Islam Shah Suri
Islam Shah Suri (ruled 1545–1554) was the second ruler of the Sur dynasty which ruled part of India in the mid-16th century. His original name was Jalal Khan and he was the second son of Sher Shah Suri. On his father's death, an emergency meeting of nobles chose him to be successor instead of his elder brother Adil Khan, since he had shown greater military ability. Jalal Khan was crowned on 26 May 1545 and took the title "Islam Shah". He was still worried that his brother would threaten his power and tried to have him captured, but Adil Khan evaded his grasp and raised an army which marched on Islam Shah, who was at Agra. In the battle which followed Islam Shah was victorious and Adil Khan fled, never to be seen again.
The support some of the nobles had given his brother made Islam Shah suspicious and he ruthlessly purged their ranks, strictly subordinating the nobility to the crown. He continued his father's policies of efficient administration and increased centralisation. He had little opportunity for military campaigning; the fugitive Mughal emperor Humayun, whom his father had overthrown, made only one abortive attempt to attack him.
Islam Shah died of urinary disease on 22 November 1554. He was succeeded by his son Firuz Shah Suri, who was aged only twelve. Within a few days the boy ruler had been murdered by Sher Shah's nephew Muhammad Mubariz Khan, who then ascended the throne as Muhammad Adil Shah.
[edit] Sources
- Abraham Eraly The Mughal Throne (Phoenix, 2003 edition) pages 94–97
| Preceded by Sher Shah Suri |
Shah of Delhi 1545–1554 |
Succeeded by Firuz Shah Suri |
