Khurshid Khan
Khurshid Khan (Bengali: খুরশিদ খান, Persian: خرشيد خان), was an officer of the Bengal Sultanate, stationed across various locations such as Bihar, Sylhet, Dhaka, North Bengal and Chittagong.
Majlis al-Muʿazzam wal-Mukarram Khurshid Khan | |
|---|---|
| 1463 | |
| Minister of Srihat | |
| Monarch | Barbak Shah I |
| Preceded by | Muqabil Khan |
| Succeeded by | Majlis Alam |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 1503 |
Background
According to the Muzaffar Shah's Nawabganj inscription, Khurshid's name was also Ulugh. This suggests he is of Turkic origin.[1]
Life
Khan was known to have established many mosques throughout Eastern India. In Bihar, he constructed a mosque in Bhagalpur on 3 August 1446 under the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah.[2][3]
On 19 October 1463, he built a mosque in Hatkhola, Patharkandi during the reign of Rukunuddin Barbak Shah, the Sultan of Bengal of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty.[4] The tughra inscription, which was discovered by a farmer in nearby Anair Haor,[5][6] refers to the builder as "the Great Khan, Khurshid Khan, chief of the royal palace guards" (Arabic: خان معظم خرشيد خان محليان نوبت عالي, romanized: Khān Muʿazzam Khurshīd Khān Maḥaliyān Nawbat ʿĀlī).[7] This is the earliest extant Muslim stone tablet in the Sylhet region.[8]
On 31 May 1465, he built someone's tomb in Dhaka and referred to himself in the inscription as Majlis Khurshīd Nawbat Ghayr Maḥaliyān (مجلس خرشيد نوبت خير محليان).[9]
It is said that he is the person who, during the reign of Habshi Sultan Shamsuddin Muzaffar Shah, built a mosque near Nawabganj on the banks of the Mahananda River. This took place on 30 December 1492 and the inscription mentions him as Majlis al-Muʿazzam wal-Mukarram Majlis Ulugh Khurshīd (مجلس المعظم والمكرم مجلس ألغ خرشيد).
During the reign of Alauddin Husayn Shah, he also constructed a mosque in Diwan Hat, Chittagong. The inscription was recently discovered in the mosque's gateway and contained tughra calligraphy.[10]
Death
During the reign of Alauddin Husayn Shah, Muqarrab Khan ibn Chand Malik constructed a jama masjid in Murshidabad in 1503. At the end of the inscription, the writer prays and wishes well for Majlis Khurshid's akhirah suggesting that Khurshid died around this time.
References
- Polin, Fatiha; Mahboob, Farah; Alam, Dhrubo (26 August 2019). "Trails of Khan Jahan Ali". The Daily Star.
- ABM Shamsuddin Ahmed (2012). "Bangladesh". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- Ahmad, Qeyamuddin (1973). Corpus of Arabic & Persian Inscriptions of Bihar (A.H. 640-1200). K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute. pp. 94–95.
- East Pakistan District Gazetteers: Sylhet. East Pakistan Government Press. 1970. p. 58.
- Barbhuiya, Atiqur Rahman (27 Jan 2020). Indigenous People of Barak Valley. Notion Press.
- Siddiq, Mohammad Yusuf (19 Nov 2015). Epigraphy and Islamic Culture: Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205-1494). Routledge. p. 171.
- Ahmed, Sharif Uddin (1 Jan 1999). Sylhet: History and Heritage. Sylhet District: Bangladesh Itihas Samiti.
- Khatun, Habiba (2006). Iqlim Sonargaon: history, jurisdiction, monuments. Academic Press and Publishers Library. p. 88.
- Ahmad Hasan Dani. "Analysis of the Inscriptions". Asiatic Society Of Pakistan Vol-ii.
- Shamsul Hossain (2012). "Diwan Hat". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 25 October 2023.