Razia Sultana
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Razia al-Din, (Urdu: رضیہ الدین) "throne name" Jalâlat ud-Dîn Raziyâ (Urdu:جلالۃ الدین رضیہ), usually referred to in history as Razia Sultan or Razia Sultana (Urdu: رضیہ سلطانہ ), was born in 1205 and died in 1240. She was of Turkish Seljuks ancestry and like some other Muslim princesses of the time, she was trained to lead armies and administer kingdoms if necessary.[1]
She succeeded her father Iltutmish to the Sultanate of Delhi in 1236. Her father appointed her his heir over many of his sons. But when Iltutmush died, Rukn-ud-din Firuz, one of his sons, occupied the throne and ruled for about seven months. Razia Sultana, with the support of the people of Delhi, secured the throne after defeating her brother in 1236.
Razia Sultana established law and order in her country. She also encouraged trade, built roads, planted trees, dug wells, supported poets, painters and musicians, and constructed schools and libraries. Some sources state that she also attempted to eliminate some of the discriminations against Delhi's Hindu population.[1]
To rule the country, she abandoned her feminine attire and adopted a masculine clothes, be it in court or on the battlefield. She made an Ethiopian (Habshi) slave named Jalal-ud-din Yaqut her personal attendant and began to trust him the most. [2] This challenged the monopoly of power claimed by the Turkish nobles.
While Razia was trying to suppress a rebellion in Bhatinda, the nobles deposed her and crowned her brother Bahram. Razia married Malik Altuniya, the rebellious Governor of Bhatinda and attempted to recapture the throne. Defeated by the alliance of Turkish nobles, she fled. A peasant who had offered her food and shelter while fleeing from an encounter killed her in her sleep. She is buried in present day 'Old Delhi', next to her sister Saziya.
-Razia refused to be addressed to as Sultana because it meant "wife of a sultan". She would only answer to the title "Sultan"
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Deborah G. Ohrn and Ruth Ashby (Eds.), Gloria Steinem (Introduction), Herstory: Women Who Changed the World, Viking, 1995, p. 34-36. ISBN 978-0670854349
- ^ Razia Sultana (1205-1240) The Story of Pakistan, 1 June 2003
| Preceded by Rukn ud din Firuz |
Slave Dynasty 1206–1290 |
Succeeded by Muiz ud din Bahram |
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