Shamsuddin Firoz Shah
| Shamsuddin Firoz Shah | |
|---|---|
| Independent Sultan of Bengal | |
| Reign | 1301–1322 |
| Predecessor | Rukunuddin Kaikaus |
| Successor | Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Shah |
| Issue | Shihabuddin Bughda Jalaluddin Mahmud Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Nasiruddin Ibrahim Tajuddin Hatim Khan Kutlu Khan |
Shamsuddin Firoz Shah (reigned: 1301–1322) was the independent ruler of the Bengal. He ascended the throne with the title of Al-Sultan Al-Azam Shams Al-Duniya wa Al-Din Abu Al-Muzaffar Firoz Shah Al-Sultan and invoked the name of the Abbaside Caliph Mustasim Billah in his coins.
Controversies persist among scholars regarding his origin and identity. According to Ibn Battuta, he was the son of Bughra Khan and the grandson of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban. 13th century scholar, Amir Khusrow, mentioned the names of two sons of Bughra Khan - Qaiqabad and Rukunuddin Kaikaus but he did not mention the name of Shamsuddin Firoz. Moreover, Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban, following the Iranian tradition, named his grandsons as Kaikobad, Kaikaus, Kaikhusrau, Kaimurs etc. But the name Firoz does not agree with the Iranian tradition. Furthermore, Kaikobad was only 19 at the time of his accession to the throne of Delhi in 1288 AD. Kaikaus was a younger brother of Kaikobad and hence, if Firoz was a younger brother of Kaikaus, he would be in his mid-thirties at the time of his accession to the throne of Lakhnauti in 1301 AD. Two of his grown-up sons are found helping their father in affairs of state. But at such an age it is unlikely for a person to have two or more grown-up sons. On these grounds and on a close examination of his coins modern scholars hold that he did not belong to the House of Balban. Shamsuddin Firoz nowhere claims himself to be the son of a sultan, but all his sons and successors call themselves Sultan bin Sultan (Sultan, the son of Sultan).
It is assumed that Shamsuddin Firoz was one of the two Firozes left by Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban to assist his son Bughra Khan, who was appointed to the governorship of Lakhnauti. Of these two officers, Firoz Iitigin, the ruler of Bihar, was more competent. Probably Firoz Iitigin, one of the two Firozes, after the death of Rukunuddin Kaikaus or displacing him forcibly, came to the throne of Lakhnauti in 1301 CE with the title of Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah. On his accession to the throne, Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah entrusted the governorship of Bihar to Tajuddin Hatim Khan, one of his sons.
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