Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c20.s2: Accession of Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah (1316)

History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c20.s2

Language
English

Accession of Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah (1316)

c20.s2.1

Mubarak Khān ascended the throne at the young age of seventeen or eighteen on the 20th Muharram 716 (14th April, 1316).¹⁸ As was the custom, his accession was followed by great rejoicings, and titles and honours were conferred on the dignitaries of the state. The title of Zafar Khān was conferred upon Malik Dīnār, the Shahnah-i-Pīl (Keeper of Elephants). Muḥammad, an uncle of the sultan, became Sher Khan. Malik Fakhruddīn Jūnā, son of Ghāzī Malik, was made Amīr Akhūr (Master of Horse). Maulana Ziyāuddīn, son of Maulana Bahāuddīn¹⁹ Khattāt, who was Mubārak Shāh's teacher in caligraphy, was given the post of Sadr Jahān and the title of Qazī Khān, and a dagger worked in gold and jewels was presented to him. Malik Qīra Beg was entrusted with a number of responsible offices.²⁰ The king also raised to high positions his favourites and slaves and conferred upon them big jāgīrs. But the most surprising elevation was of Ḥasan, an obscure slave of Gujarat, on whom the king bestowed special honours. He was given the title of Khusrau Khan, and the emoluments and jāgīrs of Malik Naib were bestowed upon him; and after some time, in the very first year of his reign, Qutbuddin raised him to the position of Vazir.

c20.s2.2

¹⁸ This is the date given in *T.M.S.* Khusrau has 716, *Nūh Sipehr* Elliot vol. III. 'Isāmī also has 716. Baranī wrongly writes 717 and the mistake is repeated by Nizāmud-dīn, Badaoni and Ferishtah. Numismatical evidence confirms the year 716 as correct, as the earliest coins of Qutbuddīn were struck in 716.

c20.s2.3

¹⁹ Ferishtah has Shihābuddīn.

c20.s2.4

²⁰ Baranī p. 381. Later on the historian says that Qīra Beg held fourteen important appointments, p. 396.

c20.s2.5

*An Era of Reaction.*

c20.s2.6

With the passing of time a stable government gradually dispelled the anarchic conditions that had followed 'Alāuddīn's death. Repose and contentment began to appear among men. Whereas the new king was ease loving and generous by nature, his confinement and early privations had made him still more kind-hearted. The beginning of his reign, therefore, heralded the birth of a liberal era. On the day of his accession he had ordered the release of all prisoners. Men exiled for various offences were ordered to be returned home. This wise about seventeen or eighteen thousand prisoners were set free. He also granted a reward equal to six months' salary to the army and increased the stipends and allowances of the officers and the learned, and "the people had *tankahs* and *jitals* ringing in their pockets once again." A large number of jāgīrs, which had been reclaimed into the Khālsā by 'Alāuddīn, were returned. Heavy fines and taxes were abolished and extortionist devices like flogging and incarceration were prohibited in the Revenue Department. The sultan ordered that applications of the suppliants should be submitted to him,—a practice which had become obsolete for some time. He personally perused the petitions and wrote orders on them.²²

c20.s2.7

²² Ibid.

c20.s2.8

In short, the new king inaugrated an era of reaction. Most of the regulations of 'Alāuddīn fell into disuse. The strict vigilance of the conduct of the people was given up. They could now afford to be effluent with impunity, and naturally, began to amass wealth. Market regulations ceased to be enforced. The constant dread of the spies, the impossibility of obtaining favour or mercy and the fear of barbarous punishment no longer haunted the minds of the people. The dread of the king's authority left the breasts of the people and they ran after pleasures, unbridled. Since the youthful monarch was always drowned in pleasure and dissipation, the people in general also followed in his footsteps. The demand for beautiful girls and beardless boys, says Barani, made them a scarce commodity, and their prices rose to 500 and sometimes even to 2,000 *tankahs*.²³ In spite of the fact that Qutbuddīn did not rescind the restriction on drinks, wine was fearlessly smuggled, secretly distilled and freely drunk. Prices of grain and cloth rose high and the Multānī merchants rejoiced at the death of 'Alāuddīn.²⁴ They now sold articles at rates highly profitable to them, and cheated the public in every way.²⁵ Bribery and corruption were openly indulged in, and it was a red letter day for clerks and Munshis while the wages of labour increased fourfold.²⁶ With the reduction in the rate of land tax the lot of the zamīndārs and peasants was automatically improved. In contrast to the days of 'Alāūddīn, now they ate better food and wore better clothes.²⁷ To sum up, the kindness and liberality of the king as well as his own easy habits made the people happy and the agony of the days of 'Alāūddīn began to be dispelled from their minds.

c20.s2.9

²¹ Barani p. 382.

c20.s2.10

²³ Barani p. 384.

c20.s2.11

²⁴ Ibid p. 385.

c20.s2.12

²⁵ Ibid. p. 385.

c20.s2.13

²⁶ Baranī p. 385.

c20.s2.14

²⁷ Baranī has Hindus for agriculturists. Their well-being was unbearable to the orthodox Maulana and he feels pained to write that "the Hindus who had become destitutes of food and cloth in 'Alāūddīn's days now dressed in fine linen and rode on horses". Baranī p. 385.

c20.s2.15

Conquest of Gujarat 1316.

c20.s2.16

We have seen how the assassination of Alp Khān had incited the people of Gujarat into rebellion. Under their leaders Haider and Zīrak the Gujarātīs had killed the royal commander Kamāluddīn Gurg, and thenceforward the province had ceased to recognise the imperial authority. According to the author of *Futūhus Salātīn*, Malik Naib, during his regency, had contemplated to reestablish the royal authority in Gujarat. He had summoned 'Ainulmulk Multanī from Devagiri to attack Gujarat, but while the latter was marching northwards he heard about the death of the Regent and stopped in Rajputana.²⁸ Consequently, it was left to Qutbuddīn to reconquer the province.

c20.s2.17

²⁸ *Futūh* pp. 339-40 'Isāmī says that 'Ainulmulk received the news of the Naib's death at Chittor and stayed there.

c20.s2.18

In the very year of his accession, therefore, Mubārak Shāh sent a large force under Malik Tughlaq to join the forces of ‘Ainulmulk Multānī near Chittor, and attack Gujarat.²⁹ The royal forces arrived in Gujarat, but the rebel leaders were not daunted by the arrival of the imperialists, and marshalled their forces outside the city (of Neharvala).³⁰ Ainulmulk was not only an experienced general, he was a great diplomat too. He wrote secret letters to junior officers of the rebel army asking them to kill their two generals Haider and Vazīrak, and submit to the sultan. There was no sense, wrote ‘Ainulmulk, in the fighting of the two forces professing the same religion.³¹ At the end it was emphatically pointed out that ultimately the rebel leaders must be killed, but if the Gujarat forces deserted them many an innocent life would be saved from destruction. The ruse worked well, and as the belligerant forces encountered each other, many Gujarati officers deserted to the side of the imperialists. Haider and Vazīrak fought valiantly but the desertions of the treacherous officers very much impaired their strength. Not being able to bear the brunt of the onslaughts of the royal army, they fled from the field of battle. They were relentlessly pursued but they succeeded in effecting their escape³² and seeking shelter with some Hindu chiefs and Zamindars in far off provinces.³³

c20.s2.19

²⁹ *Futūh*. p. 349.

c20.s2.20

³⁰ *Ibid*. 350.

c20.s2.21

³¹ *Futūh*. p. 350.

c20.s2.22

³² *Ibid*. p. 351.

c20.s2.23

³³ *Baranī* p. 388.

c20.s2.24

After conquering Gujarat ‘Ainulmulk returned to Delhi and was profusely rewarded.³⁴ Malik Dīnār, who had been given the title of Zafar Khan, and whose daughter had been married to the sultan, was appointed governor of Gujarat. Through the sincere efforts of his able and sagacious noble the whole of the province was brought under complete control. He administered the country so well that within three or four months of his arrival people forgot the good old days of Alp Khan. Zafar Khan realised a large amount of money from neighbouring chiefs and zamindars and sent it to Delhi.²⁵

c20.s2.25

³⁴ *Futūh* p. 352.

c20.s2.26

²⁵ *Tab. Akb.* p. 177, *Ferishtah*, p. 125.

c20.s2.27

Gujarat, however, was not destined to enjoy a long tenure of peace. A plot against the sultan's life while he was on a march to the Deccan shook him to his very being and after his return from there Qutbuddin became extremely cruel and reckless. He openly executed Zafar Khan, his father-in-law and governor of Gujarat, without any rhyme or reason. Zafar's death was enough to sap the imperial hegemony in Gujarat. Hisāmuddīn, a brother of Khusrau Khan,²⁶ was next given the charge of the province. The mere fact that the sultan looked upon him with some favour, turned his head, and this ungrateful wretch began to hatch evil designs. He collected his cousins, relatives and supporters, who were quite prominent in Gujarat, and raised the standard of revolt. The powerful barons and officers of Gujarat, however, caught him and sent him to Delhi. In place of taking any severe steps against Hisāmuddīn, Qutbuddin only gave him a place near him at the court. This attitude of the king frightened the noblemen of Gujarat and created bitterness and hatred in their hearts for so licentious a sovereign. After Hisāmuddīn, the governorship of Gujarat fell to the lot of Malik Vahiduddin Qureshi, who was given the title of Sadrul Mulk. Vahiduddin belonged to a highly respectable family and was one of the invaluable and rare nobles of the realm.³⁷ Sadrulmulk arrived in Gujarat and on account of his great qualities dispelled the vicious atmosphere created by the machinations of Hisāmuddin. Qutbuddin was very much impressed by the administrative talents of Vahīd Qureshi, and after the suppression of Malik Yaklakhi's revolt at Devagiri he called Vahiduddin to Delhi, gave him the title of Tājulmulk and entrusted him with the offices of the Naib-i-Vuzrāt and Divān-i-Vuzrāt.³⁸

c20.s2.28

²⁶ Barani p. 369 has برادر مادر خسرو خان Later on he says این برادر خسرو خان . *Tab. Akb.* at one place styles him as brother of Khusrau Khan and at another as brother on the mother's side. Ferishtah also has برادر مادری . It is therefore certain that Hisāmuddin was a cousin or step-brother of Khusrau. He does not seem to have been his real brother but most certainly not his maternal uncle as Elliot has suggested. *Elliot* vol. III, p. 218. Amīr Khusrau also calls him as brother of Khusrau Khan at many places.

c20.s2.29

³⁷ Barani p. 397.

c20.s2.30

³⁸ An inscription of Mubarak Khalji from Jalor, Jodhpur State, engraved in Tughra style and perhaps inscribed on a mosque mentions the name of Tājulmulk, the governor of Gujarat. The date on the inscription is 5th Muharram 718 (Thursday, March 9th, 1318). *Epigr. Indo-Moslemica* 1937-38 pp. 49-50.

c20.s2.31

Expedition to Devagiri 1318.

c20.s2.32

After the death of Malik Naib Devagiri was lost to the sultanate of Delhi, and Harpal Deva, son-in-law of Ram Deva, had assumed perfect independence. According to Yahya, Qutbuddin had made up his mind to proceed against Devagiri in 1316 but his nobles disuaded him from going into so far off a country immediately after his accession.³⁹ In 1318, however, the sultan marched towards the Deccan with a large number of officers and men. He had determined firstly to conquer the lost kingdom of Devagiri and secondly to secure treasures from the Rai of Telingana⁴⁰ and other Deccan princes. In utter disregard of the fact that the emergency needed an experienced and strong man at the capital, the sultan gave the title of Vafā Malik to Shāhīn, an obscure mediocrity and a father in-law of the king, and appointed him viceroy at Delhi during his absence.

c20.s2.33

³⁹ *T.M.S.* p. 83.

c20.s2.34

⁴⁰ *Futūh*, pp. 352-53.

c20.s2.35

The southward march was confronted with little difficulties. Many an expedition had been led before and the way to Devagiri was very well known. The first halt was made at Tilpat where many more troops joined the sultan. From there Qutbuddin marched in all pomp and splendour and by forced marches arrived near Devagiri in about a couple of months' time.⁴¹

c20.s2.36

⁴¹ *Futūh.* p. 353.

c20.s2.37

When the imperial army arrived on the borders of his kingdom, Harpal Deva and Raghava, minister of the late king Ram Deva, fled to the hills. There Raghava collected an army of 10,000 strong. Qutbuddin marched straight into Devagiri and occupied it without encountering any opposition. Khusrau Khan was sent with a powerful contingent to pursue the fugitive king and minister. Qutlugh, an officer of Khusrau's forces, was successful in seizing some of Raghava's adherents, from whom they were enabled to ascertain the strength of Raghava's army as well as its location. Khusrau Khan attacked the Maratha minister in a defile and completely routed his forces. "The Hindus, who had pretended to independence, were either slain, captured or put to flight."⁴² Raghava himself was most severely wounded but escaped capture. After this signal victory Khusrau Khan returned in all haste to Devagiri as the king had summoned him urgently. On his way back the Vazir received intelligence that Rana Harpal Deva had not submitted until then and had taken up a position in the hills at the head of a powerful army. The Khan went in his pursuit but was two or three times vigorously attacked by the Hindu Raja. At last Harpal Deva was severely wounded in a stiff engagement and was taken captive. Qutbuddin was overjoyed at this victory of his favourite general and received him "with a hundred flattering distinctions." The rebels were severely punished. Harpal Deva was inhumanly flayed alive and his body was hung on the gates of Devagiri.⁴³

c20.s2.38

⁴² *Nūh Sipehr*, Elliot vol. III. pp. 558-59.

c20.s2.39

⁴³ Barani p. 390.

c20.s2.40

Rains detained the sultan at Devagiri for some time during which he brought the whole of the Maratha country under his sway.⁴⁴ The sultan established outposts in "Gulbargu, Sagar and Dharsamudra and other places⁴⁵; and appointed suitable officers to them. Malik Yaklakhi, who had served for a long time as Naib-i-Barid-i-Mumālik under 'Alāuddīn, was made the Governor of Devagiri.

c20.s2.41

⁴⁴ Qutbuddīn built a mosque at Devagiri which was still in existence in Ferishtah's days. Ferishtah p. 125.

c20.s2.42

⁴⁵ Ferishtah p. 125.

c20.s2.43

Asaduddīn's Revolt 1318.

c20.s2.44

By the beginning of Rajjab 718 (September 1318) the rainy season was at an end, and Khusrau Khan was ordered to lead an expedition into the kingdom of Telingana.⁴⁶ The sultan himself turned towards Delhi. His *haram* was with him, and as was his disposition, he was always immersed in music and mirth. The king had, moreover, recently given posts of distinction to his favourites to the resentment of the senior nobility. A plot was hatched to put an end to the Sultan's life. Asaudddin, a son of Malik Khāmosh Yoghresh Khan and cousin of 'Alāuddīn, was the originator of this conspiracy. Asad was a man brave, cliquish and influential.⁴⁷ He won over to his side some enterprising desperadoes, and they decided to kill the king when he was about to cross the Ghati of Sākūn and to place Asaduddin on the throne.

c20.s2.45

⁴⁶ Barani p. 390. Ferishtah p. 125.

c20.s2.46

⁴⁷ Barani p. 393.

c20.s2.47

Luckily for Qutbuddin, when he was coming down the valley of Sakun, Arām Shah, son of Khurram Khajūrī, the Vakīl-i-dar of Jalāluddīn’s days, apprised the king about the plot.⁴⁸ Qutbuddīn at once stopped where he had arrived and ordered the arrests of Asaduddīn, his relatives and all other conspirators. An inquiry was held; the arrested were found guilty and instantly executed. After the fashion of his father, Qutbuddīn sent orders to Delhi to kill all the children of Yoghresh’s family, about twentynine in number, all of whom could possibly have no knowledge of the plot, some being mere infants. The wealth and emoluments of Yoghresh were confiscated to the state and the ladies and young daughters of his house were turned out into the streets to beg their living.⁴⁹ Qutbuddīn’s suspicions were not alleviated even with this cold blooded massacre. He determined to extirpate root and branch all those who had any connection with the royal house. When he arrived near Jhain he despatched Shādī Khatta to Gwalior to assassinate Khizr Khan and other princes who were imprisoned there. Later on, soon after his return to the capital, he ordered the execution of Zafar Khan, his father-in-law and governor of Gujarat. The next victim of Qutbuddīn’s implacable revenge was Vufā Malik Shāhīn, who had been left as viceroy at Delhi during the king’s absence in the Deccan.

c20.s2.48

⁴⁸ *T.M.S.* p. 84.

c20.s2.49

⁴⁹ Baranī p. 393.

c20.s2.50

Although the punishments inflicted were severe and indiscriminate, yet the discovery of a couple of billon coins struck in 718 H in the name of one Shamsuddīn Mahmūd Shāh⁵⁰ clearly shows that the conspiracy was of a really very serious character. Not only Asaduddin at Devagiri but people at Delhi were also implicated in it. The coins clearly indicate the presence of a pretender at Delhi in whose name they were struck. And who was this pretender? Asaduddīn, Shāhīn, or a son of Khizr Khan, "whose elevation to the throne was, according to Ibn Battūtah, the object of the conspiracy?"⁵¹ Describing this revolt Ibn Battūtah writes that some nobles (he does not make mention of Asaduddin's name) tried to rise in revolt against sultan Qutbuddin, and place on the throne a ten year old son of Khizr Khan.⁵² The fact that Khizr Khan had a son by Deval Rani is attested by Hajiuddabir⁵³, but not by any contemporary historian. According to Barani, Khizr Khan was about the same age as Mubarak Khalji.⁵⁴ Again, he had married Deval Rani in 1313 or 1314. By no strech of imagination, therefore, could Khizr Khan have had a son of ten years in 1318. Moreover, Khizr Khan had been deprived of his sight and was living a secluded life in a dungeon of Gwalior Fort "getting only food and clothing."⁵⁵ Under these circumstances it is certain that Khizr Khan or his son, if there was any, had no share in the plot. The statements of Amir Khusrau in his immortal *masnavi* also lead to the same inference. Therefore, the title on the coin referred to above must either have been of Asaduddin or of Vāfā Beg. Asad was all along with Qutbuddin in the Deccan and was executed there. Since the coin was struck at Delhi it must have been in the name of Malik Shāhīn, who was at Delhi and was executed by the king soon after his arrival there.

c20.s2.51

⁵⁰ *J. A. S. B.* 1910 pp.566-67 *J. A. S. B.* 1912 pp 123-67. Rogers: *Catalogues of the Coins in Government Museum, Lahore*, Introduction. N. Wright: *Sultans of Delhi*, pp. 109-10.

c20.s2.52

⁵¹ *Camb. Hist. of India* vol. III p. 121.

c20.s2.53

⁵² Ibn Battūtah, vol. XII, p. 192.

c20.s2.54

⁵³ *Zafarul Vāli* p. 841.

c20.s2.55

⁵⁴ Barani p. 373.

c20.s2.56

⁵⁵ Ibid. p. 393.

c20.s2.57

Assassination of Khizr Khan* 1318.

c20.s2.58

Shadi Khatta, the Sar-i-Silahdār,⁵⁶ arrived at Gwalior from Jhain. He was deputed to assassinate Khizr Khan, Shadi Khan and Shihābuddīn, the three sons of 'Alāuddīn, and to bring their families to Delhi.⁵⁷ These princes had already been blinded and were permitted only bare sustenance. According to Amir Khusrau, who does not say anything about Asaduddīn's revolt, the Sultan sent a message to Khizr Khan beginning with a sympathetic introduction but ending with a preposterous request. "You have lost sight of the eye and health of the body", wrote Qutbuddin. "You know I have not been instrumental in all this...but now the oppressor (Malik Naib) is dead. If you were thrown into imprisonment, time for your release has arrived. I will make you governor of a province, an honour you amp'y deserve. You should, however, not burn in the fire of love for Deval Rani who is after all your slave. I hear that she has attained to such an elevation that you lay your head at her feet. Even if she was as beautiful as the Moon, she was not worthy of your worship. We wish that she may not be left with you. As she has been given to you by the Royalty, it is desired that she may be sent back to us. When your infatuation (lunacy) for her is a little abated she would be sent back to you to serve you as a slave."⁵⁸

c20.s2.59

⁵⁶ Barani p. 393. *Deval Rani* p. 275. At another place Khusrau (*Deval Rani* p. 278) says that he was a low-born Hindu. Ferishtah p. 125.

c20.s2.60

⁵⁷ Barani p. 393.

c20.s2.61

⁵⁸ *Deval Rani* pp. 273-75. On the authority of Husām Khan, Hajiuddabir writes that when a son was born to Deval Rani Khizr Khan was asked to divorce her, because it was a custom that when a princess got a child she was divorced from her husband. Khizr Khan loved Deval Rani passionately and refused to separate her. This reason for Qutbuddin's demand for Deval Rani has not been given by any other historian and seems absurd. *Zafarul Vāli* pp. 841-43.

c20.s2.62

The demand filled the helpless prince’s eyes with tears and heart with rage. He remonstrated saying that since he had lost everything in the world except his beloved, it behoved the king to leave at least Deval to him. In the end Khiẕr Khān declared that he would prefer death to her separation.⁵⁹ In short the king who sought a pretence to kill his step brother ordered the death of Khiẕr Khān. Consternation and then despondency spread in Gwalior Fort as the arrival of Shādī Khatta was made known. Khiẕr Khān took a touching farewell from his companion and prepared to die. Amīr Khusrau and Ibn Baṭṭūṭah give a graphic account of the execution of the princes. The Egyptian traveller learnt all about it at Mecca from Qāzī Zainuddīn Mubārak of Gwalior who happened to be an eye-witness to the execution⁶⁰. According to the Qāzī, Khiẕr Khān’s mother, who was present in the fortress, was locked up in a room. Khiẕr Khān’s spirits quailed at the sight of the sword and he started wailing aloud. But soon the fatal blow silenced him for ever. Shādī Khān was all fire at the cruel doom decided for the innocent victims. In his rage he leapt upon the executioner and threw him on the ground. But all in vain. Very soon he and Shihāb “drank of the same cup”, each being killed by turns.⁶¹ The wails and cries of the royal ladies added to the poignancy of the situation. In a turret of the fort known as the Vijaya Mandir were buried the dead “just as gems are hidden in stones.”⁶²

c20.s2.63

⁵⁹ *Deval Rani* p. 275.

c20.s2.64

⁶⁰ Ibn Baṭṭūṭah vol. III, pp. 192-93.

c20.s2.65

⁶¹ *Deval Rani* pp. 284-85.

c20.s2.66

⁶² Ibid. p. 287. Khiẕr Khān’s mother remained alive long after his death and Ibn Baṭṭūṭah met her at Mecca in 728H (1328 A.D.). Ibn Baṭṭūṭah vol. III, p. 194.

c20.s2.67

A word about the unlucky Deval. Her life after the death of her husband is tantalizingly obscure. Baranī only says that all the ladies staying at Gwalior were brought to Delhi.⁶³ He does not say what happened to Deval Devi, nor does Khusrau. Hājiuddabīr, however, says that Qutbuddin married her against her will and everybody condemned this action.⁶⁴ Ferishtah also says that Qutbuddin took into his *haram* Deval Devi, the wedded wife of Khizr Khan.⁶⁵ This may not be improbable. Qutbuddin had little moral scruples and the taking possession of the wives of a dead prince by the ruling monarch was a common practice in those days. With the murder of Qutbuddin at the hands of Khusrau Khan the affairs at Delhi became chaotic. According to Barani, Khusrau Khan married the wife of Qutbuddin.⁶⁶ He does not say that she was Deval Devi. Obviously she must have been the chief wife of Mubarak Shah. Some later Persian writers and a few modern historians, however, suggest that she was the ill-starred Deval Devi, perhaps because of the tragedy associated with her name. But their surmise is not supported by any contemporary evidence. In fact nothing is known of the end of this princess to whom the fates seemed to be deliberately inimical.

c20.s2.68

⁶³ Barani pp. 393-94.

c20.s2.69

⁶⁴ *Zafarul Vali* pp. 841-44.

c20.s2.70

⁶⁵ Ferishtah p. 125.

c20.s2.71

⁶⁶ Barani pp. 410-11.

Cites (6)