The King Who Killed a Lion

Sher Shah Suri, a legendary ruler of medieval India who rose from humble beginnings to become a lion lord and conqueror. Follow his journey through intrigue, battles, and diplomatic maneuvers as he transforms from a jagir-holder to the king of north India. Uncover his legacy of infrastructure development, tax reforms, and decentralized governance, which still resonates today.

Sher Shah Suri: Image Source: Allahabad Museum

You might be wondering why Farid Khan is known as Sher Shah. This christening was based on an adventurous story. When a leopard dashed against the king of Bihar, Farid Khan fought with it and conquered the leopard with his bare hands. After this incident, he was widely known as Sher Shah or "Lion Lord." The Pargana of Farid became prosperous and the fame of Sher Shah increased. But the intrigues of his stepmother arose again, and he left for Agra, the capital of Ibrahim Lodhi. He remained there until the death of his father. The next few years were worrisome for Farid because the Parganas of his father were now ruled by his stepbrother Suleiman, who was too powerful. With the help of Junid Barlas, he fought against his stepbrother and occupied his paternal jagirs.

Along with Sultan Junid Barlas, he visited the court of Babar. During this visit, he learned about the military organization of the Mughals and other techniques of governance that kept the Mughals powerful, which later helped Suri to dethrone the Mughals. Many stories are surfacing regarding his visit to Babar. It was said that when Babar saw the royal behavior of Suri during eating, he suspected that Sher Khan would be a threat to his rule and said, "Keep an eye on Sher Khan." When Sher Shah realized foul play, he escaped to his Jagir in 1528. When he felt insecurity there, he went to Sultan Mahmud of Bihar, and he was appointed as a guardian of Sultan's son Jalal Khan.

After the death of Sultan Mahmud, he was virtually the ruler who had power over the administration. When the supposed king Jalal Khan escaped to Bengal, he became virtually the real king. It was at this time that Sher Shah started his march. Soon, he acquired the fort of Chunar through diplomatic negotiations with Lad Malika, the widow of Taj Khan of Chunar. The Chunar fort had a very diplomatic position in the governance of Bihar. Understanding the relevance of the fort, Sher Shah dared to have a "romantic" encounter with Lad Malika to acquire the fort. Even though Lad Malika had sons, the fort was acquired by Sher Shah as he officially married her after the death of Jalal Khan.

His next aim was the occupation of the forts of Rohtas. Even though there are two opinions over the methods of conquering, everyone agrees with the fact that he had seized them. One of his cherished dreams was to dethrone the Mughals from India. Through the battles of Chausa and Kannauj, he also succeeded in dethroning Humayun and becoming the next king.

During his tenure, he focused on infrastructure development like building roads and Serais. He overhauled the tax system and made it farmer-friendly. He maintained law and order in a way that made roads safer from the bandits that were widespread during his time. To apply all of his laws and orders, he decentralized the power and made the Muqaddams accountable for anything that happened on their land. For five years, the entire north India was under the helm of Sher Shah. He defeated the Rajputs and annexed Malwa. While he was besieging the Kalinjar fort, he was hit by a cannonball and killed in that battle. Though, millions of Indians are still benefiting from the reforms that he made during his reign.