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Delhi Sultanate under the Mamluk Dynasty, 1206-1290

A map illustrating the rise and evolution of the Sultanate of Delhi during the times of its first ruling dynasty – the Mamluks (also known as the Slave or Ghulam Dynasty), an influential military class of slave soldiers between 1206 and 1290. Following the assassination of the childless Muhammad bin Sam, popularly known as Muhammad of Ghor, in 1206, the Ghurid Sultanate shattered into minor kingdoms ruled by Mamluk commanders. The appointed governor of the Indian territories, Qutb ud-Din Aibak, a Turkic slave general, became the ruler of what was to become the Sultanate of Delhi. Through its turbulent history (until 1526, when the invasion of Babur swept it aside, the Sultanate was ruled by five unrelated dynasties), multiple autonomous states challenged the influence and control of the Delhi Sultanate in the fertile lands between the rivers Ganga and Jamuna, which was reflected in its ebbing and ever-changing frontiers.

Image by Simeon Netchev