Alicolours at 17:53, 28 March 2026

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{{Short description|Ghurid mamluk of Bayana (c.1195–1210)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name = Bahauddin Tughril
|title = [[Sultan]]<br>[[Ghazi (warrior)|Ghazi]]
|succession =
|image = Chaurasi Khamba Masjid Column detail (6134444060).jpg
|caption = Modern view of the [[Chaurasi Khamba Mosque]] built by Bahauddin Tughril
|reign = 1195-1210
|coronation =
|full name =
|predecessor = [[Muhammad of Ghor]]
|successor =
|spouse =
|issue =
|royal house =
|dynasty =
|father =
|mother =
|birth_date =
|birth_place = [[Turkestan]]
|death_date = 1210
|death_place = Sultankot (present-day [[Rajasthan]])
|burial_date =
|burial_place =
|religion = [[Sunni Islam]]
}}
'''Malik Bahauddin Tughril''' ({{reign|1195|1210}}), commonly known as '''Bahauddin Tughril''' or '''Baha al-Din Tughril''' was a senior [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] slave of the [[Ghurid]] ruler [[Muhammad of Ghor]] who was in charge of the [[Bayana]] region in the present-day [[India]]n state of [[Rajasthan]]. He was admitted into the slave-household of the [[Ghurids]] during early reign of Muhammad of Ghor and gradually emerged as one of his eminent slave lieutenant along with [[Qutb al-Din Aibak]], playing a significant role in the [[Indian campaigns of Muhammad of Ghor|Ghurid conquest of northern Indian plain]].

After Muhammad of Ghor seized [[Bayana]] in 1195–96 to guard the southern flank of [[Delhi]], he made Tughril the viceroy of Bayana. Under his administration, the region of Bayana briefly emerged as a cosmopolitan centre, encouraging considerable Muslim settlements from all over [[Khurasan]]. After Muhammad of Ghor's assassination on 15 March 1206, Tughril like other [[Ghurid]] [[mamluks]] was manumitted, thereby he announced himself as the "[[Sultan]]". He died in 1210, and afterwards, the territory was soon brought under by [[Illtutmish]], although Tughril's family continued to exercise influence over the region of [[Bayana]] even half a century after his death.

Bahauddin Tughril also commissioned a number of monuments in Bayana during his reign which included [[Chaurasi Khamba Mosque]], the mosque of Ukha Mandir and a [[Eidgah]] constructed after recycling the components of demolished [[Hindu]] [[temples]].

== Early life ==
The contemporaneous evidence regarding Bahauddin's early life is scarce, probably indicating that he rose from obscurity in the [[Ghurid]] services. Bahauddin was sold into [[slavery]] and was purchased by the [[Ghurid]] ruler [[Muhammad of Ghor]] or [[Muhammad Ghori]] during his early reign.{{sfn|Nizami|1970|page=170}} He eventually played a key role in the [[Indian campaigns of Muhammad of Ghor|Ghurid conquest of northern India]] accompanying Muhammad of Ghor and earned his admiration, eventually becoming one of his high-ranked slave generals.{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=225}}

After sweeping aside the major political centres of [[northern India]], Muhammad with [[Qutb al-Din Aybeg]] and Bahauddin in his ranks moved towards the rich [[Bayana]] region in the present-day state of [[Rajasthan]], to guard the southern flank of [[Delhi]]. The region was under the control of [[Jadaun Rajputs|Jadaun]] clan of [[Rajputs]] whose ruler Kunwarpaal instead of resisting the Ghurid armies outside of his capital, moved to Thankar ([[Tahangarh]]). Muhammad and his troops besieged him in Thankar and forced him to surrender after a brief siege. According to the chronicler [[Hasan Nizami]], the life of the Rai (Kunwarpal) was spared by Muhammad and the "centre of idolatry became the abode of [[Allah]]'s glory, following the taking of the impregnable fortress".{{sfn|Kumar|2007|page=88-89}}

The region of Bayana and its administration was conferred upon Bahauddin Tughril by Muhammad who returned to [[Khurasan]]. The contemporaneous accounts credit Tughril's reign for the booming period (ma'mur) of the conquered region.{{sfn|Patel|2009|page=44}} According to Juzjani, Bayana under Bahauddin emerged as a cosmopolitan centre from the status of a secondary city under previous Hindu ruling clans, encouraging a large amount of Muslim settlements from all over [[Khurasan]] and parts of [[Hindustan]].{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=226}}

After finding the region of Thankar inappropriate for his troops, Bahauddin established a city on the western foot of Bayana and named it as Sultankot which became his new capital{{sfn|Kumar|2002|page=22}} and was subsequently utilized by him as a springboard for further military operations in the Ganges Valley.{{sfn|Nizami|1970|page=170-171}} The town also became the nucleus of the township of his stronghold at [[Bayana]].{{sfn|Khan|2008|page=33}}

== Death ==
{{Main|Siege of Gwalior (1196)}}
Muhammad of Ghor besieged the castle of [[Gwalior]] which was under the control of [[Parihar (clan)|Parihar]] clan, although due to the ailing health of his brother [[Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad]], Muhammad was compelled to leave to [[Firuzkuh]]. According to the later historian [[Muhammad Qasim Ferishta]], Muhammad promised Tughril the governance of [[Gwalior]] on its seizure.{{sfn|Kumar|2007|page=118}} However, owing to the increasing domain and influence of Tughril who might have gained significant plunder on the capitulation of [[Gwalior]], as a result Qutb al-Din himself laid siege to Gwalior. The fort held out for long time, however, hard pressed by the Ghurids, they eventually surrendered it to [[Qutb al-Din Aybeg]]. Summarily, Qutb al-Din appointed his slave [[Iltutmish]] as the governor of the region.{{sfn|Kumar|2007|page=119}} Chronicler Juzjani laconically mentioned that Qutb al-Din's annexation of Gwalior despite the fact that Tughril was endeavoring for it,{{sfn|Kumar|2002|page=22}} led to a polito-military rivalry between Qutb al-Din and Tughril.{{sfn|Kumar|2002|page=22,23}}

The date of these accounts are sketchy, according to some scholars like the art-historian Natalie H. Shokoohy, these events probably took place after the assassination of the Muhammad of Ghor in 1206 as there are no evidences of Muhammad's interferences amidst the turmoil.{{sfn|Mehrdad Shokoohy|Natalie H. Shokoohy|1985|page=114}} Conversely, historian [[K. A. Nizami]] theorizes that both Aybeg and Bahauddin were operating as independent sovereign of Muhammad and the conflict between the two was not unlikely.{{sfn|Nizami|1970|page=171}}

After the assassination of Muhammad of Ghor at Dumyak on 15 March 1206, Bahauddin, just like the other slaves of Muhammad Ghor who were operating in the zone between [[Ghazna]] and the [[Indus valley]], were [[Manumission|manumitted]] and also freed of the [[Mawla|mawālī]] obligations.{{sfn|Kumar|2007|page=95}} Thus, Tughril declared independence and styled himself as the "Sultan" at Bayana. The exact date of his death is uncertain, although based on the annals of near-contemporary chronicler [[Minhaj al-Siraj|Juzjani]], he died sometime before Qutb al-Din Aybeg in 1210.{{sfn|Patel|2009|page=41}}{{sfn|Mehrdad Shokoohy|Natalie H. Shokoohy|1985|page=115}}

== Succession ==
The Ghurid slaves just like their master Muhammad of Ghor, themselves established a core of slave entourages of their own. Juzjani mentions the name of two eminent slaves of Tughril which includes - Nasitr Al-Din Ali Tamar and Izz al-Din Tughril Baha.{{sfn|Kumar|2007|page=98}} Bayana was conquered soon after Tughril's death by the Delhi Sultan - [[Iltutmish]]. Juzjani further alluded that Bahauddin's successors sold their father's slaves owing to their declining fortunes to [[Illtutmish]] during his early reign, possibly after his conquest of the region.{{sfn|Kumar|2007|page=96}}

Despite the annexation of Bayana by Illtutmish, the milieu of political ascendancy of the region continued to be influenced by kinsmen of Bahauddin Tughril, years after his death.{{sfn|Kumar|2007|page=122}} Iltutmish arranged a matrimonial alliance between the daughter of Bahauddin Tughril and Taj al-Din Arasalan Khan - who was amongst his most trusted and manumitted slave, as a result he was placed in the charge of Bayana region during the reign of [[Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah, Sultan of Delhi|Nasir al-Din Mahmud]] .{{sfn|Kumar|2007|page=122-123}} Hence, the political control of Tughril's family continued in [[Bayana]] as long as 1250's.{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=227}}

== Coinage ==
Bahauddin Tughril like Qutb al-Din Aybeg and other Ghurid slaves who were active east of the [[Indus]] - minted his coins in the name of his master Muhammad of Ghor, continuing it on the preexisting model of his defeated adversaries - the Jadauns.{{sfn|Flood|2009|page=114}} The gold coins circulated in [[Bayana]] by Tughril included iconography of the [[Hindu]] female deity [[Laxmi]] juxtaposed with the name of his master Muhammad of Ghor in [[Sanskrit]] – "Mahamada bini Sama".{{sfn|Kumar|2007|page=101-102}}{{sfn|Flood|2009|page=115-116}}

== Architecture ==
{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width = 300|caption_align = center
| image1 = Chaurasi Khamba Masjid Column detail (6134432990).jpg
| image2 = Chaurasi Khamba Masjid entrance (6133899967).jpg
| caption2 = Entrance of the mosque at Kama
}}
According to Juzjani - the chief chronicler of the [[Ghurid dynasty]] and the evolving [[Delhi Sultanate]] - several beneficial monuments were constructed by Tughril in the region of Bayana during his reign.{{sfn|Mehrdad Shokoohy|Natalie H. Shokoohy|1985|page=114}} The monuments built by Tughril were chiefly the congregational mosque of Ukha Mandir which was constructed possibly in the 1200s, the [[Chaurasi Khamba Mosque]] at Kaman (present-day [[Bharatpur district|Bharatpur]]) and an idgah in [[Bayana]]. The composition of idgah bear a resemblance in size and grandiosity to the Quwwat-ul-Islam, mosque, constructed by Qutb al-Din Aybeg in [[Delhi]].{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=226-227}}

The paradigm of construction of these mosques includes the reused constituents of the demolished [[Hindu]] temples by the Ghurid armies.{{sfn|Mehrdad Shokoohy|Natalie H. Shokoohy|1985|page=118}}{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=322}} The construction of these mosques on the ruins of demolished temples, earned Tughril the distinction of being the orthodox warrior of [[Islam]] - ''[[Ghazi (warrior)|Ghazi]]''.{{sfn|Patel|2009|page=45}} Accordingly, the epigraphs of the mosques in [[Bayana]], eulogized him as the "conqueror of infidels" and also introduced him as the ''Padishah'' or ''Sultan''.{{sfn|Kumar|2002|page=25}} The formation of these mosques possibly dates to 1206 after the assassination of Muhammad of Ghor, as it referred to Tughril as a "Sultan".{{sfn|Flood|2009|page=156}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Flood |first=Finbarr Barry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLNE_li8C10C |title=Objects of Translation: Material Culture and Medieval "Hindu-Muslim" Encounter |date=2009|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-12594-7 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last=Khan |first=Iqtidar Alam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URluAAAAMAAJ |title=Historical Dictionary of Medieval India |date=2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-5503-8 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book|last=Kumar|first=Sunil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MF9uAAAAMAAJ |title=The Present in Delhi's Pasts |date=2002 |publisher=Three Essays Press |isbn=978-81-88394-00-5 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kumar |first=Sunil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EoIMAQAAMAAJ |title=The Emergence of the Delhi Sultanate, 1192-1286 |date=2007 |publisher=Permanent Black |isbn=978-81-7824-147-0 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |editor=Oleg Grabar|chapter=The Architecture of Baha al-Din Tughrul in the region of Bayana, Rajasthan|author1=Mehrdad Shokoohy |author2=Natalie H. Shokoohy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xu_L_FJRvUIC |title=An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture |date=1985 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-07611-2 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nizami|first= K. A.|author-link=K. A. Nizami |chapter= Foundation of the Delhi Sultanat|editor1=Mohammad Habib |editor2=Khaliq Ahmad Nizami |title=A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultanate (A.D. 1206-1526) |volume=5 |edition=Second |year=1970|publisher=The Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9cmAQAAMAAJ |oclc=31870180}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Patel |first=Alka|date=2009 |title=Expanding the Ghurid Architectural Corpus East of the Indus: The Jāgeśvara Temple at Sādaḍi, Rajasthan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40863700 |journal=Archives of Asian Art |volume=59 |pages=33–56 |doi=10.1353/aaa.0.0008 |jstor=40863700 |s2cid=192068337 |issn=0066-6637|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite book|last=Wink|first=Andre|author-link=Andre Wink|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=75FlxDhZWpwC |title=Al-Hind the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: The Slave Kings and the Islamic Conquest : 11Th-13th Centuries |date=1991 |publisher=BRILL| isbn=9004102361 |language=en}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:12th-century births]]
[[Category:1210 deaths]]
[[Category:Turkic people]]
[[Category:Slaves in the medieval Islamic world]]
[[Category:13th-century slaves]]
[[Category:Ghilman]]
[[Category:Ghurid generals]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:12th-century slaves]]
[[Category:Indian slaves]]

Bahauddin Tughril - Revision history

Alicolours at 17:53, 28 March 2026