Author | Abbas Sarwani |
---|---|
Publication date | 1580 |
Publication place | Mughal India |
The Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi (lit. 'History of Sher Shah') is a historical work dated 1580 CE which was compiled by Abbas Khan Sarwani, [1] a waqia-navis under Mughal emperor Akbar, detailing the rule of Sher Shah Suri, founder of the Sur Empire. The work was commissioned by Akbar to provide detailed documentation about Sher Shah's administration - Akbar's father Humayun had been defeated by Sher Shah. [2]
Abbas wrote the Tarik-i Sher Shahi using his own local Indo-Afghan cultural style, not in the style and language of standard Persian. [3]
The history of medieval India has benefited greatly from this compilation, thanks to the efforts of K. Qanungo, H. Haig, A. Rahim and I. Siddiqui. [4]
Abbas Khan Sarwani selected Tuhfah-i-Akbar Shahi as the title of his book and it was an elaborate history of the Lodi and Sur sultans. On the other hand, Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi was actually the first chapter of the book, only this part of the work is found at present. The writer of the Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi had marriage relations with Sher Shah, also he had contact with the acquaintances whose fathers worked for Sher Shah and his son Islam Shah. A number of persons who had served in the government of the Afghan rulers in high rank were mentioned as the sources of Sarwani. The book also includes brief biographies of those contemporary persons who are mentioned. [5]
Under the Mughal emperor Akbar, Abbas Khan Sarwani was in charge of utilizing court documents, he was also in charge of the Mughal emperor’s library and private collection of books. In spite of serving as a Mughal emperor and being a government servant, Sarwani idealized Sher Shah and praised him for the introduction of new political and administrative institutions and policies. Sarwani was an Afghan himself but the tribal rivalry and jealousy of the Afghan leaders were known to him. He held these reasons responsible for Afghan misfortune and defeat against the Mughals. Sarwani wrote the Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi in 1586 AD. [6]
For the restoration of Bengal’s history, the Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi is one of the most significant sourcebooks. The writer of the book provides a clear picture of Sher Shah taking over Bengal and how Bengal lost its independence. Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah was the sultan of Bengal from 1533 to 1538. Shah succeeded his father and brother and became the sultan of Bengal. He inherited an enormous kingdom and a well-decorated administration. The sagacity and intelligence of Sher Shah made it possible to overthrow Ghiasuddin Mahmud Shah from power and take control of Bengal. Sher Shah was the son of a jagirdar, from that position he taking over Bengal, successfully reached the throne of Delhi Sultanate. [7]
The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on 5 November 1556, between Akbar and the king of Delhi, Hemu. Hemu had conquered Delhi and Agra a few weeks earlier by defeating Mughal forces under Tardi Beg Khan in the battle of Delhi. He crowned himself Raja Vikramaditya at Purana Quila in Delhi.
Sher Shah Suri, also known by his title Sultan Adil, was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, founding the Sur Empire and establishing his rule in Delhi. The influence of his innovations and reforms extended far beyond his brief reign. During his time in power, he remained undefeated in battle and was renowned as one of the most skillful Afghan generals in history. By the end of his reign, his empire covered nearly all of Northern India.
Hemu was an Indian king (maharaja) who previously served as a general and Wazir of Adil Shah Suri of the Sur Empire during a period in Indian history when the Mughals and Afghans were vying for power across North India. He fought Afghan rebels across North India from Punjab to Bengal and Mughal forces of Humayun and Akbar in Agra and Delhi, winning 22 battles for Adil Shah Suri.
Isa Khan was one of 16th-century Baro-Bhuiyan chieftains of Bengal. During his reign, he successfully unified the chieftains of Bengal and resisted the Mughal invasion of Bengal. It was only after his death that the region fell totally under Mughal control. He remains an iconic figure throughout Bangladesh as a symbol of his rebellious spirit and unity.
The Sur Empire was an empire ruled by the Afghan-origin Sur dynasty in northern India for nearly 16 or 18 years, between 1538/1540 and 1556, with Sasaram serving as its capital. It was founded by Sher Shah Suri.
Sur, are a historical Pashtun tribe from among the Lodi living primarily in what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan. The founder of the Sur Empire in India, Sher Shah Sur, belonged to the Sur tribe. They ruled the Sur Empire from 1540 until they were removed from power in 1555 after the Battle of Sirhind by Humayun and the Persian army, who re-established the Mughal Empire.
The Malwa Sultanate was a late medieval kingdom in the Malwa region, covering the present day Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Rajasthan from 1401 to 1562. It was founded by Dilawar Khan, who following Timur's invasion and the disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1401, made Malwa an independent realm.
The Gujarat Sultanate or Sultanate of Guzerat was a late medieval Islamic Indian kingdom in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat. The kingdom was established in 1394 when Muzaffar Shah I, the Governor of Gujarat, declared independence from the Tughlaq dynasty of Delhi.
Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah was the last Sultan of the Hussain Shahi dynasty of the Bengal Sultanate, reigning from 1533 to 1538 CE. The dynasty was founded by his father, Alauddin Husain Shah, in 1494.
Sayyed Mīr Fathullāh Shīrāzī was an Indo-Persian Sufi polymath and inventor who specialized in many subjects: theology, literature, grammar, philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, and mechanics. A close confidant of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, Shirazi held several important administrative positions in his imperial court.
Khiḍr Khān Surak was the governor of Bengal from 1539 to 1541 CE.
The Hussain Shahi dynasty was a family which ruled the late medieval Sunni Muslim Sultanate of Bengal from 1494 to 1538.
The Karrani dynasty was founded in 1564 by Taj Khan Karrani, an ethnic Afghan from the Karlani tribe, hailing from Bangash district. It was the last dynasty to rule the Sultanate of Bengal.
Abbas Sarwani was a historian during the Mughal period in India. Little is known of his personal life, except that he was a member of the Sarwani Pashtun family.
The Battle of Rajmahal took place between the Mughal Empire and the Karrani Dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bengal in the 16th century. The battle resulted in a decisive victory for the Mughals. During the battle, the last Sultan of Bengal, Daud Khan Karrani, was captured and later executed by the Mughals.
The Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Sher Shah and the Kila Kohna Masjid, is an Hanafi Sunni, mosque located inside the Purana Qila of Central Delhi, India.
Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh is a Persian language chronicle written by Sujan Rai Bhandari in the Mughal Empire of present-day India. It deals with the history of Hindustan, and it also contains details about the contemporary Mughal Empire. Sujan Rai completed the book in 1695 CE, during the reign of Aurangzeb. An insertion about Aurangzeb's death was later added to the original copy by a transcriber.
Pir Khan, known by the name Khan Jahan Lodi, was an ethnic Afghan who served as a noble of the Mughal Empire. Entering the Mughal service during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar, he enjoyed a meteoric rise under emperor Jahangir, becoming one of the empire's highest ranking nobles. Khan Jahan Lodi was the leading example of Afghan recruitment during Jahangir's reign, as Jahangir attempted to conciliate this group that was hitherto hostile to Mughal rule. Khan Jahan Lodi fell out of imperial favour with the accession of Shah Jahan and rebelled against the ruler, resulting in his capture and execution in the early 1630s. His rebellion was a major event of Shah Jahan's early rule. During his lifetime, Khan Jahan Lodi sponsored the Tarikh-i-Khan-Jahani, a written ethno-history of the Afghans which was highly influential on subsequent works about the topic.
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