Nasiruddin Mahmud

Nasiruddin Mahmud

Nasiruddin Mahmud

Sultan of Delhi

Reign – A.D. 1246-1266

Father - Prince Nasiruddin

Nasiruddin Mahmud was the grandson of Iltutmish. He succeeded the throne after Alauddin Masud Shah on 10^th June, A.D. 1246. He was the son of prince Nasiruddin who breathed his last in Bengal in April, A.D. 1229. Nasiruddin was a posthumous child. He had seen the fate of the earlier successors of his grandfather. After his enthronement he handed over all the powers of the Sultanate to the Turkish nobles and remained ruler of Delhi in name only.

Prior to his installation as Sultan he was Governor of Bahraich. When the conspiracy was hatched against Masud Shah, he brought to Delhi in the disguise of a woman and made to occupy the throne by the conspirators. Balbal was also a staunch supporter of Nasiruddin and was later on appointed Naib, probably as reward of his treachery. He remained Naib-i-Mamlakat throughout the reign of Nasiruddin except in the year A.D. 1253, when Raihan was appointed on this post. Balban wanted to strengthen his power, so he gave his daughter in marriage to Nasiruddin, the Sultan of Delhi. On this occasion the post of Naib-i-Mamlakat and the title of Ulugh Khan were bestowed on him. In fact, Balban was the ruler of Delhi and he enjoyed all the powers whereas Nasiruddin was a puppet king.

As Nasiruddin was a feeble Sultan, several stories are available about his life. Some of the historians mention that he was a purely religious-minded person. He did not have interest in worldly affairs. He used to make a copy of the Quran and perform other religious activities. His wife prepared meals for him. One day when her finger was burnt while coking, she requested her husband to employ a maid-servant for her but he refused to do so because he considered himself the servant of the state and not the master. But all these stories are unbelievable. Firstly, his wife was the daughter of Balban and it was not expected of her to work in the kitchen like an ordinary woman. Secondly, if he was a religious person, he should not have taken part in the dethronement of Alauddin Masud Shah in the disguise of a woman.

The truth is that he was very tender in age at the time of his accession and he had seen the slaughter of his predecessors, hence being terrorized he made use of his commonsense and without opposing the Turkish nobles, he surrendered before them. Islami writes about the status of Nasiruddin, “he expressed no opinion without their permission, he did not move his hands or feet except on their order. He would neither drink water nor go to sleep except with their knowledge.” K.A. Nizami, writes, “His surrender was absolute.”

In fact, during the reign of Nasiruddin, Balban controlled all the affairs of state whereas the king, remained confined in his places and never performed any act as could offend the nobles.

Milan Tomic

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