Mahmud Begada
Mahmud Shah I | |
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7th Muzaffarid dynasty of Gujarat | |
Father | Muhammad Shah II |
Mother | Bíbi Mughli |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Gujarat Sultanate Muzaffarid dynasty |
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← Gujarat under Delhi Sultanate Gujarat Subah under Akbar → |
Mahmud Begada or Mahmud Shah I (r. 25 May 1458 – 23 November 1511) was the most prominent Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate.[1] Raised to the throne at young age, he successfully captured Pavagadh and Junagadh forts in battles which gave him his name Begada. He established Champaner as the capital.
Names
His full name was Abu'l Fath Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I. He was born Fat'h Khan or Fateh Khan. He titled himself, Sultân al-Barr, Sultân al-Bahr, Sultan of the Land, Sultan of the Sea.
Of the origin of Mahmúd's surname Begra or Begarha, two explanations are given in Bird’s History of Gujarát (p. 202) and Mirăt-i-Ahmedi (Persian Text, pp. 74):[2]
- From his mustachios being large and twisted like a bullock's horn, such a bullock being called Begado.
- That the word comes from the Gujaráti be, two, and gadh, a fort, the people giving him this title in honour of his capture of two forts; Junagadh of Girnar (1472) and Pavagadh of Champaner (1484).[3]
Early life
On the death of Kutb-ud-dín Ahmad Shah II, the nobles raised to the throne his uncle Dáúd Khan, son of Ahmad Shah I. But as Dáúd appointed low-born men to high offices and committed improper acts. Within a short period of seven or twenty-seven days, he was deposed, and in 1459 his half-brother Fateh Khán, the son of Muhammad Shah II by Bíbi Mughli, a daughter of Jám Júna of Samma dynasty ruling from Thatta in Sindh; was seated on the throne at the age of little more than thirteen with the title of Mahmúd Sháh I.[2]
The close connection of Fateh Khán with the saintly Sháh Álam is frequently mentioned by with Gujarát chroniclers. According to the Mirăt-i-Sikandari (Persian Text, 66–70) of his two daughters Jám Júna intended Bíbi Mughli the more beautiful for the Saint and Bíbi Mirghi the less comely for the Sultán. By bribing the Jám's envoys the king secured the prettier sister. The enraged Saint was consoled by his father who said: My son, to you will come both the cow and the calf. After Muhammad Shah II's death, fear of Kutb-ud-dín Ahmad Shah II's designs against the young Fateh Khán forced Bíbi Mughli to seek safety with her sister, and on her sister's death she married the Saint. Kutb-ud-dín made several attempts to seize Fateh Khán. But by the power of the Saint when Kutb-ud-dín attempted to seize him, Fateh Khán in body as well as in dress became a girl. According to one account Kutb-ud-dín met his death in an attempt to carry off Fateh Khán. As he rode a mad camel, the king struck at the phantom, and his sword cleaving the air gashed his knee. This was the Saint's sword, which against his will, for he knew it would be the death of the king, Kutb-ud-dín forced Sháh Álam to bind round him before the battle of
Reign
Early years
Soon his uncle Dáúd Khan died. Shortly after certain of the nobles including Seiful Mulk, Kabír-ud-dín Sultáni surnamed Akd-ul-Mulk, Burhán-ul-Mulk and Hisám-ul-Mulk represented to the Sultán that the minister Shaâbán Imád-ul-Mulk contemplated treason and wished to set his son on the throne. Having seized and imprisoned the minister in the
In 1461 or 1462, according to Farishtah,
Junagadh (Girnar)
Mahmúd Sháh next turned his thoughts to the conquest of the mountain citadel, Uparkot, of Girnar hill near Junagadh in Sorath (now in Saurashtra region of Gujarat). In 1467, he attacked the fort of Junágaḍh, and receiving the submission of Ra Mandalika III, the Chudasama ruler, returned to his capital. In the following year, hearing that the Junágaḍh chief continued to visit his temple in state with a golden umbrella and other ensigns of royalty, Mahmúd despatched an army to Junágaḍh, and the chief sent the umbrella to the king, accompanied by fitting presents. In 1469, Mahmúd once more sent an army to ravage Sorath, with the intention of finally conquering both Junágaḍh and Girnár. While Mahmúd was on the march the Rá Mandalika suddenly joined him, and asking why the Sultán was so bent on his destruction when he had committed no fault, agreed to do whatever Mahmúd might command. The king replied there is no fault like infidelity, and ordered the Rá to embrace Islam. The chief, now thoroughly alarmed, fled by night and made his way into Girnár. In 1472–73, after a siege of nearly two years, forced by the failure of his stores, he quitted the fort and handing the keys to the king, converted to Islam. Though the Rá's life was spared, Sorath from this date became a crown possession, and was governed by an officer appointed by the king and stationed at Junágaḍh.[2]
At the close of the war, in 1479, Mahmúd Sháh repaired the fort Jehánpanáh, the present outer or town wall of Junágaḍh, and, charmed with the beauty of the neighbourhood, settled sayads and learned men at Junágaḍh and other towns in Sorath. He induced the nobles to build houses, himself raised a palace and made the new city his capital under the name of Mustafábad and enforced his claims as overlord on all the neighbouring chiefs. In the times of Ahmad Shah I, these chieftains, including even the Junágaḍh Rá himself, had paid tribute. But Mahmúd established rule so firmly that the duty of collecting the tribute was entrusted to an officer permanently settled in the country. The author of the Mirăt-i-Sikandari dilates on the dense woods round Junágaḍh, full of mango, ráen, jámbu, gúlar, ámli, and áonla trees (Mangifera indica, Mimusops hexandra, Eugenia jambolana, Ficus glomerata, Tamarindus indica, and Emblica officinalis.), and notes that this forest tract was inhabited by Khánts.[2]
In 1480, when Mahmúd Sháh was at Junágaḍh, Khudáwand Khán and others, who were weary of the king's constant warfare, incited his eldest son Áhmed Khan to assume royal power. But Imád-ul-Mulk, by refusing to join, upset their plans, and on the king's return the conspiracy was stamped out.[2]
Champaner (Pavagadh)
In 1479, Mahmúd Sháh sent an army to ravage Champaner then held by Khichi Chauhan Rajputs which titled themselves as Raval. About this time, hearing that the neighbourhood was infested with robbers, he founded the city of Mehmúdábád (now Mahemdavad) on the banks of the Vatrak river, about eighteen miles south of Áhmedábád.[2] Several monuments in Mahemdavad are credited to him including Bhammariyo Kuvo, a well; Chanda-Suraj No Mehal, a palace and Roza-Rozi.
In 1482 there was a partial famine in Gujarát, and the Chámpáner country being exempt from scarcity the commandant of Morámli or Rasúlábád, a post in the Gáekwár's Sáonli district on the Chámpáner frontier, made several forays across the border. In return the chief attacked the commandant and defeated him, killing most of his men and capturing two elephants and several horses. On hearing this Mahmúd Sháh set out for
On the capture of Pávágaḍh, Mahmúd Sháh built a wall round the town of Chámpáner, and made it his capital under the name of Muhammadábád. Under Mahmúd's orders the neighbourhood became stocked with mangoes, pomegranates, figs, grapes, sugarcane, plantains, oranges, custard apples, khirnis or ráens (Mimusops indica or hexandra), jackfruit, and cocoapalms, as well as with roses, chrysanthemums, jasmins, champás, and sweet pandanus. A sandal grove near Chámpáner is said to have had trees large enough to help his nobles to build their mansions. At the instance of the Sultán a Khurásáni beautified one of the gardens with fountains and cascades. A Gujaráti named Hálur learning the principle improved on his master's design in a garden about four miles west of Chámpáner, which in his honour still bears the name Halol.[2] It took 23 years to build the town. The town was conquered by the Mughal Empire under Humayun in 1535.
The magnificent Jama mosque of Champaner is considered as one of the finest architectural edifices in Gujarat. It is an imposing structure on a high plinth with two tall
Last years
In 1494–95 Mahmúd went against Bahádur Khán Gíláni, a vassal of the Bahmani Sultanate, who from Goa and Dabhol had harassed the Gujarát harbours. Gilani was earlier warned by attacking Mahim island (now in Mumbai) by 20 ships under Yakut the Abyssinian, his slave. This time he sent an army by land and 300 boats by sea to attack Dabhol under Malik Sarang Kivam-ul-Mulk. The Bahmani Sultán, fearing the consequences to himself, marched against Bahádur Khán, and, capturing him alive, struck off his head, and sent it to the Gujarát monarch, who returned to his own country.[2][7]
In 1499–1500, hearing that Násir-ud-dín of Málwa had killed his father Ghiás-ud-dín and seated himself on the throne, the Sultán prepared to advance against him, but was appeased by Násir-ud-dín's humble attitude. The next seven years passed without any warlike expedition.[2]
Battles with the Portuguese
Death
From 1508, Mahmúd remained at his capital till his death in December 1511 at the age of sixty-six years and three months, after a reign of fifty-four years and one month. Mahmúd was buried at Sarkhej Roza near Ahmedabad and received the after-death title of Khúdáigán-i-Halím or the Meek Lord.[2]
Immediately before his death Sultán Mahmúd was informed that
During the last days of Sultán Mahmúd, Sayed Muhammad of Jaunpur, who claimed to be the Mahdi or Messiah, came from Jaunpur and lodged in Tájkhán Sálár's mosque near the Jamalpur gate of Áhmedábád. His sermons drew crowds, and were so persuasive that he gained a large body of followers, who believed his eloquence to be due to hál or inspiration. Mahmúd's ministers persuaded him not to see the Jaunpur preacher.[2]
Administration
His religious ardour, his love of justice, his bravery, and his wise measures entitle Mahmúd to the highest place among the Gujarát kings. One of the measures which the
In Mahmúd's reign an instance is mentioned of the form of compensation. Some merchants bringing horses and other goods for sale from Irák and Khurásán were plundered in Sirohi limits. The king caused them to give in writing the price of their horses and stuffs, and paying them from his own treasury recovered the amount from the Rája of Sirohi.[2]
His nobles
Mahmúd Begada's court was adorned by several pious and high-minded nobles. In life they vied with one another in generous acts; and after death, according to the Persian poet
Family
Besides Khalíl Khán, who succeeded him, Mahmúd had three sons: Muhammad Kála, Ápá Khán, and Áhmed Khán. Kála, son of Ráni Rúp Manjhri died during his father's lifetime as did his mother, who was buried in Mánek Chowk in Áhmedábád in the building known as the Ráni's Hazíra. The second son Ápá Khán was caught trespassing in a noble's harím, and was ordered by the Sultán to be poisoned. The third son was the Áhmed Khán whom Khudáwand Khán sought to raise to the throne during Sultán Mahmúd's lifetime.[2]
In culture
Some European travellers circulated popular tales about him. One of these tales told that he was given mild poisons from his childhood which had made him poisonous and immune to poisons and those became the source for the English satirist Samuel Butler's seventeenth-century lines: "The Prince of Cambay's daily food/ Is asp and basilisk and toad".[2] There are various other stories about his good appetite, some of which are noted by modern historians too. According to Satish Chandra, Mahmud used to eat lot of food during the day and meat patties (Samosas) were kept at his bedside by his servants at night in case he felt hungry.[11]
References
- ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u James Macnabb Campbell, ed. (1896). "II. Áhmedábád Kings. (A.D. 1403–1573.)". History of Gujarát. Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency. Vol. I. Part II. The Government Central Press. pp. 244–251. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 978-8125032267. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- hdl:10603/59879– via Shodhganga@INFLIBNET.
- ^ "Champaner". www.trekearth.com. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ Congress (2003). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Indian History Congress. p. 342. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-108-14407-0.
- ISBN 0-8166-0782-6.
- ^ Mathew, Kuzhippalli Skaria (1986). Portuguese and the Sultanate of Gujarat, 1500–1573. Mittal Publications. p. 30.
- ^ Rogers, Clifford J. Readings on the Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe, San Francisco:Westview Press, 1995, pp. 299–333 at Angelfire.com
- ISBN 978-8125032267. Retrieved 21 September 2020.