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Langah Sultanate
Langah Sultanate
1445–1530
	Approximate territory of the Langah Sultanate at its greatest extent, circa 1475 CE.[dubious – discuss]
Status	Sultanate
Capital	Multan
Religion	Islam
Government	Hereditary monarchy
Sultan
• 1445–1469	Qutbu'd-Din Mahmud I Langah
• 1527–1530	Lashkar Khan Langah
Historical era	Late medieval period
• Established	1445
• Disestablished	1530
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Delhi Sultanate
Multan Subah
Today part of	Pakistan

The Langah Sultanate was a late medieval sultanate based in the Punjab region in the western Indian subcontinent between the 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominant power of the lower Doab tract with Multan at its centre. The Langah Sultanate was annexed in 1527 but had autonomous authority until its merger with the Mughal Empire in 1530.

The sultanate gave the Derajat region to the Mirani mercenaries who ruled it as their direct vassals.

Origins

There has been an ongoing debate as to the identity of the Langah Sultans of Multan. The 16th-century writer and author of the Tārīkh-i ḥaqqī, Abd Al-Haqq, detailed that Buddhan Khan, one of the Langah Sultans, was a descendant of the Langah tribe of the Balochs.^[1]^[2]^[3] However other non-contemporary sources have also assigned them as descendants of the Langah clan of the Rajputs^[4] or the Jats.^[5]

History

After the invasion of Emir Timur in 1398, the Delhi Sultanate greatly weakened and the city of Multan became independent of the Sultanate of Delhi. The inhabitants chose Shaikh Yousaf Qureshi, a descendant of the famous Sufi Baha-ud-din Zakariya, as ruler in 1438. He was a mild and inexperienced ruler. In 1445, Rai Sahra, chief of the Langah, attacked the city at night with the help of his tribesmen, arrested Sheikh Yousaf and proclaimed himself sultan. In this way Multan passed to the Langah clan,^[1] thus establishing the Langah Sultanate.^[1] The reign of Sultan Husayn I, who ruled from 1469 to 1498, is considered to be the most illustrious of the Langah sultans.^[1] Multan experienced prosperity during this time, and a large number of Baloch settlers arrived in the city at the invitation of Shah Husayn.^[1] Shah Husayn successfully repulsed attempted invasion by the Delhi sultans led by Tatar Khan and Barbak Shah.^[1] He fought off attempts to reinstall Shiekh Yousaf, who had taken refuge under Delhi sultans. Eventually, he signed a peace treaty with Sikander Lodhi and abducted in the favour of his son. His successor, Budhan Khan, who assumed the title Sultan Mahmud Shah I, inherited the sultanate stretched encompassing the neighbouring regions, including the cities of Chiniot and Shorkot.^[1] During the rule of the Langah, a large number of Baloch tribes were allowed to settle in the Derajaat Border in turn for military service.^[6]^[7]

Decline

South Asia
1525 CE

DELHI

SULTANATE
(LODIS)

TIMURID EMPIRE
(Babur)

KALMAT

Location of the Langah Sultanate and neighbouring South Asian polities circa 1525 CE, on the eve of the establishment of the Mughal Empire.^[8]

Sultan Husayn I being unable to hold his trans-Indus possessions, assigned the region around Dera Ismail Khan to Sardar Malik Sohrab Dodai in 1469 or 1471 and appointed him as "Jagirdar".^[9] During the reign of Mahmud Langah, his Vizier rebelled and declared himself independent ruler of Sorkot. The city was invaded during the reign of Sultan Husseyn II by ruler Shah Husayn of the Arghun dynasty, probably at Babur's insistence.^[1] Multan fell in 1528 after an extended siege and Shah Husayn appointed his son Mirza Askari as governor of the city, assisted by Langar Khan, one of the powerful Amirs of Sultan Mahmud Langah I. Shortly after Shah Husayn departed Multan for Thatta, however, the governor was thrown out of the city. The rebels under Sultan Mahmud II administered Multan for a time independently^[10] but in 1541, Sher Shah Suri captured Multan, and the sultanate ended.^[11]

Culture

The position of Multan as trans-regional mercantile centre for trade with the Islamic world remained dominant during the sultanate era. During their reign, Multan became the principle caravan route between Qandahar and Delhi. The extent of Multan's influence is also reflected in the construction of the Multani Caravanserai in Baku, Azerbaijan — which was built in the 15th century to house Multani merchants visiting the city.^[12] Legal records from the Uzbek city of Bukhara note that Multani merchants settled and owned land in the city in the late 1550s.^[13]

Another important feature of this era was migration of Baloch tribes and their settling in South Punjab.^[1] They soon became core of the military^[7] and held political positions in regions like Derajat.

Ministers

Following is the list of known ministers of Langah Sultanate:

Imadul Mulk (1469–1499), he was Vizier of Husseyn Langah I. He rebelled against him and was imprisoned.
Jam Bayzid (1499–1503), he was Vizier of Mahmud Langah I. Due to his strained relations with the Sultan, he rebelled and declared himself independent ruler of Sorkot.^[14]
Shuja Bukhari (1503–1518), He was Vizier of Mahmud Langah.
Langar Khan (1518–1526), He was last Vizier of Sultanate. He assisted Shah Hussain Arghun to conquer Multan.

Rulers

Titular Name(s)	Personal Name	Reign
Sultan Qutbu'd-Din Mahmud I سلطان قطب الدین محمود اول	Rai Sahra Langah رائے ساحرہ لنگاہ	1445 – 1469
Sultan Husseyn I سلطان حسین اول	Husseyn Shah Langah حسین لنگاہ	1469 – 1498
Sultan Feroz سلطان فیروز	Feroz Khan Langah فیروز خان لنگاہ	1498 – 1499
Sultan Husseyn I سلطان حسین اول	Husseyn Shah Langah حسین لنگاہ	1499 – 29 August 1502
Sultan Mahmud II سلطان محمود دوم	Budha Khan Langah بدھا خان لنگاہ	30 August 1502 – 1525
Sultan Husseyn II سلطان حسین دوم	Husseyn Langah حسین لنگاہ	1525 – 1527
Sultan Lashkar سلطان لشکر	Lashkar Khan Langah لشکر خان لنگاہ	1527 – 1530

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Baloch, N. A.; Rafi, A. Q. (1998). History of civilizations of Central Asia, v. 4: THE REGIONS OF SIND, BALUCHISTAN, MULTAN AND KASHMIR: THE HISTORICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SETTING (PDF). Unesco. p. 305. ISBN 978-92-3-103467-1.
^ Journal of Indian History. Department of Modern Indian History. 1962. p. 24. Multan did not re- main unaffected by the sharp decline in the authority of the Sultan, and in 1437 Budhan Khan Sindhi, leader of the Baloch tribe of Langahs, collected his followers at Uch and marched upon Multan.
^ Balocu, Nabī Bak̲h̲shu K̲h̲ānu (1995). Lands of Pakistan: Perspectives, Historical and Cultural. el-Mashriqi Foundation. p. 110. ...Budhan Khan of Sindh, the chief of the Baloch tribe of the Langah, assembled his force at Uch and invaded Multan.
^ Qanungo, Kalika Ranjan; Kānūnago, Kālikā Rañjana (1965). Sher Shah and His Times. Orient Longmans. p. 286. Under the shadow of Rajput Langah dynasty of Multan...
^ Wagha, A. (1990). The Siraiki Language: Its Growth and Development. Dderawar Publications. p. 107. In the first quarter of the 16th century A.D. the Langah Jat rulers of Multan encouraged the Balochs to be settled in Derajat by granting Jageers in return for which they were to render as military service.
^ Hussain, J (1997). A History of the Peoples of Pakistan: Towards Independence. Oxford University Press. p. 167. ISBN 9780195778199.
^ ^a ^b Unesco (1998-01-01). History of Civilizations of Central Asia. UNESCO. ISBN 978-92-3-103467-1.
^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 39, 147. ISBN 0226742210.
^ Tolbort, T (1871). The District of Dera Ismail Khan, Trans-Indus. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
^ Davies, pp. 627-8
^ Chandra, Chandra (2005). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part – II. Har-Anand Publications. ISBN 9788124110669.
^ Amity, Volumes 1-3. Indo-Soviet Cultural Society. 1963. p. 135. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
^ Levi, Scott (2016). "Caravans: Punjabi Khatri Merchants on the Silk Road". Penguin UK. Penguin UK. ISBN 9789351189169. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
^ Ferishta, II, p,329; Nahawandi, I, p.278.