Shah Turkan (13th-century) was a concubine of

Iltutmish Shams ud-Din Iltutmish ( fa, شمس الدین ایلتتمش; died 30 April 1236, ) was the third of the Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sovereign to rule from Delhi, and is thus ...

, the

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

ruler 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).

, and the mother of his successor,

Ruknuddin Firuz Rukn-ud-din Firuz ( fa, رکن‌الدین فیروز), also transliterated as Rukn al-Din Firoz (died 19 November 1236), was a ruler of Delhi sultanate for less than seven months in 1236. As a prince, he had administered the Badaun and Lahore ...

. After the death of Iltutmish, Ruknuddin indulged himself in the pursuit of pleasure and left his mother to handle the affairs of the state. Turkan had been a Turkic (enslaved) hand-maid and had risen to take control of the Sultan's harem. She took this opportunity to wreak vengeance against all those who had slighted her in the past. Consequently, Ruknuddin's rule turned unpopular and paved the way for the ascension of

Razia Sultana Raziyyat-Ud-Dunya Wa Ud-Din ( fa, ) (died 15 October 1240, ), popularly known as Razia Sultana, was a ruler of the Delhi Sultanate in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. She was the first female Muslim ruler of the subcontinent, an ...

References

Delhi Sultanate 13th-century Indian Muslims 13th-century Indian people 13th-century Indian women Spouses of sultans Slave concubines Indian slaves {{India-royal-stub