He was joined by four Turkic nobles, who had also rebelled against Razias predecessor Ruknuddin.

She was the first female Muslim ruler of the subcontinent, and the only female Muslim ruler of Delhi.

According to a possibly apocryphal legend, impressed by her performance during this period, Iltutmish nominated Razia as his heir apparent after returning to Delhi.

Iltutmish was succeeded by Razias half-brother Ruknuddin Firuz, whose mother Shah Turkan planned to execute her.

During a rebellion against Ruknuddin, Razia instigated the general public against Shah Turkan, and ascended the throne after Ruknuddin was deposed in 1236.

The Turkic nobles who supported her expected her to be a figurehead, but she increasingly asserted her power.

She was deposed by a group of nobles in April 1240, after having ruled for less than four years.

She married one of the rebels Ikhtiyaruddin Altunia and attempted to regain the throne, but was defeated by her half-brother and successor Muizuddin Bahram in October that year, and was killed shortly after.

Razias own coins call her Sultan Jalalat al-Duniya wal-Din or as al-Sultan al-Muazzam Raziyat al-Din bint al-Sultan.

The Sanskrit -language inscriptions of the Sultanate call her Jallaladina, while near-contemporary historian Minhaj calls her Sultan Raziyat al-Duniya wal Din bint al-Sultan.

Razias mother Turkan Khatun was a daughter of Qutb al-Din Aibak, 3 5 and the chief wife of Iltutmish.

Razia was the eldest daughter of Iltutmish, and probably his first-born child.

While leaving for his Gwalior campaigin in 1231, Iltutmish left his daughter Razia as in-charge of Delhis administration.

Razia performed her duties so well that after returning to Delhi, Iltutmish decided to name her as his successor.

Iltutmish ordered his officer mushrif-i mamlakat Tajul Mulk Mahmud Dabir to prepare a decree naming Razia as the heir apparent.

When his nobles questioned this decision on the basis that he had surviving sons, Iltutmish replied that Razia was more capable than his sons.

It appears that during his last years, Iltutmish had agreed to appoint a son as his successor.

This is suggested by the fact that after becoming seriously ill, he had recalled Ruknuddin from Lahore to Delhi.

Another possibility is that the legend of Iltutmish nominating Razia as his successor is a false story circulated by Razias supporters after her ascension.

Minhaj is the only near-contemporary source that narrates this legend, and he did not witness the events or the alleged decree himself: he was in Gwalior at the time, and did not return to Delhi until 1238.

The duos blinding and execution of Iltutmishs popular son Qutubuddin, combined with Shah Turkans high-handedness, led to rebellions by several nobles, and even the wazir (prime minister) Nizamul Mulk Junaidi joined the rebels.

This situation became worse, when the Turkic-origin slave officers close to Ruknuddin planned killings of the Sultantes Tazik (non-Turkic) officers.

While Ruknuddin marched towards Kuhram to fight the rebels, Shah Turkan planned to execute Razia in Delhi.

At a congregational prayer, Razia instigated the general public against Shah Turkan.

A mob then attacked the royal palace and detained Shah Turkan.

Several nobles and the army pledged allegiance to Razia, and placed her on the throne, 11 making her the first female Muslim ruler in South Asia.

Ruknuddin marched back to Delhi, but Razia sent a force to arrest him: he was imprisoned and probably executed on 19 November 1236, having ruled for less than 7 months.

According to the 14th century text Futuh-us-Salatin, she had asked the people to depose her if she failed to meet their expectations.

She had ascended the throne with support of the general public of Delhi rather than that of the powerful Turkic-origin provincial governors.

Razia attempted to offset the power of the Turkic nobility by creating a class of non-Turkic nobles, which led to further opposition from the Turkic nobles.

Razia Sultan Ozee