Malik Kafur
Also called: Hazar Dinari · Topic: Turkic Invasions and the Delhi Sultanate · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"
Meaning
Malik Kafur was a slave-general of Alauddin Khilji. He was nicknamed "Hazar Dinari" because he was bought for a thousand dinars. In the early 14th century, he took the Delhi Sultanate's armies deep into the Deccan and the far south. He conquered kingdoms along the way. The wealth he took paid for the Sultanate's huge army.
Example
Between c. 1307 and 1311, he attacked the Yadavas of Devagiri, the Kakatiyas of Warangal, the Hoysalas and the Pandyas. He sacked Hindu temple centres such as Srirangam, Madurai and Chidambaram, and possibly Rameswaram. The Hoysalas still survived as an independent kingdom.
Don't confuse with
- Bakhtiyar Khilji: he was an earlier general who campaigned in Bihar and Bengal around 1200. He destroyed Nalanda, not southern temples.
Related concepts
- Khilji dynasty
- Jalaluddin Khalji
- Alauddin Khalji
- Mongol invasions of India
- Siri Fort
- Hauz Khas
- Alai Darwaza
- Market reforms of Alauddin Khalji
- Diwan-i-Riyasat
- Shahna-i-Mandi