| Iltutmish | |
|---|---|
| Sultan of Delhi | |
 |
|
| Iltutmish's mausoleum | |
| Reign | 1211 to 1236 |
| Full name | Shams-ud-din Iltutmish |
| Titles | Nasir Amir-ul-mominin |
| Died | May 1, 1236 |
| Place of death | Delhi |
| Buried | Qutb Complex, Mehrauli, Delhi |
| Predecessor | Aram Shah |
| Successor | Rukn-ud-din Firuz |
| Offspring | Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, Rukn-ud-din Firuz, Raziya Sultana, Muiz-ud-din Bahram |
| Dynasty | Mamluk |
| Religious beliefs | Islam |
Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, or Altamash (Urdu: شمس الدین التتمش) (r. 1211 - 1236) was the third Muslim Turkic sultan of the Sultanate of Delhi and the third ruler of the Mamluk dynasty (or Slave dynasty) (died 1236)[1]. He was a slave of Qutub-ud-din-Aybak and later became his son-in-law and close lieutenant. He was the Governor of Badaun when he deposed Qutub-ud-din's successor Aram Shah and acceeded to the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in 1211. He remained the ruler until his death in May 1, 1236.[2][3].
He built the Hauz-i-Shamsi reservoir in Mehrauli in 1230 AD, which also has Jahaz Mahal standing on its edge, used by later Mughal Emperors. In 1231, he built Sultan Ghari, he built the mausoleum of his eldest son, Prince Nasiru'd-Din Mahmud, which was the first Islamic Mausoleum in Delhi. His own tomb exists, within the Qutb complex in Mehrauli, Delhi.
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Early Life and Career
Shams-ud-din belonged to the tribe of Ilbari in Turkestan. He was remarkably handsome in appearance and showed signs of intelligence and sagacity from his early days, which excited the jealousy of his brothers, who sold him into slavery. His accomplishments attracted the notice of Qutub-ud-din-Aybak, then Viceroy of Delhi, who purchased him at a high price. He rose quickly in Qutub-ud-din's service, married his daughter, and served in succession as the Governor of Gwalior and Baran. He later served as Governor of Badaun between 1206 and 1211 until his accession to the throne in Delhi. In recognition of his services during the campaign of Muhammad of Ghur against the Khokhars in 1205-06, he was, by the Sultan's order, manumitted.[2]
Sultan of Delhi
Obv: Crude figure of Rider bearing lance on caparisoned horse facing right. Devnagari Legends : Sri /hamirah'. Star above horse. Rev: Arabic Legends : ' shams al-dunya wa'l din iltutmish al-sultan'.
Obv:Rider bearing lance on caparisoned horse facing right. Devnagari Legends: Sri/hamirah'. Rev:Arabic Legends: 'Shams al-dunya wa'l din Abu'l Muzaffar Iltutmish al-Sultan'.
Rise to Power
In A.D. 1210 Qutb-ud-din Aibak died. Aram Shah, the new Sultan alienated the Turkish nobility with his incompetence. The nobles invited Shams-ud-din to overthrow Aram Shah. In 1211, Shams-ud-din defeated Aram Shah and assumed the throne.[2] was given the title "Altmush or Iltmash [and also Iltutmish]" when he was throned. Altmush (altmış pronounced ahlt-MUSH) in the Turkish language translates into 60, which was the age of Shams-ud-din at the time he was made king.[citation needed]
Early Challenges
On his accession, Iltutmish faced a number of challenges to his rule. Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha, the Governor of Uchh and Multan, asserted his independence and occupied Lahore.[4] The Sultan of Ghazni, Tajuddin Elduz, attempted to bring Delhi under his control.[4] Ali Mardan, a Khalji noble, who had been appointed Governor of Bengal by Qutb-ud-din in 1206, had thrown off his allegiance to Delhi after his death and styled himself Sultan Ala-ud-din. His successor, Ghiyas-ud-din, conquered Bihar.[5] The Hindu princes and chiefs were seething with discontent at their loss of independence; Kannauj, Benaras, Gwalior, and Kalinjar had been lost during Qutub-ud-din's reign[6] while Ranthambore had been recovered by the Chauhans during the weak rule of Aram Shah. To add to Iltutmish's troubles, some of the Amirs of Delhi expressed resentment against his rule.[7]
The new Sultan faced the situation boldly. He first effectively suppressed a rebellion of the Amirs in the plain of Jud near Delhi, and then brought under his control the different parts of the kingdom of Delhi with its dependencies like Badaun, Benares and Siwalik.
The ambitious designs of his rivals were also frustrated. In 1215-16, Yaldoz, who had been defeated and expelled from Ghazni by the forces of the Khwarizm Shah, moved towards Punjab and laid claim to the throne of Delhi. Iltutmish defeated him at Tarain. Yaldoz was later executed.[4]
In 1217, Iltutmish moved towards Qabacha at the head of a large army. Qabacha attempted to retreat from Lahore towards Multan but was defeated at Mansura. Iltutmish refrained from attacking Sindh due to the presence of Mongols on his north-west frontier. Iltutmish was preoccupied with the Mongol threat and did not threaten Qabacha until 1227. [4]
Mongol Threat
It was during the reign of Iltutmish, in the year A.D. 1221, that the Mongols appeared for the first time on the banks of the Indus, under their leader Genghis Khan. He overran the countries of Central and Western Asia with lightning rapidity, and when he attacked Jalal-ud-din Mangabarni, the last Shah of Khwazarazm or Khiva, the latter fled to the Punjab and sought asylum in the dominions of Iltutmish. The Sultan of Delhi refused to comply with the request of his unwelcome guest. Mangabarni entered into an alliance with the Khokhars, and after defeating Qabacha of Multan, plundered Sindh and northern Gujarat and went away to Persia. The Mongols also retired. India was thus saved from a terrible calamity, but the menace of the Mongol raids disturbed the Sultans of Delhi in subsequent times[7].
Consolidation of Power
Southern Bihar was captured by Iltutmish in 1225-26. Lakhnauti was captured in 1226. Revolts continued until the Khalji Maliks of Bengal were reduced to complete submission in the winter of 1231.[5] Ala-ud-din Jani was appointed Governor of Lakhnauti[7].
With the death of Genghis Khan in 1227, Iltutmish attacked Qabacha. Multan and Ucch were captured. Qabacha was surrounded on all sides in the fort of Bhakkar, on the banks of Indus. He drowned while attempting to escape. Sindh and Multan were incorporated into the Delhi Sultanate and placed under separate governors.[5]
Due to his problems first with Turkish nobles and then with the Mongols, Iltutmish did not take on the Rajputs, who had regained territory lost earlier to the Turks, for the first fifteen years of his reign. Starting in 1226, however, Iltutmish began a series of campaigns against the Rajputs. Ranthambore, Mandsaur, Bayana, Ajmer and Sambhar were captured. Nagaur was captured in 1230 and Gwalior in 1231. Iltutmish's army was forced to retreat with heavy losses from Gujarat by the ruling Chalukyas.[6]
Iltutmish's son Nasir-ud-din Mahmud captured the Gangetic valley territories of Budaun, Benaras, and Kanauj, which had fallen into the hands of local Hindu chieftains. Rohilkhand was taken with heavy losses.[6]
In 1235, Iltutmish sacked Ujjain and destroyed its temples including the Mahakala Temple.[8] [9][10]. He built, Gandhak-ki-Baoli, a stepwell for Sufi saint, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, who moved to Delhi during his reign [11].
Death and Succession
In A.D. 1236 Iltumish died, and buried with the Qutb complex in Mehrauli.
Iltutmish's eldest son, Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, had died in 1229 while governing Bengal as his father's deputy. The surviving sons of the Sultan were incapable of the task of administration. In A.D. 1236 Iltutmish, on his death-bed, nominated his daughter Raziya as his heiress.[12] But the nobles of the court were too proud to bow their heads before a woman, and disregarding the deceased Sultan's wishes, raised to the throne his eldest surviving son, Rukn-ud-din Firuz.
The death of Iltutmish was followed by years of political instability at Delhi. During this period, four descendants of Iltutmish were put on the throne and murdered. Order was re-established only after Balban became the Naib or Deputy Sultan and later on Sultan in A.D. 1265. [3]
See also
Notes
- ^ Ikram 1966, p. 52
- ^ a b c Mehta 1986, p. 90-91
- ^ a b Dynastic Chart The Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 2, p. 368.
- ^ a b c d Mehta 1986, p. 91-92
- ^ a b c Mehta, p. 93
- ^ a b c Mehta 1986, p. 94
- ^ a b c McLeod 2002, p. 35
- ^ Jackson, Abraham Valentine Williams, History of India: The Mohammedan period as described by its own historians, (Edinburgh Press, 1907), 101.
- ^ Hoiberg, Dale, and Indu Ramchandani, Students' Britannica India, (C&C offset Printing Co. LTD., 2000), 178.
- ^ Ring, Trudy and Robert M. Salkin, Paul E Schellinger, Sharon La Boda, International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania, (Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1996), 837.
- ^ Smith, Ronald Vivian (2005). The Delhi that no-one knows. Orient Blackswan. p. 11-12. ISBN 8180280209. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=f70gjLC5chgC&pg=PA7&dq=Qutbuddin+Bakhtiar+Kaki#v=onepage&q=Qutbuddin%20Bakhtiar%20Kaki&f=false.
- ^ Mehta, p. 98
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shams-ud-din Iltutmish |
- Ikram, Sheikh Mohamad (1966), Muslim Rule in India & Pakistan, 711-1858 A.C., Star Book Depot.
- Mehta, J.L. (1986), Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India, Vol. 1, Sterling Publishers.
- McLeod, John (2002), The History of India, Greenwood Press.
| Preceded by Aram Shah |
Mamluk Dynasty 1206–1290 |
Succeeded by Rukn ud din Firuz |
| Preceded by Aram Shah |
Sultan of Delhi 1211–1236 |
Succeeded by Rukn ud din Firuz |
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