Muhammad Shah, Third Ruler of Sayyid Dynasty

             Tomb of Muhammad Shah Sayyid

After the murder of Mubarak Shah, the second ruler of Sayyid Dynasty, by the Delhi nobles in 1434, Muhammad, a grandson of Khizr Khan, the first ruler of Sayyid Dynasty, was made Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate. Muhammad Shah, a nephew of Mubarak, was latter’s heir-designate. His inefficiency contributed fast to the weakening of the Sayyid Dynasty. Sarvar-ul-mulk, wazir of the kingdom, enjoyed supreme power. Even after the wazir’s death, he failed in his duty as a ruler.

In the meantime, Mahmud Shah Khalji of Malwa showed his gumption to raid Delhi. However, Buhlul Khan Lodi, the governor of Lahore and Sirhind, frustrated the designs of the Malwa ruler. All these led to the decline of the Sayyid Dynasty and it was only a matter of time that dynasty, founded by Khizr Khan, was doomed to annihilation.

 

Muhammad Shah died in 1445. He lies buried in a tomb, located in the Lodhi Gardens in Delhi.

Alauddin Alam Shah, Last Ruler of Sayyid Dynasty

After the death of Muhammad Shah in A.D. 1445, his son, Alauddin Alam Shah, succeeded him to the throne of the Sayyid Dynasty, the fourth in the line of five dynasties that comprised Delhi Sultanate.

This pleasure loving ruler was more inefficient than his father. Such was his fondness for gratification and aversion to work that he abdicated the throne in favour of Buhlul Khan Lodi, the governor of Lahore and Sirhind, in 1451 and retired to Badaun (now in Uttar Pradesh), where he died in 1478. 

Alam Shah’s only claim to fame lies in the field of architecture. He constructed his father’s tomb which is located in the Lodhi Gardens in central Delhi.

He lies buried in a tomb in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh where his mother was also buried.

Mubarak Shah: The Second Ruler of the Sayyid Dynasty

                                        Mubarak Shah's tomb / Image Credit

After the death of his father Khizr Khan, the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, Mubarak Shah ascended the throne of Delhi Sultanate. Mubarak Shah, who was nominated as the successor by his father, became the sovereign ruler of Delhi on the very day of the latter's death (20th May, 1421). Unlike his father, he assumed royal title.

It was during Mubarak Shah’s reign that Yahiya bin Ahmad Sarhindi composed his Ta'rikh-i-Mubarak Shahi, dedicated to the Sayyid ruler. Like that of his father, his reign is also not marked by any important event. He suppressed the rebellions at Bhatinda and in the Doab. Khokars under Jasrat tired to pose challenge to the authority of Delhi Sultanate. Mubarak’s reign saw the ascendancy of the Hindu nobles in the court.

Mubarak Shah fell prey to a conspiracy hatched by the Delhi nobles, both Muslims and Hindus, under the leadership of the disgruntled and unscrupulous wazir Sarvar-ul-mulk, He was murdered on the 19th February, 1434, when he was on his way to monitor the construction of Mubarakabad, a newly planned city by the Sayyid ruler on the banks of the Jamuna river. 

Mubarak Shah lies buried in a tomb in Delhi at Kotla Mubarakpur, named after him. He was succeeded on the throne by Muhammad Shah.

Khizr Khan (1414-1421), Founder of Sayyid Dynasty of Delhi Sultanate

Khizr Khan was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, the fourth and penultimate dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. After the death of Sultan Mahmud, the last ruler of the Tughluq dynasty, in 1413, the nobles of Delhi entrusted Daulat Khan Lodi with the task of ruling Delhi. However, in March 1414, Khizr Khan, who was appointed Governor of Multan, Lahore and Dipalpur by the Mangol leader Timur Lang or Tamerlane who won these places after invading India and sacking Delhi in 1398-99, defeated Daulat Khan who was sent to Hissar Firuza as a prisoner.

According to some historians, Khizr Khan traced his descent to the Prophet. However, this view has been contested by other authorities. It seems probable that his ancestors might have belonged to Arabia.

Instead of assuming sovereign title, Khizr Khan choose to rule as viceroy of Timur's fourth son and successor, Shah Rukh. His reign of seven years was devoid of any important event. Delhi Sultanate was reduced to the extent of a small principality and Khizr Khan held sway over only a few districts adjoining the capital and his authority was challenged even in these places by the Hindu zamindars.

Khizr Khan died in 1421. He was succeeded to the throne by his son Mubarak Shah. 

Khizr Khan has been described by the medieval historian Ferishta as "a just, generous and a benevolent prince". However he was not a strong ruler.

The Sayyids put on a pointed cap ( Kulah ) and they were known as Kulah – Daran.

Skanda Gupta (c 454-467): the Last Great Gupta Ruler

Skandagupta, who ruled between 455 and 467 CE, was the last powerful ruler of the Gupta Empire that ruled Northern and Central India from the 4th to the late 6th century CE. He ascended the throne after the death of his father Kumar Gupta I. Though not the regular claimant to the throne as he was not born of the chief queen, he was chosen due to his superior ability. And he proved equal to the task.

Soon after his accession to the Gupta throne, Skanda Gupta had to deal with the Hunas, the barbaric tribes from Central Asia who after terrorizing parts of the Roman Empire made incursions into Indian plains.

Skanda Gupta succeeded in keeping the Hunas at bay by defeating them. To mark the occasion he justifiably assumed the title of Vikramaditya. His victory over the Hunas has been referred to in the Kathasaritsagara, written by Somadeva in the 11th century AD. Skanda Gupta died in AD 467 and with that the glory of the Guptas began to dwindle.

The Bhitari pillar inscription in the Ghazipur distract of Uttar Pradesh gives a detailed account of his reign.

An inscription in the Girnar hills near Junagarh in Gujarat commemorates the rebuilding of the embankment of the three century old Sudarsana Lake which broke due to heavy rains. The dam was reconstructed by local city governor Chakrapalita, son of Parnadatta, provincial governor of Saurashtra, in the first year of Skandagupta's rule.

Chandra Gupta I: the real founder of the Gupta Empire

Though third in the line of the Gupta rulers, Chandra Gupta I is considered to be the real founder of the Gupta dynasty. Ascending the throne in 320 AD, he was the first Gupta ruler who assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja, "supreme King of great Kings". His marriage with a Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi went a long way in increasing his power and position. It seems that Lichchhavis of Vaishali was once again a powerful force by now since its defeat by Ajatashatru some eight centuries before. This marriage found prominence in the genealogies of the later Gupta rulers and was commemorated by minting of special coins by them.

After a rule of some fifteen years, Chandra Gupta I died. At that time Gupta empire held sway over large territories including Magadha, Allahabad, Oudh and South Bihar. Chandra Gupta I held an assembly to nominate his son Prince Samudra Gupta, against other claimants, to succeed the Gupta throne. The assembly was participated in by councilors and members of the royal family. After the nomination, Chandra Gupta I abdicated the throne.   

Chandra Gupta I is believed to have founded a new era named Gupta era (320 AD). It was in use by the Maitraka dynasty of Gujarat for some centuries after the Gupta empire fell.  

Kuka Revolt of Punjab

Initially started as a religious movement with a view to reforming the Sikh religion by purging it of the degenerate features, Kuka movement, founded in 1840 in the Western Punjab, turned into a political struggle against the British. The founder of Kuka movement was Bhagat Jawahar Mal.  

Popularly known as Sian Saheb, Bhagat Jawahar Mal and his disciple, Balak Singh, gathered around them a band of followers and made Hazro in NWFP their headquarters. The Kuka movement sought to abolish the caste system in the Sikhism and create a society based on equality. It advocated woman’s freedom and abstinence from alcohol and drugs and discouraged non-vegetarianism.

Alarmed at the growing popularity of the movement, the British took several measures to crush the Kuka revolt between 1863-1872. Ram Singh, one of the famous leaders of the Kuka movement, gave a call to his followers for boycott of British goods, government schools and government posts. Known to his followers as Satguru, he was deported by the British to Burma where he died in 1885.

The Kuka Revolt also came to be known as Namdhari Movement. 

In 2012 Government of India released a commemorative Rs 100 coin on completion of 150 years of Kuka Movement.