Tughral Tughan Khan ( bn, তুগরল তুগান খান, fa, طغرل طوغان خان), later known as Mughith ad-Din Tughral ( bn, মুগিসউদ্দীন তুগরল, fa, مغيث الدين طغرل), was an officer 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).

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

during 1236-1246 CE and again during 1272-1281 CE.

Biography

He was a Turkic of Khitan origin and was a slave-officer bought by Sultan

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 ...

. He was the given 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 ...

Badayun 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 ...

before being appointed the Governor of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

by the Sultan in 1232 as Saifuddin Aibak had been transferred to Lakhnauti. Following the death of

, assassination of Saifuddin Aibak and the subsequent ascension of the rebel usurper Awar Khan Aibak, Tughan invaded

and successfully defeated Awar Khan in 1236. Immediately after assuming power, Tughan Khan led a number of expeditions. He established his dominance throughout Bengal, Bihar and

Oudh The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...

while staying loyal to 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).

. He conquered

Tirhut Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothill ...

in September 1242. He advanced westwards towards

Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Da ...

, where he got news of the ascension of Sultan

Ala ud din Masud Ala ud-Din Masud Shah (died 10 June 1246, ) was the seventh sultan of the Delhi Sultanate. Life He was the son of Rukn ud-Din Firuz (1236), son of Sultan Illtutmish and Shah Turkan and the nephew of Sultan Raziyyat (1236–40). After his p ...

. In 1242, he ordered his treasurer Mubarak Khan al-Khazan to construct a building in southern

. Tughral is referred to as "Majlis Ali, the great Khan, the exalted Khaqan, honour of the Truth and the Religion, helper of princes and sultans, patriarch of victory, Tughril the Sultani" ( ar, مجلس العلي خان العظم خاقان المعظم عز الحق والدين غياث الاسلام والمسلمين مغيث الملوك والسلاطين ابو الفتح طغرل السلطاني). The inscription stating this is preserved in

Bihar Museum Bihar Museum is a museum located in Patna. It was partially opened in August 2015. 'The children's museum', the main entrance area, and an orientation theatre were the only parts opened to the public in August 2015. Later, in October 2017 re ...

. In 1243, during the reign of Tughan Khan, the Hindu king of

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

Narasimhadeva I Gajapati Langula Narasingha Deva I was an Odia Emperor of Eastern Ganga Dynasty, and a warrior of the early medieval Odisha region who reigned from 1238 CE to 1264 CE. He defeated the Muslim forces of Bengal who constantly threatened the Eastern ...

, invaded southern Bengal and defeated Tughan Khan in the

Battle of Katasin The Battle of Katasin was a battle fought in 1243 CE between Narasingha Deva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty and Tughral Tughan Khan, the Bengal governor of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi, at Katasin (present-day Contai, in West Bengal, India). Naras ...

. The Oriya army pursued the Muslims all the way to Lakhnauti, the capital of Bengal, and besieged the city. All the Muslims of Lakhnauti were slain and the city plundered. Tughan Khan fled and sought assistance from the Delhi sultan, Alauddin Masud Shah, who sent Malik Karakash Khan of

and Malik Tughlaq Tamar Khan of Oudh to help Tughan Khan. Hearing the approach of the Delhi army, the Oriya army retreated to Orissa. But Tughlaq Tamar Khan himself assumes the power of Bengal which forced Tughan Khan to flee to

Delhi 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 ...

. Thus Tughan Khan's ten year ruling of Bengal ended in 1246 CE. Tughan Khan was later appointed as the governor of Oudh by Sultan Alauddin Masud Shah.

Second term (1272-1281)

In 1272 Sultan

Ghiyasuddin Balban Ghiyas ud din Balban (1216–1287, reigned: 1266–1287) ( ur, ); (Hindi: ग़ियास उद-दीन बलबन); (IAST: ''Ghiyās ud-Dīn Balban'') was the ninth sultan of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi. Ghiyas ud Din was the ''regen ...

appointed Amin Khan as the governor and Tughan Khan as the sub-governor of Bengal with the duty to reconquer and pacify the Province, most of which had been under the control of the

Eastern Ganga dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas were a large medieval era Indian royal dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas ruled much of ...

since the death of

Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Iuzbak Malik Ikhtiyār ad-Dīn Yūzbak ( fa, ملک اختیار الدین یوزبک), and later Mughith ad-Din Abu al-Muzaffar ( fa, مغیث الدین ابو المظفر) was the appointed as the Delhi Sultanate's Governor of Bengal from 1251 CE t ...

in 1257 CE. However Tughan Khan deposed Amin Khan with the help of his old loyalists and declared himself Sultan of Bengal. He took the name ''Mughisuddin Tughral''. In 1279, Tughan Khan defeated the Sena king

Vishwarup Sen Vishvarupa Sena, also known as Biswaroop Sen in vernacular literature, was the fifth ruler from the Sena dynasty of the Bengal region on the Indian subcontinent. See also *List of rulers of Bengal *History of Bengal *History of India ...

of eastern Bengal (present-day

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

) and established an Islamic fiefdom in that region for the first time in history. He res-established the Bengali Navy, destroyed in 1243 by

at the Fort Narikella at

Sonargaon Sonargaon ( bn, সোনারগাঁও; pronounced as ''Show-naar-gaa''; lit. ''Golden Hamlet'') is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division. Sonargaon is one ...

. In 1280, Tughan Khan took advantage of a drought to invade South Bengal and then, Jajnagar (present-day Orissa). Taking advantage of Tughan Khan's absence, Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban sent a huge army led by Malik Turmati the ruler of Oudh against Tughan. But the Delhi army was thoroughly defeated by Tughan's army.

Balban Ghiyas ud din Balban (1216–1287, reigned: 1266–1287) ( ur, ); (Hindi: ग़ियास उद-दीन बलबन); (IAST: ''Ghiyās ud-Dīn Balban'') was the ninth sultan of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi. Ghiyas ud Din was the ''regen ...

sent another army against Tughan. But this time once again Balban's army was defeated by Tughan's army. Infuriated by repeated defeats Balban himself invaded Bengal in 1281. His son,

Nasiruddin Bughra Khan Nasiruddin Bughra Khan ( bn, নাসিরউদ্দিন বুগরা খান, fa, ناصر الدین بغرا خان) was the Governor (1281–1287) and later an independent Sultan (1287–1291) of Bengal. He was the son of ...

, assisted him in this mission. There were about three hundred thousand soldiers in Balban's army. This massive army was accompanied with a huge navy. Tughan fled to Jajnagar by river. Balban split his army into smaller groups. One such small group led by Malik Sher Andaz attacked Tughan's army and Tughan was defeated and killed in the battle. After Tughan's death, Balban put his son in charge of Bengal. Thus the separatist Mameluk ruling of Bengal ended in 1281.

References

{{S-end Mamluks 13th-century Indian Muslims 13th-century Indian monarchs Turkic rulers Governors of Bengal