WI/AHC: Surviving Bengal Sultanate

TheWitheredStriker · Jun 6, 2023

Since lately I've been pretty fascinated by the Bengal Sultanate, and in one of my new TL projects I'd love to try and keep it alive. The effects on the region could be very interesting, especially if the Sultanate expands into Assam and develops closer ties with Burma (which might even go Muslim under the right circumstances). With that being said, however ... I really don't know that much about Indian history. So I have no idea how to get that done.

IIRC, the Bengal Sultanate was conquered by the Mughals in the 16th century, briefly seceded again in 1545, and then was annexed for good in 1576. I'm not immediately sure how to prevent this without butterflying the Mughals, and I'm pretty sure that butterflying the Mughals will make India completely unrecognizable. I've also considered making Hem Chandra Vikramaditya defeat the Mughals, but from what I've read, he'd probably have moved against Bengal next anyway.

Essentially, my lack of expertise on Indian history shows. Can someone help me out with this?

VVD0D95 · Jun 6, 2023

You’d need to keep the Mughals tied down dealing with other issues for them not to go for Bengal.

As for it trying to expand into Assam, they’d need to wait for a weak king of which there weee very few at the time. Unless they strike when the kamata kingdom is there.

Harshavardhana · Jun 7, 2023

I have an ongoing timeline with Bengal in the 18th century but it would be cool to see your take on it!

TheWitheredStriker · Aug 14, 2023

Kcirtap said:
I have an ongoing timeline with Bengal in the 18th century but it would be cool to see your take on it!

Sorry for the late reply, I largely forgot about this thread for quite some time.

I tried visiting your profile, but it seems to be private. Would you mind linking me to your TL? I'd be down to look over it!

Also, if you don't mind me asking, how did you keep the Bengal sultanate around? I still know genuinely nothing about Indian history, so it'd be cool if I could get some pointers to push me into the right direction. I've tried digging and thus far most of it boils down to "just make the Mughals not attack Bengal for some reason", which doesn't seem like a lot (and also doesn't seem very plausible, since I can't imagine that the Mughal ruler wakes up one day and says "nah, I actually don't feel like conquering that really rich sultanate on my border").

Harshavardhana · Aug 14, 2023

TheWitheredStriker said:
I tried visiting your profile, but it seems to be private. Would you mind linking me to your TL? I'd be down to look over it!

Is my profile privated? That seems weird because I don't remember doing that. Anyway, here is it -

The Royal Tiger of Asia - A Bengal/Indian subcontinent Timeline

The assassination of one of Aurangzeb’s grandson, Azim-us-shan in the camp of the Afghan troublemaker Rahim Khan in Bengal had the emperor personally send Zabardast Khan again to bring the bandit to heel [1]. Just like what he did with Azim-us-shan, Rahim Khan tried to treacherously invite him...

www.alternatehistory.com

I have currently stopped writing many of my timelines as I am in college but will return to it once I finish college

.

TheWitheredStriker said:
Also, if you don't mind me asking, how did you keep the Bengal sultanate around? I still know genuinely nothing about Indian history, so it'd be cool if I could get some pointers to push me into the right direction. I've tried digging and thus far most of it boils down to "just make the Mughals not attack Bengal for some reason", which doesn't seem like a lot (and also doesn't seem very plausible, since I can't imagine that the Mughal ruler wakes up one day and says "nah, I actually don't feel like conquering that really rich sultanate on my border").

That's why I started my timeline in the 1700s because it would be extremely hard for Bengal to not get conquered by the early Mughals.

Madhukar_Shah · Aug 14, 2023

Yh if you want a bengal that doesn’t get conquered by a gangetic empire post it’s initial independence, you need the plains kept fragmented and ideally Bengal expanding its sphere of influence westwards- this becomes even more important post 16th century as the shifting course of the ganga makes bengal more connected to the rest of india.

The easiest course of action is keeping the Jaunpur sultanate as an independent state- bengal can hope to hold its own against that and even get the better of them at times, but they’d be at the mercy of anyone who can unite Panjab and Bihar.

TheWitheredStriker · Aug 15, 2023

Thanks for the responses!

I've done some of my own research just now, and as it turns out, the Bengalis under Daud seemed pretty close to defeating the Mughals at Tukaroi. The tides turned only after Duad's general, Gujar Khan, was killed in melee; the ensuing Mughal victory severly weakened the Bengal sultanate. Might this be a good PoD?

Madhukar_Shah · Aug 15, 2023

TheWitheredStriker said:
the Bengalis under Daud seemed pretty close to defeating the Mughals at Tukaroi

A defeat here would just push the Mughals back a few years- Akbar and any successor on the Peacock Throne would be dead set on conquering bengal, especially as it was dominated by the Afghan nobility that backed the suri empire that kicked the Mughals out of india.

TheWitheredStriker · Aug 15, 2023

Hmm, I see. Any other ideas/options?

Ursogulos · Sep 10, 2023

TheWitheredStriker said:
Hmm, I see. Any other ideas/options?

Even if mughals take part of Bengal Sultanate, say upto north of old Brahmaputra river( ergo Ghurid Sultanate), the rest can coalesce and instead go east, capture the various petty States like Tripura, Kamata and Monipur.

Have an engagement Between the Mughals and Bengal, make the mughals win a pyrrhic victory and acknowledge with lots of grumbling that they can't expand to the east bank of Brahmaputra. Then take Bengal Sultanate from there and start expanding to the east.

For that you need at least the king or a heir survive the battle and run the show. Think of Jalaluddin Mungbarnu expanding and escaping from mongols.

VVD0D95 · Sep 11, 2023

Ursogulos said:
Even if mughals take part of Bengal Sultanate, say upto north of old Brahmaputra river( ergo Ghurid Sultanate), the rest can coalesce and instead go east, capture the various petty States like Tripura, Kamata and Monipur.

Have an engagement Between the Mughals and Bengal, make the mughals win a pyrrhic victory and acknowledge with lots of grumbling that they can't expand to the east bank of Brahmaputra. Then take Bengal Sultanate from there and start expanding to the east.

For that you need at least the king or a heir survive the battle and run the show. Think of Jalaluddin Mungbarnu expanding and escaping from mongols.

I don’t tbink it’ll be that easy for them to take the north eastern states. Not without those states complying.

Ursogulos · Sep 11, 2023

VVD0D95 said:
I don’t tbink it’ll be that easy for them to take the north eastern states. Not without those states complying.

Not easy but not hard, just give Bengal a Jalaluddin Mingbarnu type sultan who would avoid clashing with mughals ( but it is inevitable) and put most efforts to the east. OTL they were able to take on Kamata, Arakan and Tripura.

VVD0D95 · Sep 11, 2023

Ursogulos said:
Not easy but not hard, just give Bengal a Jalaluddin Mingbarnu type sultan who would avoid clashing with mughals ( but it is inevitable) and put most efforts to the east. OTL they were able to take on Nepal, Arakan and Tripura.

Indeed

PerhapsIt'sChondoLal · Sep 18, 2023

One thing you could do - have Nusrat Shah's Bengal defeat Babur's army at Ghaghra, pushing them back and establishing an Mahmud Lodi-ruled Bihari Sultanate as a buffer state between them and the Mughals. Babur retreats to nurse his wounds, and Bengal and the Afghans get time to consolidate against him.
In the long run, have Nusrat Shah survive the assassination attempt on him and continue Bengal's golden age.

TheWitheredStriker · Sep 18, 2023

Sounds like a great idea! Thank you!