Qutab-ud-din Aibek
Qutab-ud-din Aibek
established himself as the sultan of Delhi at Lahore. He strengthened his
position through matrimonial alliances with his rivals. He gave his daughter to
Iltumish the foremost of his slaves. Qutab-ud-din died in 1210AD. He had laid the foundation
of a new dynasty called the Slave dynasty in 1206AD.
Iltumish
After Qutab-ud-din his son Aram Shah succedded to his
throne. He was not able to display the skill of conquests and administration
shone by his forerunners. This had demanded Iltumish to take charge of the
situation as desired by the nobles too. A battle followed in which Aram Shah was
defeated and killed. In 1211 AD Iltumish came to the throne. He was also known as
Shams-ud-din. He spent his days in retriving the lost territories of
Qutab-ud-din, and also added Malwa and Sind. During the reign of Iltumish he
fought against the rival slave chiefs Yildiz and Qabacha. His attempts to
appease Yildiz diplomatically to accept his authority gave time to
prepare himself. At the battlefield of Tarain both of them met and Yildiz was
defeated.
Another important problem faced by Iltumish was the
Mongols led by Chingiz Khan. In his diplomatic decision he avoided a conflict
with the might Mongol by preventing Jalad-ud-din the ruler of Khawarism from coming
to India. Iltumish defeated his rival slave chieftain Qabacha and captured both
Multan and Sindh. After this he made Ghias ud-din ceed to the supremacy of Iltumish.
Later, he defeated Ghias-ud-din who revolted ,and conquered his territories
of Bengal and Bihar. Another major threat to the power of Iltumish was the
independent Rajput rulers who inspite of their rivalry could pose a serious
danger to the Sultanate. On 1226 AD he attacked Ranthambor and Mansor. He also occupied Ajmer,
Jalor, Nagor. In 1229 Gwalior was was occupied and the fort of Kalinjar was
plundered. Kannauj, Banaras and Badaun were under his dominion. In the year 1229
AD the Caliph of Bagdad recognised him as Sultan. This bestowed upon him the
power to nominate his successors.
Iltumish was also a patron of art and
learning. His completion of the Qutab Minar proves him to be a man of good architectural
skills and tastes besides striving adequately for promoting his
religion. Iltumish was succeeded by his son Rukn-ud-din Feroze who came to the
throne as desired by the nobles even though Iltumish had nominated his daughter
Razia to the throne. Rukn-ud-din did not prove to be a competent ruler and he
left his duty of administration to his mother Shah Turkan. The unpopular rule
that followed led to revolts by several governors of various provinces. Finally Rukn-ud-din
and his mother Shah Turkan were murdered and the throne was succeeded by Razia
Begum who ruled from 1236 AD to1240 AD. She had accomplished the major task of
subduing the revolting governors and the bringing the territories under her
control. She married Altunia the governor of Bhatinda. In 1240 AD the Turkish
nobles deposed her and declared. Bahram Shah as their ruler, and both Razia and
Altunia was killed. Bahram Shah was a mere puppet in the hands of the nobles. He
was succeeded by Masud Shah ,a nephew of Razia Begum. Owing to his inability the nobles displaced him with Nasir-uddin Mahmud the youngest son of Iltumish.
He was in power for twenty five years. The affairs of the state was left to his
father-in-law and minister Ulugh Khan Balban. After the death of Nasir-ud-din
Mahmud in 1226 AD the power was taken over by Balban.
As a minister during the
time of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud Balban had accomplished himself as an able administrator.
His ideas of diplomacy and suppression of revolts with an iron hand helped him
in establishing a strong rule in the history of the slave dynasty. As a minister
he put down the revolting rajputs, the khokars, and the rulers of the Doab region.
Ramthambhor, Gwalior, Chanderi and Malwa came under his rule. He was able to
quell the power of Mewatis in 1259 AD.He firmly resolved the rivalry among the 'Fourty
slaves' whose decision was the final word of the dynasty. They plotted against
Balban with the help of the Sultan. But this resulted in Chaos
which forced the Sultan to call back Balban. To ensure the kingdom's safety against the invading Mongols he built forts on the borders and stationed a
strong army. In 1258 AD and 1259 AD Balban led campaigns against the Rajputs of the
Doab and Meos of Delhi. During his early days of rule of Balban, he pursued
the suppression of the Meos. He brought order in Rohilkhand. He suppressed the
revolt of Tughril Khan, the governor of Bengal. Balban died in 1287 AD. His
achievements besides the consolidation of the slave kingdom include his
contribution to increase the power and importance of the ruler. He had brought various code of
conduct in his court that involved even the manner of dressing and addressing.
He reorganised his army with equipments and stationed them in forts at vulnerable
places of foreign intrusion. He paid them well in cash besides appointing
governors to supervise the activities of the army.
His
administration was strongly based on his military
power. Enforcement of decision and disposition of justice with a competent spy
system kept him informed of the activities of every one in his kingdom. He
maintained a strict attitude towards the Hindus and kept them under strong
suppression with the help of his military power. He was undoubtedly the greatest
of the military rulers of the Slave dynasty. He was to be succeeded by Kai
Khasrau, but a diplomatic gamble brought Qaigabad the son of Bulhara Khan the
governor of Bengal to the throne. He was a grandson of Balban. Aged eighteen.
Qaigabad turned a blind eye to the affairs of the state. He was disposed off by
the nobles bringing his three year old son to the throne.
Another series of
uprisings and revolts started amongst the nobles, many of them declaring
independence thus unleasing a state of confusion. This was the period when
Jalaluddin Khilji of the Khilji tribe who was placed on the throne by the nobles
brought a new rule to follow under the name of the Khilji dynasty. The rule of
this dynasty started in 1290 AD and continued till 1340 AD.
