Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha - Successors of Ghauri

Successors of Ghauri

Ghauri had no offspring, but he treated thousands of his Turkic slaves as his sons, who were trained both as soldiers and administrators and provided with the best possible education. Many of his hardworking and intelligent slaves rose to positions of importance in Ghauri's army and government.

When a courtier lamented that the Sultan had no male heirs, Ghauri retorted:

"Other monarchs may have one son, or two sons; I have thousands of sons, my Turkish slaves who will be the heirs of my dominions, and who, after me, will take care to preserve my name in the Khuṭbah (Friday sermon) throughout these territories."

Ghauri's prediction proved true. After his assassination, his Empire was divided amongst his slaves. Most notably:

• Qutb-ud-din Aibak became ruler of Delhi in 1206, establishing the Sultanate of Delhi, which marked the start of the Slave dynasty of India
• Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha became ruler of Multan
• Taj-ud-Din Yildoz became ruler of Ghazni
• Ikhtiyar Uddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji became ruler of Bengal