The Kashmir Sultanate or historically Latinized as Sultanate of Cashmere, was a medieval Indo-Islamic kingdom established in the early 14th century in Northern India, primarily in the Kashmir Valley. The sultanate was founded by Rinchan Shah, a Ladakhi noble who converted from Buddhism to Islam. The sultanate was briefly interrupted by the Loharas until Shah Mir, a councillor of Rinchan, overthrew the Loharas and started his own dynasty. The Shah Mirs ruled from 1339 until they were deposed by the Chak warlords and nobles in 1561. The Chaks continued to rule the sultanate until the Mughal conquest in 1586 and their surrender in 1589.

The Lohara dynasty was a Kashmiri Hindu dynasty that ruled over Kashmir and surrounding regions in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent for more than 3 centuries between 1003 CE and approximately 1320 CE. The early history of the dynasty was described in the Rajatarangini, a work written by Kalhana in the mid-12th century and upon which many and perhaps all studies of the first 150 years of the dynasty depend. Subsequent accounts, which provide information up to and beyond the end of the dynasty, come from Jonarāja and Śrīvara. The later rulers of the dynasty were weak; internecine fighting and corruption were endemic during this period, with only brief years of respite, making the dynasty vulnerable to the growth of Islamic conquests in the region.