Destruction of
Slaves ‘The Furty’
After the
accession to the throne of Delhi, Ghiasuddin Balban realized that the Turkish
nobles who were led by the gang of the forty were the greatest stumbling block
in the way of his autocracy. They had made the Sultan a puppet in their hands
and distributed most of the significant fiefs and offices among themselves.
This gang was formed during the reign of Iltutmish. In the beginning all the
members of the gang were the slaves of the then Sultan. He could establish his
control over this gang and maintained the prestige of the empire. But after his
death a tug of war began between the members of this gang and the successors of
the Sultan in which, ultimately, the gang of the forty stood victorious. Balban
had been a member of this gang and knew their ambitions, resources and
cunningness. He, therefore, decided to break the back of their power. He adopted
a slow but steady policy to undermine their political status and reduced the
military power of these nobles. First of all, he promoted the Turks of lower
order and thus made them equal to members of the group of the Forty. He sent
some of the members of the Forty on risky expeditions so that they might be
absorbed in the affairs of the state. Later on, in order to punish them and
lessen their significance in the eyes of the public, he awarded them sever
punishments for small crimes.
Balban adopted a
stern view towards the members of the Forty. When he received the complaint
that Malik Baqbaq, the governor of Budaun had beaten a servant to death, the
sultan had flogged him publicity and disgraced him. Haibat Khan, the Governor
of Avadh, assassinated a man under the influence of liquor. The sultan ordered
that five hundred stripes be given on his bare body and his wounded body was
handed over to the widow of the deceased servant to avenge the death of her husband.
Although Haibat Khan saved his life by paying 20000 Tankas to the widow, he was
so much ashamed that after this incident he did not come out from is palace
till death. Amin Khan, the Governor of Ayodhya, was defeated by Tughril Khan
and reached the capital after facing many difficulties but Balban did not
behave kindly with him. He awarded him death punishment and thus killed one of
the influential members of the Forty to the grief of the gang and to the relief
to himself. It is said that he did not spare even his cousin Sher Khan who was
a very trusted commander and brave officer. He achieved tremendous success
against the Mongols and terrorized them very much. Balban grew jealous of his
success and began to distrust him. Later on, he got him poisoned to death. After
the death of these four powerful and ambitious members of the group of forty,
there remained no strong opponent of Balban who could be a stumbling block in
the way of his despotism. Thus Balban crushed the gang of Forty through
intrigues and barbarous means and those who survived were later on suppressed
and dismissed from service.
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