in Punjab under his reign. Balban was the first who introduced the famous Persian Festival of Nauroz. He started Iranian method Sijda and Paibos to the sultan in India. He also introduced the Persian festival Nowruz (meaning New year). He himself called the Niyabat-i-Khudai. Death Ghiyas ud din Balban ruled as the Sultan from 1265 until his death in 1287. Balban's heir was his older son, Prince Muhammad Khan, but he perished in a battle against the Mongols on 9 March 1285. His other son, Bughra Khan, was reluctant to assume the throne, and sought to remain the ruler of Bengal instead. Balban, therefore, chose his grandson, Kaikhasrau, son of Prince Muhammad, as heir apparent. However, after his death his nobles nominated Qaiqubad as Sultan. Qaiqubad reign (1287–1290), while his father, Bughra Khan, asserted independence in Bengal. Qaiqubad was very weak and incompetent and eventually fell to stroke and had to pass the rule to his three years old son, Shamsuddin Kayumars, who was eventually dethroned by his guardian, Jalal ud din Firuz Khalji in 1290, bringing an end to the Slave dynasty. Today, Tomb of Balban lies within the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in Delhi, adjacent to which stands that of his son Khan Shahid and a walled mosque. The domes of both the tombs have collapsed and the structures were mostly ruined until restored in recent years when the conservation work began in the park. References Sultans of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi) 13th-century births 1287 deaths Indian Sunni Muslims 13th-century Indian monarchs