Indian History Part 54 The Slave Dynasty Section VI: Balban – The Sultan

  Canberra, 12 December 2016 Nasir ud-Din Mahmud Shah died in 1266 without a male heir and it was natural for Balban to assume the role of sovereign ruler. Since he had been shouldering the responsibility for the past 20 years. In any case, at that juncture there was no one in the royal family […]

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Indian History Part 54 The Slave Dynasty Section V From Confusion to Consolidation

  Canberra, 24 November 2016 The struggle between the crown and the nobles for wielding real power in the sultanate, which had started with the death of Iltutmish, became less pronounced with the installation of Nasir ud-Din Mahmud Shah on the throne. He was invited by the nobles to be the figurehead that they had […]

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Indian History Part 54 The Slave Dynasty Section IV: A Queen Reigns

  Canberra, 14 November 2016 Qutb ud-Din Aibak and Balban (not yet part of this narrative) were actual ‘ghulams’ or slaves who had been manumitted earlier to their becoming ruling monarchs. The rest of the sultans who ruled Delhi and are counted as belonging to the so-called ‘Slave Dynasty’ were never slaves, but born as […]

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