Introduction

The Corps of Forty, historically known as the Shamsi Bandagan and also called the Turkan-e-Chihilgani, was a council of 40 mostly Turkic slave emirs who administered the Delhi Sultanate according to the wishes of the sultan. However, their number was not always 40, as Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani mentions that the group numbered 25 for some time.

It was initially formed by Shamsuddin Iltutmish, the third ruler of the Mamluk dynasty. After Iltutmish’s death, the balance of power shifted, and the sultan became a puppet of these emirs. They would enthrone and depose Iltutmish’s children and grandchildren, often murdering them when they proved troublesome.

Balban, one of Iltutmish’s slaves and a former member of the Corps, broke the power of the emirs and restored the authority and prestige of the sultan. However, this destruction of the Corps proved to be a double-edged sword. Without the Chihilgani to maintain a Turkic monopoly on power, the Sultanate became vulnerable to the Khalji faction, which rose through assassinations and ultimately overthrew the Turks during the Khalji Revolution.

The Turkan-i-Chihilgani were dispersed and broken up, and they fled and settled in various villages in the region of Katehar (Rohilkhand).

Members

Historian Peter Jackson notes that the medieval chronicler Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani provides biographies of 25 Shamsi Turkish slaves. Jackson points out that there was only one Indian among the 25 Shamsi owned by Iltutmish, namely Hindu Khan, who was probably in charge of all the other Shamsi slaves and held the title of mihtar-i mubārak.

The Turkic Shamsi slaves were drawn from various ethnic groups, including Rumis (probably Greeks or Slavs from Byzantium) and Khitans (likely similar to the Qara Khitai). The Rumi slaves included ‘Izz al-Din Kabir Khan Ayaz, Badr al-Din Sonqur, and Nusrat Khan Badr al-Din Sonqur. The Khitan slaves were Sayf al-Din Aybeg, also called Yaghantut (meaning “capturer of elephants”), and Sayf al-Din Ikit Khan Aybeg-i Khita’i. The Qara Khitai slaves included ‘Izz al-Din Toghril Toghan Khan, Ikhtiyar al-Din Aytegin Qaraqush Khan, and Ikhtiyar al-Din Aytegin, who was the first slave commander to attain the position of naib.

There were also many Kipchak slaves among the Shamsi. These included Qamar al-Din Qiran Temur Khan, Taj al-Din Sanjar (Qabaqulaq), Taj al-Din Sanjar Kirit Khan, Ikhtiyar al-Din Yuzbeg Toghril Khan, ‘Izz al-Din Balaban (later known as Küshlü Khan), and Sayf al-Din Aybeg Shamsi-yi ‘Ajami. Küshlü Khan was purchased during the siege of Mandore in 1227 (A.H. 624).

Notably, there were also slaves drawn from the same group to which Iltutmish belonged, the Olberli, who were a subdivision of either the Kipchaks or the Qanglïs. Historian Sunil Kumar suggests that the Olberli were Yemek Turks. Among the Olberli slaves, the most prominent were Baha al-Din Balaban (who later became Sultan), his brother Sayf al-Din Aybeg (Kishli Khan), and their cousin Nusrat al-Din Sanjar (Shir Khan).

Balaban was purchased in 1231/1232 (A.H. 629), while his brother Kishli Khan was bought during an embassy sent by Iltutmish to Egypt and Baghdad. Another notable figure, Taj al-Din Sanjar (later titled Arslan Khan), was also purchased during this embassy and was probably a Karakhitai Turk.

Other Shamsi slaves whose tribal backgrounds are unknown include Taj al-Din Sanjar Kezlik Khan, Nasir al-Din Aytemur al-Bahai, Saif al-Din Aybeg-i Uchch, and Nusrat al-Din Tayisi al-Mu’izzi.