Iltutmish – First sovereign Muslim ruler of Delhi
Shams ud-Din Iltutmish was among the most important rulers of the slave dynasty. He was the slave who rose and earned the position of Sultan based on sheer merit. He captured the throne in 1211 after he dethroned and murdered the incapable ruler Aram Shah. In this way, he became the first sovereign Muslim ruler of Delhi and was also recognised by the Khalifa of Baghdad.
Before the accession, Iltutmish had himself earned the Governorship of Badaun as he had proved his efficiency to his master Aibak and Sultan Muhammad Ghori. He was successful in impressing the then Sultan Muhammad Ghori after his battle of Khokars, who manumitted him and also gave him the rank of Amir-ul-Umara. After the death of Aibak and the accession of Aram Shah, he was invited by the nobles of Delhi to the throne was elected Sultan by the officials.
Who was Iltutmish?
Iltutmish is said to be born into the noble family of the Turkic tribe. He was handsome as well as intelligent since his childhood and this developed the feeling of jealousy among his brothers who sold him to a slave dealer of Bukhra. The boy was re-sold to local Sadr-i Jahan (officer in charge of religious matters and endowments), which explains Iltutmish’s religious mysticism. Iltutmish was subsequently sold to Jamaluddin Muhammad Chust Qaba, under whose service Iltutmish arrived at Ghazni and caught the eye of Sultan Muhammad Ghori. The Sultan, impressed by the beauty and intelligence of the boy, wanted him to be under his service. But when Qaba rejected the offer of the Sultan, slavery, and the trade of slaves was banned by the Sultan in Ghazni.
After a few years Iltutmish came to the notice of slave-general Qutb-ud-din Aibak. Aibak by the permission of Ghori appointed Iltutmish as the slave but was instructed by Ghori to take him to Delhi as slavery was banned in Ghazni. Soon due to his merits Iltutmish saw a rise to the position of sar-jandar (head of bodyguards). Iltutmish’s position continuously grew under the service of Aibak, and subsequently, he got the iqta (Governorship) of Badaun, which was among the most important states of the Delhi Sultanate.2
Iltutmish acted as a slave to the slave (slave of Ghori’s slave Aibak) until 1206 when impressed by his efforts and support in the battle against Khokhar rebels, Muhammad Ghori granted him the manumission. During this battle, Iltutmish and his Badaun contingent worked efficiently to push the rebels into the middle of the Jhelum River and kill them there. After the war, along with manumission, Iltutmish was granted the robe of honour by Ghori. This meant that he was not a slave anymore.
Rise to Power
Though Iltutmish was the ablest person to hold the throne at that time, still some people were not in support of this decision of the nobles. The election of Iltutmish as the Sultan was opposed mainly by the commander of guards and jurists headed by the Qazi Wajih ud-din. The former opposition lost its existence due to a lack of proper backing and the latter one’s only argument was that Iltutmish was not a free man. But this was only before Iltutmish showed them the letter of manumission by Muhammad Ghori.
Hence, the rule of Iltutmish is said to be the sovereign rule in India. There were three things that supported the point of Iltutmish and his sovereign power. First- he was elected by the officials. Second- he could claim the throne as the able persona as well as the son-in-law of Aibak. Third- he was formally recognised by the Khalifa of Baghdad. The Khalifa had confirmed the possession of Iltutmish on the entire land and sea he had conquered, and Iltutmish too, on his coins described himself as the Lieutenant of Khalifa.
On the accession of the throne in 1211, Iltutmish re-shifted the capital from Lahore to Delhi for ease of administration. But still, he encountered a large number of difficulties which were faced by him with boldness. After the death of Ghori and Aibak, many of the problems with leadership in different regions had already started.
Following were the major problems that rose and were efficiently tackled by Iltutmish
Delhi and subsidiaries – The authority and suzerainty of Iltutmish were not accepted by many of the regions around Delhi. These regions declared their independence either under the prior leadership or under their governors appointed by Aibak. After the accession, Iltutmish had to indulge in various campaigns for the re-establishment of control over the regions of Badaun, Awadh, Banaras, and Siwalik.
Yildiz – Yildiz was the powerful general of Muhammad Ghori who claimed to be the rightful successor of Ghazni. He was an antagonist to Iltutmish from the initial times and was against the formation of an independent Muslim empire in India. In 1214 Yildiz captured Lahore which was earlier captured by Qabacha during the reign of Aram Shah. These actions of Yildiz posed a threat to Iltutmish as there was a continuous possibility of Yildiz marching towards Punjab. Due to this Iltutmish marched against Yildiz.
Iltutmish was successful in defeating Yildiz in the Battle of Tarain. Yildiz was made prisoner and sent to Badaun, where he was killed. As a result of this battle of Tarain, Iltutmish was successful in disposing of one of the chief hurdles in his administration.
Qabacha – When Iltutmish was busy asserting his control over Delhi and Lahore, Qabacha had declared himself as the independent Sultan and controlled a vast territory of Sindh, Siwistan, Bhakkar, and Multan. He was also successful in occupying portions of Punjab inciting Iltutmish against him. Iltutmish declared war against Qabacha in 1217 and was successful in driving him out of Punjab. He even re-captured Lahore and appointed his son Nasiruddin Mahmud as the Governor.
Even after all this, Qabacha posed a serious threat to Iltutmish and his authority for more than a decade.
Bengal Problem – Since the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate, Bengal has usually been a big problem concerning administration and leadership. After the death of Aibak, Ali Mardan declared himself the independent Sultan of Bengal and took the title of Alauddin. He was succeeded by his son Hisam-ud-Din Iwaz who took the title of Ghias-ud-din. Further, he issued the coins in his name and made the khutba to be read in his name. The patience level of Iltutmish could not be maintained after such actions and he launched an expedition against Ghias-ud-din in 1225. When Ghias-ud-din heard of Iltutmish, he decided to submit to Iltutmish and agreed to give a huge tribute. But soon after, he again rose to revolt and another expedition was sent for him. This time Ghias-ud-din was defeated and killed, and Bengal was completely brought under the throne. Eventually, in 1229, Khaji Maliks revolted in Bengal under Balka, who was defeated by Iltutmish himself. Balka was defeated and Alauddin Jani was made the new in-charge of Bengal.
Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate
After the entire territory of the Delhi Sultanate was protected by the threats like Yildiz and Qabacha, the focus was moulded towards capturing new regions and expansion of the Delhi Sultanate. The expansion is considered to take place in the following manner:
The Rajput territories:
After the death of Aibak, most of the prior Rajput leaders tried their best to regain their authority and push the Muslim leadership out. The Delhi Sultanate had already lost the territories of Kalinjar and Ajaigarh to Chandelas. Gwalior was also recaptured by the Pratihara rulers. Ranthambore fort, Jodhpur, and adjacent areas were also re-captured by Chahamana rulers. In this way, most of the modern Rajasthan area was captured by the Chahamana rulers, and the rest of the area that included North Alwar, Ajmer, Bayana, and Thangir was captured by Jadon Bhattis who put an end to Turkish supremacy and became independent.
In the initial years, Iltutmish was forced to ignore the region due to its focus on the central management of administration. But in 1226, he captured Ranthambore and in the next year, he captured Madore. He besieged Jalore despite the huge resistance forced by Udai Singh. Bayana and Thangir were also recaptured. The next city to be captured was Ajmer and then Gwalior in 1231 by defeating its ruler Malayavarma Deva. Next, Iltutmish led an attack on Chandela rulers who were unable to stay in front of the big army of the Delhi Sultanate. Bhilsa and Ujjain were also plundered by Iltutmish. He destroyed the infamous Mahakal temple of Ujjain.
The Doab region:
Badaun, Kanauj, Banaras, and Rohilkhand also asserted their independence during the reign of Iltutmish but were eventually defeated and re-established one by one under the crown of the Delhi Sultanate. Awadh was also brought under the Delhi Sultanate after the huge resistance by the ruler and the masses. The local tribe of Awadh showed huge resistance under the leadership of a chief named Batru. During the engagement with them, more than 1 lakh soldiers died and it was only after the death of Batru that Delhi forces could conquer Awadh.
The Northwestern Conquest:
Qabacha had declared himself as the independent Sultan and controlled a vast territory of Sindh, Siwistan, Bhakkar, and Multan. Iltutumish had ignored the region till the first quarter of the 13th century but launched an attack and invaded Qabacha's territory in 1228–1229. It is said that several treaties were signed between Qabacha and Iltutmish which involved Qabacha’s recognition of Iltutmish’s sovereignty in return for his support during the attack against the Khwarizm prince. There was also a deal of surrender of some of the territories by Qabacha to Iltutmish, upon whose failure the attack was launched against Qabacha by Iltutmish.
Administration and Development during Iltutmish
It was the result of the intelligence of Iltutmish that the Delhi Sultanate and the Muslim rule in India were ignored by Changiz Khan, who was stationed at the Northwestern border of the empire for a very long time. It was when the last Shah of Khwarism asked Iltutmish to give him refuge and shelter. Iltutmish declined him with the thought that this action would invite trouble from the side of Changiz Khan, and his thought was proven right over time.
The rule of Iltutmish saw the decline of Lahore and the rise of Delhi as the centre of administration. Due to this, Delhi rose as the most important city and the hub of learning and culture. Iltutmish was a great patron and had a huge respect for knowledge and literature and that is why many of the scholars such as Nur-ud-din, Minhaj, Nizami, and Muhammad Aufi assembled in his court. Delhi was oftentimes referred to as the “Second Baghdad''.
He built a proper administration system in the Delhi Sultanate and also organised the Revenue and Finance department. Iltutmish efficiently handled all the problems related to the establishment of the Muslim state, managed the resistance from Hindus as well as his competitors, and all above that the problem of Mongols.
Iltutmish divided the kingdom into different iqtas, which were assigned to nobles. He also introduced the Delhi Sultanate with the special system of “Chahalgani”. This was the practice denoted to keep the power of the nobles in check so that they might not rise to a very high position. All 40 members of Chahalgani were the personal slaves to the Sultan and were appointed as the official nobility. In this way, he created peace and political unity in the form of a centralised government.
He adopted the silver tankas as the standard coin, which is considered the ancestor of the rupee. He completed the formation of the Qutub Minar which was started by Qutub-ud-din Aibak and was named after Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki in 1232.
Death of Iltutmish
Iltutmish fell seriously ill during a march in 1236 and was brought to Delhi on 20th April. He died in Delhi on the 30th of April and was buried in the Qutub complex.
Iltutmish, at that time, was the only pillar for peace and stability in the Delhi Sultanate. After his death political instability started. The son of Iltutmish who was groomed for the throne and succession had died in 1229. Finding all his other sons incompetent, he appointed his daughter Razia Sultan as the successor.
After the death of Iltutmish, Ruknuddin Firuz was appointed as the new king by the nobles, but his reign lasted only seven months as Razia Sultan seized the throne in November 1236.
