Raziyyat-Ud-Dunya Wa Ud-Din (Persian: سلطان رضیه الدنیا والدین; c. 1205 – 15 October 1240), popularly known as Razia Sultan, was the Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate from 1236 until her deposition in 1240. She was the first female Muslim ruler of the Indian Subcontinent, and the only female Muslim ruler of Delhi.
A daughter of Mamluk Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish, Razia administered Delhi from 1231 to 1232 when her father was busy in the Gwalior campaign. According to a possibly apocryphal legend, impressed by her performance during this period, Iltutmish nominated Razia as his heir apparent after returning to Delhi. Iltutmish was succeeded by Razia's half-brother Ruknuddin Firuz, whose mother Shah Turkan planned to execute her. During a rebellion against Ruknuddin, Razia instigated the general public against Shah Turkan, and ascended the throne after Ruknuddin was deposed in 1236.
Razia's ascension was challenged by a section of nobles, some of whom ultimately joined her, while the others were defeated. The Turkic nobles who supported her expected her to be a figurehead, but she increasingly asserted her power. This, combined with her appointments of non-Turkic officers to important posts, led to their resentment against her. She was deposed by a group of nobles in April 1240, after having ruled for less than four years. She married one of the rebels – Ikhtiyaruddin Altunia – and attempted to regain the throne, but was defeated by her half-brother and successor Muizuddin Bahram in October that year, and was killed shortly after.
Razia's name is also transliterated as Raḍiyya or Raziyya. The term "Sultana", used by some modern writers, is a misnomer as it means "the king's wife" rather than "female ruler". Razia's own coins call her Sultan Jalalat al-Duniya wal-Din or as al-Sultan al-Muazzam Raziyat al-Din bint al-Sultan. The Sanskrit-language inscriptions of the Sultanate call her Jallaladina, while near-contemporary historian Minhaj calls her Sultan Raziyat al-Duniya wa'l Din bint al-Sultan. Another masculine title, padshah (badshah) was also given to Razia.
Razia was born to the Delhi Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish, an Ilbari Turkic slave (mamluk) of his predecessor Qutb ud-Din Aibak. Razia's mother – Turkan Khatun was a daughter of Qutb ud-Din Aibak, and the chief wife of Iltutmish. Razia was the eldest daughter of Iltutmish, and probably his first-born child.
Iltutmish had groomed his eldest son Nasiruddin Mahmud to be his successor, but this son died unexpectedly in 1229. According to historian Minhaj-i-Siraj, Iltutmish believed his other sons were absorbed in pleasurable activities, and would be incapable of managing the state affairs after his death. While leaving for his Gwalior campaign in 1231, Iltutmish left his daughter Razia as in-charge of Delhi's administration. Razia performed her duties so well that after returning to Delhi, Iltutmish decided to name her as his successor. Iltutmish ordered his officer mushrif-i mamlakat Tajul Mulk Mahmud Dabir to prepare a decree naming Razia as the heir apparent. When his nobles questioned this decision on the basis that he had surviving sons, Iltutmish replied that Razia was more capable than his sons.
However, after Iltutmish's death, the nobles appointed his son Ruknuddin Firuz as the new king. Possibly, during his last years, Iltutmish had agreed to appoint a son as his successor. This is suggested by the fact that after becoming seriously ill, he had recalled Ruknuddin from Lahore to Delhi. Another possibility is that the legend of Iltutmish nominating Razia as his successor is a false story circulated by Razia's supporters after her ascension. Minhaj is the only near-contemporary source that narrates this legend, and he did not witness the events or the alleged decree himself: he was in Gwalior at the time, and did not return to Delhi until 1238.
Ruknuddin was not an able ruler, and left the control of administration to his mother Shah Turkan. The duo's blinding and execution of Iltutmish's popular son Qutubuddin, combined with Shah Turkan's high-handedness, led to rebellions by several nobles, and even the wazir (prime minister) Nizamul Mulk Junaidi joined the rebels. This situation became worse, when the Turkic-origin slave officers close to Ruknuddin planned killings of the sultanate's Tazik (non-Turkic) officers. This led to the murders of several important Tazik officers, including Junaidi's son Ziyaul Mulk and Tajul Mulk Mahmud, who had drawn up the decree declaring Razia as the heir apparent. While Ruknuddin marched towards Kuhram to fight the rebels, Shah Turkan planned to execute Razia in Delhi. At a congregational prayer, Razia instigated the general public against Shah Turkan. A mob then attacked the royal palace and detained Shah Turkan. Several nobles and the army pledged allegiance to Razia, and placed her on the throne, making her the first female Muslim ruler in South Asia. Ruknuddin marched back to Delhi, but Razia sent a force to arrest him: he was imprisoned and probably executed on 19 November 1236, having ruled for less than 7 months.
Razia's ascension to the throne of Delhi was unique not only because she was a woman, but also because the support from the general public was the driving force behind her appointment. According to the 14th-century text Futuh-us-Salatin, she had asked the people to depose her if she failed to meet their expectations.
From the beginning of her reign, Razia faced stiff opposition from nobles of Turkic origin. She had ascended the throne with the support of the general public of Delhi rather than that of the powerful Turkic-origin provincial governors. Razia attempted to offset the power of the Turkic nobility by creating a class of non-Turkic nobles, which led to further opposition from the Turkic nobles.
Nizamul Mulk Muhammad Junaidi, a 'Tazik' (non-Turkic) officer who had held the post of the wazir (prime minister) since Iltutmish's time, refused to accept her ascension. He was joined by four Turkic nobles, who had also rebelled against Razia's predecessor Ruknuddin. These nobles included Malik Izzuddin Muhammad Salari of Badaun, Malik Izzuddin Kabir Khan Ayaz of Multan, Malik Saifuddin Kuchi of Hansi, and Malik Alauddin Jani of Lahore. When these nobles marched against Razia from different directions, she sought help from Malik Nusratuddin Taisi, whom she had appointed as the governor of Awadh. However, shortly after crossing the Ganges on his way to Delhi, Taisi was captured by Kuchi's forces and died in captivity.
Razia then led an army out of the fortified city of Delhi to fight the rebels and set up a camp on the banks of the Yamuna River. After some indecisive skirmishes, the rebel leaders Muhammad Salari and Izzuddin Kabir Khan Ayaz decided to join Razia. They secretly met with Razia, and the group planned to arrest other rebel leaders, including Junaidi. However, Junaidi and other rebel leaders learned about the plan, and escaped, pursued by Razia's forces. Saifuddin Kuchi and his brother Fakhruddin were captured, imprisoned, and later executed. Junaidi fled to the Sirmaur hills and died there. Alauddin Jani was killed at the Nakawan village, and his head was later brought to Delhi.
Immediately after ascending the throne, Razia made several important appointments. She appointed Khwaja Muhazzabuddin as her new wazir (prime minister), and conferred the title Nizamul Mulk upon him. Muhazzabuddin had earlier served as deputy to the previous wazir Junaidi. Razia appointed Malik Saifuddin Aibek Bahtu as the in-charge of her army, and conferred the title Qutlugh Khan upon him. However, Saifuddin died soon after, and Razia appointed Malik Qutubuddin Hasan Ghuri to the newly created office of naib-i lashkar (in-charge of the army). Razia assigned the iqta' of Lahore, formerly held by the slain rebel Alauddin Jani, to Malik Izzuddin Kabir Khan Ayaz, the rebel who had joined her. Razia appointed her loyalists to imperial household positions, including Malik-i Kabir Ikhtiyaruddin Aitigin as Amir-i Hajib and Malik Jamaluddin Yaqut as Amir-i Akhur.