The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.515.1

v3.c20.515.1

Tughluq, thus temporarily relieved of anxiety, plunged into dissipation and sought to secure his tenure of the throne by removing possible competitors. By imprisoning his brother, Sālār Shāh, he so alarmed his cousin Abu Bakr that that prince was constrained, in self-defence, to become a conspirator. He found a willing supporter in the ambitious Rukn-ud-dīn, Khānjahān's deputy, who had much influence with the household troops. Their defection transferred the royal power from Tughluq to Abu Bakr and Tughluq and Khānjahān fled from the palace by a door opening towards the Jumna. They were overtaken and slain by a body of the household troops led by Rukn-ud-dīn, and on February 19, 1389, the nobles at Delhi acclaimed Abu Bakr Shāh as their king. The appointment of Rukn-ud-dīn as minister followed as a matter of course, but he was almost immediately detected in a conspiracy to usurp the throne, and was put to death. This prompt action established for a time Abu Bakr's authority at Delhi, but a serious rebellion broke out in the province immediately to the north of the capital. The centurions of Sāmāna rose against their governor, Khushdil, a loyal adherent of Abu Bakr, put him to death at Sunām, and sent his head to Nāsir-ud-dīn Muhammad, whom they invited to make another attempt to gain the throne. Muhammad marched from Kāngra to Sāmāna, where he was proclaimed king on April 24, 1389.