RESEARCH PAPER

THE SLAVE DYNASTY

Submitted By: Munjir Abdullah

ID: 2112217030

Submitted To: Dr. Humayun Kabir

Department of History and Philosophy

HIS 203: Islamic History

Section: 1
 Abstract
Islam in the Indian Subcontinent is a very crucial part of the Islamic history as well as
the world history. India has given birth to great Muslim scholars. Muslims have also
contributed a great deal in revolutionising India scientifically, politically, militarily, and even
culturally as well. Therefore, the history of the arrival of Islam in this region is something to
learn and contemplate about. Although the early conquests make up a disconnected link, the
line of continuous Muslim rulership starts from the slave dynasty- which makes it a headline
to research on. Throughout this paper the research on slave dynasty dives into various
sections to focus on, starting with how the slave dynasty was formed, its terminology
analysis, its rulers and their impact, and its ultimate fall. The paper uses past research works
of various authors as secondary resources to build a detailed analysis and come to a
conclusion.
 Table of contents
Page number

Introduction 1

Research Questions 2

Research Methodology 3

Literature Review 4

Secondary Data Analysis 5-8

Conclusion 9

References 10
 Introduction
The process of Muslim conquests in India do not follow a continuous flow. As Anjum
(2007) says, “there seems to be a disconnect in the historical reconstruction of the events
leading to the establishment of Muslim rule in India” (p. 218). Rightly so, due to various
reasons including the weakening of an empire, overthrowing of an empire, or engagement in
other political conflicts, the past conquests of India by the Muslims, namely during the
Umayyads and by the Ghaznavids, had lost its continuations. It was not until the formation of
Delhi Sultanate that Muslim rulership had firmly established its grounds on the soil of Hind,
an establishment that would lead to a continuous form of different types of Muslim rulership
in India for years to come- up until the British invasion. The slave dynasty- consisting of
Turkish rulers who had risen to power from the time of the Abbasids- is the first dynasty of
this Delhi Sultanate period. Qutub ud Din Aibak, Iltutmish, Razia, and Giyas ud Din Balban,
are the few of notable names who ruled under this dynasty. This paper looks into and
analyses the formation of this dynasty, its rulers and their impact, and its demise.

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 Research Questions

For my research on the slave dynasty, I have divided my topic into several areas that I
would like to focus on.

My first area of research would be on how the slave dynasty was formed. Here I
would gather information on how Islam was brought to India from the Arab world, and how
did that phase lead to the formation of this dynasty.

My second area of research is about why this is called the slave dynasty. Here I would
focus on the past life of the rulers of this dynasty which I expect would be related to the title
“slave”, and about what historians said regarding this.

My third area of research is in identifying who were the notable rulers of the slave
dynasty who actually made an influence and why were they important. Here I expect a
mentioning of the few of the rulers from the whole dynasty who stood out due to their skill,
strategy and leadership.

My fourth area of research focuses on the reason behind the falling of slave dynasty. I
expect the primary causes to be lack of unity and rise of incapable rulers.

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 Research Methodology

This topic, “The Slave Dynasty”, relates to working with and interpretating historical
data. Here, before starting my research, I have divided to my topic into five relevant areas of
research, stating clearly the objectives of each area, which helped me work in a systematic
manner. Then I conducted Secondary research on each of the five areas, by using Google and
Google Scholar as search engines. From various online journals and articles I collected
information relevant to my areas of focus, elaborating and analysing these information to
come to a conclusion. No primary survey using questionnaires was done for this research.

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 Literature Review

Throughout the centuries many writings have been written scrutinizing the mamluk/
slave dynasty period. Writings have been written about its formation, its rulers and their
capabilities, policies, and the battles they fought, and about its ultimate demise. Some of the
recent works used for the purpose of this research include a journal article by Anjum (2007)
where he elaborates on the history of Muslim rule in India, starting from the conquest of
Sindh and Multan by the Umayyads, the rise of Turks during Abbasids, reconquest of India
by the Ghaznavid empire, and then the Ghurids, eventually leading to the slave dynasty. It
also includes the lives of Mamluk dynasty founder Qutub ud Din Aibak and Sultan Iltutmish
(pp. 217-240). With regards to the term “slave” used for this dynasty, Ahmed (1939) in his
journal article relates about, discusses and criticizes this usage, proving it to be incorrect(pp.
832-833). Ahmed and Bosworth’s article on the Delhi sultanate also talks about prominent
Mamluk Dynasty rulers and the reasons behind the dynasty’s fall (pp. 275- 277). Kaur’s
article focuses on Sultan Razia, the daughter of Iltutmish, the only Muslim female ruler in
India, and her rise and fall along with the barriers she faced.

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 Secondary Data Analysis

Muslim conquests in India began when the Umayyads came to power, and some parts
of India that were captured during the time of Caliph Umar (RA) but were lost were being
recaptured, and eventually a second phase expedition to Sindh occurred in 711 CE during the
time of Al Walid. The reasons behind this expedition were quite justified as the ruler of Sindh
was helping Persians fight against Muslims, and Indian pirates were attacking sea traders. In
response to these events, Muhammad Bin Qasim was sent by the Governor of Iraq- Hajjaj
Bin Yusuf to lead the expedition in Sindh, and he was victorious, conquering several areas.
However, the Umayyads did not authorize complete power on the Indians and let them retain
much of it, for which Anjum (2007) quotes the words of historians in saying this conquest to
be “only an episode in the history of India and Islam, a triumph without results”. Although
true politically, but if scrutinized more, history reveals that alongside the economic gains
Muslims had via this victory, this expedition exposed Hindus to Muslims, letting them know
each other’s culture and introduced Islam to the Hindus.

Sindh, Multan, and Gujrat were under the Umayyads, but the Abbasids couldn’t keep
these provinces under their control. Eventually, the Muslims were truly able to set their
empire in India when the Turks decided to invade India, which would lead to the formation of
the Delhi Sultanate. During Abbasid reign, Turkish people were taken in as military slaves,
but after the eighth Abbasid ruler, the Abbasids were weakened and the Turks were starting
to rise to power. From the Turks many dynasties emerged, of which were the Ghaznavids and
Ghurids, who had set the path for the Delhi Sultanate. The Ghaznavids was the first to begin
the conquest, as Sultan Mahmud, the self-declared ruler of Ghaznah had sent in total 17
expeditions to India and he became victorious against the weak military strategy of the
Rajputs. However, of all the conquests, he only included few parts of Sindh and Multan to his
kingdom as his main goal was to get the economic gains, which he did by the destruction of
temples. After the death of Sultan Mahmud, Ghaznavids were overpowered by the Ghurids.
In 1178 CE, Muiz ud Din Muhammad Ghuri, who was the brother of Giyas ud Din
Muhammad and his general as well, conquered Ghazna, and then went for the Indian
conquest. After back and forth with the Rajputs, Sindh, Multan and other places were
conquered. Even though Muhammad Ghuri was not a warrior like Mahmud of Ghaznah, he
took proper political control of the conquests he made. After his brother, Muhammad Ghuri
became Sultan with the slave Qutub ud Din Aibak as his general. When Ghuri met an
unfortunate death, his nephew Giyasuddin Mahmud came to the throne and manumitted

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Aibak. Later, this new free man who was a great general became the Sultan, and with him
began the Slave Dynasty.

The dynasty that started with Aibak was addressed as the slave/ mamluk dynasty. This
is because three significant rulers of this dynasty- Aibak(Founder), Iltutmish, and Balban
were slaves in their past lives before becoming rulers. Aibak was a slave of Muhammad
Ghuri, Iltutmish was a slave of Aibak, and Balban belonged to the forty Turkish slaves of
Iltutmish. However, Ahmed (1939) criticizes and brings the criticism of past historians
regarding the issue of calling them slaves, saying all of them were manumitted before they
came to power, and once you have been manumitted you cannot be called a slave anymore
(pp. 832- 833).

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 The slave dynasty is comprised of several rulers but only few were capable enough to
be of some significance in the pages of history. Namely they are Aibak, Iltutmish, Razia, and
Balban.

Qutub ud Din Aibak was the founder of the slave dynasty. He was an able general,
and the most trustworthy of his preceding Sultan. Aibak’s rulership period went into putting
off generals of other regions who had jealousy for him, and also fighting Hindu rulers who
were trying to rebel. Other contributions of his include beginning of the establishment of the
Qutub Minar. Aibak proved to be capable but had to meet an untimely death.

The next Mamluk ruler who made an impact was Sultan Iltutmish. Before being
manumitted he was a slave of Aibak. When Iltutmish came to power, the situation was more
difficult than during Aibak’s time. Alongside the rebellion of the Turkish generals, the
Rajputs were taking over lands, and the Mongols were planning to attack the sultanate region.
Very tactfully so, Iltutmish toned down the generals, recaptured lands from Rajput, and did
everything he could to avoid fighting Mongols- of which included refusing to give any shelter
to Jalal ud Din Khawarizmi. He also formed the corps of forty (his forty Turkish slaves).

None of Iltutmish’s sons were capable in succeeding him in rulership. That is why
before his death he gave the throne to Razia, his daughter who he thought was much more
worthy. Sultan Razia being a woman faced a lot of barriers when she became the ruler. At
first the Amir Umra could not accept her as a ruler. This could’ve been due to a prominent
hadith of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) where he says a nation that appoints a woman as
their leader will not be successful. Putting aside the discussion of how this hadith should be
interpreted, it is very clear the Amir Umra took the literal meaning. Sultan Razia had to step
off the throne and give it to her step brother Rukun ud Din Feroz. Feroz was totally incapable
and hence due to the pressure of the civilians Razia was finally able to regain rulership.
Hardships did not there as she was subject to lot of troubles including allegation of an illicit
relationship with her slave Yaqut, and the clash against Altunia where she was lured out of
her kingdom. Her demise was met by her step brother Bahram who killed her and Altunia
when Razia tried to regain her kingdom. Personally, she had a strong will and open
mindedness. She used to dress up in a King’s attire to be taken seriously, and she encouraged
other liberal studies besides Islam.

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 Giyas ud Din Balban was the last able ruler of the slave dynasty. He was a member of
the corps of forty before becoming Sultan. So, when he did rise to throne a lot of repulsion
was sent to him from the other members of the corps of forty. Balban realized if he wanted
his throne to be preserved, he had to use the fear factor. He became ruthless against anyone
who would be hostile to him and his policies. He took back grants from the Amir Umra and
introduced the spy system in Delhi- all of this was done to show he will not give any
compromise.

As much of disunity and internal conflicts had been seen amongst dynasty rulers and
generals, the final cause of the fall of slave dynasty was the result of an incapable king. When
Qaiqubad, the grandson of Balban came to throne things started to fall apart. He was a
pleasure-loving person who had no qualities of a ruler. That is why when Jalal ud Din Feroz
Khalji revolted against Qaiqubad, and Qaiqubad was easily overthrown. The dynasty ended
with Qaiqubad, giving birth to the beginning of a new dynasty- the Khalji Dynasty.

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 Conclusion

No dynasty had ever existed, no matter how powerful they were, but had to meet their
demise. The Slave Dynasty met the same fate. As said earlier, the Delhi Sultanate- which
begins with the Slave Dynasty- was the first to completely ground the roots of Muslim
rulership in India, as the previous attempts did not bear the credit of continuation of rulership
in this region. The Turks, who from being military slaves went to forming ruling dynasties,
had earned the right to be the initiator of this Sultanate. However, due to internal conflicts
with Turkish generals and their Sultans, siblings who seek the throne such as between Sultan
Razia and Bahram, the power exercising characteristics of the Amir Umras, and the rise of
incapable rulers like Qaiqubad (which are the fruitless results of an autocratic selection) were
the reasons behind its ultimate demise. Other than in rulership terms, the impact of the Slave
Dynasty can be looked into in terms of influential policies, military genius, and even
architectures like the Qutub Minar. But most importantly, the greatest treasure brought not
only during the slave dynasty, but from the beginning of Muslim conquest in India was the
religion Islam, whose humane ideologies got into the hearts of the Hindu sufferers of the
caste system. Alongside economic and political gain, this had always been the main goal.
However, various reasons could not keep the dynasties – slave dynasty and many others-
intact. Therefore, their rulership is something to be influenced by and also take heed from.

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 References

Ahmad, M. A. (1939). THE FOUNDATION OF MUSLIM RULE IN INDIA. (1206-1290

A.D.). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 3, 832–841.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44252438

ANJUM, TANVIR. “The Emergence of Muslim Rule in India: Some Historical Disconnects
and Missing Links.” Islamic Studies 46, no. 2 (2007): 217–40.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20839068.

Islam, R., & Bosworth, C.E. THE DELHI SULTANATE. pp. 275-277.

https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/default/files/knowledge-bank-article/vol_IVa
%20silk%20road_the%20delhi%20sultanate.pdf

Kaur, G. Razia Sultan- The Great Monarch.

https://www.academia.edu/24311105/Razia_Sultan_The_Great_Monarch

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