Ghiyasuddin al-Din Tughlaq

Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq or Ghazi Malik (died c.1325[5]) was
the Sultan of Delhi from 1320 to 1325. He was the first sultan of the Tughluq
dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. During his reign, Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq founded
the city of Tughluqabad. His reign ending upon his death in 1325 when a pavilion
built in his honour collapsed. The 14th century historian Ibn Battuta claimed that
the death of the sultan was the result of a conspiracy against him. Ghiyath al-Din
Tughluq was succeeded by his eldest son, Muhammad bin Tughluq.

Rise to power:

In July 1320, Mubarak Shah was murdered as a result of a conspiracy by his Hindu-
origin general Khusrau Khan, who became the ruler of Delhi. Tughluq was one of the
governors who refused to recognize Khusrau Khan as the new Sultan. However, he did
not take any action against Khusrau Khan because the force commanded by him at
Dipalpur was not strong enough to take on the imperial army at Delhi.

Tughluq's son Fakhruddin Jauna (who later ascended the throne as Muhammad bin
Tughluq), who was a high-ranking officer in Delhi, took the initiative to dethrone
Khusrau Khan. He convened a secret meeting of his friends in Delhi, and then sent
his messenger Ali Yaghdi to Dipalpur, asking his father for assistance in the
matter. In response, Tughluq asked him to come to Dipalpur with the son of the
Uchch governor Bahram Aiba, who was also opposed to Khusrau Khan. Accordingly,
Fakhruddin and his companions - which included some slaves and servants - left
Delhi for Dipalpur on horses one afternoon. Tughluq sent his officer Muhammad
Sartiah to take control of the Sirsa fort on the Delhi-Dipalpur route to secure a
safe passageway for his son. When Khusrau Khan learned of the conspiracy, he
dispatched his minister of war Shaista Khan in pursuit of Fakhruddin, but Shaista
Khan could not catch the rebels.

At Dipalpur, Tughluq and his son discussed the situation, and decided to put up a
fight against Khusrau Khan. Tughluq declared that he wanted to dethrone Khusrau
Khan for "the glory of Islam", because he was loyal to Alauddin's family, and
because he wanted to punish the criminals in Delhi.

Tughluq sent identical letters to five neighbouring governors, seeking their

support:

~Bahram, the governor of Uchch, joined Tughluq's cause and provided military
support.

~Mughlati, the governor of Multan, refused to rebel against the new Sultan.
Tughluq's friend Bahram Siraj incited Mughlati's army against him. Facing a
rebellion himself, Mughlati tried to flee but fell into a canal built during
Tughluq's governorship of Multan. He was beheaded by a son of Bahram Siraj, but the
Multan army did not join Tughluq's forces against the Sultan.

~Malik Yak Lakkhi, the governor of Samana, not only refused to join Tughluq, but
also sent his letter to Khusrau Khan and himself marched to Dipalpur against him.
Yak Lakkhi was originally a Hindu slave, and may have been favoured by Khusrau
Khan, which may explain his actions. After Tughluq's forces repelled his invasion
of Dipalpur, he retreated to Samana. He was planning to join the Sultan at Delhi,
but was killed by the angry citizens before he could do that.

~Muhammad Shah Lur, the governor of Sindh, was facing a rebellion by his officers
when he received Tughluq's letter. He later came to terms with his officers, and
agreed to support Tughluq, but reached Delhi only after Tughluq ascended the
throne. Tughluq later appointed him as the governor of Ajmer.

~Hushang Shah, the governor of Jalor and a son of Kamal al-Din Gurg, also promised
to support Tughluq. However, he deliberately reached Delhi only after the battle
between the forces of Tughluq and Khusrau Khan was over. Tughluq retained him as
the governor of Jalor.

~Tughluq sent another letter to Ayn al-Mulk Multani, who had become the wazir by
this time. Multani was surrounded by Khusrau Khan's men when he received the
letter, so he took the letter to the Sultan and expressed his loyalty. However,
when Tughluq sent a second message to him, he expressed sympathy with Tughluq's
cause. Multani stated that he was surrounded by Khusrau's allies, and therefore,
would not take sides in the upcoming battle. He told Tughluq that he would withdraw
on the approach of Tughluq's forces to Delhi, and that Tughluq could choose to
retain him or kill him upon becoming the Sultan.

According to Amir Khusrau, Tughluq's relatively small army consisted of warriors

from a variety of ethnicities, including "Ghizz, Turks, Mongols, Rumis (Greeks),
Rusi (Rus'), Tajiks, and Khurasainis." According to Khusrau, these soldiers were
"people of pure birth and not racial mixtures". However, with the exception of a
Mongol officer, Khusrau does not mention any soldiers from these ethnicities.
According to historian Banarsi Prasad Saksena, Khusrau's enumeration of these
ethnicities is "an official disguise" for the Hindu communities that fought for
Tughluq, who claimed to be fighting for the "glory of Islam". The Khokhars were one
of these communities: their ruler was Sahij Rai, and their chiefs included Gul
Chandra and Niju. The Mewatis, also known as Meos, were another community of Hindu
origin that supported Tughluq.

Tughluq's officers captured a caravan carrying tribute from Sindh to Delhi, along
with a number of horses. Tughuq distributed the seized treasure among his soldiers.

Meanwhile, in Delhi, to discourage any further conspiracies, Khusrau Khan consulted

his counsellors, and ordered killings of Alauddin's three sons - Bahauddin, Ali,
and Usman - who had earlier been blinded and imprisoned.

Tughluq's army defeated Khusrau Khan's forces at the Battle of Saraswati and the
Battle of Lahrawat. Khusrau Khan fled from the battlefield, but was captured and
killed a few days later. Tughluq was proclaimed the new ruler on 6 September 1320.

Death

In 1324, Tughluq turned his attention towards Bengal, currently in the midst of a
civil war. After victory, he placed Nasiruddin on the throne of West Bengal as a
vassal state, and East Bengal was annexed. On his way back to Delhi, he fought and
defeated the Raja of Tirhut (north Bihar) and annexed his territory. At Kara-
Manikpur in February 1325, the wooden pavilion used for his reception collapsed,
killing him and his second son Prince Mahmud Khan. Ibn Battuta claimed it was a
conspiracy, hatched by his vizier, Jauna Khan (Khwajah Jahan).