The successors of Muhammad of Ghor, the…

The successors of Muhammad of Ghor, the Turkic-Afghan conqueror of North India, had in 1206 established the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, while the Mamluk Dynasty in 1211 seized the reins of the empire.

Mamluk means "slave" and refers to the Turkic slave soldiers who have become rulers.

The territory under control of the Muslim rulers in Delhi has expanded rapidly.

By mid-century, Bengal and much of central India is under the control of the Delhi Sultanate.

Nasir ud din Mhmud Firuz Shah, the youngest son of Shams ud din Iltutmish (1211-1236), had in 1246 succeeded Ala ud din Masud as Sultan after the chiefs replaced Masud when they felt that he began to behave as a tyrant.

As a ruler, Mahmud is known to be very religious, spending most of his time in prayer and renown for aiding the poor and the distressed.

However, it is actually his father-in-law, the liberally educated Ghiyas ud din Balban, who, as Deputy Sultan or Naib, primarily deals with the affairs of the state.