Iltutmish dies in Delhi

1236

The former slave who had consolidated the Delhi Sultanate died in his capital, leaving a contested succession and a kingdom stretching across much of northern India. He had built the first Islamic tomb in India and received official recognition from the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad. His mausoleum in the Qutb complex, with its carved Quranic verses and Hindu floral motifs, embodies the cultural synthesis of early Delhi.