Yousuf (Persian: یُوسُفْ, romanized: Yoūsuf, lit. 'God Increases'; Persian pronunciation: [iːouːsf]), born Yoūsuf (Yūsuf) Shāh Chak (Persian: یُوسُفْ شاہ چک, Kashmiri: یوٗسُف شاہ ژَھک) was the fourth and sixth Chak Sultan of Kashmir, who reigned from 1578 to 1586. Yousuf succeeded his father, Ali Shah Chak, who crowned Yousuf before he died. Yousuf defeated all the contenders for the throne, including his uncle Abdal Chak and ascended the throne in 1578.
Yousuf belonged to the Chak Dynasty. Chaks were originally Dards who settled in Kashmir in the early 14th century. Yousuf ruled Kashmir for 5 years and 6 months, from 1578 till 1579 and from 1580 till 1586. Yousuf was exiled for a year and 9 months as the rebels occupied his throne after defeating him in the battle of Eidgah. Yousuf was a ferocious fighter, he fought for his people when they needed him the most but he lost his due respect in front of his subjects and ministers because of his lack in administration and authority. Nonetheless, Yousuf ruled justly and had a great sense of justice which made him much different than his predecessors. His authority was vast as he not only ruled the valley and hills of Kashmir, he also received tributes from Ladakh, Baltistan and the hill states of Jammu.
Background and early life
Yousuf Shah Chak was born in 1545 to Ali Shah Chak, a brother of Ghazi Shah Chak, the Wazīr i Azam (Prime Minister) of the Shahmirs and later a Sultan himself. Yousuf ruled Kashmir for 8 years with an interregnum of 1 year and 11 months when his throne was occupied by the rebels. Yousuf, even though he led a life of luxury and ease, always cared for the welfare of his subjects. He went against the rebels and defeated them. Wishing to secure his throne, he agreed to the superiority of Emperor Akbar, which in the end led to his own dismissal.
Not much is known about Yousuf's early life. Yousuf was born during the reign of Nazuk Shah. Kashmir at that time was under the influence of the Mughals with Mirza Haidar Dughlat as the Governor and the De Facto ruler. When Yousuf came of age, he accompanied his uncle in his campaigns and in his journey to the throne. After both of his uncles' reign, his father ascended the throne in 1570 and appointed Yousuf as his heir apparent in the same year.
In 1572, on the advice of Muhammad Bhat, Yousuf assassinated his uncle Aiba Khan, who was a contender to the throne and went away to Sopore in the fear of his father. This angered Ali Shah who ordered his brother Abdal Chak to capture Yousuf and place him in front of him. Abdal Chak went aggressively against Yousuf considering the throne for himself after Ali Shah but with the help of Sayyid Mubarak, the former Wazīr i Azam of Ali Shah, both the parties came to an agreement with the reconciliation of the father and son.
Brief reign
Yousuf was crowned Sultan by his father and predecessor Ali Shah Chak before he died in December 1578. Yousuf appointed Muhammad Bhat as his Wazīr i Azam. Shortly after he ascended the throne, civil unrest started to rise led by Yousuf's uncle Abdal Chak who wanted the throne for himself.
Yousuf and Abdal Chak
Before the last rituals of Ali Shah, Abdal Chak started a campaign to contest for the throne. Sayyid Mubarak tried to restrain Abdal Chak from these activities by sending Baba Khalil to him. Later he visited him and requested him to attend the funeral with the rest of the royal family, but this all went in vain as Abdal Chak couldn't forgive Yousuf of what he did to Aiba Khan. Before returning to the court of Yousuf, Sayyid Mubarak warned Abdal Chak that Yousuf was on a much better position than him. Yousuf, on the advice of Sayyid Mubarak and the other nobles, started to organise his army. On the other hand, Abdal Chak also arranged his forces for retaliation.
Abdal Chak and his forces first encountered the advance guard of Yousuf's army led by Muhammad Khan at Nauhatta. Abdal Chak was wounded after being hit by a bullet. While both sides faced heavy losses, Muhammad Khan was reinforced by Sayyid Mubarak with 2000 horses. After a fierce fight, Abdal Chak was finally killed by Sayyid Mubarak himself and Yousuf, after being ensured that Abdal Chak has been killed, came forward from the rear guard and proclaimed victory while rest of Abdal Chak's disfigured army ran in disgrace pursued by Yousuf's men. Yousuf forbade Abdal Chak's burial but was secretly buried by some Sayyids against the Sultan's orders. After Ali Shah's funeral, Yousuf Shah was officially crowned Sultan on the next day.