Ghiyas ud din Balban (reigned: 1266–1287) is the ninth sultan of the Mamluk dynasty.
Ghyias ud Din is the vizier and heir of the last Shamsi sultan, Nasir ud-din.
He reduces the power of the treacherous nobility and heightens the stature of the sultan.
In spite of having few military achievements, he is the most powerful ruler of the sultanate between Shamsuddin Iltutmish and Alauddin Khilji.
A Turk, Balban quickly rises to power under Shams ud din and his successors, being one of the forty nobles and eventually the Sultan's vizier.
After the Sultan Nasir ud din's death (possibly by Balban's design), he is made Sultan Ghiyas ud din.
He elevates the position of the sultan in the Sassanid fashion and crushes the power of the forty nobles so that they cannot usurp his rule.
Ghiyas makes several conquests, some as vizier.
He routs the Mewats who harass Delhi and reconquers Bengal, all while successfully facing the Mongol threat, a struggle that costs his son and heir his life.
Upon his death in 1287 his grandson Qaiqubad is nominated sultan, and soon undermines the achievements of his grandfather.
Ghiyas ud-din implements civil and military reforms that earn him the reputation as the strongest ruler between Shams ud-din Iltutmish and the later Alaudding Khilji, whose military achievements rest on the order established within the sultanate by Ghiyas ud din Balban.
