Muhammad
Shiran Khalji
Governor of Bengal
In office
1206–1208
MonarchQutb al-Din Aibak
Preceded byBakhtiyar Khalji
Succeeded byIwaz Khalji
Personal details
Bornc. 1150
Diedc. 1208
Resting placeMahisantosh, Dhamoirhat, Naogaon District, Bangladesh

Muḥammad Shīrān Khaljī (Persian: محمد شيران خلجی), or simply Shiran Khalji (Bengali: শিরাণ খলজী, romanized: Shiraṇ Kholjī), was the second governor of the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, based in Lakhnauti, Bengal, from 1206 until 1208.

Early life

He was member of the Khilji tribe,[1][2][3][4] which is considered to be the largest Afghan tribe settled in Afghanistan.[5][6][7] Shiran was given the role as the administrator of Nagaur.[8] He was working under Bakhtiyar Khalji during the latter's office as the administrator of the Bhagwat and Bhuili and joined him in the Muslim conquest of Lakhnauti. During Bakhtiyar Khalji's governorship of Bengal (Lakhnauti), Shiran was promoted to army commander.

Governor of Bengal

When Bakhtiyar set off for the expedition to Tibet, he entrusted Lakhnauti to Shiran to care of. Bakhtiyar and his soldiers returned to Bengal after failing the expedition. Ali Mardan Khalji, the administrator of Devkot appointed by Bakhtiyar, and those loyal to him then assassinated bed-ridden Bakhtiyar who was resting in Devkot. Upon hearing this, Shiran left his post as the acting Governor of Lakhnauti and set off to Devkot to humble Ali Mardan Khalji and his supporters. However, Mardan had fled to Ghoraghat. Whilst at Devkot, the Khalji noblemen appointed Shiran as Bakhtiyar's rightful successor. Ascending as the next governor of Bengal, he invaded armies loyal to the rebel. Shiran managed to capture and imprison Mardan and appointed Baba Isfahani, the kotwal, to take care of him. Shiran attempted to maintain the policies set by his predecessor, Bakhtiyar, and even reinstated the roles of the rebels to maintain peace.[9]

Death

Ali Mardan later managed to flee to Delhi, where he managed to persuade the Sultan Qutb al-Din Aibak to invade Devkot which was now under Shiran's rule. The Sultan then instructed Qaimaz Rumi, the Governor of Awadh, to invade Devkot and dethrone Shiran. Rumi's army passed the jagir of Kangori, southeast of Devkot, which was administered by Iwaz Khalji. Shiran was defeated and fled to Dinajpur where he shortly afterwards died.[10] Before returning to Awadh, Rumi then appointed Iwaz as the next Governor of Bengal.

Shiran's tomb lies in Mahisantosh, Dhamoirhat in northwestern Bangladesh's Naogaon District (which was historically a part of Dinajpur District). The tomb is exceptionally 14 feet long, and beside an antique mosque. This site is around 25 kilometres northwest of the Somapura Mahavihara.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Minhāju-s Sirāj (1881). Tabaḳāt-i-nāsiri: a general history of the Muhammadan dynastics of Asia, including Hindustān, from A.H. 194 (810 A.D.) to A.H. 658 (1260 A.D.) and the irruption of the infidel Mughals into Islām. Bibliotheca Indica #78. Vol. 1. Translated by Henry George Raverty. Calcutta, India: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (printed by Gilbert & Rivington). p. 548.
  2. ↑ the Khiljī tribe had long been settled in what is now Afghanistan ... Khalji Dynasty. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica. 23 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Satish Chandra (2004). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526) - Part One. Har-Anand. p. 41. ISBN 978-81-241-1064-5. The Khaljis were a Turkish tribe from southwest Ghur. However, Bakhtiyar was ungainly in appearance...
  4. ↑ Sarkar, Jadunath, ed. (1973) [First published 1948]. The History of Bengal. Vol. II: Muslim Period, 1200–1757. Patna: Academica Asiatica. pp. 3, 8. OCLC 924890.
  5. ↑ Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava (1966). The History of India, 1000 A.D.-1707 A.D. (Second ed.). Shiva Lal Agarwala. p. 98. OCLC 575452554:"His ancestors, after having migrated from Turkistan, had lived for over 200 years in the Helmand valley and Lamghan, parts of Afghanistan called Garmasir or the hot region, and had adopted Afghan manners and customs. They were, therefore, wrongly looked upon as Afghans by the Turkish nobles in India as they had intermarried with local Afghans and adopted their customs and manners. They were looked down as non Turks by Turks."{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  6. ↑ Abraham Eraly (2015). The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin Books. p. 126. ISBN 978-93-5118-658-8:"The prejudice of Turks was however misplaced in this case, for Khaljis were actually ethnic Turks. But they had settled in Afghanistan long before the Turkish rule was established there, and had over the centuries adopted Afghan customs and practices, intermarried with the local people, and were therefore looked down on as non-Turks by pure-bred Turks."{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  7. ↑ Radhey Shyam Chaurasia (2002). History of medieval India: from 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D. Atlantic. p. 28. ISBN 81-269-0123-3:"The Khaljis were a Turkish tribe but having been long domiciled in Afghanistan, had adopted some Afghan habits and customs. They were treated as Afghans in Delhi Court. They were regarded as barbarians. The Turkish nobles had opposed the ascent of Jalal-ud-din to the throne of Delhi."{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  8. ↑ Ahmed, ABM Shamsuddin (2012). "Ali Mardan Khalji". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Ahmed, ABM Shamsuddin (2012). "Shiran Khalji". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  10. ↑ Khilji Malik
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