Nasir ud din Mahmud

Nasir ud din Mahmud, Nasir ud din Firuz Shah (reigned: 1246–1266) was the eighth sultan of the Mamluk Sultanate (Slave dynasty). He was the son of Nasiruddin Mahmud (died 1229), who was the eldest son of Shams ud din Iltutmish (1211–36) and was said to succeed his father but died suddenly; however, he did become the governor of Bengal. He was named after his father, by Shams ud din Iltutmish, for he had grown an intense filial attachment, to the only begot son of his posthumous child. He was also the nephew of Razia Sultan. He succeeded Ala ud din Masud after the chiefs replaced Masud when they felt that he began to behave as a tyrant.

As a ruler, Mahmud was known to be very religious, spending most of his time in prayer and copying the Quran. However, it was actually his father-in-law and Deputy Sultan or Naib, Ghiyas ud din Balban, who primarily dealt with the state affairs.

After Mahmud's death in 1266, Balban (1266–87) rose to power as Mahmud had no children to be his heir.

Unlike many of his predecessors and successors, Mahmud strictly followed monogamy. He spent most of his times writing down verses of the Quran. He sold the handwritten copies and used the money for his personal expenses. Surprising enough, he had no servants to carry out his personal tasks. His wife had to cook the food for the family.