Delhi before the Moghal Conquest
SHAH, a weak person, not at all fit to assume the reins, which indeed he soon had to resign to a stronger hand.
SHAMS-UD-DIN ALTAMSH, or ILTITMISH, was a very different man, and the greatest of his dynasty.His story reminds us, to some extent, of Joseph, for his brethren sold him into slavery, and he was carried to Bokhara. From there he was eventually brought to Delhi, and Kutb-ud-din gave for him the huge price of fifty thousand pieces of silver. His beauty is said to have been extraordinary, his valour and wisdom no less, and a valiant action on his part obtained for him his freedom, the post of captain-general, the hand of his master's daughter, and favour in the highest degree. At the time of his master's death he was Governor of Budaon, and when the inefficiency of Aram Shah became apparent he advanced on Delhi, possessed himself of the capital almost without a struggle,and ascended the throne in A.D.121I.
The most important event of his reign was the arrival at Delhi in 1229 of an emissary from the Caliph of Baghdad, descendant of the Prophet,bearing a diploma which recognized Altamsh as an independent sovereign. Another event was a Moghal invasion, under Changiz Khan, the first attempt of this Central Asian tribe to obtain a175
