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House of Shah Mir
شاه میٖر خاندان

Shah Mirids
House of Shah Mir; شاه میٖر خاندان; Shah Mirids
Kashmiri royal family
	Royal Standard
Country	Kashmir Sultanate
Etymology	Named after Shah Mir (founder)
Founded	4 July 1339; 685 years ago
Founder	Shah Mir
Final ruler	Habib Shah
Titles	Sultan‐i-Kashmir\|Shah\|Padishah\|Sultan al-Az'am\|Budshah\|Na'ib Amir al-Mu'minin\|Ghazi\|Malik\|Amir al-umara\|Mirza\|
Style(s)	Sultan
Connected families	Shahmiri; Chak; Magrey; Dar; Bhat
Traditions	Islamic; Kashmiri; Persian
Motto	نرجو أن يتم الحفاظ عليها من الدمار; (May it be preserved from destruction)
Estate(s)	Srinagar
Dissolution	1561
Deposition	1561

The Shah Mir dynasty (Kashmiri: شاه میٖر خاندان) or the House of Shah Mir, was a Kashmiri dynasty that ruled the Kashmir Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent.^[1] The dynasty is named after its founder, Shah Mir.

Origins

Modern scholarship differ on the origin of Shah Mir. However, modern historians generally accept that Shah Mir was from Dardistan. Dardistan is an old historic region of dardic people which included areas from modern day Kashmir Valley, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Encyclopaedia of Islam (second edition) suggests a possible Turkish origins.^[2] Andre Wink puts forward the opinion that Shah Mir was possibly of Persian, Qarauna Turk, or even Tibetan origin,^[3] while A.Q. Rafiqi believes that Shah Mir was a descendant of Turkish or Persian immigrants. Some scholars state that Shah Mir arrived from the Panjgabbar valley (Panchagahvara),^[4] which was populated by Khasa people, and so ascribe a Khasa ethnicity to Shah Mir.^[5]^[6]

Older sources by contemporary Kashmiri historians, such as Jonaraja, state that Shah Mir was the descendant of Partha (Arjuna) of Mahabharata fame. Abu ’l-Fadl Allami, Nizam al-Din and Firishta, also state that Shah Mir traced his descent to Arjuna, the basis of their account being Jonaraja's Rajatarangini, which Mulla Abd al-Qadir Bada’uni translated into Persian at Akbar's orders. This seems to be official genealogy of the Sultanate.^[7] Based on this tradition, Aziz Ahmad considers it more probable that Shah Mir was a descendant of a convert from Hinduism only a few generation earlier, probably by a Sufi mystic.^[8]

History

Shah Mir

A. Q. Rafiqi states:

Shah Mir arrived in Kashmir in 1313 along with his family, during the reign of Suhadeva (1301–1320), whose service he entered. In subsequent years, through his tact and ability Shah Mir rose to prominence and became one of the most important personalities of his time.^[7]

Annemarie Schimmel has suggested that Shah Mir belonged to a family which accompanied the sage Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani and were associated to the Kubrawiya, a Sufi group in Kashmir.^[9] He worked to establish Islam in Kashmir and was aided by his descendant rulers, specially Sikandar Butshikan. He reigned for three years and five months from 1339 to 1342 CE. He was the ruler of Kashmir and the founder of the Shah Mir dynasty. He was followed by his two sons who became kings in succession.^[10]

Jamshid

Sultan Shamsu'd-Din Shah was succeeded by his elder son Sultan Jamshid who ruled for a year and two months. In 1343 CE, Sultan Jamshid suffered a defeat by his brother who ascended the throne as Sultan Alau'd-Din in 1347 CE.^[10]

Alau'd-Din

Sultan Alau'd-Din's two sons became kings in succession, Sultan Shihabu'd-Din and Sultan Qutbu'd-Din.^[10]

Shihabu'd-Din

He was the only Shah Mir ruler to keep Hindu courtiers in his court. Prominent among them were Kota Bhat and Udyashri. Ruler of Kashgar (Central Asia) once attacked Kashmir with a large army. Sultan Shihabu’d-din did not have a large number of soldiers to battle against the Kashgar army. But with a small army, he fought and defeated the whole army of Kashgar. After this battle, the regions of Ladakh and Baltistan which were under the rule of Kashgar came under the rule of Shah Miris.Sultan also marched towards Delhi and the army of Feroz Shah Tughlaq opposed him at the banks of River Sutlej. Since the battle was motive-less for the Delhi Sultanate peace concluded between them on a condition that all the territories from Sirhind to Kashmir belong to the Shah Mir empire.^[12] As a broad minded intellectual, Shihab'ud-Din, in the first half of his tenure, took care of the Sultanate and brought stability to the social and integral structure of Kashmir.^[13] Full of animation and efficiency, Shihab'ud-Din set out to conquer its neighbour polities to expand and glorify his state. Marching through Baramulla, he first occupied Pakhli and went on to add Swat to his realm.^[14] Next, he invaded the Khokhar dominated Pothohar, which extended from Attock to Sialkot. His commander-in-chief (Mir Bakhshi), Malik Candra, on the other hand, subdued Jammu, Kishtwar, Chamba, and other hill states.^[15] Occupying all the bordering states in the south, Shihab'ud-Din went on to defeat the Dardic forces of Gilgit and the hill states of the north. Baltistan under the Maqpons and Ladakh under the Maryuls were, at that time, tributary states of Moghulistan and Tibet, respectively.^[15] Shihab'ud-Din, along with Malik Candra, faced the Baltis and Kashgaris, defeating them easily and soundly.^[15] He then moved towards Ladakh, beating the joint forces of Ladakhis and Tibetis.^[15] After all these conquests, Shihab'ud-Din returned to Srinagar around 1370 and rather ought to live the rest of his life peacefully but just after some years, in 1373, he died due to a viral illness.^[16]

Shihabu’d-din was also a great administrator who governed his kingdom with firmness and justice. A town named Shihabu’d-dinpura aka Shadipur was founded by him. He was also called the Lalitaditya of Medieval Kashmir as he erected many mosques and monasteries.^{[citation needed]}

Qutubu'd-Din

He was the next Sultan of Kashmir. The only significance of his rule is that the Sufi saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani arrived at Kashmir in his reign. In 1380 C.E. Qutbud’din died and was succeeded by his son Sultan Sikander also known as the Sikander Butshikand.^{[citation needed]}

Sikandar

Sultan Sikandar (1389–1413 CE), was the sixth ruler of the Shah Mir Dynasty.

Barring a successful invasion of Ladakh, Sikandar did not annex any new territory.^[17] Internal rebellions were ably suppressed.^[17]^[18] A welfare-state was installed — oppressive taxes were abolished, and free schools and hospitals were commissioned.^[17] Waqfs were endowed to shrines, mosques were commissioned, numerous Sufi preachers were provided with jagirs and installed in positions of authority, and feasts were regularly held.^[19]^[17]^[18] Economic condition was decent.^[18]

Jonaraja and later Muslim chroniclers accuse Sikandar of terminating Kashmir's longstanding syncretic culture by persecuting Pandits and destroying numerous Hindu shrines; Suhabhat — a Brahman neo-convert and Sikandar's Chief Counsel — is particularly blamed for having instigated him.^[18]^[20] Scholars caution against accepting the allegations at face value and attributing them solely to religious bigotry.^[21] His policies, like with the previous Hindu rulers, were likely meant to gain access to the immense wealth controlled by Brahminical institutions;^[22]^[21]^[23] further, Jonaraja's polemics stemmed, at least in part, from his aversion to the slow disintegration of caste society under Islamic influence.^[20]^[24] However, Sikandar was also the first Kashmiri ruler to convert destroyed temples into Islamic shrines, and such a display of supremacy probably had its origins in religious motivations.^[24]^[25]

Sikandar died in April, 1413 upon which, the eldest son 'Mir' was anointed as the Sultan having adopted the title of Ali Shah.^[26]

Ali Shah

He was the seventh ruler of the Shah Mir Dynasty, and reigned between 1413 and 1420.^[27] He was defeated by Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin at Thanna with the help of Jasrath Khokhar, a chieftain from Pothohar Plateau. The fate of Ali Shah is uncertain: he may have died in captivity or have been put to death by Khokhar.^[27]

Zain-ul-Abidin

Zain-ul-Abidin was the eighth sultan of Kashmir. He was known by his subjects as Bod Shah or Budshah (lit. 'Great King')^[28] and ruled from 1418 to 1470.

Zain-ul-Abidin worked hard to establish a fair rule in Kashmir. He called back the Hindus who had left Kashmir during his father's reign and allowed building of temples. Jizya was abolished too in his command. From the regulation of commodities to the reviving of old crafts, Abidin did everything for overall development of Kashmir and his subjects. Zain-ul-Abidin is also called as Akbar of Kashmir and Shahjahan of Kashmir on account of religion and development respectively.

Haider Shah

Next Sultan of Kashmir was Haji Khan, who succeeded his father Zain-ul-Abidin and took the title of Haider Khan.^[29]

Interruption by Haidar Dughlat

In 1540, the Sultanate was briefly interrupted when Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, a Chagatai Turco-Mongol military general attacked and occupied Kashmir.^[30] Arriving in Kashmir, Haidar installed as sultan the head of the Sayyid faction, Nazuk. In 1546, after Humayun recovered Kabul, Haidar removed Nazuk Shah and struck coins in the name of the Mughal emperor.^[31] He died in 1550 after being killed in battle with the Kashmiris. He lies buried in the Gorstan e Shahi in Srinagar.

Architecture

Some of the architectural projects commissioned by the dynasty in Kashmir include:

Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
Khanqah-e-Moulah in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
Aali Masjid in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
Tomb of the Mother of Zain-ul-Abidin in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
Amburiq Mosque in Shigar, Gilgit-Baltistan
Chaqchan Mosque in Khaplu, Gilgit-Baltistan

Tomb of the Mother of Zain-ul-Abidin in Srinagar
The courtyard of the Jama Masjid, Srinagar. Hari Parbat is visible in the background.
The Khanqah on the banks of Jhelum
A view of Ziyarat Naqshband Sahab from its yard.

Reign and successions

No.	Titular Name	Birth Name	Reign
1	Shamsu'd-Dīn Shāh شَمس اُلدِین شَاہ	Shāh Mīr شَاہ مِیر	1339 – 1342
2	Jamshīd Shāh جَمشید شَاہ	Jamshīd جَمشید	1342 – 1342
3	Alāu'd-Dīn Shāh عَلاؤ اُلدِین شَاہ	Alī Shēr عَلی شیر	1343 – 1354
4	Shihābu'd-Dīn Shāh شِہاب اُلدِین شَاہ	Shīrashāmak شِیراشَامَک	1354 – 1373
5	Qutbu'd-Dīn Shāh قُتب اُلدِین شَاہ	Hindāl حِندَال	1373 – 1389
6	Sikandar Shāh سِکَندَر شَاہ	Shingara شِنگَرَہ	1389 – 1412
7	Alī Shāh عَلی شَاہ	Mīr Khān مِیر خَان	1412 – 1418
8	Zainu'l-'Ābidīn زین اُلعَابِدِین	Shāhī Khān شَاہی خَان	1418 – 1419
9	Alī Shāh عَلی شَاہ	Mīr Khān مِیر خَان	1419 – 1420
10	Zainu'l-'Ābidīn زین اُلعَابِدِین	Shāhī Khān شَاہی خَان	1420 – 12 May 1470
11	Haider Shāh حیدِر شَاہ	Hāji Khān حَاجِی خَان	12 May 1470 – 13 April 1472
12	Hasan Shāh حَسَن شَاہ	Hasan Khān حَسَن خَان	13 April 1472 – 19 April 1484
13	Muhammad Shāh مُحَمَد شَاہ	Muhammad Khān مُحَمَد خَان	19 April 1484 – 14 October 1486
14	Fatēh Shāh فَتح شَاہ	Fatēh Khān فَتح خَان	14 October 1486 – July 1493
15	Muhammad Shāh مُحَمَد شَاہ	Muhammad Khān مُحَمَد خَان	July 1493 – 1505
16	Fatēh Shāh فَتح شَاہ	Fatēh Khān فَتح خَان	1505 – 1514
17	Muhammad Shāh مُحَمَد شَاہ	Muhammad Khān مُحَمَد خَان	1514 – September 1515
18	Fatēh Shāh فَتح شَاہ	Fatēh Khān فَتح خَان	September 1515 – August 1517
19	Muhammad Shāh مُحَمَد شَاہ	Muhammad Khān مُحَمَد خَان	August 1517 – January 1528
20	Ibrahīm Shāh اِبرَاہِیم شَاہ	Ibrahīm Khān اِبرَاہِیم خَان	January 1528 – April 1528
21	Nāzuk Shāh نَازُک شَاہ	Nādir Shāh نَادِر شَاہ	April 1528 – June 1530
22	Muhammad Shāh مُحَمَد شَاہ	Muhammad Khān مُحَمَد خَان	June 1530 – July 1537
23	Shamsu'd-Dīn Shāh II شَمس اُلدِین شَاہ دوم	Shamsu'd-Dīn شَمس اُلدِین	July 1537 – 1540
24	Ismaīl Shāh اِسمَاعِیل شَاہ	Ismaīl Khān اِسمَاعِیل خَان	1540 – December 1540
25	Nāzuk Shāh نَازُک شَاہ	Nādir Shāh نَادِر شَاہ	December 1540 – December 1552
26	Ibrahīm Shāh اِبرَاہِیم شَاہ	Ibrahīm Khān اِبرَاہِیم خَان	December 1552 – 1555
27	Ismaīl Shāh اِسمَاعِیل شَاہ	Ismaīl Khān اِسمَاعِیل خَان	1555 – 1557
28	Habīb Shāh حَبِیب شَاہ	Habīb Khān حَبِیب خَان	1557 – 1561

^[32]

Note: Muhammad Shah had five separate reigns from 1484 to 1537.^[33]

Notes

References

^ Sharma, R. S. (1992), A Comprehensive History of India, Orient Longmans, p. 628, ISBN 978-81-7007-121-1
^ Lewis; Pellat; E.J. van Donzel, eds. (28 May 1998). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. IV (Iran-Kha). Brill. p. 708. ISBN 978-90-04-05745-6. Retrieved 14 December 2023. But her authority was challenged by Shah Mir, a soldier of fortune, who was most probably of Turkish origin.
^ Wink, André (2004), Indo-Islamic society: 14th - 15th centuries, BRILL, p. 140, ISBN 90-04-13561-8, The first Muslim dynasty of Kashmir was founded in 1324 by Shah Mìrzà, who was probably an Afghan warrior from Swat or a Qarauna Turk, possibly even a Tibetan ...
^ Sharma, R. S. (1992), A Comprehensive History of India, Orient Longmans, p. 628, ISBN 978-81-7007-121-1, Jonaraja records two events of Suhadeva's reign (1301-20), which were of far-reaching importance and virtually changed the course of the history of Kashmir. The first was the arrival of Shah Mir in 1313. He was a Muslim condottiere from the border of Panchagahvara, an area situated to the south of the Divasar pargana in the valley of river Ans, a tributary of the Chenab.
^ Wani, Nizam-ud-Din (1987), Muslim rule in Kashmir, 1554 A.D. to 1586 A.D., Jay Kay Book House, p. 29, Shamir was a Khasa by birth and descended from the chiefs of Panchagahvara.
^ Zutshi, N. K. (1976), Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir: an age of enlightenment, Nupur Prakashan, p. 7, "This area in which Panchagahvara was situated is mentioned as having been the place of habitation of the Khasa tribe. Shah Mir was, therefore, a Khasa by birth. This conclusion is further strengthened by references to the part of the Khasas increasingly played in the politics of Kashmir with which their connections became intimate after the occupation of Kashmir.
^ ^a ^b Baloch, N. A.; Rafiq, A. Q. (1998). "The regions of Sind, Baluchistan, Multan and Kashmir: the historical, social and economic setting". History of Civilizations of Central Asia (PDF). Vol. IV. Unesco. pp. 293–318. ISBN 923103467-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2016.
^ Ahmad, Aziz (1979). "Conversions to Islam in the Valley of Kashmir". Central Asiatic Journal. 23 (1/2). Harrassowitz Verlag: 3–18. ISSN 0008-9192. Shāh Mir was probably a descendant of a convert from Hinduism only a few generations earlier, probably by some Sūfī or dervish of a 'little tradition.' His apocryphal ancestry as a descendant of the Pāndūs is mentioned by the Indian historians of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
^ Schimmel, Annemarie (1980). Islam in the Indian Subcontinent. BRILL. p. 44. ISBN 90-04-06117-7. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c Baharistan-i-Shahi – Chapter 3 – EARLY SHAHMIRS
^ Local notice
^ Nath, R. (2003). "Qutb Shahi". Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t070476. ISBN 9781884446054.
^ Hasan, Mohibbul (26 September 2023). Kashmir Under the Sultans. London: Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-032-66670-9.
^ Hasan, Mohibbul (26 September 2023). Kashmir Under the Sultans. London: Routledge. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-032-66670-9.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Hasan, Mohibbul (26 September 2023). Kashmir Under the Sultans. London: Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-032-66670-9.
^ Dutt, Jogesh Chunder (1 January 2012). Rajatarangini of Jonaraja. New Dehli: Gyan Publishing House. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-81-212-0037-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Hasan, Mohibbul (2005). Kashmīr Under the Sultāns. Aakar Books. pp. 59–95. ISBN 978-81-87879-49-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Slaje, Walter (2014). Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD 1148‒1459) From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-'Ābidīn. Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis - 7. Germany. ISBN 978-3869770888.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Zutshi, Chitralekha (2003). "Contested Identities in the Kashmir Valley". Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir. Permanent Black. ISBN 978-81-7824-060-2.
^ ^a ^b Slaje, Walter (19 August 2019). "Buddhism and Islam in Kashmir as Represented by Rājataraṅgiṇī Authors". Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia. De Gruyter. pp. 128–160. doi:10.1515/9783110631685-006. ISBN 978-3-11-063168-5. S2CID 204477165.
^ ^a ^b Obrock, Luther James (2015). Translation and History: The Development of a Kashmiri Textual Tradition from ca. 1000–1500 (Thesis). UC Berkeley.
^ Zutshi, Chitralekha (24 October 2017). "This book claims to expose the myths behind Kashmir's history. It exposes its own biases instead". Scroll.in. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
^ Salomon, Richard; Slaje, Walter (2016). "Review of Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD1148–1459). From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn. Critically Edited by Walter Slaje with an Annotated Translation, Indexes and Maps. [Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis 7], SlajeWalter". Indo-Iranian Journal. 59 (4): 393–401. doi:10.1163/15728536-05903009. ISSN 0019-7246. JSTOR 26546259.
^ ^a ^b Slaje, Walter (2019). "What Does it Mean to Smash an Idol? Iconoclasm in Medieval Kashmir as Reflected by Contemporaneous Sanskrit Sources". Brahma's Curse : Facets of Political and Social Violence in Premodern Kashmir. Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis - 13. pp. 30–40. ISBN 978-3-86977-199-1.
^ Hamadani, Hakim Sameer (2021). The Syncretic Traditions of Islamic Religious Architecture of Kashmir (Early 14th −18th Century). Routledge. pp. 99–100. ISBN 9781032189611. While medieval Muslim hagiographic and historical accounts may have exaggerated Sikander's destruction of non-Muslim religious sites in a classical representation of religious piety, the tendency of some writers in the twentieth century CE to shield the Sultan from these iconoclastic activities is not historically correct, especially given the evidence from the period coming from writers of different religious backgrounds.
^ Slaje, Walter (2014). Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD 1148‒1459) From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-'Ābidīn. Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis - 7. Germany. ISBN 978-3869770888.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b Hasan, Mohibbul (2005) [1959]. Kashmir Under the Sultans (Reprinted ed.). Delhi: Aakar Books. p. 70. ISBN 978-81-87879-49-7. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
^ Hasan, Mohibbul (2005) [1959]. Kashmir Under the Sultans (Reprinted ed.). Delhi: Aakar Books. p. 78. ISBN 978-81-87879-49-7. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
^ Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai:Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, p.383
^ Shahzad Bashir, Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions: The Nurbakhshiya Between Medieval And Modern Islam (2003), p. 236.
^ Stan Goron and J.P. Goenka: The Coins of the Indian Sultanates, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 2001, pp. 463–464.
^ Hasan, Mohibbul (2005) [1959]. Kashmir Under the Sultans (Reprinted ed.). Delhi: Aakar Books. p. 325. ISBN 978-81-87879-49-7. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
^ "The COININDIA Coin Galleries: Sultans of Kashmir".