Question

why was the first dynasty of the sultanate called the slave dynasty

Answer 1

The Delhi Sultanate was a Muslim Sultanate based in Delhi that ruled large tracts of Indian subcontinent for about 320 years. It was ruled by 5 different dynasties. In sequential order, they are the Mamuluks, the Khaljis, the Tughlaqs, the Sayyids and the Lodi's.

The reason why these 5 dynasties are grouped under the category of Slave dynasties is because of their Turkic origins, even though the Lodi's are entirely Afghan (according to many historians). The first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb al-Din Aibak, was a Mamuluk slave of Muhammed of Ghor ( Muhammed Ghori). This Mamuluk dynasty is not to be confused with the Mamuluk dynasty of Egypt or of Iraq. The word Mamuluk, in general means a slave and hence the generalization of tge entire Sultanate as the Slave dynasties. We need to keep in mind that the early Islamic empires were meritocracies and it was possible for a slave with talent to become considerably powerful enough to declare himself a king or an emperor. Hence, the multiple Mamuluk dynasties.

The subsequent dynasties following the Mamuluk dynasties were of Turkic/Nomadic origins and are generally grouped as the Slave dynasties because of this. The last of the Delhi sultan, Ibrahim Lodi was killed in battle with Babur, which started the Mughal empire.

Even though the Mughals had a bit of Turkic roots in their ancestry, they portrayed themselves as descending from the Mongols through and Chagatai and from the Timurid dynasty.

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Answer 2

It is called the slave dynasty because the people in the dynasty of the sultanate are the slave of the king