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Malwa Sultanate
سلطنت مالوا
Malwa Sultanate سلطنت مالوا
1401–1562
	Malwa Sultanate at their height under the Khalji dynasty.
Capital	Dhar (initially) ; Mandu
Common languages	Persian (official)
Religion	Sunni Islam
Government	Absolute monarchy
Sultan
• 1401 - 1406	Dilawar Khan (first)
• 1555 - 1562	Baz Bahadur (last)
History
• Established	1401
• Disestablished	1562
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Delhi Sultanate
Malwa Subah
Today part of	India

The Malwa Sultanate^{[n 1]} was a late medieval kingdom in the Malwa region, covering the present day Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Rajasthan from 1401 to 1562. It was founded by Dilawar Khan, who following Timur's invasion and the disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1401, made Malwa an independent realm.

Following the Battle of Gagron in 1519, much of the Sultanate came under the brief control of Maharana of Mewar Rana Sanga,^[2] and he appointed one of his vassals, Medini Rai, to rule over the Sultanate.^[3] In 1562, the Sultanate was conquered from its last ruler, Baz Bahadur, by the Mughal Empire, and it became a subah of the empire. The Sultanate was predominantly ruled by Afghan and Turco-Afghan dynasties throughout its existence.

Origin

Dilawar Khan was an Afghan^[4] or a Turco-Afghan^[5] governor of the Delhi Sultanate. Dilawar Khan had ceased to pay tribute to Delhi after 1392.^[6] In 1437, the Ghurid dynasty of Dilawar Khan was overthrown by Mahmud Khan, a Khalji Turko-Afghan descendant of the Khalji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.^[7]^[8]^[9] After the Khiljis were deposed, it was ruled by Shujaat Khan, an Afghan governor of Malwa under Sher Shah Suri. Shujaat Khan's son, Baz Bahadur declared independence in 1555, and ruled until the end of the Malwa Sultanate.^[10]^[11]

History

Ghurid dynasty

The sultanate of Malwa was founded by Dilawar Khan Ghuri, the governor of Malwa for the Delhi Sultanate, who asserted his independence in 1392, but did not actually assume the ensigns of royalty till 1401.^[4] Initially Dhar was the capital of the new kingdom, but soon it was shifted to Mandu, which was renamed Shadiabad (the city of joy). After his death, he was succeeded by his son Alp Khan, who assumed the title of Hoshang Shah.

The Muzaffarids under Zafar Khan Muzaffar Shah I accused Hoshang of parricide and invaded Malwa. Hoshang was defeated and captured as a prisoner, while a Muzaffarid governor was appointed in his pace at Dhar.^[12]

Khalji dynasty

The Ghurid dynasty, founded by Dilawar Khan Ghuri, was replaced by Mahmud Shah I, who proclaimed himself king on 16 May 1436. The Khalji dynasty, founded by him, ruled over Malwa till 1531.

The sultanate saw heavy decline in 1519 after the continues invasions of Rajput chief Rana Sanga of Mewar.^[13] Mahmud Khalji I was succeeded by his eldest son Ghiyas-ud-Din. The last days of Ghiyas-ud-Din were embittered by a struggle for throne between his two sons, with Nasir-ud-Din emerging victorious over Ala-ud-Din and ascending the throne on 22 October 1510, The last ruler Mahmud Shah II surrendered to Bahadur Shah, the sultan of Gujarat after the fort of Mandu fell to Bahadur on 25 May 1531.^[11]

Muzaffarid Conquest

Since 1518, Mahmud Shah II was a vassal of the Gujarat Sultan. The last ruler Mahmud Shah II surrendered to Bahadur Shah, the sultan of Gujarat after the fort of Mandu fell to Bahadur on 25 May 1531.^[11] During 1531 – 1537 the kingdom was annexed under the control of Bahadur Shah, though the Mughal emperor Humayun captured it for a short period during 1535–36. The Gujaratis regained Malwa giving allegiance to Bahadur Shah until 1542.

Restored Khalji dynasty

In 1537, Qadir Shah, an ex-officer of the previous Khalji dynasty rulers, regained control over a part of the erstwhile kingdom.^[14] But in 1542, Sher Shah Suri conquered the kingdom, defeating him and appointed Shuja'at Khan as the governor. His son, Baz Bahadur, declared himself independent in 1555. Darya Khan Gujarati, the ex-Wazir of Mahmud Khan of Gujarat ruled Ujjain.^[10]

In 1561, emperor Akbar sent the Mughal army, led by Adham Khan and Pir Muhammad Khan, which attacked Malwa and defeated Baz Bahadur in the battle of Sarangpur on 29 March 1561, culminating in the Mughal conquest of Malwa. Akbar soon recalled Adham Khan and made over command to Pir Muhammad. Pir Muhammad attacked Khandesh and proceeded up to Burhanpur, but he was defeated by a coalition of three powers: Miran Mubarak Shah II of Khandesh, Tufal Khan of Berar Sultanate and Baz Bahadur. Pir Muhammad died while retreating. The confederate army pursued the Mughals and drove them out of Malwa. Baz Bahadur regained his kingdom for a short period. In 1562, Akbar sent another army, led by Abdullah Khan, an Uzbeg, which finally defeated Baz Bahadur. He fled to Chittor.^[15] It became the Malwa Subah (top-level province) of the Mughal empire, with seat at Ujjain and Abdullah Khan became its first governor.

Art

Many remarkable illustrated manuscripts were prepared during the period of the sultanate. An illustrated manuscript of Kalpa Sutra (1439) (presently in the National Museum, Delhi) was prepared in Mandu during the reign of Mahmud Shah I^[16] But the most interesting is a manuscript of the Nimat Nama, a treatise on the art of cooking, which bears many portraits of Ghiyas-ud-Din Shah but the colophon bears the name of Nasir-ud-Din Shah. The other notable illustrated manuscripts of this period are of the Miftah-ul-Fuzala, a dictionary of rare words, the Bustan (1502) painted by Haji Mahmud and the Aja'ib-us-San'ati (1508). Another manuscript of the Anwar-i-Suhaili (now in the National Museum, Delhi) probably also belong to this period.^[17]

Rulers

Silver half tanka of Nasir Shah dated (AH) 915 (= 1509–1510 CE)
Silver half tanka of Muhammad Shah II dated (AH) 917 (= 1511–1512 CE)
Silver tanka of Baz Bahadur

The Ghurid/Ghorid dynasty (1401–36)

South Asia
1525 CE

DELHI

SULTANATE
(LODIS)

TIMURID EMPIRE
(Babur)

Location of the Malwa Sultanate and neighbouring South Asian polities circa 1525 CE, on the eve of the establishment of the Mughal Empire.^[18]

Dilawar Khan 1401–1406
Husam-ud-Din Hoshang Shah 1406–1435
Taj-ud-Din Muhammad Shah I 1435–1436

The Khalji dynasty (1436–1531)

Ala-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I 1436–1469
Ghiyas-ud-Din Shah 1469–1500
Nasir-ud-Din Shah 1500–1510
Shihab-ud-Din Mahmud Shah II 1510–1531

The interregnum

Medini Rai (as a vassal of Mewar's ruler Maharana Sanga) 1519–1528
Bahadur Shah (the sultan of Gujarat) 1531–1537
Humayun (Mughal emperor) 1535–1540

The later rulers

Qadir Shah 1540–1542
Shuja'at Khan (the governor of Sher Shah Suri) 1542–1555
Baz Bahadur 1555–1562

Notes

^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 148, map XIV.4 (b). ISBN 0226742210.
^ Sharma, Dasharatha (1970). Lectures on Rajput History and Culture. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8426-0262-4.
^ Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam (2002). History of Medieval India: From 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 156. ISBN 978-81-269-0123-4.
^ ^a ^b Haig, T.W. & Islam, Riazul (1991). "Mālwā". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VI: Mahk–Mid. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-08112-3.
^ Keay, John (12 April 2011). India: A History. Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. ISBN 978-0-8021-9550-0.
^ Islam, Riazul; Bosworth, C. E. (1998). "Delhi Sultanate". History of civilizations of Central Asia, v. 4: The Age of achievement, A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century; Pt. I: the historical, social and economic setting. UNESCO Publishing. p. 285.
^ Wink, André (2004). Indo-Islamic society: 14th - 15th centuries. BRILL. p. 140. ISBN 90-04-13561-8. The Subsequent Khalji dynasty (1436-1531) had the same origin as the Khalji dynasty of Delhi...
^ Hadi, Nabi (1995). Dictionary of Indo-Persian Literature. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 978-81-7017-311-3. Originally he belonged to a neighborhood of Bukhara, and after much wandering across the cities of the Islamic world, at last, came to settle in Mandu, capital city of the Independent Sultans of Malwah claiming descent from the Khalji clan, the Turko-Afghan mixture.
^ Lee, Jonathan (2019). Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present. Reaktion Books. p. 55. ISBN 9781789140101.
^ ^a ^b V. S. Krishnan · (1982). Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Ujjain. p. 46.
^ ^a ^b ^c Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.173-86
^ Publications Division. India - Medieval History (A.D.1206-1761). Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. ISBN 9788123026374.
^ Dasharatha Sharma (1970). Lectures on Rajput History and Culture. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8426-0262-4. Early 16th century marks the rise of patriotic one eyed chief of Mewar named as Rana Sanga who defeat several of his neighbour kingdom and establish Rajput hold on Malwa first time after fall of Parmara dynasty through series of victories over Malwa,Gujarat and Delhi Sultanate
^ Kolff, Dirk H. A. (2002). Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780521523059.
^ Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007) The Mughul Empire, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-407-1, pp.112-3
^ Khare, M.D. (ed.) (1981). Malwa through the Ages, Bhopal: the Directorate of Archaeology & Museums, Government of M.P., pp.193-5
^ Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). The Mughul Empire, Mumbai:Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-407-1,pp.804-5
^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 39, 147. ISBN 9780226742212.