The term Zillillah was first used by
Balban
Balban was the first to use the title Zill-i-Ilahi — option 3.
What it means. Zill-i-Ilahi is Persian for “the Shadow of God”. By taking it, Ghiyasuddin Balban (reigned 1266–87) claimed that the Sultan was God’s deputy on earth, and that obedience to him was a religious duty.
Why he needed it. Balban came to the throne as a former slave and a member of the Chalisa, the group of forty Turkish nobles who had dominated the Sultanate since Iltutmish. To rule at all he had to break their power and place the crown far above the nobility. His theory of kingship — borrowed from Sasanian Persian tradition — did exactly that :
| Measure | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Title Zill-i-Ilahi, Shadow of God | Made the Sultan’s authority divine in origin, not derived from the nobles who elected him |
| Sijda (prostration) and paibos (kissing the feet) | Court ceremonies borrowed from Persia that dramatised the distance between Sultan and subject |
| Persian festival of Nauroz | Imperial splendour on the Sasanian model |
| Destruction of the Chalisa | Removed the only body able to check him |
| The diwan-i-arz, a separate military department | Gave him an army answering to the crown |
| Claimed descent from the legendary Turkish hero Afrasiyab | Supplied the noble ancestry a former slave lacked |
Why the other names are wrong. Iltutmish, option 4, was the ruler who obtained formal investiture from the Caliph of Baghdad in 1229 and struck coins calling himself the Caliph’s lieutenant — a related but different claim, and one that derived authority from the Caliph rather than directly from God. Alauddin Khalji went further than Balban and dispensed with religious sanction altogether, holding that kingship knows no kinship. Akbar belongs to the Mughal period, three centuries later, and his innovation was the Din-i-Ilahi, a very different thing whose similar sound is what makes option 2 tempting.
Hence, the answer is Balban.
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Important Questions from Delhi Sultanate
Consider the following statements :
1. It was during the reign of Iltutmish that Chengiz Khan reached the Indus in pursuit of the fugitive Khwarezm prince.
2. It was during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq that Taimur occupied Multan and crossed the Indus.
3. It was during the reign of Deva Raya II of Vijayanagara Empire that Vasco Da gama reached the Coast of Kerala.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Which of the following Sultans died while playing Polo or Chaugan?
In which of the following years did Razia become the Sultan of Delhi?
Which of the following dynasties ruled before the Tughluq Dynasty?
Which Sufi saint was put to death by Jalaluddin Khilji for attempting a rebellion?
