Islam Shah Suri

Sultan of the Suri Empire from 1545 to 1554

Islam Shah Suri (reigned: 1545–1554), born Jalal Khan, also known as Salim Shah Suri, was the second ruler of the Suri dynasty which ruled parts of India in the mid 16th century. He was the second son of Sher Shah Suri.

On his father's death, an emergency meeting of nobles chose Jalal Khan to be successor instead of his elder brother Adil Khan, since he had shown greater military ability. Jalal Khan was crowned on 26 May 1545 and took the title "Islam Shah". He was still worried that his brother would threaten his power and tried to have him captured. But Adil Khan evaded his grasp and raised an army. It marched on Islam Shah while he was at Agra. In the battle Islam Shah came out victorious and Adil Khan fled, never to be seen again. The support some of the nobles had given his brother made Islam Shah suspicious and he ruthlessly purged their ranks, strictly subordinating the nobility to the crown. He continued his father's policies of efficient administration and increased centralization. He had little opportunity for military campaigning; the fugitive Mughal emperor Humayun, whom his father had overthrown, made one abortive attempt to attack him. He did however lead one major campaign against Kalinjar.

Islam Shah died on 22 November 1554. He was succeeded by his son Firuz Shah Suri, who was only twelve. Within a few days the boy ruler had been murdered by Sher Shah's nephew Muhammad Mubariz Khan, who then ascended the throne as Muhammad Adil Shah. The incomplete tomb of Islam Shah lies about a kilometer to the North West of Sher Shah's tomb.