The Gujarat Sultanate or Sultanate of Gujarat was a late medieval Indian state in Western India, primarily based 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.
Following Timur's invasion of the Delhi Sultanate, Delhi was devastated and its rule weakened considerably, leading Muzaffar Shah to declare himself independent in 1394, and formally established the Sultanate in Gujarat. The next sultan, his grandson Ahmad Shah I, moved the capital to Ahmedabad in 1411. His successor Muhammad Shah II subdued most Rajput chieftains. The prosperity of the sultanate reached its zenith during the rule of Mahmud Begada. He also subdued most Gujarati Rajput chieftains and built a navy off the coast of Diu. The greatest territorial extent was achieved under Bahadur Shah.
In 1509, the Portuguese Empire wrested Diu from the Sultanate in the Battle of Diu. The Mughal emperor Humayun attacked Gujarat in 1535 and briefly occupied it, during which Bombay, Bassein and Daman would become a Portuguese colony, thereafter Bahadur Shah was killed by the Portuguese while making a deal in 1537. The end of the sultanate came in 1573, when Akbar annexed the Gujarat Sultanate into his empire. The last ruler, Muzaffar Shah III, was taken a prisoner to Agra. In 1583, he escaped from the prison, and with the help of the nobles, succeeded to regain the throne for a short period before being defeated by Akbar's minister Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan.
Origin
The Muzaffarid dynasty of Gujarat was founded by Zafar Khan, later titled Muzaffar Shah I. His ancestors were of indigenous Muslim origin, Zafar Khan being described as the son of a "peasant convert to Islam" by Richard M. Eaton.
The main source from the period providing some details regarding his ancestry is that of the 16th-century Gujarati court historian Sikandar ibn Manjhu, author of the Persian chronicle Mir’āt-i-Sikandarī. According to Mir’āt-i-Sikandarī, Zafar Khan belonged to a sect of Khatris (Persian: khtry) known as Tanks (Persian: tāk or tānk), and that Tanks and Khatris were originally single community which later separated when the former were expelled for their fondness for drinking (Persian: khumar). Sikandar also denied the local traditions that the ancestors of the dynasty were Kalal (Persian: khumar), a wine-brewing and selling caste. This account of descent from Tank subcaste of Khatris is repeated by ʿAlī Muḥammad Khān, an 18th-century Mughal divan of Gujarat in his Mirʾāt-i Aḥmadī, where he lists the Mirʾāt-i Sikandarī among the works he used as sources. Following these sources, a number of modern historians including André Wink, S. C. Misra and Sanjay Subrahmanyam describe Zafar Khan as hailing from the Tank subgroup of the Khatri caste, originally from Punjab, although he himself was born in Delhi.
A 15th-century Sanskrit poem Rājavinoda written by Udayaraja for Sultan Mahmud Begada traces his ancestry from the Solar dynasty, hence giving him a Kshatriya lineage. The medieval historian Sikandar also noted the tradition among Hindu Tank subcaste of Khatris of being descended from Ramacandra. Based on these traditions, some historians such as Aparna Kapadia consider the Muzaffarids to be of Rajput status.
According to Sikandar, their conversion to Islam was linked to a marital alliance in which Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq married Sahāran's sister, which facilitated the family’s rise in status and influence. Zafar Khan had a Khatri as his divan when he was appointed governor of Gujarat, and several of his prominent nobles were also Khatris.
History
Early rulers
It is said that Zafar Khan's father Wajih-ul-Mulk (Saharan) and his brother were influential Chaudharis who were agriculturists by profession but could also muster thousands of fighting men on their call. Sahāran (also spelled Sadhāran), the father of Zafar Khan, originally lived in Thanesar in present-day Haryana. Delhi Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq appointed Malik Mufarrah, also known as Farhat-ul-Mulk and Rasti Khan governor of Gujarat in 1377. In 1387, Sikandar Khan was sent to replace him, but he was defeated and killed by Farhat-ul-Mulk. In 1391, Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad bin Tughluq appointed Zafar Khan, the son of Wajih-ul-Mulk as governor of Gujarat and conferred him the title of Muzaffar Khan (r. 1391–1403, 1404–1411). In 1392, he defeated Farhat-ul-Mulk in the battle of Kamboi, near Anhilwada Patan and occupied the city of Anhilwada Patan.
In 1403, Zafar Khan's son Tatar Khan urged his father to march on Delhi, which he declined. As a result, in 1403, Tatar imprisoned him in Ashawal (future Ahmedabad) and declared himself sultan under the title of Muhammad Shah I (r. 1403–1404). He marched towards Delhi, but on the way he was poisoned by his uncle, Shams Khan. After the death of Muhammad Shah, Muzaffar was released from the prison and he took over the control over administration. In 1407, he declared himself as Sultan Muzaffar Shah I, took the insignia of royalty and issued coins in his name. After his death in 1411, he was succeeded by his grandson, the son of Tatar Khan, Ahmad Shah I.
Ahmad Shah I
Soon after his accession, Ahmad Shah I was faced with a rebellion of his uncles. The rebellion was led by his eldest uncle Firuz Khan, who declared himself king. Firuz Khan assembled forces at Vadodara and marched to Nadiad, where a group of rebels joined him including Husam al Mulk Bhandari, Malik Ahmad, Malik Shah, Jiwandas Khatri, and Prayagdas, after which they moved to secure Khambhat, but divisions among the insurgent leaders reportedly led to an internal scuffle in which Jiwandas Khatri was killed. The rebels then took Bharuch in January 1411 and awaited assistance from Hoshang Shah of Malwa, while Ahmad Shah advanced from Patan to Bharuch on 28 January 1411 and attempted to end the revolt through conciliatory letters and offers of amnesty. During this rebellion Sultan Hushang Shah of Malwa Sultanate invaded Gujarat. He was repelled this time but he invaded again in 1417 along with Nasir Khan, the Farooqi dynasty ruler of Khandesh and occupied Sultanpur and Nandurbar. Gujarat army defeated them and later Ahmad Shah led four expeditions into Malwa in 1419, 1420, 1422 and 1438.
In 1429, Kanha Raja of Jhalawad with the help of the Bahmani Sultan Ahmad Shah ravaged Nandurbar. But Ahmad Shah's army defeated the Bahmani army and they fled to Daulatabad. The Bahmani Sultan Ahmad Shah sent strong reinforcements and the Khandesh army also joined them. They were again defeated by the Gujarat army. Finally, Ahmad Shah annexed Thana and Mahim from Bahmani Sultanate.
At the beginning of his reign, he founded the city of Ahmedabad which he styled as Shahr-i-Mu'azzam (the great city) on the banks of Sabarmati River. He shifted the capital from Anhilwada Patan to Ahmedabad. The Jami Masjid (1423) in Ahmedabad were built during his reign. Sultan Ahmad Shah died in 1443 and succeeded by his eldest son Muhammad Shah II.
Successors of Ahmad Shah I
Muhammad Shah II (r. 1442–1451) first led a campaign against Idar and forced its ruler, Raja Hari Rai or Bir Rai to submit to his authority. He then exacted tribute from the Rawal of Dungarpur. In 1449, he marched against Champaner, but the ruler of Champaner, Raja Kanak Das, with the help of Malwa Sultan Mahmud Khilji forced him to retreat. On the return journey, he fell seriously ill and died in February 1451. After his death, he was succeeded by his son Qutb-ud-Din Ahmad Shah II (r. 1451–1458). Ahmad Shah II defeated Khilji at the Battle of Kapadvanj. He helped Firuz Khan ruling from Nagaur against Rana Kumbha of Chittor's attempt to overthrow him. After death of Ahmad Shah II in 1458, the nobles raised his uncle Daud Khan, son of Ahmad Shah I, to the throne.
Mahmud Begada
But within a short period of seven or twenty-seven days, the nobles deposed Daud Khan and set on the throne Fath Khan, son of Muhammad Shah II. Fath Khan, on his accession, adopted the title Abu-al Fath Mahmud Shah, popularly known as Mahmud Begada. He expanded the kingdom in all directions. He received the sobriquet Begada, which literally means the conqueror of two forts, probably after conquering Girnar (Junagadh) and Champaner (Pavagadh) forts. Mahmud died on 23 November 1511.
Muzaffar Shah II and his successors
Khalil Khan, son of Mahmud Begada succeeded his father with the title Muzaffar Shah II. In 1519, Rana Sanga of Chittor defeated a joint army of Malwa and Gujarat sultanates and took Mahmud Shah II of Malwa captive. Muzaffar Shah sent an army to Malwa but their service was not required as Rana Sanga had generously restored Mahmud Shah II to the throne. However, Rana Sanga defeated Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi at Battle of Dholpur around the same time and Conquered Much of Malwa along with Chanderi and he bestowed it to his Vassal Medini Rai who ruled over Malwa under his lordship with Chanderi as his capital.The victory brought Rajputs within day's march of Agra and Delhi and made them contender of supremacy of Northern India. Rana Sanga later invaded Gujarat and plundered the Sultanate's treasuries, greatly damaging its prestige, Sanga also annexed northern Gujarat and appointed one of his Rajput vassals to rule there. The invasion of Rana weakened Gujarat, however after Rana Sanga's death, the sultans of Gujarat freed their kingdom from Rajputs and grew even more powerful as they sacked Chittor fort in 1535. He died on 5 April 1526 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sikandar.
After few months, Sikandar Sháh was murdered by a noble Imád-ul-Mulk, who seated a younger brother of Sikandar, named Násir Khán, on the throne with the title of Mahmúd Shah II and governed on his behalf. Other son of Muzaffar Shah II, Bhadur Khan returned from outside of Gujarat and the nobles joined him. Bahádur marched at once on Chámpáner, captured and executed Imád-ul-Mulk and poisoning Násir Khán ascended the throne in 1527 with the title of Bahádur Sháh.
Bahadur Shah and his successors
Bahadur Shah expanded his kingdom and made expeditions to help neighbouring kingdoms. In 1532, Gujarat came under attack of the Mughal Emperor Humayun and fell. Bahadur Shah regained the kingdom in 1536 but he was killed by the Portuguese on board the ship when making a deal with them.
Bahadur had no son, hence there was some uncertainty regarding succession after his death. Muhammad Zaman Mirza, the fugitive Mughal prince made his claim on the ground that Bahadur's mother adopted him as her son. The nobles selected Bahadur's nephew Miran Muhammad Shah of Khandesh as his successor, but he died on his way to Gujarat. Finally, the nobles selected Mahmud Khan, the son of Bahadur's brother Latif Khan as his successor and he ascended to the throne as Mahmud Shah III in 1538. Mahmud Shah III had to battle with his nobles who were interested in independence. He was killed in 1554 by his servant. Ahmad Shah III succeeded him but now the reigns of the state were controlled by the nobles who divided the kingdom between themselves. He was assassinated in 1561. He was succeeded by Muzaffar Shah III.
Muzaffar Shah III
Muzaffar Shah III's army was legendary in some parts of Africa and the Asian mainland with the exception of China, and free soldiers, mercenaries, and slaves forced to join wars alike came from these places. Its stealth specialists performed several duties including bodyguard work and skirmish combat. Many stealth warriors were Habshi or Africans.
However, Mughal Emperor Akbar annexed Gujarat in his empire in 1573 and Gujarat became a Mughal subah. Muzaffar Shah III was taken prisoner to Agra. In 1583, he escaped from the prison and with the help of the nobles succeeded to regain the throne for a short period before being defeated by Akbar's general Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana in January 1584. He fled and finally took asylum under Jam Sataji of Nawanagar State. The Battle of Bhuchar Mori was fought between the Mughal forces led by Mirza Aziz Koka and the combined Kathiawar forces in 1591 to protect him. He finally committed suicide when he was surrendered to the Mughal.
Gunpowder weapons
The Gujarat Sultanate was the second empire in the Indian subcontinent to utilize and invent firearms and gunpowder artillery extensively, following the Bahmani Sultanate.
Administration
Gujarat was divided politically into two main parts; one, called the khálsah or crown domain administered directly by the central authority; the other, on payment of tribute in service or in money, left under the control of its former rulers. The amount of tribute paid by the different chiefs depended, not on the value of their territory, but on the terms granted to them when they agreed to become feudatories of the king. This tribute was occasionally collected by military expeditions headed by the king in person and called mulkgíri or country-seizing circuits.