| Sher Shah Suri | |
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| Reign | 17 May 1540 – 22 May 1545 (5 years, 5 days) |
| Coronation | 1540 |
| Predecessor | Humayun |
| Successor | Islam Shah Suri |
| Consort | Rani |
| Issue | |
| Jalal Khan | |
| House | Sur dynasty |
| Father | Mian Hassan Khan Sur |
| Born | 1486 Sasaram, Rohtas district in India[1] |
| Died | 22 May 1545 Kalinjar, Bundelkhand |
| Burial | Sher Shah Suri Tomb, Sasaram |
| Religion | Islam |
Sher Shah Suri (1486 – May 22, 1545) (Pashto: فريد خان شیر شاہ سوری - Šīr Šāh Sūrī, Bengali: শের শাহ সুরি), birth name Farid Khan, also known as Shere Khan (The Lion King[2]), was the founder of the short-lived Sur Empire in northern India, with its capital at Delhi, before its demise in the hands of the resurgent Mughal Empire. An Afghan (Pathan) by origin, he defeated the Mughals and took control of India in 1540 until an accidental death in 1545 when Islam Shah Suri became his successor.[2][3][4][5][6] He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal Army under Babur and then as the governor of Bihar. In 1537, when Babur's son Emperor Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Khan turned against his master and overran the state of Bengal to established the Sur Empire.[7] A soldier of fortune, Sher Khan also proved himself a gifted administrator as well as an able general. His reorganization of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar the Great, son of Humayun.[7]
During his five year rule from 1540 to 1545, he set up a new template for civic and military administration, issued the first Rupee and re-organised the postal system of India.[8] He further developed Humayun's Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh and revived the historical city of Pataliputra as Patna which had been in decline since the 7th century CE.[9] He is also remembered for purportedly killing a fully grown tiger with his bare hands in Bihar.[3][7]
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Sher Shah was born as Farid Khan in the Hisar district of India, according to Tarikh-i Khan Jahan Lodi (MS. p. 151).[1] However, the online Encyclopædia Britannica states that he was born in Sasaram (Bihar), in the Rohtas district.[3] He was one of about eight sons of Mian Hassan Khan Sur, a prominent figure in the government of Bahlul Khan Lodi. Sher Khan belonged to the Pashtun Sur tribe (the Pashtuns are known as Afghans in historical Persian language sources).[10] His grandfather, Ibrahim Khan Sur, was a noble adventurer who was recruited much earlier by Sultan Bahlul Lodi of Delhi during his long contest with the Jaunpur Sultanate.
It was at the time of this bounty of Sultán Bahlol, that the grandfather of Sher Sháh, by name Ibráhím Khán Súri,*[The Súr represent themselves as descendants of Muhammad Súri, one of the princes of the house of the Ghorian, who left his native country, and married a daughter of one of the Afghán chiefs of Roh.] with his son Hasan Khán, the father of Sher Sháh, came to Hindu-stán from Afghánistán, from a place which is called in the Afghán tongue “Shargarí,”* but in the Multán tongue “Rohrí.” It is a ridge, a spur of the Sulaimán Mountains, about six or seven kos in length, situated on the banks of the Gumal. They entered into the service of Muhabbat Khán Súr, Dáúd Sáhú-khail, to whom Sultán Bahlol had given in jágír the parganas of Hariána and Bahkála, etc., in the Panjáb, and they settled in the pargana of Bajwára.[1]—Abbas Khan Sarwani, 1580
During his early age, Farid was given a village in Fargana, Shahabad (comprising present day districts of Bhojpur, Buxar, Bhabhua of Bihar), by Bahlul Khan Lodi's counselor and courtier, Omar Khan. Farid Khan and his father, who had several wives, did not get along for a while so he decided to run away from home. When his father discovered that he fled to serve Jamal Khan, the governor of Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, he wrote Jamal Khan a letter that stated:
"Faríd Khán, being annoyed with me, has gone to you without sufficient cause. I trust in your kindness to appease him, and send him back; but if refusing to listen to you, he will not return, I trust you will keep him with you, for I wish him to be instructed in religious and polite learning."[11]
Jamal Khan had advised Farid to return home but he refused. Farid replied in a letter:
"If my father wants me back to instruct me in learning, there are in this city many learned men: I will study here."[11]
While he was away in Jaunpur, Farid began to learn Arabic language, history, and works of philosophers. Farid and his father later united and began working together. He started reforming the administration of his father by introducing new ways. He also began training and organizing an army force. Farid later became known as Sher Khan after he killed a full-sized tiger (sher) with his bare hands. Particularly for this event and generally for his ferocity as a warrior, he was then, later on, called Sultan-e-Azam Sher Shah Suri meaning the great lion emperor Sher Shah Suri. After resoration of Mughal Empire his family and grandchildren relocated to the Middle East creating more than 10 families such as Shakhshir, Shakhashero And Shakhshery, these family names are referring to Sher Shah inverting his name as Arabic language was read from right to left.[3][7]
Sher Shah became a commander, appointed by Babur after serving previously as a private in the Mughal Army. After becoming the governor of Bihar, he began reorganizing the administration efficiently. He organised a well disciplined, one of the largest and most efficient army. He also introduced tax collection system, built roads along with resting areas for travellers, dug wells, improved the jurisdiction, founded hospitals, established free kitchens, organized mail services and the police. His management proved so efficient that even one of the greatest rulers of human history, the Mughal Emperor Akbar, organised the South Asia on his measures, and the system which lasted until the 20th century.
He is also credited with rebuilding the longest highway in South Asia. The highway called the "Shahrah-e-Azam"/Sadak-e-Azam or the "Badshahi Sadak" (renamed "Grand Trunk Road" by the British) survives till this day. It is in use in present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab region Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal, however he never himself came to Dhaka.
CONQUERING THE EMPIRE Sher khan mainly ruled in east India. His empire was mainly in Bihar and a few parts of Bengal. He invaded Gaur, the capital of Bengal while Humayun besieged in one of Sher khan’s most important strongholds, the Chunar fort. Sher khan seized all the treasure from Gaur and returned to Bihar. When Humayun got this news he came back to Gaur, which was a part of his empire. Humayun reached Gaur and spent several months in merrymaking. His brother, Hindal came to Agra and declared himself emperor. Sher khan, who was very smart, cut down all of Humayun’s supplies and lines of communication with Agra. Mean while, Sher khan had consolidated his position and was ready to face Humayun’s army, who could not retreat towards Agra. The two armies faced each other for almost 3 months. Negotiations for peace were going on, when Sher khan launched a sudden attack. The Mughals were completely routed. However, Humayun managed to escape. Sher khan, who was optimistic about his success decided to launch an attack on the Mughal forces. All this happened in the absence of Humayun, who had jumped in the river Ganges and floated away. The Mughal forces led by his weak brothers were decisively defeated and Sher khan became the new master of Delhi and Agra and assumed the title of Sher Shah.
Sher Shah was a visionary ruler and introduced many military and civil reforms. The system of tri-metalism which came to characterise Mughal coinage was largely the creation of Sher Shah Suri. He also minted a coin of silver which was termed the Rupiya that weighed 178 grains and was the precursor of the modern rupee.[8] The same name is still used for the national currency in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Mauritius, Maldives, Seychelles among other countries. Gold coins called the Mohur weighing 169 grains and copper coins called Dam were also minted by his government.[8][12]
Mirza Aziz Koka, son of Ataga Khan, and probably Akbar's closest friend and one of the most important mansabdar's of the Mughal Empire, wrote this to Emperor Jahangir in one of his personal letters to him:
"Specially Sher Khan was not an angel (malak) but a king (malik). In six years he gave such stability to the structure (of the empire) that its foundations still survive. He had made India flourish in such a way that the king of Persia and Turan appreciate it, and have a desire to look at it. Hazrat Arsh Ashiyani (Akbar the great) followed his administrative manual (zawabit) for fifty years and did not discontinue them. In the same India due to able administration of the well wishers of the court, nothing is left except rabble and jungles..."
Sher Shah Suri died from a gunpowder explosion during the siege of Kalinjar fort on May 22, 1545 fighting against the Chandel Rajputs. Sher was also the last and the main personality of India to offer serious resistance to the Mughals on their advance to the south, and his death during the siege of Kalinjar (Bundelkhand) in 1545, cleared the path to the return of Mughal emperor Humayun.
Sher Shah Suri was succeeded by his son, Jalal Khan who took the title of Islam Shah Suri, and his imposing and proud mausoleum, the Sher Shah Suri Tomb (122 ft high) stands in the middle of an artificial lake at Sasaram, a town that stands on the Grand Trunk Road, his lasting legacy.[13] His death has also been claimed to have been caused by a fire in his store room.
Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi (History of Sher Shah), written by Abbas Khan Sarwani, a waqia-navis under later Mughal Emperor, Akbar around 1580, provides a detailed documentation about Sher Shah's administration.
Recent research indicates that during the time of the Maurya empire in the 3rd century BC, overland trade between India and several parts of western Asia and the Hellenic world went through the cities of the north-west, primarily Taxila (located in present day Pakistan)(see inset in map). Taxila was well connected by roads with other parts of the Maurya empire. The Mauryas had built a highway from Taxila to Pataliputra (present-day Patna in Bihar, India). Great Chandragupta Maurya had a whole army of officials overseeing the maintenance of this road as told by the Greek diplomat Megasthenes who spent fifteen years at the Mauryan court.
In the 16th century, a major road running across the Gangetic plain was built afresh by Pashtun emperor Sher Shah Suri, who then ruled much of northern India. His intention was to link together the remote provinces of his vast empire for administrative and military reasons. The Sadak-e-Azam ("great road") as it was then known, is universally recognized as the precursor of the Grand Trunk Road.
The road was initially built by Sher Shah to connect Agra, his capital, with Sasaram, his hometown. It was soon extended westward to Multan and eastward to Sonargaon in Bengal (now in Bangladesh). While Sher Shah died after a brief reign, and his dynasty ended soon afterwards, the road endured as his outstanding legacy. The Mughals, who succeeded the Suris, extended the road westwards: at one time, it extended to Kabul in Afghanistan, crossing the Khyber Pass. This road was later improved by the British rulers of colonial India. Renamed the "Grand Trunk Road" (sometimes referred to as the "Long Walk"), it was extended to run from Calcutta to Peshawar and thus to span a major portion of India.
Over the centuries, the road, which was one of the most important trade routes in the region, facilitated both travel and postal communication. Even during the era of Sher Shah Suri, the road was dotted with caravansarais (highway inns) at regular intervals, and trees were planted on both sides of the road to give shade to the passers-by. The road was well planned, with milestones along the whole stretch. Some of these milestones can still be seen along the present Delhi-Ambala highway. On another note, the road also facilitated the rapid movement of troops and of foreign invaders. It expedited the looting raids, into India's interior regions, of Afghan and Persian invaders and also facilitated the movement of British troops from Bengal into the north Indian plain.
The Grand Trunk Road continues to be one of the major arteries of India and Pakistan. The Indian section is part of the ambitious Golden Quadrilateral project. For over four centuries, the Grand Trunk Road has remained "such a river of life as nowhere else exists in the world".[14]
Apart from rebuilding the Grand Trunk Road also known as Shahar Rah-e-Azam ("great road"), which stretches across the breadth of South Asia from Sonargaon in Bangladesh to Peshwar in Pakistan, he built monuments, many of which no longer exist today, including Rohtas Fort, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Pakistan, many structures in the Rohtasgarh Fort in Bihar, Sher Shah Suri Masjid, in Patna, built in 1540-1545 to commemorate his reign.
Qila-i-Kuhna mosque, built by Sher Shah in 1541, at Purana Qila, Delhi, a Humayun citadel started in 1533, and later extended by him, along with the construction of Sher Mandal, an octagonal building inside the Purana Qila, Delhi complex, which later served as the library of Humayun.
Some soldiers were left behind by Sher Shah Suri as he escaped from Bengal, avoiding the Humayun invasion. These people are known as Shersabadia. They made a colony named Shershahabad which is no more due to a course change of Ganges. Today the people of this community are found in parts of Malda, Murshidabad, Chapai Nawabganj and a few other parts of Bengal
Sher Shah neighbourhood and Sher Shah Bridge in Kiamari Town of Karachi, Pakistan, are named in the honour of Sultan Sher Shah Suri.
The successors of Sher Shah Suri were very weak.Humayun gained from their weakness and he returned to India in 1555 and started ruling after defeating his successors.
| Preceded by - |
Shah of Sur Empire 1539-1545 |
Succeeded by Islam Shah Suri |