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U.P. Lower Sub. Prelims 2004

Nobility in the Delhi Sultanate

Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation

Who was behind the dethroning of Raziyya Begum?

Solution & Analysis

Answer: C

Concept Raziyya Sultan's attempt to exercise independent authority and her patronage of non-Turks (like the Abyssinian slave Yaqut) caused a deep rift within the elite military class of the Sultanate.

Explanation Contemporary chronicler Minhaj-us-Siraj notes that the Turkish nobles (the 'Chahalgani' or Corps of Forty) could not tolerate being ruled by a woman who defied their influence. They eventually revolted and deposed her in 1240.

Logical Breakup
Logic 1: Option C is correct. The 'Turkan-i-Chahalgani' were the real power-brokers who felt their racial and political monopoly was threatened by Razia's policies.
Logic 2: Razia was defeated near Kaithal and subsequently killed while attempting to regain her throne with the help of Altunia.

Active Recall

Question

What was the 'Chahalgani'?

Answer

It was an elite group of forty Turkish slave-officers created by Iltutmish to stabilize the administration, but they later became king-makers.

Core Insight

The downfall of Razia highlights the early Sultanate's struggle between the absolute authority of the monarch and the oligarchic tendencies of the Turkish nobility.

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