Aram Shah (Template:Langx; 1176 – June 1211) was the second sultan of the Mamluk Sultanate. He briefly held the throne from Lahore after the unexpected death of Qutb ud-Din Aibak before being defeated and dethroned by Iltutmish who began ruling from Delhi.
Origins
Aram Shah is an obscure figure, and his relationship to his predecessor Qutb al-Din Aibak is not certain. In some manuscripts of Minhaj-i-Siraj's Tabaqat-i Nasiri, the words "bin Aibak" ("son of Qutub-i-deen-Aibak") appear after his name in a chapter heading, and later writers believed him to be a son of Aibak. However, the words "bin Aibak" in the headline may have been an erroneous addition made by a scribe.Template:Sfn Minhaj-i-Siraj refers to only three daughters of Aibak elsewhere in the text, and Ata-Malik Juvayni's Tarikh-i Jahangushay explicitly states that Aibak did not have any son.Template:Sfn What is known is that he succeeded Aibak in city of Lahore.Template:Sfn
Reign
In 1210, Qutb al-Din Aibak died unexpectedly in Lahore during a sport game, without having named a successor. To prevent instability in the kingdom, the Turkic nobles (maliks and umara) in Lahore appointed Aram Shah as his successor at Lahore.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn However, the Turkic nobles in different parts of the Sultanate opposed his ascension, and some of them - such as the Khalji nobles of Bengal - rebelled against him. According to the 16th century historian Firishta, the kingdom also suffered an invasion from the neighbouring ruler Nasir ad-Din Qabacha of Multan.Template:Sfn
A group of nobles, led by the military justiciar (Amir-i Dad) Ali-yi Ismail, invited Iltutmish to occupy the throne.Template:Sfn Iltutmish, a former slave of Aibak and the governor of Badaun, had a distinguished record of service and was called a son by Aibak, because of which the nobles considered him as a good candidate for the throne.Template:Sfn Iltutmish marched to Delhi, where he seized the power, and later defeated Aram Shah's forces at Bagh-i Jud. According to the Tabaqat-i Nasiri, Aram Shah was "martyred": it is not clear if he was killed on the battlefield, or put to death as a prisoner of war.Template:Sfn Two of his important officers - Aqsanqar and Farrukh Shah - were killed on the battlefield. Iltutmish subsequently consolidated his power and began ruling from Delhi.Template:Sfn
References
Bibliography
- A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultanat (A.D. 1206–1526){{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. The Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House(1992)
- The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Cambridge University Press(2003). ISBN 978-0-521-54329-3
- Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206–1526){{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Har-Anand Publications(2004). ISBN 978-81-241-1064-5