The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c8.s2.6

c8.s2.6

Tajuddin Yilduz, the ruler of Ghazni, obtained the Caliphs sanction for his authority. After Yilduz and Qubacha had been destroyed by Iltutmish, the latter received the investiture from the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustansir Billah as a legal sanction of his monarchy.⁵³ It is not known if Iltutmish had requested the Khalifa for it and if so how much wealth and presents he had sent. However, he was overwhelmed with happiness and religiously bound himself to the rules of obedience and submission. Iltutmish inscribed the Caliphs name on his coins and called himself Nasir-i-Amirul-Mauminin (helper of the Islamic Caliph).⁵⁴ This fact fastened the fiction of Khalafat on the Sultanate of Delhi, and involved legally the recognition of the final sovereignty of the Khalifa, an authority outside the geographical limits of India, but inside the vague yet none the less real brotherhood of Islam (1229).⁵⁵ However, the interesting point is that the Caliph at the same time conferred a patent of investiture also on Ghiyasuddin of Bengal. What were his considerations for simultaneously recongnising two sultans in Hindustan, is not known. Perhaps whosoever sent presents and treasures was conferred with an investiture. But Iltutmish defeated Ghiyas and forced him to recognise him (Iltutmish) as a superior (Sultan-i-Azam).⁵⁶