How did Sultan Alauddin Khalji die?

Sultan Alauddin Khalji died on 4 January 1316. There are multiple reasons cited behind the death of the Sultan. Some believe he died because of an illness. However, contemporary historian Ziauddin Barani claimed that Malik Kafur, a prominent slave-general of Alauddin, killed the Sultan.

Barani writes,

… the rule of the Sultan was tottering when death seized him. Some say that the infamous Malik Naib Kafur helped his disease to a fatal termination. The reins of government fell into the hands of slaves and worthless people; no wise man remained to guide, and each one did as he listed.

On the sixth of Shawwal, towards morning, the corpse of Alauddin was brought out of the Red Palace of Siri and was buried in a tomb in front of the Jami Masjid (in the Qutb Minar complex).

On the second day after the death, Kafur assembled the principal nobles and officers in the palace and produced a will of the late Sultan which he had caused to be executed in favour of Malik Shihabuddin Omar, removing Khizr Khan from being heir apparent.

With the consent of the nobles, he placed Shihabuddin on the throne, but as the new sovereign was a child of only five or six years old, he was a mere puppet in the hands of schemers. Malik Kafur himself undertook the conduct of the government.

Reference: Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, Ziauddin Barani

*Read our terms about the use of AI

Last updated on January 27th, 2026 at 05:25 pm