The Muzaffarid dynasty, also called the Muzaffarids, and sometimes, the Ahmedabad dynasty or the Ahmad Shahis, ruled the Sultanate of Gujarat in western India from 1391 to 1583. The founder of the dynasty was Zafar Khan (later Muzaffar Shah I) who was governor of Gujarat under the Delhi Sultanate. When the Sultanate was weakened by the sacking of Delhi by Timur in 1398, and Zafar Khan took the opportunity to establish himself as sultan of an independent Gujarat. His Grand son, Ahmed Shah I established the capital at Ahmedabad. The dynasty ruled for almost 200 years, until the conquest of Gujarat by the Mughal Empire in 1572. The sultanate reached its peak of expansion under Mahmud Begada, reaching east into Malwa and west to the Gulf of Kutch.
According to medieval sources, Zafar Khan was the son of SahÃÂran (also known as Wajëh-ul-Mulk), a local notable and landholder. The 16th-century Gujarati chronicler Sikandar Ibn Manjhu, author of the MirþÃÂt-i-Sikandarë, records that the Tanks and Khatris were originally one community, later separated when the former were expelled due to their fondness for drinking. On the basis of SikandarâÂÂs account, several modern historians identify Zafar KhanâÂÂs family as belonging to the Tank subdivision of the Khatri caste from Punjab.
Some historians such as Aparna Kapadia offer another account, asserting that SahÃÂran (also spelled SadhÃÂran), the father of Zafar Khan, was a Tank Rajput who originally lived in Thanesar in present-day Haryana, although Kapadia also notes the tradition of Khatri Tank descent by Sikander. Noting the Sikander's account and other local traditions about profession of Zafar Khan's forefathers, some modern writers have also proposed an association between Zafar KhanâÂÂs family and the Kalal caste, traditionally linked with wine-selling.
Zafar Khan's father Saharan was a Chaudhary who was an agriculturist by profession. Zafar Khan adopted the name Wajih-ul-Mulk. Wajih-ul-Mulk and his brother were influential Chaudharis who were agriculturists by profession but could also muster thousands of fighting men on their call. His Hindu forebears claimed descent from RÃÂmachandra, who the Hindus worshipped as God. Such genealogies were fabricated to glorify royalty and were generally not accepted.