Muzaffar Shah II of Gujarat

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 6th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban in 880 AH, Khalil Khan, the fourth son of Sultan Mahmud Beghara of Gujarat (western India), and his eventual successor as Muzaffar Shah II, was born. He ascended the throne in 917 AH and rule for 15 years. He was an accomplished poet in Persian, the official language of the Muslim kingdom of Gujarat, where even Hindus learned Persian because of constant trade and cultural contacts with Iranians.
Shah Ismail I, the Founder of the Safavid Dynasty, sent an embassy with rich presents to congratulate Muzaffar Shah II on his accession and also to announce the grand victory of the Iranian forces over the Uzbek ruler Mohammad Khan Shaibani at the Battle of Merv on 30th Sha’ban 916 AH. At first, the Persian envoy was honorably received, but subsequently, his entourage was attacked and his property destroyed by a mob inflamed either by anti-Shi’ite feeling, or, according to one version, by the machinations of Saheb Khan, the exiled prince of the Malwa.
Muzaffar Shah II was compelled to pay heavy compensation for the losses suffered by the Iranian envoy. Iranians from different walks of life migrated and settled in Gujarat, both during the 175 years of its existence as an independent sultanate and its subsequent role as a Mughal province that served as the centre of trade with the Muslim World through the sea route.