Aram Shah (; 1176 – June 1211) was the second

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

of the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

. He briefly held the throne from

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

after the unexpected death of Qutb ud-Din Aibak before being defeated and dethroned by

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 began ruling from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Origins

Aram Shah is an obscure figure, and his relationship to his predecessor Qutb al-Din Aibak is not certain. In some manuscripts of Minhaj-i-Siraj's '' Tabaqat-i Nasiri'', the words "bin Aibak" ("son of Qutub-i-deen-Aibak") appear after his name in a chapter heading, and later writers believed him to be a son of Aibak. However, the words "bin Aibak" in the headline may have been an erroneous addition made by a scribe. Minhaj-i-Siraj refers to only three daughters of Aibak elsewhere in the text, and

Ata-Malik Juvayni Ata-Malik Juvayni ; 1226 – 5 March 1283) was a bureaucrat and historian from the Juvayni family who served under the Mongol Empire. He is known for composing the ''Tarikh-i Jahangushay'' ("History of the World Conqueror"), an important account ...

's ''

Tarikh-i Jahangushay ''Tārīkh-i Jahāngushāy'' ( "The History of The World Conqueror") or ''Tārīkh-i Jahāngushāy-i Juwaynī'' () is a detailed historical account written by the Persian people, Persian Ata-Malik Juvayni describing the Mongol, Hulegu Khan, and I ...

'' explicitly states that Aibak did not have any son. What is known is that he succeeded Aibak in city of

Reign

In 1210, Qutb al-Din Aibak died unexpectedly in

during a sport game, without having named a successor. To prevent instability in the kingdom, the Turkic nobles (''

malik Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...

s'' and ''

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'') in Lahore appointed Aram Shah as his successor at

. However, the Turkic nobles in different parts of the Sultanate opposed his ascension, and some of them - such as the Khalji nobles 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 ...

- rebelled against him. According to the 16th century historian Firishta, the kingdom also suffered an invasion from the neighbouring ruler Nasir ad-Din Qabacha of

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

. A group of nobles, led by the military justiciar (''Amir-i Dad'') Ali-yi Ismail, invited

to occupy the throne. Iltutmish, a former slave of Aibak and the governor of Badaun, had a distinguished record of service and was called a son by Aibak, because of which the nobles considered him as a good candidate for the throne. Iltutmish marched to

, where he seized the power, and later defeated Aram Shah's forces at Bagh-i Jud. According to the ''Tabaqat-i Nasiri'', Aram Shah was "martyred": it is not clear if he was killed on the battlefield, or put to death as a prisoner of war. Two of his important officers - Aqsanqar and Farrukh Shah - were killed on the battlefield. Iltutmish subsequently consolidated his power and began ruling from

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aram Shah Sultans of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi) 13th-century Indian monarchs Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown 13th-century Indian Muslims 13th-century Indian people