, Governor of
Bengal (AH 614–616 AD 1217–1220). Struck in the name of
Shams al-Din Iltutmish, Sultan of Dehli. The first Sultan of the Mamluk dynasty was
Qutb ud-Din Aibak, who had the titular name of
Sultan and reigned from 1206 to 1210. He temporarily quelled the rebellions of
Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha of
Multan and
Tajuddin Yildoz of
Ghazni. Making
Lahore his capital, he consolidated his control over North India through an administrative hold over
Delhi. He also initiated the construction of Delhi's earliest Muslim monuments, the
Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the
Qutb Minar. In 1230, Iltutmish built the
Hauz-i-Shamsi reservoir in
Mehrauli, and in 1231 he built
Sultan Ghari, which was the first Islamic mausoleum in
Delhi. (r. 1211–1236) in the
Qutub Minar complex. The fourth Sultan was
Rukn-ud-din Feroze, who had the titular name of
Sultan and reigned from April 1236 to November 1236. He ruled for only seven months and his mother,
Shah Turkan, for all practical purposes was running the government. He abandoned himself to the pursuit of personal pleasure and debauchery, to the considerable outrage of the citizenry. On 9 November 1236, both Rukn-ud-din Feroze and his mother Shah Turkan were assassinated by the Chihalgani. The fifth Sultana was
Razia al-Din, who had the titular name of
Jalâlat-ud-dîn Raziyâ Sultana and reigned from 1236 to 1240. As the first female Muslim ruler in India, she initially managed to impress the nobles and administratively handled the Sultanate well. However, she began associating with the African
Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut, provoking racial antagonism amongst the nobles and clergy, who were primarily Central Asian Turkic and already resented the rule of a female monarch. She was defeated by the powerful nobleman
Malik Altunia whom she agreed to marry. Her half-brother
Muiz-ud-din Bahram, however, usurped the throne with the help of the Chihalgani and defeated the combined forces of the Sultana and her husband. The couple fled and reached
Kaithal, where their remaining forces abandoned them. They both fell into the hands of
Jats and were robbed and killed on 14 October 1240. The sixth Sultan was
Muiz-ud-din Bahram, who had the titular name of
Sultan and reigned from 1240 to 15 May 1242. During his reign, the Chihalgani became disorderly and constantly bickered among each other. It was during this period of unrest that the Mongols invaded the Punjab and sacked Lahore. Muiz-ud-din Bahram was too weak to take any action against them, and the Chihalgani besieged him in the White Fort of Delhi and put him to death in 1242. The seventh Sultan was
Ala-ud-din Masud, who had the titular name of
Sultan and reigned from 1242 to 1246. He was effectively a puppet for the Chihalgani and did not actually have much power or influence in the government. Instead, he became infamous for his fondness of entertainment and wine. By 1246, the chiefs had become upset with Ala-ud-din Masud's increasing hunger for more power and replaced him with his cousin
Nasiruddin Mahmud, who was another grandson of Iltutmish. The eighth Sultan was Nasiruddin Mahmud, who had the titular name of
Nasir-ud-din Feroze Shah and reigned from 1246 to 1266. As a ruler, Mahmud was known to be very religious, spending most of his time in prayer and was renowned for aiding the poor and the distressed. It was his Deputy Sultan,
Ghiyath-ud-din Balban, who primarily dealt with state affairs. The ninth Sultan was
Ghiyath-ud-din Balban, who had the titular name of
Sultan and reigned from 1266 to 1287. Balban ruled with an iron fist and broke up the Chihalgani group of noblemen. He tried to establish peace and order in India and built many outposts with garrisons of soldiers in areas where there had been disorder. Balban wanted to make sure everyone was loyal to the crown, so he established an efficient espionage system. He also fought against the Mongols and repelled many invasions by them. He lost his favourite son Prince Muhammad in the
Battle of Beas River against the Mongols. The tenth and final Sultan was
Muiz-ud-din Muhammad Qaiqabad, who had the titular name of
Sultan and reigned from 1287 to 1290. Being still young at the time, he ignored all state affairs. After four years, he suffered a paralytic stroke and was later murdered in 1290 by a
Khalji chief. His three-year-old son Kayumars nominally succeeded him, but the Slave dynasty had ended with the rise of the Khaljis. ==Architecture==