also called Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, Iltutmish also spelled Altamsh d. April 29, 1236

third and greatest Delhi sultan of the so-called Slave dynasty.

Iltutmish was sold into slavery but married the daughter of his master Qutb-ud-Din Aybak, whom he succeeded in 1211. He strengthened and expanded the Muslim empire in northern India and moved the capital to Delhi, where he built the great victory tower, the Qutb Minar.

A wise and patient statesman who had been trained as a trusted administrator under his predecessors Muhammad of Ghur and Qutb-ud-Din, Iltutmish was faced upon his accession not only with the deterioration of Muslim rule but also with the claim of Taj-ud-Din Yildiz, the Ghazna ruler, to succession to all of Muhammad's conquests and with the attempts by the Hindus to recover portions of their lost territory. In 1215 he captured Yildiz, who died in prison. In 1225 he forced the unruly Bengali governor to acknowledge the authority of Delhi, and shortly thereafter he consolidated again the Muslim holdings. Iltutmish was able to preserve his kingdom against the ravages of the Mongol invasions that coincided with his reign, and he succeeded in building an administrative machinery for the empire. He sought out 11th-century Islamic classics on the art of government; and the Adab-ul-Muluk, the first Indo-Muslim classic on the art of government and warfare, was written for him.

He was tolerant of the Hindus despite the urgings of his advisers and built up the waterworks, mosques, and amenities at Delhi to make it for the first time a fitting seat of government. His reign and his advisers, especially the Wazir Junaydi, were praised by contemporaries.

Iltutmish's eldest son had died before him, and his other sons were incompetent. He gave an excellent education to his daughter Raziyya (Raziyyat-ud-Din) and desired that she should succeed him. His wishes were offensive to the administrative Council of Forty, Iltutmish's personal slaves who had served as his advisers. Raziyya did succeed briefly to the throne, but her appointment of an African to an important position was considered insulting to the council, which shortly brought about her downfall. This marked the beginning of the decline of the line of Iltutmish.