Grand Trunk Road (Sadak-e-Azam) of Sher Shah Suri
Grand Trunk Road (Sadak-e-Azam) de Sher Shah Suri
- Date
- c. 1540-1545 · confidence medium
- Place
- Sasaram, Bihar, India
- Credited to
- Sher Shah Suri (Sur Empire)
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A great highway of over 2,500 km between Sonargaon in Bengal and the Indus, with caravanserais every few kilometres, wells, roadside trees and relay posts of mounted couriers (dak chowkis). It joined the east and the north-west of the subcontinent in a trade and military artery.
The route is much older (the Mauryan Uttarapatha, 3rd century BC); Sher Shah rebuilt, equipped and unified it in five years (1540-1545). The name 'Grand Trunk' is a British 19th-century coinage.
What it led to
- integration of the Ganges trade with Punjab and Central Asia
- regular post later adopted by the Mughals and the British
- the basis of India's national highways and later railways