The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c9.79

c9.79

The royal family seem to have exercised remarkably little influence in politics, though they enjoyed great prestige. The senior queen was styled malikah-i-jahān, and the queen mother bore the title of khudāwandah-i-jahān, or, more commonly, of makhdūmah-i-jahān.⁸ Little is on record regarding the power they may have exercised behind the scenes, but, apart from Raḍiyah who was a queen in her own right, only two seem to have interfered in the affairs of state. Shāh Turkān, mother of Rukn-u'd-dīn Fīrūz, a lady noted for her patronage of learning and charity, medled in politics with disastrous results.⁹ Jalāl-u'd-dīn Khaljī's widow raised her son Rukn-u'd-dīn Ibrāhīm to the throne but could not keep him there.¹ Muḥammad bin Tughluq’s mother was known for her benevolent philanthropy and liberality to the poor; her social influence was very great.² Dehlī remained remarkably immune from petticoat intrigue and wire-pulling; the sultanate never knew a sultan validé who practically ruled the Ottoman Empire during the days of its decay.³ In so strenuous a period, only a man’s strong hand could steer the ship of the state. The princes were given a good general and literary education: the sultanate produced a large number of cultured princes.⁴ They also received military training and were soon trusted with commands in the army or with governorships. Other royal relations were treated according to their antecedents and the temper of the monarch and his supporters. Some of them enjoyed positions of responsibility and trust; others, if they were considered dangerous, were imprisoned, mutilated or executed.⁵