Muzaffarids (Gujarat)

The Muzaffarid dynasty, also called the Muzaffarids, and sometimes, the Ahmedabad dynasty or the Ahmad Shahis, ruled the Sultanate of Gujarat in western India from 1391 to 1583. The founder of the dynasty was Zafar Khan (later Muzaffar Shah I) who was governor of Gujarat under the Delhi Sultanate. 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. His Grand son, Ahmed Shah I established the capital at Ahmedabad.^[1] The dynasty ruled for almost 200 years, until the conquest of Gujarat by the Mughal Empire in 1572.^[2] The sultanate reached its peak of expansion under Mahmud Begada, reaching east into Malwa and west to the Gulf of Kutch.^[3]

Origins

According to medieval sources, Zafar Khan was the son of Sahāran (also known as Wajīh-ul-Mulk), a local notable and landholder. The 16th-century Gujarati chronicler Sikandar Ibn Manjhu, author of the Mirʾāt-i-Sikandarī, records that the Tanks and Khatris were originally one community, later separated when the former were expelled due to their fondness for drinking. On the basis of Sikandar’s account, several modern historians identify Zafar Khan’s family as belonging to the Tank subdivision of the Khatri caste from Punjab.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Some historians such as Aparna Kapadia offer another account, asserting that Sahāran (also spelled Sadhāran), the father of Zafar Khan, was a Tank Rajput who originally lived in Thanesar in present-day Haryana, although Kapadia also notes the tradition of Khatri Tank descent by Sikander.^[7] Noting the Sikander's account and other local traditions about profession of Zafar Khan's forefathers, some modern writers have also proposed an association between Zafar Khan’s family and the Kalal caste, traditionally linked with wine-selling.^[8]^[9]

Zafar Khan's father Saharan was a Chaudhary who was an agriculturist by profession.^[10]^[11] Zafar Khan adopted the name Wajih-ul-Mulk. Wajih-ul-Mulk and his brother were influential Chaudharis who were agriculturists by profession but could also muster thousands of fighting men on their call.^[12] His Hindu forebears claimed descent from Rāmachandra, who the Hindus worshipped as God. Such genealogies were fabricated to glorify royalty and were generally not accepted.^[13]

Sultans of Gujarat

Title/Name^[14]	Personal Name	Reign
Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah I شمس الدین مظفر شاہ اول	Zafar Khan	1391–1403 (1st Reign)
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Shah I نصیر الدین محمد شاہ اول	Tatar Khan	1403–1404
Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah I شمس الدین مظفر شاہ اول	Zafar Khan	1404–1411 (2nd Reign)
Nasir-ud-Din Ahmad Shah I ناصر الدین احمد شاہ اول	Ahmad Khan	1411–1442
Muizz-ud-Din Muhammad Shah II المعز الدین محمد شاہ دوم	Karim Khan	1442–1451
Qutb-ud-Din Ahmad Shah II قطب الدین احمد شاہ دوم	Jalal Khan	1451–1458
Daud Shah داود شاہ	Daud Khan	1458
Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I (Mahmud Begada) ناصر الدین محمود شاہ اول محمود بگڑا	Fateh Khan	25 May 1458 – 23 November 1511
Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah II شمس الدین مظفر شاہ دوم	Khalil Khan	23 November 1511 – 5 April 1526
Sikandar Shah سکندر شاہ	Sikandar Khan	1526
Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah II ناصر الدین محمود شاہ دوم	Nasir Khan	1526
Qutb-ud-Din Bahadur Shah قطب الدین بہادرشاہ	Bahadur Khan	1526–25 April 1535 (1st Reign)
Interregnum (Mughal Empire under Humayun: 1535–1536)
Qutb-ud-Din Bahadur Shah قطب الدین بہادرشاہ	Bahadur Khan	1536–13 February 1537 (2nd Reign)
Miran Muhammad Shah I میران محمد شاہ تریہم	Miran Muhammad Faruqi of Khandesh	6 weeks; 1537
Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah III ناصر الدین محمود شاہ تریہم	Mahmud Khan	10 May 1537 – 1554
Ghiyas-ud-Din Ahmad Shah III غیاث الدین احمد شاہ تریہم	Ahmad Khan	1554–1561
Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah III شمس الدین مظفر شاہ تریہم	Hubboo^[15] or Nannu or Nathu^[16] (a pretender according to Mughal historians)	1561–1573
Interregnum (Mughal Empire under Akbar: 1573–1583)
Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah III شمس الدین مظفر شاہ تریہم	Hubboo or Nannu or Nathu (a pretender according to Mughal historians)	1583 (Restored)
Mughal Empire under Akbar

Genealogy of Muzaffarids

House of Muzaffar

Gujarat Sultanate

Muzaffar I
Shah
r. 1391–1403,
1404–1411

Muhammad I
Shah
r. 1403–1404

Ahmad I
Shah
r. 1411–1442

Muhammad II
Shah
r. 1442–1451

Dawud
Shah
r. 1458–1458

Ahmad II
Shah
r. 1451–1458

Mahmud I
Shah
r. 1458–1511

Muzaffar II
Shah
r. 1511–1526

Sikandar
Shah
r. 1526–1526

Mahmud II
Shah
r. 1526–1526

Bahadur
Shah
r. 1526–1535,
1536–1537

Latif
Khan

Mahmud III
Shah
r. 1537–1554

Ahmad III
Shah
r. 1554–1561

Muzaffar III
Shah
r. 1561–1573,
1583–1583

Notes

^ Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Ahmedabad. Government Central Press. 1879. p. 249.
^ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 114–115. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
^ Sudipta Mitra (2005). Gir Forest and the Saga of the Asiatic Lion. Indus Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-81-7387-183-2.
^ Misra, Satish Chandra (May 1995). Rise of Muslim Power in Gujarat: History of Gujarat 1298-1442. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Limited. p. 138. ISBN 978-81-215-0169-9. In the very beginning, Sikandar writes that the Tanks and Khatris were brothers and that their customs and practices resembled very greatly, yet the former were expelled by the latter due to their fondness for drinking; and since that time, they came to be known as Tank or expelled
^
*Wink, André (2003). Indo-Islamic society: 14th - 15th centuries. BRILL. p. 143. ISBN 978-90-04-13561-1. Similarly, Zaffar Khan Muzaffar, the first independent ruler of Gujarat was not a foreign muslim but a Khatri convert, of low subdivision called Tank.
- Khan, Iqtidar Alam (25 April 2008). Historical Dictionary of Medieval India. Scarecrow Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-8108-5503-8. The founder of the Gujarat Sultanate he was a convert from a sect of Hindu Khatris known as Tanks.
- Misra, S. C. (Satish Chandra) (1963). The rise of Muslim power in Gujarat; a history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442. Internet Archive. New York, Asia Pub. House. p. 137. Zafar Khan was not a foreign muslim. He was a convert to Islam from a sect of the Khatris known as Tank.
- Khan, Iqtidar Alam (2004). Gunpowder and Firearms: Warfare in Medieval India. Oxford University Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-19-566526-0. Zafar Khan (entitled Muzaffar Shah) himself was a convert to Islam from a sub-caste of the Khatris known as Tank.
^ Wink, André (2003). Indo-Islamic society: 14th - 15th centuries. BRILL. p. 143. ISBN 978-90-04-13561-1. Similarly, Zaffar Khan Muzaffar, the first independent ruler of Gujarat was not a foreign muslim but a Khatri convert, of a low subdivision called the Tank, originally from Southern Punjab
^ Kapadia, Aparna (2018-05-16). Gujarat: The Long Fifteenth Century and the Making of a Region. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-15331-8.
^ Pawar, Kiran (1996). Women in Indian History: Social, Economic, Political and Cultural Perspectives. Vision & Venture. ISBN 978-81-86769-01-0.
^ Siddiqi, Iqtidar Husain (1987). Islam and Muslims in South Asia: Historical Perspective. Adam Publishers & Distributors.
^ "The Rise of Muslim Power in Gujarat. A history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442. [With a map.] | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. p. 138. Retrieved 2023-02-24. The two brothers were chaudharis of a rather numerous agrarian community, tilling the soil, not high in the caste hierarchy but not without strength in the neighborhood
^ Rizvi, S.A.A (1987). The Wonder That Was India. Allied Publishers. p. 69. ISBN 9788184245684. The independent kingdom of Gujarat was founded by Zafar Khan, son of Sadharan, a Jat convert to Islam.
^ "The Rise of Muslim Power in Gujarat. A history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442. [With a map.] | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. p. 138. Retrieved 2023-02-24. The two brothers were chaudharis of a rather numerous agrarian community, tilling the soil, not high in the caste hierarchy but not without strength in the neighborhood
^ Chandra., MISRA, Satish (1963). The Rise of Muslim Power in Gujarat. A history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442. [With a map.] London; Bombay printed. p. 137. OCLC 752803447.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ The new Islamic dynasties: a chronological and genealogical manual New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys Series; Author:Clifford Edmund Bosworth ISBN 0-7486-2137-7, ISBN 978-0-7486-2137-8
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-07-14. Retrieved 2011-08-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2011-08-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[Government_Central_Press-1] Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Ahmedabad. Government Central Press. 1879. p. 249.

[sen2-2] Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 114–115. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.

[Mitra2005-3] Sudipta Mitra (2005). Gir Forest and the Saga of the Asiatic Lion. Indus Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-81-7387-183-2.

[4] Misra, Satish Chandra (May 1995). Rise of Muslim Power in Gujarat: History of Gujarat 1298-1442. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Limited. p. 138. ISBN 978-81-215-0169-9. In the very beginning, Sikandar writes that the Tanks and Khatris were brothers and that their customs and practices resembled very greatly, yet the former were expelled by the latter due to their fondness for drinking; and since that time, they came to be known as Tank or expelled

[5] *Wink, André (2003). Indo-Islamic society: 14th - 15th centuries. BRILL. p. 143. ISBN 978-90-04-13561-1. Similarly, Zaffar Khan Muzaffar, the first independent ruler of Gujarat was not a foreign muslim but a Khatri convert, of low subdivision called Tank.
Khan, Iqtidar Alam (25 April 2008). Historical Dictionary of Medieval India. Scarecrow Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-8108-5503-8. The founder of the Gujarat Sultanate he was a convert from a sect of Hindu Khatris known as Tanks.

Misra, S. C. (Satish Chandra) (1963). The rise of Muslim power in Gujarat; a history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442. Internet Archive. New York, Asia Pub. House. p. 137. Zafar Khan was not a foreign muslim. He was a convert to Islam from a sect of the Khatris known as Tank.

Khan, Iqtidar Alam (2004). Gunpowder and Firearms: Warfare in Medieval India. Oxford University Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-19-566526-0. Zafar Khan (entitled Muzaffar Shah) himself was a convert to Islam from a sub-caste of the Khatris known as Tank.

[6] Khan, Iqtidar Alam (25 April 2008). Historical Dictionary of Medieval India. Scarecrow Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-8108-5503-8. The founder of the Gujarat Sultanate he was a convert from a sect of Hindu Khatris known as Tanks.

[7] Misra, S. C. (Satish Chandra) (1963). The rise of Muslim power in Gujarat; a history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442. Internet Archive. New York, Asia Pub. House. p. 137. Zafar Khan was not a foreign muslim. He was a convert to Islam from a sect of the Khatris known as Tank.

[8] Khan, Iqtidar Alam (2004). Gunpowder and Firearms: Warfare in Medieval India. Oxford University Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-19-566526-0. Zafar Khan (entitled Muzaffar Shah) himself was a convert to Islam from a sub-caste of the Khatris known as Tank.

[6] Wink, André (2003). Indo-Islamic society: 14th - 15th centuries. BRILL. p. 143. ISBN 978-90-04-13561-1. Similarly, Zaffar Khan Muzaffar, the first independent ruler of Gujarat was not a foreign muslim but a Khatri convert, of a low subdivision called the Tank, originally from Southern Punjab

[7] Kapadia, Aparna (2018-05-16). Gujarat: The Long Fifteenth Century and the Making of a Region. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-15331-8.

[WH-8] Pawar, Kiran (1996). Women in Indian History: Social, Economic, Political and Cultural Perspectives. Vision & Venture. ISBN 978-81-86769-01-0.

[IM-9] Siddiqi, Iqtidar Husain (1987). Islam and Muslims in South Asia: Historical Perspective. Adam Publishers & Distributors.

[RM-10] "The Rise of Muslim Power in Gujarat. A history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442. [With a map.] | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. p. 138. Retrieved 2023-02-24. The two brothers were chaudharis of a rather numerous agrarian community, tilling the soil, not high in the caste hierarchy but not without strength in the neighborhood

[11] Rizvi, S.A.A (1987). The Wonder That Was India. Allied Publishers. p. 69. ISBN 9788184245684. The independent kingdom of Gujarat was founded by Zafar Khan, son of Sadharan, a Jat convert to Islam.

[12] "The Rise of Muslim Power in Gujarat. A history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442. [With a map.] | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. p. 138. Retrieved 2023-02-24. The two brothers were chaudharis of a rather numerous agrarian community, tilling the soil, not high in the caste hierarchy but not without strength in the neighborhood

[13] Chandra., MISRA, Satish (1963). The Rise of Muslim Power in Gujarat. A history of Gujarat from 1298 to 1442. [With a map.] London; Bombay printed. p. 137. OCLC 752803447.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[14] The new Islamic dynasties: a chronological and genealogical manual New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys Series; Author:Clifford Edmund Bosworth ISBN 0-7486-2137-7, ISBN 978-0-7486-2137-8

[15] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-07-14. Retrieved 2011-08-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[16] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2011-08-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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Origins

Sultans of Gujarat

Genealogy of Muzaffarids

See also

Notes