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Bahlul Khan Lodi (12 July 1489) was the chief of the
Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
Lodi tribe. Founder of the
Lodi dynasty The Lodi dynasty ( ps, لودي سلسله; fa, سلسله لودی) was an Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when he ...
from the Delhi Sultanate upon the abdication of the last claimant from the previous
Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad' ...
rule. Bahlul became sultan of the dynasty on 19 April 1451 (855 AH).


Early life

Bahlul's grandfather, Malik Bahram Khan Lodi, a
Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
tribal chief of Lodi tribe. He later took service under the governor of Multan, Malik Mardan Daulat . Bahram had a total of about five sons. His eldest son, Malik Sultan Shah Lodi, later served under the
Sayyid dynasty The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451. Founded by Khizr Khan, a former governor of Multan, they succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled the sultanate as a vassal of the Ti ...
ruler
Khizr Khan Khizr Khan (reigned 28 May 1414 – 20 May 1421) was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, the ruling dynasty of the Delhi sultanate, in northern India soon after the invasion of Timur and the fall of the Tughlaq dynasty. Khan was Governor of Mul ...
and distinguished himself by killing in the battle later's worst enemy Mallu Iqbal Khan. He was rewarded with the title of Islam Khan and in 1419 appointed the governor of
Sirhind Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Demographics In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and female ...
. Bahlul, the son of Malik Kala Khan Lodi, the younger brother of Malik Sultan was married to Malik Sultan's daughter.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp.134–36, 139–142Mahajan, V.D. (1991, reprint 2007). ''History of Medieval India'', New Delhi: S. Chand, , pp.245–51 In his youth, Bahlul was involved in the trading of horses and once sold his finely bred horses to the Sayyid dynasty Sultan Mohammad Shah. As a payment he was granted a ''pargana'' and raised to the status of ''amir''. After the death of Malik Sultan, he became the governor of
Sirhind Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Demographics In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and female ...
. He was allowed to add Lahore to his charge. Once, Sultan Muhammad Shah asked for his help when the Malwa Sultan Mahmud Shah I invaded his territory. Bahlul joined the imperial army with 20,000 mounted soldiers. By his cleverness, he was able to project himself as a victor over the army of the Malwa Sultan and Sultan Muhammad Shah conferred on him the title of ''Khan-i-Khanan''. He also accepted Bahlul's occupation over a large part of Punjab. In 1443, Bahlul attacked Delhi but he did not succeed. During the reign of last Sayyid ruler Sultan Alam Shah, Bahlul again made an unsuccessful attempt to capture Delhi in 1447. In 1448, when Alam Shah retired to
Badaun Budaun is commonly pronounced Badayun is a city and a seat of Budaun district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located near the Ganges river in the centre of Western Uttar Pradesh. Budaun was the capital of Delhi Sultanate for four years from 1210 C ...
, a minister of Alam Shah, Hamid Khan invited him to occupy the throne of Delhi. After the voluntary abdication of the throne by Alam Shah, Bahlul Shah ascended the throne of Delhi on 19 April 1451 and adopted the title of ''Bahlul Shah Ghazi''. Alam Shah continued to live in Badaun until his death in July 1478.


Reign

After ascending to the throne, Bahlul decided to dispose of Hamid Khan. His cousin and brother-in-law Malik Mahmud Khan alias Qutb-ud-din Khan (Governor of Samana) imprisoned Hamid Khan. In 1479, Sultan Bahlul Lodi defeated and annexed the
Jaunpur Sultanate The Jaunpur Sultanate ( fa, ) was an independent Islamic state in northern India between 1394 and 1479, ruled by the Sharqi dynasty. It was founded in 1394 by Khwajah-i-Jahan Malik Sarwar, a former wazir of Sultan Nasiruddin Muhammad Shah IV ...
based at Jaunpur. He fortified the city of Jaunpur and turned it into a
kasbah A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alc ...
with several mosques and madrasas. Bahlul did much to stop rebellions and uprisings in his territories, and extended his holdings over Gwalior, Jaunpur and upper Uttar Pradesh. Just like the previous
Delhi Sultans Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, he kept Delhi the capital of his kingdom. In 1486, he appointed his son, Babrak Shah as
viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
of Jaunpur. In time, this proved to be problematic, as his second son, Nizam Khan (
Sikandar Lodi Sikandar Khan Lodi (died 21 November 1517), born Nizam Khan, was a Pashtun Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate between 1489 and 1517. He became ruler of the Lodi dynasty after the death of his father Bahlul Khan Lodi in July 1489. The second and most ...
) was named successor, and a power struggle ensued upon his death in July 1489. The site of his grave is disputed. The
Archeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...
has long designated a building close to the shrine of the noted Sufi saint Nasiruddin Chirag-e-Delhi in a locality that goes by his name, 'Chirag Delhi', as Bahlul Lodi's tomb. Other historians argue that the Sheesh Gumbad in the
Lodi Gardens Lodi Gardens is a city park situated in New Delhi, India. Spread over , it contains Mohammed Shah's Tomb, the Tomb of Sikandar Lodi, the Shisha Gumbad and the Bara Gumbad, architectural works of the 15th century by Lodis - who ruled parts o ...
is actually to be identified with his tomb. Simon Digby, ''The Tomb of Buhlul Lodi'', The Bulletin of SOAS, Vol. 38, No. 3, 1975, pp. 550–61.


Marriages

Bahlul married two times: *Shams Khatun, daughter of Sultan Malik Shah Lodi, his first cousin; *Bibi Ambha, daughter of a Hindu goldsmith


See also

*
Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
*
Jaunpur Sultanate The Jaunpur Sultanate ( fa, ) was an independent Islamic state in northern India between 1394 and 1479, ruled by the Sharqi dynasty. It was founded in 1394 by Khwajah-i-Jahan Malik Sarwar, a former wazir of Sultan Nasiruddin Muhammad Shah IV ...
* Shaikh Sama'al-Din Kamboh *
Tomb of Bahlul Lodi Bahlul Lodi's tomb is a building situated in Delhi, India, which is allegedly the tomb of an emperor of Delhi Sultanate and the founder of Lodi Dynasty, Bahlul Lodi (Reign:1451-1489 A.D). The tomb is located in a historic settlement, Chirag Delh ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodi, Bahlul 1489 deaths Sultans of the Lodi dynasty 15th-century Indian monarchs 15th-century Indian Muslims People from Delhi Indian people of Pashtun descent Year of birth unknown