Sher Shah Suri (1540-14445)
.png)
Sher Shah Suri, an ethnic Pashtun, rose to prominence from humble origins. He was born as Farid at Bajwara near Hoshiarpur in 1472. His father, Hasan sur, worked for an influential Jagirdar of Hoshiarpur. The Mughal Empire was taken by Sher Shah Sori in 1540. His son, Islam Shah, became his successor in 1545 after the accidental death of the Sultan. He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal army under Babur and then as the governor of Bihar. Sher Khan took over Bengal and established the Sur dynasty in
.png)
1537, while son Humayun was away on an expedition.A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself to be a gifted administrator as well as a capable general. His reorganisation of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar the Great, son of Humayun.
Destiny only gave him five years to rule, from 1540 to 1545.However, even during such a short time span, he set up a new civic and military administration,
.png)
issued the first Rupiya, and reorganised the postal system of India.
He is also famously remembered
for killing a fully grown tiger with his bare hands in a jungle in Bihar, an
act that earned him the title Sher Khan, or the Lion King.
The most notable of his reforms
was the establishment of Grand Trunk Roads connecting various important cities.
He extended the Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong, on the frontiers of the
province of Bengal in near eastern India, to Kabul, in Afghanistan, in the far
northwest of the country.
