Almas Beg (died 1302), better known by his title Ulugh Khan, was a brother and a general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He held the iqta' of Bayana in present-day India.
Ulugh Khan played an important role in Alauddin's ascension to the throne of Delhi in 1296. He lured the former Sultan Jalaluddin to Kara-Manikpur, where Alauddin assassinated Jalaluddin. He successfully besieged Multan, governed by Jalaluddin's eldest son Arkali Khan, and subjugated the surviving members of Jalaluddin's family.
In 1298, Ulugh Khan repulsed a Mongol invasion from the Chagatai Khanate, which greatly increased Alauddin's prestige. The next year, he and Nusrat Khan raided the wealthy province of Gujarat, obtaining a huge amount of wealth for Alauddin's treasury. He led the reinforcement unit in the Battle of Kili (1299) against the Mongols, and held command in the initial phases of the Siege of Ranthambore (1301). He died a few months after the Ranthambore campaign ended.
Both Alauddin and Ulugh Khan married Jalaluddin's daughters. After Jalaluddin became the Sultan of Delhi, Alauddin was appointed as Amir-i-Tuzuk (equivalent to Master of ceremonies), while Almas Beg was given the post of Akhur-beg (equivalent to Master of the Horse).
When Alauddin became the Sultan of Delhi in 1296, he made his brother barbeg with the title Ulugh Khan ("Great Khan".).
Arkali Khan and his younger brother Ruknuddin Ibrahim visited Ulugh Khan's camp to negotiate a truce. Ulugh Khan received them with dignity, and promised not to harm them. However, after occupying Multan, he did not keep this promise, and imprisoned them, their family members, and their loyal officers. The captives were later blinded and/or killed by Nusrat Khan on Alauddin's orders.
The Delhi army left Gujarat with a huge amount of wealth and several prisoners. During a halt near Jalore, Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan punished some of the soldiers for not remitting the khums (one-fifth share of the loot) to the imperial treasury. This resulted in a mutiny, mainly by the Mongol soldiers, who had converted to Islam recently. The mutineers murdered Ulugh Khan's secretary and Nusrat Khan's brother Malik A'izzudin. The next day, around 2000-3000 of them attacked Ulugh Khan's camp. The attackers misidentified a nephew of Alauddin as Ulugh Khan, and killed him. Ulugh Khan, who was in a lavatory at the time of the attack, escaped to Nusrat Khan's tent, where the loyal soldiers assembled and forced the rebels to retreat. After the army reached Delhi, severe punishments were meted out to the family members of the rebels.
At the 1299 Battle of Kili against the Mongols, Ulugh Khan led the reinforcement unit of the Delhi army. During the battle, Zafar Khan attacked a Mongol contingent without Alauddin's permission, and was killed after inflicting heavy casualties on the Mongols. According to the 17th-century historian Hajiuddabir's Zafarul-vali, Ulugh Khan did not come to Zafar Khan's rescue because he maintained an ill-will towards Zafar Khan. The Mongols ultimately retreated from the battlefield.
Ulugh Khan marched up to the Banas River, where he defeated and killed Hammira's general Bhimasimha. Subsequently, the Delhi army suffered a defeat at a mountain pass called Hinduvata. Alauddin dispatched Nusrat Khan in support of Ulugh Khan, and the reinforced Delhi army once again marched towards Ranthambore. According to the Hammira Mahakavya, this time, Ulugh Khan pretended that he was coming to negotiate a truce with Hammira, and therefore, Hammira allowed him to cross the Hinduvata mountain pass. The Delhi army captured Jhain, and then reached Ranthambore, where Nusrat Khan was killed during the siege. Taking advantage of the mourning in the invaders' camp, Hammira's army attacked them, and forced Ulugh Khan to retreat to Jhain.
When Alauddin learned about Ulugh Khan's defeat, he personally led a stronger army to Ranthambore. While he was at Ranthambore, an officer called Haji Maula took control of Delhi, prompting Alauddin to send his general Malik Hamiduddin to Delhi. Some days later, Alauddin received the news that Haji Maula had appointed Iltutmish's descendant Alavi as a puppet monarch in Delhi. Alauddin then sent Ulugh Khan to Delhi. By the time Ulugh Khan reached Delhi, Hamiduddin had already quelled the revolt. Ulugh Khan ordered all the surviving rebels to be killed. The grandsons of Haji Maula's former master Fakhruddin were also killed, although they had not played any part in the rebellion.
Alauddin captured the fort in July 1301, and placed it under Ulugh Khan's charge. However, the local public hated Ulugh Khan so much, that he decided not to go beyond the suburbs of Ranthambore.
According to the 14th-century chronicler Ziauddin Barani, his death greatly depressed Alauddin, who gave a lot of money away in charity for the salvation of his soul. However, Barani's contemporary chronicler Isami claims that Alauddin had ordered Ulugh Khan's killing by poisoning. During Alauddin's march to Ranthambore, his nephew Akat Khan made an attempt to assassinate him. When Alauddin fell unconscious, Akat Khan wrongly believed him to be dead, and spread the news. According to Isami's account, a servant of Alauddin told the Sultan that on hearing this news, Ulugh Khan had remarked that he was ready to fill the vacant throne. This made Alauddin suspicious of Ulugh Khan, leading to Ulugh Khan's murder. The 16th-century chronicler Husam Khan, in his Tabaqat-i-Bahadur Shahi, also attributes Ulugh Khan's death to poisoning, a claim repeated by the later chronicler Haji-ud-dabir.
Historian Banarsi Prasad Saksena dismisses Isami's account as false. However, Kishori Saran Lal believes, without citing any evidence, that given Alauddin's temperament, it is not impossible that he had his brother killed.
In 1304, Alauddin sent another army to Gujarat, and annexed it to the Delhi Sultanate. According to Amir Khusrau's Ashiqa, which is of little historical value, Ulugh Khan led this invasion. However, this claim is of doubtful accuracy, and is not supported by other sources. Isami names the commander of the second Gujarat campaign as Malik Jhitam, not Ulugh Khan. The 16th-century historian Firishta also suggests that Ulugh Khan was already dead by this time. The 18th century text Mirat-i-Ahmadi claims that Ulugh Khan governed Gujarat for 20 years, and was later executed as a result of a conspiracy by Malik Kafur. However, the author has obviously confused Alp Khan with Alauddin's brother Ulugh Khan.
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