Sayyid dynasty
gigatos | May 28, 2022
Summary
The Sayyids were the fourth dynasty of sultans of the Delhi Sultanate, ruling from 1414-1451. The dynasty was founded by Khizr Khan, the former governor of Multan. The Sayyids succeeded the Tuglakid dynasty and ruled the Delhi Sultanate until they were supplanted by the Lodi dynasty. Members of the dynasty gained their title Sayyid by being descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, based on the fact that they belonged to his direct descendants through his daughter Fatima and Ali, Muhammad”s son-in-law and cousin.
Hizr-khan served as governor of Multan during the reign of the Delhi sultan Mahmud Shah II. In 1395 he rebelled against his suzerain, was defeated and taken prisoner. He was soon able to escape to the court of the Central Asian conqueror, Tamerlane, to whom he rendered great service during a campaign against the Delhi sultanate in 1398-1399. After the capture and looting of Delhi, Tamerlane again appointed Khizr Khan as the ruler of Multan in Punjab, but already as his viceroy. In 1405 Khizr Khan undertook his first campaign to Delhi but was repulsed. In 1414 he carried out a second campaign to Delhi, where the Afghan emir Daulat Khan Lodi had ruled since 1413. On May 28, 1414, Sayyid Khizr Khan entered Delhi and established a new ruling Sayyid dynasty. Hizr Khan did not assume the title of sultan and nominally continued to be a vassal of the Timurids, first Tamerlane and then his son Shahrukh. The Sultanate of Delhi remained a small state during the Sayyid dynasty, and their power extended to the Punjab, Delhi and Doab regions.
In 1421, after Hizr Khan”s death, his son Mubarak Shah (1421-1434) inherited the sultan”s throne. During his reign, Mubarak Shah, who also did not assume the title of sultan, remained a vassal of the Timurid dynasty and minted the name of the ruler Shakhrukh on his coins. Only at the end of his life did he assume the title of sultan. Mubarak Shah undertook many military campaigns against his neighbors, but was able to obtain the subjugation of only some of them.
In February 1434 Mubarak Shah was assassinated by conspirators led by Vizier Sarval-ul-Mulk. Muhammad Shah (1434-1445), son of Farid and grandson of Khizr Khan, was elevated to the sultan”s throne. During his reign, the sultanate was invaded by the Sultan of Malwa Mahmud Shah. Muhammad Shah was able to repel this attack with the help of a major Afghan emir, Bahlul-khan Lodi, who ruled in Lahore and Sirhind, after which the sultan fell under the strong influence of the Lodi family.
In January 1445, after Muhammad Shah”s death, his son Alam Shah Ala ad-din (1445-1451) ascended the sultan”s throne and became the last ruler of the Delhi Sultanate from the Sayyid dynasty. He did not actually wield any real power. In April 1451 Bahlul Khan Lodi seized Delhi. Alam Shah was forced to relinquish power in his favor. Alam Shah withdrew from Delhi to Badayun, where he died in 1478.
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