BENGAL UNDER THE

MUGHAL

HIS 101: Bangladesh Culture and Heritage

Department of History and Philosophy

North South University

Asif Basar (MAB 2)

Introduction:
The Mughal rule in Bengal contains a historical episode in the history of
Bengal. It took place in a time when the waves of imperial powers are
coming towards Indian subcontinent to set their tow hundred years of
colonial rule. The Mughal rule in Bengal is considered as a period in
between of two ‘Two Hundred Years’’ of rule: The Independent
Bengali Sultanate and the Colonial British Rule.

Political background of Mughal Foundation in India

The rulers of Delhi, who ruled from 1206-90, were Mamluk Turks.
They were followed by the Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodis, who
ruled northern India from Delhi till 1526. All these rulers were called
Sultans. A Sultan was supposed to rule over a territory on behalf of the
Khalifa, who was considered to be the spiritual and temporal head of
the Muslims.
In 1526, the Delhi Sultanate was replaced by the Mughal dynasty, who
came to the throne after the first battle of Panipath, when the last
Sultan of Lodi dynasty Ibrahim Lodi was defeated by the founder of
Mughal dynasty, Babur. After this change of power, the Mughal rule
eventually captured most of the Indian sub-continent and Central Asia,
and lasted well into the nineteenth century. However, the real entry of
Mughal rule to Bengal entered much later.
Babur Humayun
Emperor Akbar (1556-1605), who is widely seen as the greatest of
the Mughal emperors, could only extended Mughal's control over
Bengal. However, Akbar’s invasion did not include the whole of
Bengal, rather it was mostly the western part of Bengal which was
under the Mughal control. The eastern Bengal came to under Mughal
control during the time of Emperor Jahangir.

Akbar Jahangir
 The Political Context of Bengal
The Muslim rule in Bengal continued for about five centuries and half,
from Bakhtiyar Khalji’s conquest in 1204-05 to the Battle of Plassey in
1757. The period of muslim rule of Bengal is largely divided into two
phases- Independent Sultanate and Mughal.The Sultanate rule ended
in 1576 when the Afghan Sultan Daud Khan Karrani was defeated by
Khan Jahan, the general of Mughal emperor Akbar.

The Mughals tried to extend their territory to Bengal since the

foundation of its rule over northern India. Bengal was then ruled by
the last Sultani ruler Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah (1533-38 AD) who
came to power after killing his nephew Sultan Alauddin Firuz.
However, the rule of Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah was not welcomed by
his governors in many parts of the Sultanate.
Disintegration process became inevitable when two of his
governors challenged his rule, from Southeast Khuda Bakhsh
Khan and from the northwestern part Makhdum Alam, governor
of Hajipur. Makhdum Alam sought help from the virtual ruler of
Bihar, Sher Shah who was acting as the regent of the passed
sultan Bahar Khan Lohani's minor son Jalal Khan. But the real
control of the throne of Bihar was actually under Sher Shah. At
the growth of his power other courtiers of Jalal Khan got jealous
of Sher Khan. This jealousy turned to a conspiracy when Jalal
Khan sought the help of Ghiyasuddin Mahmud shah, Sultan of
Bengal, to free him from the tutelage of Sher Khan. Mahmud sent
an army under Ibrahim Khan to attack Bihar on behalf of Jalal
Khan Lohani. But Sher Khan defeated the combined forces of
Mahmud Shah and Jalal Khan at the battle of Surajgarh (1534).
This led Jalal to fall back on Mahmud and paved the way for Sher
Khan's ascendancy in Bihar. In 1538 Sher Khan invaded Bengal and
defeated Sultan Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah.
In the next year, (1539) when Mughal emperor Humayun tried to
invade Bengal, Sher Khan defeated him and took the title ‘Shah’. He
installed Khizr Khan as the governor of Bengal. Next year he again
defeated Humayun, drove him out of India and captured the throne
of Delhi.
Contribution of Sher Khan
In a brief reign of only five years (1540-1545), Sher Shah
established peace and order in the empire and remodelled its
administration. He divided his empire into 47 Sarkars and
subdivided each Sarkar into a number of Parganas.
Sher Shah Suri Humayun
In this system Bengal had 19 Sarkars. Shiqdar-i-Shiqdaran and
Munsif-i-Munsifan, two high officials, were appointed in each
Sarkar to look after the work of pargana officers like, Shiqdar,
Amin, Munsif, Patwari, Chowdhury, Muqaddam and Qarqun.

Sher Shah reformed currency and improved trade and

commerce by abolishing vexatious duties. A network of
excellent roads, connecting the capital Agra with outlying areas
of the empire and having Sarais (inn), mosques and temples at
regular intervals, improved the communication system of his
whole empire.
Sher Shah’s most important road was the Sarak-i-Azam which ran for
3000 miles from Sonargaon to Multan via Agra, Delhi and Lahore,
with shade-giving trees on both sides. This road came to be known as
the grand trunk road in the Colonial period. He introduced a novel
device for easy and quick dispatch of government orders and
messages, to and from the capital, by relay of horses.
The End of Sher Shah in Bengal
After Sher Shah’s accidental death in 1545, his son Islam Shah became
his successor in Delhi. In 1556, however, Humayun managed to
reconquer Delhi from Sher Shah’s successors. Once again, large
numbers of Afghans from North India sought refuge in Bengal, which
was still under the rule of Sher Khan’s successors. After the death of
Sher Khan’s son Islam Shah, another Afghan dynasty led by Taj Khan
Karrani took the control of Bengal in 1556. However, the situation in
Mughal India also changed when Akbar came to the power of Mughal
Sultanate in 1556. His brilliant policies and leadership turned Mughal
Sultanate from a fragile state to a prosperous and glorious stage in
history. In 1574, Akbar took his first attempt to include Bengal with his
territory. He sent his trusted Munim Khan (Khan Jahan) to occupy
Ganges plain.
With his 20,000 soldiers Munim Khan bravely entered Tanda and
occupied the city. Mughal era in Bengal virtually started at this point.
However, the real victory of the Mughal came in 1576 when Khan
Jahan defeated the Bengal Sultan Daud Khan Karrani in the battle of
Rajmahal. With Khan Jahan's victory over Daud Khan, the Mughals
made determined and sustained efforts to establish their authority
over Western Bengal though a large part of Eastern Bengal
remained as an independent entity till 1610, when Islam Khan
Chishti, the Subahdar of Jahangir, brought the whole of Bengal
(except Chittagong) under the Mughal control.

Resistance from the East: The Bara Bhuiyans

The eastern part of Bengal posed a strong challenge to the advent
Mughal after the fall of West Bengal to Mughal in 1576. The
challengers are well known in history as Bara Bhuiyans.
Bara-Bhuiyans were the twelve territorial landholders or local
chiefs and Zamindars who put up strong resistance to the Mughals
during the time of Akbar and Jahangir. during the interval
between Afghan rule and the rise of Mughal power in Bengal,
various parts of Bengal passed to the control of several military
chiefs, Bhuiyans and Zamindars. They jointly, and more often
severally resisted Mughal expansion and ruled their respective
territories as independent or semi-independent chiefs.
According to Abul Fazal’s Akbarnama, the 12 prominent Bara
bhuiyans were: following list of the Bhuiyans may be drawn up: (i)
Isa Khan Masnad-i-Ala, (ii) Ibrahim Naral, (iii) Karimdad Musazai,
(iv) Majlis Dilwar, (v) Majlis Pratap, (vi) Kedar Rai, (vii) Sher Khan,
(viii) Bhadur Ghazi, (ix) Tila Ghazi, (x) Chand Ghazi, (xi) Sultan
Ghazi, (xii) Selim Ghazi, (xiii) Qasim Ghazi.
Isa Khan Isa Khan’s Palace at
Sonargaon
The chief of the Bara-Bhuiyans was Isa Khan. His capital was
present day’s Sonargaon. He combined with other
Bhuiyans and led them in the struggle against the Mughals
till his death in 1599. Isa Khan's son Musa Khan took the
leadership and put up a stubborn resistance to the
Mughals. They were patriots who with courage and valour
resisted the Mughal advance for long three decades. But
their struggle came to an end in 1610 when Subahdar
Islam Khan Chishti during the reign of Emperor Jahangir
took his control in the whole Eastern part of Bengal and
declared Bengal as Subah Bangalah.
 The Bengal Subah under the Subahdars
With Islam Khan’s arrival, the Mughal era of Bengal’s history
effectively began. Upon reaching the delta, the new governor first
moved the imperial provincial capital from Rajmahal, in the far
northwest, where all previous Muslim capitals had been located, to
Dhaka, deep in the Bengal hinterland. Later he renamed the city
Jahangirnagar.
From 1610 to 1715, the Mughals used Dhaka as a base for
integrating diverse peoples into their social and bureaucratic
system and for transforming the vast stretches of forest into arable
land to enhance the food security of the whole Mughal sultanate.
Thus the process of consolidation of Bengal started by Subahdar
Islam Khan though he governed only briefly, dying in office in 1613.
Three factors helped the Mughals consolidate their power in the
delta:
 their more effective use of military force,
 the diplomacy of Islam Khan, and
 the financial backing of Hindu merchant-bankers.
Some historians have argued that gunpowder technology of Akbar
played a decisive role in the expansion and consolidation of Bengal
from those Bara Bhuiyans.
Features and Contributions of the Mughal in Bengal:


Although the Mughals came from outside, with the
establishment of their rule, peace and prospects of
employment opportunities increased.


Along with the predominant Sunnis, many of the officers also
came from Iran, so the Shiaism also penetrated in Bengal,
especially from the time of Jahangir.

Persian language influenced the Bengali language and
literature in a great way. Persian words entered Bengali
vocabulary. Bengali literatures were previously influenced by
religions, mostly about Hindu Gods and Goddesses, but with
Persian influence, poems dealing with love stories of men and
women began to be the theme of literature.


Under Mughals, there was an enormous growth of Muslim
society in Bengal. Many non-Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists
accepted Islam, either for gaining favors from the rulers, or
getting state services, or by the teaching of Islam that also
helped many to come out of the rigid caste system of orthodox
variant of Hinduism.
As the Mughals were liberal in religious matters, non-Muslims
could also practice their religion freely without any interference. In
the words of Sir Jadunath Sarkar, “The period of imperial Mughal
rule in Bengal witnessed the working of certain new forces which
have completely transformed Bengali life and thought and whose
influence is still operating in the province.”

The Mughals had established both power and credibility

throughout the delta. They achieved this by means of a military
machine that effectively combined gunpowder weaponry with
mounted archers and naval forces
The Place of Bengal in Mughal Culture

Both the literature and the architecture of the period reveal the new
ruling class’s profoundly foreign—that is, non-Bengali. In 1626 an
Afghan, Mahmud Balkhi, journeyed to Rajmahal and wrote of
encountering Sunni people whose family origins lay in Balkh,
Bukhara, Khurasan, Iraq, Baghdad, Anatolia, Syria, and North India.
Some years later, a poet named Muhammad Sadiq Isfahani, who
lived in Dhaka from 1629 to his death in 1650, kept a diary, the ṣubḥ-i
ṣādiq, in which he mentions the dozens of artists, poets, generals,
and administrators he had come to know in that city. Most of these
men were Shi‘as whose ancestors had migrated from distant centers
of Persian culture.
The Mughals’ feeling of alienation from the land was accompanied by
a sense of superiority toward its people in Bengal. In matters of
language, dress, and diet, newly arrived officials experienced great
differences between Bengal and the culture of North India. The
delta’s diet of fish and rice, for example, disagreed with many
immigrants brought up on wheat and meat, basic to the diet in
Punjab. Written in 1786, the Riyāẓal-Salāṭīn faithfully reflects the
ashraf perspective regarding Bengali culture, and reads almost like a
colonial British manual on how to survive “amongst the natives”:
''And the food of the natives of that kingdom, from the high to the
low, are fish, rice, mustard oil and curd and fruits and sweetmeats.
They also eat plenty of red chilly and salt. In some parts of this
country, salt is scarce. The natives of this country are of shabby
tastes, shabby habits and shabby modes of dress…….
They do not eat breads of wheat and barley at all. Meat of goats and
fowls and clarified butter do not agree with their system’'.
Bengal under Later Subahdars
Prince Shah Shuja, son of emperor Shahjahan remained as a subahdar
for twenty years (1639-1658), During this time the province enjoyed
uninterrupted peace. But towards the end of Shahjahan's reign, a war
of succession flared up among his four sons—Dara, Shuja, Aurangzeb
and Murad. In this struggles, Suja was defeated in 1660, fled from
Bengal and took shelter with the king of Arakan and died there in
1661. Shah Shuja, a typical Mughal prince, was learned, cultured and
polished. He patronised Persian poets and scholars who adorned his
court. His important nobles were Shias, and even in the subordinate
posts the Shias were predominant. His mother was a Shia lady, his two
wives were also Shia.
Shuja was a great builder; the earliest extant Mughal buildings at
Dhaka date from his time. They are the Bara katra, the Eidgha, the
Husaini Dalan and the Churihatta mosque. The Bara Katra was built
on the bank of the river Buriganga, a little to the south of
Chawlkbazar.
It was originally built for the residence of the prince, but since the
latter preferred to live at Rajmahal, the Bara Katra was given for the
residence of travelling merchants to use as a Katra or Sarai.

At Rajmahal, Shah Shuja built a palace named Sang-i-dalan (stone

palace) and a mosque of marble stone. A big tank called Anand
Sarovar also bears the memory of Shah Shuja. Round the tank were
built the Diwan-i-am, Diwan-i-khas, Hammams (baths).
Bara Katra Bara Katra

Husaini Dalan
Shah Shuja understood the importance of trade and
commerce in the economic development of the country
and the welfare of the people. Therefore, he welcomed
foreign traders and the European companies and
granted them privileges for carrying trade without let or
hindrance. He granted a Nishan (letter patent granted by
a prince) to the Portuguese confirming their privilege of
trade granted to them by a Farman of the emperor. He
also granted privileges to the English East India company
and the Dutch East India company.
Mir Jumla
Mir Jumla was a renowned Subahdar of Bengal (1660-
1663) who ruled under Emperor Aurangzeb. He was an
Iranian by birth, and his original name was Mir
Muhammad Said.

Aurangzeb, on his accession to the throne, entrusted Mir

Jumla with the task of dealing with his rival brother Shah
Shuja. Shah Suja was defeated in the battle of Khajwa
and Mir Jumla arrived Dhaka on 9 May 1660.

Soon after his arrival at Dhaka, Mir Jumla received the

imperial Farman appointing him Subahdar of Bengal.
Shaista Khan
Shaista Khan was a Mughal subahdar who ruled Bengal for long 24
years (1664-1688) with a break for a little over one year in 1678-79.
His tenure of office as a subahdar in Bengal was the longest. From an
Iranian origin, (son of Asaf Khan and grandson of Mirza Ghias Beg
Itimaduddaula) his family was connected with the Mughal royal
family. Nur Jahan (daughter of Itimaduddaula) and Mumtaj Mahal
(daughter of Asaf Khan) were queens of Jahangir and Shahjahan
respectively. Both Itimaduddaula and Asaf Khan held the position of
Wazir or Prime Minister respectively of Jahangir and Shahjahan. After
his accession to the throne Aurangzeb granted him a higher rank and
conferred on him the prestigious title of Amir-ul-Umara (chief of the
nobles) in recognition of his services during the War of Succession.
Shaista Khan was appointed Subahdar of Bengal after the death of Mir
Jumla in 1663.
Shaista Khan was 63 when he first came to Bengal. He ruled Bengal
with vigour and in administration he was assisted by his six sons,
each of whom held the charge of Faujdar in one or more than one
Sarkar. In that way one family ruled all divisions of Bengal.
Contemporary historians have praised Shaista Khan for his
administrative reforms, for putting down corruption among officials
and giving relief to the people by abolishing illegal taxes. The
administration had fallen into chaos after the death of Mir Jumla.
Shaista Khan, therefore, exerted his energies in establishing
discipline in the administration; by his connections with the
emperor and his personality and strength of character the dishonest
officers and the troublemaker zamindars were expelled.
Shaista Khan's great fame in Bengal chiefly rests on his conquest of
Chittagong. The famous seaport of Chittagong was first occupied by
Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah in the middle of the 14th century.
Since then Chittagong was under the Muslim control with
occasional breaks when the areas were attacked by the Arakanese.

In the reign of Jahangir, subahdar Islam Khan Chisti recovered the

country up to the Feni river, which became the dividing line
between Bengal and Arakan. Some of Jahangir's Subahdars tried to
capture Chittagong but failed. The Arakanese were noted for their
skill in navigation and naval warfare, so the kings of Arakan never
left the Mughal Subahdars in peace. They sent naval expeditions to
Bengal at intervals and plundered whichever part of the countryside
fell on their route; at times they even attacked and devastated the
capital city of Dhaka.
From the beginning of the 17th century the Portuguese also
started piratical activities after they had lost their trade
supremacy in competition with the Dutch and the English.

The Portuguese pirates found asylum in Arakan, where the king

employed them along with the Magh pirates to plunder the
enemy territory of Bengal. These raids continued for a long time
and coastal districts became desolate. The pirates carried off
Hindus and Muslims, men, women and children along with
their property. The pirates sold their captives to foreign
merchants, the Dutch, the English and the French and at the ports
of the Deccan.
Shaista Khan took steps to win over the Firingis to his side, for that he
realised that the strength of the Arakanese navy were the
Portuguese sailors who were offering their superior ships and
firearms to the Maghs. He sent lucrative offers to the Firingis of
Chittagong through their countrymen living in Hughli, Loricol and
other places. He offered them service, rewards, and what is more
important, a settled and secure life. After all preparations were over,
Shaista Khan sent his long-planned Chittagong expedition in the last
week of December 1665 AD.

The conquest of Chittagong caused tremendous joy throughout

the country, mainly because the people became safe from the
plunder, oppression and tyranny of the Magh-Portuguese
pirates.
Another important result of the conquest was the release of
thousands of kidnapped and enslaved Bengali peasants who
now returned to their homes and joined their families. Peace
was restored in the area and, consequently, agriculture, trade
and commerce flourished.

Shaista Khan was a great builder. He built a number of mosques,

tombs and secular buildings in the capital city of Dhaka and outside.
Important among his constructions are: The Chhota Katra, built in
about 1664, meant for visiting merchants, wayfarers and visitors.
There is a small single-domed mosque within its enclosure, which
displays considerable architectural taste.
Shaista Khan made additions to Lalbag fort, the construction of which
was started by Prince Muhammad Azam but could not be completed
by him. The tomb of Bibi Pari, was built by Shaista Khan within the
walled enclosure of the fort.
Lalbagh Fort
Shiasta Khan
Murshid Quli Khan and Independent Nawabi Period
Murshid Quli Khan founder of the nawabi regime in Bengal.
Murshid Quli Khan began his career in Bengal as the provincial
Diwan and ended as the Nazim or governor of Bengal and Orissa,
Diwan of Bihar and Faujdar of several districts, occupying all posts
at the same time in the early 18th century.
Murshid Quli Khan entered the Mughal service as Diwan of
Haidarabad and Faujdar of Golkonda in 1698. When Aurangzeb
was looking for an honest and efficient Diwan for Bengal, his choice
fell on Murshid Quli. He was transferred in 1701 to Bengal as
Diwan. After the death of Aurangzeb he was transferred to South
India, but he was appointed diwan of Bengal again in 1710. From
this time onward he remained in Bengal till his death in 1727. He
made the Bengal economy dynamic. In 1716, Murshid Quli Khan
became the Subahdar of Bengal.
During Murshid Quli Khan's time Bengal's internal and
international trade grew enormously. Arab, Persian and Armenian
merchants were very active in Bengal. From the 17th century
European companies were prepared with ready money to buy any
amount of Bengal goods, particularly cotton and silk and their by-
products.
In 1722 he made a fresh revenue settlement that improved
upon the settlements made earlier by Todar Mal and Shah
Shuja. Through revenue officers he ascertained the production
capability of land and thus increased the imperial revenues. He
created some new and big zamindaries. In his times, generally
the Hindus were preferred as zamindars, because he thought
that it was easy to collect revenue from them.
Murshid Quli Khan, though he paid tributes to the centre regularly,
became practically an independent nawab. So at the time of his death
he nominated his grandson Sarfaraz Khan to succeed him. And
accordingly he became the nawab of Bengal in 1727.

Murshid Quli Sarfaraz Khan Alivardi Khan