Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah
first Sultan of Bengal
Years: 1295 - 1358
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah is the first Sultan of Bengal and founder of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty of nearly one hundred and fifty years.
A Sunni Muslim of Sistani Turkic origin, he unifies the Bengal region into an Islamic kingdom during the fourteenth century.
Popularly known as Ilyas Shah, he wages military campaigns across the eastern Indian subcontinent and defeats the rulers of Delhi, Sonargaon, Satgaon, Nepal, Orissa and Assam.
Based in Pandua, his conquests reach as far as the Kathmandu Valley, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Champaran and Cuttack.
His campaigns are considered "world-conquering" in the context of medieval India.
Ilyas Shah has been described as the Bengali equivalent of Alexander or Napoleon.
The Bengal Sultanate established by Ilyas Shah emerges as one of the leading diplomatic, economic and military powers in the subcontinent.
The dynasty founded by him rules Bengal for one hundred and twenty-five years.
Ilyas Shah and his successors embrace Indo-Aryanization and adapt themselves to Bengali culture and society.
Their kingdom is a melting pot for migrants from across the Muslim world.
It plays a key role in the development of Bengali Muslim society.
He forms an inclusive and pluralistic administration.
His most important legacy is that of the first independent unified Bengali kingdom under Muslim rule.
