GUJARAT KINGDOM

Sardar Patel University of Police Security and Criminal Justice Jodhpur

INTRODUCTION

• Several names of Gujarat kingdom such as Muzaffarid dynasty,  Ahmedabad dynasty, Gujarat sultanate.

•  The founder of the dynasty was Zafar Khan Muzaffar  who was governor of Gujarat under the Delhi Sultanate. Zafar khan defeated the farhat-ul-mulk and won the battel.

• Zafar Khan's father Sadharan, was a  Rajput convert to Islam, adopted the name Wajih-ul-Mulk  and had given his sister in marriage to Firuz Shah Tughlaq. When the Sultanate was weakened by the sacking of Delhi by Timur in 1398, and Zafar Khan took the opportunity to establish himself as sultan of an independent Gujarat

• The dynasty ruled for almost 200 years, until the conquest of Gujarat by the Mughal Empire in 1572

•  The prosperity of the sultanate reached its zenith during the rule of Mahmud Shah I Begada.

• In 1509, the Portuguese wrested Diu from Gujarat sultanate following the Battle of Diu (1509)

• Mughal emperor Humayun attacked Gujarat in 1535, The end of the sultanate came in

• The last ruler 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.1573, when Akbar annexed Gujarat in his empire.

• From the beginning, the rulers of Gujarat adopted a policy of entering into matrimonial relations with some of their subordinate Rajput rulers. Thus, in 1446, the daughter of the raja of Idar married the Gujarati ruler. The mother of Muzaffar Shah II was also a Rajput, and he himself married a number of Rajput princesses.

AHMAD SHAH- FIRST• He was the real founder of Gujarat kingdom(1411-43),the grand son of muzaffer

shah.• He brought nobility under control , settled the administration ,and expanded and

consolidated the kingdom and also Bhadra Fort built by Ahmad Shah I .• Malwa king Hoshang Saha attacked on Gujarat many times but he was defeated. • He shifted the capital from Patan to the new city of Ahmedabad, the foundation

of which he laid in 1413.• . He drew on the rich architectural traditions at Jains of Gujarat to devise a style

of building which was markedly different from Delhi. Some of the features are:- Slender turrets , exquisite stone-carving , and highly ornate brackets.

• Ahmed Shah I son of Zafar khan established the capital at Ahmedabad in 1411 on the banks of Sabarmati River.

• Bhadra Fort • It was built by Ahmad Shah I in 1411. With its well carved royal palaces, mosques,

gates and open spaces, it was renovated in 2014.• It is believed the fort adopted the name Bhadra after a temple of Bhadra Kali, a

form of Laxmi which was established during Maratha rule.

EXPIDATION OF AHMAD SAHA FIRST

• Ahmad Shah tried to extend his control over the Rajput states in the Saurashtra region, as well as those located on the Gujarat and Rajasthan border.

• In Saurashtra, he defeated and captured the strong fort of Girnar.• He then attacked Sidhpur, the famous Hindu pilgrim centre and and levelled to the

ground many of the beautiful temples the imposed jizyah on the Hindus in Gujarat which had not been imposed on them earlier. Ahmad Shah acted as a bigot in ordering the destruction of Hindu temples.

• . He subordinated the powerful fort of Idar, and brought the Rajput states of Jhalawar, Bundi, Dungarpur under his control. From the beginning, the kingdoms of Gujarat and Malwa were bitter rivals and were generally found in opposite camps on almost every occasion.

• . Muzaffar Shah had defeated and imprisoned Hushang Shah, the ruler of Malwa.

MAHMUD BEGARHA

• The successors of Ahmad Shah continued his policy of expansion, and consolidation. The most famous sultan of Gujarat was mahaud begarha .Mahniud Begarha ruled over Gujarat for more than 50 years (from 1459 to 1511).

• He was called begarha because he captured two of most power full forts GIRNAR in SAURASTRA (now called junaghar),and CHAMPANER in south Gujarat.

• According to another version, he was called begarha because his moustaches resembled the horns of a cow (begarha).

• Mahrnud Begarha had never received a systematic education , he had gained considerable knowledge by his constant association with the learned men.

• He had a flowing beard which reached up to his waist, and his moustache was so long that he tied it over the head.

• Later on , it was powerful enough to pose a serious challenge to the Mughal ruler, Humayun.

EXPIDATION OF MAHMUD BEGARHA

• . Mahmud Begarha besieged Girnar with a large force. After the fall of the fort, the raja embraced Islam and was enrolled in the service of the sultan. . The sultan founded at the foot of the hill a new town called Mustafabad. . He built many lofty buildings there and asked all his nobles to do the same. Thus, it became the second capital of Gujarat.

• , Mahmud sacked Dwarka, on the ground it harboured pirates who preyed on the pilgrim traffic to Mecca. The campaign was however, also used to raze the famous Hindu temples there.

• Saurashtra was a rich and prosperous region and had many fertile tracts and flourishing ports. Unfortunately, the saurashtra region was also infested by robbers and sea pirates who preyed on trade and shipping. The powerful fort of Girnar was considered suitable not only for administering Saurashtra, but also as a base of operations against Sindh

ADMINISTRATION

• He did not hesitate to induct Hindus in his government . Manik Chand and Motichand, belonging to the Bania or trader community, were ministers under him.

• .He was so strict in his justice that he had his own son-in-law executed in the market place for a murder he had committed.

• . Many works were translated from Arabic into Persian . His court poet was Udayaraja who composed in Sanskrit.

ARCHITECTURE •  Ahmadabad was in the forefront as the main diamond cutting centre(international

diamond industry).• The Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad and the Tin Darwaza are fine examples of the style of

architecture during his time. • After the expidation on champaner, Mahmud begarha constructed Muhammadabad near

Champaner. He laid out many fine gardens there and made it his principal place of residence.

• During the long and peaceful reign of Mahmud Begarha, trade and commerce prospered. He constructed many caravan- sarais and inns for the comfort of the travellers. The merchants were happy because roads were safe for traffic.

• He is also credit with the completion of Sarkhej Roza . Sarkhej Roza is a mosque and tomb complex located near Ahmedabad.

Jama mosque• It was built in the year 1423.

Jama Masjid was built by Sultan Ahmed Shah.

• Yellow sandstones are used in the construction of Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad.

• Architecture of Jama Masjid is a blend of Hindu and Muslim Styling.

• Jama masjid was built using rescued item which was made from demolished Hindu and Jain temples

• Sarkhej Roza is a mosque and tomb in Gujarat.

• Mainly erected under Mahmud Begada's reign , it has been built on the location where the holy man and religious Muslim leader Ahmed Khattu Ganj Baksh (or Shaikh Ahmad Khattri)lived and . He was the spiritual guide of the sultan Ahmed Shah.

Sarkhej Roza

• The Teen Darwaza was an egress from Bhadra Fort to the eastward.

• It was built by Ahmed Shah I .

• Maratha governor Chimnaji Raghunath decreed and inscribed Farman on Teen Darwaza in 1812 declaring equal right to women in inheritance of ancestral property.

Lattice work

Jali work

Sidi Saiyyed Mosque

• it was built by Sidi Saiyyed, an Abyssinian.• The mosque is entirely arcuated and is famous for

beautifully carved on latticework windows (jalis) on the side and rear arches.

• This intricately carved lattice stone window is the Sidi Saiyyed Jali, the unofficial symbol of city of Ahmedabad and the inspiration for the design of the logo of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

• The mosque was not completed according to plan because the Mughals invaded Gujarat.