Blain Auer
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781474417129
- eISBN:
- 9781474434980
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474417129.003.0020
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter explores the success of the Persian language and Persianate courtly culture in South Asia during the important two centuries 1200–1400 in the early Delhi courts. It was at the very end ...
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This chapter explores the success of the Persian language and Persianate courtly culture in South Asia during the important two centuries 1200–1400 in the early Delhi courts. It was at the very end of the twelfth century, in 1192, that Qutb al-Din Aybeg (r. 1206–10), a commander of the Islamic Ghurid empire that originated from northern Afghanistan, captured Delhi, an important city within the realm of the Chauhan kings. Following the death of his Ghurid sultan, Muʿizz al-Din Muhammad b. Sam (r. 1173–1206), the former realms of the Ghurid empire centred in Ghazna were divided up and Qutb al-Din Aybeg took control of Delhi and Lahore, which had served as a southern capital of the Ghaznavid kingdom at the heart of the Punjab region. His successor, Shams al-Din Iltutmish (r. 1211–36), established the Shamsi dynasty, choosing Delhi as his capital. It was the first time in history that an Islamic kingdom with an enduring presence was firmly established in northern India with access throughout the Ganga-Yamuna region, as well as to the south in the DeccanLess
This chapter explores the success of the Persian language and Persianate courtly culture in South Asia during the important two centuries 1200–1400 in the early Delhi courts. It was at the very end of the twelfth century, in 1192, that Qutb al-Din Aybeg (r. 1206–10), a commander of the Islamic Ghurid empire that originated from northern Afghanistan, captured Delhi, an important city within the realm of the Chauhan kings. Following the death of his Ghurid sultan, Muʿizz al-Din Muhammad b. Sam (r. 1173–1206), the former realms of the Ghurid empire centred in Ghazna were divided up and Qutb al-Din Aybeg took control of Delhi and Lahore, which had served as a southern capital of the Ghaznavid kingdom at the heart of the Punjab region. His successor, Shams al-Din Iltutmish (r. 1211–36), established the Shamsi dynasty, choosing Delhi as his capital. It was the first time in history that an Islamic kingdom with an enduring presence was firmly established in northern India with access throughout the Ganga-Yamuna region, as well as to the south in the Deccan
