Tales of female courage and prudence, power and fortitude run long in the pages of Mughal history.
But in a swift battle in 1211, his successor Aram Shah was defeated by Iltutmish.
Instead, Iltutmish believed that his one daughter was at par with 20 sons.
The teenager was seldom seen in the harem steaming her hair or gossiping with ladies.
She did not veil her face.
On coming back, the ruler realised the capability of the hands he had left his capital in.
Disappointed in his megalomaniac and debauched sons, he named Razia as his most able successor to the throne.
But acceptance of a woman at the throne was not to come easy.
Upon Iltutmishs demise, his eldest son Rukn-ud-din Firuz was named the next sultan by the court of nobles.
Having grown up under a progressive parentage, Razia was a progressive monarch herself.
Present day ruins of Qila Mubarak.
Colluding with her unworthy brother Bahram Shah, the governor laid an attack on Razias forces.
Parallelly, the anger of conservative Turkish nobles was culminating into a fierce rebellion from the inside.
By the end of the battle, Razia was captured and Bahram made the emperor.
As ransom, Malik asked for Razias hand in marriage, which she accepted in exchange for her life.
But the man was killed in the bloody battle taking away all hopes of confirming a rosy future.
Sultana Raziya’s tomb.
References#The Hindu#The Better India#Razia Sultan - The Great Monarch
