Jalaluddin Firoz
Jalaluddin was at first not much liked by the nobles and the populace of Delhi, and had to make Kilokri the seat of his government. But the excellence of his character, his justice, generosity and devotion, gradually removed the aversion of the people.
The new Sultan was an old man of seventy when he was elected to the throne. He proved to be too mild and tender to hold his power in those troublous times. Disposed to rule without bloodshed or oppression, he showed most impolitic tenderness towards rebels and other criminals.
Even such a peace-loving king could not die a natural death on his bed. By a strange irony of fate he was done to death by his ambitious nephew in 1296.
Alauddin KhIlji
Alauddin Khilji, nephew of Jalauddin Firoz, was brought up by his uncle with affection and care. Out of excessive fondness for this fatherless nephew, Firoz made him also his son-in-law.
It was next necessary for Alauddin to establish himself firmly at Delhi, where the Queen Malika Jahan, had in the meanwhile placed her younger son on the throne.
Alauddin’s position was still precarious. He had to reckon with several hostile forces. But quite different from his uncle in temperament and outlook, he tried to combat these odds with indomitable energy, and his efforts were crowned with success.
The Mongol raids formed a source of constant anxiety and alarm to the Delhi Government for a long time. Within a few months of Alauddin’s accession, a large horde of the Mongols invaded India, but he repulsed them with great slaughter near Jullundur. The Mongols appeared again in the second year of the Sultan’s reign. This time he also vanquished them, and sent their leader with about 2,000 followers as prisoners to Delhi.
The uniform success of Alauddin during the early years of his reign turned his head. He captured the stronghold of Ranthambhor in July, 1301, with considerable difficulty, after one year’s siege.
Amir Khusro, who accompanied the Sultan’s army on the Chittor expedition, writes that the fort of Chittor was captured by Alauddin on the 26th August, 1303, and that the latter bestowed the government of Chittor on his eldest son, Khizr Khan, and renamed the city Khizrabad before returned to Delhi. Owing to the pressure of the Rajputs, Khizr Khan had to leave Chittor about the year 1311.
His southern campaigns were the outcome of his political as well as economic motives. It was but natural for an ambitious ruler like him to make attempts for the extension of his influence over the south after the north had been brought under control. The Deccan’s wealth was also “too tempting to an enterprising adventurer.”
Alauddin reached the apex of his career by the end of the year 1312. But the tragedy of his life was at hand. His excesses had undermined his health, his intellect became dwarfed and his judgment defective. He became a mere puppet in the hands of his favourite eunuch, Kafur, whom he made the commander of his army and Wazir. The attack of dropsy, from which the Sultan had been suffering for some time, proved fatal.
Shopping Cart
