III. The Establishment of the Delhi Sultanate
*Muhammad Ghuri's Conquests* == *Causes
of Muslim Success* == *Organization of the
Delhi Government* == *Mongol Invasions* == *Administration*
== *The Problem of Succession* == *The
Struggle between the Nobles and the Sultan*
[[37]] AFTER the death
of Mahmud in 1030 there were occasional incursions into Hindu territory
from Ghazni and the Ghaznavid base at Lahore, but no major territorial
change took place, and Hindu India enjoyed a respite from foreign invasion
for a century and a half. This did not lead, however, to national consolidation,
and a number of principalities grew up in different parts of the subcontinent.
In the north, the most important were the kingdoms of Delhi and Ajmer,
Kanauj, Bundhelkhand, Gujarat, Malwa, and Bengal. Occasionally they would
come together for some common purpose, but normally there was no cooperation
among them, even in the face of the danger that threatened them from the
northwest. Perhaps the relative freedom from Muslim raids during the first
part of the twelfth century made them forget their perilous position, but,
for whatever reason, their disunity made it possible for a determined leader
to deal with them one after the other.
Muhammad Ghuri's Conquests
It was this situation that
was exploited to the full by Muhammad Ghuri, who had been placed in charge
of Ghazni by his brother, the sultan of Ghur, in 1173. For the next thirty
years Ghazni was the base from which Muhammad mounted his attacks on India;
unlike the raids of the previous Muslim rulers of the mountain areas, these
were aimed not at acquiring plunder and glory but at the political control
of northern India. From this time on, the story of Islam in India is one
of expansion and the building up of a great empire that would be based
not on Ghazni or Ghur but on Lahore and Delhi.
To attain his object, Muhammad
first had to bring the Muslim kingdoms on the frontier under his control.
Soon after the conquest of Ghazni he accomplished this by occupying Multan
and Uch in [[38]] 1175. At that time the most frequented route from
Ghazni into India was not the well-known Khyber pass, or the Bolan pass
in the south, but the Gomal, which leads to the district of Dera Ismail
Khan in what is now West Pakistan. Muhammad Ghuri followed this route,
and for some years left Peshawar and Lahore undisturbed. After occupying
Upper Sind he turned in 1178 to Anhilwara or Patan, the capital of Gujarat,
possibly with the hope that its riches would provide an economic basis
for his military schemes. He was defeated, however, and had to change his
strategy. Turning to the Khyber and the Punjab, he took Peshawar in 1179,
Sialkot in 1185, and Lahore in 1186. In the winter of 1190–91 he conquered
the Hindu fort of Bhatinda and placed it in charge of a governor. He was
returning to Ghazni when he received information that Prithvi Raj of Ajmer
and Delhi was on his way to Bhatinda and that immediate help was needed.
Part of the sultan's army had already dispersed, but in view of the danger
to which Bhatinda was exposed, Muhammad Ghuri returned and met the forces
of Prithvi Raj at Tarain (modern Taraori), near Karnal. The Rajputs attacked
with such vigor that both wings of the Muslim army were driven from the
field. Its center stood firm under Muhammad Ghuri and, in a determined
charge on the Hindu center, he attacked Govind Rai, the raja's brother
and the commander-in-chief of the Indian army. Muhammad Ghuri struck Govind
Rai with a lance, shattering his teeth, but the Hindu general drove his
javelin through his opponent's arm. The sultan, faint from pain and loss
of blood, was about to fall from his horse when a young Khalji with great
presence of mind sprang upon his horse, steadied him, and carried him back
to the place where the Muslim army had halted. Here a litter was hastily
prepared, and the army returned to Ghazni in comparative order.
This was the first major
defeat suffered by Muslims in northern India, and on his return to the
capital Muhammad Ghuri meted out exemplary punishment to the army chiefs
who had fled from the battlefield. As a severe penance for himself, he
did not wear fine clothes or engage in any festivities for a year, but
concentrated all his energies on preparations for a return to India.
The two armies met again
in 1192 on the battlefield of Tarain. The [[39]] Indian army far
exceeded Muhammad Ghuri's forces in number, but his brilliant generalship
and superior tactics gave him a decisive victory. The Indian commander-in-chief
fell on the battlefield, Prithvi Raj was captured in the course of flight,
and the Indian army was completely routed. This victory made Muhammad Ghuri
master of Delhi and Ajmer. He left Qutb-ud-Din Aibak to consolidate the
new conquests at Kuhram (in East Punjab), but in conformity with Muhammad
ibn Qasim's policy of appointing local governors, a son of Prithvi Raj,
was made governor of Ajmer. Prithvi Raj himself was taken to Ajmer, where,
after some delay, he was found guilty of treason and executed. A few of
his coins with the Sanskrit superscription "Hammira" (Amir) on the obverse
have been found, suggesting that he had initially accepted Muslim suzerainty.
Muhammad Ghuri, who had returned
to Ghazni after the battle of Tarain, was back again two years later to
deal with the powerful raja of Kanauj. The ensuing battle was severely
contested, but the Muslims were victorious and added a great kingdom to
their dominion. Meanwhile, early in 1193, Aibak had occupied Delhi, the
future seat of Muslim power in India. Hazabr-ud-din Hasan Adib, an adventurous
officer, had conquered Badaun in the heart of the Gangetic plain even before
Muhammad Ghuri had taken Bhatinda, and Malik Hisam-ud-din Aghul Bak, another
leader of the vanguard of Islam, had established himself in Oudh.
These brilliant victories,
indicative of the spirit and resourcefulness of early Muslim officers,
were soon eclipsed by the exploits of Ikhtiyar-ud-din Muhammad, the son
of Bakhtiyar Khalji, who had been assigned certain villages in Oudh. From
his advance base between the Ganges and the Son he raided Bihar and Tirhut.
His successes attracted so many adventurers that he was able to invade
and conquer southern parts of Bihar, probably in 1199. Later he presented
himself to Aibak, who gave him his recent conquests as a fief.
This encouraged Ikhtiyar-ud-din
to extend the Muslim dominion to the most eastern parts of the subcontinent.
In 1201 he left Bihar with a large body of horse and marched so rapidly
against Nadiya, the capital of Bengal, that when he arrived at the city
only eighteen of his companions had been able to keep pace with him. Nadiya
was [[40]] partly deserted at this time, and the Muslim commander
and his eighteen companions were able to pass through the city gates unchallenged
as horse dealers from the north. Reaching the raja's palace on the banks
of the Ganges, they cut down the guards, but Raja Lakshmansena escaped
through a postern gate by boat. The valiant eighteen held their own until
the rest of the army arrived; then took complete control of the capital,
laying the foundation of Muslim rule in the northwestern part of Bengal.
The raja fled to Vikrampur (near modern Dacca), where his family continued
to rule for three generations.
After his victory over the
raja of Kanauj Muhammad Ghuri was preoccupied with the affairs of Central
Asia, as he had succeeded his brother as sultan in 1202. He suffered a
defeat in 1205 at the hands of the Qara Khitai Turks, and rumors spread
that he had been killed. This led the Khokhars and some other tribes in
the Salt Range of the Punjab to rebel, under the leadership of a renegade
raja. They defeated the deputy governor of Multan, plundered Lahore, and,
by stopping communication between that city and Ghazni, prevented the remittance
of revenue from the Punjab. The situation became so serious that it required
the sultan's personal attention; and in October, 1205, he left Ghazni for
India. Only after the arrival of Aibak with fresh reinforcements was the
rebellion completely crushed. Muhammad permitted his troops to return to
their homes to prepare for his planned operations in Central Asia, and
he himself was returning to Ghazni with a small contingent when on March
15, 1206, he was assassinated near Damiyak, probably by an Ismaili fanatic.
The death of Ghuri within
fourteen years of the victory at Tarain was a great blow to the rising
Muslim power in India, but his task had been nearly accomplished. Nearly
all of northern India was under Muslim rule, and in Aibak, Iltutmish, Nasir-ud-din
Qabacha, and Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, he left a group of capable
officers who could complete his task. Many of them, including Aibak and
Iltutmish, who later became rulers of India, were slaves, a reminder of
the important place well-trained and loyal slaves had in the early Muslim
dynasties. Brought from all over Central Asia, often members of ruling
families that had been defeated, they provided generals and [[41]]
governors who were often more trustworthy than sons or other relatives.
Causes of Muslim Success
The sweeping victories won
by Muhammad Ghuri and his generals at the end of the twelfth century tend
to give the impression that the conquest of North India was an easy and
uninterrupted process. That this was not the case is shown by the reverses
suffered by Ghuri himself as well as by the strong counteroffensives mounted
by individual Hindu rulers. The most important factor in the success of
the Muslims at this time was probably the quality of the rank and file
and of their commanders. Not only were Muslim commanders able to wipe out
the effects of various setbacks, but they showed superior generalship against
heavy odds in victories such as that at Tarain. They were able also to
exploit their limited resources to the fullest possible advantage by adopting
the most suitable tactics, such as the feigned withdrawal of Ghuri at Tarain
and the shock of a sudden surprise at Nadiya by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar.
Another factor which materially contributed to Muslim success was superior
horsemanship, and in fact the victories of Muslims over much larger Hindu
armies may be considered the victory of the horse over the slow-moving
elephant.
Other factors also contributed
to Muslim success. They were always on the offensive and had the advantage
of greater initiative and selectivity. Fighting hundreds of miles away
from their homes, they had to fight desperately, as they had no easy means
of escape. Religious ardor must also have acted as a spur to their fighting
qualities. The soldiers were not confined to one class, as was generally
the case with Indian armies, but contained picked and zealous soldiers
from all classes and even different ethnic groups, such as the Turks, Tajiks,
Khaljis, and Afghans.
While these factors were
responsible for the speedy conquest of northern India, the consolidation
of Muslim rule owed not a little to another event which was a tragedy for
the Muslim countries of central and western Asia. This was the Mongol invasion,
which drove [[42]] large numbers of refugees, amongst whom were
princes, chiefs, soldiers, scholars, and saints, to Muslim India. Thus
a vast reservoir of manpower became available to the new government at
Delhi, and these people, having suffered so much, did not spare themselves
in making India a "Citadel of Islam."
Organization of the Delhi Government
After Muhammad Ghuri's assassination
in 1206 the control of his Indian possessions passed to his slave Qutb-ud-din
Aibak, while the rest of his empire became the scene of a struggle between
various claimants for power. This meant, in effect, that henceforth the
Indian provinces of the Ghuri dynasty were independent; Aibak may thus
be reckoned the first independent Muslim ruler of northern India, the founder
of the Delhi Sultanate. He had been bought as a young man by the qazi of
Nishapur who, recognizing his ability, gave him a good education. After
the qazi's death he was sold to Muhammad Ghuri, under whom he served as
a commander, and when Ghuri returned to Ghazni as sultan, Aibak remained
as viceroy of his Indian province. In the inevitable confusion that followed
the sultan's death, Aibak had himself crowned at Lahore, and although he
acknowledged the supremacy of the new ruler at Ghuri, he himself was given
the title of sultan, and was virtually independent. A source of perplexity
for later jurists in connection with this assumption of power was that
Aibak's formal manumission from slavery did not take place until 1208;
yet under Islamic law an unmanumitted slave could not be a ruler. In any
case, his own successors for the next ninety years were originally either
slaves or descendants of slaves.
Aibak's main work had been
accomplished as the deputy of Sultan Muhammad Ghuri. After his accession
to the throne he made no new conquests but consolidated the Muslim dominion
by following a policy of conciliation and open-handed generosity which
earned him the title of lakhbakhsh, or “ the giver of lakhs.” Aside from
this, he commenced building two magnificent mosques at Delhi and Ajmer.
He was evidently a patron of letters, for two historians, Hasan Nizami
and Fakhr-i-Mudabbir, dedicated their works to him. His career was cut
short by early death in 1211 as the result of a polo accident. [[43]]
Aibak's son succeeded him, but the Delhi nobles soon replaced him by
Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, Aibak's son-in-law. The new ruler was faced with
a very difficult task, for not only was Muslim rule in India far from consolidated,
but powerful military leaders in Bengal, Punjab, and Multan challenged
his authority. Yildiz, the ruler of Ghazni, laid claim as Muhammad Ghuri's
successor to suzerainty over all the latter's Indian conquests. The Hindu
chiefs had by now recovered from the stunning effects of Muslim victories
and were winning back many of the strongholds originally conquered by the
Muslims. Kalinjar had been recovered as early as 1206, and in course of
time Jalor, Ranthambhor, Gwalior, and even Badaun, where Iltutmish held
his last post before accession to the throne, were lost to the Muslims.
In Oudh and the Doab the situation was even worse, and Minhaj-us-Siraj
speaks of a Hindu chief named Bartu "beneath whose sword above a hundred
and twenty thousand Musalmans had attained martyrdom."/1/
Iltutmish, trained in the
traditions of Ghuri and Aibak, moved slowly against his host of enemies.
He first consolidated his authority in the areas of Delhi, Badaun, Oudh,
and Benares, and then dealt with his Muslim opponents one by one. In 1216
he defeated and captured Yildiz who, after his expulsion from Ghazni by
the Khwarizmshahis, had occupied Lahore. In 1225 he turned his attention
to Bengal and forced the local ruler to abandon his royal title, acknowledge
the authority of Delhi, and pay regular tribute. After this he dealt with
Nasir-ud-din Qabacha, the powerful and popular ruler of Sind and western
Punjab. On February 9, 1228, he arrived at Uch, Qabacha's capital, and
opened siege. Uch surrendered on May 4, and a few days later Qabacha, who
had moved to the island fortress of Bhakkar (situated between modern Sukkur
and Rohri), found a watery grave in the Indus.
Mongol Invasions
An important development
of Iltutmish's reign which had indirect but far-reaching consequences for
the new empire was the rise of the [[44]] Mongols under Chingiz
and Hulagu, and their "dance of death" in central and western Asia. The
Mongol invasion, the greatest blow which the Muslim world ever suffered,
is the dividing point of Islamic history. The modern evaluation of the
Mongol advance as a catastrophe for Islam was shared by contemporaries,
one of whom, the historian Ibn-ul-Athir, called it, "the death blow of
Islam and the Muslims." Beginning in 1219 with Chingiz Khan's invasion
of Transoxiana, it brought destruction to large cultivated areas, ruin
to libraries and madrasas, and endless slaughter to men, women, and children.
It culminated in the sack of Baghdad, and the end of the Abbasid caliphate
at the hands of Hulagu Khan in 1258. A quotation from E. G. Browne summarizes
the extent of the catastrophe: "In its suddenness, its devastating destruction,
its appalling ferocity, its passionless and purposeless cruelty, its irresistible
though short-lived violence, this outburst of savage nomads hitherto hardly
known by name even to their neighbors, resembles rather some brute cataclysm
of the blind forces of nature than a phenomenon of human history. The details
of massacre, outrage, spoliation, and destruction wrought by these hateful
hordes of barbarians who, in the space of a few years, swept the world
from Japan to Germany would … be incredible were they not confirmed from
so many different quarters."/2/
That India was spared the full force of invasion can be attributed in large
part to the vigilance and resourcefulness of the Delhi sultans.
Iltutmish's government first
felt the impact of the gigantic military movement when Jalal-ud-din, the
ruler of Khwarizm, whose father had attracted the wrath of Chingiz Khan,
crossed the border with 10,000 men and sought aid from Iltutmish. Realizing
the peril of getting embroiled in a dispute with the Mongol chief, Iltutmish
gave skillfully evasive replies, and thus averted the danger of the Indian
subcontinent being involved in the first onrush of the Mongol invasion.
But the Mongols continued to move toward the subcontinent, and in 1241,
during the chaos following Iltutmish's death, they destroyed Lahore. They
remained entrenched on the frontier for several years, and for nearly half
a century the principal preoccupation of the Delhi government was the defense
of the subcontinent from the [[45]] fate suffered by central and
western Asia. Thanks to Balban's efficient measures and Ala-ud-din Khalji's
military prowess this danger was averted, but the indirect consequences
of the Mongol eruption and their activities beyond the border were not
trifling. The danger in the north was partly responsible for Balban's ruthless
policy of internal consolidation and centralization (about which more will
be said later). The Mongol atrocities in Muslim countries and the threat
to their newly won empire also steeled Muslim hearts in the subcontinent
and inspired them to great efforts. And, again, the great influx of refugees
from the Muslim countries of Central Asia, Khurasan, Iran, Iraq, and modern
Afghanistan into the newly conquered territories provided the human resources
needed for the consolidation of Muslim rule and the firm planting of Islamic
religion in the subcontinent. These developments continued throughout the
greater part of the thirteenth century, but they began during Iltutmish's
reign, and a large number of distinguished refugees came to his court./3/
Administration
Iltutmish rivals Balban for
the distinction of being the greatest of the Slave Kings. Although it was
Balban's transformation of the royal position that became firmly ingrained
in the fabric of Muslim government, Iltutmish's work was historically of
great importance. Aibak had done little but maintain the position he had
acquired from Ghuri; it was Iltutmish who consolidated the Indian possessions
into an independent kingdom. Not only had he to deal with powerful Muslim
rivals and the Hindu counter-offensive, but he also had to build up the
fabric of a new administration and organize different departments of the
central government at Delhi. A skillful organizer, he dealt with the problems
of administration in the same manner that he handled threats to the security
and the integrity of the realm. In this his task was greatly facilitated
by the model of government organization that had been established at Ghazni
and the copious literature that had appeared on statecraft and the art
of government in [[46]] Muslim countries. By now some of the classics
of Muslim political theory, such as the Arabic Ahkam-us-Sultania,
the Persian Qabus Namah (1082), and the Siasat Nama (1092)
had already been written, in addition to similar works that have perished.
The historian Ziya-ud-din Barani (1285–1357) quotes Balban as speaking
of two works on statecraft—Adab-us-Salatin and Maasir-us-Salatin—which
were brought from Baghdad in Iltutmish's reign./4/
He also seems to have received assistance from scholars versed in the principles
of Muslim political theory and governmental organization, and Adab-ul-Muluk,
the first Indo-Muslim classic on the art of government and warfare was
written for him. With this background, he was able to lay the basis of
a well-coordinated structure of government.
Aside from the influence
of the Ghaznavid system of government and the principles of statecraft
learned from the texts on politics, the pattern of the new government established
at Delhi was determined by Iltutmish's own temperament and the realities
of the Indian situation. Much of the territorial expansion of Muslim India
had been the work of individual nobles and resourceful adventurers. These
men and others who had risen to prominence in the service of Muhammad Ghuri
or Iltutmish by this time possessed large tracts of land. Since their privileges
were not curtailed, a loosely knit, decentralized form of administration
came into existence. Iltutmish made no attempt to weaken the position of
his nobles, and indeed felt himself one of them. He used to declare that
God Almighty had raised him above his peers who were a thousand times better
than he. Barani quotes him as saying: "When they stand before me in the
durbar I feel abashed at their grandeur and greatness, and desire that
I should descend from the throne and kiss their hands and feet."/5/
It was also typical of Iltutmish
that he did not adopt a hostile policy towards the Sufis, but valued and
respected them as a source of spiritual and moral strength. The high education
which he gave to his daughter Raziyya, and his preference of her as his
successor to the throne, suggests that he was free from the prejudices
of his Turkish [[47]]
*INDIA IN 1236*
[[48]] nobles. He tried to maintain a balance between the Turks,
who were the all-powerful generals and governors, and the Persian-speaking
Tajiks, who provided the scribes who dominated the imperial secretariat.
After his death the balance was seriously upset, but by then the basic
task of organizing the new Muslim government had been accomplished.
One of the crucial problems
facing Iltutmish was the position of Hindus in a Muslim state. By this
time Muslim law had been codified, and the freedom of action enjoyed by
Muhammad ibn Qasim five centuries earlier in Sind was denied him. Three
out of four schools of Islamic law favored the extermination of all idolators,
but the practice, initiated by Muhammad ibn Qasim and maintained by the
Ghaznavids, of treating idolatrous Hindus at least as privileged zimmis
proved more powerful. When the ulama urged Iltutmish to give effect to
the opinion of the majority of the founders of Islamic schools of law,
he convened a conference and called upon his wazir, Nizam-ul Mulk Junaidi,
to explain the position. The wazir argued that since India had only recently
been conquered, and since the Muslims were fewer in number than the Hindus,
it would not be wise to attempt a course of action that might lead to disturbances.
This argument was accepted, and the status quo was maintained. The possibility
of imposing the viewpoint of the majority Islamic law was never again raised
in the form urged by the ulama. The course adopted was in consonance with
fourth school of law (Hanafi), which has been accepted by the vast majority
of Indian Muslims./6/
Iltutmish took other steps
to strengthen the fabric of the new government. To give it a legal basis
in the eyes of the orthodox, he is said to have sought confirmation of
his royal title from the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad. On February 19, 1229,
the caliph's envoy arrived with a robe of honor and delivered to Iltutmish
a patent which conveyed recognition of his title as the sultan of India.
The caliph's recognition was largely a formality, and this seems to be
one of the two occasions when a ruler of Delhi troubled himself about obtaining
foreign recognition, but in the initial stages of Muslim rule this step
was useful. It confirmed the sovereignty of Delhi against the claims of
[[49]] Ghazni, giving it a legal basis in the eyes of the orthodox,
and it also silenced those local rivals who challenged the sultan's authority.
After this investiture, Iltutmish
attended to the coinage, an important symbol of sovereignty. The name of
the caliph was inscribed on the coins issued from the royal mint, and the
sultan was described as "Helper of the Commander of the Faithful." So far
the Muslim rulers had issued small bullion coins of the native form inscribed
in Devanagari, the Indian script, or in Arabic characters, and bearing
symbols familiar to the Hindu population such as the Bull of Shiva and
the Chauhan horseman. Iltutmish now introduced purely Arabic coinage, discarding
Hindu symbols, and adopted as a standard coin the silver tanka, the ancestor
of the modern rupee.
Delhi was founded in the
tenth century, but before the Muslim occupation it was not a large city,
ranking below Ajmer in the Chauhan kingdom. Since it could not meet the
requirements of the large population attracted by the seat of the new government,
Iltutmish had to provide it with proper amenities and adorn it as the imperial
capital. He built or completed the Qutb Minar, greatly extended the Quwwat-ul-Islam
Mosque, giving it a distinctly Islamic look, and constructed a large water
reservoir (Hauz-i-Shamsi) to meet the needs of Delhi citizens. The educational
needs of the people were also looked after, for the Madrasa-i-Nasiri, of
which the historian Minhaj-us-Siraj was the head at one time, was built
in his reign./7/
While Iltutmish's outlook
and political philosophy were reflected in the salient features of his
administration, he was fortunate in receiving competent assistance and
guidance from some able and farsighted people. Principal amongst these
co-workers was his wazir, Nizam-ul-Mulk Kamal-ud-din Muhammad Junaidi,
a man of culture, a distinguished patron of learning, and a statesman of
strong views. The historian Aufi dedicated his famous Jawami-al-Hikayat
to him, and in a number of verses and poems interspersed in the book he
praised Junaidi's wisdom, statesmanship, skill in warfare, and generosity.
The contemporary poet Reza also wrote many poems extolling these qualities
of Junaidi and has mentioned as well his calligraphy [[50]] and
excellent literary style. Isami also praises him in his history, Futuh-us-Salatin,
mentioning that it was Junaidi who had purchased Balban as a present for
Iltutmish. Junaidi's strength of character may be seen from the fact that
when Iltutmish's worthless son, Rukn-ud-din Firuz, began to squander public
money after his father's death, the wazir risked his office and refused
to support him. He also refused to take the oath of allegiance to Raziyya,
who had ascended the throne without consultation with the provincial chiefs
and the wazir. The most fruitful part of Junaidi's career was under Iltutmish,
when he was in charge of the entire government, including civil and military
departments, and even religious functions which were later entrusted to
the sadr-i-jahan. Barani's account of the conference which was convened
to determine the treatment of the Hindus shows that in such major political
issues Junaidi's opinion counted for much. He advocated a humane line of
action, and though he based his viewpoint on the grounds of expediency,
he achieved the practical end he had in view. The prominent role which
he played in dealing with this difficult and crucial question would suggest
that he had an equally important part in the formulation of other decisions
and actions of Iltutmish's government.
The Problem of Succession
The problem of a successor
troubled Iltutmish during his last days. His eldest son had died, and his
other sons were worthless; his own choice was his able daughter Raziyya,
but he knew the Turkish nobles were opposed to the idea of a woman ruler.
He tried various solutions to deal with the situation. When he set out
for Gwalior in 1231, he left Raziyya in charge of the capital, and was
so satisfied with her handling of government affairs during his long absence
that on his return he considered issuing a proclamation appointing her
his heir. Her name was included along with that of the sultan in a series
of coins, but for one reason or another Iltutmish did not take the final
step of naming her his successor. He entrusted the viceroyalty of Lahore
to his eldest surviving son, Rukn-ud-din Firuz, to see how he fared. Before
he could decide the question of succession, [[51]] Iltutmish fell
seriously ill and the matter was still unsettled when he died. Firuz ascended
the throne with the support of army leaders, but he started squandering
public funds and misusing power in such a way that the provincial governors
revolted. Firuz left the capital to deal with the rebels when one of the
most gruesome tragedies of early Muslim rule took place.
Firuz's misbehavior and the
high-handedness of his mother Shah Turkan had offended so many people that
even the Wazir Nizam-ul-Mulk Junaidi left the sultan to join his opponents.
This brought to a head the bitter antagonism that existed between two court
factions, the Tajiks and the Turks. The Tajiks were Persian-speaking Turks
who had migrated from Turkish homelands. Their contribution to the building
of the early Muslim state at Delhi was very substantial, and not only did
they monopolize the higher posts in the Delhi secretariat, but also they
dominated the literary and intellectual life. The wazir himself was a Tajik.
So was Minhaj-us-Siraj, the historian and the future chief justice. Along
with other notables they were openly hostile to Firuz. This so enraged
the sultan's Turkish supporters that they massacred all the Tajik notables
who were present in the royal camp. The list of casualties preserved by
Minhaj-us-Siraj reads like a roll-call of the Delhi court./8/
Practically all the leading literary figures of Iltutmish's reign were
extinguished on one dark day. The tragedy damaged irreparably the influence
of the Tajiks and also impoverished the intellectual life of the new state.
While Rukn-ud-din Firuz's
supporters were destroying the flower of the imperial secretariat, his
sister Raziyya made a bold bid for the throne. Clad in red, she appeared
before the people gathered for Friday prayers in the principal mosque at
Delhi and appealed to them in the name of Iltutmish to give her a chance
to prove her worth. This dramatic gesture evoked great response, and the
people of Delhi, who so far had not taken the oath of allegiance to Firuz,
accepted her claim. On his return, Firuz was imprisoned and subsequently
put to death, but Rizayya's accession, which had been effected without
consent of the provincial governors or even of the wazir, was doomed from
the beginning. For the powerful nobles considered her accession [[52]]
was unprecedented; her discarding of the veil and her severity swung public
opinion against her. She tried to create dissension among her opponents,
but the elevation of an Abyssinian to the major post of amir-i-akhur
(commander of the cavalry) gave serious offense to the Turkish nobles and
they rose in rebellion against her. Her followers murdered the Abyssinian
and imprisoned her while she was camping at Bhatinda to deal with the rebels.
Her efforts to weather the storm by marrying Altuniya, the rebel governor
of Bhatinda, failed to save her. Her brother Bahram, who had been proclaimed
sultan of Delhi during her absence, entrusted young Balban, their father's
slave, with the task of dealing with Raziyya and her husband's troops,
and Balban carried out the mission with the competence which was, in course
of time, to carry him to the throne of Delhi. Raziyya and Altuniya were
defeated, deserted by their troops, and murdered by the Hindus in the course
of their lonely flight (October 14, 1240).
Raziyya's brief reign also
saw a bid for power by the Ismailis, a heretical sect which once had sought
to assassinate Iltutmish. On Friday, March 5, 1237, nearly a thousand of
them, incited by the harangues of a fanatical preacher, Nur Turk, entered
the great mosque of Delhi from two directions and attacked the congregation.
Many fell under their swords, but the Turkish nobles assembled their troops
who, aided by the congregation, overpowered and slaughtered the insurgents.
The Struggle between the Nobles and the Sultan
Raziyya's end highlighted
a development which, though visible even in the success of nobles in sponsoring
the claims of Iltutmish against those of Qutb-ud-din, Aibak's son, had
become more marked since the death of Iltutmish. This was the question
of the right and power of the nobility to determine the choice of the sultan
and place limitations on his power and sphere of activity. After Raziyya
was defeated and imprisoned, her half-brother Muizz-ud-din Bahram was proclaimed
sultan, but "on the stipulation of Deputyship being conferred on Malik
Ikhtiyar-ud-din Aetkin," who "by virtue of his Deputyship … took the affairs
of the kingdom into his own hands, [[53]] and, in conjunction with
the wazir [Muhazzab-ud-din] … and Muhammad Iwaz, the mustaufi [the auditor-general]
assumed control over the disposal of state affairs."/9/
There is an analogy in this action to that taken in the same century by
King John's barons in England, but the arrangement at Delhi broke down
at once.
The basic responsibility
for the failure was that of the deputy who, as the nominee of the nobles,
started assuming royal prerogatives, and took steps which alarmed the new
monarch. He married the sultan's sister, assumed the triple naubat, the
drums which were a symbol of sovereignty, and stationed an elephant at
the entrance of his residence. These developments annoyed the youthful
monarch, and he secretly encouraged violent measures to deal with the situation.
Within three months of his assumption of office, the deputy was assassinated
in the royal presence at a gathering arranged to hear a sermon. The wazir
was also attacked by the assassins but managed to escape.
This was not the end of the
struggle between the nobles and the sultan. Badrud-din-Sunqar, the amir-i-hajib
(lord chamberlain) assumed the direction of state affairs, but he suffered
from the sultan's hostility and lack of cooperation from the wazir. He
called a meeting of the principal nobles, including the highest financial
and judicial officials of the realm. They discussed recent events among
themselves and sent the mushrif-i-mumalik (accountant-general) to
invite the wazir to join them. The wazir promised to come, but instead
conveyed the news of what was happening to the sultan. Bahram immediately
mounted his horse and reached the place where the meeting was being held.
He took Sunqar with him, but so strong was the power of the nobles that
no real punishment was inflicted on the leader of the conspiracy. He was
sent to Badaun, which was given to him as a fief. Qazi Jalal-ud-din was
relieved of the office of the chief qazi (which was a few weeks later conferred
on Minhaj-us-Siraj), and some of the other collaborators left the capital,
fearing unpleasant developments.
The wazir now became all-powerful,
but the attack had shown Bahram's real sentiments toward him. He soon joined
hands with the nobles to depose Bahram, who was dethroned on May 10, 1242.
The principal senior noble, Izz-ud-din Kishlu Khan, now made a bid for
the [[54]] throne, but his associates repudiated him, choosing instead
Iltutmish's grandson, Ala-ud-din Masud. Qutb-ud-din Husain of Ghur was
named deputy, but the real power remained with the wazir. The Turkish amirs,
the soldier-administrators of the realm, did not like the concentration
of power in the hands of someone selected from the "writer" class, so they
joined forces and had him assassinated. The submissive Najm-ud-din Abu
Bakr now became wazir, and Balban, Iltutmish's slave, was appointed to
the key post of Amir-i-Hajib. Ala-ud-din Masud continued to rule for more
than four years with tolerable success, but later when he tried to curb
the power of the nobles he alienated the most powerful of them. He was
deposed on June 10, 1246, and the nobles, among whom Balban played a dominant
role, enthroned Iltutmish's youngest son, Nasir-ud-din Mahmud.
N O T E S
/1/ Minhaj-us-Siraj, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri,
trans. by H. G. Raverty (Calcutta, 1881), I, 628–29.
/2/ E. G. Browne, A
Literary History of Persia (Cambridge, 1928), II, 427.
/3/ H. M. Elliot and John
Dowson, The History of India as Told by Her Own Historians (London,
1867–1877), III, 98–99.
/4/ Ziya-ud-din Barani,
Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, ed. by S. A. Khan (Calcutta, 1862), pp. 144–45.
/5/ Barani, p. 137.
/6/ S. A. Rashid in Medieval
Indian Quarterly, Vol. I, No. 3 and 4, pp. 104–5.
/7/ U. N. Day, The Administrative
System of the Delhi Sultanate (Allahabad, 1959), p. 160.
/8/ Minhaj-us-Siraj, I,
635.
/9/ Minhaj-us-Siraj, I,
649–50.
