Ghiyas ud din Balban
| Ghiyasuddin Balban | |
|---|---|
| Sultan of Delhi | |
| Reign | 1266–1287 |
| Predecessor | Nasir ud din Mahmud |
| Successor | Muiz ud din Qaiqabad (grandson) |
| Burial | Tomb of Balban, Mehrauli Archaeological Park, Delhi |
| Issue | Muhammad Khan Nasiruddin Bughra Khan |
Ghiyas ud din Balban (reigned: 1266–86) (Urdu: غیاث الدین بلبن) was the ninth sultan of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi. Ghiyas ud Din was the vizier and heir of the last Shamsi Sultan, Nasir ud-Din. He reduced the power of the treacherous nobility and heightened the stature of the sultan. In spite of having only few military achievements, he was the most powerful ruler of the sultanate between Shamsuddin Iltutmish and Alauddin Khilji.
Balban was the greatest of the Slave Kings. His Original name was Baha Ud Din.. He was a Ilbari Turk. When he was young he was captured by the Mongols carried to Ghazni and sold to Khawaja Jamal din of Basra, a man of piety and learning. The latter then brought him to Delhi in 1232 AD along with other slaves and all of them were purchased by Iltutmish. Balban Belonged to the famous band of 40 group of Turkish slaves of Iltutmish Ghiyas made several conquests, some of which were as vizier. He routed the Mewats that harassed Delhi and reconquered Bengal, all while successfully facing the Mongol threat, a struggle that spent his son and heir's life. So it came to pass that upon his death in 1287, his grandson Qaiqubad was nominated sultan, undermining the achievements of his grandfather.
In spite of having only a few military achievements, Ghiyas ud-din made civil and military reforms that earned him the position of the strongest ruler between Shams ud-din Iltutmish and the later Alauddin Khilji, whose military achievements rest on the order established within the sultanate by Ghiyas ud din Balban.
He (born 1200 AD) was son of a Central Asian Turkic noble. As a child, he and others from his tribe were captured by the Mongols and sold as slaves in Ghazni. He was sold to Khwaja Jamal ud-din of Basra, a Sufi who nicknamed him Baha ud din. The Khwaja brought him to Delhi where he and the other slaves were bought by Sultan Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, himself a captured Ilbari Turk in origin, in 1232 CE.
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