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Razia Sultana

Type Figure Region South Asia Time 1205–1240 Also known as Razia Sultana、Raziyyat al-Din、Raziya al-Din、Razia Begum

Razia Sultana, daughter of Iltutmish of the Delhi Sultanate, reigned from 1236 to 1240 and was the first and only formally crowned female sultan in t…

Timeline

  1. 1205–1231Delhi · DelhiRazia was the daughter of Iltutmish, trained from childhood in state affairs and horsemanship, displaying political talents that transcended the expected role of women of her time and winning her father's deep appreciation.
  2. 1231–1236Delhi · DelhiIn 1231 Iltutmish broke with the convention of primogeniture and designated Razia as his heir. After their father's death in 1236, her brothers briefly acceded, but Razia promptly seized the throne with the support of some nobles and the populace.
  3. 1236–1240Delhi · DelhiRazia was formally crowned in 1236, publicly handling state affairs in male attire and riding on inspection tours. She promoted non-Turkic officials such as Jamal al-Din Yakut and pursued relatively tolerant policies, but offended the Turkic military nobility, sparking sustained rebellions.
  4. 1240Near Delhi · DelhiIn 1240 the Turkic nobles and some local powers launched a rebellion; after being defeated on the battlefield, Razia was captured and killed, and her brother Bahram Shah subsequently acceded.

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