HISTORY EXPLANATION

SHER SHAH SURI

Presentation By,

Aditya S. Hetavya Rugved

Bhagwan Jainam Yagnesh
 SHER SHAH SURI
Early Life Administration Military Communication Trade & Commerce

Central Provincial Revenue System Land Tax

1. Who was Sher Shah Suri ?
1. Sher Khan Suri (also known as
Sher Shah Suri) decisively
(indisputably) defeated Humayun in
the Battle of Kanauj in 1540 CE
and drove (threw) him out of the
country.
2. He ascended (took) the Throne Of
Delhi under the title of Sher Shah
(1540-45 CE) and established
Afghan rule in India.
3. However, his successors were weak
and incompetent (lack of skills).
4. Taking advantage of the situation,
Humayan returned to India and Originally naming Farid Khan, he was
recaptured Delhi and Agra in 1555 given the title of Sher Khan after he
CE (Christian Era). single-handedly killed a tiger.
2. Early Life
1. Sher Shah was the son of Hasan Khan, a jagirdar (holder of a jagir) of Sasaram
in Bihar.
2. He joined the Mughal army when Babur invaded India and learnt the
techniques of Mughal warfare.
3. Taking advantage of the political instability following Babur’s death, Sher Shah
established his authority in Bihar and Bengal.
4. Sher Shah was determined to drive out the Mughals from India and re-establish
Afghan rule.
5. He defeated Humayun in the Battle of Chausa and the Battle of Kanauj and
occupied the throne of Delhi in 1540 CE.
6. Between 1540 CE and 1545 CE, Sher Shah conquered Malwa, Rajputana,
Multan, Sind, and Punjab.
2. Early Life
KA
7. During the siege Sh NA
er UJ
(blockade) of Kalinjar in Sh
ah
1545 CE, he died in an Su
ri
accidental explosion of
gunpowder, bringing to an empire
CHAUSA
end a brief but brilliant 5- I N D I A
year reign.

8. Within 10 years of Sher

Shah’s death, Humayun
returned to India and
recaptured Delhi and Agra.
3. Sher Shah’s Administration
1. Sher Shah was a brilliant organizer, both in military and civil affairs.
2. He based his administration on the principle of a welfare state and introduced
many reforms.

Administration

Central Provincial
a. Central Administration
1. Sher Shah was the supreme head of the central administration.
2. He divided the government into several departments.
3. Each department was under the charge of a minister.
4. It was assisted mostly by other officials.

5. Sher Shah Suri was always very active.

6. He went on regular tours of inspection.
7. He also set up an efficient spy system.
b. Central Administration
1. Sher Shah divided the empire into 47 provinces or sarkars.
2. Each province was further subdivided into districts or pargarnas.
3. Each pargana was made up of a number of villages.
4. Each Sarkar was placed under an Afghan chief.
5. In every pargana, there were several officials whose work was supervised
by the shiqdar-i-shiqdaran and the munsif-i-munsifan.
6. The shiqdar was responsible for law and order and general administration
and the munsif looked after the collection of revenue and civil cases.
7. To prevent his officials from becoming powerful or corrupt, Sher Shah
introduced the practice of transferring them periodically.
8. He looked into every detail of the administration.
b. Central Administration
9. The villages were looked after by the panchayats composed of village elders.
10. Sher Shah kept in touch with the villages through villages officials such as
patwaris and muqaddams.

Shiqdar-i- Munsif-i-
Empire Shiqdaran Munsifan
Sher Shah

Central Province (Sarkars)

Villages
Administration Afghan Chiefs
Panchayats (village elders) +
Districts (Parganas)
Patwaris + Muqaddams
4. Military Organization
1. Sher Shah established (set) a large standing army and introduced measures to
make it disciplined, efficient and strong.
2. He took personal interest in the appointment and training of soldiers.
3. The salaries (wages) of the soldiers and the officers were fixed according to
their skill and ability.
4. Alauddin Khilji’s system of branding horses (dagh) and maintaining a
descriptive role of the soldiers (chehra) were revived (brought).
5. The army was divided into many units and each unit was placed under a
commander.
6. Garisons (forces) were set up in different parts of the empire.
7. The cavalry and infantry (armed forces) were highly trained, disciplined and
were equipped (armed) with artillery (cannons).
5. Communication System
1. Sher Shah built an excellent network of roads to :
i. Facilitate the quick movement of officials and troops throughout the empire
ii. Promote trade and commerce
iii. Make travelling easier and comfortable

2. The Grant Trunk Road was the longest and the most important of the 4 major
roads that he built.
3. It connected Sonargaon (in present-day Bangladesh) in the east to Peshawar (in
present-day Pakistan) in the north-west.
4. Shady trees were planted on both sides of the road and rest houses {sarais} and
wells were built at regular intervals for travellers and merchants.
5. Communication System
5. The sarais were also used as dak chaukis
(post houses).
6. 2 horsemen were kept ready at each post
house to carry royal mail to different
parts of the country.

The ruins of a Dak

Chowki during the
time of Sher Shah
The Great Grant Trunk Road on
Indian Map
6. Trade And Commerce
1. The construction of roads and sarais greatly helped the growth of trade
and commerce.
2. To give trade a further boost, all duties, except 2, were abolished
(cancelled).
3. The first duty was levied when the goods were brought into the country
and the second was levied when the goods were sold.
4. Sher Shah instructed his officials to treat merchants well and look after
their interests.
5. The zamindars (to be equivalent to lords and barons) and the village
headmen were made responsible for the safety of the lives and property of
traders in their respective regions.
6. New weights and measures were introduced.
6. Trade and Commerce
7. Coins of gold, silver and copper of
uniform standard were introduced.
8. The silver coins issued by Sher Shah,
called the rupia, was so well made that it
remained a standard coin for centuries
after his death.
The coins of
gold and
silver during
the time of
Sher Shah
7. Revenue system
1. Sher Shah’s greatest achievement was his revenue system.
2. Several reforms were introduced to improve the existing system.
3. Sher Shah Suri had laid the foundation of administration on which Akbar
raised the superstructure.
4. Todarmal, who later carried out most reforms under Akbar had gained
considerable experience under former master Sher Shah Suri.
5. Shershah is known to have made a systematic survey and measurement of
the entire cultivable land of his empire using a unit called Sikandari Gaj.
6. Sikandari Gaj was introduced by Sikandar Lodi and it was equivalent to
39 inches.
7. He introduced the so called Patta and Kabuliyat {or Qabuliyat} (agreement
in writing) system of land deeds.
8. Land Assessment
1. The land was carefully surveyed and measured every year.
2. The average produce was calculated on the basis of its
fertility.
3. One third of this was to be paid as tax, in cash or kind.
4. The land was divided into 3 types on the basis of fertility:-
• Good
• Bad
• Middling
5. Sher Shah insisted on lenient assessment but strict collection
of taxes.
8. Land Assessment
6. Taxes were reduced and loans were granted if the crops were
damaged during war or if they failed due to natural calamities
such as drought or flood.
7. The jagir system (a type of feudal land grant in the Indian
subcontinent) was discouraged and he introduced the Patta
and Kabuliyat {or Qabuliyat} (agreement in writing) system of
land deeds.
8. Thus, the mutual rights and duties of the peasants and the
government were clearly improved, cultivation increased and
the royal treasury was assured of a steady and regular flow of
funds.