Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan

Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan (died 1340) was the first Sultan of Madurai Sultanate and father-in-law of the great traveller Ibn Batutah.

Declaration of independence

In 1335, Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, the Tughlaq Governor of Madurai, declared his independence and established the independent sultanate of Madurai.[1] He claimed the whole of the Tughlaq province of Ma'bar which included the whole of the ancient Tamil country.[1] However, he scarcely had any authority beyond the realm of the Pandyas and the territory to the north of the river Kaveri was largely independent under the Cholas and the Hoysalas.[2]

Reign
Coin of Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, first ruler of the Sultanate of Madurai

Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan took over as the independent sultan of Madurai in 1335.[3] Ferishta, however, gives a date of 1341 for his assumption of the sultanate.[4] Ferishta refers to Ahsan Khan as Syed, Hasan and Husun.[4] Ahsan Khan was also the father-in-law of the Moorish traveller Ibn Batuta.[4] Immediately, Muhammad bin Tughlaq sent an army to reassert his control over the region. But Ahsan Khan easily defeated this army.[4] Tughlaq took his revenge by killing Ahsan Khan's son Ibrahim who was the purse-bearer of the Emperor. Ahsan Khan was killed in 1340 by one of his nobles after having ruled for a brief span of 5 years.

Notes
  1. Aiyangar, Pg 155
  2. Aiyangar, Pg 156
  3. Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. p. 95. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
  4. Aiyangar, Pg 165

References
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