Sher Shah Suri

He remained a brave and ambitious warrior till the very end. Sher Shah Suri was killed in a freak accident during the siege of Kalinjar fort on 13 May 1545. He was succeeded by his son, Jalal Khan who took the title of Islam Shah Suri. His successors, however, proved to be weak rulers and the Mughals were able to re-establish their rule in India after a few years.

Sher Shah Suri was born as Farid Khan in 1486 in Sasaram, Rohtas district, Bihar in India. His grandfather Ibrahim Khan Suri was a land lord (Jagirdar) in Narnaul area and his father Mian Hassan Khan Suri, was a horse breeder and a prominent figure in the government of Bahlul Khan Lodi. Farid had several brothers.

Farid Khan grew up to be a brave young man and was given a village in Fargana, Delhi (comprising present day districts of Bhojpur, Buxar, Bhabhua of Bihar) by Omar Khan Sarwani, the counselor and courtier of Bahlul Khan Lodi.

Farid often got into disputes with his father and ran away from home to independently seek his fortunes.

He then enlisted as a soldier in the service of Jamal Khan, the governor of Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile his father died and he took possession of his paternal jagir.

Farid Khan entered the service of Bahar Khan, the ruler of Bihar, in 1522. He quickly impressed Khan with his bravery and valor, and was appointed his deputy. He also became the tutor and mentor of Bahar Khan's minor son.

Once on a hunting trip Farid killed a full grown tiger with his bare hands, and earned the title of Sher Khan from Bahar Khan in recognition of his bravery.

An aggressive personality, Sher Khan developed difference with Bahar Khan and left his services to join Babur’s camp in 1527-28. He returned to Bihar after the death of Bahar Khan and became the governor. In this position he effectively reorganized the administration and established a well-disciplined army. Within a course of four years he became the recognized ruler of Bihar.

He grew more ambitious and attacked Bengal in 1538, easily defeating Ghiyashuddin Shah. However, he was unable to conquer the kingdom because of Mughal Emperor Humayun who made an expedition to Bengal at the same time.

One of the most famous battles fought by Sher Shah Suri was the Battle of Chausa in which his forces defeated the Mughal emperor Humayun's army in 1539. Sher Shah’s victory in the battle marked the beginning of the downfall of Humayun’s reign and laid the foundation for Suri to establish the foundation of the Sur Empire in North India.