The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.155

v3.c20.155

When Fīrūz awoke to a sense of his danger his situation was already desperate. He turned first to attack the confederacy which threatened him from the north-west, but as he was leaving Delhi he was deserted by his minister Junaidī, who fled and joined ‘Izz-ud-dīn Jānī at Koil, whence both marched to join the confederates of the Punjab. Fīrūz continued his march, but had not advanced beyond the neighbourhood when the officers with him and the slaves of his household murdered two of his secretaries and other civil officials, including Junaidī’s son, and at the same time the news of a serious revolt at Delhi recalled him to the capital. His mother had made preparations for putting to death his half-sister Raziyya, whose abilities she regarded as a menace to his authority, but the populace, aware of the high esteem in which the princess had been held by her father, rose in her defence, and before Fīrūz could reach Delhi his mother was a prisoner in the hands of the victorious rebels. Those who had defied his authority at Tarāorī deserted him and joined the people of Delhi in raising Raziyya to the throne, and Fīrūz, who took refuge in Kīlokhrī was seized and put to death on November 9, 1236, after a reign of six months and seven days.