There were three major provincial dynasties in the Eastern India during the medieval period. These are Jaunpur dynasty, Ilyas Shah dynasti, Gajapati dynasty. Jaunpur dynasty was founded by Malik Sarwar and this dynasty ruled over Jaunpur from 1394 to 1505 CE. Ilyas Shah dynasty was the first independent dynasty of Bengal founded by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah which remain in power for 200 years from 1338 to 1538 CE. Gajapati dynasty ruled over area of Odisha and was founded by Kapilendra Deva in 1434 which last till 1541 CE. In this article, we will discuss the Provincial Kingdoms of Eastern India which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Jaunpur Dynasty

• The governor of Jaunpur, Malik Sarwar (Sultanu Sharq), took advantage of the Delhi Sultanate's mounting weakness and the invasion of Timur in Delhi and declared independence in 1394 CE.
• He ruled over Awadh as well as a major portion of the Ganga Yamuna doab, including Kannauj, Dalmau, Kara, Sandeela, Bihar, and Tirhut.
• The Sharqi dynasty was founded on his shoulders. During this time, the Sharqi style of architecture emerged as a distinct architectural style.
• The Sharqi style of architecture can be seen in the Atala Masjid, Jama Masjid, and Lal Darwaja Masjid.

Malik Sarwar (1394 – 1399 CE)

• Malik Sarwar was the founder of Jaunpur Dynasty.
• He was appointed governor of Jaunpur in 1394 CE and given the title "Malik-us-Sharq" by Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah II Tughluq (1394 - 1413 CE).
• He soon declared himself as an independent king and took the title of "Atabak-i-Azam."
• During Malik Sarwar's reign, Jaunpur was engulfed in a century-long war with the Ujjainiyas of Bhojpur in modern-day Bihar.
• He constructed a royal palace on the remains of Yagi Mandal, one of Raja Vijaya Chandra's buildings, and named it Badi Manzil (The Wonderful House).
• In November 1399, Malik Sarwar died. He ruled for almost five years and six months.

Mubarak Shah (1399-1402 CE)

• Malik Sarwar bestowed the title of Malik-ush Sharq to Mubarak Shah during his lifetime and placed him in charge of the central government's affairs.
• Mallu Iqbal stormed Jaunpur as soon as he learned of Malik Sarwar's death and the accession of his adopted son Mubarak Shah to power.
• Mallu Iqbal marched to Qannauj, where he camped on the Ganges' banks.
• Sultan Mubarak Sharqi, on the other hand, marched with a big army of Rajputs, Afghans, Mughuls, and Tajiks and reached the opposite side of Mallu Iqbal's camp.
• They eventually withdrew to their own capitals without engaging in any armed action.
• He is said to have produced coins in his name, but none have been discovered so far.

Ibrahim Shah (1402 – 1440 CE)

• Shams-ud-din Ibrahim Shah, Mubarak Shah's younger brother, succeeded him (1402-1440 CE).
• He was the greatest ruler of the Sharqi dynasty, and Jaunpur became an important center of learning during his reign.
• He was a supporter of Islamic learning, and the famous Atala Masjid in Jaunpur was built during his reign.
• Sultan Ibrahim was able to consolidate and expand his kingdom's borders, resulting in increased economic and tax resources.
• A huge library on music and dance was established at Kara.
• A conference on music was held at Kara which was presided by Sultan Ibrahim Shah himself.
• Musicians and artists from all around India gathered.
• Sangitasiromani, a huge musical piece, was the result of their collaboration.

Mahmud Shah (1440 – 1457 CE)

• Mahmud Shah, the son of Ibrahim Shah succeeded to the throne in 1440.
• He invaded Delhi in 1452 CE but was defeated by Bahlol Lodhi. Later, he attempted to take Delhi once more and marched towards Etawah.
• Finally, he signed a peace treaty acknowledging Bahlul Lodi's sovereignty over Shamsabad. However, this peace treaty did not survive long.
• Mahmud Shah died because of his illness, and his son Bhikhan took over as Mahmud Shah's successor.
• During this time, his city, Jaunpur, was also graced with splendid mosques, the most notable of which was the Lal Darwazah Masjid (Ruby Gate Mosque) constructed in 1450 CE.
• The majestic mansion of his favourite queen, Bibi Raji, was built next to it at the same time.

Muhammad Shah (1457-1458 CE)

• Sultan Mahmud Sharqi's eldest son, Muhammad Shah Sharqi, was also known as Bhikan Khan.
• Sultan Muhammad Shah decided to make peace with Delhi Sultan Bahlol Lodi as his first priority.
• Muhammad's succession was unquestionable, but his authoritarian character alienated Hasan Khan, Jalal Khan, and Qutb Khan, as well as several of his nobles.
• Hussain Khan, certain Sharqi amirs, and Bibi Raji have resolved to eliminate Muhammad Sharqi in Qannauj.
• Sultan Muhammad died in a battle against Hussain Khan, he was murdered by an arrow shot by Mubarak Gung, a faithful noble of Hussain Khan.
• He was laid to rest near Rae Bareli in Dalmau.

Hussain Shah Sharqi (1458 – 1505 CE)

• Hussain Shah Sharqi inherited an extensive kingdom from his father, Sultan Mahmud Shah Sharqi.
• He saw Bahlul Lodhi, the ruler of Delhi as a rival since he possessed lands that should have belonged to his wife.
• He reduced the king of Orissa to submission and conquered the strong fort of Gwalior also.
• He conquered Etawah, a strategic town on the bank of the Yamuna that was a bone of contention between the Sharqis and the Lodhis.
• Hussain Shah was a brilliant musician as well as a brilliant music inventor.
• He invented a raga called Zunglah, which appears to be a hybrid raga, combining indigenous and Perso-Arab scales.
• Jaunpur had the reputation of being the Shiraz of India due to the development of music.

Art and Architecture

• Jaunpur's Sharqi monarchs were noted for their support of learning and building.
• In Jaunpur, the Atala Masjid, the Lal Darwaza Masjid, and the Jama Masjid are the most noteworthy specimens of Sharqi architecture.
• Although Firuz Shah Tughluq built the foundation for the Atala Masjid in 1376, it was completed by Ibrahim Shah, in 1408.
• In 1430, Ibrahim Shah constructed another mosque, the Jhanjhari Masjid.
• During the reign of the following ruler, Mahmud Shah, the Lal Darwaja Masjid (1450) was constructed.
• During the reign of Hussain Shah, the Jama Masjid was constructed in 1470.

Ilyas Shah Dynasty

• The Ilyas Shah dynasty was the first independent dynasty of Bengal that established the Sunni Muslim Sultanate in Bengal.
• Their rule lasted for more than 200 hundred years, though it was interrupted by their slaves and the House of Ganesha.
• Initially, Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah served under the governorship of Izz al-Din Yahya in Satgaon.
• After Yahya's death in 1338, Ilyas Shah seized control of Satgaon and declared himself as independent Sultan of Delhi.
• They maintained friendly relations with China, which aided Bengal's overseas trade.

Haji Shamsuddin Ilyas Khan (1342 – 1357 CE)

• Haji Ilyas, also known as Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, was the founder of the Ilyas Shah dynasty of the Bengal Sultanate.
• Ilyas Shah, a Sunni Muslim born in Sistan, rose through the ranks of the Delhi Sultanate.
• He is regarded as the Bengali equivalent of Alexander the Great or Napoleon. He turned Bengal into an independent sultanate, with Pandua as its capital.
• He gave this united territory the name Bangalah and the people who lived there the name Bangali.
• As a sultan of Satgaon, he led the first invasion of the Muslim army into Nepal.
• He was also the first Muslim king to capture Guwahati after leading a successful campaign against the Kamarupa kingdom in modern-day Assam.
• Ilyas Shah protected Bengal from the invasion of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq of Delhi Sultanate in November 1353.

Ghiyasuddin Azam (1390 – 1411 CE)

• Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah succeeded to the throne in 1390 after the death of his father.
• He was the most prominent sultan of the Ilyas Shah dynasty.
• He established an independent judiciary and promoted Persianate and Bengali culture.
• He also had friendly relations with China, which aided Bengal's overseas trade.
• He dispatched envoys to the Hejaz and provided funding for the construction of madrasas in Mecca and Medina.
• He also made a significant contribution to Bengali literature; under his patronage, Shah Muhammad Sagir composed his famous book, Yusuf-Zulekha.

Alauddin Husain Shah (1494-1519 CE)

• Alauddin Husain Shah's reign witnessed the widespread territorial expansion of the Sultanate of Bengal.
• He was able to defend his western border against the Lodi invasion and provide asylum to Jaunpur's deposed Sharqi monarch.
• Several missions against Kamarupa were led by him. Kamarupa and Kamta were annexed to the kingdom of Bengal after the Khen dynasty of Kamarupa was toppled.
• A Portuguese expedition arrived in Bengal near the end of Husain Shah's reign to establish diplomatic relations.
• Yashoraj Khan, a Husain Shah official, authored a number of Vaishnava padas and complimented his king in one of them.

Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah (1518 – 1533 CE)

• Nasrat ascended to the throne as Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah after the death of his father Alauddin Husain Shah in 1519.
• Nusrat expanded his territory into Tirhut (northern Bihar) and established his headquarters at Hajipur, at the confluence of the Gandak and the Ganges.
• A direct conflict with the Mughals resulted in the Battle of Ghaghra, in 1529.
• The Mughal Empire was victorious, and their territory extended to the eastern bank of the Ghaghara in Bihar, though they did not reach Bengal.
• Two Portuguese missions arrived at Nusrat's court near the end of 1521 to establish diplomatic relations with Bengal.
• Goncalo Tavares, a Portuguese envoy, had successfully obtained a duty-free arrangement for trading in Bengal for Portuguese merchants.

Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah (1533 – 1538 CE)

• Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah, after killing his nephew Sultan Alauddin Firuz, ascended to the throne in 1533 AD and ruled for five years
• In 1534 AD, Mahmud Shah dispatched an army of artillery, cavalry, and infantry under Ibrahim Khan to capture Bihar.
• But Ibrahim Khan was defeated and slain by Sher Shah Suri.
• Mahmud Shah's problems were further aggravated by the advent of the Portuguese on Bengal's shores.
• They misbehaved with the Muslim governor and traders. As a result, Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah ordered their capture.
• However, Mahmud was forced to change his strategy due to Sher Shah Suri's aggressive intentions, which had been heightened by his triumph at Surajgarh.
• In order to gain their support, he freed the Portuguese captives and even hired a Portuguese military expert.

Art and Architecture During Ilyas Shah Dynasty

• Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah made a significant contribution to Bengali literature; under his patronage, Shah Muhammad Sagir composed his famous book, Yusuf-Zulekha.
• During his reign, the Hindu poet Krittibas Ojha translated the Ramayana into Bengali as Krittivasi Ramayan.
• He also built two Madrasas for the dissemination of Islamic learning, one near the Umme-Hani gate in Makka and the other near the Gate of Peace (Bab-al-Salam) in Madina.
• Yashoraj Khan, a Husain Shah official, authored a number of Vaishnava padas during the reign of Alauddin Husain Shah.
• In 1526 AD, Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah finished the construction of the Baro Shona Masjid in Gour, West Bengal.

Gajapati Dynasty

• The Gajapati dynasty was a medieval Hindu dynasty from the Indian subcontinent that originated in the region of Trikalinga (most of modern-day Odisha and Northern coastal Andhra) from 1434 to 1541 CE.
• Kapilendra Deva founded this dynasty in 1434. Under Kapilendra Deva, the Gajapatis expanded their empire from the lower Ganga in the north to the Kaveri in the south.
• They were supporter of art and literature and also built numerous temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

Kapilendra Deva (1435 – 1466 CE)

• Kapilendra Deva was the founder of the Gajapati dynasty who ruled from 1435 to 1466 AD.
• Under Kapilendra Deva, the Gajapati Empire reached its peak in 1464 CE.
• The internal conflict between his two sons, Hamvira and Purusottama, as well as the loss of territory, made Kapilendra ill, and he died most likely around 1466-67 A.D.
• Kapilendra Deva was a follower of Vaishnavism and helped to expand the Jagannath temple in Puri.
• He ordered that the Chaukidari tax, which the Brahmins had previously paid, be abolished, as well as the restoration of waste and grazing areas.
• He had instructed his administrators to follow the path of justice, righteousness, and spiritual teachings, and warned them that if they did not, they would suffer exile.

Purushottama Deva (1466-1497 CE)

• Purushottam Deva was the second Suryavamsa Gajapati ruler.
• His father Gajapati Kapilendra Deva Routaraya, chose him as his heir to reign the Odishan Empire.
• This choice upset his elder brother Hamvira Deva, who sought a contract with the Gajapati's adversary, Bahamani Sultan Muhammad Shah III.
• In 1472, Hamvira Deva declared himself Gajapati after gaining more than half of the territory of Purushottama Deva including Rajamundry and Kondapalli with the help of Muhammad Shah.
• Later Purrushotama Deva attacked from the north, defeating his elder brother Hamvira, expelling the Bahamani garrisons, and reclaiming Rajamundry and Kondapalli for his dominion.
• There was a boom of poetry under Purushottama Deva's reign, with a number of works penned in Sanskrit by him.
• His solo works include: Abhinava, Nama Gitagovinda, Gopalapuja Venisamhara, Bhakti Bishnu, Trikanda Kosha.

Prataparudra Deva (1497 – 1540 CE)

• In 1497, Prataprudra Deva succeeded his father Purushottama Deva.
• Prataparudra was involved in a lengthy war with the Vijayanagar king over the next several years.
• Krishna Deva Raya attacked Kondavidu in the Guntur district in 1515.
• Prataparudra was forced to sign a peace treaty, according to which he gave his daughter Jaganmohini Devi in marriage to the Vijayanagar monarch and as dowry, he gave up all claim to the territories south of the Krishna River.
• Prataparudra Deva was the Sanskrit language's patron. In the Undavaill inscription, he is referred to as the master of all arts and the repository of sixty-four types of knowledge.
• During the reign of Prataparudra Deva Odia literature attained a higher status because of the immortal Odia literary creations by the Panchsakhas namely Balarama Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Ananta Dasa, Achyutananda Dasa, and Jasobanta Dasa.

Art and Architecture During Gajapati Dynasty

• A Kapileswar Shaivite temple was built in Bhubaneswar by Kapilendra Deva.
• During this time a shrine was built near Raibania fort in the Balasore district.
• Two granite stone idols of Lord Jagannath and Balarama as siblings riding horses and dressed for battle were placed in the temple by Purushottama.
• The idols of Uchistha or Kamada Ganesha and Gopala, which Purushottama Deva brought as a trophy of victory over Kanchi, are currently housed on the grounds of Jagannath Temple in Puri
• Prataparudra Deva undertook the renovation of Chandrasekhara's temple on Kapilasa hill in the Dhenkanal district and Goddess Biraja's temple in the Jajpur district.
• A Dhavalesvara temple was constructed in Mancheswar, Cuttack district and a Sarpeswar temple in the village of Balarampur, near Kakhadi.
• The Jagannath temple's audience hall was built by Prataparudra in Puri.

Conclusion

After a glorious period of seventy-five years, the kingdom of Jaunpur, which had emerged from the ruins of the Delhi Sultanate as an independent entity, was reintegrated into the Sultanate in 1505 CE. Similarly the Ilyas Shah dynasty of Bengal came to end in 1538 AD, marking the end of the independent Sultanate of Bengal and Gajapati dynasty of Odisha ended in 1541 AD.

FAQs

Question. What are Provincial Kingdoms in Eastern India during the Medieval period?

Question. Which were some of the prominent Provincial Kingdoms in Eastern India?

Question. How did the Bengal Sultanate rise to prominence in Medieval India?

Question. What were the economic activities of the Provincial Kingdoms of Eastern India?

Question. What role did religion play in the Provincial Kingdoms of Eastern India?

MCQs

1. Which of the following was the capital of the Bengal Sultanate during the reign of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty?

A) Gaur

B) Delhi

C) Patna

D) Pataliputra

2. Which kingdom was known for its rich trade relations with Southeast Asia in the medieval period?

A) Vijayanagar

B) Bengal Sultanate

C) Magadh

D) Chola Empire

3. The Kalinga region during the medieval period corresponds to which modern-day state?

A) Odisha

B) Andhra Pradesh

C) Bengal

D) Bihar

4. Who was the founder of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty in Bengal?

A) Raja Krishnadeva

B) Ilyas Shah

C) Sher Shah Suri

D) Shamsuddin Iltutmish

5. Which of the following kingdoms in Eastern India was known for its resistance against the Mughals in the 17th century?

A) Maratha Empire

B) Kingdom of Mithila

C) Bengal Sultanate

D) Kingdom of Mewar

GS Mains Questions and Model Answers

Q1: Examine the role of the Bengal Sultanate in the development of Eastern India during the medieval period.

Answer: The Bengal Sultanate, established by the Ilyas Shahi dynasty, played a crucial role in shaping the political, economic, and cultural landscape of Eastern India. Its strategic location along the Ganges and proximity to maritime trade routes allowed it to become a prosperous kingdom, fostering trade with Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The Bengal Sultanate promoted religious pluralism, with both Hindu and Muslim communities thriving under its rule. The sultans also patronized the arts and architecture, leaving a lasting legacy. However, the eventual decline of the Sultanate in the late 15th century allowed the Mughals to gain control of Bengal, although the region retained its distinct cultural identity.

Q2: Discuss the economic and cultural significance of the Kingdom of Kalinga during the medieval period.

Answer: Kalinga, located in present-day Odisha, was a prosperous kingdom known for its maritime trade, particularly with Southeast Asia. The kingdom’s economy was primarily based on agriculture, rice cultivation, and textile production. It also played a significant role in the spread of Buddhism, with historical sites like the Dhauli Rock Edicts marking the influence of Emperor Ashoka. Culturally, Kalinga was known for its distinctive art, architecture, and the development of Odissi dance, which flourished under royal patronage. The kingdom’s resistance to external invasions, particularly from the Mughals, also contributed to its legacy as an important regional power in medieval India.

Q3: Analyze the factors leading to the rise and decline of the Provincial Kingdoms in Eastern India during the medieval period.

Answer: The rise of the Provincial Kingdoms in Eastern India can be attributed to several factors, including the decline of larger empires such as the Gupta Empire and the fragmentation of central authority. As a result, regional rulers consolidated power, particularly in Bengal, Kalinga, and Mithila. These kingdoms thrived due to their strategic locations along trade routes, fostering commerce and cultural exchange. However, their decline can be attributed to internal instability, succession disputes, and the increasing pressure from larger, centralized powers such as the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughals. The establishment of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century marked the end of many provincial kingdoms, as they were either absorbed or subdued through military conquest.

Previous Year Questions on Provincial Kingdoms

1. UPSC CSE 2018

Question: "Which of the following was a major medieval power in Eastern India?"

Answer: The Bengal Sultanate

2. UPSC CSE 2017

Question: "Discuss the contributions of the Bengal Sultanate to the economic and cultural development of Eastern India."

Answer: The Bengal Sultanate played a vital role in the development of trade, agriculture, and culture in Eastern India. The region became a major center for textile production, rice cultivation, and maritime trade. The sultans supported both Hindu and Muslim cultural practices, leading to the growth of unique architectural styles and a cosmopolitan society.