Shah Mir dynasty

The Shah Mir dynasty (Kashmiri: شاه میٖر خاندان) or the House of Shah Mir, was a Kashmiri dynasty that ruled the Kashmir Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. The dynasty is named after its founder, Shah Mir.

Origins

Modern scholarship differ on the origin of Shah Mir. However, modern historians generally accept that Shah Mir was from Swat in Dardistan. Some accounts trace his descent from the rulers of Swāt.

Encyclopaedia of Islam (second edition) suggests a possible Turkish origins. Andre Wink puts forward the opinion that Shah Mir was possibly of Afghan, Qarauna Turk, or even Tibetan origin, while A.Q. Rafiqi believes that Shah Mir was a descendant of Turkish or Persian immigrants to Swat.^{: 311–312} Some scholars state that Shah Mir arrived from the Panjgabbar valley (Panchagahvara), which was populated by Khasa people, and so ascribe a Khasa ethnicity to Shah Mir.

Older sources by contemporary Kashmiri historians, such as Jonaraja, state that Shah Mir was the descendant of Partha (Arjuna) of Mahabharata fame. Abu ’l-Fadl Allami, Nizam al-Din and Firishta, also state that Shah Mir traced his descent to Arjuna, the basis of their account being Jonaraja’s Rajatarangini, which Mulla Abd al-Qadir Bada’uni translated into Persian at Akbar’s orders. This seems to be official genealogy of the Sultanate. Based on this tradition, Aziz Ahmad considers it more probable that Shah Mir was a descendant of a convert from Hinduism only a few generation earlier, probably by a Sufi mystic.

History

Shah Mir

A. Q. Rafiqi states:

Shah Mir arrived in Kashmir in 1313 along with his family, during the reign of Suhadeva (1301–1320), whose service he entered. In subsequent years, through his tact and ability Shah Mir rose to prominence and became one of the most important personalities of his time.

Annemarie Schimmel has suggested that Shah Mir belonged to a family from Swat which accompanied the sage Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani and were associated to the Kubrawiya, a Sufi group in Kashmir. He worked to establish Islam in Kashmir and was aided by his descendant rulers, specially Sikandar Butshikan. He reigned for three years and five months from 1339 to 1342 CE. He was the ruler of Kashmir and the founder of the Shah Mir dynasty. He was followed by his two sons who became kings in succession.

Jamshid

Sultan Shamsu'd-Din Shah was succeeded by his elder son Sultan Jamshid who ruled for a year and two months. In 1343 CE, Sultan Jamshid suffered a defeat by his brother who ascended the throne as Sultan Alau'd-Din in 1347 CE.

Alau'd-Din

Sultan Alau'd-Din's two sons became kings in succession, Sultan Shihabu'd-Din and Sultan Qutbu'd-Din.

Shihabu'd-Din

He was the only Shah Mir ruler to keep Hindu courtiers in his court. Prominent among them were Kota Bhat and Udyashri. Ruler of Kashgar (Central Asia) once attacked Kashmir with a large army. Sultan Shihabu’d-din did not have a large number of soldiers to battle against the Kashgar army. But with a small army, he fought and defeated the whole army of Kashgar. After this battle, the regions of Ladakh and Baltistan which were under the rule of Kashgar came under the rule of Shah Miris.Sultan also marched towards Delhi and the army of Feroz Shah Tughlaq opposed him at the banks of River Sutlej. Since the battle was motive-less for the Delhi Sultanate peace concluded between them on a condition that all the territories from Sirhind to Kashmir belong to the Shah Mir empire. As a broad minded intellectual, Shihab'ud-Din, in the first half of his tenure, took care of the Sultanate and brought stability to the social and integral structure of Kashmir. Full of animation and efficiency, Shihab'ud-Din set out to conquer its neighbour polities to expand and glorify his state. Marching through Baramulla, he first occupied Pakhli and went on to add Swat to his realm. Next, he invaded the Khokhar dominated Pothohar, which extended from Attock to Sialkot. His commander-in-chief (Mir Bakhshi), Malik Candra, on the other hand, subdued Jammu, Kishtwar, Chamba, and other hill states. Occupying all the bordering states in the south, Shihab'ud-Din went on to defeat the Dardic forces of Gilgit and the hill states of the north. Baltistan under the Maqpons and Ladakh under the Maryuls were, at that time, tributary states of Moghulistan and Tibet, respectively. Shihab'ud-Din, along with Malik Candra, faced the Baltis and Kashgaris, defeating them easily and soundly. He then moved towards Ladakh, beating the joint forces of Ladakhis and Tibetis. After all these conquests, Shihab'ud-Din returned to Srinagar around 1370 and rather ought to live the rest of his life peacefully but just after some years, in 1373, he died due to a viral illness.

Shihabu’d-din was also a great administrator who governed his kingdom with firmness and justice. A town named Shihabu’d-dinpura aka Shadipur was founded by him. He was also called the Lalitaditya of Medieval Kashmir as he erected many mosques and monasteries.

Qutubu'd-Din

He was the next Sultan of Kashmir. The only significance of his rule is that the Sufi saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani arrived at Kashmir in his reign. In 1380 C.E. Qutbud’din died and was succeeded by his son Sultan Sikander also known as the Sikander Butshikand.

Sikandar

Sultan Sikandar (1389–1413 CE), was the sixth ruler of the Shah Mir Dynasty.

Barring a successful invasion of Ladakh, Sikandar did not annex any new territory. Iinternal rebellions were ably suppressed. A welfare-state was installed — oppressive taxes were abolished, and free schools and hospitals were commissioned. Waqfs were endowed to shrines, mosques were commissioned, numerous Sufi preachers were provided with jagirs and installed in positions of authority, and feasts were regularly held. Economic condition was decent.

Jonaraja and later Muslim chroniclers accuse Sikandar of terminating Kashmir's longstanding syncretic culture by persecuting Pandits and destroying numerous Hindu shrines; Suhabhat — a Brahman neo-convert and Sikandar's Chief Counsel — is particularly blamed for having instigated him. Scholars caution against accepting the allegations at face value and attributing them solely to religious bigotry. His policies, like with the previous Hindu rulers, were likely meant to gain access to the immense wealth controlled by Brahminical institutions; further, Jonaraja's polemics stemmed, at least in part, from his aversion to the slow disintegration of caste society under Islamic influence. However, Sikandar was also the first Kashmiri ruler to convert destroyed temples into Islamic shrines, and such a display of supremacy probably had its origins in religious motivations.

Sikandar died in April, 1413 upon which, the eldest son 'Mir' was anointed as the Sultan having adopted the title of Ali Shah.

Ali Shah

He was the seventh ruler of the Shah Mir Dynasty, and reigned between 1413 and 1420. He was defeated by Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin at Thanna with the help of Jasrath Khokhar, a chieftain from Pothohar Plateau. The fate of Ali Shah is uncertain: he may have died in captivity or have been put to death by Khokhar.

Zain-ul-Abidin

Zain-ul-Abidin was the eighth sultan of Kashmir. He was known by his subjects as Bod Shah or Budshah (lit. 'Great King') and ruled from 1418 to 1470.

Zain-ul-Abidin worked hard to establish a fair rule in Kashmir. He called back the Hindus who had left Kashmir during his father reign and allowed building of temples. Jizya was abolished too in his command. From the regulation of commodities to the reviving of old crafts, Abidin did everything for overall development of Kashmir and his subjects. Zain-ul-Abidin is also called as Akbar of Kashmir and Shahjahan of Kashmir on account of religion and development respectively.

Haider Shah

Next Sultan of Kashmir was Haji Khan, who succeeded his father Zain-ul-Abidin and took the title of Haider Khan.

Interruption by Haidar Dughlat

In 1540, the Sultanate was briefly interrupted when Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, a Chagatai Turco-Mongol military general attacked and occupied Kashmir. Arriving in Kashmir, Haidar installed as sultan the head of the Sayyid faction, Nazuk. In 1546, after Humayun recovered Kabul, Haidar removed Nazuk Shah and struck coins in the name of the Mughal emperor. He died in 1550 after being killed in battle with the Kashmiris. He lies buried in the Gorstan e Shahi in Srinagar.

Architecture

Some of the architectural projects commissioned by the dynasty in Kashmir include:

• Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
• Khanqah-e-Moulah in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
• Aali Masjid in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
• Tomb of the Mother of Zain-ul-Abidin in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
• Amburiq Mosque in Shigar, Gilgit-Baltistan
• Chaqchan Mosque in Khaplu, Gilgit-Baltistan

Reign and successions

Note: Muhammad Shah had five separate reigns from 1484 to 1537.

See also

Notes

References

External links

• Baharistan-i-Shahi: A Chronicle of Mediaeval Kashmir