Sher Shah Suri
Padishah
Sher Shah Suri by Breshna.jpg
Imaginary sketch work of Sher Shah Suri by Afghan artist Abdul Ghafoor Breshna
Sultan of the Suri Empire
Reign 17 May 1538 – 22 May 1545
Coronation 1540
Predecessor Humayun (as Mughal Emperor)
Successor Islam Shah Suri
Born 1486
Sasaram, Delhi Sultanate (now in Bihar, India[1][non-primary source needed]
Died 22 May 1545 (aged 58–59)
Kalinjar, Sur Empire
Burial Sher Shah Suri Tomb, Sasaram
Spouse Lad Malika[citation needed]
Gauhar Gosain[citation needed]
Issue Islam Shah Suri (Jalal Khan)
Adil Khan
Full name
Farid khan Lodhi
House House of Sur
Dynasty Sur Dynasty
Father Hassan Khan Sur
Religion Islam
Shēr Shāh Sūrī (1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān, was the founder of the Suri Empire in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. An ethnic Afghan Pashtun, Sher Shah took control of the Mughal Empire in 1538. After his accidental death in 1545, his son Islam Shah became his successor.[2][3][4][5][6][7] He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal army under Babur and then the governor of Bihar. In 1537, when Babur's son Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Shah overran the state of Bengal and established the Suri dynasty.[8] A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself as a gifted administrator as well as a capable general. His reorganization of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar, son of Humayun.[8]
During his seven-year rule from 1538 to 1545, he set up a new civic and military administration, issued the first Rupiya from "Taka" and re-organised the postal system of the Indian Subcontinent.[9] He further developed Humayun's Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh and revived the historical city of Pataliputra, which had been in decline since the 7th century CE, as Patna.[10][not in citation given] He extended the Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong in the frontiers of the province of Bengal in northeast India to Kabul in Afghanistan in the far northwest of the country.
Early life and origin
Sher Shah Suri was born in the place Sasaram in the state of Bihar in India. His surname 'Suri' was taken from his Sur tribe. The name Sher (means lion or tiger in the older pronunciation of Persian) was conferred upon him for his courage, when as a young man, he killed a tiger that leapt suddenly upon the king of Bihar.[7][11] His grandfather Ibrahim Khan Suri was a landlord (Jagirdar) in Narnaul area and represented Delhi rulers of that period. Mazar of Ibrahim Khan Suri still stands as a monument in Narnaul. Tarikh-i Khan Jahan Lodi (MS. p. 151).[1][non-primary source needed] also confirm this fact. However, the online Encyclopædia Britannica states that he was born in Sasaram (Bihar), in the Rohtas district.[2] He was one of about eight sons of Mian Hassan Khan Suri, a prominent figure in the government of Bahlul Khan Lodi in Narnaul Pargana. Sher shah belonged to the Pashtun Sur tribe.[citation needed] His grandfather, Ibrahim Khan Suri, was a noble adventurer from Roh[12][self-published source] who was recruited much earlier by Sultan Bahlul Lodi of Delhi during his long contest with the Jaunpur Sultanate.
It was at the time of this bounty of Sultán Bahlol, that the grandfather of Sher Sháh, by name Ibráhím Khán Súri,*[The Súr represent themselves as descendants of Muhammad Súri, one of the princes of the house of the Ghorian, who left his native country, and married a daughter of one of the Afghán chiefs of Roh.] with his son Hasan Khán, the father of Sher Sháh, came to Hindu-stán from Afghánistán, from a place which is called in the Afghán tongue "Shargarí,"* but in the Multán tongue "Rohrí." It is a ridge, a spur of the Sulaimán Mountains, about six or seven kos in length, situated on the banks of the Gumal. They entered into the service of Muhabbat Khán Súr, Dáúd Sáhú-khail, to whom Sultán Bahlol had given in jágír the parganas of Hariána and Bahkála, etc., in the Panjáb, and they settled in the pargana of Bajwára.