Fearless Razia-The only Female ruler of the Throne of Delhi

For several months, her face was veiled
—her sword’s ray flashed, lightning-like, from behind the screen.
Since the sword remained in the sheath,
many rebellions were left unchecked.
With a royal blow, she tore away the veil.
she showed her face’s sun from behind the screen.
The lioness showed so much force
that brave men bent low before her.
                                                  -Amir Khusrou

“My daughter is equal to twenty of my sons” – Sultan Iltutmish.

Razia Sultan, also known as Sultan Razziyat Ud Dunya Wa Ud Din was born to Turkan Khatun the chief wife of Sultan Iltutmish who is widely regarded as the real founder of the Delhi Sultanate in India since it was, he who made Delhi the capital of his empire by building mosques and various institutional complexes and Delhi under him became the strongest empire in Northern India, Iltutmish’s rule was also legitimized by the Abbasid Caliph who was considered the head of the Islamic world. Iltutmish was never the typical orthodox ruler in fact even though he was religiously devout he accepted all faiths and was tolerant which is the main feature of his rule, understandably his daughter Razia is said to have had much in common with her father, Iltutmish though born to a fairly rich family was sold off as a slave when he was young and hence when he became king it is understandable that he did not just give military education to his sons but also to his daughter Razia, Razia was always considered ahead of her times she was skilled in military tactics and also administration which was not common for even royal women to learn in the 13^th-century, she is said to have spent almost no time in the zenana where the women resided and instead was always found training like her brothers. Iltutmish had his eldest Nasiruddin Muhammad appointed as his successor as it was the norm of the day to appoint the eldest son as the heir, however, though his son was able he unexpectedly died in Bengal which had everybody questioning as to who would take over the throne next. While Iltutmish headed towards Gwalior for a military campaign he appointed Razia to look after the administration in Delhi and this is where Razia’s legacy starts, she is said to have managed the kingdom efficiently and an impressed Iltutmish made the unorthodox decision of appointing his daughter as his successor to carry on his legacy, his decision was met by huge criticism surprisingly not by the Ulema or religious heads but by his nobles who did not want to be ruled by Razia as it was below their pride to be ruled by a woman. Though faced by constant criticism Iltutmish held on to his decision as he considered Razia to be more capable than any of her other brothers and refused to appoint a successor from amongst his sons. However, after Iltutmish died, in a shrewd move his nobles appointed Ruknuddin Firuz one of Iltutmish’s sons, and Razia’s half-brother as the sultan instead of Razia, Ruknuddin is said to have merely ruled for 6 months as Razia successfully defeated him not by the sword but by public support. Ruknuddin’s rule was considered to be despotic by the public as he inflicted torture on common people and also gave in to the pleasure of wine and women, Razia realizing this is said to have protested in public after prayertime by wearing a red garment which was symbolic of her anger, she is said to have addressed the public by openly speaking about her half-brother’s crimes and promised the people of Delhi that she would be a ruler committed to her people just as her father was and also stressed on the fact that it was she who was selected by her father to be heir apparent, she also is said to have famously stated that if she was found to be inefficient then she would like to be punished and killed by her own populace, thus in a change of events due to growing public outrage the nobles had Ruknuddin killed and in a quick move Razia was appointed as the next King and this was all because of a massive public movement that favoured Razia which gives us an idea that for Razia it was her people who mattered, she wanted to be elected and legitimized by the masses and not by the Turkic nobles of her court, by doing so Razia managed to become the first and last Muslim woman to rule over Delhi. Breaking the glass ceiling has never been easy for women, glass ceilings for women exist even now with most companies refusing to promote women to higher leadership roles due to the fear that they might get married and ultimately become mothers, understandably so Razia lived in an era where orthodoxy was at its peak and yet she managed to break the glass ceiling by not only becoming her father’s successor but by also diplomatically handling nobles who were against her and turning many of them to her side. Razia also never maintained a veil and dressed up like a man by wearing a turban and carrying a sword as she wanted to be completely transparent to her audience and found the veil to be an obstacle for her, she also refused to take up ‘Sultana’ as a title and went by the title of ‘Sultan’. Razia’s reign only lasted for 3 years but in a short period she had made her mark, she was considered tolerant and worked for the benefit of the common man she also tried incorporating people of other races and faiths into her court a move which was highly criticized by the Turkic nobles who made attempts to malign her image by spreading rumors that she was in a relationship with Jamal-ud-Din-Yaqut, an Abyssinian slave, which ultimately led her to her downfall, Minhaj-i-Siraj who was the contemporary historian of the sultanate had stated that although it was only Razia who was capable to handle the sultanate and did everything she could to benefit the common folk of Delhi her only downside was that she was born a woman and unfortunately although she broke various stereotypes she failed to rule for long as the orthodox and insecure nobles of her court decided to rebel against her due to her growing popularity and eventually she met a tragic death on 14th October 1240 while trying to protect and regain her lost throne alongside her husband Malik Altunia.

The trouble with society is that to this day and age women are often subject to violence and are considered to not be capable enough, Razia’s story of resilience is not just a reflection of the 13th-century society she lived in but also of the society we live in today and what we need to question is how many such Razia’s still exist today and how long will the shackles of orthodoxy and insecurity continue to threaten and trap such Razia’s.