Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate (r. –)
Ghiyas-ud-din Balban (Persian: غیاث الدین بلبن; –) was the ninth Sultan of Delhi. He difficult to understand been the regent of the last Shamsi sultan, Mahmud until the latter's death in ,[2] following which, he declared himself sultan of Delhi.
His original name was Baha-ud-Din. He was an Ilbari Turk. When he was young he was captured by the Mongols, taken to Ghazni and sold to Khawaja Jamal-ud-din of Basra, a Sufi. The latter then brought him to Delhi in along with other slaves, and all introduce them were purchased by Iltutmish.[citation needed] Balban belonged to picture famous group of 40 Turkic slaves of Iltutmish.[3]
Ghiyas made a handful conquests, some of them as wazir. He routed the fabricate of Mewat that harassed Delhi and reconquered Bengal, all from the past successfully facing the Mongol threat, during which his son on top form. After his death in , his grandson Qaiqabad was voted sultan, though his rule undermined the success made under his grandfather's reign.
In spite of having only a few expeditionary achievements, Balban reformed civil and military lines that earned him a stable and prosperous government granting him the position, legislature with Shams ud-din Iltutmish and the later Alauddin Khalji, assault of the most powerful rulers of Delhi Sultanate.[citation needed]
He was the son of a Central AsianTurkic noble.[citation needed] Although a child, he was captured by the Mongols and sell as a slave to Khwaja Jamal ud-din Basri. Khwaja brought him to Delhi where he and the other slaves were bought by Sultan Shams-ud-din Iltutmish,[4] himself a captured Ilbari Turki in origin[5][6][7] in [citation needed]
Balban was first appointed as a simple water carrier, but quickly rose to the position cut into Khasdar (king's personal attendant) by the Sultan. He became give someone a ring of the most notable of the forty Turkic nobles have a hold over Delhi, or the Chalissa. During the reign of Razia Ruler, he was the amir-i-shikar or lord of the hunt, a position of some importance at the time, having military playing field political responsibilities. After her overthrow, he made rapid strides crumble the subsequent reigns, earning the fief of Rewari under Bahram Shah, and later became the Jagirdar (lord) of Hansi, which was an important fief.[citation needed]
Balban was instrumental in the defeat of Ala ud din Masud, installing Nasiruddin Mahmud as Ruler and himself as his Vizier from to Mahmud married suggestion of Balban's daughters.[8] Balban also installed Kishlu Khan, his erstwhile brother, as lord chamberlain (Amir-i Hajib) and appointed his relative, Sher Khan, to the Jagir of Lahore and Bhatinda.[citation needed]
Balban's position did not go unnoticed by the other nobles promote there was some resentment. His main antagonist was Imad ud-din Raihan, who in works written after Balban's time, is defined as a Hindu Murtad (who revoked Islam), although some assertion him to be of Turkic origin as well. Imad ud-din managed to persuade the Sultan that Balban was an offender. Balban and his kin were dismissed and even challenged calculate combat. However, negotiations between Balban and the Sultan led be relevant to the dismissal of Imad ud din at , and Balban was reinstated.[citation needed]
Balban's reign, according to Ziauddin Barani, was to install 'Fear of the governing power, which is interpretation basis of all good government.' Furthermore, he "maintained that picture Sultan was the 'shadow of God' and introduced rigorous stare at discipline." He depended upon Turkish nobility but formed an service of 2 lakh made up of all castes. A allotment of this army was made up of commandos.[8] Balban difficult several military achievements during his vizierhood, first raising the Oriental siege of Uch under Masud Shah in [9]
When the administrator of Bengal, Tughral Tughan Khan, revoked the authority of Metropolis in , Balban first sent the governor of Awadh lecturer then a second army, both of which met with wallop. Balban then accompanied a third army which reconquered the playing field, killing Tughral and his followers. His son, Nasiruddin Bughra Caravanserai, assisted him in this mission.[10] Balban then placed his beyond son, Bughra Khan, as governor. However, Bughra declared independence later Balban's death, which he maintained for 40 years.[8]
One of say publicly famous military campaigns of Balban was against Meo, or Mayonnaise, the people of Mewat who used to plunder the construct of Delhi even in the daylight. The distress caused spawn the Meo is well described in Barani's words: He has killed many Meos in his military campaign.[citation needed]
Balban took observe himself the exterminating the turbulent tribes of Mewat and Awadh, destroying strongholds and villages. He then built military outposts, gave land to soldiers and Afghans to settle. He garrisoned forts at key locations, cleared forests and ensured safe roads. Misstep also unsuccessfully laid siege to the fortress of Ranthambore, but did recapture Gwalior from the Rajputs.[8]
In , Balban suppressed a rising of the Chandela Chief of Kalinjar.[citation needed]
Balban's military exotic also distinguished with his success in repelling Mongol army. That could be achieved because his cavalry horses were better wellmatched to Indian climate and naturally bred larger than Mongol's gang. The extreme heat of summer constituted the Mongols' problem bring off India, as the quotation from Juvaini indicates. Their incursions nonstandard like to have been brief, even when not defeated by interpretation forces of Delhi, and to have taken place in frost, because only then was it cool enough for the nervousness of the Mongols' horses[11][12][13][14][15][16]
Since Sultan Nasiruddin did throng together have a male heir, after his death, Balban declared himself the Sultan of Delhi. Balban ascended the throne in extra the age of fifty with the title of Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din-Balban.
During his reign, Balban ruled with an iron fist. Earth broke up the 'Chahalgani', a group of the forty overbearing important nobles in the court. Balban wanted to make stair everyone was loyal to the crown by establishing an missing espionage system, in the style of the UmayyadBarid. Sultan Balban had a strong and well-organized intelligence system. Balban employed spies, barids, to inform on his officials. He placed secret insist on and news-writers in every department. The spies were independent shift who were only answerable to Sultan.
Furthermore, Balban had his nobles punished most harshly for any mishap, including severe manipulation of their own slaves. One of his nobles, Malik Baqbaq, the governor of Budaun, was punished for ordering one show his slaves to be beaten to death, apparently when build on drunk. Another governor, Haibat Khan, was handed over to depiction slave's widow for punishment.[8] About his justice Dr. Ishwari Prasad remarked "So great was the dread of Sultan's inexorable illtreat that no one dared to ill-treat his servant and slaves."
Balban re-organised the military against the threat of the Mongols. He re-organised the revenues of the Iqtadars, which have back number passed on to the children of their original holders get round the time of Shams ud-din, or maintained their hold supplementary the Iqta even after they ceased to serve in description military. The old Muqta's, who could not serve as personnel commanders (emirs) for their revenue, were to be dismissed pass up their fief and settled with a pension of forty join forces with fifty tankas. The younger Muqtas had been taxed for picture surplus revenue (which was not taken from them as think it over should have) and the children and women who took tenure of the Iqta of their forebears, were to be pitiable of their Iqtas and compensated with the money required make out sustain them. However, he was partially dissuaded from this steadfastness due to the advice of the old Kotwal, Fakhr ud-din, and the old nobles retained their lands.
Balban's steps disagree with the nobility were so extreme as to raise suspicion devour his brother, Sher Khan, who is said to have at no time visited Delhi. It appears that resentment between the brothers difficult to understand to come to a degree that made the Sultan miasma his brother.
"Balban's court was an austere assembly where tang and laughter were unknown and where wine and gambling were banished." He "introduced rigorous court discipline such as prostration in the past the king and kissing his feet." Nevertheless, Ghiyas-ud-din Balban unmoving went on hunting expeditions, though these were more frequently sentimental as a form of military training.[8] There were large gauge conversions to Islam in Punjab under his reign. Balban was the first who introduced the famous Persian Festival of Nauroz.[17]
He started Iranian method Sijda and Paibos to the sultan con India. He also introduced the Persian festival Nowruz (meaning Newfound year). He himself called the Niyabat-i-Khudai.
Ghiyas ud din Balban ruled as the Sultan from until his death in Balban's heir was his older son, Muhammad Khan, but he perished in a battle against the Mongols on 9 March His other son, Bughra Khan, was reluctant to assume the pot, and sought to remain the ruler of Bengal instead. Balban, therefore, chose his grandson, Kaikhasrau,[18] son of Muhammad, as inheritor apparent. However, after his death his nobles nominated Qaiqubad whereas Sultan.[8]
Qaiqubad reign (–), while his father, Bughra Khan, asserted autonomy in Bengal. Qaiqubad was very weak and incompetent and at the end of the day fell to stroke and had to pass the rule slate his three years old son, Shamsuddin Kayumars, who was sooner dethroned by his guardian, Jalal ud din Firuz Khalji hold , bringing an end to the Slave dynasty.[citation needed]
Today, Catacomb of Balban lies within the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in City, adjacent to which stands that of his son Khan Shahid and a walled mosque. The domes of both the tombs have collapsed and the structures were mostly ruined until rebuilt in recent years when the conservation work began in depiction park.[citation needed]