Sayyid dynasty
Encyclopedia
The Sayyid dynasty ruled Delhi sultanate
in India
from 1414 to 1451. They succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty
and ruled that sultanate until they were displaced by the Lodi dynasty.
This family claimed to be Sayyid
s, or descendants of Prophet Muhammad
. The central authority of the Delhi Sultanate had been fatally weakened by the successive invasion of Timur
(Timurlane) and his sack of Delhi in 1398. After a period of chaos, when no central authority prevailed, the Sayyids gained power at Delhi. Their 37-year period of dominance witnessed the rule of four different members of the dynasty.
The dynasty was established by Khizr Khan, deputised by Timur to be the governor of Multan
(Punjab
). Khizr Khan took Delhi from Daulat Khan Lodi on May 28, 1414 and founded the Sayyid dynasty. But he did not take up the title of king and nominally, continued to be a Rayat-i-Ala (vassal) of the Timurids, initially of Timur and after his death, his successor Shah Rukh, grandson of Timur. Khizer Khan was succeeded by his son Mubarrak Khan after his death on May 20, 1421, who styled himself as Muizz-ud-Din Mubarak Shah in his coins. A detailed account of his reign is available in the Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi written by Yahya-bin-Ahmad Sirhindi. After the death of Mubarak Khan
, his nephew Muhammad Khan ascended the throne and styled himself as Sultan Muhammad Shah. Just before his death, he called his son Ala-ud-Din from Badaun and nominated him as his successor.
The last ruler of this dynasty, Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Delhi sulatanate in favour of Bahlul Khan Lodi on April 19, 1451 and left for Badaun. He continued to live there till his death in 1478.
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
from 1414 to 1451. They succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty
Tughlaq dynasty
The Tughlaq dynasty of north India started in 1321 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the throne under the title of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. The Tughluqs were a Muslim family of Turkic origin...
and ruled that sultanate until they were displaced by the Lodi dynasty.
This family claimed to be Sayyid
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
s, or descendants of Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. The central authority of the Delhi Sultanate had been fatally weakened by the successive invasion of Timur
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
(Timurlane) and his sack of Delhi in 1398. After a period of chaos, when no central authority prevailed, the Sayyids gained power at Delhi. Their 37-year period of dominance witnessed the rule of four different members of the dynasty.
The dynasty was established by Khizr Khan, deputised by Timur to be the governor of Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
(Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
). Khizr Khan took Delhi from Daulat Khan Lodi on May 28, 1414 and founded the Sayyid dynasty. But he did not take up the title of king and nominally, continued to be a Rayat-i-Ala (vassal) of the Timurids, initially of Timur and after his death, his successor Shah Rukh, grandson of Timur. Khizer Khan was succeeded by his son Mubarrak Khan after his death on May 20, 1421, who styled himself as Muizz-ud-Din Mubarak Shah in his coins. A detailed account of his reign is available in the Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi written by Yahya-bin-Ahmad Sirhindi. After the death of Mubarak Khan
Mubarak Khan
Mubarak Khan also Mubarak Khilji named himself regent of Khilji Dynasty after escaping an assassination attempt on him by Malik Kafur, once his father's trusted general...
, his nephew Muhammad Khan ascended the throne and styled himself as Sultan Muhammad Shah. Just before his death, he called his son Ala-ud-Din from Badaun and nominated him as his successor.
The last ruler of this dynasty, Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Delhi sulatanate in favour of Bahlul Khan Lodi on April 19, 1451 and left for Badaun. He continued to live there till his death in 1478.
The rulers
- Khizr Khan 1414 - 1421
- Mubarak Shah 1421 - 1434
- Muhammad Shah 1434 - 1445
- Alam Shah 1445 - 1451