The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c12.18

c12.18

Nizamuddin pursued his game with undiminished vigour, and proceeded to weed out his rivals systematically. Kaikhusrau was likely to prove an obstacle; so he was summoned from Multan and was murdered on the way at Rhotak under Kaiqubad's order, issued in a fit of drunkenness². This foul deed left no doubt as to Nizamuddin's traitorous design; his unscrupulous nature inspired terror in the heart of every man of note. The *wazir*, Khwaja Khatir, already bereft of his authority as the chief executive officer of the state, was next disgraced. A colony of Mongol converts who had settled in Delhi in Balban's reign, and who were related to many of the influential men of Balban's party, were likewise imprisoned and slain on a trumped-up charge of sedition. Among them were officers of note, including the *sar-i-jandar* and the *amir-i-hajib*; their vacant offices Nizamuddin now filled with more dependable men¹. The Sultan, now completely under the control of Nizamuddin's wife, refused to listen to any complaint against him. The dynastic change thus began to be openly talked about and Kaiqubad's deposition became only a question of time.