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{{Short description|Sultan of Delhi from 1246 to 1266}}
{{About|the Mamluk sultan of Delhi||Nasiruddin Mahmud (disambiguation){{!}}Nasiruddin Mahmud}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox monarch
| name = Mahmud I
|title = Sultan
| succession = 8th [[Delhi Sultanate|Sultan of Delhi]]
| reign = 10 June 1246 – 18 February 1266
| coronation = 10 June 1246 in [[Delhi]]
| predecessor = [[Ala ud din Masud]]
| successor = [[Ghiyasuddin Balban]]
| spouse = Malikah-i-Jahan Khani,<ref>Minhaj-i-Siraj, "Tabaqat-i-Nasiri" translated by Major HG Raverty (1873), pp. 686, 714.</ref>{{primary source inline|date=February 2024}} daughter of [[Ghiyasuddin Balban]]
| issue =
| royal house = [[Mamluk dynasty (Delhi)|Mamluk]]
| father = [[Shamsuddin Iltutmish]] (or possibly Iltutmish's son Nasiruddin Mahmud{{sfn|K. A. Nizami|1992|pp=256}}{{sfn|Jaswant Lal Mehta|1979|p=105}})
| mother = ''Malikah-i-Jahan'' Jalal-ud-Dunya-wa-uddin<ref>Minhaj-i-Siraj, "Tabaqat-i-Nasiri" translated by Major HG Raverty (1873), p. 676</ref>{{primary source inline|date=February 2024}}
| birth_date = 1229 or 1230
| birth_place = [[Delhi]]
| death_date = 18 February 1266 (aged 35–37)
| death_place = [[Delhi]]
| place of burial =
| image = Coin of Naziruddin Mahmud.jpg
| caption = Silver tanka of Nasir ud Din Mahmud
| religion = [[Islam]]
| module = {{infobox military person|embed = yes
| serviceyears = 1246–1266
}}}}

'''Nasir ud din Mahmud Shah''' ({{langx|fa|{{nq|ناصر الدین محمود شاه}}}}; 1229/1230 – 19 November 1266), also known as '''Mahmud I''', was the eighth [[List of sultans of Delhi|Sultan of Delhi]]. The [[Tabaqat-i Nasiri]], written by the court historian [[Minhaj-i-Siraj]], is dedicated to him. His father-in-law [[Ghiyas ud din Balban]] handled the state affairs during his reign.

== Early life ==
''[[Tabaqat-i Nasiri]]'', written by the Sultan's court historian [[Minhaj-i-Siraj]], calls him a son (''ibn'') of Iltutmish.{{sfn|K. A. Nizami|1992|pp=256}} According to Minhaj's account, Nasiruddin was born in the year of 626 Hijri (1229-1230 CE), in Delhi's Kasr-Bagh (the Garden Castle). His mother was a concubine ( who later, during his son's reign, was given the title of Malikah-i-Jahan).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Minhaj-i-Siraj Jurjani|first=Abu-'Umar-i-'Usman|title=The Tabaqat-i-Nasiri translated by Major H.G. Raverty|publisher=Asiatic Society of Bengal|year=1873|location=London|pages=633–676|language=English}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=February 2024}} He was born sometime after the untimely death of Iltutmish's eldest son and heir apparent [[Nasiruddin Mahmud (eldest son of Iltutmish)|Nasir-ud-din Mahmud Shah]]. Iltutmish named the child after the deceased prince, and sent him and his mother to live in a palace in the Loni (or Luni) village.{{sfn|K. A. Nizami|1992|pp=256}}

[[Isami (historian)|Isami]] and [[Firishta]] describe the Sultan as a grandson of Iltutmish instead. Some modern scholars consider Minhaj as more reliable because he was a contemporary of the Sultan,{{sfn|Riazul Islam|2002|p=323}} while others believe that he was a son of Iltutmish's eldest son Nasiruddin, and was named after his father. For example, historians [[K. A. Nizami]] and J. L. Mehta believe that it is unlikely that Iltutmish sent his own son away from Delhi to the Loni village instead of bringing him up at the royal palace. Mehta states that Minhaj's statement that the child was "brought up and educated ''as a prince''" indirectly implies that the child was not a prince by birth. Plus, Minhaj states that in 1225 CE, Sultan Nasiruddin's mother married an office named Qutlugh Khan. According to Nizami and Mehta, it is unlikely that a widow of Iltutmish married a petty noble: it is more likely that Sultan Nasiruddin's mother was a widow of Iltutmish's son Nasiruddin.{{sfn|K. A. Nizami|1992|pp=256}}{{sfn|Jaswant Lal Mehta|1979|p=105}}

== Reign ==
[[File:Silver Tanka from the Sultanate of Delhi, struck in the name of Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah, photographed from a personal collection in West Bengal, India, September 17, 2024.jpg|thumb|Silver Tanka from the Sultanate of Delhi, struck in the name of Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah.]]
On May 10, 1242, Sultan [[Muiz ud din Bahram]] was dethroned. Umara{{Efn|plural of 'Amir'}} and Maliks took the possession of Delhi from him. Mahmud, along with his brother Jalal-ud-Din Masud Shah and nephew [[Ala-ud-Din Masud Shah|Ala ud din Masud]] (son of [[Ruknuddin Firuz]]) was brought to Firuzi castle, the royal residence, from the confinement of the white castle by the umara and Ala ud din Masud was chosen as the Sultan. Both the brothers remained in confinement until September 1243, when Masud ordered them to be released and conferred upon Mahmud the city of Bharaij and its dependencies. Mahmud left Delhi and went to his fief with his mother. He undertook expeditions against the rebels in that territory and the adjacent mountains.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Minhaj-i-Siraj Jurjani|first=Abu-'Umar-i-'Usman|title=The Tabakat-i-Nasiri. Translated by Major H.G. Raverty|publisher=Asiatic Society of Bengal|year=1873|isbn=|location=London|pages=633–676}}</ref>

He ascended to the throne of Delhi Sultanate in 1246 at the age of 17 or 18 after the chiefs replaced [[Ala ud din Masud]], when they felt that Masud began to behave as a [[tyrant]].

As a ruler, Mahmud was known to be very religious, spending most of his time in prayer (''[[namaz]]'') and copying the [[Quran]]. However, it was actually his father-in-law and Naib, [[Ghiyas ud din Balban]], who primarily dealt with the state affairs.<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=74–76}}</ref> His reign lasted from 1246 to 1265.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hanifi |first=Manzoor Ahmad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iGduAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Nasiruddin+%2C+the+youngest+son+of+Iltutmish%22 |title=A Short History of Muslim Rule in Indo-Pakistan |publisher=Ideal Library |year=1964 |page=43}}</ref> After Mahmud's death in 1266, Balban (1266–87) rose to power as Mahmud had no surviving children to be his heir.

== Personal life ==
Unlike many of his predecessors and successors, Mahmud strictly followed [[monogamy]]. He spent most of his time writing down verses of the [[Quran]]. He sold the handwritten copies and used the money for his personal expenses. Surprising enough, he had no servants to carry out his personal tasks. His wife had to cook the food for the family.<ref name="Vandhargal Vendrargal">{{cite book |authorlink= Madhan |title= Vandhargal Vendrargal|year= 2012|publisher= Vikatan Prasuram|location= Chennai|isbn= 978-81-89780-59-3|page= 27}}</ref>{{unreliable source|reason=the writer is a cartoonist, journalist, and film critic; not a historian|date=February 2020}}

=== Consort ===
Sultan Nasir ud-Din Mahmud Shah had strictly followed monogamy by marrying Malika-i-Jahan Khani, the daughter of [[Balban|Ulugh Khan, Ghiyas ud-Din Balban]] in 1250 (mentioned the marriage took place on 3rd Safar 647H.) <ref>{{Cite book |last=Minhaj-i-Siraj-Jurjani |first=Abu-'Umar-i-'Usman |title=The Tabakat-i-Nasiri. Translated by Major H.G. Raverty |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bengal. |year=1873 |location=London |pages=685-687}}</ref>

=== Issue ===
Sultan Nasir ud-Din Mahmud had at least five children<ref name=":0" />:

* Malik Rukn ud-Din Firuz Shah (died before 1260s)
* Malik Taj ud-Din Ibrahim Shah (died before 1260s)
* Malik Muizz ud-Din Bahram Shah (died before 1260s)
* Malik Shihab ud-Din Muhammad Shah; in other text he was mentioned as Shihab ud-Din Mahmud <ref name=":0" /> (died before 1260s)
* unnamed daughter, mentioned to be the only daughter of Nasir ud-Din Mahmud who married to Balban's son, [[Nasiruddin Bughra Khan]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 June 2023 |title=Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah |url=https://historyunravelled.com/warriors/nasiruddin-mahmudshah |access-date=24 September 2025 |website=History Unravelled: The History You Can Trust}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Mamluk dynasty of Delhi|Mamluk dynasty]]
*[[History of India]]
*[[Islamic history]]
*[[List of Indian monarchs]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |author=K. A. Nizami |author-link=K. A. Nizami |chapter=The Early Turkish Sultans of Delhi |editor1=Mohammad Habib |editor2=Khaliq Ahmad Nizami |title=A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultanat (A.D. 1206-1526) |volume=5 |edition=Second |year=1992 |publisher=The Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9cmAQAAMAAJ |oclc=31870180 }}
* {{cite book |author=Riazul Islam |title=Sufism in South Asia: Impact on Fourteenth Century Muslim Society |year=2002 |isbn=9780195790054 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=91PYAAAAMAAJ }}
* {{cite book |author=Jaswant Lal Mehta |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India |volume=2 |year=1979 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. |isbn=9788120706170 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iUk5k5AN54sC&pg=PA105 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01368/web/html_slave_pg-2.html India Through the Ages]
*[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slave-dynasty The Slave Dynasty]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|
before=[[Ala ud din Masud]]|
title=[[Mamluk dynasty of Delhi|Mamluk Dynasty]]|
years=1206–1290|
after=[[Ghiyas ud din Balban]]
}}
{{succession box|
before=[[Ala ud din Masud]]|
title=[[Delhi Sultanate|Sultan of Delhi]]|
years=1246–1266|
after=[[Ghiyas ud din Balban]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasir Ud Din Mahmud}}
[[Category:Sultans of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi)]]
[[Category:1266 deaths]]
[[Category:13th-century births]]
[[Category:Indian Sunni Muslims]]
[[Category:13th-century Indian monarchs]]

Mahmud I of Delhi - Revision history

Tijusacademyoet at 20:13, 20 March 2026