He routed the people of Mewat that harassed Delhi and reconquered Bengal, all while successfully facing the Mongol threat, during which his son died.

After his death in 1287, his grandson Qaiqubad was nominated sultan, though his rule undermined the success made under his grandfather's reign.

[citation needed] As a child, he was captured by the Mongols and sold as a slave to Khwaja Jamal ud-din Basri.

Khwaja brought him to Delhi where he and the other slaves were bought by Sultan Shams-ud-din Iltutmish,[4] himself a captured Ilbari Turk in origin[5] [6] [7] in 1232.

[citation needed] Balban was first appointed as a simple water carrier, but quickly rose to the position of Khasdar (king's personal attendant) by the Sultan.

During the reign of Razia Sultan, he was the amir-i-shikar or lord of the hunt, a position of some importance at the time, having military and political responsibilities.

[citation needed] Balban was instrumental in the overthrow of Ala ud din Masud, installing Nasiruddin Mahmud as Sultan and himself as his Vizier from 1246 to 1265.

His main antagonist was Imad ud-din Raihan, who in works written after Balban's time, is characterized as a Hindu Murtad (who revoked Islam), although some claim him to be of Turkic origin as well.

[8] Balban had several military achievements during his vizierhood, first raising the Mongol siege of Uch under Masud Shah in 1246.

[citation needed] Balban took upon himself the exterminating the turbulent tribes of Mewat and Awadh, destroying strongholds and villages.

Balban wanted to make sure everyone was loyal to the crown by establishing an efficient espionage system, in the style of the Umayyad Barid.

One of his nobles, Malik Baqbaq, the governor of Budaun, was punished for ordering one of his slaves to be beaten to death, apparently when being drunk.

He re-organised the revenues of the Iqtadars, which have been passed on to the children of their original holders from the time of Shams ud-din, or maintained their hold of the Iqta even after they ceased to serve in the military.

The old Muqta's, who could not serve as military commanders (emirs) for their revenue, were to be dismissed from their fief and settled with a pension of forty to fifty tankas.

Balban's steps against the nobility were so extreme as to raise suspicion from his brother, Sher Khan, who is said to have never visited Delhi.

[citation needed] Today, Tomb of Balban lies within the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in Delhi, adjacent to which stands that of his son Khan Shahid and a walled mosque.

The domes of both the tombs have collapsed and the structures were mostly ruined until restored in recent years when the conservation work began in the park.