The Sharqi Dynasty of Jaunpur

The Sharqi dynasty was the line of independent sultans who ruled the kingdom of Jaunpur, in eastern Uttar Pradesh, during the 15th century, after breaking away from the authority of the Delhi Sultanate. From their capital at Jaunpur, on the Gomti river, the Sharqi sultans built a flourishing regional kingdom that became celebrated as a centre of a distinctive school of Indo-Islamic architecture, and of learning and music, earning the city the honoured byname Shiraz-e-Hind, the Shiraz of India. Their great congregational mosques, among them the Atala Masjid, the Jama Masjid and the Lal Darwaza Masjid, remain among the finest monuments of the region. Rising in the age of regional sultanates that followed the high tide of Indo-Islamic power traced in our guide to the Mughal Empire, the Sharqis left a lasting mark, and this account keeps to broadly established history where particular dates and details are uncertain.

Key Takeaways

• The Sharqi dynasty ruled the independent kingdom of Jaunpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh in the 15th century.
• The Sharqis broke away from the Delhi Sultanate to establish their own sultanate.
• Their capital, Jaunpur, stood on the Gomti river in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
• They were celebrated patrons of a distinctive school of regional Indo-Islamic architecture.
• Their mosques include the Atala Masjid, the Jama Masjid and the Lal Darwaza Masjid of Jaunpur.
• Jaunpur became known as Shiraz-e-Hind for its learning and culture, before being absorbed into the Delhi Sultanate under the Lodis.

Read on for the history, culture, and legacy in detail.

Quick Facts

Who Were the Sharqi Sultans of Jaunpur?

The Sharqi sultans were the line of independent rulers who governed the kingdom of Jaunpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh during the 15th century. The name Sharqi, meaning eastern, reflected their rule over the eastern lands that had once formed part of the Delhi Sultanate, from which they broke away to found their own kingdom. According to the broadly recorded history of the period, the dynasty established itself at Jaunpur and raised the city into the capital of a flourishing regional sultanate. As independent sultans, the Sharqis presided over a court celebrated for its patronage of architecture, learning and the arts, making Jaunpur one of the notable centres of its age. The rulers of the dynasty are remembered less for the particulars of conquest, treated here with care, than for the cultural flowering they fostered. The Sharqi sultans of Jaunpur hold an honoured place among the regional dynasties of medieval northern India and in the heritage of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Where Was the Sharqi Kingdom Located?

The Sharqi kingdom was centred on Jaunpur, in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and extended over the lands of the eastern Gangetic plain in the region between the heartland of the Delhi Sultanate and the eastern reaches of northern India. The capital, Jaunpur, stood on the banks of the Gomti river, a setting that gave the city its character and supported its growth into a major centre. The kingdom lay in a fertile and populous part of the Ganga plain, among the historic lands of the east, and its position made it an important regional power in the age of sultanates. The rich agricultural country of the eastern plain sustained the kingdom and its capital. The location of the Sharqi kingdom, astride the eastern Gangetic lands with Jaunpur at its heart, is central to understanding its rise as an independent sultanate. Its setting on the Gomti remains part of the heritage of Jaunpur in present-day Uttar Pradesh.

When Did the Sharqi Dynasty Rule?

The Sharqi dynasty ruled during the 15th century, the age of regional sultanates that followed the weakening of the Delhi Sultanate’s hold over the distant provinces of northern India. According to the broadly recorded history, it was in this period that the eastern lands around Jaunpur broke away to form an independent kingdom under the Sharqi sultans, who held sway over the region for several generations before it was reabsorbed into the Delhi Sultanate under the Lodis. The century of Sharqi rule was a time of political fragmentation across the subcontinent, when a number of independent sultanates and kingdoms arose in the provinces, each developing its own distinctive culture. Within this age, Jaunpur rose to prominence as one of the leading regional courts. The precise dates of individual reigns belong to the detailed records of the period and are treated here with care. The 15th-century era of the Sharqi dynasty forms a distinct chapter in the history of medieval northern India.

How Did the Sharqi Dynasty Rise?

The Sharqi dynasty rose to power when the eastern provinces around Jaunpur asserted their independence from the Delhi Sultanate, whose authority over the distant lands of the Gangetic plain had weakened. According to the broadly recorded history, the governors of the east established an independent kingdom with Jaunpur as its capital, and from this base the Sharqi sultans built up a flourishing regional sultanate. The rise of the dynasty reflected the wider pattern of the age, in which provincial governors and chiefs across the subcontinent carved out independent states as the central power of Delhi declined. Jaunpur, with its fertile country and its position on the Gomti, provided a strong base for the new kingdom. The dynasty consolidated its rule over the eastern lands and raised its capital into a major centre of culture. The rise of the Sharqis at Jaunpur is best understood within the fragmentation of the Delhi Sultanate and the emergence of the regional kingdoms of the 15th century.

Why Is Jaunpur Called Shiraz-e-Hind?

Jaunpur is called Shiraz-e-Hind, meaning the Shiraz of India, in honour of its flowering as a centre of learning, culture and the arts under the Sharqi sultans, a flowering that evoked comparison with the celebrated Persian city of Shiraz. According to the tradition of the region, the Sharqi court gathered scholars, poets, theologians and musicians, and Jaunpur became renowned for its schools, its learning and its refined cultural life. The byname Shiraz-e-Hind expresses the esteem in which the city was held as a seat of knowledge and civilisation in its age. This reputation rested on the patronage of the Sharqi sultans, who fostered scholarship and the arts alongside their great building works. The honoured name reflects the cultural achievement of Jaunpur under the dynasty. The byname Shiraz-e-Hind remains the enduring emblem of the city’s golden age under the Sharqi sultans and of its place in the cultural history of northern India.

What Is the Atala Masjid?

The Atala Masjid is among the most celebrated monuments of Jaunpur and one of the great congregational mosques built under the Sharqi sultans, a landmark of the distinctive architecture for which the dynasty is remembered. According to accounts of the city’s heritage, the mosque is especially noted for its towering central gateway, a monumental pylon-like screen that rises over the entrance and gives the building its commanding presence. Its courtyard, prayer halls and arcades are built in the characteristic manner of the Sharqi school, blending strength and grandeur with regional craftsmanship. The Atala Masjid stands as a foremost example of the Sharqi architectural style and a defining monument of Jaunpur. As a place of congregational prayer and a work of architecture, it reflects the patronage and devotion of the ruling house, treated here with respect for the faith it serves. The Atala Masjid remains one of the most admired heritage structures of eastern Uttar Pradesh and an emblem of Sharqi Jaunpur.

What Is the Jama Masjid of Jaunpur?

The Jama Masjid of Jaunpur is one of the largest and grandest of the congregational mosques built under the Sharqi sultans, a major monument of the city and of the dynasty’s distinctive architecture. Raised on a lofty plinth, the mosque is noted for its great size, its monumental gateway and its imposing prayer hall, built in the bold and massive manner characteristic of the Sharqi school. Its scale and grandeur reflect the stature of Jaunpur as the capital of an independent sultanate and the patronage of its rulers. The Jama Masjid stands among the foremost examples of Sharqi architecture, alongside the Atala and the Lal Darwaza mosques. As a place of congregational prayer and a work of architecture, it expresses the devotion and the building ambition of the ruling house, treated here with respect for the faith it serves. The Jama Masjid of Jaunpur remains one of the great heritage monuments of eastern Uttar Pradesh and a lasting emblem of the Sharqi age.

What Is the Lal Darwaza Masjid?

The Lal Darwaza Masjid, the mosque of the Red Gate, is another of the notable congregational mosques of Jaunpur built in the Sharqi period, remembered as a refined example of the dynasty’s architecture. According to accounts of the city’s heritage, it takes its name from a red gateway associated with it, and it is generally regarded as a somewhat smaller and more intimate building than the great Atala and Jama mosques, though built in the same distinctive Sharqi manner. Its gateway, courtyard and prayer hall carry the characteristic features of the school, with its massive forms and bold proportions. The Lal Darwaza Masjid completes the group of celebrated Sharqi mosques that give Jaunpur its architectural fame. As a place of congregational prayer and a work of architecture, it reflects the patronage and devotion of the age, treated here with respect for the faith it serves. The Lal Darwaza Masjid remains a cherished heritage monument of Jaunpur and of the Sharqi architectural tradition.

What Defined Sharqi Architecture?

Sharqi architecture, the distinctive school of building fostered under the sultans of Jaunpur, is defined by its bold and monumental character, most strikingly by the great gateway screens that front its mosques. According to accounts of the region’s art, the hallmark of the style is the towering central propylon, a massive sloping or pylon-like screen that rises over the entrance of the prayer hall, flanked by tapering turrets, giving the Sharqi mosques their commanding and unmistakable presence. The style combined the strength and austerity of its forms with the craftsmanship of the eastern Gangetic region, drawing on and reworking earlier traditions into a confident regional idiom. The Atala, Jama and Lal Darwaza mosques are its foremost monuments. Sharqi architecture stands among the notable regional schools of Indo-Islamic building that flourished in the age of the provincial sultanates. It is remembered as the most enduring achievement of the Sharqi dynasty and a defining heritage of Jaunpur.

How Did the Sharqis Patronise Learning and Music?

The Sharqi sultans were celebrated patrons of learning and music, and under their rule Jaunpur became a renowned centre of scholarship and the arts, earning its byname Shiraz-e-Hind. According to the tradition of the region, the court gathered scholars, theologians, poets and teachers, and the city became known for its schools and its intellectual life, drawing learned men to its academies. The dynasty is also remembered for its patronage of music, and Jaunpur is traditionally associated with contributions to the development of Indian musical traditions, fostered under the encouragement of the court. This patronage of knowledge and the arts, alongside the great building works, gave the Sharqi age its cultural brilliance. The flowering of learning and music at Jaunpur reflected the refinement and ambition of the ruling house. The Sharqi patronage of scholarship and music remains a defining part of the dynasty’s legacy and of the cultural heritage of Jaunpur in northern India.

How Was the Sharqi Kingdom Governed?

The Sharqi kingdom was governed by its sultans as an independent sultanate, with the ruler at the head of an administration of ministers, officials and provincial governors who managed the affairs of the eastern Gangetic lands from the capital at Jaunpur. In the manner of the sultanates of the age, the kingdom was organised for the collection of revenue, the maintenance of an army and the administration of justice across its territory. Revenue came chiefly from the fertile agricultural country of the eastern plain, which sustained the wealth of the kingdom and its great building and cultural works. Provincial officers and military commanders held responsibilities within this structure. The court at Jaunpur was the centre of government as well as of culture. The governance of the Sharqi kingdom reflected the pattern of the independent regional sultanates of 15th-century northern India. This system sustained the dynasty’s rule over the eastern lands for several generations before the kingdom’s absorption into Delhi.

What Were the Sharqis' Relations with Delhi?

The relations of the Sharqi sultans with the Delhi Sultanate were central to the history of the dynasty, for the kingdom of Jaunpur arose by asserting its independence from Delhi and remained a rival power to it through the 15th century. According to the broadly recorded history, the two courts stood as competing centres of authority in northern India, and their relationship passed through times of rivalry and contention over the lands of the Gangetic plain. The Sharqis maintained their independence for several generations, ruling the east while Delhi held the centre. In time, as the Lodi dynasty strengthened the Delhi Sultanate, the balance shifted, and the kingdom of Jaunpur was brought back under the authority of Delhi. The rivalry with Delhi shaped the fortunes of the Sharqi kingdom throughout its existence. The relations between Jaunpur and Delhi form an essential strand in the history of the regional sultanates of 15th-century northern India.

How Did the Sharqi Dynasty Fall?

The Sharqi dynasty fell when the independent kingdom of Jaunpur was brought back under the authority of the Delhi Sultanate, which had been strengthened under the Lodi dynasty. According to the broadly recorded history, after several generations of independent rule the balance of power in northern India shifted in favour of Delhi, and the eastern kingdom was absorbed into the sultanate once more, ending the line of the Sharqi sultans. The fall of the dynasty reflected the reassertion of Delhi’s authority over the provinces that had broken away in the earlier period of fragmentation. The particular events of the kingdom’s end belong to the detailed records of the period and are treated here with care. What is clear is that the independent sultanate of Jaunpur came to a close and its lands passed under Delhi. The fall of the Sharqi dynasty marked the end of Jaunpur’s age as the capital of an independent kingdom, though its cultural legacy endured.

What Was the Cultural Legacy of the Sharqis?

The cultural legacy of the Sharqi dynasty rests above all on the distinctive school of architecture it created and on the flowering of learning and music that made Jaunpur the Shiraz-e-Hind. The great mosques of the Sharqi period, with their monumental gateway screens, left an enduring mark on the architecture of the region and stand among the finest Indo-Islamic monuments of northern India. The dynasty’s patronage of scholarship made Jaunpur a renowned seat of learning, and its encouragement of music is remembered as a contribution to the wider traditions of the subcontinent. This cultural achievement outlasted the political end of the kingdom, giving Jaunpur a lasting place in the heritage of eastern Uttar Pradesh. The legacy of the Sharqis is one of building, learning and the arts rather than of conquest. The cultural legacy of the Sharqi dynasty remains its most celebrated contribution to the history and heritage of northern India.

What Remains of Sharqi Jaunpur?

What remains of Sharqi Jaunpur today are chiefly the great mosques and monuments of the dynasty, which preserve the memory of the city’s golden age as the capital of an independent sultanate. The Atala Masjid, the Jama Masjid and the Lal Darwaza Masjid, with their towering gateway screens, stand as the foremost surviving works of the Sharqi school and the enduring landmarks of the city. These monuments, set in the historic town on the Gomti, continue to draw interest from those who study the architecture and history of the regional sultanates. Alongside the buildings, the memory of Jaunpur as the Shiraz-e-Hind preserves the recollection of its flowering in learning and the arts. The surviving monuments reflect the patronage and achievement of the Sharqi sultans. What remains of Sharqi Jaunpur forms a cherished part of the heritage of eastern Uttar Pradesh and a vivid record of a distinctive age in Indo-Islamic building.

The Sharqi Dynasty Today

The Sharqi dynasty is remembered today chiefly through the magnificent architecture it left at Jaunpur and through the city’s enduring fame as the Shiraz-e-Hind, a centre of learning and culture in its golden age. The great mosques of the Sharqi period, among them the Atala, Jama and Lal Darwaza, remain the foremost monuments of the city and are studied and admired as outstanding examples of regional Indo-Islamic architecture. The town of Jaunpur, in present-day Uttar Pradesh, preserves these heritage structures and the memory of its age as the capital of an independent sultanate. The cultural traditions of learning and music associated with the Sharqi court continue to form part of the heritage of the region. For readers of Indian history, the Sharqi dynasty offers a vivid example of the regional sultanates of 15th-century northern India. Its legacy endures in the monuments of Jaunpur and in the honoured memory of the Shiraz-e-Hind.

Sources & Further Reading

• Archaeological Survey of India (asi.nic.in).
• Ministry of Culture, Government of India (indiaculture.gov.in).
• Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh (uptourism.gov.in).

Frequently Asked Questions

Who were the Sharqi dynasty of Jaunpur?

The Sharqi dynasty were the independent sultans who ruled the kingdom of Jaunpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh during the 15th century, after breaking away from the Delhi Sultanate. They were celebrated patrons of a distinctive school of Indo-Islamic architecture and of learning and music, making Jaunpur a renowned regional capital.

Why is Jaunpur called Shiraz-e-Hind?

Jaunpur is called Shiraz-e-Hind, the Shiraz of India, in honour of its flowering as a centre of learning, culture and the arts under the Sharqi sultans. The court gathered scholars, poets and musicians, and the city became renowned for its schools and refined cultural life, evoking the celebrated Persian city of Shiraz.

What are the famous monuments of the Sharqi dynasty?

The famous monuments of the Sharqi dynasty are the great congregational mosques of Jaunpur, especially the Atala Masjid, the Jama Masjid and the Lal Darwaza Masjid. They are noted for their towering central gateway screens, the hallmark of the distinctive Sharqi school of Indo-Islamic architecture.

What defined Sharqi architecture?

Sharqi architecture is defined by its bold, monumental character, above all the great gateway screens that front its mosques: massive pylon-like propylons rising over the entrance, flanked by tapering turrets. The style combined strong, austere forms with regional craftsmanship into a confident Indo-Islamic idiom.

Where was the Sharqi kingdom located?

The Sharqi kingdom was centred on Jaunpur, on the Gomti river in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and extended over the eastern Gangetic plain between the Delhi Sultanate’s heartland and the eastern reaches of northern India. Its fertile country sustained the kingdom and its cultural achievements.

What happened to the Sharqi dynasty?

The Sharqi dynasty fell when the independent kingdom of Jaunpur was brought back under the authority of the Delhi Sultanate, strengthened under the Lodi dynasty. After several generations of independent rule, the eastern kingdom was absorbed into Delhi once more, though its cultural and architectural legacy endured.