The Sur Empire was an empire established by a MuslimAfghandynasty origin who ruled a large territory in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent for nearly 16 years, between 1540 and 1556, with Sasaram, in modern-day Bihar, serving as its capital. The Sur dynasty held control of nearly all the Mughal territories, from modern-day eastern Afghanistan in the west to modern-day Bangladesh in the east.
History
The empire was founded by Sher Shah Suri, an ethnic Afghan of the tribal house of Sur, who supplanted the Mughal dynasty as rulers of North India during the reign of the relatively ineffectual second Mughal Humayun. Sher Shah defeated badshah-i-Hind Humayun in the Battle of Chausa and again in the Battle of Bilgram. Sher Shah Suri was known for the destruction of some old cities while conquering parts of India. He has been accused by `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni and other Muslim historians for destroying old cities in order to build new ones on their ruins after his own name. One example included Shergarh. Sher Shah is also said to have destroyed Dinpanah, which Humayun was constructing as the "sixth city of Delhi". The new city built by him, was itself destroyed in 1555 after Humayun re-conquered the territory from the Surs. Tarikh-i-Da'udi states, however, that he destroyed Siri. Abbas Sarwani states that he had the older city of Delhi destroyed. Tarikh-i-Khan Jahan states that Salim Shah Suri had built a wall around Humayun's imperial city. The Sur dynasty held control of nearly all the Mughal territories, from modern-day eastern Afghanistan in the west to modern-day Bangladesh in the east. During the almost 17-year rule of the Sur dynasty, until the return of the Mughals to the throne, the region of South Asia witnessed much economic development and many administrative reforms. A systematised relationship was created between the people and the ruler, minimising corruption and the oppression of the public. Their rule came to an end by a defeat that led to the restoration of the Mughal Empire.
