Iltutmish: the sultan who made Delhi the capital

Today Delhi is regarded as a capital of many centuries. At the start of the 13th century, however, it was not yet one. The seat of Qutbuddin Aibak’s government was Lahore. According to Britannica, Delhi was made the permanent capital by Shamsuddin Iltutmish, who ruled from 1211 to 1236. Britannica describes him as the third and greatest sultan of the so-called Slave dynasty.

A slave’s slave

Like Aibak, Iltutmish spent his early life in slavery. According to historical accounts, he was the son of a chief of the Ilbari tribe of Turks, but was sold into slavery as a child. He spent his childhood with various masters in Bukhara and Ghazni. In the late 1190s, Aibak bought him in Delhi. He thus became the slave of a man who was himself a slave.

He rose quickly in Aibak’s service. According to Britannica, under both Muhammad Ghori and Aibak he was trained as a trusted administrator. He was given the important iqta (fief) of Badaun. Britannica says Aibak married his daughter to him.

Accession

In 1210, Aibak died suddenly in Lahore, and the nobles of Lahore made Aram Shah his successor. Nobles from other regions proposed the name of Iltutmish, and in 1211 Iltutmish became sultan. He made Delhi his base.

According to Britannica, he faced several problems at his accession. Taj al-Din Yildiz, the ruler of Ghazni, claimed all of Muhammad Ghori’s Indian territories, and governors of various provinces were going their own way. Iltutmish had Yildiz arrested. In 1225 he forced the governor of Bengal to submit to Delhi. In 1228-1229, large parts of Sindh and Punjab, previously held by Nasiruddin Qabacha, were also added to his realm.

Keeping the Mongols away

Iltutmish’s reign came when the armies of Genghis Khan had reached Central Asia and Afghanistan. According to Britannica, Iltutmish kept his forces away from the Mongol armies and managed to spare his realm the devastation of Mongol attacks. This caution allowed the Delhi Sultanate to strengthen its foundations in this period.

The caliph’s approval

Around 1229, the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad, al-Mustansir, formally recognised Iltutmish’s rule. Iltutmish then emerged as an independent sultan, and his realm’s old link with the Ghurid state ended. According to Britannica, the Ghurid adventurers broke their political tie with Ghor only when Iltutmish made Delhi the permanent capital and pushed back rival claimants.

Administration and coinage

According to Britannica, Iltutmish set up an administrative structure for the sultanate. He had classical 11th-century books on the art of government searched out. A book titled “Adab al-Muluk”, the first in India on the art of government and war, was written for him. Britannica says his reign and his advisers, particularly the vizier Junaidi, were praised by his contemporaries.

An important work of his reign was the coinage system. He is generally said to have issued the silver “tanka” and the copper “jital”, which became the basic coins of the entire Delhi Sultanate. He also organised the iqta system, under which areas of the sultanate were assigned to nobles and officers in return for pay.

Building Delhi

According to Britannica, Iltutmish had water reservoirs and civic facilities built in Delhi so that the city could, for the first time, be worthy of a capital. Among them is the Hauz-i-Shamsi, a large tank for collecting rainwater.

According to Britannica, the Qutb Minar, whose construction Aibak began, was completed in Iltutmish’s reign. Today the 72.5-metre tower is the most famous monument of the Delhi Sultanate. Iltutmish’s own tomb is also in the Qutb Minar complex.

Succession and death

According to Britannica, Iltutmish’s eldest sons died in his lifetime. He had his daughter Razia well educated and wished her to succeed him. Razia Sultana later sat briefly on the throne (see the 17th instalment of this series on her).

Iltutmish died in Delhi in April 1236. Britannica gives the date as 29 April.

Legacy

According to Britannica, Iltutmish built on Aibak’s conquests to establish the independence of the Delhi Sultanate. Making Delhi the permanent capital, the coinage and iqta systems, and the completion of the Qutb Minar are works of his reign that lasted for centuries.