Aram Shah ( fa, آرام شاه) (died in June 1211, r. 1210–1211) was the second
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) 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 ...
of the
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). . He briefly held the throne from
Lahore after the unexpected death of
Qutb ud-Din Aibak before being defeated and dethroned by
Iltutmish who began ruling from
Delhi.
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 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's ''
Tarikh-i Jahangushay'' explicitly states that Aibak did not have any son. What is known is that he succeeded Aibak in city of
Lahore.
Reign
In 1210, Qutb al-Din Aibak died unexpectedly in
Lahore during a sport game, without having named a successor. To prevent instability in the kingdom, the
Turkic
Turkic may refer to:
* anything related to the country of Turkey
* Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages
** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation)
** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language
* ...
nobles (''
malik
Malik, Mallik, Melik, Malka, Malek, Maleek, Malick, Mallick, or Melekh ( phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤊; ar, ملك; he, מֶלֶךְ) is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic duri ...
s'' and ''
amirs'') in Lahore appointed Aram Shah as his successor at
Lahore. However, the Turkic nobles in different parts of the Sultanate opposed his ascension, and some of them - such as the Khalji nobles of
Bengal - 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.
A group of nobles, led by the military justiciar (''Amir-i Dad'') Ali-yi Ismail, invited
Iltutmish to occupy the throne. Iltutmish, a former slave of Aibak and the governor of
Badaun
Budaun is commonly pronounced Badayun is a city and a seat of Budaun district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located near the Ganges river in the centre of Western Uttar Pradesh. Budaun was the capital of Delhi Sultanate for four years from 1210 ...
, 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
Delhi, 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
Delhi.
References
Bibliography
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Sultans of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi)
13th-century Indian monarchs
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death unknown
13th-century Indian Muslims
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