Iltutmish - Real Founder Of Slave Dynasty

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Iltutmish - Real Founder Of Slave Dynasty




Iltutmish, one of the greatest of the salve kings, rose to eminence by sheer dint of merit. He belonged to a noble family. His brothers were jealous from his intelligence and sagacity and sold him to a merchant of Bukhara and the latter sold him to Qutb ud Din Aibak. Iltutmish rose step by step till he was made the governor of Badaun. He also married to the daughter of Qutub ud Din Aibak. In recognition of his services, a decree was issued by Muhammad Ghuri and he was manumitted and given the rank of Amir al Umra.

After the death of Qutub ud Din Aibak, Aram Shah was enthroned but soon Altutmish assumed the throne by the will of nobles. As he assumed the crown, he had to face external as well as internal threats. In fact, the new state was in doldrums. His authority was challenged by the nobles like Qabacha, Yildiz, etc. All were claiming as the successors of Aibak. There were chances of rebellion and it was required to subdue them with iron hands.


Altutmish, by his sheer devotion and courage, accepted these challenges and dealt with them in accordance with their nature. In fact, he saved the infant state. The measures he adopted to save his crown were praised both by the Oriental as well as Occidental historians.


How did he save the new Sultanate against the turmoil? The satisfactory answer can be found by describing those measures which were practiced by him to combat the external as well as internal threats. Some of the measures are described as under.


In the neighborhood of Delhi, Qutbi and Muizzi Malik rose their heads as rebels. Iltutmish gave them a crushing defeat.


Taj-ud-Din Yildaz, another formidable foe of Iltutmish, claimed to be the successor of Ghuri. In 1214, he came to Lahore and occupied the same. Iltutmish marched against Yildaz in the reaction of his provocative actions. Yildaz was defeated by Iltutmish in the battle field of Titan. He was imprisoned and sent to the fortress of Badaun where he was put to death later on.


Qabacha had occupied a portion of the Punjab after Aibak’s death. He was the ruler of Uch and Multan. He had refused to admit Iltutmish as a king. Iltutmish declared war against him in 1217 A. D. Although, Iltutmish was able to drive him out of the Punjab, yet his power was not crushed thoroughly. In 1227, Iltutmish marched against him and was successful in occupying Uch without much resistance. His rival took shelter in Bakher. Bakhar was besieged by Iltumish. Qabacha, by loosing heart, offered peace term. He was so upset that he flew from Bakhara and was drowned in the Indus River.


Ali Mardan was the ruler of Bengal. After his death, his son Hisam-ul-Din assumed the power. He entitled himself as Ghyas-ud-Din and struck coins in his own name. Even the Khutba was read on his own name. In 1225, an expedition was sent by Iltutmish Ghyas-ud-din submitted and agreed to pay sum as tribute. However, the submission was not lasting once and after sometime he raised the standard of revolt. But this time, he was killed and defeated and Bengal came under Delhi Sultanate.


In 1229, the Khilji Maliks revolted in Bengal under Balka. An expedition was sent by Iltutmish himself and defeated Balka.


After the death of Aibak, Rajput did their best to drive away the Turks . They captured a number of areas by military tactics. They occupied Gwaliar, Judhpur, and its adjacent areas like Nodol Mendor, Ratnapur, Ajmir, etc. Necessary measures were taken to combat the insurgency of the Rajputs.


Iltutmish, that is why could not bear the Rajputs Independence for long. In 1226, he besieged Ranthumbor and captured it. Mandor, capital of Pormera Rajputs, was also captured and garrisoned. Jalor was also besieged and surrendered. However, its ruler on the condition of the payment of tribute.
Ajmir and Bayamma and Tangir were also recaptured by the Muslims. Nagair in Judapur was also recaptured. In 1231, Gowalilar was besieged. The ruler of Kalinjar, Trilokyavarma, abandoned Kalinjar.


To combat the power of Rajputs, the Muslims had to face some defeats. The Chandelas were able to turn out the Muslims once again. The ruler of Negda defeated Iltutmish and the local suffered heavy losses. In 1234-35, Iltutmish had an expedition to Malwa. The contention of Sir Wolslay Hague is that Iltutmish conquered and annexed Malwa.


Baduan, Kanuj, Banaras, and Kathar, etc., asserted their independence in the time of Iltutmish. As soon as Iltutmish reestablished his authority, he took actions against them. One by one, Basum, Kancy, and Banarus were recaptured. The same was the case with Kathar. Owdth was brought into the control after stiff resistance. A local tribe under Bartu or Pirthu defeated the Turks on many occasions and more than a lakh of troops were destroyed by them. But soon after the death of Pirthu, the local tribe was subdued. Expeditions were also sent against Chandwara and Tirbut.


In the year 1221, the Mongols appeared first time on the bank of Indus River. The Mongol had brought about great devastation in Western Asia. Now their bloody eyes were towards the subcontinent.


The Mongol leader was Changiz Khan. The Mongol leader attacked Jalal-ud-din Manga Barni, the last Shah of Khusrzim. He later fled to the Punjab by the fear of Mongol leader and sought shelter from Iltutmish. Iltutmish felt that by helping him, he would be inviting trouble from Changiz Khan. So he excused for giving shelter to Jalul-ud-din on pretext of irresistible climatic conditions. In this way, he saved the infant Muslim state by his sagacity.
Iltutmish’s last expedition was directed against Benian. Iltutmish was attacked on the way by such a severe illness which proved fatal and he died on April 1236.


No doubt, he saved the infant Muslim Empire from outside invasions and threats. Furthermore, he consolidated his empire by introducing a naval administrative system which became the guideline for the kings of Delhi Sultanate.


Actually, he organized the revenue and finance departments. This was the task which had not been attempted by any ruler in India before him. An administrative structure could not be built up without the support of Turkish nobility and could be done either by fear or by favour. But it was the sagacious policies of Iltutmish which did not aggrieve them. He also tackled the Mongol problem well in a spirit of reconciliation and compromise.
Iqta system and introduction of currency assisted the work for saving the infant empire. The establishment of official nobility, known as Chahalgami or the crops of forty, destroyed after Illtutmish’s death.


No doubt, Aibak was the founder of slave dynasty but the real functions of consolidating the slave dynasty were performed by Iltutmish. To save the country from external threats as well as Mongol invasions was not an easy task. Iltutmish also subdued these external threats. He gave authority to nobles on the check and balance basis. That is why; he is called the real founder of the salve dynasty.