During 1487-94, the Bengal Sultanate was ruled by a series of kings of African origin. Zoom link will be sent to those who book.

The Abyssinian (Habshi) Rule of Bengal (1487-94)

By M Ahmedullah

During 1487-94, the Bengal Sultanate was ruled by a series of kings with an African origin. From the beginning of the Muslim rule in northern India, in addition to Turkish slaves, Ethiopian men were imported to serve the nobles, military commanders and the sultans, primarily as slave soldiers. Some of them rose through the ranks and achieved high positions by becoming military commanders, senior officials, nobles, governors and even rulers. In the case of the Bengal Sultanate, several Africans became the rulers, but this was only for a very brief period. It is likely that not all African slaves brought to India were strictly from Ethiopia. They most probably were from complex African origins and mixes with a majority from Ethiopia and collectively called Habshis by the Muslims or Abyssinians by the European Christians. In this paper, the terms Habshi (Habshis), Ethiopia (Ethiopians) and Abyssinian (Abyssinians) are interchangeable.