Jhatyapali was the princess of

Deogiri Daulatabad Fort, originally Deogiri Fort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadavas (9th century – 14th century CE), for a brief time the capital of ...

and a daughter of Rai Ramchandra Dev, the ruler of Deogiri. She was later married to

Alauddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji (; ), born Ali Gurshasp, was a ruler from the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes in the Delhi Sultanate, related to revenue ...

and her son

Shihabuddin Omar 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 in 1316, he ascended the throne as a toddler, with the support of Alauddin's sl ...

was appointed as the successor of Alauddin, after his death.

History

In a bid to fulfil his desire of territorial expansion, Alauddin first raided Deogiri in 1296. The Deogiri at the time of his raid was ruled by Rai Ramchandra, the

Yadava The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...

ruler, with his son Shankardeo as the supreme commander of the Yadava army. Shankardeo was on an expeditionary mission during Alauddin's invasion and Ramchandra was not able to withstand the invading army from Delhi. Though Yadava gave formidable challenge to Alauddin they were not able to cope up with the situation due to absence of Shankardeo from the battlefield. Ramchandra then sent a message of truce, which was welcomed by Alauddin as he wanted to return Delhi as soon as possible. They came to an agreement in which a large amount of wealth along with precious gifts were given to Alauddin as war indemnity. Ramchandra Dev also promised to pay annual tribute to him, which made the treaty possible. After his return to the Deogiri, Shankardeo came to know about the derogatory peace treaty with Delhi and he pressed his father to stop paying tribute in a bid to express his independence from the subordination. The failure of Ramchandra to pay the annual tribute dragged Alauddin's attention to the Deogiri once again. After his successful expeditions of

Chittor Chittorgarh (; also Chitror or Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It wa ...

and

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

, Alauddin was compelled to send two armies to Deogiri for a second showdown. This time Yadavas were routed; as the combined forces of Delhi, one which was sent to displace Rai Karana Singh Vaghela, the Rajput ruler of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, who was defeated earlier by Alauddin and was seeking refuse at Baglana on the border of south Gujarat and another particularly for Deogiri campaign under

Malik Kafur Malik Kafur (died February 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan Jalesari, Nusrat Khan during the Alauddin Khalji's co ...

pushed their way into Yadava's territory. In this treaty Allauddin also asked for Raja Ramchandra's daughter Jyeshthapalli (Jyethai) which Ramchandra agreed to.

Life as Empress

, the son of Jhatyapali, who was merely six years old was appointed by Malik Kafur, the slave General of Alauddin as his successor while the other sons of Alauddin including

Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah I () also known as Bakhtiyar al-Din, was a ruler of the Delhi Sultanate of present-day India. A member of the Khalji dynasty, he was a son of Alauddin Khalji. After Alauddin's death, Mubarak Shah was imprisoned by Malik ...

were either blinded or detained. This was done by Kafur to strengthen his holds upon the

Sultanate Sultan (; ', ) is a Royal and noble ranks, 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". La ...

. According to

Ferishta Firishta or Ferešte (), full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi (), was a Persian historian, who later settled in India and served the Deccan Sultans as their court historian. He was born in 1570 and died between 1611 and 1623. Life F ...

, in order to legitimise his rule Malik Kafur married Jhatyapali and became the step-father of the boy

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 ...

. The fate of Alauddin's family engineered by Kafur to fulfill his ambitions was not liked by some of the earlier nobles and bodyguards (''Paiks'') of Alauddin, who plotted and assassinated Kafur, which was followed by freeing of Mubarak Shah, another adult son of Alauddin. Mubarak Shah took over the affairs of state in his hand as the

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

and for some time his younger brother Shihabuddin was restored as the Sultan. After working as regent for some time, Mubarak complained that Jhatyapali, the queen mother had conspired to poison him and taking it as pretext, he sent Shihabuddin as prisoner to

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

, where he was blinded but no step was taken against Jhatyapali.

Death

In 1320, Khusrau Khan, the General and partner of homosexual Sultan Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah, raised the army of Baradus, a

Hindu 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 ...

military clan. He assassinated Sultan and in order to eliminate all the possible claimants to the throne, he attacked the royal

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

. All the surviving princes were ordered to be killed. Jhayatapali, the mother of Mubarak Shah was also killed during the Coup.

References

{{Reflist Indian female royalty History of India 13th-century Indian women 14th-century Indian women 14th-century Indian people