Jalaluddin Fath Shah

Jalaluddin Fath Shah (886-892 AH/1481-1487 AD) sultan of Bengal from On his accession he assumed the title of Jalaluddin Abul Muzaffar Fath Shah. He was a son of Sultan nasiruddin mahmud shah and a brother of Sultan ruknuddin barbak shah.

There is no reference whether Fath Shah undertook any military expedition or not. But from the evidence of coins and inscriptions, it can be presumed that he ruled over a vast Sultanate which extended to Sylhet in the east and to the river Damodar in the southwest.

The Persian chroniclers have described Fath Shah as a wise and sagacious sultan. He pursued a liberal policy towards his subjects and patronised the people according to their rank. In his time, the people were happy and prosperous. Jalaluddin Fath Shah built a number of mosques

Towards the close of his reign, the Abyssinian slaves became very powerful and played vital role in the politics of Bengal. They occupied most of the important positions at court and manned the palace-guards of the sultan. Fath Shah realised the danger of the growing power of the Abyssinians and took some steps to curb their influence. They hatched a conspiracy against the sultan under the leadership of Shahzada, commander of the palace-guards which resulted in the murder of the sultan in 892 AH/ 1487 AD. With the murder of Fath Shah, the rule of the Illyas Shahi dynasty came to an end. [ABM Shamsuddin Ahmed]