History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c6.31

c6.31

Khusrau's plot succeeded well enough, and after the murder of Qutb-al-Din Mubarak Khilji he ascended the throne in the palace of the Hazar-sitūn under the title of Nāsir-al-Din some time in 720 A.H. Though himself a Hindu convert, he assumed after the traditional manner of Muslim kings the title of Amir-al-muminin, as is testified by his coinage.¹⁹ The date of his assumption of royalty is given neither by Barani nor by Ibn Batūtah. The Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi gives 5th Rabi I, 721 A.H., which Firishta copies, though Briggs makes it into 25th Rabi I, 721 A.H., which is either a misprint or a mistake due to some defective text. Badaoni and Hajji accept 720 A.H. There are no coins of Khusrau, dated 721 A.H., but there are coins of Ghiyas bearing the date 720 A.H., which shows that he assumed the sceptre in that year.²⁰ There is another difficulty in accepting the date given by the author of the Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi. Khusrau reigned only for four months and a few days, and if we accept 1st Sha'ban, 721 A.H. as the date of Ghiyas's accession to the throne, the duration of Khusrau's reign would be from Rabi I, 721 A.H. till the end of Rajab, 721 A.H. which is in conflict with numismatic evidence.