Sher Shah Suri, an Afghan, came to power in Delhi after defeating Humayun and later driving him out of India to Persia. He was one of the most important and benevolent rulers of the Post-Sultanate and Pre-Akbar era. He was regarded as one of the ideal rulers, whose administrative system and policies were later followed and perfected by Akbar in his own administration.

Sher Shah Suri (1540-155)

Rise of Sher Shah

• The original name of Sher Khan was Farid. His father Hasan was an Afghan of the Sur clan. He was the Jagirdar of Sasaram, Hajipur, Tanda, and Khwaspur. In his boyhood, Farid left his father’s home in Sasaram and went to Jaunpur, which was then an important centre of Islamic learning. There, he studied Arabic and Persian and was capable of reproducing from memory the Gulistan, Bustan, and Sikandar-namah.
• Jamal Khan, his father’s patron, was impressed by Farid’s intelligence and reconciled him with his father. On Jamal Khan’s advice, Farid was appointed manager of his father’s jagir, which he successfully administered for twenty-one years. The training he received during this period proved invaluable, as he gained deep knowledge of land management — a skill he would later apply as Emperor of India.
• Farid’s success as manager of his father’s estate and his popularity among peasants and Afghan soldiers aroused jealousy. On his father’s death, Farid secured his paternal jagir by obtaining a royal farman from Agra and returned to Sasaram (1520–1521) as the master of the estate.
• He then joined the service of Bahar Khan Lohani (titled Muhammad Shah), the independent ruler of Bihar. From him, Farid received the title of Sher Khan after killing a tiger single-handedly. His efficiency and bravery helped him rise rapidly to become Deputy Governor of Bihar and tutor of Jalal Khan, the minor son of Bahar Khan.
• The rapid rise of Sher Khan provoked jealousy among the Lohani Afghans, who poisoned Bahar Khan’s mind against him. He was deprived of his jagir and, disgusted with Afghan disunity, took shelter with Babur (1527–1528) for a short period. Finding it difficult to adjust to Mughal service, he returned to Bihar and again became Deputy Governor and guardian of Jalal Khan.
• After Muhammad Shah’s death (1528), the minor king remained a nominal ruler, while Sher Khan became the virtual head of Bihar’s government. He used the opportunity to consolidate his position, reorganizing the civil and military administration. He further strengthened his power by acquiring the fortress of Chunar through marriage with the widow of Taj Khan, its former governor, thus gaining enormous wealth and prestige. By 1530, Sher Khan’s position in Bihar had become unassailable.
• When Humayun besieged Chunar in 1531, Sher Khan saved his position through a timely submission. Humayun’s failure to capture Chunar and his conflict with Bahadur Shah of Gujarat gave Sher Khan the time to consolidate power.
• However, he still had enemies in Bihar. The Lohanis opposed him, and Mahmud Shah, the Sultan of Bengal (1533), sought to check Sher Khan’s growing power. Sher Khan defeated the combined forces of Bengal and the Lohanis at the Battle of Surajgarh (1534).
• This Battle of Surajgarh (1534) proved a turning point in Sher Khan’s career, making him the undisputed ruler of Bihar both in fact and in name.