Malik Kafur

Malik Kafur (died 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent slave-general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan during the 1299 invasion of Gujarat, and rose to prominence in the 1300s. As a commander of Alauddin's forces, Kafur defeated the Mongol invaders in 1306. Subsequently, he led a series of expeditions in the southern part of India, against the Yadavas (1308), the Kakatiyas (1310), the Hoysalas (1311), and the Pandyas (1311). From these campaigns, he brought back many treasures, and many elephants and horses for the Delhi Sultanate. From 1313 to 1315, Kafur served as Alauddin's governor of Devagiri. When Alauddin fell seriously ill in 1315, Kafur was recalled to Delhi, where he exercised power as Na'ib (viceroy). After Alauddin's death, he tried to usurp control by appointing Alauddin's minor son, Shihabuddin Omar, as a puppet monarch. Kafur's regency lasted for about a month, before he was assassinated by Alauddin's former bodyguards. Alauddin's elder son, Mubarak Shah, succeeded him as regent, and usurped power shortly afterward. Early life and career Kafur is described as of Hindu descent ("Marhatta", according to the 14th-century chronicler Isami). In his youth, Kafur was the slave of a wealthy Khwaja of Khambhat. He was an eunuch slave of great physical beauty, said to have been purchased by his original master for 1,000 dinars. This resulted in the epithet hazar-dinari. It is very unlikely that the price paid was actually 1,000 dinars; the description seems rather to be a metaphorical compliment to Kafur. Ibn Batuta (1304–1369) refers to Kafur by the epithet al-Alfi (the Arabic equivalent of hazar-dinari), again in reference to the price paid for him, but Ibn Batuta may be in error in stating that the epithet refers to a sum paid by the sultan (Alauddin) himself for Kafur.