Tag: the foundation of the mughal empire (from babur to akbar: 1526 to 1605)

Sher Shah was killed due to an explosion in 1545.  Sher Shah Suri was killed in a freak accident during the siege of Kalinjar fort on 13 May 1545. He was succeeded by hisson , Jalal Khan who took the title of Islam Shah Suri.

Humayun was completely defeated by Sher Shah Suri in the battle of Kannauj. In May 1540 , the armies met once again opposite Kannauj and the Mughal Empire was put to an end for a while. At Kannauj , the Afghans were able to scatter the Mughals army, which mere by panic, fled in confusion. Humayun again escaped from the battle field and from that day, for next 15 years he lived like a wanderer.

Kalinjar fort was the last expedition of Shershah. Sher Shah Suri marched against the kalinjar fort and captured it. soon after the capture , Sher Shah Suri died on 22nd May 1545. The fort of Kalinjar is in the Buldelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.Immediatley after the conclusion of the successful campaign in Rajasthan, Sher Shah marched on Kalinjar.

Diwan - i - Insha was the minister of royal proclamation. The minister in charge of this department had to draft royal proclamations and dispatches. His duty was also to communicate with governors and other local executive officers. Government record, too, were in his charge.

There were two important officials at the sarkar level:
(i) shiqdar-i-shiqadaran to maintain law and order; and
(ii) munshife-i-munshifan to supervise the revenue collection.

In 1522 Sher Shah joined under the service of Bahar Khan under Lohani  , the ruler of Bihar. His master rewarded him with the title of Sher Khan for his bravery in killing a tiger single - handed. But the intrigues of his enemies compelled him to leave Bihar and he joined the camp of Babur in 1527. After the death of Bahar Khan Lohani , Sher Khan left Mughal service and became the ruler of Bihar.

The empire was divided in to 47 Sarkars during the period of Sher Shah. Sarkars were under the control of  Munsif-in-chief and Shiqdar-in-chief.

For administrative convenience Sher Shah divided his whole empire into 47 divisions called sarkars (Sher Shah did not divide his kingdom into provinces), and these were again subdivided into smaller administrative units called parganas.

Sher Shah Suri, also known as Sher Khan,  was the Emperor of India from 1539 to 1545. He established the Sur dynasty by dethroning Humayun, the Mughal emperor. His original name was Farid Khan. Sher Shah Suri is known as Sher Khan or The Lion King because he one day killed a Sher or tiger single- handed.

The head of the Diwan-i-Wazarat may be called the Wazir. He was the minister of revenue and finance administration and was, therefore, in charge of the income and expenditure of the empire. Besides, he exercised a general supervisory authority over other ministers.