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When Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish ruled Delhi at that time, Tughan Khan invaded Bengal and defeated Awar Khan Aibak, the Governor of Bengal, in 1236. There he grasped the power of Bengal and later he started his expedition to the eastern India. He established his dominance in Bengal, Bihar and Oudh but he acknowledged the overlordship of Razia Sultana. In the post Iltutmish period, Aur Khan assumed power at Lakhnauti. The Bihar governor Tughral Tughan Khan, however, challenged him, killed him in a battle and thus became the master of the united territories of Lakhnauti and Bihar. He legalised his place by obtaining recognition from Raziya. He used to express his allegiance to Delhi by sending presents whenever a new Sultan succeeded to the throne of Delhi. When Tughral Tughan Khan became the governor of Bengal, there were segregated Hindu monarchs dominated the entire Bihar and Orissa. During the reign of Tughan Khan, the Hindu kings of Orissa, Raja Narasimhadava I, invaded southern Bengal. Then, Tughan Khan repulsed the army of Narshinga Dev and captured the Katasin fort of Orissa. Then Narsingha Dev attacked suddenly the army of Tughral Tughan Khan and defeated them. The Oriya army pursued the Muslims all the way to Lakhnauti, the capital of Bengal, and besieged the city. All the Muslims of Lakhnauti were slain. Tughan Khan sought assistance from the Delhi sultan, Alauddin Masud Shah, who sent Malik Karakash Khan of Kara and Malik Tughlaq Tamar Khan of Awadh to help Tughan Khan. Tughral was confirmed as a Sultan of Bengal and marched against Raja Narshinga Dev in April 1244 AD, and pushed them beyond Katasin fort, some seventy miles south of Lakhnor. He entered interior of Orissa territory but was suddenly attacked from the rear. He succeeded in conducting a safe retreat. The Orissa army occupied Lakhnor and killed its governor. Under the circumstances Tughral sent his envoys to Delhi seeking military assistance. Masud Shah immediately ordered Malik Qara Qash Khan, governor of Kara-Manikpur in Allahabad and Malik Tamar Khan of Awadh to unite their forces and proceed to Tughral's assistance. In the meantime the Orissa forces made further advance into Muslim territory and reached even the vicinity of Lakhnauti in March 1245 AD. With the withdrawal of Orissa army Malik Tamar Khan pressed Tughral Khan for relinquishing the charge of Lakhnauti to him and defeated him in a series of combats. Minhaj negotiated a peace between the two and as per the agreement Tughral surrendered Lakhnauti and Bihar to Tamar Khan and in return he was allowed to depart unmolested with his treasures and followers. Tughral reached Delhi in July 1245 AD. Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud appointed Tughral to Tamar Khan's former province, Awadh, but shortly after his arrival there Tughral died in June 1246 AD. Curiously enough Tamar Khan also died on the same day at Lakhnauti. Then the army of Narsingha Dev retreated to Orissa. Tughral sent his envoy to Delhi with presents and expressing loyalty to the sultan, retraced his steps and returned to Lakhnauti in June 1243 AD accompanied by the historian Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani. But Tughlaq Tamar Khan himself assumes the power of Bengal which forced Tughan Khan to flee to Delhi. Thus Tughan Khan's ten year ruling of Bengal ended in 1246 CE. Later he was appointed as the governor of Awadh by Sultan Alauddin Masud Shah. Conquest of Tughral Tughan Khan During his regime of about ten years, Tughral Tughan Khan, instead of seeking expansion towards the east and southwest, involved himself in north Indian affairs. With this end in view he made a successful rush first into Tirhut in the northern part of Bihar and then proceeded towards the west at the beginning of September 1242 AD. The confusions over succession at Delhi emboldened him. Then he advanced as far as Kara (Allahabad) where he got the news of the accession of Sultan Masud Shah at Delhi. In 1272, Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din Balban appointed Amin Khan as the governor and Tughan Khan as his assistant of Bengal. But soon Tughan Khan deposed Amin Khan and declared himself the independent ruler of Bengal. He took the name Mughisuddin Tughral. Tughan then defeated the Sena king Vishwarup Sen of eastern Bengal (present-day Assam) and established Muslim dominance in that region for the first time. He established a powerful fort called Narikella in Sonargaon. Tughan invaded and occupied Jajnagar that is present in Orissa. Then Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban sent a huge army led by Malik Turmati the ruler of against Tughan. The Balban army was thoroughly defeated by Tughan's army. Balban sent another army against Tughan. But this time once again Balban's army was defeated by Tughan's army. An infuriated Balban invaded Bengal in 1280. His son, Nasiruddin Bughra Khan (1281-1287), assisted him in this mission. There were about three hundred thousand soldiers in Balban's army. This massive army was accompanied with a huge navy. Tughan then fled to Jajnagar by river. Balban split his army into smaller groups. One such small group led by Malik Sher Andaz attacked Tughan's army and Tughan was defeated and killed in the battle. After Tughan's death, Balban put his son in charge of Bengal. Thus, the separatist Mameluk ruling of Bengal ended in 1281. |
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