Yousuf Shah Chak

Yousuf Shah Chak (Urdu; یُوسف شاہ چک) was a ruler of Kashmir. He was successor of his father Ali Shah Chak and ruled Kashmir from 1579 to 1586 AD. The Chaks were new converts to Islam. They were formidable fighters of huge structure and soundly defeated the great Mughal Emperor Akbar twice and that too with a much smaller army. Sadly Akbar managed to take control of Kashmir by deceit. It is popular that Akbar invited Yousuf Shah Chak to Delhi for talks and it was promised to be a dealing of negotiation only. After initially ignoring the offer, Yousuf Shah Chak finally decided to visit Akbar in Delhi for talks. However, Akbar got Yousuf arrested for whole of his life. It is narrated that Habba Khatoon, Yousuf's wife and the then Queen of Kashmir, had opposed Yousuf's travel to Delhi, for she sensed Akbar's offer as a bait. She later made mentions of this in her writings. After arresting Yousuf Shah Chak the Mughals had to face much trouble in Kashmir.

Yusuf married a Kashmiri poet Zoon (Kashmiri moon) also referred to as Habba Khatoon. He was succeeded by his son Yakub Shah Chak who ruled Kashmir for three years until 1589 AD, when it was annexed to Mughal Empire by Akbar.

Yousuf was jailed in Bengal and later shifted to Bihar where he died. His grave remains in Bihar.^[1][2]

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