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| Balban | |
|---|---|
| Sultan | |
 | |
| 9th Sultan of Delhi | |
| Reign | 18 February 1266–13 January 1287 |
| Predecessor | Nasiruddin Mahmud |
| Successor | Muiz ud din Qaiqabad |
| Born | 1216 Delhi |
| Died | 13 January 1287[1] (aged 71—72) |
| Burial | |
| Issue |
|
| House | House of Balban |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Ghiyas-ud-din Balban (Persian: غیاث الدین بلبن; 1216–1287) was the ninth Sultan of Delhi. He had been the regent of the last Shamsi sultan, Mahmud until the latter's death in 1266,[2] following which, he declared himself sultan of Delhi.
His original name was Baha-ud-Din. He was an Ilbari Turk. When he was young he was captured by the Mongols, taken to Ghazni and sold to Khawaja Jamal-ud-din of Basra, a Sufi. The latter then brought him to Delhi in 1232 along with other slaves, and all of them were purchased by Iltutmish.[citation needed] Balban belonged to the famous group of 40 Turkic slaves of Iltutmish.[3]
Ghiyas made several conquests, some of them as wazir. He routed the people of Mewat that harassed Delhi and reconquered Bengal, all while successfully facing the Mongol threat, during which his son died. After his death in 1287, his grandson Qaiqabad was nominated sultan, though his rule undermined the success made under his grandfather's reign.
In spite of having only a few military achievements, Balban reformed civil and military lines that earned him a stable and prosperous government granting him the position, along with Shams ud-din Iltutmish and the later Alauddin Khalji, one of the most powerful rulers of Delhi Sultanate.[citation needed]
- ^ "Ghiyas ud din Balban".
- ^ Chandra, Satish (1999). History of Medieval India. ORIENT BLACKSWAN. p. 80.
- ^ Bhat, R.A History of Medieval India pp. 66–68