page_title: Bengal Sultanate
section_title: Administration and military
hierarchical_section_title: Bengal Sultanate / Administration and military
caption_attribution_description: English: Silver tanka of the Bengal Sultanate ruler Jalaluddin Muhammad, showing a lion.
context_page_description: The Sultanate of Bengal, was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominant power of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. Its imperial capital was one of the world's largest cities. The Bengal Sultanate had a circle of vassal states, including Odisha in the southwest, Arakan in the southeast, and Tripura in the east. In the early 16th-century, the Bengal Sultanate reached the peak of its territorial growth with control over Kamrup and Kamata in the northeast; and Jaunpur and Bihar in the west. It was reputed as a thriving trading nation and one of Asia's strongest states. Its decline began with an interregnum by the Suri Empire, followed by Mughal conquest and disintegration into petty kingdoms.
  The Bengal Sultanate was a Sunni Muslim monarchy with Indo-Turkish, Arab, Habshi and Bengali Muslim elites. The empire was known for its religious pluralism where non-Muslim communities co-existed peacefully. While Bengali was the most widely spoken language, Persian was used as an official, diplomatic and commercial language. The cities of the Bengal Sultanate are termed as Mint Towns where the historical taka was minted.
context_section_description: The Bengal Sultanate was an absolute monarchy. The Ilyas Shahi dynasty cultivated a Persianate society. It reflected the pre-Muslim Persian tradition of monarchy and statecraft. The courts of the capital cities sanctified the Sultan, used Persianised royal paraphernalia, adopted an elaborate court ceremony modeled on the Sasanian imperial paradigm, employed a hierarchical bureaucracy, and maintained Islam as the state religion. The rise of Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah saw more native elements inducted in the courts. The Hussain Shahi dynasty employed many Hindus in the government and promoted a form of religious pluralism.
caption: Silver coin of Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah with a lion inscription
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