Mahmud Begada
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Mahmud Begada (May 25, 1458 – 1511) also known as Sultan Mahmud I was the great-grandson of Ahmed Shah, the founder of the Muslim Ahmadshahi Kingdom, and of the City of Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, India. He was known to be quite religious. For his conquests he is known as the greatest Sultan of Gujarat, and ruled for 43 years. He titled himself, Sultân al-Barr, Sultân al-Bahr, 'Sultan of the Land, Sultan of the Sea'.
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[edit] Conquests
[edit] Champaner
One of his initial conquests was an attempt to quash the Khichi Chauhan Rajputs who held the Pavagadh fort. The young Sultan, after laying siege for 20 months, conquered the fort on 21 November 1484. He then transferred his capital to Champaner which he completely rebuilt at the foothills of the Pavagadh fort, calling it Muhammadabad. It took 23 years to build the town. The town finally succumbed to attacks from the Mughal Emperor Humayun in 1535.
The town derives its name from the Champa tree, or from Champaraj founder of the town, a contemporary of King Vanraj Chavda of Anhilwada. Champaner is today the site of the Champaner-Pavagadh Archeological Park, which is on UNESCO's List of World Heritage Sites in Asia and Australasia, and is situated about 47 km from the city of Vadodara.
Sultan Begada also built a magnificent Jama Masjid in Champaner, which ranks amongst the finest architectural edifices in Gujarat. It is an imposing structure on a high plinth with two tall minarets 30 m tall, 172 pillars and seven mihrabs. The central dome, the placement of balconies and carved entrance gates with fine stone jalis.
[edit] Temple Of Dwarka
The Sultan is also known to have sacked (destroyed) the famous Hindu temple at Dwarka.
[edit] Mumbai
The Sultan is also credited with capturing the island of Bombay from the Koli (fisherman) tribe, before one of his descendants Bahadur Shah, handed the island over to the Portuguese in 1535.
[edit] Mahmudabad
He laid the foundation of the city of Mahmudabad (now Junagadh) in 1479 A.D. Strong embankments were raised along the river, and the city was adorned with a palace, handsome buildings and extensive gardens.
[edit] Greater ambitions
The Sultan was ambitious and contacted the Ottoman Empire and the Sultan of Cairo to obtain reinforcements for a Muslim conquest of India. It is during his reign that the famous Battle of Diu took place.
One of his religious teachers was Imam al din `Abd al Raheem, also known as Sayyid Imam Shah, the founder of the Imam-Shahi faith.
Some European adventurers circulated popular tales about the him under the erroneous name Turk Mahmud Shah I ("Begada"), "the Poison Sultan," and those became the source for the English satirist Samuel Butler's seventeenth-century lines: "The Prince of Cambay's daily food/ Is asp and basilisk and toad".
[edit] Death
The Sultan is believed to have died of natural causes in 1511, and is buried next to his Queen, in the Dargah at Sarkhej, about 8 km south-west of Ahmedabad in an elegant architectural complex.
