Bangladesh Studies

Grade-8
Paper -1

Topic 2 (d) The rule of

the independent
sultans (1338-1538)
of your previous learned
topic
• Where was Bakhtiyar
Khalzi born and raised in?
• Why did his Tibetan
expedition fail?
• Who assassinated him?
 Learning
Objectives

• This section covers the rule of the

independent Sultans.
Students will learn about:
• The Ilyas Shahi Dynasty
• The Hussain Shahi Dynasty.
some significant key
terms.

• Political stability
• Culture & justice
• Architecture & Calligraphy
• Imperial army
• Abdicate
• Sufism
• Confrontation
• Treaty
• Confederacy
• Communal harmony
Mini Research (Group
work) Optional
• You are a messenger for the Sultan of
Delhi in 1204. He has heard that Bakhtiyar
has captured Nadia in a very clever way.
He likes to hear heroic stories told in a
dramatic way and has picked you as his
best story teller. He wants you to tell him
what happened.
• So do a little research and prepare to give
your account in the most dramatic way
possible!
 Activity -1

• Watch the
video-https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=r7Wczusk9K4
• Identify four information from this video
 Introduction
• Fakhruddin (see Topic 2c) had
established himself as independent Sultan
of Sonargaon and after his death in 1349
was succeeded by his son, Gazi Shah.
However, more significant events were
happening in Lakhnauti, where an army
commander, Ali Mubrak, seized control
and established an independent kingdom.
• In 1342 he was overthrown and killed by
his foster brother, Haji Iliyas, who
established the Iliyas Shahi Dynasty which
ruled Bengal for the next hundred years.
 The Iliyas Shahi
Dynasty
He brought
Long title
Haji Iliyas Shahi three major
Shamsuddin
the founder of geographical
Abul Muzaffer
the dynasty units under one
Shah
authority
Sultan Fizuz has
Sultan Firuz
Shah-i-Bangala temporary
invaded with his
or the king of success but
enormous army
Bengal could not crush
in 1353
Haji Iliyas
Haji Iliyasi
extended his
authority in
Bihar ,
Nepal ,Orissa &
Assam
 Sikandar Shah
• Haji Iliyas was succeeded by his son,
Sikandar Shah, who ruled a prosperous
and politically stable Bengal for about
thirty years and died around 1390.
• Sultan Firuz of Delhi invaded Bengal again
in 1359, but Sikandar, like his father,
successfully faced the imperial army of
Delhi.
• After this date, the Sultans of Delhi
realized the growing strength of the
Sultans of Bengal and they did not try to
capture Bengal for quite a long time
Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah-
Culture and justice

He exchanged
embassies with
Sikander Shah was He lavishly
Chinese Emperor
succeeded by his patronized
and has
son Ghiyasuddin madrassa in Mecca
correspondence
Azam Shah & Medina
with poet of IRAN
Hafiz

Once he told to the There was no

He had great
Chief Justice , he invasion by Delhi
respect for law and
was not above the Sultanate during
justice
law his reign.
 The Iliyas Shahi
Dynasty
• Haji Iliyas, the founder of the Iliyas Shahi
Dynasty, took control of Lakhnauti in 1342
and assumed the long title of Sultan
Shamsuddin Abul Muzaffar Iliyas Shah.
• Some historians think that Iliyas was the
first ruler who brought the three major
geographical units of Satgaon, Sonargaon
and Lakhnauti under a single authority.
• It is probably because of this that he
called himself Shah-i-Bangala or the King
of Bengal.
 The Iliyas Shahi
Dynasty
• Haji Iliyas's rise as an independent ruler in
Bengal offended the Sultan in Delhi.
Sultan Firuz Tughluq invaded Bengal
with an enormous army in 1353.
• Though Firuz had some temporary
success, he could not crush Haji Iliyas who
continued to rule freely.
• Though Fakhruddin started the process of
an independent Bengal in 1338, it was Haji
Iliyas who was the real founder.
 Sikandar Shah
• Haji Iliyas was succeeded by his son,
Sikandar Shah, who ruled a prosperous
and politically stable Bengal for about
thirty years and died around 1390.
• Sultan Firuz of Delhi invaded Bengal again
in 1359, but Sikandar, like his father,
successfully faced the imperial army of
Delhi.
• After this date, the Sultans of Delhi
realized the growing strength of the
Sultans of Bengal and they did not try to
capture Bengal for quite a long time.
Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah-
Culture and justice

• Sikandar Shah was succeded by his son,

Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah (1390--1410).
• Ghiyasuddin was an able ruler.
• He exchanged embassies with the
Chinese Emperor and maintained
correspondences with the famous poet,
Hafiz of Iran.
• He also lavishly patronized several
madrassa in Mecca and Medina.
• Ghiyasuddin was also famous for his
respect for law and justice.
Continued…….
• It is said that he once told the Chief Justice
of his kingdom that though he was the
Sultan, he was not above the law.
• Ghiyasuddin was fortunate that during his
reign there were no invasions by the Delhi
Sultanate and so he had no wars to fight.
The return of the Iliyas
Shahi Dynasty
• Jalaluddin's son, Shamshuddin Ahmad
Shah, has been described by some
historians as a just ruler and by others as
oppressive.
• He was murdered by his slave, Nasir
Khan, who ascended the throne.
• This made the nobles outraged and they
killed him and restored the Iliyas Shahi
Dynasty by installing Nasiruddin
Mahmood Shah, grandson of Haji
Iliyas(1442 AD).
• He ruled for seventeen years (1433-1459),
Continued……
• Nasiruddin was succeeded by his able son,
Rukhunuddin Barbak Shah (1459-
1574).
• Ruknuddin had brought a large number of
slaves of Ethiopean origin who became
politically powerful over the time. Soon
after Ruknuddin's death, the activities of
some of these 'slaves’ created political
instability.
• Between 1487 and 1493, four of the
slaves became Sultans and were killed by
rivals. A period of unrest was finally
Art and culture during
the Iliyas Shahi Dynasty
• With the establishment of Iliyas Shahi
Dynasty, the initial unrest and political
instability were brought to a minimum.
• Therefore the Sultans could pay more
attention to the development of art and
culture.
• In the field of architecture, the most
spectacular achievement was the famous
Adina Mosque in Pandua, built by Sikandar
Shah in 1375. The mosque was not only
larger than the largest mosque of the
Delhi Sultans of the time, but it was also
Adina Mosque
monuments of Iliyas
Shahi period
• The important monuments erected during
the Iliyas Shahi period were
• The tomb of Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah at
Sonargaon
• The Kotwali Darwaza
• The Dakhil Darwaza
• The Nim Darwaza
• The Tantipara mosque, the Kadamrasul
Masjid and the Darasbari mosque of Gaur
• The Sona Masjid of Pandua.
monuments of Iliyas
Shahi period

• Kotowa • Nim
• Dakhil
li Darwa
Darwa
Darwa za
za
za
Mosque,Tatipara Mosque,
Kadamrasul Masjid
Iliyas Shahi Dynasty- Ghiyasuddin
Azam Shah

• Under the patronage of Ghiyasuddin Azam

Shah, Shah Muhammad Sagir wrote his
famous poem, Yusuf-Zulekha.
• It brought about a revolution in Bengali
literature, which was greatly enriched with
the addition of the religious stories of
Islam and the introduction of the romantic
tale as a new theme for Bengali poets.
• Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah asked Krittivas to
write the Ramayana in Bengali.
Art and culture practice during the
Iliyas Shahi Dynasty- Ruknuddin Barbak
Shah

• Ruknuddin Barbak Shah extended his

patronage to Muslim and Hindu scholars
alike.
• During his reign, Zaynuddin composed the
Rasulbijay and Ibrahim Qayum Faruqi
composed the Safarnamah.
• Ruknuddin Barbak Shah equally extended
his patronage to Hindu scholars and poets
-- during his reign, Raimukuta Brhaspati
acquired fame and glory, and Barbak Shah
honoured Maladhar Basu, the compiler of
Feedback questions (day-1)
• Who was the real founder of an
independent Bengal in 1338?
• Which major regions did he bring under a
single authority in Bengal?
• How did Sikander rule Bengal, and for how
long?
• What were Sikander's thoughts on justice?
Can you provide an example?
• What were the spectacular achievements
of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty in the field of
architecture?(any two)
 Feedback questions
• How did Ruknuddin Barbak Shah extended his
patronage to Hindu scholars and poets?
• How has Shamshuddin Ahmad Shah, been
described by some of the historians? How was
his assassinator being treated?
• Explain the contribution of Ilias Shahi Dynasty to
art and culture in Bengal.(Q/A in detail) mark in
your book
• Mosques
• Monuments
• Poets and poems etc.
 Day-2 (Pre-session task)
(Nusrat Shah)
• Who was the founder of Ilias Shahi
dynasty?

• Explain the cultural development and

social justice implications during the reign
of Ghiyas Uddin Azam Shah?
 Nusrat Shah

He ascended He cleverly
Skilled the throne of avoid
administrator Bengal (1519- confrontation
1532) with Babur
Babur
He signed a
appeared in Nusrat
treaty with
the scene avoided anti
Babur which
after his Mughal
made Bengal
Panipath confederacy
safe
victory
 Sher Shah

Assassination of
Nusrat shah Afghans grew
He was great
created the trend stronger under the
threat to Mughal
of decline of the leadership of Sher
in Delhi
Hussain Shahi Shah
Dynasty

Sher Shah
captured Gaur ,the
Threats for Sultans
independent
of Bengal
status of Bengal
was finally lost
Continued…..
• After the death of Hussain Shah, Nusrat
Shah (1519--1532) ascended the throne
of Bengal.
• He was an able ruler like his father. Nusrat
cleverly tried to avoid any confrontation
with Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire,
who had appeared in the eastern Indian
scene after his victory at Panipath (1526).
Nusrat professed neutrality and avoided
having any connection with the anti-
Mughal confederacy that was formed by
Mahmud Lodi with Afghan chiefs. When
Babur sent an expedition to Bengal, Nusrat
Independence of Bengal lost to Sher
Shah, Afghan leader
• Nusrat Shah was killed by an assassin in
1532 and succeeded by Alauddin Feruz
Shah and then Ghiasuddin Mahmud.
• But they could not reverse the trend of
decline of the Husain Shahi Dynasty that
had started after the death of Nusrat
Shah. Meanwhile, the Afghans grew
stronger under the leadership of Sher
Shah, who posed a great threat to the
Mughals in Delhi as well as the Sultans of
Bengal and when he captured Gaur in
1538, the independent status of Bengal
was finally lost.
Feedback questions (Day-2)
• Who ascended the throne of Bengal after
the death of Hussain Shahi?
• How did Nusrat Shah profess his neutrality
with Babur?

• Whose leadership posed a great threat to

the Mughals?
Day-3 M.C.W 5 marks
• Which regions did Iliyas Shahi conquer
after taking control of Bengal?
• With whom did Ghyasuddin exchange
embassies and maintain correspondence?

• Which major regions did he bring under a

single authority in Bengal?
Golden age of Bengal
Sultanate Day-3
• The Hussain Shahi Dynasty was marked by
a long spell of undisturbed peace,
prosperity, communal harmony and the
development of Bengali culture and
literature. This is why the Hussain Shahi
era is considered the 'golden age' of the
Bengal sultanate.
• The rulers of this period took an active
interest in the growth of local literature by
patronizing the major poets of the time.
1.The sultans, because of their close
association with the local people, gave
Prolific writers and poets
of Hussain Shahi Dynasty
• Kavindra Parameshvara and Shrikara
Nandi, the translators of the Mahabharata
patronized by two governers of Chittagong
under Hussain Shahi.
• Writers- Vaisnava padas, Yashoraj Khan,
served as an official of Husain Shah.
• Sheikh Kabir, a Muslim poet, was
intimately connected with Nusrat Shah.
• Shaikh Zahid composed his yogic
philosophy Adya Parichaya in 1498-99 AD,
one of the earliest specimens of Bangla
poems dealing with yogic ideas.
Architecture and
calligraphy
• During the Hussain Shahi period, Bengal's
contributions to architecture and
calligraphy were
• significant.
• Architecture and calligraphy were largely
the product of court patronage.
• The case was probably similar with music,
particularly its classical branch which
seems to have flourished in the court.
• The reign of Nusrat Shah witnessed a
sudden flowering of pictorial art as is
evidenced by the ten folio illustrations of
Architectural development &
Mosques during Hussain Shahi
Dynasty.
• By the time the Hussain Shahi rulers came
to power, Bengal had already developed a
tradition of architecture. Hussain Shahi
architecture is a continuation of this earlier
tradition.
• The ruins of the Darasbari Madrassa at
Gaur (on the Bangladesh side of the
medieval city)
exhibit the vigour of the building art in the
period.
Mosques during Hussain Shahi
Dynasty-Sets examples of
glorious creation
• The Gumti gate, the Qadam Rasal.
• The Jahanian Mosque, the Bara Sona
mosque,Chota Sona mosque.
• The Sura mosque and Hemtabad mosque
in Dinajpur, Bagha mosque, Navaram
mosque in Pabna, the Majlis Aulia mosque
of Pathrail in Faridpur, the Sankarpasha
mosque of Sylhet and the Goaldi mosque
in Sonargaon are some excellent examples
of the period.
• The Bara Sona mosque and the Chhota
Sona mosque have a spirit of
Hussain Shahi period- The
predominance of the stone
cutters' art
• In this period, we find a predominance of
the stone cutters' art.
• The architecture of the period clearly
reveals local influences and gives
expression to Bengal's life and culture.
• The old Terracotta, which had its revival in
the earlier period of Muslim rule,
continued under the
• Hussain Shahi rulers.
• The local elements, which found
expression in the architecture of the
period, include the curvature of the
Question /Answer (in
detail)
• Explain the contribution of Hussain Shahi Dynasty
to art and culture in Bengal.(Q/A in detail) mark in
your book
• Poets, poems
• Architecture and calligraphy
• Artistically and meticulously made mosques
• Stone cutters art etc.

• Explain the contribution of Iliyas Shahi Dynasty to

art and culture in Bengal.(Q/A in detail) mark in
your book
• Mosques
• Monuments
•
 Feedback questions
day-3
• Can you name three mosques established
during the Hussain Shahi dynasty that
symbolized Muslim rule in Bengal?

• Provide two examples of architectural

developments during the Hussain Shahi
dynasty that signify the glorious brick style
of Bengal.
Arts and Literature
• Provide examples
of art and literature
that are significant
to Iliyas and
Hussain Shahi
dynasty
Day-4 Group Project
• Objective: Synthesize learning through project
presentations and collaborative review activities.
• Introduction: Recap of key points from the previous
lessons.
• Activity 1: Group Project Presentation
• Instructions: Students will present their group projects
(from previous homework) on topics such as:
• Comparison of the Ilyas Shahi and Hussain Shahi
dynasties.
• Architectural achievements of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty
& Hussain Shahi Dynasty.
• Trade and economic policies under the Hussain Shahi
dynasty.
• Materials: Visual aids (posters, slides), presentation
notes.
• Outcome: Consolidation of knowledge and peer
learning.
Day-5
• Project Presentation
Day-6
• Class Test