Islam Khan I


Shaikh Alauddin Chisti was a Mughal general and the Subahdar of Bengal. He transferred the capital of Bengal to Dhaka and renamed it Jahangirnagar. He was awarded the titular name of Islam Khan by Mughal emperor Jahangir.

Early life

Islam Khan was a playmate of Jahangir in childhood. Khan and Jahangir were foster cousins, Khan's paternal aunt, whose father is Salim Chisti was the foster mother of Jahangir. Shaikh Alauddin Chisti was Khan's cousin also. He was first appointed as the Subahdar of Bihar.

Subahdar of Bengal

Islam Khan was appointed the Subahdar of Bengal in 1608. His major task was to subdue the rebellious Rajas, Bara-Bhuiyans, Zamindars and Afghan chiefs. He arrived Dhaka in mid-1610.
He fought with Musa Khan, the leader of Bara-Bhuiyans and by the end of 1611 he was subdued. Islam Khan also defeated Pratapaditya of Jessore, Ram Chandra of Bakla and Ananta Manikya of Bhulua. Then he annexed the kingdoms of Koch Bihar, Koch Hajo and Kachhar. Thus he took total control over Bengal.

Death

After 5 years of ruling, Islam Khan died at Bhawal in 1613. He was buried in Fatehpur Sikri and laid by the side of his grandfather Shaikh Salim Chishti.