Qutub-ud-din Aibak – founder of the Slave dynasty
Qutub-ud-din Aibak was the slave general and the real founder of Turkish power in India. He is considered the founder of the Delhi Sultanate but before all this, he was the slave of Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori and was made in charge of the acquired Ghurid territories of North India. It was only after the death of Muhammad Ghori that Aibak formally ascended to the throne of Delhi and established the Delhi Sultanate.
Qutub-ud-din Aibak played a very important role in both, the Battle of Tarain and in safeguarding the existence of the Ghurid dynasty in India. It is believed that Muhammad Ghori himself desired to make Aibak his successor, and that was the reason he gave power, position, and title to Malik. Aibak is also known for the architecture that took place in India during his time.
Early life
Qutub-ud-din Aibak is said to be born in Turkestan and were separated when he was a mere child. He was sold as a slave by a merchant to a Qazi named Fakhruddin Abdul Aziz Kufi, who took him to Nishapur. There he got his entire religious and military training from the Qazi who taught him along with his own sons. He mastered archery and horse riding. After the demise of Qazi, he was brought to Ghurid by a merchant and purchased by Muhammad Ghori.
Soon he was noticed by the king due to his kind and courageous nature. He even proved himself to be faithful and loyal to the king and was hence promoted to the position of Amir-i Akhur, the officer of the royal stables. In all the upcoming Ghurid conflicts, Aibak was made responsible for the general maintenance of the horses. Once while rendering his duty he was captured by the Khwarazmian ruler Sultan Shah and it was only after Muhammad Ghori defeated Sultan Shah that he was released from prison.
To strengthen his position, he used his diplomatic skills as well as the most famous way used at that time i.e., to form a matrimonial alliance. He married the daughter of Yildoz, Governor of Kirman (later de-facto ruler of the Ghurid dynasty), and got his sister married to Nasir-ud-din Qabacha, the Governor of Multan.
It was after the 2nd battle of Tarain that he was assigned territory in India by Muhammad Ghori. Aibak’s period in India can be considered in three phases:
- In charge of the territory of the Ghurid dynasty in North India (1192-1206)
- Informal monarch, who controlled Muhammad Ghori’s territory with the position of Malik (1206-1208)
- Ruler of the independent kingdom of India after the death of Muhammad Ghori (1208-1210)
Rise of Qutub-ud-din Aibak in India
Qutub-ud-din Aibak was already trained in the field of military by the Qazi and had gathered expertise in horse riding and archery too. He was an important player and rendered important services to Muhammad Ghori during the two battles of Tarain. That’s why eventually he was made in charge of all the further conquests to be made in the Indian Territory after the 2nd battle of Tarain in 1192. Aibak was not only given the power to administer the entirely new territory but also given the discretion to extend them. Using this discretion Aibak established his headquarters in the historic city of Indraprastha near Delhi.
During the time Aibak was acting as the in-charge of North Indian Ghurid territory, some conflicts eventually developed for his target of expansion as well as preservation of the conquered territory. Some of the conflicts are as follows:
·Chahamanas Campaign: After Aibak was assigned the command of the former Chahamana territory, the core responsibility on his shoulders was to protect it from further Chahamana invasion. He appointed his son Govindaraja IV as the vassal of this territory after the death of Prithviraj. His subordinate Qawamul Mulk was placed in Ranthambore fort and soon after the death of Prithviraj, an attack took place on the Ranthambore fort by his brother Hariraja. Aibak marched to Ranthambore himself and Hariraja had to retreat from the region.
Jatwan’s rebellion – Jatwan was the local tribe leader from Haryana who stood as a rebel against Qutub-ud-din Aibak. He tried to capture the Hansi Fort which came under the former Chahamana region administered by Aibak. Aibak took the necessary steps and prepared for an attack. Jatwan was forced to retreat to Bagar, where he was caught and killed.
Battle against Gahadavala kingdom – Initially Aibak made the local Tomara ruler a vassal of Delhi but in 1193 the local ruler was deposed and Aibak took direct control of Delhi. In Delhi, Aibak engaged in conflict with the Gahadavala kingdom, from where he took control of Meerut and Baran thereby establishing control of Ganga-Yamuna Doab.
Battle of Chandawar – This was the 2nd time that the Aibak was in direct confrontation with the Gahadavala kingdom. But this time instead of Aibak, Muhammad Ghori was at the forefront of the war. He had come to India with the power of 50,000 horses, easily defeating King Jayachandra of Gahadavala.
March to Gwalior – Muhammad Ghori returned to Ghazni but came back after some time to launch a march towards Gwalior. There the Parihara ruler Sallakhanapala accepted his role as the vassal of the Ghurid dynasty.
Suppression of Mher tribal - Mher tribals of Ajmer, who got support from the Chalukyas of Gujarat posed a serious threat to the Aibak rule. They too were eventually forced to retreat.
Other areas captured – Aibak captured Badaun, took control over Varanasi, and conquered Kannauj. He also led the acquisition of Malwa and the entire region of Bundelkhand, establishing control over Central India till modern-day Madhya Pradesh.
Bakhtiyar Khalji’s conquest – Bakhtiyar Khalji was the Ghurid commander who led the expedition to Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and after the acquisition he came to meet and greet Aibak, presenting a big part of the treasure. Khalji was honoured by Aibak and instructed to conquer the Bengal region. He was successful in the Bihar campaign, after which he became the independent ruler of Bengal.
In 1204, Aibak marched towards Ghazni along with his forces as Muhammad Ghori was facing defeat by Khwarazmians. Aibak’s support was useful enough to suppress the rebellion and then he returned to Delhi.
After the death of Muhammad Ghori
Muhammad Ghori was assassinated in March 1206. The unexpected death of the Sultan left three people in powerful positions - Aibak, Taj al-Din Yildiz, and Nasir ad-Din Qabacha. Aibak had very good relations with the two, which he had maintained by way of a matrimonial alliance. But as it is said, “The greed of power, makes the person blind” and that’s what happened with Aibak when the competition for the throne started.
Aibak was requested by the citizens of Lahore, to assume full authority over the empire as the Sultan was no more. On request, he moved his headquarters from Delhi to Lahore and informally ascended the throne in 1206. He got formal recognition as the Sultan of the entire Ghurid territory of India in 1208. This was when the throne of Ghazni was officially and formally acquired by the Ghori’s nephew Ghiyasuddin Mahmud and Aibak was given the recognition. But still, Aibak maintained the coins and khutba in the name of the Ghurid Sultan.
Taj al-Din Yildiz, who was also the father-in-law of Aibak wanted to access control over the Indian territories of Ghurid. Yildiz was at that time the de-facto ruler of Ghazni and launched the march to Punjab. Aibak too launched the march and was successful in retreating Yildiz’s forces from Kohistan and also took control of Ghazni. Aibak sent his messenger to Mahmud’s headquarters resulting in which Sultan Mahmud conferred a chatr (ceremonial parasol) on Aibak and recognised him as the “Ruler of Hindustan”. After all this, Aibak returned back to Lahore.
In this way Qutub-ud-din Aibak became the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate establishing the Mamluk dynasty which is also known as the Slave dynasty or Ilbari dynasty. It was from this time onwards that the Turkish entrance was seen as dominant in the administration of India.
Importance of Aibak’s administration
Though in 1208 Aibak was formally recognised as the Sultan of Hindustan, he still did not issue the coins in his name and continued the khutba to be read in the name of Mahmud. This is also considered one of the reasons why Aibak is sometimes referred to as a non-independent sultan of India.
One of the most important things that have to be noticed about the entire reign of Qutub-ud-din Aibak in India is that his entire administration was based on military power. He was never able to build a strong administrative system in his region. Even the local administration was left in the hands of the people of the country. Similar was the situation with the justice system in the country, which had been running without any properly established procedures.
Further, Aibak is said to be an Anti-Hindu ruler and a highly pro-Muslim ruler. The arguments placed by the historians for the verification of this fact are that after all the major wars like that of Chandawar and Kalinjar, many Hindus were captured, imprisoned, and converted. Many of the Hindu temples were also destroyed from the acquired territories and Mosques were built on the remains of those Hindu temples.
Qutub-ud-din Aibak is known for building the first Mosque in India – ‘Quwwat-ul-Islam’ in Delhi. He also built the infamous ‘Adhai din ka Jhonpra’ in Ajmer. These are the constructions that have added to the glory of India and the cultural contributions of Aibak. He was a great patron of art and literature. During his reign, he patronised some of the great works of scholars like Hasan Nizami and Fakh-ul-din.
He started the construction of Qutub Minar in memory of ‘Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki’, which was later completed by Iltutmish. He concentrated on giving all of his services for the expansion of Islam in India. It is believed that he, under tise strategy, decided to make Muslim Indian territory separate from Ghazni. This strategy proved to be highly helpful in the expansion of power in India.
Aibak won a large number of battles during his lifetime and was a great military leader. He gave the credit for all of his victories to his master proving his generosity and loyalty towards him.
Death of Qutub-ud-din Aibak
Qutub-ud-din Aibak died in 1210, succumbing to the serious injuries sustained by him, when he fell from a horse while playing Polo.
Due to the unexpected death of Qutub-ud-din Aibak in Lahore, the important chiefs and ministers decided to put Aram Shah on the throne. While some historians consider this as a hurried decision, as he was the only person available at the spot, other historians and researchers believe that Aram Shah had some relation with Aibak like that of a son or brother.
Aram Shah, unfortunately, was an incapable and unworthy person to handle such a throne. Even the people did not accept him as the new ruler. During his reign, the sultanate weakened as many of the generals of powerful regions like that of Multan and Bengal rejected to accept the suzerainty of Aram Shah. Soon, the situation of the civil war was about to rise in the sultanate when some of the ministers approached Iltutmish (then Governor of Badaun) for accession to the throne. Iltutmish accepted the offer, defeated Aram Shah, and killed him. The reign of Aram Shah lasted for eight months.
