Sultan Ghari was the first Islamic Mausoleum (tomb) built in 1231 AD for Prince Nasiru'd-Din Mahmud, eldest son of Iltumish, in the“funerary landscape of Delhi” in the Malakapur village (near Vasant Kunj). Iltumish was the first Sultan of the Slave Dynasty who ruled in Delhi from 1210 to 1236 A.D. The area where the Ghari (meaning: cave) tomb is situated, was part of the first city of medieval Delhi known as the Slave Dynasty that ruled during the period 1206 to 1290.This area is now part of the Qutb complex. The Slave Dynasty was the forerunner under the early Delhi Sultanate that ruled from 1216 to 1516. This dynastic city was followed by creation of other five cities of Delhi ruled by different dynastic rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, namely, the Khilji dynasty (1290-1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1413), the Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and the Lodi dynasty (1451-1526). The rule of the Mughal Empire then followed and lasted from 1526 to 1857.
Iltumish, ruling from Delhi since 1210 A.D., invaded eastern India in 1225 A.D. to capture Laknauti (now a ruined city in West Bengal called Gaur). The resultant battle ended in signing of a Treaty between Izaz, the then ruler of Eastern India (Bihar and Bengal) and Iltumish; the former ruler agreeing to pay a surety of 80 lakh tankas (silver currency), 38 elephants, mint and issue of coins in the name of Iltumish and accepting Sultan’s suzerainty over the region. Before returning to Delhi, Iltumish divided the region into Bihar and Lakhnauti, and installed Alauddin masud jani as his feudatory in Lakhnauti. But Jani’s control was short lived as he was overthrown by Iwaz soon after Iltumish’s departure.
There after, Iltutmish deputed his eldest son prince Nasiru'd-Din Mahmud to fight Iwaz. In the battle which took place near Lakhnauti, Iwaz was trounced and executed in 1227 A.D., along with his nobles. Prince Nasiru'd-Din Mahmud who was then appointed as governor of Lakhnauti province, merged his original province of Oudh with Bengal and Bihar, and established his capital at Lakhnauti. This act of his coupled with the fact that he was son of Iltumish enhanced his prestige in the province. As a reward, he was given the honorific title of‘Malik-us-Sharq' (king of the East) by Iltutmish. His rule was short lived, eventful and he could consolidate his territory. But after a short rule of 18 months, Nasiru'd-Din Mahmud was killed. Immensely grieved by the death of his favourite eldest son, Iltumish built a tomb called the Sultan Ghari in memory of his son, in 1231 A.D., close to the Qutb complex. Five years later, Iltumish died in the year 1236 and his tomb can be seen in the Qutb complex. His two other sons, namely Ruknuddin Feroze Shah (died 1237 A.D., after he was deposed) and Muizzudin Bahram Shah (was killed in 1241 A.D.) who ruled for short periods, before and after their famous sister Razia Sultan ruled Delhi, were also buried in separate Chhatris (cenotaphs), just next to the Sultan Ghari. One of the two Chhatris (pictured) is restored while the other has been destroyed. Some archelogical findings reported by the Archeological Survey of India are a) the inscription of 1361 recording the excavation of a tank on the occasion of a marriage, b) a stone linga (phallic symbol of Lord Shiva the Hindu God in a lintel and c) a dilapitated mosque of Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq's time and a few scattered remnanats of the Mughal period
The tomb is a revered place for devotees of both Hindu and Muslim religious communities of the nearby villages of Mahipalpur and Rangpur since they consider the tomb as the dargah of a saintly‘peer’; a visit to the tomb is more or less mandatory for newlyweds from these two villages. Because of the religious veneration, the monument is maintained better by the local people than the Archeological Survey of India who are the formal custodians to maintain the heritage structure.
Thursday is a special day for worship at this tomb when devotees, both Hindus and Muslims, visit the shrine, which represents a festive display of Hindu– Muslim syncretism of religious tolerance. Every year, on the 17th day of the Islamic month of Ziqad (month occurring between Ramadan and Eid festivals), the“Urs (death anniversary) of Nasiruddin Shah” is held when pilgrims from all parts of Delhi visit the tomb
The tomb is a revered place for devotees of both Hindu and Muslim religious communities of the nearby villages of Mahipalpur and Rangpur since they consider the tomb as the dargah of a saintly‘peer’; a visit to the tomb is more or less mandatory for newlyweds from these two villages. Because of the religious veneration, the monument is maintained better by the local people than the Archeological Survey of India who are the formal custodians to maintain the heritage structure.