Tughluq control over Bengal was never very effective due to its distance from the capital at Delhi. The Tughluqs attempted to split Bengal in order to control it, but the region became united and powerful under Sultan Ilyas Shāh (AD 1345-57).

The Ilyas Shāhīs ruled until 1486, although there was an interregnum of 23 years after a local Hindu rājā usurped the throne in 1415. After the Ilyas Shāhīs, the Hussain Shāhī dynasty ruled from 1494 to 1576, the reign of ‘Alā al-Dīn Hussain Shāh (1495-1518) being especially peaceful and prosperous.

Gaur was the chief city of the Sultans of Bengal, displaced only for 100 years from the mid-14th century when the Sultans shifted to Pandua. After the capital returned to Gaur in the mid-15th century, the city enjoyed a heyday, and many mosques, palaces and tombs were constructed. The buildings are mostly of brick, with decoration in glazed tiles.

Located on a branch of the River Gangā, Gaur lost importance when the river shifted eastward. The Mughal conquest of 1575 coincided with an outbreak of plague, prompting a general exodus. Gaur fell into ruins, becoming at last a subject of British antiquarian and picturesque interest in the 18th century.