Ghiyasu-d din Balban
Ghiyasu-d din Balban (reigned: 1266–1287) or Ghiyas ud din Balban was the ninth sultan of the Mamluk Dynasty of Delhi. Ghyias ud Din was the vizier and heir of the last Shamsi sultan, Nasir ud-din. He reduced the power of the treacherous nobility and heightened the stature of the sultan. In spite of having only few military achievements, he was the most powerful ruler of the sultanate between Shamsuddin Iltutmish and Alauddin Khilji.
After the Sultan Nasir ud din's death he was made Sultan Ghiyas ud din. According to Sir H. M. Elliot Edited by John Dowson Al Khakanu-l Mu'azzani Bahau-l hakh wau-d din Ulugh Khan Balbanu-s Sultani [otherwise called Ghiyasu-d din Balban] belonged to the stock of the Khakans of Albari. His father and the father of Sher Khan were born of the same father and mother, the father being of the race of the Khakans of Albari. He was khan over ten thousand houses (khana), and the family was well known in Albari of Turkistan, among the Turki tribes. [1]
He (born 1200 AD) was son of a [Central Asia] Turkic noble of the Ilbari tribe, but as a child he and others from his tribe - was captured by Mongols and sold as a slave atGhazni. Prof K.Ali (1950, reprint 2006)"A new history of Indo-Pakistan". He was sold to Khwaja Jamal ud-din of Basra, a Sufi who nicknamed him Baha ud din. The Khwaja brought him to Delhi where he and the other slaves were bought by Sultan Shams ud-din Iltutmish, himself a captured Ilbari Turk in origin, in 1232 CE.
Balban was first appointed as a simple water carrier, but quickly rose to the position of Khasdar (king's personal attendant) by the Sultan. He became one of the most notable of the forty Turkic nobles of Delhi, or the Chalissa. During the reign of Razia Sultan, he was the amir-i Shikar or lord of the hunt, a position of some importance at the time, having military and political responsibilities. After her overthrow, he made rapid strides in the subsequent reigns, earning the fief of Rewari under Bahram Shah, and later became the Jagir (lord) of Hansi, which was an important fief.
Balban was instrumental in the overthrow of Masud Shah, installing as Sultan and himself as his Vizier from 1246 to 1266, after Mahmud had already married one of Balban's daughters. Balban also installed Kishlu Khan, his younger brother, as lord chamberlain (Amir-i Hajib) and appointed his cousin, Sher Khan, to the Jagir of Lahore and Bhatinda.
Balban's position did not go unnoticed by the other nobles and there was some resentment. His main antagonist was Imad ud-din Raihan, who in works written after Balban's time, is characterized as a Hindu Murtad (who revoked Islam), although some claim him to be of Turkic origin as well. Imad ud-din managed to persuade the Sultan that Balban was an usurper. Balban and his kin were dismissed and even challenged in combat. However, negotiations between Balban and the Sultan had brought to the dismission of Imad ud din at 1254, and Balban was reinstalled.
गुलामवंशी बादशाह बलबन और जाट
जब सन् 1246 ई० में नासिरुद्दीन गद्दी पर बैठा तो उसने बलबन को राज्य का प्रधानमन्त्री बना दिया था। बलबन ने सन् 1246 ई० में रावी नदी को पार किया और जदू तथा जेहलम पहाडियों पर खोखर जाटों तथा अन्य उपद्रवी जातियों के साथ घोर युद्ध करके उनको दबा दिया। (मध्यकालीन भारत का संक्षिप्त इतिहास, पृ० 87, लेखक ईश्वरीप्रसाद)।
नासिरुद्दीन की मृत्यु होने पर बलबन सन् 1266 ई० में दिल्ली सल्तनत का बादशाह बन गया। उसको भारत की उत्तर-पश्चिमी सीमा के मंगोलों के आक्रमणों का अधिक भय तथा चिन्ता रहती थी। उसने अपने दरबारी अमीर खुसरो को संवत् 1323 (सन् 1266 ई०) में शोरम गांव (जिला मुजफ्फरनगर) में भेजा। उसने मंगोलों के विरुद्ध अपनी सहायता के लिए सर्वखाप पंचायती सेना भेजने की मांग की। सर्वखाप पंचायत का अधिवेशन बुलाया गया जिसमें बलबन को सहायता देने का निर्णय किया।
सर्वखाप पंचायत के 65,000 मल्ल योद्धाओं ने बादशाही सेना के साथ मिलकर विदेशी मंगोलों को देश से मार भगाया। (इतिहास सर्वखाप पंचायत, बालान खाप, पहला भाग, पृ० 47, लेखक चौ० कबूलसिंह, मन्त्री, सर्वखाप पंचायत)।[2]