The city of Gwalior sits at the foot of a sheer, high bluff near the geographical centre of the Indian subcontinent (latitude N 26°13'6", longitude E 78°10'58"). With its defensible, strategically located fort, Gwalior regularly changed hands between warring Indian dynasties before its capitulation in 597/1200-1 to the Turkic commander Quṭb al-Dīn Aybak, who was to become the founder (r. 602-7/1206-10) of the Delhi Sultanate (602-932/1206-1526). Recognising Gwalior's military significance, Aybak made its governor his trusted