Razia Sultan – the first Muslim female ruler

Post Iltutmish

Iltutmish died due to ill health in 1236, leaving behind many unworthy sons and an able daughter Razia. But it was not easy for the nobles to accept a woman as the Sultan and hence after the death of Iltutmish, they appointed Ruknuddin Firuz as the new ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. Before becoming the Sultan, he was in charge of the government of Badaun and Lahore. After the coronation, as per the expectations of his father Ruknuddin Firuz turned out to be the most unworthy person to be on the throne. More often than not he spent time indulged and devoted to pleasures of youth. He neglected his responsibilities as the king and engaged in the fulfilment of his sexual pleasures. It is said that he used to roam on the streets of Delhi riding upon the backs of elephants and sprinkling gold among people.

During this time the administration was handled by Ruknuddin’s mother in her way, who used her power to solve personal grudges with people. Such actions turned all the Muslim nobles and Governors of the vassal against the Sultan. Many Governors like that of Multan, Lahore, and Badaun refused to accept the authority of the Sultan. There were rebels in many regions of the Sultanate. Ruknuddin decided to crush the rebellions and marched towards Kuhram. Delhi was in the hands of her mother Shah Tukran, who initiated a conspiracy of the murder of Razia. But the news of the conspiracy came out and Shah Tukran’s plan was backfired by Razia when she instigated the general public against Shah Tukran. The Public attacked the royal palace and Shah Tukran was detained. Razia, with the support of the nobles loyal to her father, was eventually set on the throne. Ruknuddin was also arrested and executed within six months of his rule.

The succession for Razia was challenged by some of the nobles, some of whom joined her sooner or later, and others were executed by her as the Sultan of Delhi. Razia’s accession to the throne was not unique only because she was the first lady Sultan but also because she was supported by the people for the throne. She assured the people that they were permitted to dethrone her if she didn’t meet her expectations.

Opposition to Razia

Though Razia was the Sultan appointed by the masses of Delhi themselves, and this was the biggest support to her throne, the throne she set upon was not a bed of roses. To make her succession safe, she decided to strategically remove the Turkish nobility from power and the non-Turkic nobility which further raised opposition against her.

She faced opposition not only from the orthodox sect of Islam but also from some of the nobles and Governors of regions like Multan, Badaun, Hansi, and Lahore. These nobles altogether decided to raise the rebellion on the issue that they could not accept them to be under the woman as their ruler. The rebellion was raised under the leadership of then wazir ‘Muhammad Junaid’. The thing to be noted here is that these were the same nobles who rose against Razia's predecessor Ruknuddin. They all decided to march against Razia Sultan from different directions.

Razia then ordered to lay an army outside the fortified city of Delhi for safeguarding the capital. The camps of the army were also established near the banks of the Yamuna River. After some of the continuous combats and diplomacy of Razia Sultan, she was able to secretly re-get the support of the Governors of Badaun and Multan. Soon after this the other rebellions were defeated and fled. The Governors of Hansi and Lahore were followed and killed. The leader Junaidi, who fled to the Sirmaur hills, died there.

Another revolt of opposition in her time rose under the leadership of Nur-ud-Din, who led some of the unorthodox sects of Muslims. They all entered Jama Masjid in Delhi and tried to harass the orthodox Muslims during their prayers. Raziya took a bold step and sent forces against them. The revolt was immediately crushed, and order restored.

Administration during Razia Sultan

Razia Sultan stood correctly on the expectations of her father. She proved to be a great ruler, determined for the subjects along with being just and generous to people. Her succession was not only her initiative but was always considered as the efforts of the Delhi population. She impressed the people by assuming her accession as the contract when she asked them to depose her if she could not stand their expectations. Historians also mention that, if not born a woman she could have been the most successful ruler of India. It was only her sex that appeared as her weakness.

The reign of Razia Sultan lasted for three years but occupied a huge significance in the history of India and the Delhi Sultanate. The first crucial step she took after ascending the throne was about making several new appointments. Khwaja Muhazzabuddin was appointed as the new wazir and given the title of Nizamul Mulk, Malik Saifuddin Aibek Bahtu was made in charge of the army, and iqta of Lahore was given to Malik Izzuddin Kabir Khan Ayaz.

Razia refused to take over or to be addressed by the title of ‘Sultana’ as this would have been the direct representation of her gender or might be interpreted as the wife of the Sultan. She took over the title of Sultan, justifying that she was the supreme authority and was second to no one. Even the coins minted at her time were ordered to be with her title as “Pillar of Women, Queen of the Times, Sultan Razia, daughter of Shamsuddin Iltumish”.

Razia’s first military campaign (to the non-rebels) was the march for the acquisition of Ranthambore, whose Chahamana ruler had declared independence after Iltutmish’s death. The march was led by Malik Qutubuddin Hasan Ghur (army in charge after the death of Saifuddin). He was successful in evacuating the Turkic nobles but was not able to lay authority over the Chahamana rulers. Chahamanas had captured most of the part of modern-day Rajasthan and used to carry Guerrilla warfare against Delhi.

Razia too, like her ancestors, was successful in safeguarding the empire from the threat of Mongols. Malik Hasan Qarlugh, the former Khwarazmi governor of Ghazni in 1238 sent his sons to Delhi to seek a military alliance of Delhi forces against the Mongol threat. Razia treated them with due respect but following the decisions of her ancestors, evidently refused any kind of military alliance against Mongols.

She administered Delhi efficiently, unlike what was thought by the nobles that initially supported her, who thought her of as a puppet ruler. Further, she also started to issue coins in her name and started to appear in public, dressed in traditional male attire. She even made her public appearances in the streets of Delhi, riding on the back of elephants.

Razia was also considered the patron of the learned and had a huge respect for knowledge and education. She set up schools, centres for research, and public libraries. The syllabus in schools and colleges not only included the Qur’an but also the works of great philosophers, as well as various Hindu works in science, philosophy, astronomy, and literature.

Conspiracy and Overthrow

Though initially, Razia was able to gain supporters, gradually many of the people from the administration turned against her. This was considered the result of her assertiveness towards the administration of the Delhi Sultanate which was not expected from the side of nobles. Further, her behaviour in front of the common masses was criticized and not supported by nobles.

Appointing people of non-Turkic origin to higher positions also created resentment among the old Turkic nobles. Razia also faced the allegations oh her giving undue favours to Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut, an Abyssinian slave. Amir-i Akhur, (in charge of horses) was the position held by the Turkish nobles till that time, but Razia decided to hand over the position to Yaqut. Due to all such actions the opponents and critics of Razia were increasing continuously.

In 1238, Malik Izzudin Kabir Khan Ayaz, the governor of Lahore rebelled against Razia Sultan. Razia marched against him and hence he was forced to flee to the border region of Sodhra. As the region beyond Sodhra was controlled by Mongols, Izzudin decided to surrender to Razia and accept her authority again. Razia showed mercy on him, but he was no longer the Governor of Lahore, but of Multan. Whereas the former Governor of Multan Ikhtiyaruddin Aitigin was called to Delhi.

Ikhtiyaruddin Aitigin was a Turkic slave purchased by Iltutmish, Razia called him to the court of Delhi and allotted him the office of Amir-i-Hajib. One more slave of Iltutmish – Ikhtiyaruddin Altunia, was given the governorship of Baran and Bhatinda. These were the two officers who decided to conspire against Razia Sultan during her Lahore campaign. As soon as Razia returned from Lahore in 1240 and learned that Altunia had turned against her, she decided to march toward Bhatinda. But she didn’t know that all of her nobles were also part of the conspiracy. During her march towards Bhatinda, she was captured and imprisoned by the followers of Altunia. Yaqut who accompanied her in the march was also murdered. The reign of Razia Sultan saw a sunset.

Another march to Delhi

As the news of Razia’s imprisonment reached Delhi, Bahram Shah (son of Iltutmish) was put on the throne by the rebel nobles. These nobles expected the new Sultan to be a puppet ruler, who may work following the Turkish nobles and administer the Sultanate without any interference. A new post of naib-i mamlakat (equivalent to regent) was created and assigned to Aitigin.

The nobles of Delhi then distributed all the important iqtas and positions among themselves and the claim of Altunia was completely ignored. There was no other way left with Altunia after the death of Aitigin but rather to form an ally with Razia. Razia also claimed this as an opportunity to get the throne back and to get rid of all the difficulties. She decided to marry Altunia after which the newly married couple decided to march toward Delhi. Altunia gathered the forces, allying with various regional groups like the Khokhars, Jats, and Rajputs, and marched to Delhi in October 1240.

Bahram Shah led a large army against the forces of Altunia and Razia and was able to defeat them with ease. The next day, on 15th October 1240 she was put to death along with her husband.

She proved to be a great sovereign who was just, beneficent, talented, and a successful ruler. Despite all this, her rule ended after a short period of three years. Iltutmish is oftentimes given the credit for being the pioneer of such a great experiment in the administrative field.