sher Shah left home at the age of 15 and went to Jaunpur to "seek his fortunes", and once there, he committed himself to serious study. He acquired a good command over the Persian language and Arabic language and was known for his ability in effective administration. [5].

Political career

Because of his administrative abilities and vision, he was soon appointed by his father to manage the family Jagir. In Pakistan and India, a Jagir was a small territory granted by the ruler to an army chieftain in fairly short terms usually of three years but not extending beyond But again because of his stepmother, he left his father's Jagir and went to Bihar where he later joined the service of Mughal emperor Babur. Bihar ( Hindi:बिहार Urdu: بہار bɪhaːr) is a state in eastern India. Babur ( February 14 1483 - December 26 1530) was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who following a series of setbacks

In 1522, he served Bahar Khan, then governor of Bihar. His commander was impressed by his service and devotion. Bahar Khan conferred on him the title of Sher Khan for having shown gallantry in killing a tiger single-handed. The tiger ( Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family the largest and the most powerful of the four " Big cats quot in the Genus [4] Later, Sher Khan was appointed Wakil (Governor) and also a tutor of Bahar Khan's son Jalal Khan.

Jealous of Sher Khan's success, his enemies poisoned his master's mind and he was thus deprived of his father's jagir. He joined the Babur camp where he served from April 1527 to June 1528. But soon, he left Babur and returned to Bihar and took over his old job as a guardian of Jalal Khan. Jalal Khan being a minor, Sher Khan became the virtual ruler of Bihar.

Rise of Sher Khan

Sher Shah's empire
Sher Shah's empire

In 1531, Sher Khan asserted his independence from Humayun, Babur's successor. The unexpected rise of Sher Khan made the Lohani Afghans and Jalal Khan impatient. They even entered into an alliance with Muhammad Shah, the king of Bengal. Etymology and ethnology The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang Sher Khan defeated the Bengal king on the Kiul River in 1534. Later, he invaded Bengal and Muhammad Shah handed over him a large sum and territory to make amends. He then became the independent ruler of Bihar and Bengal.

In October 1537, Sher Khan again invaded Bengal and besieged the city of Gaur. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Gaur, or Gour, as it is spelt mostly in modern times or Lakhnauti is a ruined city in the Humayun, realising the strength of the Afghan overlord, marched to oppose Sher Khan in December 1537, and besieged Chunar. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Chunar, located in Mirzapur District of Uttar Pradesh state, India, is However, the army of Sher Khan baffled all the attempts of the assailants for six months, which gave enough time to Sher Khan for the reduction of Gaur, which was achieved by April 1538. In 1539, as Humayun marched towards Bengal, Sher Khan cleverly occupied the Mughal territories in Bihar and Jaunpur. In 1539, Sher Khan was able to defeat Humayun in the Battle of Chausa. Again in 1540, he defeated Humayun in the Battle of Kannauj, and went on to capture Delhi and Agra at the age of 54. Delhi (दिल्ली ਦਿੱਲੀ دلی d̪ɪlːiː sometimes referred to as Dilli) is the second largest metropolis of India, with a population Agra ( pronounced) (आगरा آگرا is a city on the banks of the Yamuna River in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh,

Sher Khan built the Rohtas Fort in 1541-43 to crush the Gakhars, who were loyal to Humayun, to whom the fort was finally surrendered by a treacherous commander 10 years after Sher Khan's death. Rohtas Fort (قلعہ روہتاس Qila Rohtas) is a garrison fort built by the great Afghan king Sher Shah Suri. The Gakhars (also Gakkhar or Ghakhar or Ghakkar) (گاکھر were a fiercely independent and warlike Clan now located in Rawalpindi Background Babur's decision to divide the territories of his empire between two of his sons was unusual in India but it had been a common Central Asian practice since the time of

Meanwhile, in Marwar the Rathores were becoming very powerful. Geography In 1901 the region (Jodhpur state had an area of 90554 km² (34963 square miles Early history Based on "khyats" (traditional accounts written in seventeenth century it is surmised that the Rathores and Rathods were originally feudatories of the The Rathore king Rao Maldeo had extended his territory to within a couple of hundred kilometres of Delhi. Rao Maldeo Rathore (r1532 - November 7 1562 was a Rajput ruler of Marwar, which was later known as Jodhpur (in the present day Rajasthan state In 1544 Sher Khan attacked Maldeo. Maldeo came with a force of 40 thousand against Sher Khan's 60 thousand. In the evening Sher Khan sent forged letters to Maldeo's camp. These letters seemed to indicate that some generals from Maldeo's army were buying arms from Sher Khan's army. This caused great consternation in Maldeo's camp who thought that some of his generals had crossed over to Sher Khan, and he left with 20,000 men. Later events proved that there was no crossing over by Maldeo's generals. When the Rathore generals Kumpa (his progeny are Kumpawat Rathores) and Jaita (his progeny are Jaitawat Rathores) found out what happened they did not lose their cool, and decided they would not leave the field even though they just had 20 thousand men and had to face Sher Khan's 60 thousand Pashtuns. Kumpawat is the name of a branch of the Rathore clan of Suryavanshi Rajputs They claim descent from Rao Kumpa (d Jaitawat's are the ancestors of RAO Jaitaji Rathore,who is elder Son Of RAO Panchayan Ji Rathore and LalaDevi "Savant Singh" Solanki. In the ensuing battle of Sammel Sher Khan emerged victorious, but several of his generals lost their lives and his army suffered heavy losses. After this he commented that "for a few grains of bajra (a grain crop that grows in Marwar) he had almost lost the entire kingdom of India". Pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely grown type of Millet.

Expansion and victories

The mausoleum of Sher Shah Suri in Sasaram, Bihar.
The mausoleum of Sher Shah Suri in Sasaram, Bihar.

Sher Khan continued to expand his empire, subjugating Bengal, Malwa, Raisen, Sindh and Multan. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Raisen is a town and a Municipality in Raisen district in the Indian state Sindh ( Sindhī: سنڌ Urdu: سندھ is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhis. ( Urdu:, Punjabi ملتان، ਮੁਲਤਾਨ is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District In the Battle of Raisen, Sher Khan attacked the fort of the Rajput ruler Puran Mal. Rajput constitute one of the major Hindu Kshatriya groups from India After it became apparent that defending the fort would be too tough, Puran Mal agreed to surrender the fort on condition that his troops along with their wives and children all be allowed to leave unharmed. Sher Khan agreed, but as Puran Mal and his family were leaving the fort they were attacked by Sher Khan's soldiers.

In a very short time, Sher Khan had extended his kingdom from the Indus in the west to Bengal in the east. The Indus River { Sanskrit: सिन्धु Sindhu; Urdu: urd {{Nastaliq سندھ}} Sindh; Sindhi: snd He then besieged the strong fort of Kalinjar in Bundelkhand, where he died in an accidental explosion of gunpowder on May 22, 1545. Kalinjar is a fortress-city in the Bundelkhand region of central India. Geography Bundelkhand lies between the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the north and the Vindhya Range to the south Gunpowder is a an explosive mixture of Sulfur, Charcoal and Potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre/saltpeter that burns rapidly producing volumes Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. [2]

Sher Shah Suri was succeeded by his son, Jalal Khan who took the title of Islam Shah Suri. Islam Shah Suri was the second ruler of Sur dynasty. Islam Shah Suri's real name was Jalal Khan and he was son of Sher Shah Suri.

He adopted the self-appointed title of Shah during his rivalry with Humayun in anticipation of power, so his name was again changed from Sher Khan to Sher Shah. Background Babur's decision to divide the territories of his empire between two of his sons was unusual in India but it had been a common Central Asian practice since the time of In his reign, Sher Shah conquered a large portion of India.

Government and administration

Though Sher Shah only ruled for five years yet he introduced important administrative reforms, which produced an excellent revenue system. His reforms were accepted by later Mughal and British colonial administrations. His administration was efficient, but somewhat tight. The empire was divided into 47 provinces called Sarkars, and each was subdivided into several smaller districts called Parganas. A pargana is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent, used primarily but not Each Pargana had its own group of officers called Shiqdar-i-Shiqdaram and a second group called Munsif-i-Munsifan. Every pargana had one military officer, one treasurer, one judicial judge and two accountants, who maintained accounts in both Persian and in Hindi. Sher Shah transferred these officers around every two or three years to prevent any undue influence of officers in one place. He paid attention to improvement of trade, abolishing all taxes which hindered progress of free trade. He built large network of roads. One road ran from Attock to Dacca, second ran from Agra to Burhanpur, third from Agra to Chittor and fourth between Lahore and Multan. Attock ( Urdu:) the headquarters of Attock District, is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan Dhaka (also known as Dacca ( Bangla: ঢাকা ɖʱaka is the Capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka District. Burhanpur (बुरहानपुर is a town in Madhya Pradesh state India. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Chittorgarh (also Chittor, Chittaur, or Chittaurgarh) is an ancient town in ( lahor is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. ( Urdu:, Punjabi ملتان، ਮੁਲਤਾਨ is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District Present Grand Trunk Road in Pakistan was built by Sher Shah Suri. The Grand Trunk Road (commonly abbreviated to GT Road is one of South Asia 's oldest and longest major roads Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and In order to stay in power, Sher Shah created an efficient network of spies. He was also strict on crime. He even punished his relatives if they were found guilty by the courts.

Reforms

Sher Shah Suri was a visionary ruler and introduced many military and civil reforms. The system of tri-metalism which came to characterise Mughal coinage was largely the creation of Sher Shah Suri. He minted a coin of silver which was termed the Rupiya that weighed 178 grains and was the precursor of the modern rupee. The same name is still used for the national currency in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Mauritius, Maldives, Seychelles among other countries. Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République The Maldives ( or, or Maldive Islands) officially the Republic of Maldives, is an Island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching Seychelles (seɪˈʃɛl or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and seʃɛl in French) officially the Republic of Seychelles (République des Seychelles Creole Gold coins called the Mohur weighing 169 grains and copper coins called Dam were also minted by his government. [6]

He was the first in South Asia to introduce custom duties, which are still followed up to this day. Customs is an Authority or agency in a Country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods He undertook extensive repairs of major roads and for travellers' comfort constructed resthouses and places for drinking-water along the road.

Sher Shah Suri was, thus, indeed a great ruler. His administrative policies and other policies were so efficient that Akbar, the greatest of the Mughals, followed almost all of them. Akbar redirects here For other uses see Akbar (disambiguation Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar ( Jalāl ud-Dīn Muhammad Akbar So, Sher Shah is rightly regarded as the 'forerunner of Akbar'. His genius and chivalry was recognised by his former foe Humayun, who upon hearing of Sher Shah's passing, referred to him as "Ustad-i-Badshahan" (Master of Kings). Background Babur's decision to divide the territories of his empire between two of his sons was unusual in India but it had been a common Central Asian practice since the time of [7]

As far as his revenue and agricultural reforms, he was the first one among the kings of Delhi to start land measurement, categorize cultivated land according to its product, and implement a new revenue system. He made a farmer friendly policy of agricultural loans called “Taqavi system”. He also used his experience of managing his own Jageer at Sasaram. He introduced system of “Sarkars”, “Parganas” and villages in place of provinces. “Shiqdars” governed Sarkars whereas Parganas were under minor Shiqdars called “Shiqdaran”. There were “Munsifan” in Sarkars and Munsifs in Parganas to run judicial functions. Munsifan also resolved disputes between Sarkar and Pargana. There was a “Qanoongo” in each Sarkar who was the supervisor of records of property. “Fautedar” kept records both in Persian and Hindi.

Sher Shah used spying as a tool to be aware of woes of people, and established an efficient postal system in which horses carried mail to inns that were at equal distances of 12 miles from each other. These inns served also as post offices and spying centres and it was the duty of respective villages to bear expenses of their inns.

He was the first one to keep the military away from political and social issues in the empire. He made cantonment areas and deployed there a large army under a commander called “Faujdar”. He crushed the frontier Pashtun tribes, Balochs, Rajputs, Gakkhars and Khokhars while chasing Mughals out of India in his brief rule of five years. He also joined, Multan, Bengal, Burhanpur and Jotepur with Agra through the famous Grand Trunk road. Sher Shah followed the branding and “Huliya” systems of Alauddin Khilji to avoid forgery done by Nobles. Ala-ud-din Khilji ( Pashto / Arabic: علاء الدين الخلجي) (real name Juna Khan) (b He also established a standing army with regular salaries, instead of dividing war booty.

One of the most appreciated steps taken by Sher Shah was building inns, mosques and roads, planting trees, digging wells, spending money on “Ulema” and “Madarsas” and helped the poor and needy. He established free kitchens at various places in his empire and spent 500 Ashrafis on them daily. These steps place him equal to Feroz Shah Tughlaq considered as a kind-hearted ruler by the historians like Ziaud Din Barni and Shams Afif in Tareekh-e-Feroz Shahi. Firuz Shah Tughlaq (also known as Firoz Shah Tughluq ( 1309 - 1388 in Delhi) was a Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty from 1351

Sher Shah Suri appears before us as a nation builder who allowed not only Muslims but also Buddhists and Hindus to enjoy all opportunities. He tried to establish a national government, which shows that he followed the policy of Alauddin Khilji who, for the first time, employed Hindus as soldiers as well as revenue collectors. Ala-ud-din Khilji ( Pashto / Arabic: علاء الدين الخلجي) (real name Juna Khan) (b Sher Shah united Afghans living in India and revived them as a power in the subcontinent. However, this unity and strength ended with the end of his life when he laid siege to Kalinjar in 1545.

Sher Shah was a military genius because he knew the war strategies of Afghans and Mughals and used his own delaying tactics of long negotiations and misleading the enemy. He defeated Humayun by using the same tactics in both wars of Chausa and Kannauj in 1539 and 1540 respectively. Sher Shah’s theory of kingship and his rules of war depict him as a shrewd ruler. According to him, justice was not only to be dispensed to believers but also infidels. Sher Shah once punished his own son on his bad conduct.

Sher Shah had a refined taste in architecture. He built mosques and inns around India, and cities sprang up along the highways he built. A mosque in Delhi and his own mausoleum are sound proof of his refined taste. Another is the construction of the fort of Rohtas-e-Nau on the Jhelum.

Sher Shah was a great critic of “Mughal administration” and used this term wherever he found administrative flaws. He seized power when he was 54 but even at this old age, he was active and hard worker. According to Razzaq Mushtaqi and Abbass Sherwani, both contemporary historians, Sher Shah used to get up early for “Fajr” prayers and inspected branding of horses, helped the poor and needy and then held court. He himself used to say: “Alas! When I seized the power it was twilight of my life. ”

The hardships faced by Sher Shah were no less than that of Humayun. Like Humayun, he faced opposition from stepbrothers, had many rivals whom he overcame, and had no money in the treasury at the beginning of his rule. Even then, he gave a completely new structure of government along with a revenue system for a permanent source of income.

Important dates

References and footnotes

  1. ^ a b Columbia Encyclopedia - Sher Khan
  2. ^ a b c d Encyclopedia Britannica, Sher Shah of Sur
  3. ^ Sher Shah Suri
  4. ^ a b Encyclopedia Britannica, Sur Dynasty
  5. ^ Sher Shah Suri
  6. ^ RBI Monetary Museum, Mughal Coinage
  7. ^ Dr. The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc Khan, Hussain (1994) Sher Shah Suri 1540-1545

Bibliography

Select Translations Bearing on the History of a Rajput Family, 1462-1660 Translator Saran, Richard D. Annotations by Saran, Richard D. Hardcover Edition: Series#:51; Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia (Hardcover) 772 pages Publisher: University of Michigan Press ISBN / EAN: 0891480854
"Later, ancient Bactria, in northern Afghanistan, was joined to India by a 4,200-kilometer road built by Indian’s Maurya dynasty, and was linked to Central Asia and the Middle East by the imperial highways of the Persians. "
"When Chang Ch'ien arrived in Ferghana he was surprised to find that a vast array of Chinese goods were on sale, especially silk which was only manufactured in China. Fergana or Farghana ( Uzbek: Farg'ona, Persian فرغانه, UniPers "Farqāna", Russian: Фергана These goods had travelled by the route opened in 4th century BCE from China via Schezwan and Yunnan to Burma and eastern India. From there they had been traded along the India Grand Road (built under the Mauryan Empire) up the Ganges valley to the grand trading city of Taxila and then into central Asia. " [Page 250]
"Humayun escaped and went to Lahore while Sher Khan went back to Gaur to destroy the remnant of the Mughal army and imprison a rebelling governor. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Sher Khan became Sher Shah and organized his empire while Humayun, unable to get help from his brothers, fled all the way to the Safavid court in Iran. After subjugating Malwa in 1542, Sher Shah invaded central India. While capturing a fort in Kalinjar, Sher Shah was killed by a gunpowder explosion in 1545. "

Further reading

External links

Preceded by
'Founder'		 Shah of Delhi
1539-1545		 Succeeded by
Islam Shah Suri
The Delhi Sultanate ( Urdu: دلی سلطنت, दिल्ली सलतनत or Sultanat e Hind ( سلطنتِ هند; सलतनत ए Islam Shah Suri was the second ruler of Sur dynasty. Islam Shah Suri's real name was Jalal Khan and he was son of Sher Shah Suri.
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