History - - Posted on May, 11 at 11:50 am
Qutb-ud-din Aibak, Turkish Commander of Muhammad Ghauri became the head of Delhi and surrounding acquired regions, after bloody conflicts between the successors. He was capable of being a prominent and sovereign ruler but in 1210 CE he fell victim to an accidental death. Though his career was short-lived he is remembered as the founder of Slave dynasty and creator of the world-famous Qutub Minar and Qutub Mosque. He was the first Muslim ruler to choose Delhi as his operating base.
Aibak was succeeded by Shams-ud-din Iltamash. Delhi became an independent kingdom under the reigns of Iltamash. Most of his life he was on the battlefield. Ghengis Khan, a Mongol ruler proved a constant threat in the areas near Sindhu. In addition, conflicts with other muslim generals in Bihar, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, engaged him in constant skirmishes. Ghengis Khan continued to be a nuisance during the rule of Raziya Sultan, daughter of Iltamash. The northwestern frontiers were in constant turmoil as waves of armies, royal personages and their dependents rooted out from their territories by Ghengis Khan flooded the area.
Raziya was deposed in 1240 CE. After many ineffective rulers, Ghiyas-ud-din Balban was the first to handle the problem of the Mongol invasions. He was successful in protecting the boundaries of his kingdom and also in suppressing the revolts of his generals. At the age of eighty he lost his most capable son in a battle with the Mongols. In grief Balban embraced death in 1287 CE.
After the usual conflicts for succession, Muiz-ud-din Kaiqubad, the grandson of Balban came to power. After getting into power the young prince suffered paralysis and was replaced by his three-year-old son in 1290 CE. Conflicts in the generals trying to make use of the child as a means to power ended in deposition of both the Sultans. The Khiljis overpowered other generals and declared Jala-ud-din Firoz Shah as the new Sultan.