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Razia sultan series#
Raziya's death had grave consequences for the Sultanate of Delhi as she was the last capable ruler in the line of her father, and was thus followed by a series of weak rulers until Balban who were for most purposes puppets in the hands of the Chihalgani. At Kaithal, Raziya and her husband fell into the hands of Hindu robbers and were probably murdered. At Delhi, they were badly defeated and completely deserted by their army at Kaithal during the rout. Altunia did not trust his fellow slave-officers at Delhi and thus accepted the offer and they both proceeded to march on Delhi with an army of Jats and Khokhars. However, Raziya still managed to recover from such a circumstance and offered to marry Altunia, the man who had imprisoned her. Meanwhile the slave-officers raised Muizzudin Bahram to the throne in Delhi. Here a battle took place which resulted in utter defeat of royal army, arrest of Raziya and murder of Yakut. Altunia raised the banner of revolt prompting Raziya to march on Tabarhinda. Soon she saw herself faced by another coalition of slave-officers led by Aitigin, the viceregent, and Altunia, the governor of Tabarhinda (modern Bhatinda). Such bold measures did not help her position. She also maintained a unit of female guards who were ever present in the court.
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Raziya also abandoned her female dress and purdah, instead dressing in cloak and hat, and adopted the title Sultan rather than Sultana. She made matters worse by promoting non-Turks to the positions of authority, notably the Ethiopian Jalauddin Yakut, who was extremely disliked by the highly racist Turkish slave elite. The ascension of a female to the throne of Delhi was much to the distaste of the Turkish slave-officers, and even the decisive victory against their first rebellion could not secure her position. The great historian Barani remarks that Raziya had all the abilities of a capable ruler but her greatest disqualification was her gender. A campaign against Gwalior similarly resulted in a decisive failure. Not only the attack against Ranthambore failed but the Chauhans of Ranthambore annexed all of eastern Rajputana and were able to raid as far as Delhi itself. Later, by means of political intrigue, Raziya broke up the coalition and eliminated the opposing nobles.Īlthough she consolidated the administration, military ventures during her reign proved to be mostly abortive. Raziya summoned Taisi, one of the greatest generals in the history of Delhi Sultanate, who had campaigned successfully against Malwa and the king of Ijar. Razia had to face an opposing faction led by Junaidi, the former wazir of Iltutmish, and soon a coalition of slave-officers with a huge army marched on Delhi. This was followed by acceptance of Raziya as the new ruler by the Turkish slave-officers and nobility. While Firuz was in Awadh dealing with his rebel brother, Raziya took the initiative in Delhi and delivered a very arousing speech to the masses of Delhi, prompting them to storm the royal palace and put Shah Turkan to death.
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Her rule caused widespread unrest and soon most of iqtas were in rebellion. Ruknuuddin Firuz, a son of Iltutmish was planted on the Delhi throne but he being incompetent, the affairs of state began to be controlled by his mother Shah Turkan who was a cruel though pious woman. These former slaves of Iltutmish ousted the various Tajik nobles from the administration mainly through organised massacres and became extremely dominant in the affairs of Sultanate until the reign of Balban. On the death of Iltutmish, the Sultanate of Delhi fell into political chaos accompanied with the rise of the Chihalgani (the brotherhood of forty slave-officers). She had been the first choice of his great father Iltutmish since his eldest son had died unexpectedly. She is hardly remembered by ordinary people of India, Hindu or Muslim, so it is hard to answer your question.Īs to her character, she was indeed an extraordinary woman capable of good rule and initiative in political matters. Razia was not an Indian, but a woman of pure Turkish blood.