Institution

Chihalgani

Also known as Council of Forty

The Chihalgani, or Council of Forty, was a group of powerful Turkic slave nobles in the Delhi Sultanate during the thirteenth century, associated with Sultan Iltutmish. They dominated court politics and made and unmade sultans after his death. Sultan Balban later broke their power to strengthen royal authority.

Chihalgani
Image: Maps created from DEMIS Mapserver, which are public domain. Koba-chan; Territorial area: पाटलिपुत्र , per Schwartberg Atlas p.147 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Delhi SultanateGovernance

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Chihalgani. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/chihalgani
MLA
“Chihalgani.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/chihalgani. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Chihalgani.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/chihalgani.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Chihalgani’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/chihalgani (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻