Members of the major Islamic dynasties of 1206-1526/56. The sultans of Delhi were the successors of the Ghaznavids and Ghurids in the Punjab and northern India. During the decline of the Ghurids, their Turkish general Qutb Al-Din Aibak (1206-1210) declared his independence and established the realm of the so-called "slave sultans" of Delhi. Among these Iltutmish (1210-1236) was the most prominent: the conquest of Sind earned him a reputation as the main architect of Islamic rule in India. In 1290 the "slave sultans" were toppled by the Khilji dynasty (1290-1320); Aladdin Khalji (1296-1316) repelled the Mongols and conquered the Deccan (central India) for Islam. From the Tugluq dynasty that followed (1320-1414), Firuz (1351-1388) was able to consolidate its rule in northern India, yet following his death various sultanates defected from Delhi (Bengal, Deccan, Gujarat, Jaunpur, Malwa).

In 1398 Delhi was occupied by Timur lenk. The Sayyid dynasty (1414-1451) was followed by the Afghan Lodis (1451-1526), who were removed in 1526 by the first Great Mughals, Babur. With the expulsion of his son, Humayun, by Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545) and his successors (up to 1556) the sultanate of Delhi was re-established for a short period.

Slave Dynasty (1206-1290)
Qutb-ud-din Aybak (1206-1210)
Aram Shah (1210-1211)
Shams ud din Iltutmish (1211-1236)
Rukn ud din Firuz (1236)
Raziyyat ud din Sultana (1236-1240)
Muiz ud din Bahram (1240-1242)
Ala ud din Masud (1242-1246)
Nasir ud din Mahmud (1246-1266)
Ghiyas ud din Balban (1266-1286)
Muiz ud din Qaiqabad (1286-1290)

Khilji Dynasty (1290-1321)
Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji (1290-1294)
Ala ud din Khilji (1294-1316)
Qutb ud din Mubarak Shah (1316-1321)

Tughlaq Dynasty (1321-1398)
Ghiyas ud din Tughluq Shah (1321-1325)
Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325-1351)
Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351-1388)
Ghiyas ud din Tughluq II (1388-1389)
Abu Baker (1389-1390)
Nasir ud din Muhammad (1390-1394)
Mahmud Nasir ud din (Sultan Mahmud) at Delhi (1394-1413)
Nusrat Shah at Firuzabad