‘Don’t you see? If Dilli is safe, I am safe.’

Shehzadi Razziat believes that she will one day rule, as Sultan Iltutmish, her father, does. She is his favourite, his zafer—his symbol of victory—is she not? Sharp of mind and steely in her resolve to prove herself worthy, Razziat trains harder than her brothers and observes her father keenly, preparing for the role she believes is rightfully hers. Supporting her dreams are her childhood friends, Yakut and Altunia, each secretly in love with the fiery princess.

But mid-thirteenth century Dilli is not an easy place for a woman; the moral strictures are harsh, and the road to the throne is treacherous. And one false step is all it takes to stir up rebellion and turn friends into foes—as Razziat soon discovers.

In this compulsively readable novel, Meena Arora Nayak writes of Sultan Razziat—the only woman emperor who ever ruled from the throne of Dilli. A fearless warrior, a shrewd politician, and a just ruler, whose memory has persisted despite history’s attempts to forget her.