Mughal conquest of Kashmir

01A treaty set aside

The Chak sultans had ruled Kashmir since 1561. Yusuf Shah, known for his love of music and for his poet-queen Habba Khatun, refused to come to Akbar’s court in person. Early in 1586 Raja Bhagwan Das led an army over the Pir Panjal in the snow. Yusuf Shah came to his camp and agreed to terms that left him as a vassal. Akbar refused to accept them, and Yusuf Shah was kept as a prisoner. Bhagwan Das, who had given his word, is said to have tried to take his own life in shame.

02Yaqub’s resistance

Yusuf’s son Yaqub Shah took the throne and resisted from the hills, with fights in the passes and the valley, Hastivanj among them. In October 1586 Qasim Khan entered Srinagar. Yaqub kept up the struggle until 1589, when he surrendered. Akbar visited Kashmir that year, the first of several summer visits the Mughal emperors made to the valley. Yusuf and Yaqub ended their lives in exile in Bihar, and their graves are at Biswak near Nalanda.