Shah Mir A. Q. Rafiqi states:
Annemarie Schimmel has suggested that Shah Mir belonged to a family from Swat which accompanied the sage
Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani and were associated to the
Kubrawiya, a Sufi group in Kashmir. He worked to establish Islam in Kashmir and was aided by his descendant rulers, specially
Sikandar Butshikan. He reigned for three years and five months from 1339 to 1342 CE. He was the ruler of Kashmir and the founder of the Shah Mir dynasty. He was followed by his two sons who became kings in succession.
Jamshid . It was built in 1394 CE by ruler
Sikandar Shah Miri. Sultan Shamsu'd-Din Shah was succeeded by his elder son Sultan Jamshid who ruled for a year and two months. In 1343 CE, Sultan Jamshid suffered a defeat by his brother who ascended the throne as Sultan Alau'd-Din in 1347 CE. As a broad minded intellectual,
Shihab'ud-Din, in the first half of his tenure, took care of the Sultanate and brought stability to the social and integral structure of Kashmir. Full of animation and efficiency, Shihab'ud-Din set out to conquer its neighbour polities to expand and glorify his state. Marching through
Baramulla, he first occupied
Pakhli and went on to add
Swat to his realm. Next, he invaded the Khokhar dominated
Pothohar, which extended from
Attock to
Sialkot. His commander-in-chief (Mir Bakhshi), Malik Candra, on the other hand, subdued
Jammu,
Kishtwar,
Chamba, and other
hill states. Occupying all the bordering states in the south, Shihab'ud-Din went on to defeat the
Dardic forces of
Gilgit and the hill states of the north.
Baltistan under the
Maqpons and
Ladakh under the
Maryuls were, at that time, tributary states of
Moghulistan and
Tibet, respectively. Shihabu’d-din was also a great administrator who governed his kingdom with firmness and justice. A town named Shihabu’d-dinpura aka Shadipur was founded by him. He was also called the Lalitaditya of Medieval Kashmir as he erected many mosques and monasteries.
Qutubu'd-Din He was the next Sultan of Kashmir. The only significance of his rule is that the
Sufi saint
Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani arrived at Kashmir in his reign. In 1380 C.E. Qutbud’din died and was succeeded by his son Sultan Sikander also known as the Sikander Butshikand.
Sikandar Sultan Sikandar (1389–1413 CE), was the sixth ruler of the Shah Mir Dynasty. on the banks of Jhelum river, built during reign of Sikandar Shah Barring a successful invasion of Ladakh, Sikandar did not annex any new territory. Internal rebellions were ably suppressed. A welfare-state was installed — oppressive taxes were abolished, and free schools and hospitals were commissioned. Scholars caution against accepting the allegations at face value and attributing them solely to religious bigotry. further, Jonaraja's polemics stemmed, at least in part, from his aversion to the slow disintegration of caste society under Islamic influence. However, Sikandar was also the first Kashmiri ruler to convert destroyed temples into Islamic shrines, and such a display of supremacy probably had its origins in religious motivations. Sikandar died in April, 1413 upon which, the eldest son 'Mir' was anointed as the Sultan having adopted the title of Ali Shah.
Ali Shah He was the seventh ruler of the Shah Mir Dynasty, and reigned between 1413 and 1420. He was defeated by Sultan
Zain-ul-Abidin at
Thanna with the help of
Jasrath Khokhar, a chieftain from
Pothohar Plateau. The fate of Ali Shah is uncertain: he may have died in captivity or have been put to death by Khokhar. and ruled from 1418 to 1470. Zain-ul-Abidin worked hard to establish a fair rule in Kashmir. He called back the Hindus who had left Kashmir during his father's reign and allowed building of temples.
Jizya was abolished too in his command. From the regulation of commodities to the reviving of old crafts, Abidin did everything for overall development of Kashmir and his subjects. Zain-ul-Abidin revived Kashmir’s industries by inviting Persian and Central-Asian craftsmen who introduced
shawl-weaving,
carpet-making, silk,
wood-carving, and
papier-mâché arts. He also promoted paper-making and bookbinding, transforming Kashmir into a centre of fine handicrafts and learning. He launched major public-works and agricultural projects, digging canals such as the Zaingair, building bridges including
Zaina Kadal, and founding new settlements like
Naushahr (Zainagir). These measures improved irrigation and communication across the valley. Zain-ul-Abidin is also called as
Akbar of Kashmir and
Shahjahan of Kashmir on account of religion and development respectively.
Haider Shah Next Sultan of Kashmir was Haji Khan, who succeeded his father Zain-ul-Abidin and took the title of Haider Khan.
Interruption by Haidar Dughlat , in the name of the
Mughal emperor
Humayun. In 1540, the Sultanate was briefly interrupted when
Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, a Chagatai Turco-Mongol military general attacked and occupied Kashmir. Arriving in Kashmir, Haidar installed as sultan the head of the Sayyid faction, Nazuk. In 1546, after Humayun recovered Kabul, Haidar removed Nazuk Shah and struck coins in the name of the Mughal emperor. He died in 1550 after being killed in battle with the Kashmiris. He lies buried in the
Gorstan e Shahi in
Srinagar. == Architecture ==