(i) Zainul Abidin (1420-1470) was one of the greatest rulers of Kashmir. He was an enlightened ruler and called back those Hindus who had left the state due to the persecution of Sikandar Shah.

(ii) He abolished jaziya and prohibited cow slaughter and gave the Hindus important state posts. A large number of temples were repaired and newly constructed.

(iii) He married the daughters of the Hindu raja of Jammu. He is considered as the Akbar of Kashmir. Under him Kashmir became prosperous and he was called the Bud Shah or the great king of Kashmiris.

(iv) Zainul Abidin contributed to the agricultural development of Kashmir by constructing dams and canals. Agricultural records were maintained. During the period of famine and other natural calamities, relief in terms of loans and grains and fodder was provided to the peasants.

(v) He also introduced reforms in the currency. He introduced market control and fixed prices of the commodities. Traders and merchants were asked to sell the commodities at fixed prices. He also subsidized the import of the commodities which were scarce in the state. To make up for the shortage of salt, he imported salt from Ladakh and helped the traders in every possible way.

(vi) He also paid attention to the development of handicrafts. He sent some people to Samarqand for training in papermaking and bookbinding.

(vii) He also encouraged stone and polishing and many other crafts. He introduced carpet and shawl making which made Kashmir famous till day.

(viii) Sultan also founded the towns of Zaingir, Zainket and Zainpur and laid out the islands on the Dal Lake which can be seen till today. His chief engineering achievement was the Zaina, an artificial island in the Wolur Lake on which he built his palace and mosque.

(ix) Zainul Abidin was a great scholar of Persian, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Arab languages and patronised the Sanskrit and Persian scholars. Under his patronage, the Mahabharata and Kalhana's Rajatarangini were translated into Persian and many Persian and Arabic works were translated into Hindi. He himself was a poet and wrote poetry under the pen name 'Qutb'.