Sayyid dynasty

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Sayyid
1414–1451
Territories of the Sayyid dynasty, and main contemporary South Asian polities.[1][2]
CapitalDelhi
Common languagesPersian (official)[3]
Religion
Sunni Islam[4]
GovernmentMonarchy
Sultan 
• 1414–1421
Khizr Khan (first)
• 1421–1434
Mubarak Shah (second)
• 1434–1443
Muhammad Shah (third)
• 1443–1451
Ala-ud-Din Shah (fourth and last)
History 
• Established
28 May 1414
• Disestablished
20 April 1451
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Tughlaq dynasty
Lodi dynasty
Langah Sultanate
Today part of

The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451 for 37 years.[5][6][7] The first ruler of the dynasty, Khizr Khan, initially a vassal of Timurid Empire at Multan, conquered Delhi in 1414. His successor Mubarak Shah proclaimed himself sultan in 1421.[4][8] The dynasty succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled the sultanate until they were displaced by the Lodi dynasty in 1451.

Background

A folio from a Shahnamah ("Book of Kings"). Indian Sultanate, c. 1430–40.[9][10]

Khizr Khan was the founder of the dynasty. His father, Malik Sulaiman, was an adopted son of Malik Mardan Daulat, who succeeded Ayn al-Mulk Mahru as the governor of Multan under Tughlaq dynasty.[11] The epithet 'sayyid' affixed to the name of dynasty came from their claimed descent from Muhammad.[12] According to the Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi of a contemporary writer Yahya Sirhindi, the Syed identity of Malik Sulaiman was established by the Sufi saint Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari during one of his visits to Mardan Daulat, whose patronage the saint enjoyed.[11][13] Modern historians doubt the claimed Syed ancestry of the dynasty, although several scholars suggest Khizr Khan to have descended from an Arab family long settled at Multan.[13][14][15][16][17] Some scholars suggest Khizr Khan to be a Punjabi chieftain from the Khokhar clan, who rose to power through his contacts in the Timurid Empire.[18][19]

History

Khizr Khan

Billon Tanka of Khizr Khan in the name of Firoz Shah Tughlaq.

Khizr Khan was initially a noble in the Delhi Sultanate during the Tughlaq dynasty, and was the governor of Multan under Sultan Firuz Shah. This period was characterised by civil war among the nobles of the sultanate. Khizr Khan was expelled from the city by Sarang Khan, the governor of Dipalpur, who had also recovered Lahore from Shaikha Khokhar.[20] Sarang Khan was a brother of Mallu Iqbal Khan, a former slave and the de-facto ruler at Delhi.[21][22] Sarang Khan was aided by the servants of Malik Mardan Bhatti in his capture of Multan.[20]

Following the sack of Delhi by Timur in 1398,[23] he appointed Khizr Khan as deputy of Multan in Punjab,[24] with charges of Lahore, Dipalpur, Multan and upper Sindh.[25][26] Collecting his forces, Khizr Khan defeated and killed Mallu Iqbal Khan in 1405.[27] He then captured Delhi on 28 May 1414, thereby establishing the Sayyid dynasty.[24] Khizr Khan did not take up the title of sultan, but continued the fiction of his allegiance to Timurids as Rayat-i-Ala (vassal), initially that of Timur, and later his son Shah Rukh.[28] As a mark of recognition of the suzerainty of the Timurids, the name of the Timurid ruler (Shah Rukh) was recited in the khutba. Still, as an interesting innovation, the name of Khizr Khan was also attached to it. But strangely enough, the name of the Timurid ruler was not inscribed on the coins, and the name of the old Tughlaq sultan continued on the currency. No coins are known in the name of Khizr Khan.[29]

Mubarak Shah

Double falls of Mubarak Shah

Khizr Khan was succeeded by his son Mubarak Shah after his death on 20 May 1421. Mubarak Shah discontinued his father's nominal allegiance to Timur. He freely used the royal title of shah along with his own name, and professed allegiance to the Khalifah alone.[30] Mubarak Shah referred to himself as Muizz-ud-Din Mubarak Shah on his coins, replacing the Timurid name with the name of the caliph, and declared himself a shah.[4][31] A detailed account of his reign is available in the Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi written by Yahya Sirhindi. He defeated the advancing Hoshang Shah Ghori, the ruler of the Malwa Sultanate, and forced him to pay heavy tribute early in his reign.[32] Mubarak Shah also put down the rebellion of Jasrat.[32]

Muhammad Shah

Tomb of Mubarak Shah.

After the death of Mubarak Shah, his nephew, Muhammad Shah ascended the throne and styled himself as Sultan Muhammad Shah. He ruled from 1434 to 1443. Muhammad Shah had acceded to the throne with the help of vizier Sarwar ul-Mulk. Shah later freed himself from the domination of Sarwar ul-Mulk with the help of his faithful vizier Kamal ul-Mulk. His reign was marked by many rebellions and conspiracies, and he died in the year 1445. Multan became independent under the Langahs during his rule.[33]

Alam Shah

The tomb of Muhammad Shah at Lodi Gardens, New Delhi.

Just before his death, Muhammad Shah recalled his son Ala-ud-Din Shah from Badaun, and nominated him as successor. Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah ruled from 1445 to 1451. He proved to be an ineffective ruler, delegating his duties to his minister Hamid Khan. He appointed Bahlol Lodi as the governor of Sirhind, who Gradually gathered enough power to attack Delhi.[34] Ala-ud-Din voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in favour of Bahlul Khan Lodi on 19 April 1451, and left for Badaun, where he died in 1478.[35]

See also

References

  1. Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 148. ISBN 0226742210.
  2. Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 39. ISBN 0226742210.
  3. "Arabic and Persian Epigraphical Studies – Archaeological Survey of India". Asi.nic.in. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  4. Mahajan 2007
  5. Bhadreswar, Sookoohy M. Oldest Islamic Monuments in India. Brill. ISBN 978-9004083417.
  6. "The Islamic Frontier in the East: Expansion into South Asia". Journal of South Asian Studies. 4 (1): 91–109.
  7. Pirbha, M. Reza. Reconsidering Islam in a South Asian Context. Brill. ISBN 978-9004177581.
  8. Iqtidar Alam Khan (2008). Historical Dictionary of Medieval India. Scarecrow Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780810855038.
  9. "Abu'l Qasim Firdausi - "Bazur, the Magician, Raises up Darkness and a Storm", Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) - The Metropolitan Museum of Art". www.metmuseum.org.
  10. Welch, Stuart Cary (1985). India: art and culture, 1300-1900. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. pp. 130–131. ISBN 978-0030061141.
  11. Singh, Surinder (2019). The Making of Medieval Panjab: Politics, Society and Culture c. 1000–c. 1500. Routledge. pp. 357, 368. ISBN 978-1-000-76068-2. In spite of this flaw, the Shaikh employed his spiritual power to protect Daulat from the wrath of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughluq. He also interceded with the spirit of Daulat's mentor who had been offended for some reason. He went on to establish the Syed identity of Daulat's adopted son Sulaiman, who was the father of Khizr Khan, the founder of the Syed dynasty.
  12. "Sayyid dynasty | Mughal Empire, Delhi Sultanate, Muslim Rule | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 8 October 2025. This family claimed to be sayyids, or descendants of the Prophet Muhammad
  13. The Cambridge History of India: Turks and Afghans, edited by W. Haig. S. Chand. 1958. The claim of Khizr Khān, who founded the dynasty known as the Sayyids, to descent from the prophet of Arabia was dubious, and rested chiefly on its causal recognition by the famous saint Sayyid Jalāl-ud-dīn of Bukhārā.
  14. Srivastava, Ashirbadi Lal (1953). The Sultanate of Delhi: Including the Arab Invasion of Sindh, 711-1526 A. D. S. L. Agarwala. p. 229. ISBN 978-8193009352. their claim of Descendants of Prophet Mohammad is dubious but it seems certain that Khizr Khan's ancestors came from Arabia {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  15. Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (1951). The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Delhi sultanate. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. However, he bases his conclusions on insubstantial evidence, namely, the testimony of the saint Jalal-uddin Bukhari and the noble character of Khizr Khan, which was seen as distinguishing him as a descendant of the Prophet. It is likely that the family originally came from Arabia.
  16. Eraly, Abraham (1 April 2015). The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin UK. p. 261. ISBN 978-93-5118-658-8. The first of these two dynasties was founded by Khizr Khan, who bore the appellation 'Sayyid', which identified him as a descendant of prophet Muhammad, so the dynasty he founded came to be known as the Sayyid dynasty. The veracity of Khizr Khan's claimed lineage is uncertain, but his forebears were likely Arabs who had migrated to India in the early Tughluq period and settled in Multan. The family prospered in India, gaining wealth and power. This advancement culminated in Malik Suleiman, Khizr Khan's father, becoming the governor of Multan under the Tughluqs. When Suleiman died, Khizr Khan succeeded him to the post, but lost it during the political turmoil following the death of Firuz Tughluq.
  17. Porter, Yves; Degeorge, Gérard (2009). The Glory of the Sultans: Islamic Architecture in India. Flammarion. ISBN 978-2-08-030110-9. Though Timur had since withdrawn his forces, the Sayyid Khizr Khān, the scion of a venerable Arab family who had settled in Multān, continued to pay him tribute.
  18. Eaton, Richard M. (2019). India in the Persianate Age: 1000–1765. University of California Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0520325128. The career of Khizr Khan, a Punjabi chieftain belonging to the Khokar clan, illustrates the transition to an increasingly polycentric north India.
  19. Digby, Simon (2014). "After Timur Left: North India in the Fifteenth Century". In Orsini, Francesca; Sheikh, Samira (eds.). After Timur Left: Culture and Circulation in Fifteenth-century North India. Oxford University Press. pp. 47–59. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199450664.003.0002. ISBN 978-0-19-945066-4. —and we find that a Khokar chieftain, Khizr Khan, who was sent to Timur as an ambassador and negotiator for tribute from the most adjacent area, the Punjab, ultimately became the power-holder in Delhi, thanks to the contacts he had aquired [sic].
  20. Surender Singh (2019). The Making of Medieval Panjab Politics, Society and Culture C. 1000–c. 1500. Routledge. pp. 370–371. ISBN 978-1-000-76068-2.
  21. John F. Richards; David Gilmartin; Munis D. Faruqui; Richard M. Eaton; Sunil Kuma. Expanding Frontiers in South Asian and World History: Essays in Honour of John F. Richards. p. 247. Mallu Khan (also known as Iqbal Khan, a former slave...
  22. Mahajan 2007, p. 221
  23. Jackson 2003, p. 103.
  24. Kumar 2020, p. 583.
  25. Kenneth Pletcher (2010). The History of India. p. 138. ISBN 9781615301225.
  26. Mahajan 2007, p. 229
  27. Jaswant Lal Mehta (1979). Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India: Volume 2. p. 247.
  28. Mahajan 2007, p. 237
  29. Nizami, K.A. (2006) [1970]. A Comprehensive History of India. Vol. V, Part-1. People Publishing House. p. 631. ISBN 81-7007-158-5.
  30. Mahajan 2007, p. 239
  31. Iqtidar Alam Khan (2008). Historical Dictionary of Medieval India. Scarecrow Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780810855038.
  32. Lal, Kishori Saran (1980). Twilight of the Sultanate: A Political, Social and Cultural History of the Sultanate of Delhi from the Invasion of Timur to the Conquest of Babur 1398-1526. Munshiram Manoharlal. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-81-215-0227-6. Hoshang tried his luck against Sultan of Delhi but he was beaten back by Mubarak Shah Saiyyad to whom he had to pay a handsome tribute
  33. Masudul Hasan, Abdul Waheed (1974). Outline History of the Islamic World. Ferozsons. p. 59.
  34. Prepp. "Alauddin Alam Shah (1445 - 1451 AD) - Important Ruler of Sayyid Dynasty - Medieval India History Notes". prepp.in. Collegedunia. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  35. Mahajan 2007, p. 244

Sources

  • Kumar, Sunil (2020). "The Delhi Sultanate as Empire". In Bang, Peter Fibiger; Bayly, C. A.; Scheidel, Walter (eds.). The Oxford World History of Empire. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press.
  • Jackson, Peter (2003). The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press.
  • Mahajan, V. D. (2007). History of Medieval India. S. Chand. ISBN 9788121903646.