Ḥusām ad-Dīn ʿIwaz bin Ḥusayn Khaljī (, ), later known by his

regnal title A regnal title is the title held by a monarch while in office. Monarchs can have various titles, including king or queen, prince or princess (Sovereign Prince of Monaco), emperor or empress (Emperor of Japan, Emperor of India), or even duke or grand ...

as Ghiyāth ad-Dīn ʿIwaz

Shāh Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

(, ), was a two-time governor of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

under the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

, and a member of the

Khalji dynasty of Bengal The Khalji dynasty (, ) was the first Muslim dynasty to rule the Bengal region in the Indian subcontinent. The dynasty, which hailed from the Garmsir District, Garmsir region of present-day Afghanistan, was founded in 1204 by Muhammad bin Bakhti ...

. During his second term, lasting from 1212 to 1227, Khalji declared himself as an independent ruler of Bengal. His regime has been described as "constructive" as Khalji made major developments to Bengal by innovating flood defence systems and interlinking major cities by means of constructing

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

's earliest-recorded embankments and extending the

Grand Trunk Road Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It r ...

. Khalji was also responsible for establishing Bengal's first naval force, the complete fortification of Lakhnauti (Gaur) and the founding of the fort-town of Basankot.

Early life and background

He was member of the Khalaj tribe,''the Khiljī tribe had long been settled in what is now Afghanistan ...'
Khalji Dynasty
''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''. 2010. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 23 August 2010. a tribe of Turkic origin that settled in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. He was born into a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

family in Garmsir, and his father's name was Husayn Khalji. During his early life, Iwaz Khalji transported goods with his

donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

. On one occasion, he provided

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

and

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

to a group of

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

es who later prayed for him and instructed him to enter

First term

Iwaz Khalji became a deputy during

Bakhtiyar Khalji Ikhtiyār al-Dīn Muḥammad Bin Bakhtiyār Khaljī, also known as Bakhtiyar Khalji, was a Turko-Afghan Military General of the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor, who led the Muslim conquests of the eastern Indian regions of Bengal and parts of Bi ...

's advances towards

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

and

, and in recognition of his contribution, was made the Jagirdar of Kangori in

North Bengal North Bengal ( , Uttar Banga) is a cross-border cultural–geographic region consisting of the north-western areas of Bangladesh as well as the northern part of the West Bengal state of India. Bounded to the east by the Jamuna and in the south ...

. During the infighting of Bengal's Khaljis, the Delhi sultan

Qutb al-Din Aibak Qutb ud-Din Aibak (; 1150 – 4 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid emperor Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination in 1206, he established his ow ...

sent an army led by Qaimaz Rumi, the Governor of

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

, to dethrone Muhammad Shiran Khalji, the governor of Bengal. The army passed through Kangori where they were welcomed by Iwaz. Upon the army's victory, Rumi appointed Iwaz as the next Governor of Bengal in 1208. Iwaz governed Bengal for two years until

Ali Mardan Khalji Rukn ad-Dīn ʿAlī Mardān Khaljī (, ) was a 13th-century governor of Bengal, a member of the Khalji dynasty of Bengal. Early life He was a son of Mardan Khalji of the Khalaj tribe,''the Khiljī tribe had long been settled in what is now A ...

returned to Bengal in 1210, in which he freely gave up his governorship of Bengal to the latter.

Second term

Ali Mardan proved to be an unpopular governor among the population, however. In response, the nobles of Bengal led a conspiracy against Ali Mardan and executed him, thus reinstating Iwaz as the Governor of Bengal in 1212. During this second term, Iwaz made major developments to Bengal and later established himself as independent of the

. He undid Ali Mardan's exiles of nobles by inviting them back to Bengal. He transferred the capital from

Devkot Bangarh is an ancient city situated in Gangarampur, West Bengal, India.From the finding of Damodarpur inscription we know that Bangarh was the ancient city and the administrative centre of Kotivarsha Vishaya (territorial division), itself pa ...

to Lakhnauti (Gaur), which he newly rebuilt and completely fortified in all four directions (with three lofty ramparts and making use of the river to the west of the city). Opposite of his new capital, Iwaz established a fort-town named Basankot. Not disregarding the former major cities like Devkot, he constructed embankments interlinking these areas together. He also became the first to develop a powerful navy and

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...

for Bengal and built several dykes with arched bridges after analysing the vastness of the

Bengal delta The Ganges Delta (also known the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the Sundarbans Delta or the Bengal Delta) is a river delta predominantly covering the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West B ...

and its vulnerability to floods.

Policies and independence

To strengthen his independent authority in Bengal, Khalji showed his connection with the former

Ghurid dynasty The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; ; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Empire from 1175 to 1215. The Gh ...

as opposed Delhi's sultan

Iltutmish Shams ud-Din Iltutmish (1192 – 30 April 1236) was the third of the Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sovereign to rule from Delhi, and is thus considered the effective founder of ...

who belonged to the Mamluk dynasty. He had the

Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...

khutbah ''Khutbah'' (, ''khuṭbah''; , ''khotbeh''; ) serves as the primary formal occasion for public sermon, preaching in the Islamic tradition. Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools. The Islamic traditio ...

s read in his own name and also invoked the name of the

Commander of the Faithful () or Commander of the Faithful is a Muslim title designating the supreme leader of an Islamic community. Name Although etymologically () is equivalent to English "commander", the wide variety of its historical and modern use allows for a ...

(

Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...

Al-Nasir Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn al-Hasan al-Mustaḍīʾ (), better known by his al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh (; 6 August 1158 – 5 October 1225) or simply as al-Nasir, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1180 until his death. His literally can m ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

) in his coins, to enhance his position in the eyes of the locals and equate his status with that of the Delhi's sultan. Khalji had appointed his son and heir,

Ali Sher Khalji ʿAlī Sher bin ʿIwaz Khaljī (, ; fl. 1221) was a former governor of northwest Bengal (Birbhum) serving under his father, Sultan Iwaz Khalji, Iwaz Shah of the Khalji dynasty of Bengal. His name finds mention in the earliest known stone inscripti ...

, as the governor of

Birbhum Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impo ...

and northwestern Bengal. In 1221, a

khanqah A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...

was constructed by Ibn Muhammad of

Maragheh Maragheh () is a city in the Central District (Maragheh County), Central District of Maragheh County, East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Maragheh is on the bank of ...

for the Muslim preacher Makhdum Shah in Birbhum, during the governorship of Ali Sher. This contains the earliest known stone inscription mentioning a Muslim ruler in Bengal. Thus, Khalji became an early patron of

Islamic education Islamic education may refer to: *Islamic studies, the academic study of Islam and Islamic culture *Madrasah, the Arabic word for any type of educational institution * Islamic Education Society, an Islamic organization in India *Education in Islam ...

in Bengal by establishing

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s and giving pension to the

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

(Islamic scholars and teachers). He arranged for the arrival of Muslim preachers from

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, such as Jalaluddin bin Jamaluddin Ghaznavi, to come to Bengal and give lectures in his court.

Military campaigns

After establishing peace in Bengal and developing the region, Iwaz Khalji turned his attention towards the expansion of his kingdom towards the south and the east. 13th-century Persian historian

Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani Minhaj-al-Din Abu Amr Othman ibn Siraj-al-Din Muhammad Juzjani (born 1193), simply known as Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani, was a 13th-century Persian historian born in the region of Ghur. In 1227, Juzjani immigrated to Ucch and, thereafter, to Delhi ...

has asserted that Iwaz conquered Lakhnur, a conquest which enabled Iwaz to gain treasures and capture many elephants. After taking control of the region, he appointed his own

amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

s to govern there. Khalji carried out invasions into

Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family o ...

Tirhut Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal, is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothi ...

and Utkala; making them his

tributary state A tributary state is a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power (the suzerain). This token often ...

s. Jajnagar,

Kamarupa Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. The Kamrupa word first appeared in the ...

, Tirhut and Vanga all sent tributes to him.KingListsFarEast Bengal
/ref>

Defeat

Khalji's conquest of

was perceived as a threat to

, which finally initiated a war against the former. A large force from Delhi advanced towards Bihar and Bengal. Delhi easily regained Bihar in 1225 with no opposition before confronting Khalji's army in

Teliagarhi Teliagarhi (also written as Teliagarih) is a village in Mandro CD block in Sahibganj subdivision of Sahibganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. History Teliagarhi became the main gateway for Muslim armies coming from northern India a ...

who attempted to prevent Delhi soldiers from crossing the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

. Eventually, a treaty was made between Delhi and Bengal in which Khalji was to give 8 million

taka The taka (, , sign: , code: BDT, short form: Tk) is the currency of Bangladesh. In Unicode, it is encoded at . Issuance of banknotes 10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, while the 2 and 5 govt. notes are the responsibility of the ...

s and 38 war elephants to Iltutmish and denounce his independence (by striking coins and having khutbahs read with the name of Iltutmish). The Delhi forces then left Bengal and entrusted

Alauddin Jani Alauddin Jani (, ) was a governor of Bengal from 1232 until 1233 during the time of Mamluk dynasty. History Alauddin assisted Nasiruddin Mahmud to suppress the revolt of Iwaz Khalji in 1227. In 1232, Alauddin was appointed as the governor of ...

with the governorship of

. Following the treaty however, Khalji declared independence for a second time and expelled Jani from Bihar. With an uprising of

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

preoccupying the Delhi forces, Khalji left his capital to conduct an invasion of eastern Bengal in 1227. Prince Nasiruddin Mahmud, who was leading the Delhi forces, made way for Bengal after swiftly suppressing the rebellion in Awadh. Khalji hurried back to Lakhnauti where the two forces came into conflict where he was killed and succeeded by Nasiruddin Mahmud.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalji, Iwaz Governors of Bengal 13th-century Indian monarchs 13th-century Indian Muslims 13th-century Indian people People from Helmand Province