Sultan Iltutmish named his daughter Razia heir over his sons; the nobles crowned a son, and the people of Delhi put her on the throne

The chronicler Minhaj-i-Siraj writes that Sultan Iltutmish, returning from the conquest of Gwalior, ordered his secretary to write a decree naming his eldest daughter Raziyyat his heir apparent. His officials objected that he had grown sons. He answered that his sons were "engrossed in the pleasures of youth" and that none was more worthy than she. Minhaj was not in Delhi at the time, and historians question the decree^†. When Iltutmish died in 1236, the nobles crowned his son Ruknuddin Firuz. Ruknuddin's mother, Shah Turkan, plotted to kill Razia. In Rabi I 634 AH Razia turned openly against her. The people of Delhi rose, attacked the palace and seized the queen mother. The Turkish amirs pledged allegiance to Razia and placed her on the throne. Ruknuddin was captured and died in prison. The wazir and four maliks besieged her at the gates of Delhi. She ruled for three years, six months and six days. Near the end she laid aside female dress. Nobles objected to her favour to her Abyssinian officer Yaqut. In 1240 Altunia, governor of Tabarhinda, rebelled; Yaqut was killed and Razia imprisoned. She married Altunia, marched on Delhi, was defeated on 14 October 1240 and was killed. Her coins call her "the illustrious among women."