Yousuf Shah Chak

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Yousuf (Persian: یُوسُفْ, romanized: Yoūsuf, lit. 'God Increases'; Persian pronunciation: [juː.ˈsuf]), born Yoūsuf (Yūsuf) Shāh Chak (Persian: یُوسُفْ شاہ چک, Kashmiri: یوٗسُف شاہ ژَھک), was the fourth 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^[1] and ascended the throne in 1578.^[2][3]

Yousuf belonged to the Chak Dynasty. Chaks were originally Dards who settled in Kashmir in the early 14th century.^[4] Most Chaks converted to the Shia version of Semitic-Islam from Hinduism. Many during Yousuf's period retained Hindu names such as Shankar, Lankar, Pandu Chak, etc. Yousuf ruled Kashmir for 5 years and 6 months, from 1578 till 1579 and from 1580 till 1586.^[5] Yousuf was exiled for a year and 9 months as the rebels occupied his throne after defeating him in the battle of Eidgah.^[6][7] 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.^[8] Nonetheless, Yousuf ruled justly and had a great sense of justice which made him much different than his predecessors.^[9] 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.