PRESENTATION ON

SHER SHAH SURI

Sher shah suri•Sher Shah Suri (1486 – May 22, 1545) birth nameFarid Khan was the founder of the short-livedSur Empire in northern India, with its capital at Delhi,before its demise in the hands of the resurgent MughalEmpire, an Afghan (Pathan) by origin, he defeated the Mughals and took control of India in 1540.

•A soldier of fortune, Sher Khan also proved himself a gifted administrator as well as an able general. His reorganization of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors

•During his five year rule from 1540 to 1545, he set up a new template for civic and military administration. He adopted a tri-metal coinage based on copper, silver and gold coins and re-organised the postal system in his kingdom.He further developed Humayun's Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh and revived the historical city of Pataliputra as Patna which had been in decline since the 7th century CE.

•Sher khan or Sher shah sur, had established himselfas the leader of the many Afghans. Finding Humayun a weak ruler, By a clever mixture of politics and military strategy, he twiceConvincingly outfoxed the Mughal armies- once At chausain bihar,and again more decisively at kanauj in may 1540.

•He then became the independent ruler of the contemporary India from 1540-1545. with his capital at Delhi.

•He also did some major reforms as the partiality amongst the Hindu's and the Muslims was abolished by him, then He released the 178 grams silver coin, Rupiya 1540–1545 CE, was the first Rupee.

•Apart from rebuilding the Grand Trunk Road also known as Shahar Rah-e-Azam ("great road"), which stretches across the breadth of South Asia from Sonargaon In Bangladesh to Kabul in Afghanistan, he built monumentsmany of which no longer exist today

•Including Rohtas Fort,now a UNESCO World HeritageSite in Pakistan, many structures in the Rohtasgarh Fortin Bihar, Sher Shah Suri Masjid, in Patna, built in 1540–1545 to commemorate his reign.Qila-i-Kuhna mosque, built bySher Shah in 1541, at Purana Qila, Delhi, a Humayun citadel started in 1533, and later extended by him, along with the construction of Sher Mandal, an octagonal buildinginside the Purana Qila, Delhi complex, which later servedas the library of Humayun.

ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY

Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque

The single-domed Qila-i-Kuna Mosque, built by Sher Shah in 1541 is an excellent example of a pre-Mughal design, and an early example of the extensive use of the pointed arch in the region as seen in its five doorways with the 'true' horseshoe-shaped arches. It was designed as a Jami Mosque, or Friday mosque for the Sultan and his courtiers. The prayer hall inside, the single-aisled mosque, measures 51.20m by 14.90m and has five elegant arched prayer niches or mihrabs set in its western wall. Marble in shades of red, white and slate is used for the calligraphic inscriptions on the central iwan, marks a transition from Lodhi to Mughal architecture. At one time, the courtyard had a shallow tank, with a fountain.A second storey, accessed through staircases from the prayer hall, with a narrow passage running along the rectangular hall, provided space for female courtiers to pray, while the arched doorway on the left wall, framed by ornate jharokas, was reserved for members of the royal family. On a marble slab within mosque an inscription thus read, "As long as there are people on the earth, may this edifice be frequented and people be happy and cheerful in it". Today it is the best preserved building the Purana Qila.

Sher Mandal

The Sher Mandal stands to the south of the mosque. This double-storeyed octagonal tower of red sandstone with steep stairs leading up to the roof. The structure was intended to be higher than its existing height but the work was stopped due to the untimely death of Sher Shah. It was built by Sher Shah and was used as a personal observatory and library by Humayun after he recaptured the fort. It is also one of the first observatories of Delhi. The first being in Pir Gharib at Hindu Rao at Ridge built in 14th century by Firoz shah Tughlaq.The tower is topped by an octagonal chhatri supported by eight pillars and decorated with white marble. Inside there are remnants of the decorative plaster-work and traces of stone-shelving where, presumably, the emperor's books were placed. This was also the tragic spot where, on 24 January 1556 Humayun fell from the second floor to his death. He slipped while hasting to the evening prayers, following his hobby of astronomical star gazing at the top of this private observatory. He fell headlong down the stairs and died of his injuries two days later.

Rohtas fort

Qila Rohtas is situated in a gorge approximately 16 km NW of Jhelum and 7 km from Dina. Qila Rohtas is a garrison fort and could hold a force of up to 30,000 men. Due to its location, massive walls, trap gates and 3 Baolis (stepped wells) it could withstand a major siege although it was never besieged.Most of the fort was built with ashlar stones collected from its surrounding villages such as Tarraki village. Some parts of the fort were built with bricks.The fort is irregular in shape and follows the contours of the hill it was constructed on. The fort is exactly 5.2 km in circumference. A 533 meter long wall divides the citadel (for the Chieftain) from other parts of the fort.The fortification has 68 bastions (towers) at irregular intervals. Out of the 3 Baolis, one of them is in the citadel and the rest are in the other parts of the fort. One of the Gates (Langar Khani) opens into the citadel and is a trap gate because it is in the direct line of fire of the bastions.

Layout of the rohtas fort

This tomb is an example of Indo-Islamic architecture, it was designed by the architect Aliwal Khan and built between 1540 and 1545, this red sandstone mausoleum (122 ft high), which stands in the middle of an artificial lake, which is nearly square, is known as the second Taj Mahal of India. The tomb stands at the centre of the lake on a square stone plinth with domed kiosks, chhatris at each of its corners, further there are stone banks and stepped moorings on all sides of the plinth, which is connected to the mainland through a wide stone bridge. The main tomb is built on octagonal plan, topped by a dome, 22-metre in span and surrounded ornamental domed kiosks which were once covered in coloured glazed tile work.

Sher Shah Suri’S tomb