sultanate · South Asia

Sur Empire

1540 CE – 1556 CE · capital Delhi

The Afghan empire of Sher Shah Suri, who drove the Mughals out of India and built roads, coinage and administration that outlived him.

Origins

Farid Khan, an Afghan noble of the Sur clan in Bihar, earned the title Sher Khan and gathered power in eastern India. He defeated the Mughal emperor Humayun at Chausa in 1539 and Kannauj in 1540, drove him into exile and proclaimed himself Sher Shah, ruling from Delhi over north India.

Rule and society

Sher Shah reorganised revenue on measured land, introduced the silver rupiya that gave the rupee its name, built the Grand Trunk Road from Bengal to the Punjab with caravanserais and a postal service, and built the Rohtas Fort and the Purana Qila. His son Islam Shah continued centralised rule, while Hemu, a Hindu general, served his successors.

Decline and legacy

Sher Shah died in an explosion at the siege of Kalinjar in 1545. After Islam Shah's death in 1554 the empire split among rival claimants. Humayun returned in 1555, and Akbar's victory at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556 restored the Mughal Empire.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sur Empire. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sur-empire
MLA
“Sur Empire.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sur-empire. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Sur Empire.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sur-empire.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sur Empire’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sur-empire (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻