Editing Bengal (section)

===Sultanate period===
{{See also|Bengal Sultanate}}
[[File:Tribute Giraffe with Attendant.jpg|thumb|Chinese manuscript showing an African giraffe gifted to China by the [[Sultan of Bengal]] in 1414]]

In 1204, the [[Ghurid Empire|Ghurid]] general [[Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji]] began the Islamic conquest of Bengal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eaton |first=Richard M. |title=The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760 |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99v9&chunk.id=ch02&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch02&brand=ucpress |year=1993 |publisher=University of California Press |quote=By the time Muhammad Bakhtiyar conquered northwestern Bengal in 1204}}</ref> The fall of Lakhnauti was recounted by historians circa 1243. Lakhnauti was the capital of the Sena dynasty. According to historical accounts, Ghurid cavalry swept across the Gangetic plains towards Bengal. They entered the Bengali capital disguised as horse traders. Once inside the royal compound, Bakhtiyar and his horsemen swiftly overpowered the guards of the Sena king who had just sat down to eat a meal. The king then hastily fled to the forest with his followers.<ref name="auto5">{{cite web |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99v9&chunk.id=intro&toc.depth=1&toc.id=intro&brand=ucpress | title=The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760 }}</ref> The overthrow of the Sena king has been described as a coup d'état, which "inaugurated an era, lasting over five centuries, during which most of Bengal was dominated by rulers professing the Islamic faith. In itself this was not exceptional, since from about this time until the eighteenth century, Muslim sovereigns ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent. What was exceptional, however, was that among India's interior provinces only in Bengal—a region approximately the size of England and Scotland combined—did a majority of the indigenous population adopt the religion of the ruling class, Islam".<ref name="auto5"/> Bengal became a province of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. A coin featuring a horseman was issued to celebrate the Muslim conquest of Lakhnauti with inscriptions in Sanskrit and Arabic. An abortive [[Islamic invasion of Tibet]] was also mounted by Bakhtiyar. Bengal was under the formal rule of the Delhi Sultanate for approximately 150 years. Delhi struggled to consolidate control over Bengal. Rebel governors often sought to assert autonomy or independence. Sultan [[Iltutmish]] re-established control over Bengal in 1225 after suppressing the rebels. Due to the considerable overland distance, Delhi's authority in Bengal was relatively weak. It was left to local governors to expand territory and bring new areas under Muslim rule, such as through the [[Conquest of Sylhet]] in 1303.

In 1338, new rebellions sprung up in Bengal's three main towns. Governors in Lakhnauti, [[Satgaon]] and [[Sonargaon]] declared independence from Delhi. This allowed the ruler of Sonargaon, [[Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah]], to annexe [[Chittagong]] to the Islamic administration. By 1352, the ruler of Satgaon, [[Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah]], unified the region into an independent state. Ilyas Shah established his capital in [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Iliyas_Shah | title=Iliyas Shah |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> The new breakaway state emerged as the [[Bengal Sultanate]], which developed into a territorial, mercantile and maritime empire. At the time, the [[Islamic world]] stretched from [[Muslim Spain]] in the west to Bengal in the east.

The initial raids of Ilyas Shah saw the first Muslim army enter [[Nepal]] and stretched from [[Varanasi]] in the west to [[Orissa]] in the south to [[Assam]] in the east.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Iliyas_Shah | title=Iliyas Shah |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> The Delhi army continued to fend off the new Bengali army. The [[Bengal Sultanate-Delhi Sultanate War|Bengal-Delhi War]] ended in 1359 when Delhi recognised the independence of Bengal. Ilyas Shah's son [[Sikandar Shah]] defeated Delhi Sultan [[Firuz Shah Tughluq]] during the Siege of Ekdala Fort. A subsequent peace treaty recognised Bengal's independence and Sikandar Shah was gifted a golden crown by the Sultan of Delhi.<ref>Nitish K. Sengupta (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. Penguin Books India. p. 73. {{ISBN|978-0-14-341678-4}}.</ref> The ruler of [[Arakan]] sought refuge in Bengal during the reign of [[Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah]]. [[Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah]] later helped the Arakanese king to regain control of his throne in exchange for becoming a [[tributary state]] of the Bengal Sultanate. Bengali influence in Arakan persisted for 300 years.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rohuAAAAMAAJ|title=Bengal-Arakan Relations, 1430–1666 A.D.|first=Mohammed Ali|last=Chowdhury|date=25 November 2004|publisher=Firma K.L.M.|isbn=9788171021185}}</ref> Bengal also helped the king of Tripura to regain control of his throne in exchange for becoming a tributary state. The ruler of the [[Jaunpur Sultanate]] also sought refuge in Bengal.<ref name="Hasan2007p16-17">{{cite book |author=Perween Hasan |year=2007 |title=Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uunyz4qFZwEC&pg=PA16 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |pages=16–17 |isbn=978-1-84511-381-0 |quote="[Husayn Shah pushed] its western frontier past Bihar up to Saran in Jaunpur ... when Sultan Husayn Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur fled to Bengal after being defeated in battle by Sultan Sikandar Lodhi of Delhi, the latter attacked Bengal in pursuit of the Jaunpur ruler. Unable to make any gains, Sikandar Lodhi returned home after concluding a peace treaty with the Bengal sultan."}}</ref> The [[vassal state]]s of Bengal included Arakan, Tripura, [[Chandradwip]] and [[Pratapgarh Kingdom|Pratapgarh]]. At its peak, the Bengal Sultanate's territory included parts of Arakan, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, and Tripura.<ref name="auto6"/> The Bengal Sultanate experienced its greatest military success under [[Alauddin Hussain Shah]], who was proclaimed as the conqueror of Assam after his forces led by [[Shah Ismail Ghazi]] overthrew the [[Khen dynasty]] and annexed large parts of Assam. In maritime trade, the Bengal Sultanate benefited from [[Indian Ocean trade]] networks and emerged as a hub of [[re-export]]s. A giraffe was brought by African envoys from [[Malindi]] to Bengal's court and was later gifted to [[Imperial China]]. Ship-owing merchants acted as envoys of the Sultan while travelling to different regions in Asia and Africa. Many rich Bengali merchants lived in Malacca.<ref name="autogenerated185">Irfan Habib (2011). Economic History of Medieval India, 1200–1500. Pearson Education India. p. 185. ISBN 978-81-317-2791-1.</ref> Bengali ships transported embassies from [[Brunei]], [[Aceh Sultanate|Aceh]] and [[Malacca Sultanate|Malacca]] to China. Bengal and the [[Maldives]] had a vast trade in [[shell currency]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boomgaard |first=P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXphAAAAQBAJ |title=Linking Destinies: Trade, Towns and Kin in Asian History |date=1 January 2008 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004253995 |access-date=23 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106131821/https://books.google.com/books?id=TXphAAAAQBAJ |archive-date=6 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Sultan of Bengal donated funds to build schools in the [[Hejaz]] region of Arabia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Ghiyasia_Madrasa|title=Ghiyasia Madrasa |website=Banglapedia}}</ref>

The five dynastic periods of the Bengal Sultanate spanned from the [[Ilyas Shahi dynasty]], to a period of rule by Bengali converts, to the [[Hussain Shahi dynasty]], to a period of rule by Abyssinian usurpers; an interruption by the [[Sur Empire|Suri dynasty]]; and ended with the [[Karrani dynasty]]. The [[Battle of Raj Mahal]] and the capture of [[Daud Khan Karrani]] marked the end of the Bengal Sultanate during the reign of [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Akbar]]. In the late 16th-century, a confederation called the [[Baro-Bhuyan]] resisted Mughal invasions in eastern Bengal. The Baro-Bhuyan included twelve Muslim and Hindu leaders of the [[Zamindars of Bengal]]. They were led by [[Isa Khan]], a former prime minister of the Bengal Sultanate. By the 17th century, the Mughals were able to fully absorb the region to their empire.