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| Trabeate arch at the entrance to Iltutmish's Tomb,Delhi, badamusings.com |
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| Iltutmish's Tomb close to Qutub Minar, Delhien.wikipedia.org |
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| Shams ud-Din Iltutmish (r. 1211 – 1236) dostpakistan.pk |
It was Shams ud-Din Iltutmish (r. 1211 – 1236) of Mamluk dynasty, the third ruler of the Delhi Sultanate laid a strong foundation of the sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Having captured Multan and Bengal from respective rulers, he further expanded his domain by attacking Hindu lands, conquering the fort of Ranathambhore, the lands of Gwalior and the fort of Mandur. He was instrumental in establishing the slave dynasty and expansion of Islam in an otherwise a Hindu land. He was a good administrator and ruled the country well.
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| Tomb of Iltutmish, Delhi. cityseeker.com youtube.com |
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| Tomb of Iltutmish, Delhi. upload.wikimedia.org |
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| Tomb of Iltutmish, Delhi. cityseeker.com |
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| amazing work on the walls and arches. Iltutmish's Tomb Delhitripadvisor |
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| Iltutmish's Tomb Delhi Dost Pakistan |
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| Tomb of Iltutmish, Qutb Minar complex, Mehrauli.en.wikipedia.org |
The tomb of Shamsud-din Iltutmish, son-in-law and successor of Qutub-ud-Din Aiba is historically an important monument of Delhi under the management of the ASI. Located to the northwest of the Quwwatu'l Islam mosque in Delhi, it was built in 1235 by Iltutmish himself, only five years after the construction of the tomb of Sultan Ghari'. The tomb had a cover, but later it caved in, later Feroze Shah Tughlaq replaced it and unfortunately, again, it fell and had not been replaced since then. The interior of the tomb is richly decorated, though the overall look of the tomb is simple and plain. The are three mihrabs (prayer niches), the one in the center is nicely decorated with marble and is at a higher level. As in many tombs, here the tomb-chamber has a cenotaph in its center - nearly 9 m-sq and faced with red sandstone. The tomb of Iltutmish in Delhi is plain on the outside, but is profusely carved on the entrances and in the interior. The impressive entrance has intricate geometrical and arabesque patterns with elements of Saracenic elements. Motifs - like wheels, the lotus, diamonds and so one can not escape the attention of the visitors. The are reminiscent of Hindu arts.
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| Sultan Iltutmish.and his son. historydiscussion.net |
Shams ud-Din Iltutmish ( 1211–1236) was of Turkic origin and he began his life as a slave of Qutb-ud-din Aibak; later he became his son-in-law and close lieutenant. When he was the Governor of Badaun he deposed Qutub-ud-din's successor Aram Shah and acceded to the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in 1211. It was Iltutmish who shifted the capital from Lahore to Delhi, where he remained the ruler until his death on May 1, 1236. According to Mihaj's Tabaqat-i Nasiri, born into an affluent family, being an intelligent boy, he drew the attention his parents, but his brothers became jealous of him and sold him to a slave dealer. His father Ilam Khan was a leader of the Ilbari Turkic tribe. Iltutmish's last slave owner was Jamaluddin Muhammad Chust Qaba. Since slave trade was banned in Ghazani, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who was on a visit to this town, took interest in Iltutmish and asked the slave owner to bring him to Delhi. Here at Delhi, Jamaluddin sold Iltutmish and another slave Tamghaj to Qutb al-Din for 100,000 jitals (silver or silver coins). Tamghaj rose to the position of the muqta (provincial governor) of Tabarhinda (possibly modern Bathinda), while Iltutmish became the sar-jandar (head of bodyguard). Iltutmish rise in the corridar of power was quick. He became the Amir of Gwalior in 1200 when the land was taken over by Qutb al-Din. After many successful campaigns, Iltutmish became closer to the ruler. Later whe became a ruler he introduced the silver tanka and the copper jital - the two basic coins of the Sultanate period, with a standard weight of 175 grains. He set up the Iqtadari system: division of empire into Iqtas, which were assigned to the nobles and officers in lieu of salary. Thus he proved that he was a good administrator. He had many wives, including Khatu, a Hindu princess and four issues. After his death, his dynasty was on the decline for various reasons, internal strife and inefficiency of his sons and daughter. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iltutmish.)
