After the ruler of a Turkish slave dynasty renewed Muslim interest in the conquering of Indian lands, a military commander by the name of Muhammad of Ghur led conquests into India and seized control of northern India and the Indus River Valley. The capital of these new Muslim lands was Delhi, a major city in northern India. Because it was so far away from the Middle East, where Muslim culture originated, the rulers in Delhi called themselves sultans instead of caliphs. The rulers of the sultanate were from many different backgrounds and cultures, and often fought each other as well others for control of the Indus and Gangetic lands in India.