Nāsir ad-Dīn Naṣrat Shāh (Bengali: নাসিরউদ্দিন নুসরত শাহ, Persian: ناصر الدین نصرت شاه; died 1533) was the Sultan of Bengal from 1519 until his assassination in 1533. Continuing with his father’s expansionist policies, he was the second ruler belonging to the Hussain Shahi dynasty. By 1526 however, he had to contend with the Mughal ascendency in the Battle of Ghaghra, and also suffered a reverse at the hands of the Ahom kingdom. The reigns of Alauddin Husain Shah and Nusrat Shah are generally regarded as the “golden age” of the Bengal sultanate.
Biography
Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah was born to a noble Muslim family of Syeds. His father, Sultan Alauddin Hussain Shah, was the founder of the Hussain Shahi dynasty of the Bengal Sultanate. Nasrat Shah married a daughter of Ibrahim Lodi, who was the ruler of the neighbouring Delhi Sultanate.
After his father’s death in 1519, Nasrat Shah rose to the throne. Trailing the policies of his father, Nasrat Shah expanded the Sultanate territory early on in his reign and Khalifatabad emerged as an important mint-town. Following Babur’s invasion of India, Mahmud Lodi and his Afghan confederates fled to Bengal for safety. In 1527, Babur despatched an envoy to Bengal in order to deduce Nasrat Shah’s attitude towards Mughal ascendency and collect some information regarding Bengal. Nasrat Shah did not respond and imprisoned the envoy. However, Nasrat Shah later negotiated peace deals and freed the envoy, in order to send gifts to Babur. Babur was pleased with the response; describing Nasrat as one of the great rulers of the Indian subcontinent, praising Bengali soldiers for their gunnery and navy, and recognised the loyalty of Bengalis for their leader.
After being pestered by the Afghans, the Mughals declared war against them and their Bengali allies. Attempting to defeat the Afghans on the way, the Mughals proceeded towards Bengal. Babur took control of Tirhut before stopping at Buxar, where he requested Bengal to dismiss their troops camped at the banks of the Ghaghara. Nasrat Shah’s refusal led to the Battle of Ghaghra, taking place on 6 May 1529, in which the Mughals fought the Afghans and Bengalis. The Mughal Empire were victorious, and their territory extended to Ghaghara’s eastern bank in Bihar though they did not penetrate Bengal. Nasrat Shah maintained Bengal’s status as an independent nation.