Early Life
Itutmish died in April 1236 and after his death struggle to succeed him started. Nassiruddin Mahmud was the was eldest and most capable son of Itutmish, but he died in the year 1229 before Iltutmish. Iltutmish considered other son Ruknuddin of low calibre as he over indulge in sensual pleasure. He wanted his daughter, Razia to rule after his death. But his Nobles did not wish to serve a woman, so they against the wishes of Iltutmish raised Ruknuddin to throne. After becoming ruler Ruknuddin neglected his empire and powerful nobles lost confidence in him. Real power was exercised by emperor’s mother, Shah Turks. She mismanaged the state affairs and angered both royal household and nobles.
- Razia Sultan ordered coins that would be minted with her name engraved. Succession to the Throne. Razia Sultan full brother and eldest son of Iltutmish, Nasiruddin Mahmud was the heir apparent of Iltutmish and was therefore groomed to succeed his father. Nasiruddin Mahmud became the governor of Bengal and was bestowed with the title of Malik-us.
- Nadira is pleased with Razia's arrangement. She inquires about Mirza. Razia informs her that he is her husband-to-be. Mirza asks Razia not to reveal this information to everyone. Rukn-ud-din and Shah Turkan wonder about the family gathering.
In conversation with the cast of Razia Sultan. In conversation with the cast of Razia Sultan. Rohit Purohit has been finalised to play the role of Razia Sultan's husband Altunia for an upcoming TV show based on the legendary lady. If we recall Razia Sultan was the only woman ruler of the. Razia Sultan soon got him killed. Razia’s accession to throne was against the Islamic tradition, but ulema and Muslim nobles did not show their disapproval. They were too afraid to take any action against her due to her popularity and waited for her to make mistake.
So, Ruknuddin was dethroned after seven months of rule and Razia became the new Ruler of the empire. Razia made sure that Ruknuddin died in the prison. Razia was bought up like son and so she was well educated. She mastered the art of horse-riding, swordsmanship and archery.
Rise to Power
Due to Ruknuddin incompetency, governor of Lahore, Hansi, Badaun and Multan started rebellion. They were joined by wazir(prime minister) Nizam ul Mulk Junaidi. Ruknuddin led his army to move out of Delhi to defeat Rebel. People of hated him and made their discontent public. Razia ceased the opportunity and gave rousing speech in mosque after friday prayers against Ruknuddin and Shah Turkan. She promised that if she became sultan she will rule as per their wishes, failing to do she will accept any punishment including death. Aroused by Razia’s speech, crowd went in frenzy and attacked the royal household. They soon found Shah Turkan and killed her. Army residing inside Delhi proclaimed Razia as new Sultan. Ruknuddin rushed to Delhi to save his throne but his army arrested him and put him behind the bars. Razia Sultan soon got him killed.
Razia’s accession to throne was against the Islamic tradition, but ulema and Muslim nobles did not show their disapproval. They were too afraid to take any action against her due to her popularity and waited for her to make mistake.
First Challenge as Sultan
First challenge for Razia as a ruler was threat of four rebellious governor, who has encamped outside Delhi. They wanted to get rid of Ruknuddin but after his death they don’t know if they should fight widely popular Razia Sultan. Razia was shrewd tactician and moved her small army outside Delhi to fight rebels. She also followed the policy of divide and rule by starting negotiation with two of Rebel and starting false rumors and rest of the two. Her strategy worked and two rebels switched side and other two were captured and brought in chains in Delhi. Rebel wazir Junaidi ran for his life but Razia’s supporter caught and killed him. Thus she won her first battle without even fighting.
The power and prestige of Razia rose and regional governor cam to Delhi to offer their submission. She met them as benign but independent ruler. The new sultan gave promotion to those nobles who stood by her. She wants to break the power of Turkish nobles. So, she gave governorship of some province to capable non-turkish officers.
The Rajput recovered the fort of Ranthambore from Turks after the death of Iltutmish. Razia send an army to recover the fort. Ranthambore was recaptured and dismantled to prevent Rajput from occupying it.
Conspiracy against Sultan
Razia Sultan Husband Name List
Razia was growing confident as a sultan, so she discarded purdah(veil) which alienated Muslim religious leader. Turkish nobles were also angry with her as she started giving non-turkish officer governorship of important provinces. Some powerful Turkish nobles considered below their dignity to serve a woman. Soon, these nobles started rumour campaign against her to discredit her. One of the rumor that did serious damage to her character was her romantic relationship with Abyssinia slave Yakut, who she promoted to the position of Master of Royal Stable.
Razia was aware of all the the rumours against her and took steps to increase security around royal household. She command loyalty of strong army and respect of people of Delhi. So, turkish nobles hatched a conspiracy to lure her out of Delhi as it was impossible to defeat her while she is in Delhi. Ikhtiyaruddin Ziauddm Junaidi, governor of Gwalior was one of the leading conspirator. Razia recalled her back to Delhi, accused him of disloyalty and executed him.
The execution of governors of Gwalior, spread fear among Turkish nobles. They decided that time had come to execute their conspiracy. Governor of Lahore and Multan, Kabir Khan Ayaz, raised the banner of revolt against Sultan on the pretext of her unislam relationship with Yakut.
Fall of First Female Sultan
Razia organised a strong army and launched attack on Lahore. She defeated governor of Lahore, captured him and imprisoned him. Later, Kabir Khan apologize and was reinstated as governor of Multan but governorship of Lahore was taken from him. First part of nobles conspiracy, to get sultan out of Delhi was successful. Turkish nobles executed second part of conspiracy, to cut her supply line to Delhi and defeat her.
Soon, Razia received news that Altunia, the governor of Bhatinda has raised banner of revolt. she turned around her army and launched attack on Bhatinda. Altunia soundly defeated her and took her prisoner. Yakut was captured during the battle by Turkish nobles and was immediately killed. Turkish Courtiers in Delhi raised Behram, third son of Iltutmish to the throne and got themselves appointed to high offices.
In the excitement of getting high appointment from new sultan, Turkish nobles made a crucial mistake, they forgot about Altunia and gave him nothing. Such behaviour deeply offended Altunia. Razia saw the opportunity and befriended Altunia. Soon, they fell in love and got married. Altunia and Razia together raised an army to recover the throne of Delhi. However Turkish nobles were in no mood to give up their hard won high office raised large army. Many supporter of Razia and Altunia lost courage and deserted them. Razia and Altunia gave heroic fight but were defeated in the battle of Kaithal. They were captured on the battlefield. On October 13, 1240, day after the battle both were beheaded. she was ablest of all the five successor of Iltutmish but has only on fatal flaw- she was a woman. To the conservative medieval mind of Muslim aristocracy that was unacceptable.
Being the ruler of the Mamluk Dynasty (the first of five unrelated dynasties to rule as the Delhi Sultanate) in the 13thcentury was rarely a peaceful affair. The Mamluk Dynasty was also known as the slave dynasty not because of its participation in the slave trade of the time, but because this was a kingdom in which slaves rose to become kings. This was a dynasty of self-made rulers, and there were often many contenders to the throne. A king who could not keep his subjects and nobles happy faced a high risk of being rapidly dethroned.
The founder of this dynasty himself was sold into slavery as a child, as was Razia’s father, Iltutmish, who later ascended in the ranks to become king – and an incredibly feminist one for his times at that.
As a child, Razia was trained in professional warfare, and learned about military strategy and governing a kingdom alongside her brothers. While she was allowed in the harem, she did not spend too much time there, and was therefore unaffected by the behaviour that was typically indoctrinated into women during those times. She never hesitated to voice her opinion, and refused to allow gendered biases to limit her aspirations.
Her ascension to the throne was largely thanks to her father, who named her as his heir purely based on her merit and skill, completely ignoring the ‘tragedy of her being born a woman’, as described by a historian of the time (the true tragedy here is a society so blinded by patriarchy that capable people were denied opportunities and even basic rights purely on account of a gender they did not choose). Once, when on a campaign in Gwalior, Iltutmish left his daughter in charge of administration during his absence. Upon his return, Iltutmish found that Razia had done an exemplary job while he was away, and immediately decided that she should rule after his death.
His nobles, unfortunately, were less progressive. Upon the king’s demise, they promptly appointed his son Ruknuddin Firuz as his successor. He proved to be an incompetent ruler, preferring to leave all responsibility in the hands of his mother, Shah Turkan. Both of them quickly became unpopular among the people after having one of Ruknuddin’s brothers blinded and executed and attempting to murder Razia, among other things.
The people rebelled, and were joined by many of the nobles. Razia strategically used this period to rally the people against Shah Turkan, promising to be a better ruler. And less than a year after Ruknuddin was chosen as king, Razia, with the overwhelming support of the people as well as a few influential nobles, ascended the throne of Delhi in 1236.
After claiming the throne, she immediately got to work, establishing a number of changes in administration, beginning with her title. She refused to be called ‘Sultana’, as that was a title used for a king’s wife or mistress. And since the concept of a female ruler was beyond comprehension during those times, there was no name for it. So Razia took the title of ‘Sultan’.
She then broke down the monopoly of influence and power that the Turkic nobles had at the time, instead appointing non-Turkic nobles and creating a more egalitarian environment. While she initially abided by the conventional purdah that separated her throne from the rest of her court, surrounding herself with only female guards, she quickly abandoned this system and chose to attend court without the purdah, dressed in traditional male attire. She would also make public appearances as other Sultans did, on the back of an elephant (without her face covered). On the kingdom’s currency, she removed her father’s name and instead had coins inscribed with the words ‘Pillar of Women, Queen of the Times, Sultan Razia, daughter of Shamsuddin Iltutmish’. Among the people, she was known as a just and capable ruler.
This did not please the nobles. One of the reasons they supported her claim to the throne was that they assumed she would be a figurehead queen – they did not bargain for an independent and strategic ruler. So once again, the seeds of rebellion were sown, and plans to overthrow the Sultan were put into action.
Forces of opposition spread beyond Razia Sultan’s province, stretching to Multan, Lahore, and Hansi. She successfully crushed every rebellion. But the rebel forces kept on attacking, and eventually Razia Sultan was captured through a collective ambush conducted by her opposition, aided by her own nobles.
However, Razia refused to acknowledge defeat. She won over her captor and married him, and together they assembled an army to take back the throne.
Alas, they did not succeed. Razia was killed in 1240, four years after she became the Sultan.
Thus ends the tale of the first and last female ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. Although she proved to be an efficient and highly competent ruler, her reign was short and far from peaceful. Razia Sultan was far ahead of her times, bravely standing her ground in a world that was not ready for her, a world that refused to look past her gender and see the exceptional ruler that she was.
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Works Cited
Razia Sultan Watch Online
Aranha, Jovita. “Razia Sultan: The Story of the First, and Last, Female Ruler of the Delhi Sultanate”. The Better India. September 21st, 2017. Web. <https://www.thebetterindia.com/116257/razia-sultan-first-female-ruler-delhi/ > as seen on August 12th, 2020.
Pezarkar, Leora. “The Story of Raziyat-ud-din - Razia Sultan”. Live History India. October 14th, 2017. Web. <https://www.livehistoryindia.com/herstory/2017/10/14/the-story-of-raziyat-ud-din---razia-sultan > as seen on August 12th, 2020.