The khiliji Dynasty had a great line of brave hereditary rulers. This dynasty, was made-up of Ghilzai Pashtuns, and hailed from the Turkish origin. They conquered and ruled many parts of northern India, from 1290-1320. They were the second Muslim dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate. Among these great Emperors was,Ala ud din Khilji who was considered to be the greatest among the Khiljis, due to successfully repelling several invasions from the Mongol Empire.

Ala-ud-din`s real name was Juna Khan. He was the second ruler of the Khilji dynasty. Ala-ud-din was the nephew and son-in-law of Jalal-ud-din. Ala-ud-din was appointed as governor of Kara by his uncle. He killed his uncle and proclaimed himself as King of Delhi on 3rd October 1296. He ruled for a span of 20 years from 1296-1316. He went on to despoil the wealth of nobles, looting temples and invaded many states. He cowed down the nobles and made them completely submissive to the crown. He was ambitious and dreamt of ruling over the whole of Indian empire.

Rise of Ala-ud-din Khiliji
Series of uprisings and revolts started amongst the nobles, many of them declaring independence thus unleashing a state of confusion. This was the period when Jalaluddin Khilji of the Khilji tribe who was placed on the throne by the nobles brought a new rule to follow under the name of the Khilji dynasty. The rule of this dynasty started in 1290 AD and continued till 1340 AD. Jalal-ud-din expanded the boundaries of his empire after coming to the throne. He suppressed the revolt of Malik Chhaju with the help of governor of Oudh. He suppressed the `Thug gees` a band of robbers and sent them to Bengal.

In 1292 AD, Alauddin led an expedition to Devagiri hearing of its wealth. He defeated the ruler of Devagiri and forced them to pay a huge war indemnity. This helped Alauddin in buying the nobles and pleasing the soldiers who were dissatisfied by the rule of Jala-ud-din. After having treacherously lured away his uncle-cum-father-in- law from Delhi, Alauddin assassinated him at Karra in July 1296 A.D. In the mean time Ala-ud-din came to know that Malika Jan, the widow of Jalal-ud-din had put her younger son on throne and she had also called her elder son who was residing in Multan. Alauddin then set out from Karra towards Delhi. On hearing his return to Delhi, Malika Jan and both her sons fled from Delhi. In the year 1296 AD Alauddin became the Sultan of Delhi.

Conquests of Ala-ud-din Khilji
To materialize his dream, Alauddin embarked a career of conquest. His four henchmen were his brother Ulugh Khan, Nusrat Khan, Zafar Khan and his brother-in-law, Alp Khan. Some of his great conquests were Gujarat in 1297 AD, Ranthambore and Chittor in 1303 A.D. In 1297 AD, Alauddin Khilji set off for conquering Gujarat. The Raja of Gujarat took shelter in Devagiri where Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan pursued them and looted. Here Nusrat Khan purchased a Hindu slave called Malik Kafur who, in due course helped Alauddin Khilji in his future conquests. Alauddin Khilji was the first to sack Chittaur, overpowered by a passionate desire to possess the regal beauty, queen Padmini.

Revolts by Hindus
While conquering different states in the North, Alauddin had looted many Hindu homes. Especially on his way back from Jalandhar he had sacked and damaged many Hindu temples. Cows were butchered and Hindu women raped. Local Hindus were made to accept Islam such atrocities were going on since a long time. As Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan turned back toward Delhi, their armies laden with fabulous loot, a serious revolt broke out in their ranks. The ones who revolted were killed, disfigured and captured. The prisoners retaliated with the help of Muslim soldiers. A large number of Hindu captives were successful in escaping.

Conquest of Chittor by Ala-ud-din
In 1303 A.D. Alauddin invaded Chittor fort. His ambition was to capture Padmini, the beautiful queen of Chittor. The King of Chittor, Rana Bhim Singh was captivated on Monday, Aug. 26, 1303 and Chittor fell. Thousands of Rajput women with Rani Padmini inside had entered a cellar and burnt themselves to ashes preferring a fiery death and unsullied honor to the lecherous hell of Islamic torture and venery.

Alauddin also occupied Madurai and expanded Delhi Sultanate up to the peninsula of Deccan. Ala-ud-din Khilji described himself as `Second Alexandar` on his own coinage. He dreamt of establishing a world-wide emperor. He had no education but he appointed famous Persian poet Amir Khusro as his poet laureate. Malik Kafoor was his army general, who brought him success in many warfares.

Alauddin Khilji died in January of 1316 out of edema. It is said that his lieutenant Malik Naib hurried his death.