Sultan Raziya – The One and Only (1205 – 1240)

    Human rights are the basic rights and it belongs to every person in the world, from birth until death and there is a great correlation between human rights and divine right.  Based on the historical perspectives, it can be stated here that all “pre-modern regimes” are more or less based on divine right. Further the Equality Act of the modern times which also goes with the religion and belief says that it is unlawful and unfair to discriminate any human being on the grounds of sex, race, religion, caste, or any other reasons. Based on these facts and observations, it is important to mention here that the Islamic theology has a strong democratic spirit and enormous implications towards the emancipation of women.  Sir Charles Edward Archibald Hamilton says, “Islam teaches the inherent spinelessness of man.  It teaches that man and woman have come from the same essence, possess the same soul and have been equipped with equal capabilities for intellectual, spiritual and moral attainments” 

    The Holy Quran does not deny women the privilege of leading a political life or heading a state and many verses of the Quran, clearly mention that women have been given absolute equality with men. Moreover, looking into the history of Islam, it is clearly known that women held important leadership roles in their communities. Khadijah, the wife of Prophet Mohammad’s was a business woman. Hazrat Ayesha was a strong spiritual and political leader and was highly esteemed by the Muslim community. Most importantly, the Quran and Hadith shed light on how Islam regards women. 

    Therefore, the spirit and word of the Quran does not prevent women from aspiring to leadership. There are several examples of Muslim women as leaders of states, provinces, and sects during several centuries of Islamic history. For instance, the Yemeni queen Arwa ruled the Sulayhid dynasty for seven decades and even issued coins in her own name.  Besides, there were women soldiers such as Nusaybah bint Kaab, Umm Amarah, Aisha, Kahula and Wafeira who fought in a valorous manner during the medieval ages.

    With this background, I am happy to blog here the most striking example of a Muslim woman in the Indian subcontinent during the medieval period.  She is none other than Sultan Raziya, the only woman in India crowned as Queen in her own right, merit and talent.  It is important to point out here that she made this happened during the time when the Sultanate period’s political structure and the ruling elite did not encourage women to participate in politics.  Moreover, Sultan Raziya acceded to the throne transcending gender distinctions and emerged as a real woman leader in the Delhi Sultanate Era.

Early Life of Raziya

Raziya was born around the year 1205 A.D. to Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish and Qutb Begum (daughter of Qutbuddin Aibak).  She had benefited from the tutelage of her father to the maximum when she had lived with him in the kushk-i-firozi (royal palace). As a child and adolescent, Raziya had little contact with the other women of the palace and therefore, she had not adopted the customary behaviour of women in the Muslim society. Sultan Iltutmish took personal interest in his daughter’s education and training.  By the time Raziya turned 13, she was acknowledged as an accomplished archer and horse rider who would frequently accompany her father in his military expeditions.  She took keen interest in male sports, the army organization and assuming command that developed in her the qualities of bravery, responsibility and leadership. 

According to historian Minhaj-us-Siraj, Sultan Iltutmish considered his daughter Raziya equal to 20 of his sons in ability. During her father’s rule, she assisted him in the affairs of the state, and never hesitated in giving her opinion.  Therefore Sultan Iltutmish nominated her to the throne of Delhi as he, faced with the choice of a successor on the untimely death of his eldest son, Prince Nasiruddin Mahmud in 1229 A.D.  Sultan Iltutmish selected his daughter Raziya, as she was the eldest of his surviving children, and had already been marked out for uncommon sagacity and political insight.

He did not stopped here and in order to train Raziya still further, Iltutmish left her in-charge of the administration in Delhi when he was engaged in operations with the siege of the Gwalior fort during 1231 A.D. On his return he was so impressed with her performance that he decided to appoint her as his successor and even ordered Mushrif-i-Mumalik, to issue a farman (royal order) elevating Raziya as successor to the Delhi Sultanate.  A commemorative coin was also struck in silver, possibly issued as a medallion, with the name of the crown princess, Raziya inscribed along with that of Sultan.

It is really proud to state here that during the period of 13^th century, Sultan Iltutmish had no complexes when it came to recognizing the merits of a woman. For him, merit and justice went hand in hand: this was the essence of his understanding of Islam. On his death bed, Iltutmish nominated Raziya as his successor.  However her accession was challenged by the Turkish nobles.  Not wanting to see a woman ruler, her step-brother, Ruknuddin Firuz Shah was set up to the throne by the nobles.

However, after assuming the royal power, Ruknuddin Firoz indulged in worldly pleasures and left the governance to his mother, Shah Turkan dissatisfying the citizens of Delhi. Further Shah Turkan was an extremely jealous and dominating person, who started working on a scheme to eliminate all potential rivals to her son’s throne. The first victim was a young prince, Qutbuddin, who was brutally murdered and it was followed by a failed attempt on the life of Raziya. 

At this point of time, Raziya retaliated to the ill designs of her enemies and decided to appeal to the people of Delhi to support her.  In fact, she used one of her father’s policies (i.e.anyone seeking justice from the Sultan should wear dyed clothes, and he knew that the individual was oppressed and required justice) to gain the attention and support to regain her throne.  On the day of Friday, as an aggrieved person Raziya woring the red garment, walked from her palace to the people who assembled for the special prayers and appealed to them for help against her step-brother, Ruknuddin Firoz and evil designs of her step-mother, Shah Turkan.  Luckily Raziya’s plan worked out well since the people who heard her speech supported her claim.  Historian Ibn Batuta writes here that Raziya’s speech stirred the emotions of people and they seized the royal palace, deposed and killed both Ruknuddin Firuz and his mother on 9^th November, 1236 A.D. A remarkable event occurred here – i.e. the common people crowned Raziya as ‘Sultan’ on 10^th November, 1236 A.D.

Sultan Raziya assumed sovereignty adopting the title of Jalal-ud-din Raziya. As a ruler, she refused to be addressed as Sultana, as it meant to be a “wife or consort of a Sultan (ruler)”, and insisted on being addressed as Sultan. She adopted gender neutral attire and appears in public unveiled, dressed in men’s clothes, rode like a man, armed with bow, quiver, and sword.  Sultan Raziya dressed in this fashion not only during the military campaigns, but also during the time of meeting her subjects and listening to their grievances 

Sultan Raziya as Ruler

    As soon as she has become the ruler of Delhi, there were struggles and conflicts both internally and externally by the nobles. The financial condition of the Sultanate was also completely unacceptable due to her brother’s extravagance and mismanagement.  But Sultan Raziya proved to be very brave and enthusiastic and became more assertive and confident during the times of crisis. She faced the grave financial situation with her ideal tact and diplomacy which enabled her to govern efficiently. Morever, Sultan Raziya’s military skill with administrative ability established her firmness in the central administration along with the support gained from the military leaders and the common citizens of Delhi.

    Sensing the support of commoners to Sultan Raziya, some of her enemies pledged loyalty, but the other nobles ranged themselves against her and laid military operations around Delhi.  But she resolved to break the rebel coalition and pitched her tent along with the army on the bank of river Yamuna to confront the seditious nobles – Malik Jani, Malik Koochi, Fakhruddin and Nizamul Mulk.  As an outcome, Malik Jani was killed; Malik Koochi and his brother, Fakhruddin were taken into captivity and finally put to death. Nizamul Mulk, the arch rival of Sultan Raziya took shelter in the Sirmur hills, where he met an unheroic death.  These events boosted the prestige of Sultan Raziya and provincial governors submitted to her authority and also agreed to pay annual tribute to her. 

Sultan Raziya’s Campaigns

          Sultan Raziya consolidated her position by undertaking a lot of military campaigns in order to suppress the uprisings of the nobles.The first and foremost campaign to consolidate her position was against Ranthambhor and she dispatched Qutbuddin Hasan Ghori to confront the rebellious Rajputs. The royal army broke the operations of enemies and set the people free who were imprisoned long in the fort. 

·       Another important campaign was undertaken against Gwalior in 1238 A.D. and the siege proved to be a long drawn out affair.  Malik Izzuddin Kabir Khan in 1239-40 A.D. came in open conflict with Sultan Raziya.

·       Escaping towards the frontier before the royal forces, led personally by Sultan Raziya was at last confronted by the Mongols across the river Chenab and Malik Khan was thus compelled to turn back and make his submission.

        Thus she crushed the uprisings with all her might and the revolted nobles once again accepted her sovereignty.

    Sultan Raziya created a new office for the Chief of the army with the title of Qutlugh Khan. She appointed nobles of confidence so that in times of crisis, she could depend on their loyalty and support.  Besides, some of the higher posts were given to non-Turkish Muslims primarily to curb the power of Turkish nobility. And one such official was Jamaluddin Yakut, an Abyssinian slave who was appointed as Amir-i-Akhur (master of the stables).  He perfectly acted as the mentor for Sultan Raziya and accompanied her on various occasions.  This decision invited staunch opposition from the Turkish nobles who felt that they were being deprived of their privileges. As a result, the nobles made a plan to revolt against her by assassinating her character and casted rumours about her relationship with Jamaluddin Yaqut.

    The most important rebel against Sultan Raziya was the Governor of Tabarhinda, Malik Ikhtiar-ud-din Altuniya, who formed an alliance against Sultan Raziya, by helping her brother Muizuddin Bahram Shah to take control of the throne. Therefore, in April 1240 A.D. she had to take her arms in order to suppress the revolt of Altuniya.  With elaborate arrangements she moved ahead to meet the rebel, but about half way the Turkish nobles in her army revolted against her.  Against these heavy odds Sultan Raziya could not stand for long and got defeated.  In this stiff conflict, Yakut was killed and the Sultan was captured and sent to the fort to Tabarhinda (Bhatinda).  The nobles and state officers of Sultan Raziya helped the rebel, Altuniya and he imprisoned her at Quila Mubarak. 

    Further the Turkish officers elevated Prince Bahram Shah to the throne, occupying offices of importance, ignoring completely the services and sacrifices of Altuniya.  Knowing this, Altuniya was shocked at such treatment, as he expected a reward for his rebellion. Capitalizing on the situation, Raziya consoled the shocked and grieved Altuniya who offered to marry her.  The proposal was accepted by Raziya which was purely a political move and the only way to retrieve her lost position.  For Altuniya also this matrimonial alliance was an opportunity to avenge his insult at the hands of the nobles.  Therefore he freed Raziya from the fort, married her and started preparations to regain his position.

    After a few days, Raziya and her husband decided to seize and reclaim the lost Sultanate of Delhi. She along with Altuniya collected an army of Khokhars, Jats, Rajputs and some Turkish nobles marched towards Delhi in the month of September – October 1240 A.D.  And, her half-brother Sultan Bahram Shah also marched against them with an army.  The two armies met near Delhi, an obstinate conflict ensued in which Raziya and Altuniya were defeated and driven back. When they reached Kaithal (Haryana) all their soldiers deserted them.  And it is very disheartening to state here that both Raziya and her husband fell into the hands of her brother’s conspirators and were massacred together on the same day.  Thus Sultan Raziya died in anonymity at the young age of 35, on 14^th October, 1240 A.D and it was much later a tomb was erected over her grave which lies among the narrow lanes of old Delhi.  However there is also a claim that the tomb of Sultan Raziya is situated at Kaithal, Haryana in the north-western suburbs of the city. 

Administration of Sultan Raziya

          Sultan Raziya exhibited her skill and competence in handling day to day administration and was well versed in the art of maintaining her people’s welfare. For doing this, she combated intrigues and displayed a remarkable insight into military tactics, resourcefully implemented her independent decisions and diplomatically reconciled the iqta holders.  The chief merit of Sultan Raziya was her ability to rise above the prejudices of her age and times.  She was very particular about the welfare of her soldiers and often gave them liberal gifts in order to keep them happy and contented 

Another interesting feature in her administration is that the citizens of Delhi had supported her unhesitatingly.  Due to this reason, while making official appointments, Sultan Raziya gave due significance to public opinion. She was also very keen in the development of education and established Madrasa-i-Nasiriya which became a centre of learning. Being a secular leader, Sultan Raziya prioritized both traditional and scientific education and established a host of schools, academies, centres for research, and public libraries.  Indeed, Sultan Raziya was extremely talented and said to recite the Holy Quran with correct pronounciation and offered prayers in a proper manner.  She was also fond of music and gave royal patronage to the musicians and it is to be mentioned here that, Sultan Raziya herself composed verses under the no de’plume of Shirin.  Besides, she had a fair knowledge of several other sciences and possessed all the qualities necessary for a wise ruler.  Thus, Sultan Raziya carried out the administration of Delhi with great tactfulness, diplomacy and courage.

Personality of Sultan Raziya

Looking into her personality, Sultan Raziya possessed great leadership qualities and she impressed everybody by her ability, love of justice, recognition of merit and capacity for hard work. 

Quote

Sultan Raziya was the only queen, India had ever known – a queen whose heroic qualities, justice, patronage of learning and concern for the welfare of her subjects evoked warm attributes from every writer of history

                                                    -Minhaj-us-Siraj

The brief rule of Sultan Raziya has earned rich compliments from the great historians like Minhaj-us-Siraj, Barani and Ferishta.  They all say that Sultan Raziya endeavoured to “play the king” in all possible ways.  But the proud Turkish nobles could not reconcile themselves to the rule of a woman and brought about her downfall in a disgraceful manner.  The tragic end of Sultan Raziya clearly shows that it is not always very easy to overcome popular prejudice but she proved convincingly that as a ruler she was far more capable than the men who succeeded her. 

Assessment

From the historical records we all know that in the early years of 13^th century, fierce warriors were fighting to rule over Delhi. But among the warriors, Sultan Raziya emerged as the only female sovereign. Her accession to the throne carries great political significance in the history of the Delhi Sultanate because it shows the intellectual maturity of the Turkish mind in accepting a woman as a ruler.  It also clearly indicates the fact that there is nothing in Islam which bars women from public office although it was taboo and contrary to Islamic culture of those times.  Sultan Raziya bravely defied conservative traditions and proved for the first time to the country that gender was not a barrier in ability. The example set by her became a great source of inspiration and encouragement to the other royal women to participate in politics gradually all over the country.

        According to the authentic historical sources, although her rule lasted for few years, Sultan Raziya left her sparkles on several events and issues. She occupies a remarkable place and rose to the occasion in order to fulfill her responsibilities, a fact even her worst critics can’t deny. Such was the glorious period of Sultan Raziya and she strengthened her hands by roping in the support of the people of Delhi.  She stands as the unique distinction of being the only Empress, who ever occupied the throne of Delhi and had an important legacy of female rule in India. Her legacy has been memorialized in coins, books, television serial and films.  Sultan Raziya’s debut to power shows her politically alert personality and every single woman of the modern world, should understand and remember her unparallel strength and remarkable talents in order to build their own self-image.

YouTube Link :   https://youtu.be/D0xQuQJ2UOQ

REFERENCES

1.    Alyssa Gabbay, ‘In Reality a Man: Sultan Iltutmish, His Daughter, Raziya and Gender Ambiguity in Thirteenth Century Northern India’, Journal of Persianate Studies, No.4 (2011), pp.46 – 48.

2.    Arif M. Khan, ‘Razia Sultan was far better than her Brothers’, The Sunday Guardian, 6 November 2012.

3.    Chandrababu, B.S. and Thilagavathi, L., Woman: Her History and Her Struggle for Emancipation, Bharathi Puthakalayam, Chennai, 2009, pp.168-69.

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5.    Ibn Battuta, The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, Tr. Mahdi Husain, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1953, p. 34.

6.    Juzjani Minhaj –us Siraj, Tabaqat-i- Nasiri, Tr. Raverty H.G., Vol. II., Oriental Books, New Delhi, 1970, p.451.

7.    Krishna Rao, K.S., Muhammad The Prophet of Islam, Universal Peace Foundation, New Delhi, 2003, p.16.

8.    Majumdar, Raychaudhuri and Datta, An Advanced History of India, Part II, MacMillan India Limited, Madras, 1994, p.279.

9.    Mohammad Ali Syed, The Position of Women in Islam: A Progressive View, State University of New  York Press, Albany, 2004,p.121.

10.                       Nizami K.A., Some Aspects of Religion and Politics During the Thirteenth Century, Idarah-i- Adabiyat-i- Delli, New Delhi, 1974, P.172.

11.                       Tarikh-i- Ferishta, Tr. John Briggs, History of the Mahomedan Power in India, Vol. I., S. Dev., Calcutta, Reprint, 1908, pp. 123-24.

12.                       Tripathi R.P., Some Aspects of Muslim Administration, Central Book Depot, Allahabad, 1958, pp. 28-30.

13.                       Wright Nelson, The Coinage and Metrology of the Sultans of Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1974, No. 161, 161 A, p. 40.