Iltutmish (AD 1210 - 1236)

In AD 1210, Aibak died of injuries received in a fall from his horse while playing chaugan (Polo). After his death a few amirs raised his son Aram Shah to the throne in Lahore. But Aram Shah was incapable ruler and the Turkish amirs opposed him. The Turkish chiefs of Delhi invited the governor of Badayun (son-in-law of Qutbuddin Aibak) "Iltutmish" to come to Delhi.

Aram Shah proceeded against him at the head of the army from Lahore to Delhi but Iltutmish defeated him and became the Sultan with the name of Shamsuddin. The credit of consolidating the Delhi Sultanate lies largely with him.

When Iltutmish ascended the throne, he found himself surrounded with many problems. Other commanders of Muhammad Ghori like Yaldauz, Qubacha and Ali Mardan rose in defiance again. The chief of Jalor and Ranthambore joined Gwalior and Kalinjar in declaring their independence. Apart from this, the rising power of Mongols under Chenghiz Khan threatened the North West Frontier of the Sultanate.

Iltutmish took up the task of consolidating his position. He defeated Yaldauz in AD 1215 in the battle of Tarain. In AD 1217 he drove away Qabacha from Punjab. In AD 1220, when Chenghiz Khan destroyed the Khwarizm expire, Iltutmish realised the political necessity of avoiding a confrontation with the Mongols. Thus when Jalaluddin Mangbarani, the son of the Shah of Khwarizm, while escaping from the Mongols, sought shelter at Iltutmish’s court, Iltutmish turned him away. He thus saved the Sultanate from destruction by the Mongols.

From AD 1225 onwards, Iltutmish engaged his armies in suppressing the disturbances in the East. In AD 1226 - 27 Iltutmish sent a large army under his son Nasiruddin Mahmud which defeated Iwaz Khan and brought Bengal and Bihar back into the Delhi Sultanate. Similarly a campaign was also launched against the Rajput chiefs. Ranthambore was captured in AD 1226 and by AD 1231 Iltutmish had established his authority over Mandor, Jalore, Bayana and Gwalior.

There is no doubt that Iltutmish completed the unfinished work of Aibak. The Delhi Sultanate now covered a sizeable territory. Besides this, he also organised his trusted nobles or officers into a group of "Forty" (Turkan-i-Chahalgani). He was a farsighted ruler and he consolidated and organised the newly formed Turkish Sultanate in Delhi.

Iltutmish established ‘Group of Forty’ (Turkan-i-Chahalgani). These were Turkish amirs (nobles) who advised and helped the Sultan in administering the Sultanate.

After the death of Iltutmish, this group assumed great power in its hands. For a few years they decided on the selection of Sultans one after the other. The group was finally eliminated by Balban.

Iltutmish effectively suppressed the defiant amirs of Delhi. He separated the Delhi Sultanate from Ghazni, Ghor and Central Asian politics. Iltutmish also obtained a ‘Letter of Investiture’ in AD 1229 from the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad to gain legitimacy.

Iltutmish made a significant contribution in giving shape to administrative institution such as iqtas, army and currency system. He gave the Sultanate two of its basic coins - the silver ‘Tanka’ and the copper ‘Jittal’. To affect greater control over the conquered areas Iltutmish granted iqtas (land assignments in lieu of cash salaries) to his Turkish officers on a large scale. The recipients of “iqtas” called the “iqtadars” collected the land revenue from the territories under them. Out of this they maintained an armed contingent for the service of the state, enforced law and order and met their own expenses.

Iltutmish realized the economic potentiality of the Doab and the iqtas were distributed mainly in this region. This secured for Iltutmish the financial and administrative control over one of the most prestigious regions of North India.