The Lodi Dynasty
AuthorRamesh lalwani
Bahrul Lodi – Initial Years
The Lodi dynasty appears to have made settlements in Multan as early as A.D. 970. To trace the lineage of the Lodi dynasty, it is best to start with Behram Lodi, who was based in Multan in the early 1400s.
Behram was a merchant and settled in Hindustan permanently during the Tughlaq regime, which ruled Delhi. He had five sons, and the second was Malik Kala. Malik Kala married his uncle's daughter, and unfortunately, when his wife was full-time pregnant, she was crushed by a wall that collapsed and she died. Miraculously, the surgeons in Hindustan saved the child, Bahrul Lodi, who would later rule Hindustan with Delhi at the center.
Malik Kala died a few days after Bahrul's birth, leaving Bahrul orphaned. Bahrul's maternal uncle, Sultan Islam Shah Lodi (Majumdar Hard copy), who was the Sirhind province chief, must have felt a certain responsibility to raise Bahrul. He requested that Bahrul be brought to Sirhind, served as Bahrul's guardian, and raised him as if he were his own. Despite the adversities he faced as a child, Bahrul was resilient, brave, obedient, and respectful and was a born soldier and leader. With all his qualities, he helped his uncle quell a few Afghan rebellions and proved much more capable than his sons.
Islam Shah Lodi saw great potential in Bahrul and gave his daughter away to him for marriage.
Bahrul's influence grew daily, and Islam Shah soon promoted him with 12,000 men under him. Islam Shah was killed in May 1431, and Bahrul took over as the king of Sirhind instead of Islam Shah's sons. His sons appealed to the Sultan, but the Sultan needed Bahrul to fight the chiefs of Malwa and Mewat and took Bahrul's side.
The Delhi Sayyid dynasty was confused with the voluntary departure of the emperor Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah of Delhi. In a bloodless coup, Bahrul became the emperor of Delhi on 4/19/1451. Alam Shah was the fourth emperor of the Sayyid dynasty, and after him, the Sayyid dynasty ceased to exist.
