Shihab-ud-din Omar (1316) was the third Sultan of the Khalji Dynasty and fourteenth Sultan of Delhi Sultanate in India. After the death of his father

Alauddin Khalji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrativ ...

in 1316, he ascended the throne as a minor, with the support of Alauddin's slave-general

Malik Kafur Malik Kafur (died 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent slave-general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan during the 1299 invasion of Gujarat, and rose to promin ...

. His brother Qutb-ud-din Mubarak became the regent after the assassination of Kafur and subsequently dethroned him to become the Sultan.

Early life

According to the 14th century chronicler Isami, Shihab-ud-Din was Alauddin's son from Jhatyapali, the daughter of Alauddin's

Yadava The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and ...

feudatory

Ramachandra Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

Ascension to the throne

Alauddin fell seriously ill during his last years, and the administration was controlled by his slave-general

. After Alauddin's original heir apparent Khizr Khan was imprisoned at

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

for allegedly conspiring to kill him, Malik Kafur convened a meeting of important officers at Alauddin's bedside. It was decided at this meeting that Shihabuddin would succeed Alauddin, with Malik Kafur as the regent. According to Isami, Alauddin was too weak to say anything during the meeting, but all the attendees agreed that his silence should be interpreted as his consent. At this time, Shihabuddin was a little over six years of age. The day after Alauddin's death on the night of 3–4 January 1316, Kafur convened a meeting of important officers (''maliks'' and ''

amirs Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, 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 cerem ...

''), and appointed Shihabuddin as the new Sultan. He read Alauddin's order according to which the deceased Sultan had disinherited his eldest son Khizr Khan and appointed Shihabuddin as his successor. The other sons of Alauddin - Mubarak Khan, Shadi Khan, Farid Khan, Osman Khan, Mustafa Khan, Muhammad Khan and Abu Bakr Khan - were ordered to kiss Shihabuddin's feet.

Reign

Shibabuddin's complete title was "''al-sultan al-azam shihab al-dunya wa'l din abu'l muzaffar umar shah al-sultan".'' During Kafur's short regency, Shihabuddin's participation in governance was limited to his appearance in a short court ceremony that was held daily by Kafur. After the ceremony, Kafur would send Shihabuddin to his mother, and held separate meetings to issue orders to the various officers. To maintain his control over the throne, Kafur had Alauddin's sons Khizr Khan and Shadi Khan blinded. He also imprisoned Alauddin's senior queen ''Malika-i Jahan'' and Mubarak Shah, another adult son of Alauddin. According to the 16th century historian

Firishta Firishta or Ferešte ( fa, ), full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi ( fa, مُحَمَّد قاسِم هِندو شاہ), was a Persian historian, who later settled in India and served the Deccan Sultans as their court historian. He was ...

, Kafur married Alauddin's widow Jhatyapalli, the mother of Shihabuddin. Becoming the new Sultan's step-father was probably Kafur's way of legitimizing his power. The former bodyguards (''paiks'') of Alauddin disapproved of Kafur's actions against the family of their deceased master, and murdered Kafur. Kafur's killers freed Mubarak Shah, who was appointed first as the regent. In April 1316, Mubarak Shah detained Shibabuddin, and became the Sultan. Shibabuddin was moved to

, where he died the same year.

References

Bibliography

* * {{refend Sultans of Delhi 1310s births 1316 deaths 14th-century Indian Muslims 14th-century Indian monarchs Khalji dynasty