Alauddin Masud Shah was the seventh Sultan to rule the Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. He was the son of Ruknuddin Firuz Shah and the nephew of Sultan Razia. After his uncle Muizuddin Bahram Shah was murdered by the army in 1242 after years of disorder, the chiefs chose him as the next ruler of Delhi. He held the crown as a nominal sultan for about four years; all the powers of the state were wielded by the nobility, headed by the malik naib Qutubuddin Hasan Ghori. Muhazzabuddin continued to be the wazir as before but fell out with the other nobles and was dismissed after some time. Balban, one of 'the Forty,' rose to prominence in state politics during this period as amir-i-hajib; he married one of his daughters to the young sultan.
Masud Shah's reign marked the slow disintegration of the sultanate. Tughril Khan, the governor of Bengal, declared his independence and annexed Bihar as well. Multan and Uch became independent under Kabir Khan Ayaz, who successfully resisted the attacks of Saifuddin Qarlugh and the Mongols. The Khokhars became aggressive in the Salt Range, while the Hindu chieftains took up arms against the sultanate in the Gangetic Valley. In June 1246, Alauddin Masud Shah was deposed and killed by the emirs of Delhi and was succeeded to the throne by Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah, son of Iltutmish's eldest son Nasiruddin Mahmud.
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