Ikhtiyar Uddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji Ikhtiyar Uddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji ( also known as Malik Ghazi Ikhtiyar ' l - Din Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji or Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji ) ( died 1206 ) was a Turkic military general of Qutb - ud - din Aybak . Early life . IIkhtiyar Uddin Khilji , a member of the Khilji tribe , a Turkic tribe long settled in what is now southern Afghanistan , was head of the military force that conquered much of eastern India at the end of the 12th Century . Rise . Khilji came from the town of Garmsir in southern Afghanistan . Tradition has it that Khilji ' s conquest of Bengal at the head of 18 horsemen was foretold . It is reported that he was of common birth , had long arms extending below his knees , a short physical stature and an unfavorable countenance . He was first appointed as the " Dewan - i - Ard " at Ghor . Then he approached India in about the year 1193 and tried to enter in the army of Qutb - al - Din , but was refused rank . Then he went further eastward and took a job under Maklik Hizbar al - Din , then in command of a platoon at Badayun in northern India . After a short period he went to Oudh where Malik Husam al - Din , recognized him for his worth . Husam gave him a landed estate in the south - eastern corner of modern Mirzapur district . Khilji gathered some Muslims under his banner and soon consolidated his position , carrying out raids into neighboring territories . Conquests . In 1190s , Khilji was also responsible for the destruction of Nalanda University , which was an ancient Buddhist University in Bihar , India , nearby to the stronghold of Bihar . He apparently also massacred the students . The main Persian source for this explains Khilji attacked the fortress unaware that it was a University . Khilji ' s career took flight with a campaign which subjugated Bihar in 1203 . This effort earned him political clout in the court at Delhi . In the same year he took his forces into Bengal . As he came upon the city of Nabadwip , it is said that he advanced so rapidly that only 18 horsemen from his army could keep up . Khilji went on to capture the capital Gaur and intruded into much of Bengal . Death and Aftermath . Ikhtiyar Khilji left the town of Devkot in 1206 to attack into Tibet , leaving Ali Mardan Khilji in Ghoraghat Upazila to watch the eastern frontier from his headquarters at Barisal . Khilji forces were ambushed in Assam and Ikhtiyar returned to Devkot with about one hundred surviving soldier . Upon Ikhtiyar Khilji ' s return to India , while he was lying ill at Devkot , he was assassinated by Ali Mardan . Loyal troops under Muhammad Shiran Khilji avenged Ikhtiyar ' s death , imprisoning Ali Mardan . Ghiyas - ud - din Iwaz Khilji became the successor . Ali Mardan escaped and was made Governor of Bengal by Qutb - ud - din Aibak , but was killed in 1210 . Ghiyas - ud - din again assumed power and proclaimed his independence . Legacy . Al Mahmud , a Bangladeshi poet , composed a book of poetry titled " Bakhtiyarer Ghora " ( " Horses of Bakhtiyar " ) in early 1990s . He depicted Khilji as the praiseworthy figurehead of conquest of Bengal . During Bakhtiyar Khilji ' s reign , Islam achieved most number of converts in India . Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji had the Khutbah read and coins struck in his own name . Mosques , madrasas and Khanqah s arose in the new abode of Islam through Bakhtiyar ' s patronage , and his example was imitated by his Amir s . He promoted religion and destroyed knowledge by burning down the ancient Nalanda University .