1. Malik Kafur, known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji.
42 Facts About Malik Kafur
1. 2.
Malik Kafur was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan during the 1299 invasion of Gujarat, and rose to prominence in the 1300s.
3.
From 1313 to 1315, Malik Kafur served as Alauddin's governor of Devagiri.
4.
Malik Kafur's regency lasted for about a month, before he was assassinated by Alauddin's former bodyguards.
5.
Malik Kafur was an eunuch slave of great physical beauty, said to have been purchased by his original master for 1,000 dinars.
6.
Malik Kafur was captured from the port city of Khambhat by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan, during the 1299 invasion of Gujarat, and converted to Islam.
7.
Malik Kafur rose rapidly, mainly because of his proven ability as a wise counsellor and military commander.
8.
Malik Kafur was known by this time as Na'ib-i Barbak.
9.
The 16th-century chronicler `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni credits Malik Kafur with leading Alauddin's army in the 1305 Battle of Amroha.
10.
Malik Kafur was then sent to the Deccan Plateau, as the commander of a series of great military raids that laid the foundations of Muslim power in that region.
11.
Alauddin was very pleased with Malik Kafur, and rewarded him generously.
12.
In Warangal, Malik Kafur had learned that the southernmost regions of India were very wealthy.
13.
Malik Kafur obtained Alauddin's permission to lead an expedition there.
14.
From Dwarasamudra, Malik Kafur proceeded to the Pandya kingdom, where he raided several places, obtaining much treasure, elephants and horses.
15.
At court, Malik Kafur seems to have excited the enmity of a faction led by Mahru, Alauddin's second wife; Khizr Khan, his eldest son by her; and Alp Khan, Mahru's brother, who was Khizr Khan's father-in-law and the governor of Gujarat.
16.
In 1313, probably at his own request, Malik Kafur led another expedition to Devagiri, when Ramachandra's successor Singhana refused to continue the tribute payments.
17.
Malik Kafur remained in Devagiri as governor of the newly annexed territory for two years, until he was urgently summoned to Delhi when Alauddin's health began deteriorating.
18.
Malik Kafur had administered the territory with sympathy and efficiency.
19.
Malik Kafur ultimately rose to the position of Na'ib, although the date of his appointment to this position is not known.
20.
In 1315, when Alauddin fell seriously ill, Malik Kafur was recalled from Devagiri to Delhi.
21.
Malik Kafur handed over charge of Devagiri to Ayn al-Mulk Multani.
22.
Malik Kafur removed several experienced administrators, abolished the office of wazir, and even executed the minister Sharaf Qa'ini.
23.
Malik Kafur had been captured by Khalji forces in 1299, and had caught the fancy of Alauddin.
24.
Malik Kafur had entrusted the responsibility of the government and the control of the servants to this useless, ungrateful, ingratiate, sodomite.
25.
Malik Kafur's hold on power was threatened by Alp Khan, an influential noble whose two daughters were married to Alauddin's sons, Khizr Khan and Shadi Khan.
26.
Malik Kafur convinced Alauddin to order the killing of Alp Khan in the royal palace.
27.
Malik Kafur had Khizr Khan first banished from court to Amroha, and then imprisoned in Gwalior, and had Khizr's brother Shadi Khan imprisoned.
28.
At this meeting, Alauddin's six-year-old son Shihabuddin was declared the new heir apparent, and it was decided that Malik Kafur would act as his regent after Alauddin's death.
29.
The officers supportive of Malik Kafur included Kamal al-Din "Gurg", whose family came from Kabul.
30.
The day after Alauddin's death, Malik Kafur convened a meeting of important officers and nobles in the palace.
31.
Malik Kafur ordered the ministries of revenue, secretariat, war, and commerce to maintain the laws and regulations established by Alauddin.
32.
Malik Kafur took several actions to maintain his control over the throne.
33.
Malik Kafur asked Sumbul to send the fort's governor to Delhi, and ordered Sumbul to return to Delhi after blinding Khizr Khan, who had been imprisoned in Gwalior.
34.
On his first day as regent, Malik Kafur ordered his barber to blind Khizr Khan's uterine brother Shadi Khan.
35.
Malik Kafur imprisoned Mubarak Shah, another adult son of Alauddin.
36.
Alp Khan's murder had led to a rebellion in Gujarat, and Malik Kafur had sent Kamal al-Din "Gurg" to suppress it.
37.
Meanwhile, Malik Kafur summoned the Devagiri governor, Ayn al-Mulk Multani, to Delhi with all his soldiers.
38.
When Malik Kafur became suspicious of a conspiracy against him, he summoned Mubashshir to his room.
39.
Malik Kafur's killers freed Mubarak Shah, who was appointed as the new regent.
40.
Malik Kafur's killers claimed credit for making him king, and began demanding high positions in the royal court.
41.
Malik Kafur was a most wise and intelligent minister, and acquired many countries, on which the horses of former sovereigns had never placed their hoofs, and he caused the Khutba of Sultan Ala-ud-din to be repeated there.
42.
Malik Kafur's grave had been levelled with the ground, and his tomb laid low.