Khalji dynasty

Khalji dynasty, (1290–1320), the second ruling dynasty of the Muslim sultanate of Delhi. The dynasty, whose founder Jalal-ud-Din Firuz Khalji had been the top military commander under the previous Mamluk dynasty, was responsible for making the Delhi sultanate into an imperial power by expanding its rule into the Hindu south.

The appointment of Jalal-ud-Din by the last Mamluk king, Kay-Qubādh, had caused a stir because he was outside the dynasty’s ruling class. As the ruling class and the nobles backing Jalal-ud-Din sparred, Jalal-ud-Din’s faction killed Kay-Qubādh and usurped the throne. Jalal-ud-Din was already elderly, and for a time he was so unpopular that he dared not enter the capital. His nephew Jūnā Khan led an expedition into the Hindu Deccan region (peninsular India), captured Ellichpur and its treasure, and returned to murder his uncle in 1296.

With the title of Alauddin Khalji, Jūnā Khan reigned for 20 years. He captured Ranthambhor (1301) and Chitor (Chittaurgarh; 1303), conquered Mandu (1305), and annexed the wealthy Hindu kingdom of Devagiri. He also repelled Mongol raids. Alauddin’s lieutenant, Malik Kāfūr, was sent on a plundering expedition to the south in 1308, which led to the capture of Warangal, the overthrow of the Hoysala dynasty south of the Krishna River, and the occupation of Madura in the extreme south. Malik Kāfūr returned to Delhi in 1311 laden with spoils. Thereafter the fortunes of Alauddin and the dynasty declined. The sultan died in early 1316, and Malik Kāfūr’s attempted usurpation ended with his own death.

The last Khalji, Quṭb al-Dīn Mubārak Shah, was murdered in 1320 by his chief minister, Khusraw Khan, who was in turn replaced by Ghiyāṣ al-Dīn Tughluq, the first ruler of the Tughluq dynasty.