Razia Sultan
From Freepedia
Given name Razia al-Din, "throne name" Jalâlat ud-Dîn Raziyâ. She is usually referred to in history as Razia Sultan or Razia Sultana. She succeeded her father Altamash to the Sultanate of Delhi in 1236. Altamash 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 complete law and order in her country. To rule the country, she abandoned the veil. She used to dress as a man when appearing in public, be it in court or on the battlefield. She made an Ethiopian slave named Jalal-ud-din Yaqut her personal attendant and started trusting him the most. 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 rebelious Governor of Bhatinda and attempted to recaputure the throne. Defeated by the alliance of Turkish nobles, she was murdered when fleeing from the battlefield.
She was the only woman to have ruled Delhi, albeit for four years. Following a revolt by the city's nobles she was killed and is buried in present day 'Old Delhi', next to her sister Saziya.
