Jaunpur Sultanate in the context of "Doab"

The Muslim conquests on the Indian subcontinent mainly took place between the 13th and the 18th centuries, establishing the Indo-Muslim period. Earlier Muslim conquests on the Indian subcontinent include the invasions which started in the northwestern Indian subcontinent (modern-day Pakistan), especially the Umayyad campaigns in India. Later during the 8th century, Mahmud of Ghazni, sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, invaded vast parts of Punjab and Gujarat during the 11th century. After the capture of Lahore and the end of the Ghaznavids, the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor laid the foundation of Muslim rule in India in 1192. In 1202, Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji led the Muslim conquest of Bengal, marking the easternmost expansion of Islam at the time.

The Ghurid Empire soon evolved into the Delhi Sultanate in 1206, ruled by Qutb ud-Din Aibak, the founder of the Mamluk dynasty. With the Delhi Sultanate established, Islam was spread across most parts of the Indian subcontinent. In the 14th century, the Khalji dynasty under Alauddin Khalji, extended Muslim rule southwards to Gujarat, Rajasthan, and the Deccan. The successor Tughlaq dynasty temporarily expanded its territorial reach to Tamil Nadu. The disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate, capped by Timur's invasion in 1398, caused several Muslim sultanates and dynasties to emerge across the Indian subcontinent, such as the Gujarat Sultanate, Malwa Sultanate, Bahmani Sultanate, Jaunpur Sultanate, Madurai Sultanate, and the Bengal Sultanate. Some of these, however, were followed by Hindu reconquests and resistance from the native powers and states, such as the Telugu Nayakas, Vijayanagara, and Rajput states under the Kingdom of Mewar.

The Bengal Sultanate (Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালাহ্, Classical Persian: سلطنت بنگاله) was a late medieval sultanate based in the Bengal region in eastern South Asia between the 14th and 16th century. It was the dominant power of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, with a network of mint towns spread across the region. The Bengal Sultanate had a circle of vassal states in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, including parts of Odisha in the southwest, parts of Bihar in the northwest, parts of Assam in the northeast, Arakan in the southeast, and Tripura in the east.

The Bengal Sultanate controlled large parts of eastern South Asia during its five dynastic periods, reaching its peak under Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah. Its raids and conquests reached Nepal in the north, Brahmaputra Valley (modern-day Assam) in the east, and Jaunpur and Varanasi in the west. It was reputed as a thriving trading nation. Its decline began with an interregnum by the Sur Empire, followed by Mughal conquest and disintegration into petty kingdoms. The Bengal Sultanate was a Sunni Muslim monarchy with Bengali, Turco-Persian, Afghan and Abyssinian elites. The most prominent dynasties were the Ilyas Shahi, House of Ganesha and Hussain Shahi. The kingdom was known for its religious pluralism where non-Muslim communities co-existed peacefully. While Persian was used as the primary official, diplomatic and commercial language, it was under the Sultans that Bengali first received court recognition as an official language. The cities of the Bengal Sultanate are termed as Mint Towns where the historical taka was minted. These cities were adorned with stately medieval buildings. In 1500, the royal capital of Gaur was the fifth-most populous city in the world. Other notable cities included the initial royal capital of Pandua, the economic hub of Sonargaon, the Mosque City of Bagerhat, and the seaport and trading hub of Chittagong. The Bengal Sultanate was connected to states in Asia, Africa, the Indian Ocean, and Europe through maritime links and overland trade routes. The Bengal Sultanate was a major trading center on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. It attracted immigrants and traders from different parts of the world. Bengali ships and merchants traded across the region, including in Malacca, China, and the Maldives.

Dilawar Khan (Persian: دلاور خان) was an Afghan or Turco-Afghan governor of the Malwa province of Central India appointed by the Delhi Sultan in 1392 and he later became the first Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate during the decline of the Delhi Sultanate. After serving at the court in Delhi, he was appointed governor at Dhar in A.H. 793/C.E. 1390–91. Dilawar Khan took the title of 'Amid Shāh Dā'ūd and caused the khutba to be read in his name in A.H. 804/C.E. 1401–02, declaring himself independent and establishing the Malwa Sultanate. He passed his kingdom – the Malwa Sultanate – to his son Hoshang Shah upon his death in A.H. 809/C.E. 1406.

Dilawar Khan was a follower of Firuz Shah Tughluq's son, Muhammad ibn Firuz, later known as Muhammad Shah. He was imprisoned by the court officials at Delhi for his support for the rebel prince. Not only Dilawar Khan, but many important provincial governors, such as that of Gujarat, and various other important and powerful nobles of the court supported the Prince's claim to the throne. After Timur's invasion in 1398, the same prince, who was the then Sultan of Delhi, ran away from the capital and sought shelter, first in the Gujarat Sultanate, but receiving a less than enthusiastic response there, moved to the Malwa Sultanate. Dilawar Khan is said to have welcomed him with open arms and told him that his Sultanate and treasure was all for the service of the Delhi Sultan. Dilawar Khan went to war with the Jaunpur Sultanate after its founder Malik Sarwar declared himself independent from Delhi however his forces were defeated and forced to retreat.

Sultan-ush-Sharq Atabak-i-Azam Malik Sarwar (died 1399) was the first Sultan of Jaunpur from 1394 to 1399 and the founder of the Sharqi dynasty.

Shams-ud-Din Ibrahim Shah Sharqi was the third sultan of the Jaunpur Sultanate, ruling from 1401 until his death in 1440.

Kahalgaon (formerly known as Colgong ) is a municipality town of Bhagalpur district of Bihar, India. It lies in the Anga region and located close to the Vikramashila University, that was once a famous centre of Buddhist learning across the world, along with Nalanda, during the Pala dynasty. The Kahalgaon Super Thermal Power Plant (KhSTPP) is located 3 km from the town . Kahalgaon was capital (capital-in-exile) of Jaunpur Sultanate (1494–1505).