Yousuf Shah Chak

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 ruled the Chak dynasty from 1578 to 1586. Yousuf succeeded his father, Ali Shah Chak, who crowned Yousuf before he died. Yousuf defeated all other contenders for the throne, including his uncle Abdal Chak,^[1] and ascended the throne in 1578.^[2][3]

Yousuf belonged to the Chak Dynasty. The 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 but he lost respect from his subjects and ministers because of his deficiencies in administration and authority.^[8] Nonetheless, Yousuf was said to have ruled justly and to have had a great sense of justice that made him much different than his predecessors.^[9] He not only ruled the valley and hills of Kashmir, but also received tributes from Ladakh, Baltistan and the hill states of Jammu.