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Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani 1312–1384 CE) was a Persian scholar, poet and a Sufi Muslim saint of the Kubrawiya order. He was born in Hamadan, Iran and preached Islam in Central Asia and Kashmir as he travelled to practice Sufism. He died in Kashmir and was buried in Khatlan, Tajikistan in 1384 CE, aged 71–72.
According to historians, Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani used to travel with 700 followers and he first visited Kashmir during the reign of Sultan Shahab-ud-Din in 774 AH when he stayed for six months. On his second visit in 781 A.D, when Qutub-ud-Din was the ruler of Kashmir, he stayed for a year. His third visit was in 785 AH but he returned back to Iran early because of ill health.
Shah-e-Hamdan introduced the central Asian architecture in the valley and gave rise to a new style. The famous example of this architecture is Khanqah-e-Mualla. This building was used as official inn and belonged to Sultan Qutub-ud-Din.
Hamdani’s economic impact on Kashmir is incredibly profound. He played a crucial and critical role in the economic upliftment of Kashmiris. His aim was to make Kashmiri self-sufficient by teaching them a skill. Thus, along with religious preachers, he brought with him numerous artists and artisans who settled down in Kashmir and taught the craft of Pashmina textile and carpet making to the local population.
