The Shah Mir Sultanate

Events

1. 1339

   Shah Mir founds the Sultanate

   Shah Mir, a courtier who had served the last Hindu rulers, took the throne and founded a dynasty that ruled Kashmir for more than 200 years.

   In the museumShah Mir

2. 14th century

   Lal Ded's verses

   Tradition

   The mystic Lal Ded, also called Lalleshwari or Lalla Arifa, composed short spiritual verses called vakhs in Kashmiri. They are among the oldest works in the language and are still recited by Hindus and Muslims alike.

   In the museumLal Ded

3. 1370s and 1380s

   Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani comes to Kashmir

   Contested

   The Persian Sufi scholar Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani visited Kashmir with a large group of followers. He is remembered as a central figure in the spread of Islam in the Valley, and tradition credits his companions with bringing crafts such as shawl weaving.

   In the museumMir Sayyid Ali HamadaniKhanqah-e-Moula

4. 1377 to 1438

   Nund Rishi and the Rishi order

   Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani, known as Nund Rishi or Sheikh ul-Alam, founded the Rishi order, a Kashmiri Sufi tradition of simple living and devotion. His Kashmiri verses, called shruks, sit alongside Lal Ded's at the root of Kashmiri literature.

   In the museumNund RishiCharar-e-Sharief

5. 1389 to 1413

   Sultan Sikandar's reign

   Contested

   Sultan Sikandar built Srinagar's Jamia Masjid. The chronicler Jonaraja also records the destruction of many temples and pressure on Brahmins during his reign.

   In the museumJamia Masjid, Srinagar

6. 1394 to 1402

   Srinagar's Jamia Masjid is built

   Sultan Sikandar began the Jamia Masjid in 1394 and it was finished in 1402. Burned and rebuilt several times, it remains the Valley's principal mosque.

   In the museumJamia Masjid, Srinagar

7. 1420 to 1470

   Budshah, the great king

   Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin invited back Pandits who had fled, ended the jizya tax on non-Muslims, supported translation between Sanskrit and Persian, and encouraged crafts, canals and bridges. Kashmiris still call him Budshah, the great king.

   In the museumZain-ul-Abidin (Budshah)Tomb of Budshah's MotherZaina Lank

8. 15th century

   The chronicle continues

   Jonaraja extended Kalhana's Rajatarangini into his own time, and after his death in 1459 his pupil Shrivara carried it further. Together they are the main contemporary record of the early Sultanate.

   In the museumThe Rajatarangini