

With reluctance, the nobility agreed to allow Razia to reign as Sultan of Delhi. On November 9, 1236, both Ruknuddin and his mother Shah Turkaan were assassinated after only six months in power. With Iltutmish’s widow Shah Turkaan for all practical purposes running the government, Ruknuddin abandoned himself to the pursuit of personal pleasure and debauchery, to the considerable outrage of the citizenry. (According to one source, Iltumish’s eldest son had initially been groomed as his successor, but had died prematurely.) But the Muslim nobility had no intention of acceding to Iltutmish’s appointment of a woman as heir, and after the sultan died on April 29, 1236, Razia’s brother, Ruknuddin Feroze Shah, was elevated to the throne instead.

Iltutmish became the first sultan to appoint a woman as his successor when he designated his daughter Razia as his heir apparent. Razia succeeded her father Shams-ud-din Iltutmish to the Sultanate of Delhi in 1236. Razia Sultana, the fifth Mamluk Sultan, was one of the few female sovereigns in the history of Islamic civilization. She was of Turkish Seljuks slave ancestry and like some other Muslim princesses of the time, she was trained to lead armies and administer kingdoms if necessary. Razia al-Din usually referred to in history as Razia Sultan, was the Sultan because of Delhi in India from 1236 to May 1240. History Of The Life Of Razia Sultan History Essay
