2018-01-31 Wed

Raziya Sultan was the daughter of Iltutmish, who favoured her succession because he felt his sons were not capable of rule. She was a courageous and able ruler, but the nobles could not adjust to the idea of being ruled by a woman and eventually waged war against her and killed her. She is one of the few female monarchs in Islamic history.

Born to Sultan Iltutmish and Qutub Begum, Raziya’s family did not belong to the class of nobles. In fact, her ancestral roots trace back to Turkish Seljuk slaves! As one of the leading rulers of the Slave Dynasty, her reign challenged the very foundation of societal class and shook power structures.

During her reign, she ordered coins be minted in her name which read as ‘Al-Sultan Al-Azam Shamsa Al-Dunya Wal Din Al-Sultan Al-Mu'Azzam Radiyyat Al-Dunya Wa'L Din’. Later on, she issued the coins bearing her name along with the name of Abbasid Caliph Al-Muntansir.