Mahmud Shah (Sultan of Bengal)

Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (Bengali: প্রথম নাসিরুদ্দিন মাহমুদ শাহ) (reigned: 1435–1459) was a Sultan of Bengal. He was a descendant of Sultan Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah of Bengal. Nasiruddin took the title of Nasiruddin Abul Muzaffar Mahmud Shah when he ascended to power in 1435 AD. It was twenty years since his dynasty lost the power in the first phase.

During his reign, the Sharqi sultans of Jaunpur were involved in a deadly conflict with the Lodhi sultans of Delhi. This kept Nasiruddin Mahmud's kingdom in peace. He devoted his time to the task of reconstruction and development. He was also able to recover Bengal's military strength. According to historians Nizamuddin Ahmad and Firishtah, Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah was an ideal sultan. Another historian Ghulam Husain Salim says that by his good administration the wounds of oppression inflicted by the previous Sultan Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah were healed. Nasiruddin died in 1459 AD after a reign of twenty four years.

Ruling area

During his reign, Khan Jahan Ali conquered Khulna and Jessore. According to numismatic evidence, Nasiruddin Mahmud ruled over a vast kingdom bounded by the districts of Bhagalpur to the west, Mymensingh and Sylhet to the east, Gaur and Pandua to the north and Hughli to the south.

Spreading Islam

With the help of Khan Jahan Ali, Nasirudddin Mahmud made progress on Muslim settlements in different parts of Bengal. They constructed mosques, khanqas, tombs, and bridges, and excavated tanks. The significant mosques of his reign were the following :

• Sixty Dome Mosque (Bengali: ষাট গম্বুজ মসজিদ) erected by Khan Jahan at Bagerhat.
• The two mosques built by Sarfaraz Khan at Jangipur in the district of Murshidabad in 1443 AD.
• The mosque built by Hilali at Gaur in 1455.
• The mosque built at Dhaka by a woman named Bakht Binat Bibi in 1455 known as Binat Bibi Mosque.
• The mosque built by Khurshid Khan at Bhagalpur in 1446 AD.

The tomb of Khan Jahan Ali at Bagerhat and the tomb of an Allama at Hazrat Pandua were erected during his time. He himself laid the foundations of the citadel and palace at Gaur. Among them, a five-arched stone-bridge, part of the massive walls of the fort and the Kotwali Darwaza are still extant.