Shah taraf

The Shah taraf house descended from Syed Nasiruddin, a Sufi and soldier born in Baghdad into a Syed family that claimed descent from the Twelve Imams. After the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258 he migrated to Delhi and then Bengal, joined the Suhrawardiyya order, and became army commander of the Sultan of Lakhnauti.

In 1303 he led troops alongside Shah Jalal in the conquest of Sylhet, overthrowing the Hindu raja Gour Govinda. In 1304 he took neighbouring Tungachal without a fight, renamed it Taraf and became its governor.

Buried at Murarband, where his tomb became a shrine, he left hereditary rulers who made Taraf a centre of Islamic learning. The Twipra kingdom later conquered it, followed by Khwaja Usman and the Mughals.