Madurai Sultanate
The Ma'bar Sultanate, also known as the Madurai Sultanate, was a short lived kingdom based in the city of Madurai in modern-day Tamil Nadu, India. It was dominated by Hindustani speaking Muslims. The sultanate was proclaimed in 1335 in Madurai led by Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, a native of Kaithal in North India, declared his independence from the Sultanate of Delhi.
Ahsan Khan and his descendants ruled the Madurai Sultanate and surrounding territories until 1378 when the last sultan, Ala-ud-Din Sikandar Shah was killed in the battle of Madurai by Kumara Kampana and his forces were defeated by Vijayanagara forces and the Vijayanagara Empire conquered the Sultanate. During this short span of 43 years, the Sultanate had eight different rulers.
Origins
The founder of the Madurai Sultanate, Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, was called a Sayyid native of Kaithal, while also being called an Afghan.In 1325 CE, Fakhruddin Jauna Khan acceded to the throne in Delhi as Muhammad bin Tughluq. His plans for invading Iran and Greater Khorasan was destroyed by the bankruptcy of his treasury and led to the issuing of token currency. This led to counterfeiting and further worsened the sultanate's finances. He was unable to pay his huge army and the soldiers stationed in distant provinces revolted. The first province to rebel was Bengal and Ma'bar soon followed and both of them became independent. The ruler of Ma'bar, Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan declared independence from the Delhi Sultanate and set up the Madurai Sultanate. The exact year of founding of the Madurai Sultanate is not clear. Numismatic evidence points to 1335 CE as the founding year. The Iranian historian Firishta however places the year of Ma'bar's revolt as 1340 CE.
This short lived Madurai Sultanate dynasty at Madurai came into existence following the rule of the Pandya dynasty in Tenkasi, and it ruled Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and parts of South Arcot, for the next 43 years, first as feudatories of the Delhi Sultanate and later an independent Sultanate until 1378 CE when the Vijayanagara Empire destroyed and conquered them. The Madurai Sultanate was destroyed and conquered by the Vijayanagara Empire, later followed by the Madurai Nayakas.
A rich merchant from the Madurai Sultanate, Abu Ali, was associated closely with the Madurai Sultanate royal family. After falling out with them, he moved to Yuan China, received an appointment and a Korean woman as his wife; the woman was formerly married to Sangha and her father was Ch'ae In'gyu.
History
Jalal-ud-Din Ahsan Khan
declared independence from Delhi Sultanate around 1335 CE. His daughter was married to the historian Ibn Battuta and his son Ibrahim was the purse bearer of Muhammad bin Tughluq. When Tughluq heard of Jalaluddin's rebellion he had Ibrahim killed in retaliation. Jalaluddin is variously referred to as "Syed", "Hasan" or "Hussun" by the historians Firishta and Ziauddin Barani. Tughluq tried to conquer the Tamil Nadu|Tamil] region, known in Muslim chronicles as Ma'bar back in 1337 CE. But he fell ill at Bidar on the way to Ma'bar and had to return to Deogiri. His army was defeated by Jalaluddin. Jalaluddin was killed by one of his nobles in 1340 CE.Ala-ud-Din Udauji and Qutb-ud-Din Firuz
After Jalaluddin's murder, Ala-ud-Din Udauji Shah took power in 1340 CE. He was succeeded by his son in law Qutb-ud-Din Firuz Shah, who in turn was assassinated within forty days of taking power. Qutbuddin's killer Ghiyas-ud-din Dhamagani took over as Sultan in 1340.Ghiyas-ud-Din Muhammad Damghani
Ghiyasuddin was defeated by the Hoysala king Veera Ballala III at first, but later managed to capture and kill Ballala in 1343 CE during the siege of Kannanur Koppam. Ghiyasuddin captured Balalla, robbed him of his wealth, had him killed and his stuffed body displayed on the walls of Madurai. Ghiyasuddin died in 1344 CE from the after effects of an aphrodisiac.Ibn Battuta's chronicles
During his reign, Ibn Battuta, the Muslim Moroccan explorer known for his extensive travels through Africa, Asia, Europe visited his court while on his way to China. He married Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan's daughter. His travel notes mention Ghiyas-ud-Din Muhammad Damghani's atrocious behaviour towards the local population. His army under his personal orders had the habit of frequently rounding up the local Hindu villagers, indiscriminately impaling them on sharpened wooden spikes and leaving them to die. These accounts of were published in a travelogue that has come to be known as The Rihla. This history is also displayed in the Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Damghan Shah
Ghiyasuddin was succeeded by his nephew Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Damghan Shah, reportedly a soldier who originated from Delhi. He fled Hindustan and joined his uncle in Madurai. He upon ascension quickly started dismissing and killing many of the officers and nobles and various political enemies who were likely to disturb his possession of the throne. He too fell into decline and was killed in a short time.Persecution of Hindus
From contemporary historical accounts, the rulers of Madurai Sultanate come across as tyrants and persecutors of Hindus. Both Ibn Batutta's and Gangadevi's accounts contain graphic descriptions of atrocities committed by the Sultans on the Hindu population.Ibn Batuta describes Ghiyasuddin Dhamgani's actions as:
Gangadevi's Madhura Vijayam declares the Madurai Sultanate's rule to be the pain to the three worlds:
On the condition of Madurai under the Madurai Sultanate's rule, Gangadevi writes:
Ibn Batuta describes a plague afflicting Madurai:
Gangadevi agrees with the Ibn Battuta on the prevalence of unnatural death by plague: