Twilight of the Sultanate c15.8

c15.8

This division of sovereignty was not without a precedent. The freedom loving but intriguing Afghan nobles had all along asserted their right to choose their sovereign. They had influenced Bahlūl's nomination of his successor, compelling him to change his decision at the eleventh hour.⁵ After Bahlūl's death they had once again discussed the question of accession threadbare, and while the throne was given to Nizām Khan (Sikandar Lodī), his brother Bārbak Shāh was recognised as the ruler of Jaunpur. Thus the "election" of the sovereign and the division of the empire were phenomena which had been witnessed in the last regime itself and there was nothing new about it. The point to be noted in the present case, however, is that while Bārbak Shāh was already ruling in Jaunpur when Sikandar Shāh ascended the throne, and it was thought correct not to relieve him of his dominion, here the kingdom was divided between the two brothers and both were to ascend two thrones at the same time. Again, while the accession of Sikandar had been objected to on the ground of his alleged or real impurity of blood, no such stigma attached to the name of Ibrāhīm.