Iltutmish

1211 - 1236 — SLAVE DYNASTY

Introduction

It has been said that Iltutmish was the greatest of the slave kings, a slave who rose to eminence based on
sheer merit and hard work alone. He was a Turk of the Ibari Tribe in Turkestan, and belonged to a noble
family. His intelligence elicited jealousy from his brothers, who managed to deprive him of his paternal
home and care.

He was sold to a merchant of Bukhara, and later, to Qutb-ud-Din Aibak. Through his loyalty and hard work,
he rose through ranks until he was made Governor of Baduan, and married the daughter of Qutb-ud-Din.

After proving himself in battle against the Khokhars, Iltutmish, bu the orders of Muhammed Ghori was man-
umitted and given the rank of Amur-ul-Umara

Upon the death of Qutb-ud-Din Aibak in 1210, Aram Shah rose as his successor. In his rule, he was found
entirely incompetent, so the nobles of Delhi invited Iltutmish to the throne in the best interest of the infant
empire.

His accession was briefly opposed on the grounds of his supposedly not being a free man, however, upon
displaying his letter of manumission, the opposition was quieted.

Sovereignty

Prior to the reign of Iltutmish, there was no sovereignty as such in India. As such, he became sovereign with-
out usurpation. His sovreignty was based on three pillars:

1. Iltutmish was duly elected by the officials.

On his coins, Iltutmish declared himself as lieutenant of the Khalifa.

Hardships

As he rose to power in 1211, Iltutmish faced many hardships he had to overcome. He did so without shying
away from them, instead facing them boldly and besting them.

Yildoz

Taj-ud-Din Yildoz was a formidable foe of Iltutmish, considering himself to be the true successor of
Muhammed Ghori, he was not prepared to allow the Muslim Empire in India to be independent.

In 1214, Yildoz marched to Lahore and occupied it. Iltutmish would not stand for this, marching against Yil-
doz and defeating him in the Battle of Tarain near Thanesar. Yildoz was captured as a prisoner and sent to
the fortress of Badaun where he was later put to death.
The Rajputs

After the death of Qutb-ud-Din Aibak, the Rajputs tried their best to drive away the Turks. The Chandelas
were able to capture Kalinjar and Ajaigarh. The Prathiharas drove away the Muslim Garrisons from Gwalior
and re occupied the city. In 1226, Iltutmish besieged Ranthambhor, capturing and regarrisoning it.

Manor, the capital of the Parmara Rajputs was also captured and regarrisoned.

Next, he moved on to besiege Jalor. The ruler, Udai Singh was initially oppositional, though he was ulti-
mately made to surrender and was allowed to continue as ruler on the condition of his payment of tribute.

Ajmer was captured after stiff resistance and in 1231, Gwalior was besieged. The ruler of Kalinjar aban-
doned it, and it was plundered.

The Doab

Badaun, Kanauj, Banaras and Katehar (Rokhilkhand) among others, asserted their independence in the time
of Iltutmish.

As soon as he was able to reestablish his authority, Iltutmish took action against them. One by one, he cap-
tured Baduan, Kanauj, Banaras and Katehar.

The Mongols

In the year 1221, the Mongols appeared for the first time on the banks of the river Indus, under the leadership
of Changiz Khan. He attacked Jalal-ud-Din Mangabarni, who fled to Punjab. He sought shelter with Iltut-
mish, who refused, knowing that providing him with shelter would invite the wrath of Changiz Khan. He
wrote a letter to Jalal-ud-Din stating that although he had no objection to giving him shelter, he was afraid
the climate of Punjab would not suit him.

Jalal-ud-Din later left to Persia and the Mongols retired their rule. In this manner, Iltutmish proved himself as
the saviour of the infant Muslim Empire in India.

The Rise of Delhi

The reign of Iltutmish saw the decline of Lahore and the rise of Delhi. Delhi gradually became the eastern
epicentre of learning and culture. Great scholars like Nur-ud-Din, Mohammed Audi, Minhaj-u-Straj and
Hasan Nizami were assembled in his court.

Likewise, many saints, artists, and artisans also flocked to Delhi. Delhi was said to have become the second
Baghdad.
Administration

The Delhi Sultanate owes the outlines of its administrative system to Iltutmish. He organised the revenue and
Finance Departments; a task which had not been attempted by any other Muslim ruler in India before him.
He divided the empire into several Iqtas which were assigned to various nobles.

Every Iqtadaf had to maintain law and order to collect revenue. After deducting his salary and government
expenses, he sent the surplus revenue to the Central Government.

To check the nobles’ tendency to become too powerful, Iltutmish set up an official nobility of slaves known
as the Chahalgani or the corps of Forty.

The members of the Chahalgari were the personal slaves of the Emperor, who could depend on their loyalty
and allegiance and through them could keep a grip over the affairs of the Government.

Currency reforms

Before Iltutmish, the Muslim rulers issued small bullion coins of the native form and inscribed their names,
often in Nagari script, and sometimes in Arabic.

These coins bore symbols familiar to Hindus, such as the bull of Shiva and the horseman. Iltutmish was the
first ti introduce a purely Arabic coinage. He adopted as his standard coin, the silver tanka, the ancestor of
the rupee, weighing 175 grains. Gold tank as of the same weight were later introduced by Balban.

Religious policy

Iltutmish was a pious Muslim, very particular about executing his five daily prayers. However, he was intol-
erant towards the Shia Muslims. As a result, the Ismail-Shias attempted to revolt against him but their revolt
was soon crushed. A large number of them were thereupon put to death. His treatment of the Hindus was
also far from enlightened, and he continued to persecute them.

Conclusion
Through his merits and demerits iltutmish was not able to be called a constructive statesman especially due
to his religious policies. However, through his courage, bravery and determination, he was able to continue
on with the precedent set by Qutb-ud-Din Aibak against heavy odds on an imperfect foundation, and save the
infant Muslim empire.

It was said that he was one of the most outstanding rulers of medieval India, as it was him who gave the
country a capital, an independent statement a monarchical form of government, and a governing class.