Ikhtiyar Uddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji
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Gangaridai Kingdom, Vanga Kingdom, Pundra Kingdom, Suhma Kingdom, Anga Kingdom, Harikela Kingdom |
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Pala Empire, Sena Empire |
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Sultanate of Bengal, Deva Kingdom Bakhtiyar Khilji, Raja Ganesha |
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Pratap Aditya, Raja Sitaram Ray Nawab of Bengal, Baro-Bhuyans |
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Zamindari system, Bengal famine of 1770 |
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Bengal Renaissance Brahmo Samaj Swami Vivekananda, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose |
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1947 Partition of Bengal, Bangladesh Liberation War Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Jyoti Basu |
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Ikhtiyar Uddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji (Bengali: ইখতিয়ার উদ্দিন মুহম্মদ বিন বখতিয়ার খিলজী, Persian: اختيار الدين محمد بن بختيار الخلجي), also known as Malik Ghazi Ikhtiyaru 'l-Din Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji, was an Afghan Khilji/Ghilzai military general of Qutb-ud-din Aybak.
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[edit] Early life
IIkhtiyar Uddin Khilji was a member of the Afghan Khilji/Ghilji/Ghilzai tribe, who was head of the militant group that conquered much of northeastern India.
[edit] Rise
Khalji came from the town of Garmsir in southern Afghanistan. Tradition has it that Khalji's conquest of the Bengal at the head of 18 horsemen was foretold. It is held[by whom?] that he was of common birth, had long arms extending below his knees, a short physical stature and an unfavorable countenance. He was first appointed as the Dewan-i-Ard at Ghor. Then he approached India in about the year 1193 and tried to enter in the army of Qutb-al-Din. Then he went further eastward and took a job under Maklik Hizbar al-Din who was then the commander of the militant group of Badayun in northern India. After a short period he went to Oudh where Malik Husam al-Din, recognized him for his worth. Husam gave a landed estate in the south-eastern corner of modern Mirzapur district. Khilji gathered some Muslims under his banner and soon consolidated his position, carrying out raids into neighboring territories.[citation needed]
[edit] Conquests
Khalji's career took flight with a campaign which subjugated Bihar in 1203. This effort earned him political clout in the court at Delhi. The next year he took his forces into Bengal. As he came upon the city of Nabadwip, it is said that he advanced so rapidly that only 18 horsemen from his army could keep up. Khalji went on to capture the capital Gaur and intrude much of Bengal. He was also responsible for the barbaric destruction of Nalanda[citation needed], which was an ancient center of learning in India.
[edit] Death
Khilji started his attack into Tibet from the town of Devkot in 1206 A.D. He left Ali Mardan Khilji in Ghoraghat Upazila to watch the eastern frontier from his headquarters at Barisal. The Tibet expedition ended and Bakhtiyar Khilji was assassinated by Ali Mardan Khilji while he was lying ill at Devkot on his return from the Tibet expedition (1206).
[edit] Legacy
Al Mahmud, a Bangladeshi poet, composed a book of poetry titled Bakhtiyarer Ghora (Horses of Bakhtiyar) in early 1990s. He depicted Khilji as the praiseworthy figurehead of conquest of Bengal. During Bakhtiyar Khilji's reign, India achieved most number of converts to Islam.[1] Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji had the Khutbah read and coins struck in his own name. Mosques, madrasas and Khanqahs arose in the new abode of Islam through Bakhtiyar's patronage, and his example was imitated by his Amirs.
Critics[who?] claim he promoted religion, but destroyed knowledge by burning down the ancient Nalanda University.[citation needed]
| Preceded by Sena dynasty King Lakshman Sen |
Khilji Dynasty of Bengal 1204-1206 |
Succeeded by Muhammad Shiran Khilji |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith By Sir Thomas Walker Arnold, pg. 227-228
[edit] External links
- Sir Jadunath Sarkar, History of Bengal, II (Dhaka, 1948)
- History of the Muslims of Bengal - Volume 1A: Muslim Rule in Bengal (600-170/1203-1757), By- Muhammad Mohar Ali, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, Department of Culture and Publications.
- Bakhtiyar Khalji, Banglapedia
- Sena Dynasty, Banglapedia
