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Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan (died 1339), initially Hasan Kaithali,[1] also known as Jalal al-Din Ahsan Shah,[2] was the first Sultan of Madurai Sultanate and father-in-law of the great traveller Ibn Battuta.
The founder of the Madurai Sultanate, Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan. He was called a Sayyid native of Kaithal.[3][4] Some historical accounts also being called an Afghan, though the legitimacy of such a claim is questionable.[5]
In 1335, Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, the Muslim Governor of Madurai, declared his independence and established the independent sultanate of Madurai.[6] As a response to his rebellion, the Sultan of Delhi punished the Sayyid and other Indian Muslim inhabitants of Kaithal out of spite for Ahsan Khan as he belonged to Kaithal.[7] He claimed the whole of the Delhi Sultanate province of Ma'bar which included a small part of the ancient Tamil country.[6] However, he scarcely had any authority beyond the realm of the Pandyas and the territory to the north of the river Kaveri was largely independent under the Cholas and the Hoysalas.[8]
Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan took over as the independent sultan of Madurai in 1335.[9]Ferishta, however, gives a date of 1341 for his assumption of the sultanate.[10] Ferishta refers to Ahsan Khan as Syed, Hasan and Husun.[10] Ahsan Khan was also the father-in-law of the Moorish traveller Ibn Battuta.[10] Immediately, Muhammad bin Tughluq sent an army to reassert his control over the region. But Ahsan Khan easily defeated this army.[10] Tughluq took his revenge by killing Ahsan Khan's son Ibrahim who was the purse-bearer of the emperor. Ahsan Khan was killed in 1339 by one of his nobles after having ruled for a brief span of 4 years.