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Without the permission of Sultan Jalaluddin, Alauddin marched south with 8,000 cavalry and attacked Devagiri (modern Daulatabad). King Ramachandra was caught off guard. The plunder was massive — gold, jewels, silks, and elephants — providing Alauddin with the resources to fund his coup. This raid demonstrated both his military ambition and his willingness to act outside authority.

Alauddin invited his uncle to Kara under the pretext of presenting the Devagiri plunder. As Jalaluddin approached, Alauddin embraced him — and his accomplices attacked. Muhammad Salim struck the first blow. The elderly sultan's head was paraded on a spear. Barani records this act of treachery in vivid detail, noting that Jalaluddin had trusted his nephew despite warnings.

After the murder, Alauddin used the vast Devagiri treasure to buy the loyalty of nobles and commanders. He distributed gold so generously that Barani describes people scrambling for coins. Upon reaching Delhi, he faced no serious opposition. Jalaluddin's sons fled, and Alauddin was proclaimed Sultan Alauddin Muhammad Shah Khalji.

Alauddin methodically eliminated anyone who could challenge his rule. Jalaluddin's sons Arkali Khan and Ruknuddin Ibrahim were captured and blinded. His widow Malika-i-Jahan was imprisoned. Loyal commanders of the old regime were either bought off or disposed of. An intelligence network (barid system) was established to monitor potential conspiracies.

The Mongol army of approximately 200,000 under Qutlugh Khwaja advanced to the outskirts of Delhi. Alauddin's general Zafar Khan engaged them in battle and successfully drove them back. However, the aftermath was brutal: thousands of captured Mongol soldiers, along with Mongols who had previously settled in India (known as "New Muslims"), were massacred on Alauddin's orders. Their wives and children were enslaved.

The Gujarat campaign was a sweeping invasion. The armies sacked Anhilwara (capital), Cambay, and Somnath. The Somnath Temple — previously destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1025 CE and painstakingly rebuilt — was destroyed again. Gujarat's Vaghela king Karna was defeated. During this campaign, the generals captured a Hindu convert named Malik Kafur, who would become Khilji's most feared general and lead the devastating southern campaigns.

The repeated destruction of Somnath symbolizes the cyclical tragedy of Indian heritage. Rebuilt by the Chalukya rulers after Ghazni's raid, it stood for over 250 years before being targeted again. Temple wealth was plundered, idols smashed, and the structure desecrated. This pattern of destruction and rebuilding would continue for centuries.

Ranthambore, one of the most formidable hill forts in India, was held by the Chahamana (Chauhan) ruler Hammir Dev. Initial assaults failed due to the fort's impregnable position. The breakthrough came through treachery: two of Hammir's generals, Ranmal and Ratipala, defected to Alauddin's side. As the fort fell, Rajput women performed jauhar (self-immolation) rather than face capture. Hammir Dev fought to the death. Temples within the fort were destroyed.

The siege of Chittor is one of the most devastating events of Khilji's reign. After a prolonged siege of the Guhila (Sisodia) Rajput fortress, the women of Chittor — led by Rani Padmini according to later traditions — performed a mass jauhar, choosing death by fire over subjugation. After the fort fell, Amir Khusrau records that Alauddin ordered the massacre of approximately 30,000 Hindu inhabitants. The city was renamed Khizrabad. Temples within the fort were destroyed or desecrated.

Following the Mongol threats and military campaigns, Alauddin implemented his sweeping economic reforms. The kharaj (land tax) was raised to 50% of produce for Hindu farmers. A new department, the Diwan-i-Riyasat, was created to enforce price controls across three separate markets. An elaborate intelligence network monitored compliance. Barani records that Alauddin's explicit policy was to keep Hindus so impoverished they could not rebel. These were not "market reforms" — they were instruments of economic subjugation.

Ain-ul-Mulk Multani led the campaign against the Paramara rulers of Malwa. The fortified cities of Mandu, Ujjain, Dhar, and Chanderi fell in succession. Ancient temple complexes at Ujjain — one of India's holiest cities and one of the seven sacred moksha-puris — were targeted. The temples at Bhilsa (Vidisha), which had survived earlier invasions, were destroyed. Artisan communities were displaced and their knowledge traditions disrupted.

When the Yadava king Ramachandra stopped paying tribute, Malik Kafur was dispatched with a large army. Devagiri fell quickly. Ramachandra was compelled to accept permanent vassalage and provide military support for Khilji's southern campaigns. This established Devagiri as the base for the devastating invasions of the Kakatiya, Hoysala, and Pandya kingdoms that followed.

Kafur marched south with an enormous army against the Kakatiya kingdom of Warangal (modern Telangana). King Prataparudra was forced to surrender after a prolonged siege. The plunder was staggering: Amir Khusrau describes 20,000 horses, 312 elephants, and immeasurable quantities of gold, jewels, and precious stones. The famous Koh-i-Noor diamond may have been among the treasures seized. Kakatiya temples and cultural monuments were despoiled.

Continuing his devastating march south, Kafur attacked the Hoysala capital of Dvarasamudra (modern Halebidu in Karnataka). The Hoysala king Veera Ballala III was forced to surrender and pay a colossal tribute. The famous Hoysala temples — masterpieces of Indian architecture with their intricate sculptural programs — were vulnerable to despoliation. The wealth of South India, accumulated over centuries of stable rule, was systematically stripped.

In the most ambitious military campaign of the Delhi Sultanate to date, Kafur pushed all the way to Madurai in modern Tamil Nadu. The Pandya kingdom, torn by an internal succession dispute between Sundara Pandya and Vira Pandya, could not mount effective resistance. Kafur sacked Madurai, plundering the famous Meenakshi Temple and other sacred sites. The quantity of plunder was described by Khusrau as exceeding imagination. This marked the farthest south that Delhi's power had ever reached.

With the vast plunder from southern campaigns, Khilji embarked on ambitious building projects. The Alai Darwaza (a monumental gateway to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque complex) was completed in 1311. He also began the Alai Minar, intended to be twice the height of the Qutub Minar, but it was never completed. The Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque itself had been built using pillars and materials from 27 demolished Hindu and Jain temples — a fact visible in the surviving carvings and architectural elements to this day.

Ramachandra's successor, Singhana, attempted to throw off Delhi's yoke. Kafur was dispatched once more. The revolt was crushed brutally. Singhana was captured and killed. The Yadava dynasty, which had ruled the Deccan for over two centuries, was permanently extinguished. Devagiri was annexed directly into the Delhi Sultanate, ending any vestige of independent Hindu rule in the region.

In his final years, Alauddin's health declined severely. Malik Kafur increasingly controlled state affairs. When Alauddin died in January 1316, Kafur attempted to seize power by blinding the sultan's sons and placing an infant on the throne. However, Kafur was assassinated within 35 days by loyalists of the royal family. The Khilji dynasty itself collapsed shortly after, replaced by the Tughlaqs in 1320. But the damage inflicted during Alauddin's 20-year reign had already permanently altered the course of Indian civilization.