Malik Kamāl al-Dīn "Gurg" or Kamaluddin-e Gurg ( fa, کمال الدین گرگ; ps, کمال الدین ګرګ) (died late 1315 or early 1316), was a general of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

Alauddin Khalji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over lar ...

. He played an important role in Alauddin's conquest of the

Siwana Siwana is a Tehsil in Barmer district in Indian state of Rajasthan, located 151 km from Barmer. The place is known for its fort which is locally known as Gadh Siwana, Gadh means Fort. Siwana have 130 villages. total Population as peris 213 ...

(1308) and the

Jalore Jalore () (ISO 15919 : ''Jālora'' ), also known as ''Granite City'', is a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarters of Jalore District. It has a river known as Jawai Nadi. Jalore lies to south of Su ...

(1311) forts. After Alauddin's death, he was sent by

Malik Kafur Malik Kafur (died 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent slave-general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan during the 1299 invasion of Gujarat, and rose to promi ...

to suppress a revolt in Gujarat, where he was killed.

Early life

Kamal al-Din (also transliterated as Kamaluddin) belonged to a family that originated from

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

in present-day

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. He was known as "''Gurg''" ("the wolf").

Military conquests

After other generals of Alauddin failed to capture the

fort in the preceding years, in 1308, he personally led an expedition to Siwana. Kamal al-Din accompanied Alauddin in this campaign, and held charge of the

siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while other ...

s (''munjaniqs''). After the Delhi army captured the fort, it was renamed Khayrabad, and assigned to Kamal al-Din. In 1311, Alauddin sent an army to capture Siwana's neighbour

. After his other generals failed to capture the fort, he dispatched Kamal al-Din to conquer it. Kamalauddin captured the fort after a siege that resulted in the deaths of the defending ruler

Kanhadadeva Kanhadadeva ( IAST: Kānhaḍa-deva, r. c. 1292-1311 CE) was a king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty, who ruled the area around Javalipura (present-day Jalore in Rajasthan). Initially, he ran the administration jointly with his father Samanta ...

and his son

Viramadeva Viramadeva (died c. 1311) was the son of the Jalore Chahamana king Kanhadadeva. He was crowned during Alauddin Khalji's invasion of Jalore, and was killed in the conflict 2½ days later. Legend Legends in Padmanābha's ''Kanhadade Praban ...

. After this victory, Kamal al-Din held the

iqta' An iqta ( ar, اقطاع, iqṭāʿ) and occasionally iqtaʿa ( ar, اقطاعة) was an Islamic practice of tax farming that became common in Muslim Asia during the Buyid dynasty. Iqta has been defined in Nizam-al-Mulk's Siyasatnama. Administrato ...

of Jalor.

Last days

During the last days of Alauddin's reign, Kamal al-Din allied with Alauddin's slave-general

, who held the executive power during Alauddin's sickness. The two men were probably part of a group of non- Khalaj officers that tried to seize power from the Khalaj establishment of the Sultanate. According to the chronicler

Yahya bin Ahmad Sirhindi Yahya bin Ahmad Sirhindi (nisba of Sirhind) was a 15th century Indian chronicler who wrote ''Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi'', a Persian language chronicle of the Delhi Sultanate. Written during the reign of Mubarak Shah, his work is an important source ...

, in 1315, Kamal al-Din participated in Malik Kafur's murder of

Alp Khan Alp Khan (died late 1315 or early 1316) was a general and brother-in-law of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He served as Alauddin's governor of Gujarat, and held considerable influence at the royal court of Delhi during the last year ...

, an influential rival nobleman and the governor of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. Alp Khan had been accused of conspiring to kill Alauddin, but this may have been Kafur's propaganda. The news of Alp Khan's murder led to a revolt in Gujarat, and Kafur sent Kamal al-Din to suppress the revolt. Kamal al-Din was killed in late 1315 or early 1316 in Gujarat, during a military operation. His son Taj al-Din Hushang (or Hoshang) inherited the 'iqta of Jalor, and later served as the ''muqta'' (provincial governor) of

Hansi Hansi, is a city and municipal council in Hisar district in the Indian state of Haryana. It appears that at one time Hansi was larger, more prosperous and more important than Hisar. The town has several important buildings of archeological import ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Alauddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji Afghan Muslims 1310s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain People from Kabul