Firoz Shah Tughluq

Firoz Shah Tughlaq
Malik Feroz ibn Malik Rajab Sultan of Delhi
Gold Tanka of Firoz Shah Tughlaq INO Khalifa Abu Abd-Allah
Reign	1351– 20 September 1388
Predecessor	Muhammad bin Tughluq
Born	1309
Died	20 September 1388 (aged 79)
Burial	Hauz Khas Complex, Delhi
Dynasty	Tughlaq Dynasty
Father	Malik Rajab
Mother	Bibi Nala
Religion	Islam

Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388) was a Turkic Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388. His father's name was Rajab (the younger brother of Ghazi Malik) who had the title Sipahsalar. He succeeded his cousin Muhammad bin Tughlaq following the latter's death at Thatta in Sindh, where Muhammad bin Tughlaq had gone in pursuit of Taghi the ruler of Gujarat. For the first time in the history of Delhi Sultanate, a situation was confronted wherein nobody was ready to accept the reigns of power. With much difficulty, the camp followers convinced Firuz to accept the responsibility. In fact, Khwaja Jahan, the Wazir of Muhammad bin Tughlaq had placed a small boy on throne claiming him to the son of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, who meekly surrendered afterwards. Due to widespread unrest, his realm was much smaller than Muhammad's. Tughlaq was forced by rebellions to concede virtual independence to Bengal and other provinces.

We know of Firuz Shah Tughlaq in part through his 32-page autobiography, titled Futuhat-e-firozshahi.. He was 45 when he became Sultan of Delhi in 1351. He ruled until 1388. At his succession, after the death of Muhammad Tughlaq, he faced many rebellions, including in Bengal, Gujarat and Warangal. Nonetheless he worked to improve the infrastructure of the empire building canals, rest-houses and hospitals, creating and refurbishing reservoirs and digging wells. He founded several cities around Delhi, including Jaunpur, Ferozpur, Hissar, Firuzabad, Fatehabad. Most of Firozabad was destroyed as subsequent rulers dismantled its buildings and reused the spolia as building materials, and the rest was subsumed as New Delhi grew.