Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish Tomb — Attraction in Delhi

Shams ud-Din Iltutmish (r. 1211–1236) was the third ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, belonging to the Mamluk dynasty. Iltutmish consolidated the position of the sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. He conquered Multan and Bengal from contesting rulers and Ranthambore and Siwalik from their rulers. He expanded his domain by defeating the Muslim rulers of Ghazni, Multan and Bengal, which had previously annexed some of his territories and threatened his domain. He conquered the latter two territories and made further conquests in the Hindu lands, conquering the fort of Ranathambhore and the lands of Gwalior and the fort of Mandur. He added many changes to the Sultanate, re-organising the monetary system and the nobility as well as the distribution of grounds and fiefs, and erected many buildings, including Mosques, Khanqas (Monasteries), Dargahs (Graves) and a Hauz (reservoir) for pilgrims. Shams ud-din Iltutmish much strengthened the power of the Delhi Sultanate and of Islam in India, although his kindred and heirs were not as politically gifted, with no ruler comparable to him in the area until the time of Ghiyasuddin Balban. The name Iltutmish is a Turkic name, meaning "he has held/owned land" (İltutmuş, in modern Turkish). Another theory concerning the meaning of the name suggests a connection with an eclipse that supposedly occurred at his birth (an event of some importance in the view of the people of the time). The other etymologies for his name include Altamash, which denotes the number sixty, or the guard of the army, which is the ancient Turkic Khanates numbered at sixty; but this theory falsely draws its source from that he is often referred to as "Al-Tamash", which is most likely an Arabic variation of his Turkic name. In 1236 Iltutmish died, and was buried in the Qutb complex in Mehrauli. The death of Iltutmish was followed by years of political instability at Delhi. During this period, four descendants of Iltutmish were put on the throne and murdered. Iltutmish's eldest son, Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, had died in 1229 while governing Bengal as his father's deputy. The surviving sons of the Sultan were incapable of the task of administration. In 1236, Iltutmish, on his death-bed, nominated his daughter Razia as his heiress. But, Razia did not have support of the nobles of the court, who did not want a woman ruler. Iltutmish's eldest surviving son, Rukn-ud-din Firuz was raised to the throne. Firuz left governance in the hands of his mother, Shah Turken. Firuz was deposed within six months, and Razia became the ruler. Razia's growing assertiveness brought her in conflict with the nobles. In 1240, a rebellion led to the replacement of Razia by her brother, Muiz ud din Bahram. Bahram ruled for two years before he was overthrown in favour of Firuz's son, Ala ud din Masud in 1242. Order was re-established only after Iltutmish's grandson Nasir-ud-din-Mahmud became Sultan with Iltutmish's prominent slave, Ghias-ud-din-Balban as his Deputy Sultan (Naib) in 1246. Balban held all the power at the time and became Sultan in 1266. There was internal stability from 1246 until 1290 whenJalal-ud-din Khilji overthrew Balban's great-grandson Kayumarath, thus ending the Mamluk Dynasty and founded the Khilji Dynasty. (Source: Wikipedia) This is very old and hysterical place, so must...

Shamsuddin Iltutmish was a slave of Qutbuddin Aibak. Due to the good education and wide knowledge of the Islamic world, which he acquired during the early days of his adversity, he quickly rose to be the amir- i- shikar and son in law of his master within a decade. In 1206, he held the charge of Badaun as one of the most trusted lieutenants of Aibak. He was manumitted by Aibak long before the latter received such formal manumission, himself. It was done in 1205- 1206 at the instance of Mohammad Ghori who was deeply impressed by the performance of Iltutmish in the campaign against the Khokhars. Iltutmish was not only a soldier but also a man of creative tastes. Often engaged in warfare and happily extended his patronage to the pious and learned. He was further endowed with laudable qualities; he was handsome, intelligent, sagacious and of excellent disposition and manners. He was also just, benevolent, impartial and a zealous warrior.

The hereditary succession of Aram Shah was refused by the Turkish nobility of Delhi, as he was an incompetent and unpopular ruler. Iltutmish was invited from Badaun to assume the leadership of Sultanate. Aram Shah refused to abdicate but was defeated and deposed by Iltutmish in 1211. Iltutmish was the real founder of the Delhi Sultanate. He made Delhi his seat of governance in preference to Lahore and proved to be a strong and capable ruler who enjoyed a long reign of twenty- six years. When Iltutmish ascended the throne, the country was full of rivals and hostile chiefs, and the rebellious nobles and the vanquished Rajas and Ranas were threatening the existence of the Sultanate of Delhi. The situation was better handled by Iltutmish and his foresight energy and military skill, proved himself equal to the situation. He suppressed the rebellious nobles with an iron hand,crushed the power of the rivals like Yildiz and Qabacha and recovered the lost provinces. He secured the Sultanate of Delhi diplomatically from the Mongol invasion by warding off their invasion. He not only saved the empire and rescued his people from danger, but also added the provinces of Malwa and Sind to the dominions of has master. In consideration of his contribution to the growth of Muslim rule in India, Iltutmish may rightly be called the real founder of the Sultanate of Delhi. The contribution of Iltutmish to the monetary system of the Sultanate was very great. It was he who introduced the Silver Tanka and the Copper Jital, the two basic coins of the Sultanate period. Besides, he was a builder as well as a conqueror and an administrator, and left monuments both at Delhi and Ajmer displaying his taste in architecture. Iltutmish was a pious Muslim. However, he was intolerant towards the Shias. His treatment of Hindus was also not enlightened. He continued to persecute them. In short, his reign was thus a perpetual series of efforts towards the expansion of an originally small territory. In 1235, Iltutmish made an attempt to bring the Khokhars under his subjugation, but the Khokhars showed no signs of appeasement. Exhausted by continuous warfare, Iltutmish fell sick, returned to Delhi and breathed his last in April, 1236. He was buried in the magnificent tomb which he had got constructed for...

Shams Ud-Din Iltutmish was the third of the Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sovereign to rule from Delhi and is thus considered the effective founder of Delhi Sultanate.

The tomb of Iltutmish, Qutub Minar Complex, was built in 1235 A.D. It is situated just outside the north-west corner of the Quwwat-ul-Islam near the Qutub Minar. The central one of these is located higher than the other two and is profusely decorated with marble.

Inside the tomb of Iltutlish, there are three prayer niches. This tomb is quite simple, but its entrance is intricately carved with geometrical and arabesque patterns make it a beautiful example of India’s heritage to the world. Basically, the area surrounding the Qutub Minar is called Qutub Complex.

Tomb of Iltutmish History

There have many important pieces of information about the tomb of Iltutmish. Qutbu’d-Din Aibak laid the foundation of Minar in AD 1199 for the use of the muezzin (crier) to give calls for prayer. In 1220, Aibak’s successor and son-in-law Iltutmish added three tiers to the tower.

It is the highest tower in India. In 1369, lightning destroyed its top tier completely and Firoz Shah Tughlaq carried out restoration work replacing the damaged tier with two new tiers every year.

There are many proverbs about the naming of this tower. Some historians say that it was named after the first Turkic sultan Qutub-Ud-din Aibak and some claims that it was named to honor Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, a saint.

It is surrounded by several historically significant monuments, which are historically connected with the tower and are part of the Qutub Complex. Tomb of Iltutmish information includes the Iron Pillar of Delhi, Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Alai Darwaza, the Tomb of Iltutmish, Alai Minar, Ala-Ud-din’s Madrasa and Tomb. The iron pillar in the Qutub Minar complex has not rusted after some 2000 years.

This 4th-century pillar, originally made as a flagstaff in Vishnu’s honor, is a tribute to ancient Indian metallurgy. This 7m-high pillar stands in the courtyard of the mosque and it was here a long time prior to the mosque’s construction.

The Qutub Minar complex is large and includes Qutub Minar, Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid, Ala’i Minar, Ala’i Darwaza, Iron Pillar, Iltutmish’s Tomb. At the foot of the Qutub Minar stands the first mosque to be built in India, known as Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid.

Ala-Ud-din ensures the completion of the south gateway of the building, the Ala’i Darwaza; it was built of red sandstone in 1311 and located just southwest of the Qutub Minar.

Tomb of Iltutmish (Built-in 1235,) lies in the northwest of the compound, midway along the west wall of the mosque. It is the first surviving tomb of a Muslim ruler in India. It got the tag of the world heritage site in 1993. From this, you can know about the tomb of Iltutmish...