Page:History of India Vol 5.djvu/144

 CHAPTER VI THE EARLIER CAREER OF ULUGH KHAN, AFTERWARDS EMPEROR BALBAN death of Queen Raziya was followed by six J- years of weak government by one of her brothers and a nephew, and then her younger brother Nasir-ad- din, the third son of the Slave King Altamish, took the throne and reigned for twenty years (1246 - 1266 A. D.). But during all this time the true power behind the throne was Ulugh Khan, who afterwards became Sultan Balban. This remarkable man was originally a purchased slave from Turkistan, but he rose from that position and the menial services of water-carrier and huntsman to be prime minister and ultimately emperor. His devotion to his gentle master, Nasir-ad-din, was un- swerving, whether as servant, general, or statesman, and on the death of Nasir he succeeded to the crown as Emperor Balban and reigned for twenty years him- self, with the same qualities of noble greatness that marked all his previous life, which leave on our minds the impression that Balban was one of the strongest personalities among India's rulers. The history of this notable man's earlier career is no