Bahlol Khan Lodi, founder of the Lodi Dynasty, died in Delhi on July 12th 1489.
Bahlol Khan was of Afghan descent and belonged to a family of traders. He was recognized as a renowned warrior and was also the governor of Sirhind (Punjab). Khan came to power after the last Syyed ruler Allaudin Alam Shah stepped down from his throne and handed power to Bahlol Khan. Before gaining the throne to Delhi, Bahlol Lodi had already craftily expanded his territories towards Punjab, spreading his authority way further than that of the previous Syyed Kings. Bahlol Khan Lodi took control of the throne of Delhi on April 19th 1451 and took on the title of Bahlol Shah Ghazi.
On coming to power, Lodi decided to get rid of Hamid Khan, a minister of Alam Shah, who had first offered him the throne of Delhi. Lodi’s cousin. Malik Mahmud Khan, also known as Qutub-ud-din Khan, imprisoned Hamid Khan. By 1497, Lodi had defeated the Sharqi Dynaty based in Jaunpur and had taken over their territories. Successfully suppression rebellions in his territories, Lodi spread his dynasty across Gwalior, Jaunpur and Northern Uttar Pradesh. In 1486, Lodi authorized his son, Babrak Shah to be the viceroy of Jaunpur. This was to be a problematic decision and later Lodi’s second son Nizam Khan (Sikander Lodi) was chosen as his successor, which led to a power struggle between both brothers after Lodi’s death.
After the Lodis gained power over Jaunpur, it was expected that there would be another surge of power from the centre of the empire in Delhi and an effort would be made at the re-establishment of the Lodi dominion over north India. Under the Afghan-Lodi dynasty, there was large-scale immigration from Afghanistan which helped the Lodi dynasty get back some of its power, till the arrival of the Mughals. Bahlol Lodi ruled from 1451 to 1489 and his successors, Sikander Lodi and Ibrahim Lodi ruled from 1489-1517 CE and 1517-1526 respectively.
Bahlol Lodi died in Delhi on July 12th 1489 and was succeeded by his sons Sikander and Ibrahim Lodi, who would go onto expand his empire, until finally being defeated by the mighty Mughals. Lodi’s rather plain tomb is a square chamber with arched openings on all sides, covered by five domes, the one in the centre being the largest. Verses from the Quran are engraved on the arches of the tomb, but there are no other adornments. This simple tomb of Bahlol Lodi lies near the tomb of famous Sufi saint Nasiruddin-Chirag-e-Delhi, which is located in Chirag Delhi, named after him.
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1999 - Rajendra Kumar, the legendary actor who appeared in over 150 Hindi films, dies in Mumbai at 71.
