Story after Qaiqabad or Kaikubad has two versions to it. It is said that Qaiqabad suffered from paralytic attack and therefore his 3 year old son(grandson of Balban), Shams-ud-din Kayumars was made the Sultan in 1290 AD. By this time, Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khilji was holding Baran(in Uttar Pradesh) as a fief and was also serving as the command of the army. Futher, Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khilji has his sons, brothers and nephews holding charges in many parts of the Kingdom since Balban's rule. Jala-ud-din along with his kith and kin went to attack the infant king. The two version of the story are as follows:
Jalal-ud-din pardoned and allowed Malik Chhajju, the nephew of Balban(who attacked Jalal-ud-din) to retain his freedom of Kara-Manikpur. The post of wazir(Minister) was conferred on Khvaja Khatir, who had held it under Balban and Qaiqabad. Fakhr-ud-Din, the kotwal(Police of the Forts) of Delhi was also allowed to continue. He appointed his younger brother the ariz-i-mumalik (army minister) and conferred upon him the title of Yaghrush Khan. To the vacant governorship of Kara, Jalal-ud-din appointed his brother’s son Ali Gurshap (later Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji) whom he had brought up from his infancy and gave his daughter in marriage.
In 1292, huge army of of more than 100,000 Mongols invaded the Indian subcontinent. Jalal-ud-din's successes in the battle and smart negotiation caused a partial retreat on the part of the Mongols.
Ala-ud-din was quiet opposite in thoughts from his uncle. He was more inclined towards pushing the boundaries of the Kingdom farther, getting more wealth and power etc., Unlike Jalal-ud-din he was very aggressive, unscrupulous, and sharp-tongued. To fulfill his ambition he required money which he thought of collecting by raids on the neighboring states. With the Sultans’s permission he led an expedition in 1293 AD to Bhilsa via Chanderi. Giving resistance no chance to gather Ali Gurshap plundered the ancient town and carried away ‘immense booty'. He obtained Sultan’s permission to use the surplus revenue of his province for expanding his army for carrying raids on territories beyond Chanderi. In about a year he equipped himself with men and money and in the winter of 1295 AD set out in an expedition against Devagiri the Yadava capital with about eight thousand picked cavalry. He defeated the king of Devagiri had to pay for heavy indemnity and allow the victorious soldiers to plunder the city.
The news of the exploit of Ali Gurshasp had trickled through to Jalal-ud-din, who although somewhat hurt at the secretiveness of his nephew was pleased at the prospect of so vast a treasure coming to his possession. Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khilji moved to Gwalior to receive the victorious prince, but when the news reached him of his nephew’s direct return to Kara, Jalal-ud-din summoned his Council to deliberate on the course of action to be followed. Ahmed Chap and other realists who knew the price better, urged strong measure against him for the unauthorized campaign and warned the Sultan against allowing the prince to carry all the treasured to Kara. But Jalal-ud-din faith in his nephew could not be shaken. Jalal-ud-din returned to Delhi and was hopefully awaiting his nephew to present the spoils of the expedition to him with adequate apology. Ali Gurshap returned to Kara and sent a report confessing his guilt and asking for pardon, which the Sultan granted through a communication sent per a messenger. Ali Gurshap detained the messenger who was astounded to find the huge army that the prince had organized at Kara. The Sultan decided to see his nephew at once, and disregarding the all counsels of caution Jalal-ud-din proceeded for the trap laid by his nephew. Ali Gurshap killed Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khilji heartlessly while the latter was holding him in his arms, caressing him with utmost love, at Kara in 1290 AD.
Ali Gurshap or Ala-ud-din Khilji (1296 - 1316 AD)
Ali Gurshap or Ala-ud-din Khilji thus took over the throne in 1290 AD. Sultan Alauddin Khilji had introduced a healthy and systematic administrative policy in the Delhi Sultanate rule. His accession to the throne was not a peaceful one. He had to walk through bloodshed series of revolts. Naturally the main object of administrative policy of Alauddin Khilji was to crush the revolts and consolidate the central authority throughout the kingdom. Alauddin Khilji earnestly wanted to consolidate the authority of the monarch and to create a powerful army to protect it.
Ala-ud-din made a series of conquests which made him one of the greatest conquerers of Indian History. He was also one of the first kings to introduce islam in Deccan and South India. His attack on Chittor in 1303 CE to capture the queen of Chittor, Rani Padmini, the wife of Rawal Ratan Singh and the subsequent story have been immortalized in the epic poem Padmavat, written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi in the Awadhi language in the year 1540.
In 1296 AD, He started his military expansions from Ranathambore(in present day Rajastan). Muhammad Shah was instrumental in making the plot for Jalal-ud-din's death. Taking advantage of his friendship with the Sultan, he joined with Chimna, a disaffect begum of Sultan and plotted against Ala-ud-din to become sultan and queen themselves. Alla-ud-din discovered the plot and Shah fled from Delhi along with his brother. Shah obtained asylum from Hamir Dev, the Rajput ruler of Ranathambor, which then caused Dev to be a focus of Allaudin's ire. Thus Alla-ud-din made his conquest on Ranathambore to take down Muhammad shah. After the first attack, the Sultan felt that the fort structure was such that Allaudin was unable to breach it, so he offered to return to Delhi if Dev would hand Muhammad Shah over to him. Dev thought that breaking his promise to Shah would be dishonourable but Shah persuaded him that it was better than continuing the gruelling siege, given the immense resources of Allaudin's army. Thus, Allaudin got his way.
Ala-ud-din Khilji then sent two of his great generals Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan, to Gujarat, which was conquered and annexed in 1299 AD. On 28 January 1303, Alauddin started for Mewar(in present day Rajastan), a powerful kingdom of north-west India. According to legend, Alauddin heard of the unparalleled beauty of Rani Padmini, wife of Ratan Singh. He went to Chittor with an intention to siege the fort and went in by saying that he wanted to see the Rani. On seeing her in the mirror(since Hindu queens shouldn't be seen directly by others) Sultan thought he should have Rani Padmini in his harem. Sultan then kidnapped the king but the generals of the Mewar laid a deceiving plot with 150 palanquins filled with soldiers instead of queen and the ladies(allegedly confirming to Sulatn the acceptance of queen to come to delhi). On reaching the gates of tents where the Mewar king was imprisoned the army in the palanquins unleashed its attack saving their King and returning to the Kingdom. Knowing this Ala-ud-din made a huge conquest in which the Men of Mewar fought outside the fort of Mewar till end of their lives and Women of Mewar(knowing that the battle will be lost) made a huge pyre in the grounds of the Fort and gave their lives to fire, starting with Rani Padmini. After defeating the army of Mewar, Ala-ud-din along with his army entered the forts to get the queen and the women, only to find their ashes and bones. Following Mewar, Ala-ud-din conquered Malwa, Marwar(1308 AD) and Jalore.
Also, Ala-ud-din was successful in entering the deccan and south-India. In 1306-07 AD He took over Devagiri or Daulatabad and Baglana(Both in present day Maharashtra). Sultan, first conquered Baglana, and grabbed the King's wife Kamaladevi. Soon sultan ordered to get Develadevi(Kamaladevi's daughter) and then Devaladevi was married to Sultan's elder son. During his next conquest against Daulatabad he defeated the King Rai Ramachandra and married his daughter which came as great help for his military expansion in the south.
In 1303 AD, Sultan attacked the Kakatiya's of the deccan only to taste a blowing defeat by King Prataparudra II. Six years later, in 1309 AD, Malik Kafur(General of Sultan) invaded Warangal for the second time with a larger army with help of Sultan's alley and father-in-law King of Devagiri- Rai Ramachandra. After a fierce battle, Kafur was able to occupy the Warangal fort and forced Prataparudra to sue for peace, to surrender all the Kakatiya treasures, and to promise an annual tribute. Among the treasures ceded by Prataparudra was the Koh-i-Noor diamond, once the largest known diamond in the world. Following Kakatiya's Malik Kafur defeated the King of Haleebedu(in present day Karnataka) and asked to pay annual tributes. Further, Malik kafur was defeated by southern Madhurai and Chidambaram kingdoms. After this, Malik Kafur returned to Delhi.
As with ever Sultan of his times, Ala-ud-din was also under the mongol threat. Alauddin Khilji successfully defended his realm from the Mongol invasion. He improved the border's fortifications and established garrisons. He defeated the Mongol armies at the battles of Jalandhar (1298), Kili (1299), Amroha (1305) and Ravi (1306).
The rebellions occurred one after another within a few years in his Kingdom made the Sultan anxious. He was convinced that there was something radically wrong in his system of administration. He found out four causes of these rebellions:
Alauddin Khilji is known for his administration. To prevent the recurrence of rebellions Sultan Alauddin then decided to uproot the causes and hence introduced four important ordinances, as part of his administration policies:
Ala ud din Khilji's military ambitions required a standing and strong army, especially after the Mongol siege of Delhi. Maintaining a large army at regular salaries, however, would be severe drain on the treasury. A system of price controls reduced the salary amount that needed to be paid. Three separate markets were set up in Delhi. The first one for food grains, the second for cloth and items such as ghee, oil and sugar. The third market was horses, cattle, and slaves. Regulations were laid out for the operations of these markets. He fixed the prices of all the commodities from top to bottom. Market officers called shahna were appointed to keep a check on the prices. The defaulters were heavily punished. Land revenue was fixed and the grain was stored in government granaries. These market regulations and stability of prices were the wonders of his age. The soldiers and the civil population were greatly benefitted from these measures due to the low prices of the essential goods.
The success after success made Alauddin Khilji cherish the widest desires and impossible goals. He tried to imitate Hazarat Muhammad and establish a new religion and ordered the Muslims to take his name in the Namaz. He dreamt of becoming second Alexander to subdue the earth, and ordered to engrave his name as “Second Alexander” in his coins. Alauddin died in January 1316 AD, of oedema. It is believed that his lieutenant Malik Naib hastened his death. His tomb and madrasa dedicated to him, exists at the back of Qutb complex, Mehrauli, in Delhi
Qutub-ud-din mubarak shah Khilji was the third and last ruler of the Khilji dynasty in Sultanate of Delhi, India. Qutb-ud-din Khilji was the son and successor of Alauddin Khilji. He began his rule by releasing thousands of prisoners and abolishing all taxes and penalties imposed by his father. Qutb-ud-din was the weakest ruler of the dynasty. Qutb-ud-din was murdered by Khusro Khan in 1320 AD, which ended the Khilji dynasty. Khusro Khan was a former Hindu slave of the Bawariya Hindu caste in Gujarat. But he was unpopular with the Muslim nobles due to perceived liberality towards Hindus. Ghazi Malik who was a provincial governor under the Khiljis with his son Fakhr Malik collected the forces of Sindh and Multan and overthrew Khusro Khan. In 1320 AD, Ghazi Malik was crowned as the Sultan of Delhi with the title of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq and his son Fakhr Malik was given the title of Muhammad Shah Tughluq or Muhammad bin Tuglaq.
This marks the end of second of five dynasties which ruled Delhi and start of the Tuglaq dynasty. Next comes the Tughlaq Dynasty.
- Jalal-ud-din along with his kith and kin killed Qaiqabad and threw away the infant king the river Yamuna.
- Jalal-ud-din along with his kith and kin killed Kayumars(Infant king) and also murdered Qaiqabad and threw his body in River Yamuna.
Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khilji (1290 - 1296 AD)
Khiljis although of the Turkic origin have a great Afghan outlook. Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khilji, being one of the oldest kings of the History to be coronated, made kilughari or Kalughari as his capital. For his peaceful disposition and undeserved leniency he gained bad name even among the nobles. For the same reason he was not very successful conqueror as he understood that invading and conquering involves killed thousands of musalmaans and he was completely against that kind of invasion.
Jalal-ud-din pardoned and allowed Malik Chhajju, the nephew of Balban(who attacked Jalal-ud-din) to retain his freedom of Kara-Manikpur. The post of wazir(Minister) was conferred on Khvaja Khatir, who had held it under Balban and Qaiqabad. Fakhr-ud-Din, the kotwal(Police of the Forts) of Delhi was also allowed to continue. He appointed his younger brother the ariz-i-mumalik (army minister) and conferred upon him the title of Yaghrush Khan. To the vacant governorship of Kara, Jalal-ud-din appointed his brother’s son Ali Gurshap (later Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji) whom he had brought up from his infancy and gave his daughter in marriage.
Ala-ud-din was quiet opposite in thoughts from his uncle. He was more inclined towards pushing the boundaries of the Kingdom farther, getting more wealth and power etc., Unlike Jalal-ud-din he was very aggressive, unscrupulous, and sharp-tongued. To fulfill his ambition he required money which he thought of collecting by raids on the neighboring states. With the Sultans’s permission he led an expedition in 1293 AD to Bhilsa via Chanderi. Giving resistance no chance to gather Ali Gurshap plundered the ancient town and carried away ‘immense booty'. He obtained Sultan’s permission to use the surplus revenue of his province for expanding his army for carrying raids on territories beyond Chanderi. In about a year he equipped himself with men and money and in the winter of 1295 AD set out in an expedition against Devagiri the Yadava capital with about eight thousand picked cavalry. He defeated the king of Devagiri had to pay for heavy indemnity and allow the victorious soldiers to plunder the city.
The news of the exploit of Ali Gurshasp had trickled through to Jalal-ud-din, who although somewhat hurt at the secretiveness of his nephew was pleased at the prospect of so vast a treasure coming to his possession. Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khilji moved to Gwalior to receive the victorious prince, but when the news reached him of his nephew’s direct return to Kara, Jalal-ud-din summoned his Council to deliberate on the course of action to be followed. Ahmed Chap and other realists who knew the price better, urged strong measure against him for the unauthorized campaign and warned the Sultan against allowing the prince to carry all the treasured to Kara. But Jalal-ud-din faith in his nephew could not be shaken. Jalal-ud-din returned to Delhi and was hopefully awaiting his nephew to present the spoils of the expedition to him with adequate apology. Ali Gurshap returned to Kara and sent a report confessing his guilt and asking for pardon, which the Sultan granted through a communication sent per a messenger. Ali Gurshap detained the messenger who was astounded to find the huge army that the prince had organized at Kara. The Sultan decided to see his nephew at once, and disregarding the all counsels of caution Jalal-ud-din proceeded for the trap laid by his nephew. Ali Gurshap killed Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khilji heartlessly while the latter was holding him in his arms, caressing him with utmost love, at Kara in 1290 AD.
Ali Gurshap or Ala-ud-din Khilji (1296 - 1316 AD)
Ali Gurshap or Ala-ud-din Khilji thus took over the throne in 1290 AD. Sultan Alauddin Khilji had introduced a healthy and systematic administrative policy in the Delhi Sultanate rule. His accession to the throne was not a peaceful one. He had to walk through bloodshed series of revolts. Naturally the main object of administrative policy of Alauddin Khilji was to crush the revolts and consolidate the central authority throughout the kingdom. Alauddin Khilji earnestly wanted to consolidate the authority of the monarch and to create a powerful army to protect it.
Ala-ud-din made a series of conquests which made him one of the greatest conquerers of Indian History. He was also one of the first kings to introduce islam in Deccan and South India. His attack on Chittor in 1303 CE to capture the queen of Chittor, Rani Padmini, the wife of Rawal Ratan Singh and the subsequent story have been immortalized in the epic poem Padmavat, written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi in the Awadhi language in the year 1540.
In 1296 AD, He started his military expansions from Ranathambore(in present day Rajastan). Muhammad Shah was instrumental in making the plot for Jalal-ud-din's death. Taking advantage of his friendship with the Sultan, he joined with Chimna, a disaffect begum of Sultan and plotted against Ala-ud-din to become sultan and queen themselves. Alla-ud-din discovered the plot and Shah fled from Delhi along with his brother. Shah obtained asylum from Hamir Dev, the Rajput ruler of Ranathambor, which then caused Dev to be a focus of Allaudin's ire. Thus Alla-ud-din made his conquest on Ranathambore to take down Muhammad shah. After the first attack, the Sultan felt that the fort structure was such that Allaudin was unable to breach it, so he offered to return to Delhi if Dev would hand Muhammad Shah over to him. Dev thought that breaking his promise to Shah would be dishonourable but Shah persuaded him that it was better than continuing the gruelling siege, given the immense resources of Allaudin's army. Thus, Allaudin got his way.
Ala-ud-din Khilji then sent two of his great generals Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan, to Gujarat, which was conquered and annexed in 1299 AD. On 28 January 1303, Alauddin started for Mewar(in present day Rajastan), a powerful kingdom of north-west India. According to legend, Alauddin heard of the unparalleled beauty of Rani Padmini, wife of Ratan Singh. He went to Chittor with an intention to siege the fort and went in by saying that he wanted to see the Rani. On seeing her in the mirror(since Hindu queens shouldn't be seen directly by others) Sultan thought he should have Rani Padmini in his harem. Sultan then kidnapped the king but the generals of the Mewar laid a deceiving plot with 150 palanquins filled with soldiers instead of queen and the ladies(allegedly confirming to Sulatn the acceptance of queen to come to delhi). On reaching the gates of tents where the Mewar king was imprisoned the army in the palanquins unleashed its attack saving their King and returning to the Kingdom. Knowing this Ala-ud-din made a huge conquest in which the Men of Mewar fought outside the fort of Mewar till end of their lives and Women of Mewar(knowing that the battle will be lost) made a huge pyre in the grounds of the Fort and gave their lives to fire, starting with Rani Padmini. After defeating the army of Mewar, Ala-ud-din along with his army entered the forts to get the queen and the women, only to find their ashes and bones. Following Mewar, Ala-ud-din conquered Malwa, Marwar(1308 AD) and Jalore.
Also, Ala-ud-din was successful in entering the deccan and south-India. In 1306-07 AD He took over Devagiri or Daulatabad and Baglana(Both in present day Maharashtra). Sultan, first conquered Baglana, and grabbed the King's wife Kamaladevi. Soon sultan ordered to get Develadevi(Kamaladevi's daughter) and then Devaladevi was married to Sultan's elder son. During his next conquest against Daulatabad he defeated the King Rai Ramachandra and married his daughter which came as great help for his military expansion in the south.
In 1303 AD, Sultan attacked the Kakatiya's of the deccan only to taste a blowing defeat by King Prataparudra II. Six years later, in 1309 AD, Malik Kafur(General of Sultan) invaded Warangal for the second time with a larger army with help of Sultan's alley and father-in-law King of Devagiri- Rai Ramachandra. After a fierce battle, Kafur was able to occupy the Warangal fort and forced Prataparudra to sue for peace, to surrender all the Kakatiya treasures, and to promise an annual tribute. Among the treasures ceded by Prataparudra was the Koh-i-Noor diamond, once the largest known diamond in the world. Following Kakatiya's Malik Kafur defeated the King of Haleebedu(in present day Karnataka) and asked to pay annual tributes. Further, Malik kafur was defeated by southern Madhurai and Chidambaram kingdoms. After this, Malik Kafur returned to Delhi.
As with ever Sultan of his times, Ala-ud-din was also under the mongol threat. Alauddin Khilji successfully defended his realm from the Mongol invasion. He improved the border's fortifications and established garrisons. He defeated the Mongol armies at the battles of Jalandhar (1298), Kili (1299), Amroha (1305) and Ravi (1306).
"During his 20-year-long reign Ala al-Din Khalji conducted a number of campaigns that greatly expanded his authority. Threatened by the Mongol expansion from Central Asia, he successfully repelled several Mongol attacks on northwestern India between 1296 and 1308. The Mongol invasions in 1305 were also defeated, first at Amroha and then on the banks of Ravi River, allowing Ala al-Din to launch punitive expeditions into Mongol-controlled territories in Afghanistan."
The rebellions occurred one after another within a few years in his Kingdom made the Sultan anxious. He was convinced that there was something radically wrong in his system of administration. He found out four causes of these rebellions:
- The inefficiency of his spy system for which the king remained ignorant of the doings of his officers and the people.
- The general practice of consuming wine which indulged the people to prompt fellowship and hatch rebellions and conspiracies.
- The social intercourse and inter marriage among his nobles also gave them the required opportunities to combine against the king.
- The excess of wealth in the hands of certain nobles and notable chiefs gave them the required time and leisure for idle thoughts and making plans for rebellions.
- The first ordinance was made to confiscate all religious endowments and free grants of lands. In fact in those days many people were enjoying these free lands to support themselves. This gave rise to a class of idlers, who did nothing to earn their subsistence, but had enough time to practice evil deeds and always tried to fish in the troubled waters of the country’s political unstability. These nobles were mostly conspirators. Alauddin hit this class hard. They had to pay land tax for their holdings and the tax collectors were required to extort from them as much money as possible on any pretext. The Sultan’s attack on private property soon brought good result. The attack was so hard that, Zia-ud-din Barani(Historian of Tuglaq dynasty) told us, gold was not to be seen except in the houses of the great nobles or high officials or the top most merchants.
- By a second ordinance the Sultan re-organized the espionage system. A considerably big army of spies was created. News writers and the spies were placed in the houses of nobles and officers and in all offices, towns and even in important villages.
- The third ordinance prohibited the use of liquor and drug. The Sultan himself gave up wine. At last, Alauddin realized that the people would not be made sober by legislation, and relaxed the ordinance, permitted private manufacture and consumption of liquor, but its sale was prohibited.
- By the fourth ordinance he ordered the nobles not to have social gatherings and not to make inter marriage without his permission. This regulation was rigorously enforced. Social gatherings and friendly meetings of the nobles came to an end.
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| Ala-ud-din's Tomb |
Qutub-ud-din mubarak shah Khilji was the third and last ruler of the Khilji dynasty in Sultanate of Delhi, India. Qutb-ud-din Khilji was the son and successor of Alauddin Khilji. He began his rule by releasing thousands of prisoners and abolishing all taxes and penalties imposed by his father. Qutb-ud-din was the weakest ruler of the dynasty. Qutb-ud-din was murdered by Khusro Khan in 1320 AD, which ended the Khilji dynasty. Khusro Khan was a former Hindu slave of the Bawariya Hindu caste in Gujarat. But he was unpopular with the Muslim nobles due to perceived liberality towards Hindus. Ghazi Malik who was a provincial governor under the Khiljis with his son Fakhr Malik collected the forces of Sindh and Multan and overthrew Khusro Khan. In 1320 AD, Ghazi Malik was crowned as the Sultan of Delhi with the title of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq and his son Fakhr Malik was given the title of Muhammad Shah Tughluq or Muhammad bin Tuglaq.
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