To which dynasty did Razia Sultan the first and last female ruler of Delhi Sultanate belong?
Razia sultan belonged to Mamluk dynasty. She was the fifth Mamluk dynasty ruler. The history deems Razia Sultan as one of the very few female rulers in the history of Islamic civilizations across the world. During her reign, she ordered coins be minted with her title as “Pillar of Women, Queen of the Times, Sultan Razia, daughter of Shamsuddin Iltumish.”
Renowned as the first Muslim female ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, Razia Sultan ruled Delhi from 1236 to 1240. In the history of the Mamluk dynasty, no one had the title of ‘Sultan’ bestowed upon or used to address a woman, because a woman had never ruled before. Her official name was Jalâlat-ud-Dîn Raziyâ. She refused the tag sultana given to her.
Razia refused to be addressed as ‘Sultana,’. Because the term that would be used to address her according to her gender. Her justification for the refusal was, Sultana meant “wife or mistress of a Sultan (ruler).” And she proudly proclaimed she be addressed as “Sultan”, as she herself ad she was second to none. She was the supreme.