Qutb-ud-din Aibak and Aram Shah
MUHAMMAD of Ghur left no male heirs to succeed him, and his provincial viceroys soon established their own authority in their prorespective jurisdictions. Taj-ud-din Yildiz, Governor of Kirman, ascended the throne of Ghazni, while Qutb-ud-din Aibak assumed the title of Sultan and was acknowledged as the ruler of the Indian territories by the Muslim officers in India like Ikhtiyar-ud-din of Bengal and Nasir-ud-din Qabacha, Governor of Multan and Uch. Qutb-ud-din Aibak’s rise excited the jealousy of Taj-ud-din Yildiz, who entered into a contest with him for the mastery over the Punjab. Qutb-ud-din defeated Yildiz, drove him out of Ghazni and occupied it for forty days. But the people of Ghazni, disgusted with his excesses, secretly invited Yildiz to come to their rescue. Yildiz didn’t fail to avail himself of this opportunity, and on his sudden and unexpected return to Ghazni, Qutb-ud-din fled away precipitately. This destroyed the chance of a political union between Afghanistan and India, which was not achieved till Babur’s occupation of Delhi, and Qutb-ud-din became a purely Indian Sultan. He died at Lahore, early in November, A.D. 1210, in consequence of a fall from his horse while playing Chaugan or polo, after a short reign of a little more than four years.
Qutb-ud-din was, remarks Minhaj-us-Siraj, a “high-spirited and open-hearted monarch”. Endowed with intrepidity and martian prowess, he rarely lost a battle, and, by his extensive conquests, brought a large part of Hindustan under the banner of Islam. His “gifts were bestowed by hundreds of thousands”,’ and, for his unbounded generosity, he has been styled by all writers as Lakh bakhsh, or giver of lacs. Hasan-un-Nizami, the author of Taj-ul-Ma’asir who is full of praise for Qutb-ud-din, writes that he “dispensed even-handed justice to the people, and exerted himself to promote the peace and prosperity of the realm”. But the Sultan felt no hesitation in having recourse to stern measures in his conquests and administration when necessary. His devotion to Islam was remarkable. Thus Hasan-un-Nizami remarks: “By his orders the precepts of Islam received great promulgation and the sun of righteousness cast its shadow on the countries of Hind from the heaven of God’s assistance.” He gave proof of his zeal by building one mosque at Delhi and another at Ajmer.
On the sudden death of Qutb-ud-din at Lahore, the Amirs and Maliks of Lahore up Aram Bakhsh as his successor with the title of Sultan Aram Shah, “for the sake of restraining tumult, for the tranquillity of the commonalty, and the content of the hearts of the soldiery”. The relationship of Aram with Qutb-ud-din is a subject of controversy. According to some, he was Qutb-ud-din’s son, but Minhaj -us-Siraj distinctly writes that Qutb-ud-din only had three daughters. Abul Fazl has made the “astonishing statement” that he was the Sultan’s brother. A modern writer has hazarded the opinion that “he was no relation of Qutb-ud-din ” but was selected as his successor as he was available on the spot. In fact, there were no fixed rules governing the succession to the Crown in the Turkish State. It was determined largely by the exigencies of the moment and the influence of the chiefs and the nobles. Aram was ill-qualified to govern a kingdom. The nobles of Delhi soon conspired against him and invited Malik Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, then Governor of Badaun, to replace Aram. lltutmish responded to their call, and, advancing with all his army, defeated Aram in the plain of Jud near Delhi. What became of Aram is not quite certain.
Iltutmish
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Iltutmish belonged to the tribe of Ilbari in Turkestan. He was remarkably handsome in appearance, and showed signs of intelligence and sagacity from his early days, which excited the jealousy of his brothers, who managed to deprive him of his paternal home and care. But adversity did not mar his qualities, which soon opened a career for him. His accomplishments attracted the notice of Qutb-ud-din, then Viceroy of Delhi, who purchased him at a high price. By dint of his merits, Iltutmish raised his status step by step till he was made the Governor of Badaun and was married to a daughter of Qutb-ud-din. In recognition of his services during the campaign of Muhammad of Ghur against the Khokars, he was, by the Sultan’s orders, manumitted and elevated as Amir-ul-Umara.
Thus the choice of the Delhi nobles fell on a worthy man. But on his accession in the year A.D. 1210 or 1211, lltutmish found himself confronted with an embarrassing situation. Nasir-ud-din Qabacha had asserted his independence in Sind and seemed desirous of extending his authority over the Punjab; and Taj-ud-din Yildiz, who held Ghazni, still entertained his old pretensions to sovereignty over the Indian conquests of Muhammad. ‘Ali Mardan, a Khalji noble, who had been appointed Governor of Bengal by Qutb-ud-din after the death of Ikhtiyar-ud-din in A.D. 1206, had thrown off his allegiance to Delhi after Qutb-ud-din’s death and had styled himself Sultan ‘Ala-ud-din. Further, the Hindu princes and chiefs were seething with discontent at their loss of independence; Gwalior and Ranthambhor had been recovered by their rulers during the weak rule of Aram Shah. To add to lltutmish’s troubles, some of the Amirs of Delhi expressed resentment against his rule.
The new Sultan, however, faced the situation boldly. He first effectively suppressed a rebellion of the Amirs in the plain of Jud near Delhi, and then brought under his control the different parts of the kingdom of Delhi with its dependencies like Badaun Oudh, Benares and Siwalik. The ambitious designs of his rivals were also frustrated. In A.D. 1214 Taj-ud-din Yildiz, being driven from Ghazni by Sultan Muhammad, the Shah of Khwarazm, fled to Lahore, conquered the Punjab tip to Thanesar and tried to establish his independent power and even to assert his authority over lltutmish. This was what Iltutmish could hardly tolerate. He promptly marched against his rival, and defeated him in a battle fought near Tarain in January, A.D. 1216. Yildiz was taken prisoner and sent to Badaun. Nasir-ud-din Qabacha, who had in the meanwhile advanced to Lahore, was expelled from that city by Iltutmish in A.D. 1217. He was completely subdued in February, A.D. 1228, and was accidentally drowned in the Indus, Sind being annexed to the Delhi Sultanate. About a year later, Iltutmish received a robe of honour and a patent of investiture from Al Mustansir Billah, the reigning Caliph or Khalifah of Baghdad confirming him in the possession “of all the land and sea which he had conquered” as Sultan-i-Azam (Great Sultan). This added a new element of strength to Iltutmish’s authority and gave him a status in the Muslim world. Further “it fastened the fiction of Khalifat on the Sultanate of Delhi, and involved legally the recognition of the final sovereignty of the Khalifah, an authority outside the geographical limits of India, but inside that vague yet none the less real brotherhood of Islam”. On his coins Iltutmish described himself as the lieutenant of the Caliph. His coins, remarks Thomas, ” constituted the veritable commencement of the silver coinage of the Delhi Pathans.”
