Lesson 1/34 min
Independence begins (1338)
In 1338 Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah proclaimed himself Sultan at Sonargaon. For about two hundred years, until 1538, the sultans of Delhi could not hold Bengal.
Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah (1338–1349)
- First independent sultan of Bengal; capital Sonargaon
- Earlier he was the armoury keeper (silahdar) of Bahram Khan, the Tughlaq governor of Sonargaon
- Took charge after Bahram Khan's death and declared independence the next year, 1338
- He was followed at Sonargaon by Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah (1349–1352)
Watch out: Many books say Fakhruddin killed Bahram Khan to seize power. According to Banglapedia, Bahram Khan died in 1337 and Fakhruddin then took charge.
Ibn Battuta
- A Moroccan traveller; came to India in 1333, in Muhammad bin Tughlaq's reign
- Came to Bengal in 1346, in Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah's reign
- His travel book is the ‘Kitab-ur-Rehla’; he described Bengal as ‘Dozakhpur Niyamat’
Watch out: Many books give 1342 for his arrival in India and 1345 for Bengal. According to Banglapedia he came to Bengal in 1346.
Delhi did not accept this easily. Firoz Shah Tughlaq invaded Bengal in 1353–54. Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah took refuge in the Ekdala fort, which Firoz could not capture. He came again in 1359–60, when Ilyas Shah's son Sikandar Shah sheltered at Ekdala. In the end a peace was made and Bengal's independence was in effect accepted.
Check yourself
Who was the first independent sultan of Bengal, and where did he take power?
At a glance
- 1
Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah was the first independent sultan of Bengal; the independent sultanate began in 1338 at Sonargaon.
- 2
The independent sultanate lasted from 1338 to 1538, about two hundred years.
- 3
Ibn Battuta came to Bengal in 1346, in Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah's reign; his book is Kitab-ur-Rehla.
- 4
Firoz Shah Tughlaq invaded Bengal in 1353; Ilyas Shah took refuge in the Ekdala fort.