Fareed Khan

Fareed Khan

Sher Shah Suri (Farid al-Din Khan; 1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), often called the Just King (Sultan Adil), was the founder of the Sur Empire in India. He was the regent and later sole ruler of Bihar from 1529-1540 until he defeated the Mughal Empire in 1540, founding the Sur Empire, establishing his rule in Delhi, and crowning himself as Emperor. After his accidental death in 1545 CE, his son Islam Shah became his successor. The influence of his innovations and reforms extended far beyond his brief reign; his arch foe, Humayun, referred to him as "Ustad-I-Badshahan", teacher of kings. In his years of his reign, he remained undefeated in battle. His early childhood saw him flee from home due to internal family strife. He pursued an education in Jaunpur, where he began his rise to power after his father offered a manager position of his jagirs. Sher Shah governed the territories of his father, and began garnering a reputation due to his reforms which saw prosperity in the region. He gave up his position over the jagirs due to family intrigues. Sher Shah left to Agra, where he remained until his father's death, allowing him to return to the jagirs and assume control over it. Sher Shah spent time in Agra after the Mughals gained power, observing the leadership of the Mughals under Babur. After leaving Agra, he took service under the governor of Bihar. Following the governor of Bihar's death in 1528, he obtained a high position in Bihar, and in 1530, became the regent and de-facto ruler of the kingdom. He engaged in conflict with the nobility in the region, and against the Bengal Sultanate. In 1538, when Mughal Emperor Humayun was elsewhere on military campaigns, Sher Shah overran the Bengal Sultanate and established the Suri dynasty. He defeated the Mughals and drove them out of India, establishing himself in Delhi as the emperor of northern India. A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself as a gifted administrator as well as a capable general. His reorganization of the empire, alongside his strategies laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar. He died in May 1545 while besieging Kalinjar fort. Following his death, the empire was embroiled in civil war until it was later re-conquered by the Mughals. During his rule from as Emperor of the Sur Empire, he established a magnitude of economic, administrative, and military reforms, issuing the first Rupiya, and organizing the postal system of the Indian subcontinent. He extended the Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong in the frontiers of the province of Bengal in northeast India to Kabul in Afghanistan in the far northwest of the country. Sher Shah further developed Humayun's Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh, also reviving the historical city of Pataliputra, which had been in decline since the 7th century CE, as Patna. Sher Shah also embarked on numerous military campaigns which saw the Afghans rise into prominence again in India. Sher Shah Suri is renowned as one of the most skillful Afghan generals ever produced.

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