According to a possibly aprocryphal legend, impressed by her performance during this period, Iltutmish nominated Razia as his heir apparent after returning to Delhi.

She married one of the rebels – Ikhtiyaruddin Altunia – and attempted to regain the throne, but was defeated by her half-brother and successor Muizuddin Bahram in October that year, and was killed shortly after.

[5][6][7] Razia was born to the Delhi Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish, an Ilbari Turkic slave (mamluk) of his predecessor Qutb ud-Din Aibak.

[9] According to historian Minhaj-i-Siraj, Iltutmish believed his other sons were absorbed in pleasurable activities, and would be incapable of managing the state affairs after his death.

[10] Iltutmish ordered his officer mushrif-i mamlakat Tajul Mulk Mahmud Dabir to prepare a decree naming Razia as the heir apparent.

Minhaj is the only near-contemporary source that narrates this legend, and he did not witness the events or the alleged decree himself: he was in Gwalior at the time, and did not return to Delhi until 1238.

The duo's blinding and execution of Iltutmish's popular son Qutubuddin, combined with Shah Turkan's high-handedness, led to rebellions by several nobles, and even the wazir (prime minister) Nizamul Mulk Junaidi joined the rebels.

Several nobles and the army pledged allegiance to Razia, and placed her on the throne,[14] making her the first female Muslim ruler in South Asia.

[16] Nizamul Mulk Muhammad Junaidi, a 'Tazik' (non-Turkic) officer who had held the post of the wazir (prime minister) since Iltutmish's time,[17] refused to accept her ascension.

[16] Razia then led an army out of the fortified city of Delhi to fight the rebels and set up a camp on the banks of the Yamuna River.

After some indecisive skirmishes, the rebel leaders Muhammad Salari and Izzuddin Kabir Khan Ayaz decided to join Razia.

However, Saifuddin died soon after, and Razia appointed Malik Qutubuddin Hasan Ghuri to the newly created office of naib-i lashkar (in-charge of the army).

[19] Razia's first military campaign directed at non-rebels was an invasion of Ranthambore, whose Chahamana ruler had asserted his sovereignty after Iltutmish's death.

Razia directed Malik Qutubuddin Hasan Ghuri to march to Ranthambore: he was able to evacuate the Turkic nobles and officers from the fort, but was unable to subjugate the Chahamanas.

The Chahamanas, in alliance with the Mewatis, captured a large part of present-day north-eastern Rajasthan, and carried out guerilla war around Delhi.

The Qarmatian leader Nuruddin Turk had earlier condemned the Sunni Shafi‘i and Hanafi doctrines, and had gathered nearly 1,000 supporters from Delhi, Gujarat, Sindh, and the Doab.

[25] Isami mentions that initially, she observed purdah: a screen separated her throne from the courtiers and the general public, and she was surrounded by female guards.

[21] Chroniclers such as Isami, Sirhindi, Badauni, Firishta, and Nizamuddin Ahmad attribute Razia's intimacy with Yaqut as a major cause of her downfall.

[26] In 1238–1239, Malik Izudin Kabir Khan Ayaz – the governor of Lahore – rebelled against Razia, and she marched against him, forcing him to flee to Sodhra.

[27] Razia had recalled Ikhtiyaruddin Aitigin, a Turkic slave purchased by Iltutmish, to her court in Delhi, and made him Amir-i Hajib.

[30] The nobles expected the new king to be a figurehead, and intended to control the affairs of the state through the newly created office of naib-i mamlakat (equivalent to regent), which was assigned to Ikhtiyaruddin Aitigin.

[35] The 14th century traveler Ibn Batuta mentions that Razia's tomb had become a pilgrimage centre:[2] A dome had been built over it, and people sought blessings from it.

[36][page needed] Today, the site is largely neglected: the Archaeological Survey of India performs annual maintenance to it, but has been unable to beautify it further because it is surrounded by illegal construction, and is approachable only through a narrow, congested lane.