The period of the Later Ilyas Shahi dynasty (1435-1487 AD) was perhaps the greatest era of Bengal on the cultural side. It was this dynasty that patronised Bengali literature the most. And not just Bengali literature but also Persian literature aswell as various sciences such as the Ayurveda, astrolonomy & various arts. Surprisingly under the patronisation it's most powerful ruler #Ruknuddin_Barbak_Shah (1459-1476 AD) #Krittivasa composed the Bengali adaptation of Ramayana & #Gunaraja_Khan composed the epic Sri Krishna Vijaya the most popular epic of the Sultanate period. It was also an era of social reforms such as Nulo Panchanan's movement, the Datta Khani movement, the Barendri movement of #Udayanacharya_Bhaduri etc. So certainly a cultural high point of the Sultanate. The Later Ilyas Shahis certainly took the legacy of their ancestor #Shamsuddin_Ilyas_Shah (1339-1358 AD). Atleast that's what's believed. Yet the historical sources really makes one doubt if they truly were the descendents of Ilyas Shah.

In most text-books it's usually written that the founder of the Later Ilyas Shahi dynasty #Nasiruddin_Mahmud_Shah (1435-1459 AD) was the great-grandson of Ilyas Shah. But what do the sources of the old actually say?

According to the Riyaz Al-Salatin which is from the 18th century but used earlier works, after the death of the last Kans Shahi ruler #Shamsuddin_Ahmad_Shah 2 of his nobles named Sadi Khan & Nasir Khan struggled for power. After slaying Nasir Khan, Sadi wanted to become king himself. After 7 days (or half a day) of rule the nobles & secretaries of the court put him to death & raised one of the grandsons of Ilyas Shah to the throne. He would take the title Nasir Shah. The word used in Riyaz is از نبأر (Az Nabaer) which means amongst the grandsons.

Another source from the 18th century is Buchanan's account who had access to many lost manuscripts written in Bengal, "Ahmed Shah...reigned three years. He was destroyed by two of his nobles, Sadi Khan and Nasir Khan, the later of whom was made king, and erected many buildings at Gaur, to which he seems to have transferred the royal residence. He governed 27 years, and was succeeded by Sultan Barbuck Shah." Buchanan is stating that Ahmad Shah's noble Nasir Khan is Sultan Nasir Shah & mentions nothing about being Ilyas Shah's grandson.

Amongst the earliest sources we can find are from the 16th century. Namely the Tabaqat-i-Akbari & Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi. Both of these were written in distant lands beyond Bengal. One in North India & another in Deccan. They probably had relied on legends to an extent but are still important as our earliest available sources on the matter. They very much give the same account as the Riyaz & probably were the source behind the information in Riyaz. However these texts don't mention the word for grandson at all. The word in Tabaqat-i-Akbari is احفد which just means relative. Could be someone from direct family but also can be some in-law. Meanwhile Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi uses the word اولاد which just means descendent. Also unclear on the relation to İlyas Shah. Firishta also states Nasir was dedicated to farming before coming to the throne.

Now in those days it was not uncommon for ruling families to claim lineage from their in-laws. We know the Timurids did this. The last ruler of this dynasty #Jalaluddin_Fateh_Shah (1481-1487 AD) styled himself as 'Sayyid' meaning a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad (Sa) through his daughter Fatima (Ra). Seeing no other ruler of this dynasty has claimed this lineage, he probably claimed it from his mother's side. Much like the Muzaffarids of Gujarat, rulers of this dynasty also used symbols of the Suryavamsa in their coins. Could it be that they were Sanatan who converted & married into the Ilyas Shahi family. However claimants to the Suryavamsa is also a bit weird in context of Bengal as Bengali ruling houses usually claimed lineage from the Chandravamsa & not Suryavamsa. There's also a receit of slave trade claiming a date equivalent to 1440 AD which mentions the king as 'Sulutan Mahamud Saha Gajan' (Bibliography of the Muslim Inscriptions of Bengal p.133) which is preserved at Dhaka University. Gajan has relations with Shiva the God of Destruction. However considering the Bengali language of that time, Gajan could also have been a Bengalification of Ghaznavi. We can't be certain.

And that's it. We've failed to determine the actual lineage of this dynasty. The thing is the dynasty itself cherished multiple lineages those of Saka, Sayyid & native. And this is not something unusual for that time. However there is no doubt that this dynasty was culturally Bengali. Perhaps referring to this dynasty as Mahmudi Shahi dynasty instead is more scientific instead of using Later Ilyas Shahi would be more scientific. However since most people will have trouble understanding I will be referring to them as Mahmud Shahi aka Later Ilyas Shahi dynasty from hence forward.

When most think of Medieval Indian armour most usually think of either Zirah Baktar or Chahar Aina. However those types are actually rather modern. Throughout the large timespan of the Middle Ages aswell as the diverse regions of the Subcontinent there have been various forms of armours in use. Unfortunately there are no surviving examples of armour from the actual Middle Ages. However there is iconography. Here we will look into iconography depicting armour throughout the Middle Ages.

First we have a man clad in scale armour from the Ajanta Caves Paintings. Although they date anywhere from the 5th-7th century which is more of an intermediate phase between the Classical era & the Middle Ages, armour during the Early Middle Ages wouldn’t likely have been far off from those of the Late Classical Antiquity.

And here is a coin of #Shashanka (606-636 AD) the founder of the Gauda kingdom. He seems to be depicted wearing a muscle cuirass & shin guards. Again not very different from Classical era.

With various waves of Islamic invasions during the High Middle Ages the Subcontinent got introduced to armour that covered more of the body from head to toe. However we don't have much iconography of this era. The Basatin Al-Uns gives us our earliest look into the armours worn by troops of Islamic India during the 14th century. Here we can see the cavalry of #Ghiyasuddin_Tughlaq (1320-1326 AD) of Hindustan clad in composite armour. Most are wearing lamellar cuirasses called #Jawshan , segmented/laminar shoulder armour, plate lower arm, foot, shin, knee & thigh armour. There's also an additional round disc attached on the chest. There's likely mail underneath but difficult to say to for certain. Some are also wearing Brigandine/Coat of Plates style armour called #Chihalta_Hezar_Masha.

Next we go into the 15th century. This is from a Shahnamah manuscript composed in 1438 during the reign of #Alauddin_Mahmud_Shah (1436-1469 AD) of Malwa. Here we see the cavalrymen clad in scale armour & about no type of metalic armour for the infantrymen. This back to basics may more have been just regionalism.

We draw very close to the end of the Middle Ages. This is a depiction of the army of Alexander from the Sharfnama manuscript composed during the reign of #Ruknuddin_Barbak_Shah (1459-1476 AD). We see both the cavalry & the infantry clad in composite armour. We already know the Bengal Sultanate had a standing army composed mostly heavy infantry from the Chinese sources. Anyway they are shown weaing a conical helmet called #kulahkhud with scale aventail, #Chihalta_Hezar_Masha (Brigandine/Coat of Plates), plate vembraces or #bazubands .

The last example is going to be a battle scene from the Jagamohana Ramayana, an Odia adaptation of the Ramayana by Balarama Dasa (1474-1522). And the body armour is similar to that of Bengal but the helmet styles are very different. We know from the sources of the next century that this type of body armour was popular in Vijayanagara & the Deccan Sultanates aswell, probably due to the climate of these regions. Anyway this covers the armour types during Medieval India. This was just a basic introduction really without going into much details on how which functions.

The period of the Later Ilyas Shahi dynasty (1435-1487 AD) was perhaps the greatest era of Bengal on the cultural side. It was this dynasty that patronised Bengali literature the most. And not just Bengali literature but also Persian literature aswell as various sciences such as the Ayurveda, astrolonomy & various arts. Surprisingly under the patronisation it's most powerful ruler Ruknuddin_Barbak_Shah (1459-1476 AD) Krittivasa composed the Bengali adaptation of Ramayana & Gunaraja_Khan composed the epic Sri Krishna Vijaya the most popular epic of the Sultanate period. It was also an era of social reforms such as Nulo Panchanan's movement, the Datta Khani movement, the Barendri movement of Udayanacharya_Bhaduri etc. So certainly a cultural high point of the Sultanate. The Later Ilyas Shahis certainly took the legacy of their ancestor Shamsuddin_Ilyas_Shah (1339-1358 AD). Atleast that's what's believed. Yet the historical sources really makes one doubt if they truly were the descendents of Ilyas Shah.

In most text-books it's usually written that the founder of the Later Ilyas Shahi dynasty #Nasiruddin_Mahmud_Shah (1435-1459 AD) was the great-grandson of Ilyas Shah. But what do the sources of the old actually say?

According to the Riyaz Al-Salatin which is from the 18th century but used earlier works, after the death of the last Kans Shahi ruler Shamsuddin_Ahmad_Shah 2 of his nobles named Sadi Khan & Nasir Khan struggled for power. After slaying Nasir Khan, Sadi wanted to become king himself. After 7 days (or half a day) of rule the nobles & secretaries of the court put him to death & raised one of the grandsons of Ilyas Shah to the throne. He would take the title Nasir Shah. The word used in Riyaz is از نبأر (Az Nabaer) which means amongst the grandsons.

Another source from the 18th century is Buchanan's account who had access to many lost manuscripts written in Bengal, "Ahmed Shah...reigned three years. He was destroyed by two of his nobles, Sadi Khan and Nasir Khan, the later of whom was made king, and erected many buildings at Gaur, to which he seems to have transferred the royal residence. He governed 27 years, and was succeeded by Sultan Barbuck Shah." Buchanan is stating that Ahmad Shah's noble Nasir Khan is Sultan Nasir Shah & mentions nothing about being Ilyas Shah's grandson.

Amongst the earliest sources we can find are from the 16th century. Namely the Tabaqat-i-Akbari & Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi. Both of these were written in distant lands beyond Bengal. One in North India & another in Deccan. They probably had relied on legends to an extent but are still important as our earliest available sources on the matter. They very much give the same account as the Riyaz & probably were the source behind the information in Riyaz. However these texts don't mention the word for grandson at all. The word in Tabaqat-i-Akbari is احفد which just means relative. Could be someone from direct family but also can be some in-law. Meanwhile Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi uses the word اولاد which just means descendent. Also unclear on the relation to İlyas Shah. Firishta also states Nasir was dedicated to farming before coming to the throne.

Now in those days it was not uncommon for ruling families to claim lineage from their in-laws. We know the Timurids did this. The last ruler of this dynasty Jalaluddin_Fateh_Shah (1481-1487 AD) styled himself as 'Sayyid' meaning a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad (Sa) through his daughter Fatima (Ra). Seeing no other ruler of this dynasty has claimed this lineage, he probably claimed it from his mother's side. Much like the Muzaffarids of Gujarat, rulers of this dynasty also used symbols of the Suryavamsa in their coins. Could it be that they were Sanatan who converted & married into the Ilyas Shahi family. However claimants to the Suryavamsa is also a bit weird in context of Bengal as Bengali ruling houses usually claimed lineage from the Chandravamsa & not Suryavamsa. There's also a receit of slave trade claiming a date equivalent to 1440 AD which mentions the king as 'Sulutan Mahamud Saha Gajan' (Bibliography of the Muslim Inscriptions of Bengal p.133) which is preserved at Dhaka University. Gajan has relations with Shiva the God of Destruction. However considering the Bengali language of that time, Gajan could also have been a Bengalification of Ghaznavi. We can't be certain.

And that's it. We've failed to determine the actual lineage of this dynasty. The thing is the dynasty itself cherished multiple lineages those of Saka, Sayyid & native. And this is not something unusual for that time. However there is no doubt that this dynasty was culturally Bengali. Perhaps referring to this dynasty as Mahmudi Shahi dynasty instead is more scientific instead of using Later Ilyas Shahi would be more scientific. However since most people will have trouble understanding I will be referring to them as Mahmud Shahi aka Later Ilyas Shahi dynasty from hence forward.

It is May 6th 1529, the Timurid (better known as Mughal) forces lead by Babur himself face of against the frontier forces in Bahraich province of the Bengal Sultanate under the command of Basanta Raya. For the first time we see a full on fire armed warfare. Babur is greatly impressed at how proficient Bengalis are in the use of firearms. He writes in his autobiography Tuzuk-i-Baburi, "Bengalis have quite the reputation for their atishbazi. We tested it today. They do not aim to hit a particular target but fire at random." Bengalis of that time were so skilled that they didn’t require to even aim. However it is generally believed that canons were first used in India at the Battle of Panipat in 1526. How could it be that Bengalis became so reputed in it in only 3 years?

A deep study shows otherwise. We have records of use of firearms in a battle 9 years prior to the Panipat. In Lendas de India by Gaspar Correia we find out of a naval skirmish between the Portuguese & Bengalis in 1517. What happened was a Portuguese Captain named Silvera had feud with the brother of the administrator who was the Gromal of Chakoria. Silvera had proceeded to pirate 2 of his ships filled with rice. So as response the Gromal had began to fire cannons at the Portuguese ships from the fortress of Chakoria. So we see an fortress armed with cannons used in a naval battle against the Portuguese ships. Perhaps the first modern naval battle in subcontinent.

However that too wasn’t the 1st mention of cannons in Indian history. In Gujarat's own Arabic history Zafar Al-Walih bi Mizaffar wa Alihi we find out that the founder of the Muzaffarid dynasty Sultan Ahmad Shah I had used cannons in the Battle of Thane against the Bahmanids. Actually the Battle of Panipat saw the first use of cannons in the Hindustan region specifically & not the whole Subcontinent. But does that make Gujarat the pioneer of firearms in the subcontinent. Not exactly as we've barely set foot on the tip of the iceberg.

Kuochunli has stated the existence of gun factoris in Bengal in the Yinghya Shinlan. He writes this of his 1409 visit which was 117 years prior to the 1st Battle of Panipat! Keep in mind that guns are a far more advanced technology than cannons. The first cannons ever used in Europe was during the Battle of Crecy in 1346 AD by the English. But it wasn’t until 1453 AD at the Siege of Constantinople did European soil see the use of modern cannons. Just imagine how advanced it makes Bengal of this period.

Now we look at the elephant of our room. The Bacchawali which now rests at the Nizamat Fort Campuss at Murshidabad. It's name literally means the pregnant woman. It is named so as it's sound is said to have caused miscarriages to pregnant women. It's 5.49 metres in length, 55.88 cm in width & has the mass of 7657 kg. Very much a rival & if not even superior to the Dardanelles as it has proven to be more durable where as the later had received a crack. It was previously carbon dated to have been constructed between 12th to 16th century. Many believe it have been the cannon of founder of the Bengal Sultanate Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah (Oitihasihik Murshidabad, Dailyhunt). There are reasons to believe it. We have the mention of Yavana King's (of Bengal) usage of cannons in an inavasion of Jajanagara (in Orissa) in the Niranjaner Rushma of the Agamapurana by Ramai Pandita. It was composed in the mid 14th century as the only Bengali text at end of the so called dark age of Bengali literature. He should've well flourished within Ilyas Shah's reign. Another evidence is a praise of the feudal Kana ruler Kedara of Vishakhapatnam which mentions the usage of Agniyastra (meaning firearms) by his Yavana overlord against the King of Orissa. Thus from both sources we can conclude that Ilyas Shah used cannons against Orissa. Which makes him the sole candidate as the pioneer of firearms in Bengal & thus the Subcontinent as a whole.

But how did Bengal develop cannons so early? There could be multiple factors behind it. Bengal had a strong relationship with China during the early Ilyas Shahi period. It could've been that it was the Chinese that the Bengalis learnt to make firearms from. On top of that the Barendra region is also has mines of Sulphur from which gunpowder is made. These could've played the role in Bengal's early development of firearms.