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Conquest of Sylhet
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Conquest of Sylhet
The conquest of Sylhet predominantly refers to a Muslim conquest of the Gour Kingdom in Srihatta (present-day Sylhet, Bangladesh) led by Sikandar Khan Ghazi, the military general of Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah of the Lakhnauti Sultanate, against the Hindu king Gour Govinda. The conquest was aided by a Muslim saint known as Shah Jalal, who later ordered his disciples to scatter throughout eastern Bengal and propagate Islam. The conquest may also include other minor incidents taking place after Govinda's defeat, such as the capture of nearby Taraf.
Before the conquest, the Greater Sylhet region historically consisted of many Hindu petty kingdoms such as Srihatta (Gour), Laur and Jaintia. Gour Govinda was a conservative Hindu ruler of the Gour Kingdom, who was intolerant and harsh towards other faiths such as Islam, Buddhism and even certain denominations of Hinduism. It was known by his people that Govinda practiced magic which he had learnt in the mountains of Kamaru and was religiously and militarily educated for twelve years in the Kamakhya Temple, and Kulsia Ashram (on the banks of the Kulsi River in modern-day Sualkuchi or Kulsi Reserve Forest) respectively. During his reign, he built forts all over his kingdom and established many military training camps. He is famously known to have built a seven-storey brick tower.
The Gour Kingdom bordered the independent Bengali principality of Lakhnauti ruled by the Muslim Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah of the Balban dynasty. There was a small minority of Muslim families living in the region, following the short-lived Azmardan invasion in 1254 led by the Delhite governor of Bengal, Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Iuzbak.
The conquest was incited when Burhanuddin, a Muslim living in the village of Tultikar, sacrificed a cow for his newborn son's aqiqah or celebration of birth. The beef was supposedly picked up by a crow, which then flew to Govinda's Hindu temple and dropped it there. Govinda, in a fury for what he saw as sacrilege due to his Hindu beliefs, had the newborn killed as well as having Burhanuddin's right hand cut off. Shortly after this incident, Qadi Nuruddin of Taraf celebrated his son's marriage ceremony by slaughtering a cow for them to eat. The Qadi was executed by the feudal ruler Achack Narayan. After both men being punished, Burhanuddin and Nooruddin's brother, Helimuddin, travelled to lower Bengal where they addressed their issued with Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah.
As Govinda's minister, Mona Rai, was based near the port, Rai decided to stop river transport and ferries making it difficult for the opponents as the only other option was through the hills. When word of this reached Sultan Firoz Shah, the commanded his nephew Sikandar Khan Ghazi to lead an army against the Raja. Ghazi marched with his soldiers towards the low-lying hills of Sylhet via Mymensingh.
Govinda appointed Chakrapani as his commander-in-chief. The army was confronted by Govinda's skilful archery. Govinda's army was noted as Bengal's first army which practised the skillful art of archery. The Muslim army, inexperienced in the foreign terrain which consisted of many low-lying hills and valleys, were brought to utter shame by Govinda's archers and had no option but to retreat back to avoid casualties.
The Sultan was not happy at all with the result of the first battle and decided that the army should train and prepare before readying themselves for another battle. In the second expedition, Ghazi took the same recognised route through Mymensingh. As the army marched through the hills, a storm took place. Due to heavy rainfall and flooding, nearly half of the army died by the time Ghazi reached Srihatta. They were defeated once again and Ghazi retreated back to Bengal for a second time, humiliated by what had occurred.
Firoz Shah then turned to his sipah salar (commander-in-chief) Syed Nasiruddin as he realised that this undertaking was much bigger than he anticipated and he would need a larger and more skilled army. The two armies decided to attack together but it ended in failure due to Govinda's superior military strategy. Govinda's family rejoiced over the three consecutive victories and his aunt Apurna, the queen-mother and wife of the previous Raja Govardhan, celebrated by building a large 20-acre water tank in Ambarkhana known as Rajar Mar Dighi.
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Conquest of Sylhet
The conquest of Sylhet predominantly refers to a Muslim conquest of the Gour Kingdom in Srihatta (present-day Sylhet, Bangladesh) led by Sikandar Khan Ghazi, the military general of Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah of the Lakhnauti Sultanate, against the Hindu king Gour Govinda. The conquest was aided by a Muslim saint known as Shah Jalal, who later ordered his disciples to scatter throughout eastern Bengal and propagate Islam. The conquest may also include other minor incidents taking place after Govinda's defeat, such as the capture of nearby Taraf.
Before the conquest, the Greater Sylhet region historically consisted of many Hindu petty kingdoms such as Srihatta (Gour), Laur and Jaintia. Gour Govinda was a conservative Hindu ruler of the Gour Kingdom, who was intolerant and harsh towards other faiths such as Islam, Buddhism and even certain denominations of Hinduism. It was known by his people that Govinda practiced magic which he had learnt in the mountains of Kamaru and was religiously and militarily educated for twelve years in the Kamakhya Temple, and Kulsia Ashram (on the banks of the Kulsi River in modern-day Sualkuchi or Kulsi Reserve Forest) respectively. During his reign, he built forts all over his kingdom and established many military training camps. He is famously known to have built a seven-storey brick tower.
The Gour Kingdom bordered the independent Bengali principality of Lakhnauti ruled by the Muslim Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah of the Balban dynasty. There was a small minority of Muslim families living in the region, following the short-lived Azmardan invasion in 1254 led by the Delhite governor of Bengal, Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Iuzbak.
The conquest was incited when Burhanuddin, a Muslim living in the village of Tultikar, sacrificed a cow for his newborn son's aqiqah or celebration of birth. The beef was supposedly picked up by a crow, which then flew to Govinda's Hindu temple and dropped it there. Govinda, in a fury for what he saw as sacrilege due to his Hindu beliefs, had the newborn killed as well as having Burhanuddin's right hand cut off. Shortly after this incident, Qadi Nuruddin of Taraf celebrated his son's marriage ceremony by slaughtering a cow for them to eat. The Qadi was executed by the feudal ruler Achack Narayan. After both men being punished, Burhanuddin and Nooruddin's brother, Helimuddin, travelled to lower Bengal where they addressed their issued with Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah.
As Govinda's minister, Mona Rai, was based near the port, Rai decided to stop river transport and ferries making it difficult for the opponents as the only other option was through the hills. When word of this reached Sultan Firoz Shah, the commanded his nephew Sikandar Khan Ghazi to lead an army against the Raja. Ghazi marched with his soldiers towards the low-lying hills of Sylhet via Mymensingh.
Govinda appointed Chakrapani as his commander-in-chief. The army was confronted by Govinda's skilful archery. Govinda's army was noted as Bengal's first army which practised the skillful art of archery. The Muslim army, inexperienced in the foreign terrain which consisted of many low-lying hills and valleys, were brought to utter shame by Govinda's archers and had no option but to retreat back to avoid casualties.
The Sultan was not happy at all with the result of the first battle and decided that the army should train and prepare before readying themselves for another battle. In the second expedition, Ghazi took the same recognised route through Mymensingh. As the army marched through the hills, a storm took place. Due to heavy rainfall and flooding, nearly half of the army died by the time Ghazi reached Srihatta. They were defeated once again and Ghazi retreated back to Bengal for a second time, humiliated by what had occurred.
Firoz Shah then turned to his sipah salar (commander-in-chief) Syed Nasiruddin as he realised that this undertaking was much bigger than he anticipated and he would need a larger and more skilled army. The two armies decided to attack together but it ended in failure due to Govinda's superior military strategy. Govinda's family rejoiced over the three consecutive victories and his aunt Apurna, the queen-mother and wife of the previous Raja Govardhan, celebrated by building a large 20-acre water tank in Ambarkhana known as Rajar Mar Dighi.