Barbak Shah, Rukn al-Din

(?-1474)

   Second sultan of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty of Bengal after its restoration in 1442. Succeeding his father, Nasir al-Din Mahmud Shah, to the throne in 1459, Barbak Shah raised a militia of Abyssinian slaves and also organized a large body of Arab soldiers. This was obviously aimed at reducing the clout of the local paiks who had contributed to the seizure of power by Raja Ganesh in 1415. The reign of Barbak Shah witnessed a total expansion. Madaran in Orissa and the region up to cis-Karatya in Kamrup were reoccupied. The frontier in the west was extended as far as Purnia and the entire Jesore-Khulna tract in the south was also annexed. Barbak Shah is known for his patronage of Bengali literature. Maledhar Basu, the compiler of Sri Krishna Bijay (Victory of Lord Krishna), was entitled Gunaraj Khan and was provided with financial support from Barbak.