Chapter 13
Delhi Sultanate During the late twelveth century
(1173-1290), India was divided into many small and large aates. There was a lack of unity among different
rulers. Under these circumstances, the
ruler of mall state of Ghor, Gayasuddin Muhammad, popularly known as Muhammad
Ghori, invaded India ad conquered Punjab, Sindh and a few other states. In 1191 CE, he was challenged by Prithvira
hauhan, the ruler of Delhi and Ajmer.
Helped by many Rajput rulers, he defeated Muhammad nori, who somehow
managed to escape. But with greater
preparation and the help of Jaichand, E wal of Prithviraj Chauhan, Ghori
defeated Prithviraj in 1192 CE. Though
there were many rulers with rithviraj, he was defeated and killed. The Turks captured Ajmer and Delhi. Later on, Jaichand wa so killed in a battle
in 1194 CE. Muhammad Ghori returned to
Ghor with a large booty. He appointed
Qutubuddin Aibek as his eputy in India.
On 15 March, 1206, Muhammad Ghori was killed by a Khokhar soldier. The command Indian territory came under
Qutubuddin Aibek who was Ghori's slave.
Aibek established the ave Dynasty in India. Ghor Grazni Boundaries of Delhi Sultanate
THE SLAVE OR MAMLUK DYNASTY (1206-90 CE) Qutubuddin Aibek
(1206-10 CE) He founded the Slave Dynasty as most of the rulers of this dynasty
were slaves or children of slaves. Aibek
established a strong kingdom based on military power. He defeated Yaldoz, the ruler of Ghazni, and
freed Punjab from him. Aibek was a great
patron of literature, art and architecture.
He built Qutub Minar and Quwwat - ul - Islam mosque in Delhi. He also built a mosque known as 'Dhai Din Ka
Jhopra' in Ajmer. He had literary gems
like Hasan Azmi and Mubarak Shah in his court.
He died in 1210 CE. Qutub Minar
Qutubuddin Aibek was succeeded by his son Aramshah, but he was not accepted by
the nobles. Therefore, Iltutmish, the
son - in - law of Albek and the Subedar of Badaun was invited to rule. He defeated Aramshah and became the
Sultan. lltutmish (1210-36 CE) He made
Delhi his capital. At the time of
becoming Sulton, he was confronted with many problems. But he faced them bravely. He defeated his main rivals, Yaldoz of Ghazni
and Qubecha of Sindh and Multan Il tutmish was an able and shrewd military
administrator. He liberated the Turkish
empire from Ghazni and other foreign powers and consolidated it
effectively. He diplomatically saved
himself and Delhi from the wrath of Mongol conqueror Chenghis Khan by not
giving shelter to Shah of Khwarizm, who was being chased by Chenghis Khan, on
the pretext that Delhi's climate would not suit him. litutmish made many administrative reforms to
strengthen his hold on Delhi Sultanate.
He organized a group of 40 Turkish nobles known as Chaliha. He divided his empire into many Iqtas for
administrative efficiency. He introduced
silver coins, Tanka and copper coins, Jital.
Coins of Delhi Sultanate period Itutmish was a patron of art and
literature, Minahaz - us - Siraz was the famous writer of his court (darbar). He wrote the accounts o litutmish's reign,
Literary persons, like Ruhani and Usami, also graced his court. Iitutmish was a staunch Sunni Muslim. He treated Shias and the Hindus very badly,
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Due to the absence of any definite rule of inheritance,
there was often a situation of chaos after the dea of a ruler. Itutmish had no faith in the capacity of his
sons to rule. So, he nominated his
daughter, Raza as his successor. She was
an able and strong administrator Razia Sultan (1236–40 CE) After the death of
lltutmish, the nobles declared his eldest son Rukunuddin Feroz, the
Sultan. But, he wa murdered only seven
months later and Razia became the Sultan.
Razia crushed her opponents. She
gave Do You Know? higher positions to
non Turk nobles. She was Razia was the
first and the last muslim lady ruler during the medieval period. an able military general and was considered
an exceptionally capable ruler. She used
to dress up like a man while going on military expeditions. Razia could rule for a short period of three
and half years only. She was killed in a
battle in 1240 CE. Razia Sultan After
Razia, Bahram Shah (1240 - 42 CE) was made Sultan by the nobles. He was killed in 1242 CE after that, Alauddin
Masud Shah ruled from 1242 CE to 1266 CE.
Nasiruddin Mahmood (1246-66 CE) In the year 1246, the youngest son of
tutmish, Nasiruddin Mahmood became the sultan and ruled for 20 years. Ghiyasuddin Balban was his Prime Minister as
well as the actual ruler. After the
death of Nasiruddin Mahmood in 1266 CE, Balban became the Sultan as Nasiruddin
Mahmood did not have any san.
Ghiyasuddin Balban (1266–86 CE) Balban was a strong and capable
ruler. He suppressed all opposition and
created an atmosphere of obedience and patriotism towards the Sultanate. Balban ended the power of the group of 40
Turkish nobles to consolidate his position.
He was a Sultan who believed in complete justice. He did not spare any wrong doer whether a
common man or a noble. His darbar was
very disciplined. Nobody could talk or
laugh without his permission, or else faced punishment. He enhanced the prestige and power of the
Sultan. He safeguarded his frontiers by
constructing many forts and posting his best guards there, Balban died in 1286.
After his death, a situation of confusion prevailed for some time. In 1290 CE, Jalal - ud - din overthrew the
weak and incapable successor of Balban and captured the throne. 98
THE KHALIS (1290-1320 CE) Jalal - ud - din Khalji (1290—96
CE) He captured the throne at the age of 70 by murdering the last two
successors of Balban. He founded the
Khalji Dynasty in 1290 CE. He was
assisted by his nephew, Ala - ud - din, in his military expeditions. Ala - ud - din was a very ambitious
person. He wanted to become the
Sultan. He treacherously murdered his
uncle who was coming back after defeating the ruler of Devgiri. Thus, he captured the throne in 1296 CE. Ala - ud - din Khalji (1296-1316 CE) He was a
brave general and a skilled administrator.
Like Alexander, he wanted to conquer the whole world. He caputured Gujarat, Ranthambor, Chittor,
Malwa, Marwar, etc. , in the north and
Devgiri, Warangal, Madurai and a number of states in the south. To safeguard his sultanate from the
invasions, he had a well - trained and well - equipped army. He kept full record of his soldiers (Hulia
and Dag) to avoid any substitution.
Soldiers were paid in cash and were given many other facilities. Ala - ud - din did not allow the nobles or
the people to amass money. So, he taxed
them heavily. He banned the sale and
consumption of wine. He organized an
effective and efficient system to control revolts against him. He was the first muslim ruler who did not
tolerate the interference Ala - ud - din Khalji of religious leaders, like
Ulemas and Mullas, in his administration.
Ala - ud - din is famous for his economic reforms. He fixed the maximum retail price of the
goods of daily use. He also introduced
grain storage and rationing system.
There were different market places for different commodities. Severe punishment was given to those who
weighed less or cheated the buyers in any way.
Market controllers were appointed for strict supervision over the
traders. He also reformed the Revenue
System. Land revenue was fixed according
to the size of land holding. The state's
share was fixed at 50 per cent of the total produce. The life of the Hindus was miserable because
they had to pay more taxes than the Muslims.
Do you know? When Ala - ud - din
came to know about the super beauty of Padmini, the queen of Chittor, he wanted
to marry her, so he attacked Chittor. He
defeated the Rajputs. Queen Padmini and
other ladies committed 'Johar. The story
of Padmini, the queen of Rana Ratna Singh of Mewar, was vividly described by
Malik Muhammad Jayasi in his epic Padmavat.
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ANCA Madu INDIAN SRI LANCA OCEAN Empire of Ala - ud - din
Khalji After ruling for 20 years, Ala - ud - din died in 1316. His successors
could survive only up to 1320 CE. The
last ruler of Khalji dynasty was Khusro.
He was defeated and murdered by Ghazi Malik who took the name of
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq and became the Sultan in 1320 CE. TUGHLAQ DYNASTY (1320-1412 CE) Ghiyasuddin
Tughlaq (1320-25 CE) The Tughlaq dynasty was founded by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq. He rose from an ordinary position to a high
position of Governor of the Frontier Province.
He was a great warrior and an able administrator. He consolidated the scattered sultanate and
restored peace and order as the whole country was in the grip of unrest and
lawlessness. 100
He was a kind ruler.
To improve the condition of the peasants, he even withdrew some of the
taxes imposed on them. He died in an
accident when a pandal set - up for his welcome, fell on him. It is said that it was the result of a
conspiracy hatched by his son, Juna Khan for early occupation of the
throne. Muhammad Tughlaq (1325-51 CE)
After the death of his father, Juna Khan took the name of Muhammad - bin -
Tughlaq and became the sultan in 1325 CE.
He was a learned person. He
opposes the interference of the Ulemas in the matters of the state. He took many steps to consolidate the
sultanate. He transferred his capital
from Delhi to Devgiri, to avoid the fury of attacks of Mangols and to exercise
better control on the Deccan. But, in
the absence of transport facilities, it caused many hardships. Many people died on the way to Devgiri, which
was 950 km away. On the other hand, his
absence from the north encouraged frequent attacks from Mangols. After five years, he ordered a retreat, which
caused even greater hardships to the people.
Delhi once again became the capital of the Sultanate. Muhammad Tughlaq wanted to increase his
military power to conquer more and more territories and cover the loss of all
previous projects. He imposed land tax
in the Doab area at 50 per cent of the produce.
The peasants, who had recently suffered due to a widespread famine, were
stunned by the order. Many farmers gave
up cultivation and their land lay barren.
This project also ended in an utter failure. When Muhammad Tughlaq realized his mistake,
he not only withdrew his orders but also extended help to the farmers to resume
cultivation. The failure of his projects
emptied his treasury. He then thought of
issuing token currency of copper instead of silver coins. But due to increased circulation of
counterfeit coins, he had to withdraw his orders and asked the people to
exchange their coins with silver coins.
This caused heavy loss to the royal treasury. Muhammad Tughlaq was a mixture of
opposites. He was a great scholar but
lacked common sense. He was harsh as
well as liberal. During his last days,
he had to face many rebellions in different parts of his Sultanate. Do you know?
Token Currency is one in which the face value of a coin is much higher
than its metalic value. For example, in
case of a one - rupee silver coin, the value is also nearly equal to one rupee
but now if you compare the value of a rupee, it is much less than a rupee. So, it is token money, 101
lped the poor Muslims and gave money to the poor widows for
the marriage of their daughters. roz
Tughlaq (1351-88 CE) Muhammad Tughlaq had no son. His cousin, Feroz Tughlaq was made the Sultan
after his death ter becoming the Sultan, he adopted the policy of appeasing the
nobles, Ulemas and the orthodo wuslims to strengthen his position. For this, he imposed jazia on Hindus and
granted land as well as hig mil and military official positions to the
Ulemas. He was a staunch Sunni by
faith. He considered him a servant of
God. He changed the policy of Ala - ud -
din Khalji and Muhammad Tughlaq, of separatin ligion from administration. He made many reforms to redress the
grievances that the people had against Muhammad Tughlaq. He instructed many canals and tanks. The old tanks were repaired. Land revenue was reduced and market ere
opened to sell the surplus produce. New
coins of smaller denominations were also introduced = opened schools and gave
grants to the scholars to promote literary activities. He helped the por uslims. He laid 1200 fruit gardens around Delhi and
founded new cities, e.g. Hissar,
Jaunpur, Ferozabad_ rozepur, etc. He got
Sanskrit texts translated into Persian.
asiruddin Tughlaq (1388—1412 CE) He was the last ruler of Tughlaq
dynasty. During his time, Timur Lang
invaded India and took away a large mount of wealth. He also took with him many Indian artisans
for decorating his capital at Samarkand e Sultanate lasted only up to 1412 CE
after Timur's invasion till Nasiruddin died.
Later, it got divided into any small kingdoms. Daulat Khan, an Amir was appointed as the
ruler of Delhi. Do you know? din 1414 CE, Sayyed Khijra Khan attacked
Delhi and defeated Daulat Khan and founded the Sayyed dynasty. Four rulers of this dynasty ruled up to 1451
CE when Bahlol Lodi attacked. LODI DYNASTY
(1451-1526 CE) ahlol Lodi (1451-89 CE) He was an able ruler and a competent
general. He did not rule like a Sultan
but a feudal lord (Samant) please his nobles, he declared that he was one among
them. He never sat on the throne. He suppressed e revolt in Doab, annexed
Jaunpur and a number of other states. He
was a religious person. His rule tended
from Punjab to some parts of Bihar.
kandar Lodi (1489–1517 CE) Sikandar Lodi succeeded his father in 1489
CE. He was generous towards the Muslims
and Ulemas. He 102
emples and constructed mosques in their place. He reimposed jazia on the Hindus. Sikandar Lodi's religious policy towards the
Hindus was very harsh and intolerant. He
destroyed He became the Sultan after his father Sikandar Lodi. He was an intelligent, able and brave ruler,
but had to face many rebellions. He
failed to subdue Rana He founded the new city of Agra in 1506 CE and made it
his capital and shifted the center of power from Delhi to Agra. ibrahim Lodi (1517–26 CE) Sanga of Mewar. He replaced the old and senior military
officers with young and brave officers to strengthen his military power. This displeased many of the old nobles. Daulat Khan, the Governor of Punjab, rebelled
and invited Babur, the ruler of Kabul, to attack India. Babur invaded India and met Ibrahim Lodi, in
the Battle of Panipat in 1526. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi who was killed in
this battle. This marked the end of
Delhi Sultanate and the beginning of Mughal rule in India. Ibrahim Lodi GOVERNANCE DURING THE SULTANATE
PERIOD Administration The Sultan dominated the central government as he was the
head of the state. He also acted as the
chief executive and highest court of appeal.
He appointed many ministers to run the administration. Do you know?
Diwan - i - Wazarat: The head of this department was Wazirand looked
after the finance (revenue, taxation) and the entire central
administration. He was like the present
Prime Minister. Diwan - i - Arz: He was
the head of the military administration and organized the military. conducted inspections and maintained complete
discipline. He was like the present
Defense Minister. Diwan - i - Insha: He
was the incharge of the entire correspondence of the state with the rulers of
other independent states and his own subordinate officers Chief Barid: Barids
were the spies. They were the ears and
eyes of the Sultan. Quazi - ul - Quzaat:
He was the head of the judiciary like the present Chief Justice of Supreme
Court. Vakil - i - Dar: He looked after
the personal comfort of the Sultan and his family. He also looked after karkhanas which produced
goods required by the royal family and maintained proper records. 103
their courts. The
introduction of historical literature was an important contribution of this time. The Ziauddin Society The Indian society was
divided mainly into two classes, i.e.
Hindus and Muslims. The Muslims
Do You Know? were the ruling class in
the Islamic state. They In West Bengal,
there is a district known a were divided mainly into two sects, i.e. Sunni and 24 parganas. There are 24 parganas in the Shia. The Muslims enjoyed a higher economic
district. A pargana is comprised of 84
or 10 status. During the Sultanate
period, slave system villages. was very
popular. Feroz Tughlaq had 1,80,000
slaves. The conditions of women was not
good. Many Muslims kept more than one
wife. A Muslim wide could remarry
whereas in the Hindu society remarriage was not allowed. Hindus formed a large majority of total
population of the country but were economically backwar they were not given
high posts. The Hindu society was based
on caste system. The lower classes we
exploited by the higher classes. This
led to wide - scale conversion to Islam.
The Hindu society suffere from evils like sati system, child marriage,
ban on widow remarriage and female education.
Inter - cast marriages were also not allowed. Most of the people were engaged in
agriculture, which was dependent on rain.
However, canal and wells were also used for irrigation. Feroz Tughlaq constructed many canals that
proved helpful for agriculture. But the
farmers led a life of poverty and misery.
The main industries were spinning, weaving, sugar production,
handicrafts, pottery and jewellery making.
Some of the Sultans patronised art and craft. They had their own karkhanas where all the
fancy and luxury goods were manufactured for the royal family. India had a flourishing internal and foreign
trade which was carried on both by sea and by land. India exported rice, spices, indigo,
textiles, silk and sandalwood and imported horses, wine, high-grade textiles,
glassware, raw silk, etc. Religion
During this period, Hinduism was the dominant religion. It was followed by the majority of people The
Hindus followed Vaishnavism and Shaivism.
Jainism and Buddhism were also practiced by people Islam was mainly
brought to India by Mahmud Ghazni and Muhammad Ghori. They believed in one God whereas Hindus
worshipped many Gods. Sufism and Bhakti
movements also started during this period.
Language and Literature during this period, Khari Boli and Braj Bhasha
became the literary languages as prose and poetry was written in these
languages. On the other hand, the
Muslims used a mixture of Persian and Arabic in 104
Barani, the famous historian, wrote Tarikh - i -
Ferozshahi. Amir Khusro was the well -
known literary genius of this period. He
was not only an outstanding poet but also a music composer and historian. parts of the Sultanate. Bhakti and Sufi saints used local languages
for the local languages, like Bengali and Gujarati, were used in many their
preachings. Urdu also developed during
this period, which was a mixture of Turkish and Hindi. Many Indian classics were also written in
Persian, Turkish and other languages.
Amir Khusro Art and Architecture during Delhi Sultanate, a new style of
architecture developed with the help of Indian craftsmen. This is known as Indo - Islamic
architecture. Its impact is clearly
visible in the monuments of that period.
The earliest examples of this architecture are the Qutubi Masjid
(Quwwatul Islam Mosque) and Qutub Minar in Delhi. They were constructed by Qutubuddin Aibek,
the first Sultan of Delhi Sultanate. He died
quite early. So, Qutub Minar was
completed by Iltutmish. Ala - ud - din
Khalji extended the Quwwat - ul - Islam mosque and built Alai Darwaza near
it. This is a very decorative and
impressive gateway with an arch. FE Alai
Darwaza Qutub Minar Do You Know? Khalji
wanted to build a minar in front of Qutub Minar which was to be double of its
height. But, he could not fulfill his
dream as he died at a young age. This
incomplete minar can be seen even today.
105
Tughlaq founded many new cities, e.g. Feroz Shah Kotala, Ferozabad, Tughlaqabad,
etc. The fame monument of Tughlaqs is
the Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's Tomb. It is
octagon (eight sided) in shape. It is in
te of Tughlaqabad fort in South Delhi on Mehrauli - Okhla (now Mehrauli -
Badarpur) road. Tughlaqabad Fort of
Delhi Do You Know? Lodi Road and Lodi
Garden in Delhi were made by the Lodis, the last dynasty of Delhi
Sultanate. Keywords. .
counterfeit: fake, imitation dag: a stamp (mark). hulia: physical description of a person. iqtas: provinces jazia: a tax paid by non -
muslims live in an Islamic state.
mamluks: earlier rulers of slave dynasty tomb: a burial place. ulemas: scholars of Islamic learning who were
generally orthodox in their outlook. 106
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