The Delhi Sultanate’s first ruling dynasty took its name from its founders’ origins as trained military slaves, who rose to become sultans in their own right.
Must Know
Aibak: A Slave Becomes Sultan
- StoryThe term “Mamluk,” meaning “owned” or “slave,” gives this dynasty its common name. Qutbuddin Aibak was bought as a child, trained as a soldier, and rose to command Muhammad Ghori’s Indian conquests before becoming the first Sultan of Delhi in 1206 CE.
- HowAibak began the Qutub Minar, but only completed its first storey. Iltutmish added three more storeys, and the tower was not fully finished until Firoz Shah Tughlaq completed its top nearly 160 years later.
- ResultAibak died in 1210 CE from a fall off his horse during a game of chaugan, an early form of polo.
- InsteadAram Shah briefly held the throne next, for only about six months. Whether he was actually Aibak’s son is itself disputed among chroniclers.
Iltutmish, the “Real Founder”
- StoryIltutmish, who ruled 1211-1236 CE, is often called the Sultanate’s “real founder.” He secured formal recognition as Sultan from the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad in 1229 CE, and introduced standardised silver Tanka and copper Jital coinage.
- HowAround 1221 CE, Iltutmish refused to shelter the fleeing Khwarazmian prince Jalaluddin Mingburnu from Genghis Khan’s forces. This shrewd, calculated move kept the young Sultanate out of a direct Mongol confrontation.
- MechanismThe Iqta system of land assignments to nobles actually began under Muhammad Ghori. Iltutmish gave it real institutional form instead, including the regular transfer of iqta-holders between postings to stop them from building local power bases. It is covered in more depth in MedHist0033 — The Iqta System.
Good to Know
The Forty, and Razia’s Throne
- StoryIltutmish organised an elite corps of forty loyal Turkic nobles, still commonly called the Chalisa, or Chahalgani in Persian.
- InsteadIltutmish explicitly chose his daughter Razia Sultan as his successor over his own sons. Nobles briefly installed one of those sons instead, but his weak rule collapsed quickly and Razia took the throne soon after. Her own short, contested reign is covered in MedHist0025 — Razia Sultana.
- ResultAfter Razia’s fall in 1240 CE, this same corps of forty nobles effectively controlled succession for over two decades, enthroning and deposing a run of weak rulers.
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Great to Know
Not Every Sultan Was Actually a Slave
- InsteadHistorians increasingly prefer the term “Mamluk dynasty” over “Slave Dynasty.” Only Aibak, Iltutmish, and Balban are actually documented as having been enslaved themselves. Every other ruler in this line, including Razia, was born free.
- StoryGhiyasuddin Balban rose as regent under a weak nominal Sultan, then broke this same corps of forty nobles’ grip on power once he became Sultan himself in 1266 CE. His reign, including the “Zil-i-Ilahi” kingship theory and strict court ceremony, is covered in MedHist0051 — Balban.
- ResultThe dynasty’s end mirrored its recurring pattern of overridden succession. Balban’s own chosen heir was killed fighting the Mongols in 1285 CE, and his intended successor was passed over by the nobility in favour of another grandson, Qaiqubad.
- TakeawayThat last ruler’s own infant son was deposed in 1290 CE by his own guardian, Jalaluddin Khilji, who founded the Khilji dynasty in his place.
Exam Point of View
CDS (I) 2020: The Mongol Who Turned Back at the Indus
- QuestionCDS asked which Mongol leader/commander did NOT cross the Indus to attack India. The answer is Chenghiz Khan.
- WhyGenghis Khan chased the fleeing Jalaluddin Mingburnu to the Indus and won the Battle of the Indus there in 1221 CE, but chose not to cross into India and turned back to Mongolia. This question was originally published unanswered; the answer above was independently verified against Wikipedia’s “Battle of the Indus” entry before this backfill.
- LinkSource: CDS (I) 2020, General Knowledge (see Q36).
CDS (I) 2020: Who Finally Broke the Chalisa?
- QuestionThe same CDS paper also asked which Sultan finally succeeded in breaking and destroying the power of the Turkan-i-Chihalgani, this dynasty’s own Chalisa. The answer is Balban.
- WhyThis matches the article’s own Great to Know section directly: Balban broke the Chalisa’s grip on succession once he became Sultan in 1266 CE.
- LinkSource: CDS (I) 2020, General Knowledge (see Q35).
CAPF (ACs) 2017: Balban’s Tomb and the True Arch
- QuestionCAPF asked in which building India’s first extant true arch is found. The answer is the Tomb of Sultan Balban, in Delhi’s Mehrauli Archaeological Park.
- WhyA true arch, unlike a corbelled arch, distributes weight through wedge-shaped stones (voussoirs) meeting at a keystone. Balban’s tomb is the earliest surviving Indian structure to use this technique, predating even the Alai Darwaza. See MedHist0037 — Alai Darwaza and the True Arch for that later, more famous example.
- LinkSource: CAPF (ACs) 2017, General Ability and Intelligence (see Q51).
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MedHist0025 — Razia SultanaMedHist0051 — Balban: Zil-i-Ilahi and the Centralized SultanateMedHist0002 — Muhammad Ghori and the Ghurid ConquestArtnCulture0031 — The Qutb Minar and Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque: Delhi's Sultanate-Era MasterpiecesMedHist0033 — The Iqta System❓ Practice this topic
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