66 Facts About Iltutmish

Shams ud-Din Iltutmish was the third of the Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid territories in northern India.

Iltutmish was the first Muslim sovereign to rule from Delhi, and is thus considered the effective founder of the Delhi Sultanate.

Iltutmish rose to prominence in Aibak's service, and was granted the important iqta' of Badaun.

Iltutmish then consolidated his rule by subjugating several dissidents, and fighting against other former Ghurid slaves, such as Taj al-Din Yildiz and Nasir ad-Din Qabacha.

Iltutmish asserted his authority over Ranthambore and Mandore, whose Hindu chiefs had declared independence after Aibak's death.

Iltutmish organized the administration of the Sultanate, laying the foundation for its dominance over northern India until the Mughal invasion.

Iltutmish set up the Iqtadari system: division of empire into Iqtas, which were assigned to the nobles and officers in lieu of salary.

Iltutmish erected many buildings, including mosques, khanqahs, dargahs and a reservoir for pilgrims.

The name "Iltutmish" literally means "maintainer of the kingdom" in Turkic.

Iltutmish was born in an affluent family: his father Ilam Khan was a leader of the Ilbari Turkic tribe.

Iltutmish lost the money on the way to the market, and started crying fearing punishment from his master.

Iltutmish was sold to a merchant called Jamaluddin Muhammad Chust Qaba, who brought him to Ghazni.

Tamghaj rose to the position of the muqta of Tabarhinda, while Iltutmish became the sar-jandar.

Iltutmish rose rapidly in Qutb al-Din's service, attaining the rank of Amir-i Shikar.

Some nobles rebelled against his seizure of power, but Iltutmish subjugated them, and had many of them beheaded.

For example, Iltutmish captured Banaras after defeating Qaymaz, who was presumably a former officer of Aibak.

Iltutmish did not want an immediate confrontation, and accepted these gifts.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the succession conflict between Aram Shah and Iltutmish, Qabacha had captured Lahore in 1211.

Yildiz sent a message to Iltutmish, declaring that he was the real successor of Mu'izz ad-Din and thus, had claims to the former Ghurid territories in India.

Iltutmish offered to engage in a negotiation provided both men came to the meeting unaccompanied by any warriors.

Iltutmish did not immediately assert his control over the Punjab region, and Qabacha regained control of Lahore.

Qabacha initially retreated, but Iltutmish's army chased him and defeated him at a place called Mansura, which was located on the banks of the Chenab River.

Qabacha seems to have posed a serious threat to Iltutmish, as suggested by Muhammad Aufi in Lubab ul-Albab.

Iltutmish entered into a matrimonial alliance with the local Khokhar chief Rai Khokhar Sankin, and defeated other regional rulers, including Qabacha.

Iltutmish sent envoys to Iltutmish, asking for the Delhi Sultan's permission to pass through India.

Iltutmish sent his envoy Ainul Mulk to Iltutmish, seeking an alliance against the Mongols, and requesting for a safe place to stay.

Iltutmish had the envoy killed, and sent troops to aid Qabacha against Jalal ad-Din.

Minhaj, another Persian historian, states that Iltutmish himself led an army against Jalal ad-Din.

Until Genghis Khan's death in 1227, Iltutmish chose not to get involved in the politics of the Indus valley region to avoid a potential conflict with the Mongols.

Iltutmish's forces captured Bihar in the 1210s, and invaded Bengal in 1225.

Iltutmish accepted the offer, and returned to Delhi after appointing Malik Jani as the governor of Bihar.

In 1226, Iltutmish captured the Ranthambore Fort, which was reputed to be impregnable.

In 1227, Iltutmish directed his son Nasiruddin Mahmud, who held the iqta' of neighbouring Awadh region at this time, to invade Bengal while Ghiyasuddin was away on a plundering campaign in Kamrup.

Iltutmish's forces captured Tabarhinda, Kuhram, Sarsati, and Lahore from Qabacha.

Iltutmish appointed Nasir al-Din Aytemur al-Baha'i as his provincial governor of Lahore.

Iltutmish then sent Nasir al-Din to capture Multan, while he himself invaded Uch.

Iltutmish then placed Multan and Uch under his own governors, and had his forces occupy several strategic forces, expand his authority up to Makran in the west.

The Caliph's recognition was a mere formality, but Iltutmish celebrated it in a big way, by decorating the city of Delhi and honouring his nobles, officers, and slaves.

Iltutmish is the only ruler of India to have the Caliph's recognition.

Ghiyasuddin Iwaj Shah, the ruler of Bengal defeated by Iltutmish's forces, had earlier assumed the title Nasir Amir al-Mu'minin, but he did so unilaterally without the Caliph's sanction.

Iltutmish then appointed Malik Alauddin Jani as the governor of Bengal.

Iltutmish's army occupied Bhilsa, and destroyed a temple whose construction - according to Minhaj - had taken three hundred years.

The death of Iltutmish was followed by years of political instability at Delhi.

However, shortly before his death, Iltutmish seems to have chosen his surviving eldest son Ruknuddin Firuz as his successor.

When Iltutmish died, the nobles unanimously appointed Ruknuddin as the new king.

Minhaj calls the new Sultan a son of Iltutmish, but Isami and Firishta suggest that he was a grandson of Iltutmish.

Iltutmish was a devout Muslim, and spent considerable time praying at night.

Iltutmish revered several Sufi saints, including Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, Hamiduddin Nagauri, Jalaluddin Tabrizi, Bahauddin Zakariya, and Najibuddin Nakhshabi.

Iltutmish held religious discourses by orthodox ulama - such as Sayyid Nuruddin Mubarak Ghaznavi - in his court, but disregarded their advice while formulating the imperial policies.

Iltutmish understood the limits to which the Islamic shariah law could be implemented in largely non-Muslim India.

Iltutmish did not consult the ulama while making the unorthodox decision of nominating his daughter Raziya as his successor.

Iltutmish was most probably the first ruler to organize a centrally recruited, centrally paid and centrally managed army in the Delhi Sultanate.

Iltutmish implemented the iqta system of administrative grants in the Delhi Sultanate.

Iltutmish used this iqtas to consolidate his empire by dismantling the existing feudal order of the Indian society.

Iltutmish assigned several regions to his Turkic subordinates in form iqtas.

Iltutmish introduced two coins that became the basis for the subsequent coinage of the Delhi Sultanate: the silver tanka and the copper jital.

Iltutmish's predecessors, including the Ghurid rulers, had maintained the local coinage system based on the Hindushahi bull-and horseman coins minted at Delhi.

Iltutmish patronized several scholars, including historian Minhaj-i-Siraj and the Sufi mystic Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki.

Minhaj states that Iltutmish's patronage attracted several scholars and other prominent people to Delhi, especially from Persia, which had fallen to the Mongols.

Iltutmish's court is reported to have had raised seats for distinguished scholars and saints, as opposed to lower seats for others.

However, while he was in the middle of reciting the poem, Iltutmish left the recital to attend an urgent administrative matter.

Iltutmish invested in numerous waterworks, mosques, and civil amenities in Delhi.

Iltutmish completed the construction of the Qutb Minar, which had been started by Qutb al-din Aibak.

Iltutmish commissioned the Hauz-i-Shamsi reservoir to the south of Qutb Minar, and the madrasa around it.

Iltutmish built several khanqah and dargahs for Sufi saints.

Iltutmish commenced the structure of Hamid ud-din's Khanaqa, and built the Gandhak ki Baoli, a stepwell for the Sufi saint, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, who moved to Delhi during his reign.