The Sharqis ruled the central gangetic plain ( roughly the central part of
Uttar Pradesh) during the 14th and 15th century. Malik Sarwar was the founder of the dyansty. He was a prominent noble during the reign of Firuz Tughlaq (1351 - 1388) of Tughlaq Dynasty. He was nominated to the eastern areas with the title ‘Malik-us-Sharq’ (The lord of the East). Later on he asserted independence from the
Delhi Sultanate and his successors came to be called the Sharqis after his title.
The Sharqi sultans fixed their capital at Juanpur (in eastern Uttar Pradesh), which they beautified with magnificent palaces, mosques and mausoleums. The Sharqi sultans were great patrons of learning and culture. Poets and men of letters, scholars and saints assembled at Jaunpur and made it glorious.
The Sharqi Dynasty lasted for less than a century. At its height, it extended from Aligarh in western Uttar Pradesh to Darbhanga in north Bihar, and from boundary of Nepal in the north to Bundelkhand in the south.
The Sharqi rulers maintained law and order over a large tract, following the collapse of the Delhi Sultanate. They successfully prevented the rulers of Bengal in extending their control over eastern Uttar Pradesh. But, they fell before the might of the Mughals.
The cultural tradition, that they established, continued long after the downfall of the Sharqis.
