Islam Khan I

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Islam Khan Chisti

| office1 = Subahdar of Bihar

| term_start1 = 1607

| term_end1 = 1608

| monarch1 = Jahangir

| successor1 = Abdur Rahman

| office2 = 12th Subahdar of Bengal

| term_start2 = 10 June 1608

| term_end2 = 4 May 1613

| monarch2 = Jahangir

| predecessor2 = Jahangir Quli Khan

| successor2 = Muhtashim Khan

| birth_name = Shaikh Alauddin Chisti

| image = Tomb of Islam Khan 009.JPG

| birth_date = c. 1570

| caption = The tomb of Islam Khan, in the courtyard of the Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri

| death_date = 4 May 1613

| death_place = Bhawal, Bengal, Mughal Empire

| resting_place = Jama Masjid, Uttar Pradesh, India

| occupation = Mughal General

| parents = Shaikh Badruddin Chisti

| relatives = Salim Chishti (grandfather)
Mukarram Khan (son-in-law)
Qutubuddin Koka (cousin)

}}

Shaikh Alauddin Chisti (1570–1613; popularly known as Islam Khan Chisti) was a Mughal general and the Subahdar of Bihar{{cite journal |last1=Ahmad |first1=Imtiaz |title=MUGHAL GOVERNORS OF BIHAR UNDER AKBAR AND JAHANGIR |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=2002 |volume=63 |pages=281-288 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44158096}} and later Bengal. He transferred the capital of Bengal from Rajmahal to Sonargaon and founded the city of Jahangirnagar. He was awarded the titular name of Islam Khan by Mughal emperor Jahangir.

Early life

Islam Khan was a playmate of Jahangir in childhood.{{cite book |last=Karim |first=Abdul |year=2012 |chapter=Islam Khan Chisti |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Islam_Khan_Chisti |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh}} Khan and Jahangir were foster cousins; Khan's paternal aunt, whose father was Salim Chisti, had been the foster mother of Jahangir. Qutubuddin Koka was Khan's first cousin also. He was first appointed as the Subahdar of Bihar.

Subahdar of Bengal

File:Fatehpur Sikri 039.JPG

Islam Khan was appointed the Subahdar of Bengal in 1608. His major task was to subdue the rebellious Rajas, Bara-Bhuiyans, Zamindars and Afghan chiefs. He arrived Dhaka in mid-1610.

He fought with Musa Khan,{{cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |date=2013 |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |page=165 |isbn=978-93-80607-34-4}} the leader of Bara-Bhuiyans and by the end of 1611 he was subdued. Islam Khan also defeated Raja Pratapaditya of Jessore, Raja Ramchandra Basu of the Chandradwip Kingdom at the Conquest of Bakla and Raja Ananta Manikya of Bhulua. Then he annexed the kingdoms of Koch Bihar, Koch Hajo and Kachhar. Thus he took total control over Bengal. He moved the capital of Bengal to Dhaka from Rajmahal. He renamed Dhaka to Jahangirnagar.

Death

After 5 years of ruling, Islam Khan died at Bhawal in 1613. He was buried in Fatehpur Sikri and laid by the side of his grandfather Shaikh Salim Chishti.

Shaikh Alauddin Chisti's tomb in Ajmer, known as the Dargah Sharif, has become a major pilgrimage site for people of all faiths.{{Cite web |title=Ajmer dargah |url=https://www.dargahajmersharif.com/ |access-date=24 February 2023 |archive-date=10 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910075316/http://dargahajmersharif.com/ |url-status=dead }}