Almas Beg (died c. 1302), better known by his title Ulugh Khan, was a brother and a general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji.
In 1298, Ulugh Khan repulsed a Mongol invasion from the Chagatai Khanate, which greatly increased Alauddin's prestige.
The next year, he and Nusrat Khan raided the wealthy province of Gujarat, obtaining a huge amount of wealth for Alauddin's treasury.
He led the reinforcement unit in the Battle of Kili (1299) against the Mongols, and held command in the initial phases of the Siege of Ranthambore (1301).
According to Ziauddin Barani, Alauddin once thought of establishing a new religion, and compared his four generals (Ulugh, Nusrat, Zafar and Alp) to Muhammad's four Rashidun caliphs.
[9] According to the Delhi courtier Amir Khusrau, Ulugh Khan covered the distance of two marches in a single day to face the Mongols, and reached the banks of the Sutlej River on 6 February 1298.
According to the Jain chronicler Jinaprabha Suri, Ulugh Khan's forces defeated the army of the defending king Karna at Asapalli (present-day Ahmedabad).
[13] Karna fled from the battlefield, after which Ulugh Khan's army thoroughly sacked the wealthy city of Anahilavada (Patan).
[23] In 1299, Hammira, the Chahamana ruler of Ranthambore, had granted asylum to the Mongol fugitives who had led the mutiny against Ulugh Khan at Jalore.
[18] Ulugh Khan, who was the governor of Bayana near Ranthambore, urged Hammira to kill these fugitives as a friendly ruler or face an invasion.
When Hammira refused to kill or surrender the fugitives, Alauddin ordered Ulugh Khan to invade Ranthambore in 1301.
Taking advantage of the mourning in the invaders' camp, Hammira's army attacked them, and forced Ulugh Khan to retreat to Jhain.
Some days later, Alauddin received the news that Haji Maula had appointed Iltutmish's descendant Alavi as a puppet monarch in Delhi.
[32][33] According to the 14th-century chronicler Ziauddin Barani, his death greatly depressed Alauddin, who gave a lot of money away in charity for the salvation of his soul.
[32] However, Barani's contemporary chronicler Isami claims that Alauddin had ordered Ulugh Khan's killing by poisoning.
According to Isami's account, a servant of Alauddin told the Sultan that on hearing this news, Ulugh Khan had remarked that he was ready to fill the vacant throne.
[32] However, Kishori Saran Lal believes, without citing any evidence, that given Alauddin's temperament, it is not impossible that he had his brother killed.
[35] The 18th century text Mirat-i-Ahmadi claims that Ulugh Khan governed Gujarat for 20 years, and was later executed as a result of a conspiracy by Malik Kafur.
[36] He was portrayed by Ashwin Dhar in Bollywood movie Padmavat which was based on poem of Malik Muhammad Jayasi written on background of Siege of Chittorgarh by Alauddin Khilji.