The Siddi Confidante Jamal-ud-Din-Yaqut

A tale of an Abyssinian slave under the Ilthumish regime who ascended to nobility but was entangled and slain in the crossfire of malevolent patriarchy, social discrimination and the clash for the throne.

A scene from the movie Razia Sultana Image Source : Rediff.com

She bestowed Yaqut the honorific title of Amir-al-Khayl or Amir of Horses and elevated him to the status of nobility. His constant support and advice among all the prejudiced and untrustworthy aristocracy around her gained him the status of a confidante and the official patronage of Amir-al-Umara or Amir of Amirs.

As if it was not enough that they were humiliated by being ruled by a young female, her patronage to a Habshi (considered to be racially inferior to the Turkish clan), enraged the Sultanate’s aristocracy and so began conspiring to get her killed.  The rumours also created the expected consequence of defamation and rebellion among Razia’s subjects. Sher Khan put further oil to the fire by provoking Altunia’s jealousy with the news of Razia’s supposed affair with Yaqut. Thus incited, Altunia sent a rebel army to capture the queen.

Anticipating a massacre in the city, the brave Razia decided to lead an army to intercept and squash the rebellion with the support of her only trustworthy warrior Yaqut. Both of them accosted the rebel army on the outskirts of Delhi and fought with all their might. Unfortunately, the deception of some of their own officials led to the untimely death of Jamaluddin Yaqut.

The loss of her strongest shield resulted in Razia’s capture and imprisonment by Altunia. Though both married with a diplomatic agreement and returned to Delhi, their absence from the court all those days gave Sher Khan the opportunity to pursue his next move on the political chessboard. He instigated Razia’s step-brother Muizuddin Bahram to overthrow Razia and her regent husband. The royal couple were defeated by the betrayal of their own troops during the battle and then murdered at the hands of the local Hindu Jats.

The Bollywood movie commercialised the story from a Romeo and Juliet perspective with the iconic last scene of a single arrow piercing both Razia and Yaqut galloping away on a horse to their eternal death of tragic love. But the factual story is far too cruel, wicked and politically unromantic.

Remember the Bollywood movie – Razia Sultana, starring Dharmender and Hema Malini? Well, the song – Aye Dil-e-nadaan / Aarzoo kya hai/Justuju kya hai’ is eternal in the realms of melancholic-romantic filmy ghazals. Though the commercial movie’s storyline is based on the rumour of Razia Sultana (the first and only queen in the history of the Delhi Sultanate), who had a romantic relationship with the African descent confidante Jamal-ud-Din-Yaqut.

But, reputed historians now, have realised that it is high time to refute such rumours that were part of the conspiracy against the hapless queen to dethrone her through scandals and defamation.

According to historian Sanjay Tripathi’s book – History of Medieval India and  Rashīd al-Dīn Hamadānī the Persian historian’s – Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh, a Compendium of Chronicles of the early 14th century, the story is, in fact, a wicked rumour spread by Sher Khan Sanqar who was the governor of Lahore. Also, oiled by Razia’s stepmother, both of whom aspired for the power of the throne.

Not much is known about Jamaluddin Yaqut prior to his ascension from the status of a slave into a designated nobility through the patronage of Razia. But, he was a Habshi or Zajibar slave even during the reign of Razia’s father – Sultan Ilthumish of the Turkish Mamluk dynasty. Some versions state that Yaqut was a slave of Sher Khan while some other versions find him as the slave of Razia’s stepmother. In either case, the fact remains that he was offered in service of the beautiful and young Razia Sultana as a bodyguard and spy to his earlier master.

Ithumish was ahead of his times in his outlook and so acknowledged that his daughter Razia was a far-better administrator than his incompetent sons. He was proven right when he gave her the total authority of the administration when he had to leave the capital during a war. So, he declared Razia as his successor, much to the chagrin of the contemporary Turkic aristocracy and orthodox clerics or ulema.

The governors of the Mamluk dynasty, other nobles and the eldest son of Ithumish were unsettled and furious to anticipate a female ruler for their kingdom. At the demise of Ilthumish, the eldest son refuted his father’s wish and declared himself as the next Sultan as per usual tradition. But, Razia challenged the half-brother to war and within 7 months defeated him to win the throne of the Delhi Sultanate.

On the other hand, Malik Ikhtiaruddin Altunia was Razia’s childhood family friend and aspired to marry her and gain regency to the throne. Sher Khan played his game in convincing Razia who was also not against being married to Altunia, to appoint the young man as the governor of Bathinda so that he rises to a rank fit enough to marry her. The trick was to keep the couple apart(delay the union) and weaken her support system.

As per the chessboard plan to gain control over the royal power, Sher Khan had put Yaqut under the service of Razia as a spy. But, to his disappointment, Yaqut pledged loyalty to the queen and protected her from the contemptuous enemies around her. His tenure under the sultanate is considered to be somewhere between 1200-1240 CE.

Failing to instigate any problems through Yaqut and further weaken Razia’s administration, Sher Khan played his most wicked move of creating rumours of the supposed illicit relationship between the slave and the queen. The rumours caught fire when impressed by his physical prowess as a warrior and his loyalty, Razia promoted him.

Another scene from the movie -- Razia Bestowing Yaqut the new Title Image Source : pinterest.com

A Supposed to be Portrait of Jamaluddin Yaqut Source: gujaratsamachar.com

Thus, the Abyssinian slave’s rise through the patronage of the only Queen of Delhi Sultanate turned Jamaluddin Yaqut into an undeserved victim of a socio-political conspiracy, jealousy and racial insubordination. A tragic tale of a Siddi brave man who paid the price for his loyalty to a Queen against the manipulative usurpers of power.