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{{Short description|Sultan of Kashmir from 1339 to 1342)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Shams-ud-Din Shah
| succession   = [[Kashmir Sultanate|Sultan of Kashmir]]
| title        = Sultanu'l-A'zam
| image        = File:Islamic Sultanates. Kashmir. AR Sasnu (6.26 g). Kashmir mint. Fixed date AH 842 on reverse.jpg
| caption      = Silver Sasnu Coin of [[Kashmir Sultanate]]
| reign        = 4 July 1339 – 6 July 1342
| coronation   = 4 July 1339
| predecessor  = *[[Kota Rani]] (as Maharani of Kashmir)<br>
*[[Rinchan|Sadr'ud-Din Shah]] (as Sultan of Kashmir)
| successor    = [[Jamshid Shah Miri|Jamshid Shah]]
| spouse       = 
| issue        = [[Jamshid Shah Miri|Jamshid Shah]]<br>[[Alauddin Shah]]
| full name    = Shāh Mīr bin Ṭāhir bin Waqūr Shāh
| regnal name = Shamsu'd-Dīn Shāh
| posthumous name = Fāteh-e-Kashmīr (Conqueror of Kashmir)
| house      = [[Gibarid dynasty|Jahangiri]] (by birth)<br>(disputed)<br>[[Shah Mir dynasty|Shah Mir]] (founder)
| dynasty = [[Gibarid dynasty|Gibari]] (disputed)
| religion     = [[Sunni Islam]]
| father       = Tahir bin Waqur Shah
| mother       = 
| birth_date   = {{circa|1300}}
| birth_place  = [[Sultanate of Swat|Sultanate of Swāt]]<br>{{small|(present-day [[Swat District]], [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], Pakistan)}}
| death_date   = 6 July 1342
| death_place  = Inderkot Sumbal, [[Kashmir Sultanate]]<br>{{small|([[Srinagar]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], India)}}
| buried       = 
| signature    = 
}}
'''Shamsu'd-Din Shah Mir''' ({{langx|fa|{{nq|سلطان شمس الدین شاه میر}}|translit=Sultān Mīr Shams ad-Dīn Shāh}}; {{circa|1300}} &ndash; 6 July 1342) or simply as '''Shah Mir''' or '''Shah Mirza''' was the second [[Kashmir Sultanate|Sultan of Kashmir]] and founder of the [[Shah Mir dynasty]]. Shah Mir is believed to have come to [[Kashmir]] during the rule of Suhadeva, where he rose to prominence. After the death of Suhadeva and his brother, Udayanadeva, Shah Mir proposed marriage to the reigning queen, [[Kota Rani]]. She refused and continued her rule for five months till 1339, appointing Bhutta Bhikshana as prime minister. After the death of [[Kota Rani]], Shah Mir established his own kingship, founding the Shah Mir dynasty in 1339, which lasted till 1561.

==Origin==
{{Location map+
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|caption    = Kashmir
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|mini       = 1
|places     =
{{location map~ |Kashmir |lat_deg=34 |lat_min=5 |lat_sec=24 |lat_dir=N |lon_deg=74 |lon_min=47 |lon_sec=24 |lon_dir=E |label=Sringar |position=right |link=Srinagar |mark=Blue pog.svg |marksize=4}}
{{location map~ |Kashmir |lat=33.38 |N |long=74.3 |E |label=Rajouri |position=left |link=Rajouri |marksize=3}}
{{location map~ |Kashmir |lat=33.360726 |N |long=74.631387 |E |label=Budhal |position=right |link=Budhal tehsil|marksize=3}}
{{location map~ |Kashmir |lat_deg=35 |lat_min=23 |lat_dirN |lon_deg=72 |lon_min=11 |lon_E |label=Swat, Pakistan |position=right |link=Swat, Pakistan |marksize=3| outside  = 1 <!-- Turn off error category due to location outside map-->}}
{{location map~ |Kashmir |lat_deg=35 |lat_min=55 |lat_sec=15 |lat_dirN |lon_deg=74 |lon_min=18 |lon_sec=30 |lon_E |label=Gilgit |position=right |link=Gilgit |marksize=3}}
{{location map~ |Kashmir |lat_deg=34 |lat_min=08 |lat_sec=43 |lat_dirN |lon_deg=77 |lon_min=34 |lon_sec=03 |lon_E |label=Leh |position=right |link=Leh |marksize=3}}
}}
Modern scholarship differ on the origin of Shah Mir. However, most modern historians generally accept that Shah Mir was from [[Sultanate of Swat|Swat]] in [[Dardistan]].<ref name=Schimmel/><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wani |first1=Muhammad Ashraf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DgymEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT255 |title=The Making of Early Kashmir: Intercultural Networks and Identity Formation |last2=Wani |first2=Aman Ashraf |date=2023-02-22 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-83655-4 |pages=225 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=Balrafiq/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Malik |first=Jamal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAT1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA157 |title=Islam in South Asia: Revised, Enlarged and Updated Second Edition |date=2020-04-06 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-42271-1 |pages=157 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Holt |first1=Peter Malcolm |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y99jTbxNbSAC&pg=PA25 |title=The Cambridge History of Islam |last2=Lambton |first2=Ann K. S. |last3=Lewis |first3=Bernard |date=1970 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-29137-8 |pages=25 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Markovits |first=Claude |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r2OKvG5wbaAC&pg=PA40 |title=A History of Modern India, 1480-1950 |date=2004-09-24 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-84331-152-2 |pages=40 |language=en}}</ref> Some accounts trace his descent from the [[Sultanate of Swat|rulers of Swāt]].{{efn|The chronicles include those of Tahir, Haidar Malik, Rafiu'd Din Ahmad and Muhammad A'azam.<ref>{{citation |last=Gull |first=Surayia |title=Mir Saiyid Ali Hamadani And Kubraviya Sufi Order In Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldvXAAAAMAAJ |date=2003 |publisher=Kanikshka Publishers, Distributors |isbn=978-81-7391-581-9 |page=3}}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhatt |first=Saligram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=It1LePnN2LsC&pg=PA108 |title=Kashmiri Scholars Contribution to Knowledge and World Peace: Proceedings of National Seminar by Kashmir Education Culture & Science Society (K.E.C.S.S.), New Delhi |date=2008 |publisher=APH Publishing |isbn=978-81-313-0402-0 |pages=108 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hasan |first=Mohibbul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EUlwmXjE9DQC&pg=PA42 |title=Kashmir Under the Sultans |date=2005 |publisher=Aakar Books |isbn=978-81-87879-49-7 |pages=42 |language=en}}</ref>

Some scholars state that Shah Mir arrived from the Panjgabbar valley (Panchagahvara),<ref>{{citation |last=Sharma |first=R. S. |author-link=Ram Sharan Sharma |title=A Comprehensive History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ucQKAQAAIAAJ |year=1992 |publisher=Orient Longmans |isbn=978-81-7007-121-1 |page=628 |quote="Jonaraja records two events of Suhadeva's reign (1301-20), which were of far-reaching importance and virtually changed the course of the history of Kashmir. The first was the arrival of Shah Mir in 1313. He was a Muslim condottiere from the border of Panchagahvara, an area situated to the south of the Divasar pargana in the valley of river Ans, a tributary of the Chenab."}}</ref> which was populated by Khasa people, and so ascribe a Khasa ethnicity to Shah Mir.<ref>{{citation |last=Wani |first=Nizam-ud-Din |title=Muslim rule in Kashmir, 1554 A.D. to 1586 A.D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ikpuAAAAMAAJ |year=1987 |publisher=Jay Kay Book House |page=29 |quote="Shamir was a Khasa by birth and descended from the chiefs of Panchagahvara."}}</ref><ref name=Zutshi>{{citation |last=Zutshi |first=N. K. |title=Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir: an age of enlightenment |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AzluAAAAMAAJ |year=1976 |publisher=Nupur Prakashan |page=7 |quote="This area in which Panchagahvara was situated is mentioned as having been the place of habitation of the Khasa tribe. Shah Mir was, therefore, a ''Khasa'' by birth. This conclusion is further strengthened by references to the part of the Khasas increasingly played in the politics of Kashmir with which their connections became intimate after the occupation of Kashmir.}}
</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wani |first1=Nizam-ud-Din |title=Muslim Rule in Kashmir, 1554 A.D. to 1586 A.D. |date=1987 |publisher=Jay Kay Book House |page=29 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Muslim_Rule_in_Kashmir_1554_A_D_to_1586/ikpuAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=shah+mir+khasa&dq=shah+mir+khasa&printsec=frontcover |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kapur |first1=Manohar Lal |title=A History of Medieval Kashmir, 1320-1586 A.D. |date=1971 |publisher=A.R.B. Publications; sole distributors: Sterling Publishers, New Delhi |page=22 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/A_History_of_Medieval_Kashmir_1320_1586/S2w8AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=shah+mir+khasa&dq=shah+mir+khasa&printsec=frontcover |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Zutshi |first1=N. K. |title=Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir: An Age of Enlightenment |date=1976 |publisher=Nupur Prakashan |page=7 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Sultan_Zain_ul_Abidin_of_Kashmir/AzluAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=shah+mir+khasa&dq=shah+mir+khasa&printsec=frontcover |language=en}}</ref>

[[Andre Wink]] puts forward the opinion that Shah Mir was possibly of Afghan, Turk, or even Tibetan origin.<ref>{{citation |last=Wink |first=André |title=Indo-Islamic society: 14th - 15th centuries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyYslywJUE8C |date=2004 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=90-04-13561-8|page=140|quote=The first Muslim dynasty of Kashmir was founded in 1324 by Shah Mìrzà, who was probably an Afghan warrior from Swat or a Qarauna Turk, possibly even a Tibetan ...}}</ref> ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'' (second edition) suggests a possible Turkish origins.<ref>{{Cite book|editor=Lewis |editor2=Pellat |editor3=E.J. van Donzel |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam |chapter=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume IV (Iran-Kha): &#91;Fasc. 61-78a&#93; |volume=IV (Iran-Kha) |date=1998-05-28 |url=https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/1483 |access-date=2023-12-14 |publisher=Brill |language=en |isbn=978-90-04-05745-6|page=708|quote=But her authority was challenged by Shah Mir, a soldier of fortune, who was most probably of Turkish origin.}}</ref> However, A.Q. Rafiqi believes that Shah Mir was a descendant of Turkish or Persian immigrants to Swat.<ref name=Balrafiq>{{cite book |last1=Baloch |first1=N. A. |last2=Rafiq |first2=A. Q. |date=1998 |chapter=The regions of Sind, Baluchistan, Multan and Kashmir: the historical, social and economic setting |pages=293–318 |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |volume=IV |publisher=Unesco |isbn=923103467-7|url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledge-bank-article/vol_IVa%20silk%20road_the%20regions%20of%20sind,%20baluchistan,%20multan%20and%20kashmir.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028131445/https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledge-bank-article/vol_IVa%20silk%20road_the%20regions%20of%20sind,%20baluchistan,%20multan%20and%20kashmir.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2016}}</ref>{{rp|311–312}} Some scholars state that Shah Mir arrived from the Panjgabbar valley (Panchagahvara),<ref>{{citation |last=Sharma |first=R. S. |author-link=Ram Sharan Sharma |title=A Comprehensive History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ucQKAQAAIAAJ |year=1992 |publisher=Orient Longmans |isbn=978-81-7007-121-1 |page=628 |quote="Jonaraja records two events of Suhadeva's reign (1301-20), which were of far-reaching importance and virtually changed the course of the history of Kashmir. The first was the arrival of Shah Mir in 1313. He was a Muslim condottiere from the border of Panchagahvara, an area situated to the south of the Divasar pargana in the valley of river Ans, a tributary of the Chenab."}}</ref> which was populated by Khasa people, and so ascribe a [[Khasas|Khāsa]] ethnicity to Shah Mir.<ref>{{citation |last=Wani |first=Nizam-ud-Din |title=Muslim rule in Kashmir, 1554 A.D. to 1586 A.D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ikpuAAAAMAAJ |year=1987 |publisher=Jay Kay Book House |page=29 |quote="Shamir was a Khasa by birth and descended from the chiefs of Panchagahvara."}}</ref><ref name=Zutshi>{{citation |last=Zutshi |first=N. K. |title=Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir: an age of enlightenment |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AzluAAAAMAAJ |year=1976 |publisher=Nupur Prakashan |page=7 |quote="This area in which Panchagahvara was situated is mentioned as having been the place of habitation of the Khasa tribe. Shah Mir was, therefore, a ''Khasa'' by birth. This conclusion is further strengthened by references to the part of the Khasas increasingly played in the politics of Kashmir with which their connections became intimate after the occupation of Kashmir.}}
</ref>  It has also been suggested that he belonged to a family from Swat which accompanied the sage [[Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani]] and were associated to the [[Kubrawiya]], a Sufi group in Kashmir.<ref name=Schimmel>{{cite book|last=Schimmel|first=Annemarie|title=Islam in the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYImm1TnemwC|access-date=2014-11-10|year=1980|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-06117-7 |page=44}}</ref>

Older sources and historians such as [[Jonaraja]] state that Shah Mir was the descendant of Partha ([[Arjuna]]) of Mahabharata fame. Abu ’l-Fadl Allami, Nizam al-Din and [[Firishta]] also state that Shah Mir traced his descent to Arjuna, the basis of their account being Jonaraja’s [[Rajatarangini]], which Mulla Abd al-Qadir Bada’uni translated into Persian at [[Akbar]]’s
orders. This seems to be official genealogy of the Sultanate.<ref name=Balrafiq/> 
[[File:Kashmir under sultans.png|thumb|Modern map of Sultanate of Kashmir]]

==Early career==
{{more footnotes needed|section|date=July 2011}}

=== Early Service ===
A. Q. Rafiqi states:
{{blockquote|Shah Mir arrived in Kashmir in 1313 along with his family, during the reign of Suhadeva (1301–1320), whose service he entered. In subsequent years, through his tact and ability Shah Mir rose to prominence and became one of the most important personalities of his time.<ref name=Balrafiq/>}}
During the reign of Suhadeva, a Tatar chief by the name of Zulju invaded Kashmir and ravaged it. Suhadeva fled the country and his general Ramachandra occupied the throne. In the confusion [[Rinchan]] ({{reign|1320|1323}}),<ref name="r1">Majumdar, R.C. (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.372–80</ref><ref>Kashmīr Under the Sultānsby Mohibbul Hasan, Aakar Books, 2005</ref> sought the aid of various generals, including Shah Mir, and caused an internal uprising, seizing the throne. He married [[Kota Rani]], the daughter of Ramachandra. Rinchan embraced [[Islam]] at the hands of the ascetic, [[Bulbul Shah]], and took the [[Muslim]] name of [[Sultan Sadruddin]]. He was later attacked by rebels, and was badly wounded, dying in 1323 A.D.

Just before his death [[Sultan Sadruddin]] summoned his trusted minister, Shah Mir, who had since then risen to some prominence, and put his son, Haider, and wife, [[Kota Rani of Kashmir|Kota Rani]], in his care. After the death of Sadruddin, [[Kota Rani of Kashmir|Kota Rani]] married Udayanadeva, the brother of Suhadeva. However he was a weak ruler, so nearly all duties associated with governance fell on Kota Rani.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Hasan|first=Mohibbul|title=Kashmir Under the Sultans|publisher=Aakar Books|year=2005|isbn=9788187879497|location=Calcutta|pages=42}}</ref>

=== During and After the Later Turco-Mongol Invasion ===
During the reign of Udayanadeva, the Kashmir Valley was again invaded by [[Mongol]]-[[Turkic peoples|Turk]] forces, and Udayanadeva fled to Ladakh. Kota Rani, along with Shah Mir, called upon the many disorganized Damara (warlords of Kashmir), rallying them together. This now unified resistance defeated the invading armies, prompting their retreat from the valley.<ref name=":0" />

==== [[Shah Mir–Lohara War|Revolt Against Kota Rani]] ====
In the aftermath of the conflict, Shah Mir won prestige for his role in unifying the people. Kota Rani took notice of his increasing popularity, and in an effort to check him, appointed Bhatta Bhiksana, a powerful man within the kingdom, as her Prime Minister. She also decided to move her capital to Andarkot, away from Srinagar, where Shah Mir had a great influence. This enraged Shah Mir, as he felt ignored in spite of his great labors for the kingdom. He had  Bhiksana assassinated , and asked Kota Rani to marry him and share power, threatening to wage war on her if she was to refuse. She declined, and the two of them began organizing their armies.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Hasan|first=Mohibbul|title=Kashmir Under the Sultans|publisher=Aakar Books|year=2005|isbn=9788187879497|location=Calcutta|pages=44}}</ref>

Shah Mir set out with his army from Srinagar towards Andarkot. Kota Rani sent out a force to check his advance, but it was promptly defeated. The fort at Andarkot was then laid siege to. While this was going on, many of Kota Rani's troops, seeing the futility of the situation, deserted and joined Shah Mir, to whom most important chiefs in the kingdom had already pledged allegiance.<ref name=":1" />

Kota Rani soon surrendered, and accepted Shah Mir's earlier proposal. However given the awkward situation in which Kota Rani accepted, and the possibility for a counter-uprising, made more probable when accounting for the small slivers of support Kota Rani still had, Shah Mir could not take any risks. Kota Rani and her two sons were imprisoned, where they later died.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hasan|first=Mohibbul|title=Kashmir Under the Sultans|publisher=Aakar Books|year=2005|isbn=9788187879497|location=Calcutta|pages=45}}</ref>

==Reign as Sultan==
With Kota Rani defeated and having already secured the allegiance of the powerful damara warlords, Shah Mir declared himself the ruler of Kashmir, taking on the title of Sultan Shams-ud-Din.

Shams-ud-Din worked to firmly establish Islam in Kashmir and was aided by his descendants. In an effort to keep the local feudal chiefs in check, he raised to power two indigenous families, the Magres and the [[Chak dynasty|Chaks]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Hasan|first=Mohibbul|title=Kashmir Under the Sultans|publisher=Aakar Books|year=2005|isbn=9788187879497|location=Calcutta|pages=46}}</ref> He also introduced a new era to the people of Kashmir, called the Kashmiri Era. This replaced the Laukika Era that had existed prior to this. The Kashmiri Era began with Rinchan's accession and conversion to Islam in 1320 CE (720 [[Hijri year|AH]]). This Era remained in use until the [[Mughal conquest of Kashmir]] in 1586.<ref name=":2" /> Shams-ud-Din had two sons, [[Jamshid Shah Miri|Jamshed]] and [[Alauddin Shah|Ali Sher]]. 
[[File:Shah Mir Tomb.png|thumb|The Tomb of Sultan Shams-ud-Din Shah Mir.]]
[[File:Sultan Shahmir.jpg|thumb|Renovated tomb of Sultan Shahmir in Indrakot [[Sumbal, Jammu and Kashmir|Sumbal]]]]
He reigned for three years and five months from 1339–42. He is currently buried in Andarkot, near [[Sumbal, Jammu and Kashmir|Sumbal]].

== Succession ==
Sultan Shah Mir died in 1342.  He was succeeded by Sultan [[Jamshid Shah Miri]] as the second sultan of Shah Mir Dynasty.

==See also==
*[[Shah Miri dynasty]]
*[[Sikandar Butshikan]]
*[[Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{citation |last1=Baloch |first1=N. A. |last2=Rafiq |first2=A. Q. |chapter=The Regions of Sind, Baluchistan, Multan and Kashmir |editor1=M. S. Asimov |editor2=C. E. Bosworth |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. IV, Part 1 — The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century — The historical, social and economic setting |chapter-url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledge-bank-article/vol_IVa%20silk%20road_the%20regions%20of%20sind,%20baluchistan,%20multan%20and%20kashmir.pdf |date=1998 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-103467-1 |pages=297–322}}
* {{citation |last=Schimmel |first=Annemarie |title=Islam in the Indian Subcontinent |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYImm1TnemwC&pg=PA44 |year=1980 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=90-04-06117-7 |pages=44–}}
* {{citation |last=Wink |first=André |title=Indo-Islamic society: 14th - 15th centuries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyYslywJUE8C |date=2004 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=90-04-13561-8}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120811170123/http://www.kashmir-information.com/Baharistan/index.html ''Baharistan-i-Shahi'': A Chronicle of Mediaeval Kashmir] (archived 11 August 2012)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah Mir}}
[[Category:Sultans of Kashmir]]
[[Category:14th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:14th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:Shah Mir dynasty]]