Razia Sultana

You can play this story also at the tomb of Iltutmish. To get to this tomb, walk northwards from the tomb of Alauddin Khilji.

Can you imagine an Islamic kingdom of the 13th century being ruled by a woman?

This monument marks a period when the Delhi Sultanate was ruled by not one but two strong-willed women.

Iltutmish ruled over Delhi for 25 years. Normally, his eldest son would have succeeded him. But he died unexpectedly in 1230, five years before Iltutmish.

Iltutmish also had a daughter, his favourite child, Razia. He ensured that Razia was well-trained in both politics and warfare. Iltutmish wanted his daughter to succeed him to the throne. But a queen ruling over the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century was unthinkable. The nobles were clear that they would not serve under a woman.

And that is where Shah Tarkan, a shrewd and strong willed woman, enters the story.

Shah Tarkan was a Turkish slave girl who became the head of Iltutmish’s harem. She was a beautiful woman with a sharp mind. And Iltutmish had a son through her.

When Iltutmish died, Shah Tarkan quickly got into the act. She manipulated the nobles and convinced them to put her son on the throne.

But the son wasn’t much of a ruler and spent his time in wild revelry. So Shah Tarkan quietly took over and began ruling in his name. Unfortunately, she was petty and cruel, and now she began settling personal scores. She had some of the other wives in the harem executed. She even had a young son of Iltutmish blinded and then killed. All this made the nobles extremely uneasy.

Reluctantly, they invited Razia to the throne. Razia quickly proved equal to the task and soon quelled all dissent. She had Shah Tarkan and her son executed. Razia ran the country with an even hand. She gave up the purdah or the veil that Muslim women were expected to wear. She called herself Sultan, and not Sultana as that title referred to the wife or mistress of a Sultan. She even led her forces from the front in battles.

But her reign was short and ended tragically. Within four years, one of her half-brothers conspired with some nobles to have Razia and her husband murdered.

So, between 1236 and 1240, Delhi had two powerful women at the helm. Shah Tarkan was never crowned, but for a short time she was well and truly in control of Delhi. Razia was the only queen to rule over the Delhi Sultanate, and the only woman to sit on the throne of Delhi. Ever.