Sher Shah Suri

About Sher Shah Suri

Who is it?: Founder of the Sur Empire in North India
Birth Year: 1486
Birth Place: Sasaram, Indian
Reign: 17 May 1532 – 22 May 1545
Coronation: 1540
Predecessor: Mian Hassan Khan Suri
Successor: Islam Shah Suri
Burial: Sher Shah Suri Tomb, Sasaram
Spouse: Malika Bibi Gauhar Gosain Lad Malika
Issue: Islam Shah Suri (Jalal Khan) Adil Khan
Full name: Full name Farid Khan Suri Farid Khan Suri
House: House of Sur
Dynasty: Sur Dynasty
Father: Hassan Khan Sur
Religion: Islam

Sher Shah Suri

Sher Shah Suri was born on 1486 in Sasaram, Indian, is Founder of the Sur Empire in North India. Sher Shah Suri was the founder of the Sur Empire in North India. After taking control of the Mughal Empire in 1540, he set up a new civic and military administration and implemented several reforms in the financial and postal sectors. He reorganized the empire and revived the historical city of Pataliputra as Patna which had been in decline since the 7th century CE. He was known to be a great warrior and an able administrator whose works laid the foundation for the later Mughal emperors. Born as one of the several sons of a horse breeder, he grew up to be a brave young man with an ambitious and adventurous spirit. He rebelled against his father and left home to join the service of Jamal Khan, the governor of Jaunpur. He then moved on to work for Bahar Khan, the ruler of Bihar, and impressed him greatly with his valour and courage. He soon rose through the military ranks and became the governor of Bihar following the death of Bahar Khan. Growing in stature with each passing day, he went on to conquer Bengal and at the Battle of Chausa he defeated the Mughal Emperor Humayun and assumed the royal title of Farid al-Din Sher Shah. Counted amongst the greatest Muslim rulers of India, he died during the siege of Kalinjar fort in 1545.
Sher Shah Suri is a member of Historical Personalities

Some Sher Shah Suri images

Famous Quotes:

It was at the time of this bounty of Sultán Bahlol, that the grandfather of Sher Sháh, by name Ibráhím Khán Súri,*[The Súr represent themselves as descendants of Muhammad Súri, one of the princes of the house of the Ghorian, who left his native country, and married a daughter of one of the Afghán chiefs of Roh.] with his son Hasan Khán, the father of Sher Sháh, came to Hindu-stán from Afghánistán, from a place which is called in the Afghán tongue "Shargarí,"* but in the Multán tongue "Rohrí." It is a ridge, a spur of the Sulaimán Mountains, about six or seven kos in length, situated on the banks of the Gumal. They entered into the service of Muhabbat Khán Súr, Dáúd Sáhú-khail, to whom Sultán Bahlol had given in jágír the parganas of Hariána and Bahkála, etc., in the Panjáb, and they settled in the pargana of Bajwára.

— Abbas Khan Sarwani, 1580

Biography/Timeline

1534

Farid Khan started his Service under Bahar Khan Lohani, the Mughal Governor of Bihar. Because of his valour, Bahar Khan rewarded him the title Sher Khan (Lion Lord). After the death of Bahar Khan, Sher Khan became the regent ruler of the minor Sultan, Jalal Khan. Later sensing the growth of Sher Shah's power in Bihar, Jalal sought the assistance of Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah, the independent Sultan of Bengal. Ghiyasuddin sent an army under General Ibrahim Khan. But, Sher Khan defeated the force at the battle of Surajgarh in 1534 after forming an alliance with Ujjainiya Rajputs and other local chiefdoms. Thus he achieved complete control of Bihar.

1537

After the death of Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1537, Qadir Shah became the new ruler of Malwa Sultanate. He then turned for support towards the Rajput and Muslim noblemen of the Khilji rule of Malwa. Bhupat Rai and Puran Mal, sons of Raja Silhadi accepted Service under the regime of Malwa in recognition of their interest in the Raisen region. By 1540, Bhupat Rai had died and Puran Mal had become the dominant force in eastern Malwa. In 1542, Sher Shah conquered Malwa without a fight and Qadir Shah fled to Gujarat. He then appointed Shuja'at Khan as the governor of Malwa who reorganised the administration and made Sarangpur the seat of Malwa's government. Sher Shah then ordered Puran Mal to be brought before him. Puran Mal agreed to accept his lordship and left his brother Chaturbhuj under Sher Shah's Service. In exchange Sher Shah vowed to safeguard Puran Mal and his land. The Muslim women of Chanderi, which Sher Shah took under his rule, came to him and accused Puran Mal of killing their husbands and enslaving their daughters. They threatened to accuse the Sultan on the Day of Resurrection if he did not avenge them. Upon reminding them of his vow for Puran Mal's safety, they told him to consult his ulema. The ulema issued a fatwa declaring that Puran Mal deserved death for this act. Sher Shah's troops then surrounded Puran Mal's fortress at Raisen. Upon seeing this, Puran Mal beheaded his wife and ordered the Rajputs to kill their families as he might have thought that personal honor was involved because of his lord going back on his promise. After this, the Rajputs then went into battle and all of them were killed by Sher Shah's troops. `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni puts the number of Rajputs to 10,000 while Nizamuddin Ahmad puts it to 4,000.

1538

It is clear from coins dated AH 945 (1538 AD) that Sher Khan had assumed the royal title of Farid al-Din Sher Shah & had coins struck in his own name even before the battle of Chausa

1539

In 1538, Sher Khan attacked Bengal and defeated Ghiyashuddin Shah. But he could not capture the kingdom because of the sudden expedition of Emperor Humayun. On 26 June 1539, Sher Khan faced Humayun in the Battle of Chausa and defeated him. Assuming the title Farīd al-Dīn Shēr Shah, he defeated Humayun once again at Kannauj in May 1540 and forced him out of India.

1540

Sher Shah built monuments including Rohtas Fort (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Pakistan), many structures in the Rohtasgarh Fort in Bihar, Sher Shah Suri Masjid, in Patna, built in 1540–1545 to commemorate his reign. He built a new city Bhera of Pakistan in 1545 and inside the city built historical grand Sher Shah Suri Masjid.}

1541

Qila-i-Kuhna mosque, built by Sher Shah in 1541, at Purana Qila, Delhi, a Humayun citadel started in 1533, and later extended by him, along with the construction of Sher Mandal, an octagonal building inside the Purana Qila complex, which later served as the library of Humayun.

1543

In 1543, Sher Shah Suri with a huge force of 80,000 cavalry set out against Maldeo Rathore (a Rajput king of Marwar). Maldeo Rathore with an army of 50,000 cavalry advanced to face Sher Shah's army. Instead of marching to the enemy's capital Sher Shah halted in the village of Sammel in the pargana of Jaitaran, ninety kilometers east of Jodhpur. After one month, Sher Shah's position became critical owing to the difficulties of food supplies for his huge army. To resolve this situation, Sher Shah resorted to a cunning ploy. One evening, he dropped forged letters near the Maldeo's camp in such a way that they were sure to be intercepted. These letters indicated, falsely, that some of Maldeo's army commanders were promising assistance to Sher Shah. This caused great consternation to Maldeo, who immediately (and wrongly) suspected his commanders of disloyalty. Maldeo left for Jodhpur with his own men, abandoning his commanders to their fate.

1544

After this victory, Sher Shah's general Khawas Khan Marwat took possession of Jodhpur and occupied the territory of Marwar from Ajmer to Mount Abu in 1544.

1545

Sher Shah was killed on 22 May 1545 during the siege of the Kalinjar fort of Rajputs. When all tactics to subdue this fort failed, Sher Shah ordered the walls of the fort to be blown up with gunpowder, but he himself was seriously wounded as a result of the explosion of a mine. He was succeeded by his son, Jalal Khan, who took the title of Islam Shah Suri. His mausoleum, the Sher Shah Suri Tomb (122 ft high), stands in the middle of an artificial lake at Sasaram, a town on the Grand Trunk Road.

1580

Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi (History of Sher Shah), written by Abbas Khan Sarwani, a waqia-navis under later Mughal Emperor, Akbar around 1580, provides a detailed documentation about Sher Shah's administration.

Sher Shah Suri trend