Baro-Bhuiyans of Bengal

At the end of the Karrani Dynasty, the nobles of Bengal became fiercely independent. Sulaiman
Khan Karrani carved out an independent principality in the Bhati region comprising a part of
greater Dhaka district and parts of Mymensingh district. During that period Taj Khan Karrani
and another Afghan chieftain who helped Isa Khan to obtain an estate in Sonargaon and
Mymensingh in 1564. By winning the grace of the Afghan, chieftain, Isa Khan gradually
increased his strength and status and by 1571 Mughal Court designated him as the ruler of Bhati.

Bhati region
Mughal histories, mainly the Akbarnama, the Ain-i-Akbari and the Baharistan-i-Ghaibi refers to
the low-lying regions of Bengal as Bhati.

This region includes the Bhagirathi to the Meghna River is Bhati, while others include Hijli,
Jessore, Chandradwip and Barisal Division in Bhati. Keeping in view the theatre of warfare
between the Bara-Bhuiyans and the Mughals, the Baharistan-i-Ghaibi mentions the limits of the
area bounded by the Ichamati River in the west, the Ganges in the south, the Tripura to the east;
Alapsingh pargana (in present Mymensingh District) and Baniachang (in greater Sylhet) in the
north. The Bara-Bhuiyans rose to power in this region and put up resistance to the Mughals, until
Islam Khan Chisti made them submit in the reign of Jahangir.

Isa Khan
Isa Khan was the leader of the Baro Bhuiyans (twelve landlords) and a Zamindar of the Bhati
region in medieval Bengal. Throughout his reign he put resistance against Mughal invasion. It
was only after his death, when the region went totally under Mughals.

The Jesuit mission who sent to Bengal managed to identify that 3 of the chieftains were Hindus,
they were Bakla of Bakarganj, Sripur of southeastern Dhaka (another source record the chief was
Kedar Rai of Vikrampur),[15] and Chandechan of Jessore while the rest were Muslims during Isa
Khan's rule which in following decades N.K Bhattasali managed to identify some of them, which
consisting:

Uthman of Bokainagar.

Ma'sum Khan Kabuli of Chatmogar in Pabna.

Madhu Ray of Khalsi.

Raja Ray of Shahzadpur in eastern Pabna.

the Ghazi Family in Bhowal on Dhaka which consisted Fazl Ghazi with his son and
inheritor, Bahadhur Ghazi(who possessed large Naval fleets which was the main factor of
Isa Khan's resistance against Mughal forces) along with Sona Ghazi and Anwar Ghazi.

Pahlawan of Matang in southwestern Sylhet

 Nabud/Madan of Chandrapratap

Ram Chandra of Bakhla

Baro Bhuiyan and Subahdar Islam Khan

Islam Khan Chisti (1608-1613) a Mughal subahdar in Bengal for more than five years. His
name was Shaikh Alauddin Chisti, and Islam Khan was a title given by Emperor jahangir. A son
of Shaikh Badruddin Chisti and grandson of Shaikh Salim Chisti of Fatehpur Sikri, Islam Khan
was a playmate of Prince Salim (when the prince was in the khanqah of Salim Chisti).

As a subahdar of Bengal, Islam Khan won great fame because he succeeded, where his famous
predecessors had failed, in subjugating and bringing the whole of Bengal, except Chittagong,
under Mughal control. Between 1576 and 1605, akbar had sent about a dozen accomplished
military chiefs to subjugate Bengal, but could occupy only a portion centering round the capital
city of tanda. Many Rajas, Bhuiyans (Bhuiyans), zamindars and Afghan chiefs then parcelled out
Bengal among themselves. Sometimes some of them submitted to the Mughal invading army, but
as soon as the invaders withdrew to the capital, the subjugated chiefs behaved as independently
as before. So it devolved upon Jahangir to fulfil his father's wishes. Jahangir's first few subahdars
also could not do well, so he selected the young and energetic Islam Khan to accomplish the task
of subjugating Bengal and sent him there as subahdar in 1608.

Islam Khan, then only 38, apparently had no military training, though it may be assumed that,
having been born of a noble family, he received the formal education available to Muslims in
those days. Prior to his coming to Bengal he was subahdar of Bihar. On receiving the
appointment, he soon moved to rajmahal, then capital of Bengal. He studied the geopolitics of
Bengal very carefully and prepared his future plan of action with the help of imperial veterans.
He realised that a well-equipped, well-trained, loyal and dutiful armed force was needed to
establish Mughal authority in the rebellious province of Bengal. It occurred to him that the chief
obstacle to the Mughal conquest of Bengal was the Bhati of the bara-bhuiyans and the Afghans
under Khwaja Usman and his brothers.

The Afghans took possession of Bukainagar. So Islam Khan planned to march against the Bara-
Bhuiyans first. He felt that the effective means of warfare in the low-lying, riverine Bhati area
was a strong fleet of war-boats. So he decided and planned to reorganise and strengthen the navy.
He also realised that the capital city of Rajmahal, situated in the western corner of the province,
was far away from the troublous area of eastern Bengal. So he transferred the capital from
Rajmahal to Dhaka, a centrally located place in the heart of the Bhati area and well connected
through rivers with the headquarters of the Bara-Bhuiyans.

Islam Khan received support from the emperor in reorganising the army and navy. The emperor
appointed Ihtimam Khan as mir-i-bahr (admiral) and Mutaqid Khan as diwan. Both these officers
were experienced and trained in their respective departments, and Islam Khan received unstinted
support from them. He came out of Rajmahal and proceeded to Ghoraghat on the way to the
Bhati region, at the same time making sure that his rear was safe. He sent his personal officer
Shaikh Kamal to invade the three southwestern kingdoms of Bishnupur, Pachet and Hijli and
force them to submit. Raja pratapaditya, a rich and powerful landlord of Jessore, saw Islam Khan
on his way to Ghaoraghat and offered submission. Raja Satrajit of Bhusna also submitted to the
subahdar and accepted imperial service. Islam Khan also sent an army against the refractory
zamindars of northwest Bengal. The zamindars and chiefs around him were overawed and there
was no chance of any conspiracy against him. Thus he not only kept his rear safe, but his
communication with the capital also was free from danger.

Islam Khan came out of Rajmahal in December 1608, reached Ghoraghat in June 1609, passed
the rainy season there and in October proceeded towards the Bhati area. He spent the first few
months of 1610 fighting against the Bara Bhuiyans before reaching Dhaka in about June-July of
the same year. The Bara-Bhuiyans under their leader musa khan, son of isa khan, fought
gallantly; they fought at every fort, at every strategic point, but failed. Islam Khan occupied
Dhaka, made it his capital and renamed it Jahangirnagar after the name of the emperor. The
Bhuiyans were not subdued; they fortified their positions on both sides of the Lakhya River.
Islam Khan did not spare them any relief, but after fortifying Dhaka sent expeditions against all
stations of the Bhuiyans and before the end of 1611 all the Bara-Bhuiyans including their chief
Musa Khan submitted to Islam Khan. The subahdar also defeated Pratapaditya of Jessore, Ram
Chandra of Bakla and Ananta Manikya of Bhulua and brought their kingdoms under his control.

He then gave his attention to Khwaja Usman and defeated the Afghans under him at Bokainagar.
The Afghans fled to Uhar (in Maulvibazar) and continued their stubborn resistance. On Islam
Khan's request, the emperor sent Shujaat Khan to lead the army against Usman. The Afghans
fought gallantly and the daylong battle was going to be indecisive, but the sudden death of
Usman gave the Mughals an unexpected victory. The Afghans fled under the cover of darkness
but later submitted. There was another group of Afghans under Bayazid Karrani at Sylhet. They
were also made to submit. Thus the whole of Bengal came under Mughal control, the
southeastern frontier being fixed at the river Feni, beyond which lay the kingdom of Arakan.

Then Islam Khan turned his attention to the kingdoms of Kuch Bihar, kamarupa and Kachhar.
Raja Laksmi Narayan of Kuch Bihar was always friendly to the Mughals, but Raja Pariksit
Narayan put up stubborn resistance against the Mughal advance. After a long-drawn battle, he
was made to submit and brought to Dhaka. Later he was sent to the imperial court and Kamarupa
was annexed to the Mughal empire. Being defeated the king of Kachhar also was compelled to
make peace with the Mughals.

Islam Khan succeeded in subjugating the whole of Bengal and annexing the frontier kingdom of
Kamraupa. He defeated the enemies one by one and did not allow them to unite. His policy was
to divide and rule, ie to set the Bhuiyans and chiefs one against the other. He implemented this
policy very successfully. He did not allow the defeated zamindars, Bhuiyans and chiefs to go
back to their respective territories, though their territories were returned to them, they were
forced to join the Mughal army and their war-boats were confiscated. Joining the Mughal army,
they had to fight against their fellow zamindars and Bhuiyans. So by careful planning and
sustained efforts, Islam Khan achieved success and successfully performed the duties and
responsibilities reposed on him by the emperor. What the renowned Mughal generals of Akbar
could not do in thirty-two years after the fall of daud karrani, Islam Khan accomplished in less
than five years. After this, the Bhuiyans, zamindars and Afghan chiefs could not raise their heads
again, Afghan power was annihilated and the Bhuiyans, zamindars and local rajas were obliged
to be zamindars under the Mughals.

The transfer of the capital to Dhaka was yet another achievement of Islam Khan. He was the first
subahdar who realised the strategic importance of eastern Bengal to the Mughals, which is why
he transferred the capital to the heart of that region. It is not an exaggeration to say that it was
Islam Khan who really conquered Bengal for the Mughals. He organised a uniform
administrative system and established peace in the country. He may, therefore, be regarded as
one of the makers of the Mughal Empire and the greatest subahdar of the province of Bengal.
The emperor also recognised his merit and showered praises upon him on hearing the news of his
death. After successfully ruling the province for a little more than five years, Islam Khan died at
Bhawal about 25 miles north of Dhaka towards the end of 1613. He was first buried at Badshahi
Bagh (old High Court premises), Dhaka, but later his coffin was taken to Fatehpur Sikri and laid
to eternal rest by the side of his illustrious grandfather Shaikh Salim Chishti.