sultanate · South Asia
Khalji dynasty of Bengal
Origins
Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji, a Turkic-Afghan commander serving the Ghurids, raided Bihar and then, around 1204, surprised the Sena king Lakshmana Sena at Nadia. He established a capital at Lakhnauti (Gaur) and ruled northern and western Bengal with his Khalji officers, nominally under the Ghurid sultans.
Rule and society
The Khalji chiefs governed as a military aristocracy, dividing land among commanders and founding mosques and madrasas. Bakhtiyar died after a disastrous expedition towards Tibet around 1206. Iwaz Khalji, who took the title Ghiyath al-Din, was the most effective ruler: he built roads and embankments, created a river fleet and struck coins in his own name.
Decline and legacy
Iltutmish of the Delhi Sultanate sent his son Nasir al-Din Mahmud against Iwaz, who was defeated and killed in 1227. Bengal became a province of Delhi, governed from Lakhnauti, until independent sultans arose again, leading eventually to the Bengal Sultanate.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Khalji dynasty of Bengal was conquered by Delhi Sultanate1227 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Khalji dynasty of Bengal. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/khalji-dynasty-of-bengal
- MLA
- “Khalji dynasty of Bengal.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/khalji-dynasty-of-bengal. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Khalji dynasty of Bengal.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/khalji-dynasty-of-bengal.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Khalji dynasty of Bengal’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/khalji-dynasty-of-bengal (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻