The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451 for 37 years.[3] The first ruler of the dynasty, Khizr Khan, who was the Timurid vassal of Multan, conquered Delhi in 1414, while the rulers proclaimed themselves the Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate under Mubarak Shah,[4][5] which succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled the Sultanate until they were displaced by the Lodi dynasty in 1451.
Origins
A contemporary writer Yahya Sirhindi mentions in his Takhrikh-i-Mubarak Shahi that Khizr Khan was a descendant of prophet Muhammad.[6] Members of the dynasty derived their title, Sayyid, or the descendants of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, based on the claim that they belonged to his lineage through his daughter Fatima. However, Yahya Sirhindi based his conclusions on unsubstantial evidence, the first being a casual recognition by the famous saint Sayyid Jalaluddin Bukhari of Uch Sharif of his Sayyid heritage,[7][8] and the second being the Sultan's noble character which distinguished him as possessing the moral qualities of a Prophet's descendant.[9]Abraham Eraly is of the opinion that Khizr Khan's ancestors were likely descendants of an Arab family who had long ago settled in region of Multan during the early Tughluq period, but he doubts his Sayyid lineage.[10] According to Richard M. Eaton and oriental scholar Simon Digby, Khizr Khan was a Punjabi chieftain belonging to the Khokhar clan, who was sent to Timur as an ambassador and negotiator from the most adjacent area, the Punjab, ultimately became the power holder in Delhi, thanks to the contacts he had acquired.[11][12]Francesca Orsini and Samira Sheikh have presented a similiar view in their work.[13]
Khizr Khan was originally a noble in the Delhi Sultanate during the Tughlaq Dynasty and was the governor of Multan under Sultan Firuz Shah. He was expelled from the city by the Muin tribes under Sarang Khan who occupied Multan in 1395,[14][15] an Indian Muslim and the brother of Mallu Iqbal Khan, who was the de-facto ruler of Delhi.[16][17][18][19] Sarang Khan was aided by the servants of Malik Mardan Bhatti, a former governor of Multan and the grandfather of Khizr Khan by adoption.[20][21] Khizr Khan was one of the most important of the Indian nobles who participated in Timur's invasion and defied the authority of Delhi.[22]
Following Timur's 1398 Sack of Delhi,[23] he appointed Khizr Khan as deputy of Multan (Punjab).[24] He held Lahore, Dipalpur, Multan and Upper Sindh.[25][26] Collecting his forces in Multan, Khizr Khan defeated and killed Mallu Iqbal Khan in Delhi in 1405.[27] He then captured Delhi on 28 May 1414 thereby establishing the Sayyid dynasty.[24] Khizr Khan did not take up the title of Sultan, but continued the fiction of his allegiance to Timur as Rayat-i-Ala(vassal) of the Timurids - initially that of Timur, and later his son Shah Rukh.[28][29] After the accession of Khizr Khan, the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Sindh were reunited under the Delhi Sultanate, where he spent his time subduing rebellions.[30]Punjab was the powerbase of Khizr Khan and his successors as the bulk of the Delhi army during their reigns came from Multan and Dipalpur.[31]
Khizr Khan was succeeded by his son Sayyid Mubarak Shah after his death on 20 May 1421. Mubarak Shah referred to himself as Muizz-ud-Din Mubarak Shah on his coins, removing the Timurid name with the name of the Caliph, and declared himself a Shah.[32][33] A detailed account of his reign is available in the Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi written by Yahya-bin-Ahmad Sirhindi. After the death of Mubarak Shah, his nephew, Muhammad Shah ascended the throne and styled himself as Sultan Muhammad Shah. Just before his death, he called his son Sayyid Ala-ud-Din Shah from Badaun, and nominated him as successor.[citation needed]
The last ruler of the Sayyids, Ala-ud-Din, voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in favour of Bahlul Khan Lodi on 19 April 1451, and left for Badaun, where he died in 1478.[34]
Khizr Khan was the governor of Multan under Firuz Shah Tughlaq. When Timur invaded India, Khizr Khan, a Sayyid from Multan joined him. Timur appointed him the governor of Multan and Lahore. He then conquered the city of Delhi and started the rule of the Sayyids in 1414. He was ruling in the name of Timur. He could not assume an independent position in all respects. As a mark of recognition of the suzerainty of the Timurids, the name of the Timurid ruler (Shah Rukh) was recited in the khutba but as an interesting innovation, the name of Khizr Khan was also attached to it. But strangely enough, the name of the Timurid ruler was not inscribed on the coins and the name of the old Tughlaq sultan continued on the currency. No coins are known in the name of Khizr Khan.[35]
Mubarak Shah
Double falls of Mubarak Shah
Mubarak Shah was the son of Khizr Khan, who ascended the throne in the year 1421. Mubarak Shah discontinued his father's nominal allegiance to Timur.[36] He freely used the royal title of Shah along with his own name, and professed allegiance to the Khalifah alone.[37] He was the ablest ruler of the Sayyid dynasty.[38] He defeated the advancing Hoshang Shah Ghori, the ruler of the Malwa Sultanate and forced him to pay heavy tribute early in his reign.[39] Mubarak Shah also put down the rebellion of Jasrath Khokhar and managed to fend off multiple invasions by the Timurids of Kabul.[40]
Muhammad Shah was a nephew of Mubarak Shah. He ruled from 1434 to 1443. Muhammad Shah acceded to the throne with the help of Sarwar ul Mulk. After that Shah wanted to free himself from the domination of Sarwar ul Mulk with the help of his faithful vizier Kamal ul Mulk. His reign was marked by many rebellions and conspiracies, and he died in the year. Multan became independent under the Langahs during his rule.[41]
Alam Shah
The last ruler of the Sayyid dynasty, Alauddin Alam Shah was defeated by Bahlol Lodi, who started the Lodi dynasty.
^The Cambridge History of India: Turks and Afghans, edited by W. Haig. S. Chand. 1958. The claim of Khizr Khān, who founded the dynasty known as the Sayyids, to descent from the prophet of Arabia was dubious, and rested chiefly on its causal recognition by the famous saint Sayyid Jalāl-ud-dīn of Bukhārā.
^Eraly, Abraham (1 April 2015). The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin UK. p. 261. ISBN978-93-5118-658-8. The first of these two dynasties was founded by Khizr Khan, who bore the appellation 'Sayyid', which identified him as a descendant of prophet Muhammad, so the dynasty he founded came to be known as the Sayyid dynasty. The veracity of Khizr Khan's claimed lineage is uncertain, but it is likely that his forebears were Arabs, who had migrated to India in the early Tughluq period and settled in Multan. The family prospered in India, gaining wealth and power. This advancement culminated in Malik Suleiman, Khizr Khan's father, becoming the governor of Multan under the Tughluqs. When Suleiman died, Khizr Khan succeeded him to the post, but lost it during the political turmoil following the death of Firuz Tughluq.
^Easton, Richard M. (2019). India in the Persianate Age: 1000–1765. p. 105. ISBN978-0520325128. The career of Khizr Khan, a Punjabi chieftain belonging to the Khokar clan, illustrates the transition to an increasingly polycentric north India.
^Journal of Indian History - Volume 55. Department of Modern Indian History. 1977. p. 105. Indian Musalmans like Malik Kafur , Khusrau Khan and Khan - i - Jahan Maqbul reached close to the throne , and men like Mallu Khan , Sarang Khan , Muqarrab Khan etc
^V. D. Mahajan (2007). History of Medieval India. p. 221. The result of this was that Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah became a tool in the hands of Mallu Iqbal
Kumar, Sunil (2020). "The Delhi Sultanate as Empire". In Bang, Peter Fibiger; Bayly, C. A.; Scheidel, Walter (eds.). The Oxford World History of Empire. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press.
Jackson, Peter (2003). The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press.
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