Abu'l Fath Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I, more famously known as Mahmud Begada, was a Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate.
25 Facts About Mahmud Begada
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Mahmud Begada's full name was Abu'l Fath Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I He was born Fat'h Khan or Fateh Khan.
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Mahmud Begada titled himself, Sultan al-Barr, Sultan al-Bahr, Sultan of the Land, Sultan of the Sea.
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Mahmud Begada then seated himself on the throne and in a voice of feigned anger ordered one of the courtiers to bring out Shaaban Imad-ul-Mulk, that he might wreak his vengeance upon him.
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When Sultan Mahmud Begada Khilji heard of his approach, he retired to his own country by way of Gondwana, from thirst and from the attacks of the Gonds, losing 5000 to 6000 men.
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In 1462, Sultan Mahmud Begada Khilji made another incursion into the Deccan at the head of 90,000 horse, plundering and laying waste the country as far as Daulatabad.
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At the close of the war, in 1479, Mahmud Begada Shah repaired the fort Jehanpanah, the present outer or town wall of Junagadh, and, charmed with the beauty of the neighbourhood, settled sayads and learned men at Junagadh and other towns in Sorath.
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Mahmud Begada induced the nobles to build houses, himself raised a palace and made the new city his capital under the name of Mustafabad and enforced his claims as overlord on all the neighbouring chiefs.
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In 1480, when Mahmud Begada Shah was at Junagadh, Khudawand Khan and others, who were weary of the king's constant warfare, incited his eldest son Ahmed Khan to assume royal power.
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In 1479, Mahmud Begada Shah sent an army to ravage Champaner then held by Khichi Chauhan Rajputs which titled themselves as Raval.
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On hearing this Mahmud Begada Shah set out for Baroda with a powerful army.
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When Mahmud Begada reached Baroda the Raval of Champaner, becoming alarmed, sent ambassadors and sued for forgiveness.
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Mahmud Begada allied with the Kozhikkodu Samutiri to defeat the Portuguese.
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Mahmud Begada then asked his trade partners, the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo, for help.
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In 1508, near Daman, on his way to Chaul, Mahmud Begada heard of the victory gained in the Battle of Chaul over the Portuguese by the Gujarat squadron under Malik Ayyaz Sultani, in concert with the Egyptian fleet of the Mamluks.
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Mahmud Begada was buried at Sarkhej Roza near Ahmedabad and received the after-death title of Khudaigan-i-Halim or the Meek Lord.
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Immediately before his death Sultan Mahmud Begada was informed that Shah Ismail Safawi of Persia had sent him a friendly embassy headed by Yadgar Beg Kazil-bash.
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Mahmud Begada died before the Persian embassy entered the city.
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Mahmud Begada's sermons drew crowds, and were so persuasive that he gained a large body of followers, who believed his eloquence to be due to hal or inspiration.
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Mahmud Begada's ministers persuaded him not to see the Jaunpur preacher.
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Mahmud Begada devoted much attention to the culture of fruit trees.
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Mahmud Begada's court was adorned by several pious and high-minded nobles.
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Mahmud Begada built a tower on an under-water rock, and from the tower drew a massive iron chain across the mouth of the harbour.
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Mahmud Begada introduced the cultivation of melons figs and sugarcane into Gujarat from Bijapur.
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Besides Khalil Khan, who succeeded him, Mahmud Begada had three sons: Muhammad Kala, Apa Khan, and Ahmed Khan.