Kashmir

Shamshuddin Shah (AD 1339) was the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir. In AD 1389 Sikandar ascended the throne. He was a powerful and despotic ruler. Sikandar died in AD 1416 and his son Ali Shah ascended the throne. After some years his brother Shah Khan ascended the throne under the title of Zainul Abidin.

Zainul Abidin was a liberal and enlightened ruler. To secure the support of all the groups, he called back all such groups who had been banished by Sikandar. He abolished ‘jaziya’ and prohibited cow slaughter. Zainul Abidin paid great attention towards the economic growth of Kashmir.

He himself was a great scholar of Persian, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Kashmiri language. He ordered the translation of Mahabharata and Rajatarangini (history of Kashmir) into Persian.

Zainul Abidin’s successor proved a weak ruler. Taking advantage of his weaknesses Mirza Haider, a relative of Babur conquered Kashmir. In AD 1586 Kashmir was annexed by Akbar and became part of the Mughal Empire.