Medieval History of Gujarat witnessed the arrival of the Muslim conquerors into India. Mohammad of Ghazni was the first of the Muslim conquerors. Before the Muslims conquered India in 1298 Gujarat had a smattering of Muslims. They mostly dotted along the Gujarat coastline. They had two small Muslim settlements in Cambay or Khambhat and Bharuch. Medieval Gujarat also saw Abdulla-a missionary from Egypt establish the formation of the Bohra community among the native Muslims.

After Ala-ud-din Khilji defeated Karandev Vaghela with his military force of, medieval Gujarat went under the Muslim rule for a period of 400 years. The Muslim rule finally came to an end in 1758 when the Mughal Viceroy Momin Khan was defeated by the Marathas. The Marathas established their supremacy by annexing Ahmedabad from the Mughals in the same year.

Zafar Shah, a viceroy of Delhi for Gujarat set up the first Muslim sultanate in Gujarat. He fully exploited the existing feeble rulers of Delhi and thus declared his independence. He became the first Sultan. Zafar Shah later assumed the title of Muzaffar Shah. His successor Ahmed Shah found the city of Ahmedabad on the banks of the Sabarmati River and named it after his own name. Ahmedabad became the capital of successive regimes in Gujarat till the state of Gujarat was reformed in 1960. The capital was then shifted to the new city of Gandhinagar.

Mahmud Shah succeeded Ahmed Shah. He proved to be an able administrator and even successfully repulsed a Portuguese naval attack and set up his naval base at Diu off the Sautrashtra coast. Mahmud was an efficient administrator and a great builder. He also played a key role in subduing the Rajput chieftains. Gujarat flourished extensively and became affluent under the patronage of Mahmud Shah. Islamic disciplines began to be preached in Patan which was the ancient seat of Hindu learning.

The available infrastructure at Patan was exploited by Mahmud Shah. Later the assassination of Sikandar Shah led to the decline of the Sultanate. Gujarat fell prey to the Mughal armies and became the seat of the great Mughal Emperor Akbar. Bahadur Shah II was the last Sultan who was defeated. This marked the beginning of the Mughal rule which lasted some 185 years.

The Muslim rule in medieval Gujarat was ended by Chhatrapati Shivaji, the great Maratha ruler who conquered Gujarat with his military skill. Later the Maratha Empire was concluded by the European colonial powers. The Portuguese were the first European power to arrive in medieval Gujarat.