of Chandelas were all strong in their own regions. Prithviraj Chauhan (modern representation) XI History - Lesson - - Advent of Arabs and Turks rebellions of Rajputs at Gwalior, Ranthambor, Ajmer and Jalore. He overcame the challenge of Nasiruddin Qabacha in Lahore and Multan, and frustrated the conspiracy of Alivardan, the Governor of Bengal. He diplomatically saved India by refusing to support the Khwarizmi Shah Jalaluddin of Central Asia against the Mongol ruler Chengiz Khan.
Had he supported Jalaluddin, the Mongols would have overrun India with ease. His reign was remarkable for the completion of Qutb Minar, a colossal victory tower of feet at Delhi, and for the introduction of copper and silver tanka , the two basic coins of the Sultanate period. Since the dynastic traditions of the ‘slave regime’ were weak, succession to the throne was not smooth after Iltutmish’s death. The monarch was succeeded by a son, a daughter (Sultana Razia), another son, and a grandson, all within ten years, and finally by his youngest son Sultan Nasir al-Din Mahmud II ( – ).
Iltutmish’s descendants fought long but in vain with their father’s military slaves who had been appointed as governors of vast territories and generals of large armies. They constantly interfered in Delhi politics, dictating terms to Iltutmish’s successors. Though Iltutmish’s royal slaves ( bandagan-i- khas ) were replaced by junior bandagan , the latter were not oriented to their master’s vision of a paramount, monolithic Sultanate to the same extent as their predecessors. The slave governors located in the eastern province of Lakhnauti (modern Bengal) and the Punjab and Sind provinces in the west were the first to break free from Delhi.
Those in the ‘core territories’ the regions of Delhi Bengal. Qutb-ud-din Aibak reigned for four years ( to CE) and died in in Lahore in an accident while playing chaugan (Horse polo). Bhakthiyar Khalji is charged with destroying the glorious Buddhist University of Nalanda in Bihar, who is said to have mistaken it for a military camp! Detailed descriptions of Nalanda is found in the travel accounts of