Yousuf Shah Chak


Yoūsuf Shāh Chak was the fourth Sultan of Kashmir from the Chak dynasty from 1578 to 1579 and then from 1580 to 1586. Yousuf succeeded his father, Ali Shah Chak, who crowned Yousuf before he died. Yousuf defeated all other contenders for the throne, including his uncle Abdal Chak, and ascended the throne in 1578.
Yousuf belonged to the Chak Dynasty. The Chaks were originally Dards who settled in Kashmir in the early 14th century. Most Chaks converted to the Shia branch of Islam from Hinduism. Many during Yousuf's period retained Hindu names such as Shankar, Bhat, Pandu Chak, etc. Yousuf ruled Kashmir for 5 years and 6 months, from 1578 till 1579 and from 1580 till 1586. Yousuf was exiled for a year and 9 months as the rebels occupied his throne after defeating him in the battle of Eidgah. Yousuf was a ferocious fighter, he fought for his people but he lost the respect of his subjects and ministers because of his deficiencies in administration and authority. Nonetheless, Yousuf was said to have ruled justly and to have had a great sense of justice that made him much different than his predecessors. He not only ruled the valley and hills of Kashmir, but also received tributes from Ladakh, Baltistan and the hill states of Jammu.

Background and early life

Yousuf Shah Chak was born in 1545 to Ali Shah Chak, a brother of Ghazi Shah Chak, the Wazīr i Azam of the Shah Mirs and later a Sultan himself. Yousuf ruled Kashmir for 8 years with an interregnum of 1 year and 11 months when his throne was occupied by rebels. Even though he led a life of luxury and ease, Yousuf reputedly always cared for the welfare of his subjects. He went against the rebels and defeated them. Wishing to secure his throne, he agreed to the superiority of Emperor Akbar, which in the end led to his own dismissal.
Not much is known about Yousuf's early life. He was born during the reign of Nazuk Shah. Kashmir at that time was under the influence of the Mughals with Mirza Haidar Dughlat as the Governor and the de facto ruler. When Yousuf came of age, he accompanied his uncle on his campaigns and in his journey to the throne. After both of his uncles' reigns, his father ascended the throne in 1570 and appointed Yousuf as his heir apparent the same year.
In 1572, on the advice of Muhammad Bhat, Yousuf assassinated his uncle Aiba Khan, who was a contender to the throne, and then went away to Sopore in the fear of his father. The murder angered his father Ali Shah, who ordered his brother Abdal Chak to capture and bring Yousuf in front of him. Abdal Chak went aggressively against Yousuf, considering the throne for himself after Ali Shah, but with the help of Sayyid Mubarak, the former Wazīr i Azam of Ali Shah, both the parties came to an agreement that reconciled the father and son.

First reign (1578–1579)

Yousuf was crowned Sultan by his father and predecessor Ali Shah Chak before he died in December 1578. Yousuf appointed Muhammad Bhat as his Wazīr i Azam. Shortly after he ascended the throne, civil unrest started to rise led by Yousuf's uncle Abdal Chak who wanted the throne for himself.

Yousuf and Abdal Chak

Before the funeral of Ali Shah, Abdal Chak started a campaign to contest for the throne. Sayyid Mubarak tried to restrain Abdal Chak from these activities by sending Baba Khalil to him. Later he visited him and requested him to attend the funeral with the rest of the royal family, but this was in vain because Abdal Chak couldn't forgive Yousuf for assassinating Aiba Khan. Before returning to the court of Yousuf, Sayyid Mubarak warned Abdal Chak that Yousuf was in a much better position than him. Yousuf, on the advice of Sayyid Mubarak and the other nobles, started to organise his army. On the other hand, Abdal Chak also arranged his forces for retaliation.
Abdal Chak and his forces first encountered the advance guard of Yousuf's army led by Muhammad Khan at Nauhatta. Abdal Chak was wounded after being hit by a bullet. While both sides incurred heavy losses, Muhammad Khan was reinforced by Sayyid Mubarak with 2000 horses. After a fierce fight, Abdal Chak was finally killed by Sayyid Mubarak himself and Yousuf, after being ensured that Abdal Chak has been killed, came forward from the rear guard and proclaimed victory while rest of Abdal Chak's broken army ran in disgrace pursued by Yousuf's men. Yousuf forbade Abdal Chak's burial but he was secretly buried by some Sayyids against the Sultan's orders. After Ali Shah's funeral, Yousuf Shah was officially crowned Sultan on the next day.

Rebellion by the nobles and abdication

After over 2 months of Yousuf's rule in the valley, another rebellion rose to threaten his rule, this time led by a minister in his cabinet, Abdal Bhat, who had been a contender for the office of the Wazīr i Azam but had been declined in favor of Muhammad Bhat. Abdal Bhat convinced the majority of the nobles and ministers who were unsatisfied with Yousuf over negligence in the civil and administrative services while he spent time in the presence of women and alcohol with music and a company of poets. Abdal Bhat proposed Sayyid Mubarak as Sultan after getting Yousuf deposed. Sayyid Mubarak, reluctant at first, agreed because Yousuf was unwilling to cooperate in peace talks even after Sayyid's efforts for reconciliation through the office of Baba Khalil; he joined the rebels.
Even though his senior ministers like Naji Malik warned him to send a more experienced and observant commander, Yousuf sent a force under Muhammad Khan against the rebels in Eidgah, Srinagar. After a ferocious clash between the two sides, Muhammad Khan was killed with 300 of his men. This spread terror among the rest of the army, which then disintegrated.

Abdication and retreat to Thanna

After this crushing defeat, Yousuf was joined by the defeated army, some joined the rebels, while the rest were arrested. According to Baharistan i Shahi, Yousuf's position was so weak that if Sayyid Mubarak made an ambush against Yousuf, he would have been caught but Sayyid Mubarak abstained from this. Seeing the deranged differences between Sayyid and his own strength, Yousuf sent Mulla Hasan Aswad to Sayyid to ask for forgiveness. Sayyid immediately forgave him.
There are two theories on why Yousuf retreated to Thanna. The first one, narrated by Baharistan i Shahi, explains that Sayyid told Yousuf to leave Kashmir as he'll be recalled after three months. Yousuf, reacting to this, retreated to Thanna and waited for his return. The second theory says that Yousuf and his army was too weak to fight Sayyid who was more capable and strong with the help of the nobles. This theory is backed by the fact that Sayyid never had a magnanimous attitude towards Yousuf and would never forgive him over his indecent acts. Regardless of the theories, Yousuf retreated to Thanna leaving his Sultanate and authority in the hands of Sayyid Mubarak and Abdal Bhat.

Attempt for the throne

When the nobles became dissatisfied with Sayyid after he asserted his own authority rather than being dominated by them, they rebelled and asked Yousuf to return. Yousuf agreed and left Thanna but when he reached Barbal, Sayyid sent him his peace negotiators to which Yousuf sent his sons Yakub and Ibrahim with Mulla Hasan Aswad and Daud Mir. With this great initiative, he readied himself to visit Sayyid himself but Abdal Bhat, who now led the rebellious faction, was on a different page. He was unhappy because of the sudden advancements between the two sides and started to hatch a plot that would end in his favour. Abdal told Yousuf not to believe in Sayyid's words as he can be traitorous. Yousuf agreed, broke off all the ties with Sayyid, and called his negotiators back. Sayyid attacked Yousuf and, with no help from the nobles who gave him their words, was forced to retreat to Thanna again.
Abdal Bhat continued his deceptive plans and made Sayyid Mubarak abdicate in November 1579. He made Lohar Khan, the son of Shankar Chak and a cousin of Yousuf, the Sultan and appointed himself as the Wazīr i Azam. He also threw the insolent nobles in prison and sent a message to Yousuf not to enter Srinagar ever again.

Return to the throne

With the message received, Yousuf became highly annoyed at how his nobles had always favoured their own benefits rather than working for the Sultanate and the public. He knew he alone cannot defeat the rebels and departed from Thanna reaching Lahore to gain the aid of the Mughals. He met Raja Man Singh and Mirza Yusuf Khan, who took him to Agra and was presented to Emperor Akbar in January 1580. Akbar agreed to help Yousuf firmly and ordered Raja Man Singh and Mirza Yusuf Khan to help Yousuf regain his throne. They proceeded to Lahore and raised an army of Mughals. When Muhammad Bhat, his former Wazīr i Azam, heard of this, he joined him at Lahore, leaving his force of 1000 men at Behlolpur. Both Yousuf and Muhammad decided not to command the Mughal army into Kashmir as they would be unpopular and would take over the administration.
Yousuf borrowed some money from the Lahori merchants and with 800 of the men, marched to Behlolpur. Raising another body of 3000 men there with the help of some nobles, Yousuf turned towards Bhimber and after conquering the south-west territories set out towards Nowshera and Rajauri. Both of the cities were easily taken in possession. The Raja of Rajauri, Raja Mast Wali Khan, gave him the command of his vanguard and with this, Yousuf moved again towards Thanna. This time, Lohar Khan sent Yusuf Khan, the son of Husain Shah Chak and the cousin of Yousuf, with Nazuk Bhat, the son of Abdal Bhat. When Yousuf reached the village of Sidau, Yusuf Khan seized Nazuk Bhat and himself entered the services of Yousuf while his army became disintegrated. Chiefs and nobles like Shams Duni, Malik Hasan and many others panicked and joined Yousuf at Thanna.

Clashes in Sopore

Lohar Khan now despatched Haidar Chak, whom he stationed at Hirpora thinking that Yousuf and his army will cross the Pir Panjal route. Still, in reality Yousuf left a small batch behind and left for Poonch and through the Toshamaidan Pass entered Kashmir. He defeated Lohar's forces at Chira Har and then at Sopore. While crossing the Jhelum river, he destroyed the Sopore bridge and occupied the entire country beyond it. Lohar Khan released Ali Chak to gain his support and called all of his forces back to Srinagar including Haidar Chak who was at Hirpora and set out with a large army towards Sopore but when he saw the bridge razed to ground, he tried to cross it with the means of boats. Still, he was unsuccessful as there was an equally better resistance from the other side of the bank.
After this descent move, Lohar detached a faction of 2000 men under Haidar Chak and ordered him to attack Yousuf through the Khuyahom Pass while he stayed back to watch the enemy's movement. Meanwhile, he sent a message to Yousuf through Baba Khalil that he'll be attacked from the rear and the front and will be left with no other choice but to run away, so he should immediately withdraw from his position and move back. In return, he would be given the jagir of Dachun Khovur. This, for a moment, disheartened Yousuf as he was numerically inferior to the opposition but Hasan Malik encouraged him and guaranteed him victory.