32

CHAPTER

3.1

Introduction

After Muhammad Ghori’s death, his nephew Ghiyasuddin Mahmud became the ruler of Ghur, but he was in constant fear of internal revolts and foreign invasions.

Tajuddin Yalduz, Nasiruddin Qubacha and Qutbud-din Aibak - the three able and trusted Turkish nobles of Muhammad Ghuri each one of them aspired for independence.

Ghiyasuddin Mahmud could not suppress their revolts and hence immediately after the death of Muhammad Ghuri, partition of his empire started. Yalduz succeeded at Ghazni and as the ruler of Ghazni wished to bring India also under his suzerainty.

Qubacha who had held Multan and Uchh since 1205, occupied the whole of Sind and decided to declare his independence.

The Indian possession was held by Qutbud-din-Aibak.

The establishment of Delhi Sultanate which existed from A.D. 1206 to 1526 had fi ve different dynasties - the Slave (Mamluk Sultans), Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyids and Lodis.

Not only they extended their rule over North India, but they also penetrated into the Deccan and South India.

Their rule in India resulted in far-reaching changes in society, administration and cultural life.

Slave/Mamluk Dynasty (Ilbari Turks)

The dynasty founded by the Ilbari Turks is generally called the ‘Slave Dynasty’ or ‘Mamluk Dynasty’ because many of the important rulers of this dynasty had originally been slaves like Qutbud-din was a slave of Mahmud Ghuri, and Iltutmish was slave of Qutbud-din.

Qutbuddin Aibak (1206-1210 AD)Qutbuddin Aibak was a Turkish slave who had risen to high rank in Muhammad Ghori’s army.

After Muhammad Ghori’s death in AD 1206, the control of his Indian possessions was passed on to Qutbuddin Aibak.

Aibak was the fi rst independent Muslim ruler of Northern India, the founder of Delhi Sultanate.

Aibak had to face many revolts from Rajputs and other Indian chiefs.

Tajudding Yaldauz, the rule of Ghazni, claimed his rule over Delhi. Aibak defeated Yaldauz and severed all connections with Ghazni.

Aibak was able to win over his enemies by conciliatory measures as well as a display of power.

THE DELHI SULTANATE (1206-1526 AD)

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The successor of Jaichand, Harishchandra had driven out the Turks from Badayun and Farukhabad. Aibak re-conquered both Badayun and Farukhabad.

Qutbuddin Aibak was brave, faithful and generous and due to his generosity he was known as “Lakh Baksh”.

Most of the scholars consider Aibak as the real founder of Muslim rule in India.

Aibak died in 1210 AD, while playing Chaugan (horse polo).

Iltutmish (1210-1236 AD)On Aibak’s death in 1210 AD his adopted son Aram Shah succeeded to the throne but he was shortly after removed by Iltutmish, Qutbud-din’s slave and governor of Budaun.

Iltutmish’s elevation was resented by many Turkish nobles while Qubacha, the governor of Sind and Yalduz, the governor of Ghazni rose in open revolt.

Yalduz was defeated near Tarain in 1215 AD and Qubacha was fi nally subdued in 1228 AD.

Ali Mordan Khan of Bengal and Bihar, who had rebelled, was suppressed.

The revolt of Hindu rulers at Gwalior and Ranthambore who had declared their independence was tackled.

In Bihar and Bengal, a person called Iwaz had taken the title of Sultan Ghiyasuddin has assumed his independence. In 1226-27, Iwaz was defeated and killed in a battle near Lakhanauti.

Mongols under the leadership of Changiz Khan in pursuit of Jalaluddin, a prince of Khwarizm who had fl ed to Punjab and sought asylum in Iltutmish’s court marched towards India.

India was in imminent danger of being overrun by the Mongols but Iltutmish’s acting with precedence, refused asylum and saved the infant Turkish empire from the wrath of the Mongol warlord.

In 1229 AD, Iltutmish received a role of honour and a patent of investiture from Al Mustansir Bildah, the reigning caliph of Baghdad who confi rmed him Sultan-Azmi (great Sultan).

In return, Iltutmish described himself as the ‘Lieutenant’ of the caliph and the name of caliph was inscribed on the coins issued by him and this strengthened his position still more.

He issued a purely Arabic coinage of silver and was the fi rst to do so.

He was the real founder of Delhi Sultanate and an architect of its administration.

He eliminated the refractory nobles from all-important posts and organized a band of his own forty trusted nobles called ‘Turkan-I-Chihalgani’ (Chalisa).

He organised the Iqta System and introduced reforms in civil administration and army, which was now centrally paid and recruited.

He completed Qutub Minar in A.D. 1231-32 named after a Sufi saint Khwaja Qutb-ud-din Kaki, a native of Ush area in Baghdad.

He extended the screen walls of the Quwwatul Islam Mosque constructed by Qutb-ud-din.

Minhaj-us-Siraj, his contemporary historian too praised him.

Raziya Sultan (1236-1240 AD)Although Iltutmish nominated his daughter Raziya as his successor, the Qazi of Delhi and Wazir put Ruknuddin Feroz on the throne.

When the governor of Multan revolted, Ruknuddin marched to suppress that revolt and Raziya with the support of Amirs of Delhi seized the throne of Delhi Sultanate.

She appointed an Abyssinian slave Yakuth as Master of the Royal Horses.

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Raziya discarded the female apparel and held the court with her face unveiled and even went for hunting and led the army which aroused resentment among the Turkish nobles.

In 1240, Altunia, the governor of Bhatinda revolted against her.

She went in person to suppress the revolt but Altunia killed Yakuth and took Raziya prisoner. In the meantime, the Turkish nobles put Bahram, another son of Iltutmish on the throne.

Raziya won over her captor, Altunia, and after marrying him marched towards Delhi but was defeated and killed.

Nasirud-din-Mahmud (1246-1266 AD)After Raziya’s death, two weak rulers Bahram (1240-1242 AD) and Aluddin Masud (12142-46 AD) followed in quick succession. Their brief inglorious rule was marked by nothing else but the invasions of Mongols.

In 1246 AD, Nasirud-din Mahmud, another son of Iltutmish ascended the throne. He was a man of peaceful and pious disposition and an excellent calligraphist spending his leisure time in copying Quran.

Nasiruddin placed all powers into the hands of his Prime Minister Balban. They worked in perfect harmony except on one occasion when Balban was removed from offi ce for a brief period (1253 AD) at the instigation of Imadud-din Raihan, the leader of the part of Indian Mulsim nobles.

As Prime Minister, Balban ruled with a strong hand and crushed the rebellious governors of Bengal, Avadh and Sind, defended the kingdom from Mongols who had marked into the Punjab in 1257 AD.

Balban swooped upon the hilly country of Mewat and punished the Mewati marauders.

The frontier posts were strongly garrisoned under his able cousin Sher Khan for checking the Mongol inroads and suppressed the refractory elements.

After the death of Nasirud-din who had no son, Balban, ascended the throne.

The contemporary chronicler Minhaj-us-Siraj had held a high post (chief Quazi) under the Sultan Nasirud-din and dedicated his ‘Tabaqat-i-Nasiri’ to his patron.

Balban (1266-1287 AD)The struggle between the sultan and the Turkish nobles continued, till one of the Turkish chiefs. Balban, gradually arrogated all power to himself and fi nally ascended the throne in AD 1266.

When Balban became the Sultan, his position was not secure and many Turkish chiefs were hostile to him. The Mongols were looking forward for an opportunity for attacking the Sultanate. The governors of the distant provinces were also trying to become independent rulers. The Indian rulers were also ready to revolt at the smallest opportunity.

The law and order situation in the area around Delhi and in the Doab region had deteriorated. In the Ganga-Yamuna doab and Awadh, the roads were infested with the robbers and dacoits, because of which the communication with the eastern areas had become diffi cult.

Some of the Rajput zamindars had set up forts in the area, and defi ed the government.

The Mewatis had become so bold as to plunder people up to the outskirts of Delhi.

To deal with these elements, Balban adopted a stern policy. In the Mewat many were killed. In the area around Badayun, Rajput strongholds were destroyed.

Balban ruled in an autocratic manner and worked hard to elevate the position of the Sultan. He did not allow any noble to assume great power.

He even formulated the theory of kingship. He introduced Sijda (postration before the monarch) and Paibos (kissing the feet of monarch).

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The historian Barani, who was himself a great champion of the Turkish nobles, says that Balban remarked ‘whenever I see a base born ignoble man, my eyes burn and I reach in anger for my sword (to kill him).” (It is not known if Balban actually said these words but his attitude towards the non-Turks was that of contempt.)

Balban was not prepared to share power with anyone, not even with his own family.

Balban broke the power of the Chahalgani which was his greatest contribution towards the stability of the sultanate.

To kept himself well informed, Balban appointed spies in every department.

He also organized a strong centralized army, both to deal with internal disturbances, and to repel the Mongols who had entrenched themselves in the Punjab and posed a serious threat to the Delhi Sultanate.

Balban establish the military department (diwan-i-arz) and deployed army in different parts of the country to put down rebellion.

The disturbances in Mewat, Doab, Awadh and Katihar were ruthlessly suppressed.

Balban also secured control over Ajmer and Nagaur in eastern Rajputana but his attempts to capture Ranthambore and Gwalior failed.

In 1279 AD, encouraged by the Mongol threats and the old age of Sultan the governor of Bengal, Tughril Beg, revolted, assumed the title of Sultan and had the khutba read in his name.

Balban sent his forces to Bengal and had Tughril killed. Subsequently, he appointed his own son Bughra Khan as the governor of Bengal.

In order to impress the people with the strength and awe of his government, Balban maintained a magnifi cent court.

He refused to laugh and joke in the court, and even gave up drinking wine so that no one may see him in a non-serious mood.

He also insisted on the ceremony of sijada (prostration) and paibos (kissing of the monarch’s feet) in the court.

Balban was undoubtedly one of the main architects of the Sultanate of Delhi, particularly of its form of government and institutions.

By asserting the power of the monarchy, Balban strengthened the Delhi Sultanate, but even he could not fully defend northern India against the attacks of the Mongols.

Moreover, by excluding non-Turkish from positions of power and authority and by trusting only a very narrow racial group he made many people dissatisfi ed which led to fresh disturbances and troubles after his death in AD 1287.

After his death the nobles raised his grandson Kaiquabad to the throne.

Kaiquabad was soon replaced by his son, Kaimurs, who remained on the throne for a little over three months.

In 1290 AD Firoz Jalaluddin Khilji murdered Kaimurs and seized the throne.

Facts to KnowDuring Balban’s reign, Firoz had been the warden of the marches in north-west and had fought many successful battles against the Mongols. Firoz was called to Delhi as Ariz-i-Mumalik (Minister of War). In 1290 AD Firoz murdered Kaimurs and seized the throne.

A group of Khalji nobles led by him established the Khalji dynasty.

Some scholars call this event as the ‘dynastic revolution’ of 1290 AD. It brought to an end the so called slave dynasty and Firoz ascended the throne under the title of Jalaluddin Firoz Khalji.

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The Khalji Dynasty (1290-1320 AD)

The advent of the Khalji dynasty marked the zenith of Muslim imperialism in India. The founder of the Khalji dynasty was Jalaluddin Khalji, who was generous and lenient.

Malik Chhajju, nephew of Balban was allowed to remain the governor of Kara but his leniency was misunderstood as weakness. When Chhajju revolted, it was suppressed but he was pardoned.

When the thugs (robbers) looted the country, they were allowed to go after a severe warning.

In 1292 when Malik Chhajju revolted for the second time, he was replaced by Jalaluddin Khalji’s son-in-law, Alauddin Khalji.

In 1296 AD, Alauddin Khalji took an expedition to Devagiri and returned to Kara. During the reception there, Alauddin Khalji treacherously murdered his father-in-law Jalaluddin Khalji and usurped the throne of Delhi.

Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316 AD)Alauddin decided to revive Balban’s policies of ruthless governance and curb the powers of the nobles and interference of Ulema in the matters of the state.

He also faced, a few rebellions in succession during the early years of his rule.

According to Barani, the author of Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, Alauddin felt that there were four reasons for these rebellions which were the ineffi ciency of the spy system, the general practice of the use of wine, social intercourse among the nobles and inter marriage between them, and the excess of wealth in the possession of certain nobles.

In order to prevent the reoccurrence of these rebellions, Alauddin formulated certain regulations to check the negative effects of above mentioned four reasons and implemented them. These regulations were:

Families that had been enjoying free land to support themselves should pay land tax for their holdings. This curbed the excess of wealth owned by some people.

The Sultan reorganized the spy system and took measure to make it more effective.

The use of liquor and intoxicants was prohibited.

The nobles were ordered not to have social gatherings or inter-marriages without his permission.

Alauddin established a huge permanent, standing army to satisfy his ambition of conquest and to protect the country from Mongol invasion.

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Alauddin’s theory of kingship was essentially secular and he said, “I do not know whether this is lawful or unlawful; whatever I think to be for the good of the state or suitable for emergency, that I decree.”

He refuted the suzerainty of the Caliph and did not allow any power independent of the state to guide his policies.

In view of his territorial and administrative achievements, he may be called one of the greatest Sultans of Delhi.

Alauddin had a refi ned taste for art and culture and gave patronage to many artists and men of letters including the celebrated poet Amir Khusrau who was his poet laureate.

Some of his architectural works like Alai Fort or Koshak-i-Siri (or Siri Fort) with seven gates which was the second capital of Alauddin and also of Islamic Delhi, the gateway of the Qutab Minar, better known as the Alai Darwaza, are gems of Indo-Islamic style.

Expansion of Delhi SultanateAlauddin Khalji sent his army six times against the Mongols. The fi rst two was successful. But the third Mongol invader Khwaja came up to Delhi but they were prevented from entering into the capital city. The next three Mongol invasions were also dealt with severely. Thousands of Mongols were killed. The northwestern frontier was fortifi ed and Gazi Malik was appointed to as the Warden of Marches to protect the frontier.

The military conquests of Alauddin Khilji include his expedition against Gujarat, Mewar and the Deccan. He sent Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan to capture Gujarat in 1299. The king and his daughter escaped while the queen was caught and sent to Delhi. Kafur, an eunuch, was also taken to Delhi and later he was made the Malik Naib - military commander.

In 1301, Alauddin marched against Ranthambore and after a three month’s siege it fell. The Rajput women committed jauhar or self-immolation.

Alauddin next turned against Chittor. The siege lasted for several months. In 1303, Alauddin stormed the Chittor fort. Raja Ratan Singh and his soldiers fought valiantly but defeated. (This Padmini story had been graphically mentioned in the book Padmavath written by Jayasi.)

Alauddin Khilji’s greatest achievement was the conquest of Deccan and the far south which was ruled by four important dynasties - Yadavas of Devagiri, Kakatiyas of Warangal, Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra and the Pandyas of Madurai.

His fi rst target was Rai Karan (the earlier rule of Gujarat), who also had occupied Baglana, and defeated him.

The second expedition was against Rai Ramachandra, the ruler of Deogir who had earlier promised to pay tribute to Sultan but did not pay. Ramachandra surrendered after little resistance to Malik Kafur and was treated honourably. He was kept a guest at Alauddin’s court and was given a gift of one lakh tankas and the title of Rai Rayan. He was also given a district of Gujarat and one of his daughters was married to Alauddin. Alauddin showed generosity towards Ramachandra because he wanted to have Ramachandra as an ally for campaigns in the South.

After AD 1309 AD, Malik Kafur was despatched to launch campaign in South India.

The fi rst expedition was against Pratab Rudradeva of Warangal in the Telengana region. This siege lasted for many months and came to an end when Rai agreed to part with his treasures and pay tribute to Sultan.

The second campaign was against Dwar Samudra and Malabar (modern Karnataka and Tamil Nadu). The ruler of Dwar Samudra, Vir Ballala III realized that defeating Malik Kafur would not be an easy task, hence he agreed to pay tribute to Sultan without any resistance.

In the case of Malabar (Pandya Kingdom) a direct decisive battle could not take place. However, Kafur plundered as much as he could, including a number of wealthy temples such as that of Chidambaram.

According to Amir Khusrau, Kafur returned with 512 elephants, 7000 horses, and 500 mans of precious stone.

The Sultan honoured Malik Kafur by appointing him Naib Malik of the empire.

Alauddin’s forces under Malik Kafur continued to maintain a control over the Deccan kingdoms.

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Reforms of Alauddin KhiljiAlauddin’s measures to control the markets was one of the most important policy initiative.

Since Alauddin wanted to maintain a large army, he therefore, lowered and fi xed the price of the commodities of daily use.

To control the prices, Alauddin set up three different markets for different commodities in Delhi.

These markets were the grain market (Mandi), cloth market (Sarai Adl) and the market for horses, slaves, cattles, etc.

To ensure implementation, Alauddin appointed a superintendent (Shahna-i-Mandi) who was assisted by an intelligence offi cer.

Apart from Shahna-i-Mandi, Alauddin received daily reports of the market from two other independent sources, barid (intelligence offi cer) and munhiyans (secret spies).

Any violation of Sultan’s orders resulted in harsh punishment, including expulsion from the capital, imposition of fi ne, imprisonment and mutilation.

Control of prices of horses was very important for the Sultan because without the supply of good horses at reasonable price to army, the effi ciency of the army could not had been ensured.

Low price in the horse market were ensured by banning the purchase of horses by horse dealers and brokers (dalals) in Delhi market.

Alauddin Khalji maintained a large permanent standing army and paid them in cash from the royal treasury. According the Ferishta, he recruited 4,75,000 cavalrymen.

He introduced the system of dagh (branding of horses) and prepared huliya (descriptive list of soldiers).

In order to ensure maximum effi ciency, a strict review of army from time to time was carried out.

Although the Sultan was illiterate, he patronized poets like Amir Khusrau and Amir Hasan. He also built a famous gateway known as Alai Darwaza and constructed a new capital at Siri.

Qutbud-din Mubarak Khilji (1316-1320 AD)After the death of Alauddin Khalji in 1316, Malik Kafur set aside the claims of the heir apparent Khizr Khan and crowned an infant son of the late Sultan and began to rule in his name.

Soon after another son of Alauddin murdered Kafur and ascended the throne as Qutbud-din Mubarak Shah. His only noteworthy acts were to march to Devagiri (1318 AD) and dispatch an army to Gujarat.

Qutbud-din Mubarak Shah own Wazir Khushrau Khan had him murdered.

Ghazi Malik collected a large army and appeared before Delhi. Khushrau was defeated and killed, and Ghazi Malik ascended the throne as Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq in A.D. 1320.

The Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1414 AD)

The founder of the Tughlaq dynasty was Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq.

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq sent his son Jauna Khan to fi ght against Warangal. He defeated Pratabarudra and returned with rich booty.

Ghiyasuddin laid the foundation for Tughlaqabad near Delhi.

Jauna Khan was said to have treacherously killed his father and ascended the throne with the title Muhammad bin Tughlaq in 1325.

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Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325-1351 AD)

Muhammad bin Tughlaq was a very attractive character in the history of medieval India owing to his ambitious schemes and novel experiments. But enterprises and novel experiments ended in miserable failures because they were all far ahead of their time.

He was very tolerant in religious matters.

He maintained diplomatic relations with far off countries like Egypt, China and Iran.

He also introduced many liberal and benefi cial reforms, but all his reforms failed.

Contemporary writers like Isami, Barani and Ibn Battutah were unable to give a correct picture about his personality.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the only Delhi Sultan who had received a comprehensive literary, religious and philosophical education.

The regions of the Deccan which were conquered by the Khaljis had stopped paying tribute and were proclaiming independent status.

Muhammad Tughlaq while a prince (called Juna Khan) led the early expeditions against Rai Rudra Dev who was defeated after a prolonged confl ict and Warangal was annexed under direct control of the Sultanate.

Malabar was also annexed. The whole region of Telangana was divided into administrative units and made part of the Sultanate. (In contrast to Allauddin Khilji’s policy the Tughlaqs annexed the Deccan region. )

Bhanudeva II, the ruler of Jajnagar in Orissa had helped Rai Rudra Dev of Warangal in his battle against Delhi Sultans. Muhammad bin Tughlaq led an army against Bhanudeva II in 1324 AD and defeated him and annexed his territory.

In Bengal, there was discontent of nobles against their Sultan. The dissatisfi ed nobles invited the Tughlaq prince to invade their ruler. The army of Bengal was defeated and a noble Nasiruddin was installed on the throne.

The Mongol invasions from the North-West region were rocking the Sultanate on regular intervals. In 1326-27 AD a big Mongol assault under Tarmashirin Khan took place. Muhammad Tughlaq decided to secure the frontier. The region from Lahore to Kalanur including Peshawar was conquered and new administrative control was established.

Besides, the Sultan also planned invasions of Qarachil region (In present day Himachal) and Qandhar but did not succeed. In fact these schemes resulted in heavy loss.

Tughlaq Dynasty 1321-1398 AD

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Transfer of Capital One of the controversial measures of Muhammad bin Tughlaq was that he transferred his capital from Delhi to Deogir (Daultabad). (According to some historians, the Sultan wanted to maintain both Delhi and Daultabad as his capitals.)

As per Barani, in 1326-27 AD, Sultan decided to shift his capital from Delhi to Deogir (Daultabad) in the Deccan because it was more centrally located.

According to Ibn Batuta, the people of Delhi used to write letters containing abuses to the Sultan, therefore, in order to punish them Sultan decided to shift the capital.

Abdul Malik Isami say that it was a place at a safer distance from the North West frontier and thus-safe from the Mongols.

In view of different versions it is diffi cult to assign one defi nite reason for this shift.

The entire population was not asked to leave and only the upper classes consisting of sheikhs, nobles, ulema were shifted to Daultabad. (No attempt was made to shift the rest of the population.)

Though Muhammad bin Tughlaq built a road from Delhi to Deogir and set up rest houses but the journey was extremely harsh for the people.

Large number of people died because of rigorous travelling and the heat.

Due to growing discontent and the fact that north could not be controlled from south, Muhammad decided to abandon Daultabad.

However, the plan improved ties between the north and south. Apart from territorial expansion the social, cultural, and economic interactions also grew.

Token Currency Another controversial project undertaken by Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the introduction of “Token Currency”.

According to Barani, the Sultan introduced token currency because the treasury was empty due to the Sultan’s schemes of conquest as well as his boundless generosity.

Some historians are of the opinion that there was a shortage of silver worldwide at that time and India too faced the crisis therefore, the Sultan was forced to issue copper coins in place of silver.

Muhammad introduced a copper coin (Jittal) in place of silver coin (tanka) and ordered that it should be accepted as equivalent to the tanka.

However, the idea of token currency was new in India and it was diffi cult for traders and common people to accept it.

The State also did not take proper precautions to check the imitation of coins issued by the mints.

Government could not prevent people from forging the new coins and soon the new coins fl ooded the markets.

According to Barani, the people began to mint token currency in their houses.

However the common man failed to distinguish between copper coin issued by the royal treasury and those which were locally made. Thus the Sultan was forced to withdraw the token currency.

Taxation in Doab Region and Agricultural Reforms The failure of above two experiments affected the prestige of the Sultan and enormous money was wasted.

In order to overcome fi nancial diffi culties, Muhammad bin Tughlaq increased the land revenue on the farmers of Doab (land between Ganges and Yamuna rivers). It was an excessive and arbitrary step on the farmers.

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A severe famine was also ravaging that region at that time and resulted in a serious peasant revolts. People fl ed from the villages but Muhammad bin Tughlaq took harsh measures to capture and punish them. The revolts were crushed.

The Sultan realized later that adequate relief measures and the promotion of agriculture were the real solution to the problem.

He launched a scheme by which takkavi loans (loans for cultivation) were given to the farmers to buy seed and to extend cultivation.

A separate department for agriculture, Diwan-i-Kohi was established. Model farm under the state was created in an area of 64 square miles for which the government spent seventy lakh tankas. (This experiment was further continued by Firoz Tughlaq.)

Rebellions The latter part of Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign witnessed a spate of rebellions by the nobles and provincial governors and it marked the beginning of the process of its decline of Sultante.

The rebellion of Hasan Shah resulted in the establishment of the Madurai Sultanate.

In 1336 the Vijayanagar kingdom was founded.

In 1347 Bahmani kingdom was established.

The governors of Oudh, Multan and Sind revolted against the authority of Muhammad bin Tughlaq.

In Gujarat, Taghi rose in revolt against the Sultan who spent nearly three years in chasing him.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s health became worse and he died in 1351.

Firuz Tughlaq (1351-1388 AD)Firuz Tughlaq formulated his aims in accordance with his own character and the circumstances of his assumption of power. He was asked by the nobles to accept the crown to save the state from ruination.

Firuz was a man of religious bent of mind and he preferred to rule in conformity with the Sharia.

He abolished many irksome taxes, keeping only those four allowed by the Quranic law.

He took special interest in development of agriculture. He provided irrigation facilities by constructing fi ve canals and advanced loans to the needy.

He opened a hospital named Darush-Shifa for the poor in Delhi; created a department of charity called Diwan-i- Khairat and provided employment to 1,80,000 slaves.

He organized slavery into an institution and opened a department of slaves (Diwan-i-Bandgane).

He opened schools and colleges, laid out 1200 gardens and orchards in the vicinity of Delhi.

He built a number of mosques and founded several towns like Firuzabad, Fatehabad, Jaunpur and Hissar.

He repaired the Qutab Minar, which had been struck by a lightening.

The chief architect of Firuz was Malik Ghani Sahana.

He tried to solve the unemployment problem by starting an employment bureau.

Firuz was born of a Hindu mother that is why he made loud demonstration of his zeal for Islam and contempt for Hinduism.

He imposed Jizya even on the Brahmanas. Worst, he burnt a Brahmana who practiced his right in public.

He did not allow the Hindus to build new temples. The Sultan desecrated the shrines of Jagnnath and Jwalamukhi, imposed restrictions on Hindu fairs, destroyed all new temples and forbade repair of old ones.

He was a devout Muslim of the orthodox Sunni sect and was intolerant of the practices of the Shias as well.

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He entertained great regard for the Caliph and styled himself as his deputy and twice received the roles of honour from him.

Firuz reviewed the Jagir system and increased the salaries of the nobles.

Due to his very mild rule corruption became rampant in almost every branch of administration.

His military administration was dislocated. He marched twice to recapture Bengal in A.D. 1353-54 and 1339, but failed on both the occasions and the province was lost to the Sultanate.

The outlying areas of the empire began to fall apart. Before he died, there were clear symptoms of the coming disorder and confusion and when Firuz died in A.D. 1388, a virtual civil war broke out among the scions of the royal house.

Timur marched into India in A.D. 1398 and defeated Nasiruddin Mahmud.

Timur plundered Delhi who returned to Samarqand leaving his Indian possessions in the charge of Syed Khizr Khan of Sind.

After the fall of Tughlaq dynasty, Khizr Khan occupied Delhi and became the ruler of Delhi Sultanate. He laid the foundation of Sayyid Dynasty.

The Sayyid Dynasty

Before his departure from India, Timur appointed Khizr Khan as governor of Multan.

Khizr Khan captured Delhi and founded the Sayyid dynasty in 1414.

Khizr Khan tried to consolidate the Delhi Sultanate but in vain and died in 1421 and was succeeded by his son, Mubarak Shah.

Muhammad Shah who succeeded Mubarak Shah was always busy against conspirators and gradually lost control over his nobles. Bahlol Khan Lodi dominated everything.

Muhammad Shah died in 1445 and was succeeded by his son Alam Shah (1445-1451) the weakest of the Sayyid princes. He handed over the throne to Bahlol Lodi and retired to Badaun.

Lodi Dynasty

Bahlol Lodi (1451-1489 AD)Bahlul Lodi crowned himself in April 1451 and assumed the title of Abu Muzaffar Bahlul Shah.

His accession to power was resented by the king of Jaunpur, who himself claimed the throne.

A long-drawn war followed ending the annexation of the Sarqi kingdom by Bahlul (A.D. 1484).

He also brought almost the entire region, of present time Uttar Pradesh, under his control.

When he died in A.D. 1489 the Sultanate comprised the territories from the Punjab to Varanasi.

Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517 AD)Sikandar Lodi was the successor of Bahlol Lodi. He was the greatest and the ablest of the Lodi dynasty.

He built a new capital at Agra.

Famous Quotes for Muhammad bin Tughlaq

“The Sultan was freed from his people and the people from the Sultan” – Baduani (On Muhammad Tughlaq’s death)

“Muhammad bin Tughlaq was a mixture of opposites”. - Barani

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He held the Afghan nobles in check, encouraged agriculture, and made roads safe for travel. In his times harvests were plentiful, food cheap and the people contented.

He ordered the land to be measured and rent fi xed accordingly.

He introduced a yard which measured 30 inches and was known as Sikandar Yard.

He himself was a poet and lover of music and is reported to have written a book ‘Bulrukni’.

However, with advancing years he turned into a bigot and undertook measures prejudiced to the Hindus. He tried to disown his Hindu origin by persecuting the Hindus.

Ibrahim Lodi (1517-1526 AD)When Sikandar Lodi died, the nobles divided the empire between his two sons and Ibrahim was made Sultan of Delhi.

The governor of Bihar declared independence and governor of Punjab, Daulat Khan, invited Babar, the ruler of Kabul, to invade Hindustan and oust Ibrahim from the throne.

In A.D. 1525, Babar came marching towards Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi advanced to meet him and battle of Panipat was fought on April 21, 1526.

Babar emerged victorious, who occupied Agra and Delhi and laid the foundation of Mughal empire in India.

Challenges Faced by the Sultanate

During more than 300 years of its rule the Delhi sultanate went through various ups and downs but survived as a political force.

Attacks by Mongols and Other TurksSince its inception the major threat to the sultanate came in the form of Mongol invasions.

Mongols were nomadic groups who inhabited the steppes north of China and east of Lake Baikal.

They formed a huge nomadic empire under Chengiz Khan in the 12th century.

From 13 th century onwards they repeatedly attacked the Delhi Sultanate.

The Sultans as a policy appeased them and also at times rulers like Balban and Allauddin Khalji confronted them with full military might.

During Khalji’s time Mongols under Qultlug Khwaja even besieged Delhi and caused a lot of damage.

The last signifi cant attack of Mongols was by Tarmashirin during the reign of Muhammad Tughlaq. A lot of energy and resources of the Sultans were spent in facing these invasions but they could not destroy the sultanate.

Another important attack which shook the foundation of the sultanate was by Timur in 1398. The weakness of the Delhi Sultanate was made even worse by Timur’s invasion of Delhi.

Timur was a son of the Chief of Chagtai branch of Turks. When he invaded India he was the master of almost whole of Central Asia.

Timur’s raid into India was a plundering raid and his motive was to seize the wealth accumulated by the Sultans of Delhi over the last 200 years.

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Sultan Nasiruddin and his Wazir Mallu Iqbaal faced Timur but were defeated. Timur entered Delhi and stayed for 15 days and ordered general massacre and large number of Hindu and Muslim including women and children were murdered. Timur’s invasion indicated the downfall of Delhi Sultanate.

Delhi Sultanate lost control over Punjab and Timur appointed Khizr Khan, the ruler for Multan who controlled Punjab also.

Inner Confl ict of NobilityThree hundred years of Delhi Sultanate witnessed fi ve dynasties ruling over it.

The main reason for change of dynasties and deposing of rulers was a constant struggle between the Sultan and the nobility (Umara).

Soon after the death of Aibak they started fi ghting over the question of succession and fi nally Iltutimish emerged victorious.

Iltutimish created a group of loyal nobles called Turkan-i-Chihiligani (‘The Forty’). After the death of Iltutimish, various factions of the group of forty got involved in making their favourite son/daughter as the sultan.

In ten years fi ve sultans were changed and after that the Sultan who occupied the throne (Nasiruddin Mahmud) for 20 years, hardly ruled and one of the powerful noble Balban was defacto sultan. Balban succeeded Nasiruddin after his death.

Almost similar events happened after the death of each powerful sultan (Balban, Alauddin Khalji, Firoz Tughlaq and others.)

Since there was no well defi ned law of succession each noble tried to either crown himself or support some favourite heir of the dead sultan.

Finally Afghans replaced the Turks as sultan with the accession of Bahlol Lodi.

Provincial KingdomsAnother consequence of sultan and the nobility confl ict was declaration of independence by various provincial heads in the regions.

As a result a number of independent Afghan and Turkish kingdoms emerged. Important ones of such states were Bengal (Lakhnouti), Jaunpur, Malwa, Gujarat, the Bahmani kingdom in the Deccan etc.

Quite often these states were at war with the Sultanate and the whole process weakened the sultanate.

Resistance by Indian ChiefsThe sultans had to face the resistance from Indian chiefs at regular intervals.

The Rajput chiefs in Rajputana (Mewar, Ranthambhor, Chittor etc.), Warangal, Deogiri & Malabar in Deccan and South, the king of Dhar, Malwa in Central India, Jajnagar in Orissa and a host of smaller chieftains were constantly at war even after successive defeats.

All these struggles weakened the sultanate.

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CHAPTER

3.2

Introduction

The establishment and expansion of the Delhi Sultanate led to the evolution of a powerful and effi cient administrative system.

At its zenith the authority of Delhi Sultan had extended as far south as Madurai.

Although the Delhi Sultanate disintegrated, their administrative system made a powerful impact on the Indian provincial kingdoms and later on the Mughal system of administration.

The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic state with its religion Islam. According to the theological basis, Muslim rulers believe that Islamic society and government should be organized on the basis of divine injunctions of the Quran. The saying and doings of Prophet Muhammad, collectively known as hadis, began to be supplemented with the above.

The ulema (Muslim theologians) gave various interpretations on the basis of the Quran and the hadis to meet different situations and problems, which are together known as the Sharia (Islamic Law).

According to secular basis, Zawabit (rules and regulations framed by the Sultans) were also used for a smooth and effi cient running of the administration.

The doctrine of farr or farrah (supernatural effulgence or radiance) was fi rst enunciated in the Shah Namah by Firdausi, according to whom the God endows the rulers with farr, which symbolises the divine favour.

Among the Delhi Sultans, Balban was the fi rst to exhibit his awareness of the doctrine when he remarked that ‘the king’s heart is the mirror of the divine attributer’.

Amir Khusrau observed that Kaiqubad was endowed with the farr.

The Sultans considered themselves as representatives of the Caliph. They included the name of the Caliph in the khutba or prayer and inscribed it on their coins.

Although Balban called himself the shadow of God, he continued to practice of including the name of Caliph in the khutba and coins.

Iltutmish, Muhammad bin Tughlaq and Firoz Tughlaq obtained mansur (letter of permission) from the Caliph.

The offi ce of the Sultan was the most important in the administrative system. He was the ultimate authority for the military, legal, and political activities.

There was no clear law of succession during this period. All the sons of Sultan had equal claim to the throne.

Iltutmish even nominated his daughter in preference to his sons, but such nominations or successions were to be accepted by the nobles.

Sometimes ulemas played crucial role in accepting the succession to the throne. However, the military superiority remained the main factor in matters of succession.

DELHI SULTANATE(ADMINISTRATION, ECONOMY, & SOCIETY)

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Limits to Sultan’s authority in the framing of new rules and regulations the authority of the Sultan was circumscribed and every ruler could not govern the kingdom in complete disregard of the advice of the ulema or theologians (Exceptions were Ala-ud-din Khalji and Muhammad Tughlaq).

The power of the nobility also blunted their authority to some extent. When there was a weak ruler on the throne, the nobles, and the ulema particularly, dominated him. But during the reign of Balban, Ala-ud-din Khalji or Muhammad Tughlaq, checks by the nobles, and the ulema proved ineffective.

The Sultans were not powerful enough to rule the land in complete disregard of the sentiments of the Hindus and, the numerical inferiority of the Muslims gave them little or no opportunity to interfere with local government.

Administration

During the Sultanate period the administration was headed by the Sultan who was helped by various nobles.

There was a council of Ministers Majlis-i-Khalwat to assist the Sultan. The entire bureaucracy acted under the control and supervision of Majlis-i-Khalwat.

The Sultan was assisted by a number of offi cials, chief among whom were the following:

Offi cials Duties

Deputy Sultan or Naib

Appointment to this post was generally made only when a ruler was weak or minor.

Naib enjoyed practically all the powers of the Sultan on his behalf and exercised a general control over the various departments of the governments

Wazir

Head of the fi nance department and highest dignitary next to the Sultan in the state. (But if there was a Naib Sultan, he ranked above the Wazir.)

Department of the Wazir was called Diwan-i-Wazarat.

Wazir had a number of powerful assistants, three most important among them were:

Naib Wazir (chief's deputy)Mushrif-i-Mumalik (Accountant General)Mustaufi Mumalik (Auditor General)

Ariz-i-Mumalik

Chief of military staff and was responsible for the organisation, maintenance and control over the armed forces of the state.

His department was called Diwan-i-Arz.

He was not the ex-offi cio commander-in-chief of the forces.

Sadr-us-Sudur

Head of the ecclesiastical department. He was in charge of public charities and was also responsible for enforcing conformity to Islam.

One of the duties was to make grants in cash or land for the construction and maintenance of mosques, tombs, khanqahs, Madarsas and Maktabs.

Qazi-ul-Quzal Head of judicial department (Usually the post of the chief Sadr and the chief Qazi were combined in a single person.)

Dabir-i-Khas or Amir Munshi

Head of the records department , which was called Diwan-i-Insha.

The Dictums (Farmans) of the Sultan were issued from his department also while all high-level correspondence passed through this department.

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Barid-i-MumalikHead of the information and intelligence department .

Dakchaukis (news outposts) were also under his control.

There were six important offi cers connected with the court and royal household. They were:

Offi cials Duties

Vakil-i-dar Looked after the royal palace and personal attendants of the sovereign.

Barbak Maintained the dignity of the court

Amir-i-Hajib Scrutinized all visitors to the court.

Amir-i-Shikhar Organized royal hunting

Amir-i-Majlis Made arrangements for assemblies, feasts and special celebrations.

Sar-i-Jandar Personal bodyguard of Sultan

Provincial AdministrationThe whole kingdom was divided into a number of provinces, but the provincial administration under the Sultans was neither strong nor effi cient.

In the earlier stages, a nobleman was assigned unconquered or semi-conquered territory in Jagir and he was acknowledged the governor of all the land he could subdue by his armed forces.

With the increasing power of the Sultan an effi cient provincial administration was evolved wherein the whole empire was divided into a number of provinces which varied from 20-25.

The largest number of provinces was held by Muhammad bin Tughlaq.

The provincial administration was placed under governors or Walis or Muqtas.

Local AdministrationProvinces were divided into Shiqs and were headed by a Shiqdar.

The Shiqs were further divided into Parganas which comprised a number of villages and was headed by the Amil.

Villages were the basic unit of administration and continued to enjoy a large measure of self government.

The most important offi cial of the village was the village headman called Muqaddam.

Other important functionaries were Khats, Chaudharies, etc. Most of the towns had a Kotwal and Qazi.

Caliph-Sultan Relationship

Most of the Sultans kept up the pretence of regarding the caliph as the legal sovereign while they themselves represented themselves as caliph’s representatives.

Most of them included the name of the caliph in the khutba (prayer) and the sikka (coin) and adopted titles indicative of their subordination to the caliph.

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As against this, three rulers Balban, Muhammad bin Tughlaq and Allaudin Khalji emphasised their own importance.

Only three Sultans sought, and secured a mansur or ‘letter of investiture’ from the caliph.

The fi rst among them was Iltutmish.

Next Muhammad bin Tughlaq in his later part of reign tried to pacify the ulema by securing an investiture from the Abbasid caliph in Egypt.

After him Firoz Tughlaq also sought and secured it twice.

Muslims in general regarded offi ce of the caliph as incumbent on the Sultan to show respect to the caliph, and opposed the Sultan, who had not been recognised by the caliph as his deputy, and regarded it as contrary to the Law. Hence, the Sultans kept up the pretense of subservience to the caliph just to exploit the popular Muslim sentiments in their favour.

Law of Succession

Law of Succession according to Islamic ideals, essential attributes of a sovereign required that he should be a male adult, suffering from no physical disability, a free Muslim, having faith in Islam and acquainted with its doctrines, and he should be elected by the people.

However in practice there were several violations of the prescribed criteria for being elected to the throne.

Raziya was raised to the throne despite her womanhood.

Minority proved no bar in the case of Muhammad bin Tughlaq.

Qutub-ud-din Aibak’s authority was recognised even before his manumission. Kaiqubad remained the Sultan as a paralytic.

Nasir-ud-din Khusrau had no special reverence for Islam and yet he was accepted as the Sultan of Delhi.

Ala-ud-din Khilji frankly admitted his ignorance of the sharia but nobody objected him as unfi t to rule on that ground.

As far as election was concerned, it had never existed in Islam. At best, support of a few leading men was regarded as tantamount to election by the people. This farce or peculiar type of election was tried in the case of Iltutmish, Ghiyasoud-din Tughlaq and Firoz Tughlaq.

Economy

After consolidating their position in India, the Delhi Sultans introduced reforms in the land revenue administration. The lands were classifi ed into three categories:

Category of Lands Basic Feature

Iqta land Lands assigned to offi cials as iqtas instead of payment for their services

Khalisa land Land under the direct control of the Sultan and the revenues collected were spent for the maintenance of royal court and royal household

Inam land Land assigned or granted to religious leaders or religious institutions

Facts to KnowBalban used to say that after the Prophet the most important offi ce was that of the sovereign and called himself the ‘Shadow of God’. (Although, Balban had retained the name of the caliph in the khutba and coins.)Muhammad bin Tughlaq assumed this style during the early years of his reign and made no mention of caliph anywhere. But neither Balban nor Muhammad bin Tughlaq had the courage to call himself the caliph. The only person who had done this was Allaudin Khalji.

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Iqta SystemThe institution of the Iqta had been in force in early Islamic world as a form of reward for services to the state. In the caliphate administration, it was used to pay civil and military offi cers.

With the establishment of the Sultanate, iqta system was introduced by the Sultans.

The army commanders and nobles were given territories to administer and collect the revenue. The territories thus assigned were called iqta and their holders as iqtadar or muqti.

In essence this was a system of payment to the offi cers and maintenance of army by them.

Gradually rules and regulations were laid down to organize the whole system. Through the years it became the main instrument of administrating the Sultanate.

Further the Sultans could get a large share of the surplus production from different parts of the vast territories through this system.

From the 14th century Walis or muqtis who were commanders of military and administrative tracts called Iqta. Their exact powers varied according to circumstances.

In due course the muqti was given complete charge of the administration of the iqta which included the task of maintaining an army. The muqti was to help the sultan with his army in case of need. He was expected to maintain the army and meet his own expenses with the revenue collected.

From the time of Balban the muqti was expected to send the balance (fawazil) of the income to the centre after meeting his and the army’s expenses. This means that the central revenue department had made an assessment of the expected income of the Iqta, the cost of the maintenance of the army and the muqti’s own expenses. (This process became even more strict during the time of Alauddhin Khilji.)

As the central control grew, the control over muqti’s administration also increased.

The Khwaja (probably same as Sahib-i-Diwan) was appointed to keep a record of the income of the Iqtas. It was on the basis of this record that the Sultan used to make his revenue demands.

A barid or intelligence offi cer was also appointed to keep the Sultan informed.

During the reign of Muhmmad-bin-Tughlaq a number of governors were appointed on revenue sharing terms where they were to give a fi xed sum to the state.

During the time of Firoz Shah Tughlaq the control of state over iqtas was diluted when iqtas became hereditary.

The peasantry paid one third of their produce as land revenue, and sometimes even one half of the produce. They also paid other taxes and always led a hand-to-mouth living and frequent famines made their lives more miserable.

Sultans like Muhammad Bin Tughlaq and Firoz Tughlaq took efforts to enhance agricultural production by providing irrigational facilities and takkavi loans. They also encouraged the farmers to cultivate superior crop like wheat instead of barley.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq created a separate agricultural department, Diwani Kohi.

Firoz encouraged the growth of horticulture.

TaxationThe fi scal policy of Turkish Sultans of India was modeled on the theory of fi nances of the “Hanafi School” of Sunni Jurists”.

Only four different sources of revenue were sanctioned by the Quran - Kharaj, Khams, Jaziya and Zakat, but the Sultanate of Delhi charged about two dozen extra taxes. Following were the few important taxes:

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Zakat: Religious taxes were collectively known as the Zakat. This was realized from well to do Muslims amounting at the rate of 1/40th of one’s property.

Jizya: Levied on non-Muslims in return for the protection of life and property and exemption from military services. Women, children, indigent and the Brahmanas were exempted from it.

Kharaj: Land tax realized from non-Muslims.

Khums: Tax on mines, treasure trove and share in war booty.

Sharaf: Irrigation tax charged at the rate of 1/10th of the produce. This was imposed by Firuz Tughlaq.

Abwafs: Extra taxes like housing tax, grazing tax, etc.

Urbanization

During the Sultanate period, the process of urbanization gained momentum. Lahore, Multan, Broach, Anhilwara, Laknauti, Daulatabad, Delhi and Jaunpur were important urban centres.

The growth of trade and commerce was described by contemporary writers. Barani, a contemporary historian, gives an excellent account of their riches.

Political unifi cation of major parts of India removed the political as well as economic barriers.

India exported a large number of commodities to the countries on the Persian Gulf, West Asia and also to South East Asian countries.

Overseas trade was under the control of Multanis and Afghan Muslims.

Inland trade was dominated by the Gujarat Marwari merchants and Muslim Bohra merchants.

Introduction of the institution of dalals or brokers (dalal, meaning one who acts as an intermediary, is Arabic in origin), facilitated commercial transactions on a large scale.

Construction of roads and their maintenance facilitated for smooth transport and communication. Particularly the royal roads were kept in good shape.

Sarais or rest houses on the highways were maintained for the convenience of the travellers.

Cotton textile and silk industry fl ourished in this period.

Sericulture was introduced on a large scale which made India less dependent on other countries for the import of raw silk.

Paper industry had grown and there was an extensive use of paper from 14th and 15th centuries.

Other crafts like leather-making, metal-crafts and carpet-weaving fl ourished due to the increasing demand.

The royal karkhanas supplied the goods needed to the Sultan and his household. They manufactured costly articles made of gold, silver and gold ware.

The nobles also imitated the life style of Sultans and indulged in luxurious life. They were well paid and accumulated enormous wealth.

Causes for Change in Urban EconomyThe foremost cause was the immigration of artisans and merchants from the Islamic world to India, bringing with them their crafts, techniques and practices.

Secondly, there was an abundant supply of docile trainable labour obtained through large scale enslavement.

Finally, the Delhi Sultans established a revenue system through which a large share of agricultural surplus was appropriate for consumption in towns.

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Contemporary historians like Abdul Malik Isami give us a good account of the immigration of artisans and merchants to India.

The large number of captive obtained for enslavement in the military campaigns were trained as artisans by their captors, and they later became free artisans by obtaining or buying their freedom.

Thus the immigration and enslavement were responsible for the growth of urban centres and crafts, and their sustenance was provided by the increase in the revenues with the establishment of the new land revenue system.

The ruling class, who appropriated a large part of the country’s surplus, spent most of it in towns.

Coins of Delhi Sultanate

The gold coins which Muhammad of Ghur struck in imitation of the issues of the Hindu kings of Kanauj, with the goddess Lakshmi on the obverse, are without a parallel in Islamic History.

For the fi rst forty years the currency consisted almost entirely of copper and billon. (Gold and silver coins are scarce in earlier Sultans reign.)

Iltutmish issued several types of the silver tanka, the earliest of which has a portrait of the king of horseback on the obverse. The latest type bears witness to the diploma in investiture he had received from the Khalifa of Baghdad, AI Mustansir.

One silver tanka was divided into 48 jitals during the Khilji rule and 50 jitals during the Tughlaq rule.

Gold coins or dinars became popular during the reign of Alauddin Khalji after his South Indian conquests. The coins of Alauddin Khalji are the fi rst to bear dates. The earliest copper coins of this period are less in number and insignifi cant. All copper coins are dateless.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq had not only experimented with token currency but also issued several types of gold and silver coins. They were minted at eight different places. At least twenty fi ve varieties of gold coins were issued by him. He issued a new gold coin which was called Dinar.

His successor, Mubarak, whose coins are in some respects the fi nest of the whole series, employed the old Indian square shape for some of his gold, silver and billon. On his coins appear the even more arrogant titles, the supreme head of Islam, the Khalifa of the Lord of heaven and earth.

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq was the fi rst Indian sovereign to use the title Ghazi (Champion of the faith).

Most of the coins struck in billon by these early Sultans, including Muhammad of Ghur, are practically uniform in size and weigh about 56 grains.

Facts to KnowMuhammad bin Tughluq , has been called the Prince of moneyers. Not only do his coins surpass those of his predecessors in execution, especially in calligraphy but his large output of gold, the number of his issues of all denominations the interest of the inscriptions, refl ecting his character and activities, his experiments with the coinage, entitle him to a place among the greatest moneyers of history.

For earliest gold and silver pieces Muhammad bin Tughluq retained the old 172.8 grain standard of his predecessors.

His fi rst experiment was to add to tesem in the fi rst years of his reign, gold dinars of 201.6 grains and silver aslis of 144 grains weight.

Muhammad bin Tughluq’s gold and silver issues, like those of his predecessors, are identical in type.

One of the earliest and most curious of these was struck both at Delhi and Daulatabad, in memory of his father. It bears the superscription of Ghiyas-ud-din accompanied by the additional title, al-Shahid (the Martyr).

The early gold and silver, of which about half a dozen different types exist, were minted at eight different places, including Delhi. At least twenty fi ve varieties of his billon coinage are known. There appear to have been two scales of division, one for use at Delhi and other for Daulatabad and the south. In the former the silver tanka was divided into forty eight, and in the latter into fi fty jitals.

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Gold, though minted by Masud, Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, Balban and Jalal-ud-din Khalji, was not common until Alauddin Khilji had enriched his treasury by conquests in south India.

Gold coins were replicas of the silver in weight and design.

Alauddin, whose silver coins are very plentiful, changed the design by dropping the name of the caliph from the obverse and substituting the self laudatory titles, the second Alexander, the right hand of the Khalifate.

The gold coins of Firoz Shah is fairly common, and six types are known. Following his predecessors example he inscribed the name of the caliph on the obverse and his own name on the reverse.

Firoz associated the name of his son, Fath Khan, with his own on the coinage.

Gold coins of subsequent kings are exceedingly scarce; the shortage of silver is even more apparent. Only three silver pieces of Firoz have ever come to light, but the copper coins are abundant.

The coinage of the later rulers, though abounding in varieties is almost confi ned to copper and billon pieces.

During the whole period, with but two exceptions, one mint name appears, that is Delhi.

The long reign of Firoz established his coinage as a popular medium of exchange; and this probably accounts for the prolonged series of his posthumous billon coins, extending over a period of forty years.

The coinage of the Lodhi family, despite the difference in standard, bears a close resemblance to that of the Sharqi King of Jaunpur.

Social Life

There was little change in the structure of the Hindu society during this period. Traditional caste system with the Brahmins on the upper strata of the society was prevalent.

The subservient position of women also continued and the practice of sati was widely prevalent.

The seclusion of women and the Purdah Pratha became common among the upper class women. The Arabs and Turks brought the purdah system into India and it became widespread among the Hindu women in the upper classes of North India.

The Muslim society remained divided into several ethnic and racial groups. The Turks, Iranians, Afghans and Indian Muslims developed exclusively and there were no intermarriages between these groups. Hindu converted from lower castes were also not given equal respect.

The Muslim nobles occupied high offi ces and very rarely the Hindu nobles were given high position in the government.

The Hindus were considered zimmis or protected people for which they were forced to pay a tax called Jizya.

In the beginning jiziya was collected as part of land tax. Firoz Tughlaq separated it from the land revenue and collected jiziya as a separate tax.)

Sometimes Brahmins were exempted from paying Jizya.

Autonomous Chieftains constituted the most prosperous rural section. Though they were now a defeated ruling class, they were still powerful in their respective areas and continued to live a luxurious life as in the Pre-Muslim period.

Maqaddams and Small Landlord had a better standard of life, for they readily misused their power in order to exploit the ordinary peasants.

The peasantry, known as the balahars, paid one third of their produce as land revenue, sometimes even one half of the produce. Besides land revenue, they paid certain other taxes which prove that taxation during this period was as much, if not higher than, as in the previous period.

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The peasants were always living at the subsistence level which was easily denied by the frequent wars, thus resulting in large scale, and not so infrequent, famines.

Art & Culture

ArchitectureThe art and architecture of the Delhi Sultanate Period was distinct from the Indian style.

The Turks introduced arches, domes, lofty towers or minarets and decorations using the Arabic script. They used the skill of the Indian stone cutters.

They also added colour to their buildings by using marbles, red and yellow sand stones.

In the beginning, they converted temples and other structures demolished into mosques.

For example, the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque near Qutub Minar in Delhi was built by using the materials obtained from destroying many Hindu and Jain temples, but later, they began to construct new structures.

The most magnifi cent building of the 13th century was the Qutub Minar which was founded by Aibak and completed by Iltutmish. This seventy one metre tower was dedicated to the Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakthiyar Kaki. The balconies of this tower were projected from the main building and it was the proof of the architectural skills of that period.

Later, Alauddin Khalji added an entrance to the Qutub Minar called Alai Darwaza. The dome of this arch was built on scientifi c lines.

The buildings of the Tughlaq period were constructed by combining arch and dome. They also used the cheaper and easily available grey colour stones.

The palace complex called Tughlaqabad with its beautiful lake was built during the period of Ghyasuddin Tughlaq. Muhammad bin Tughlaq built the tomb of Ghiyasuddin on a high platform.

The Kotla fort at Delhi was the creation of Firoz Tughlaq.

The Lodi garden in Delhi was the example for the architecture of the Lodis.

MusicNew musical instruments such as sarangi and rabab were introduced during this period.

Amir Khusrau introduced many new ragas such as ghora and sanam. He evolved a new style of light music known as qawwalis by blending the Hindu and Iranian systems.

The invention of sitar and table was also attributed to Amir Khusrau.

The Indian classical work Ragadarpan was translated into Persian during the reign of Firoz Tughlaq.

Pir Bhodan , a Sufi saint was one of the great musicians of this period.

Raja Man Singh of Gwalior was a great lover of music. He encouraged the composition of a great musical work called Man Kautuhal.

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LiteratureThe Delhi Sultans patronized learning and literature and many of them had great love for Arabic and Persian literature.

Learned men came from Persia and Persian language got encouragement from the rulers.

Besides theology and poetry, the writing of history was also encouraged.

Some of the Sultans had their own court historians. The most famous historians of this period were Hasan Nizami, Minhaj-us-Siraj, Ziauddin Barani, and Shams-Siraj Afi f.

Barani’s Tarikhi- Firoz Shahi contains the history of Tughlaq dynasty.

Minhaj-us-Siraj wrote Tabaqat-i-Nasari, a general history of Muslim dynasties up to 1260.

Amir Khusrau (1252-1325) was the famous Persian writer of this period. He wrote a number of poems in Arabic and Persian. He experimented with several poetical forms and created a new style of Persian poetry called Sabaqi- Hind or the Indian style. He also wrote some Hindi verses. He was the fi rst to use Urdu as a medium of poetic expression.

Amir Khusrau’s Khazain-ul-Futuh speaks about Alauddin’s conquests.

Sanskrit and Persian functioned as link languages in the Delhi Sultanate.

Zia Nakshabi was the fi rst to translate Sanskrit stories into Persian. The book Tutu Nama or Book of the Parrot became popular and translated into Turkish and later into many European languages.

The famous Rajatarangini written by Kalhana belonged to the period of Zain-ul-Abidin, the ruler of Kashmir.

Many Sanskrit works on medicine and music were translated into Persian.

In Arabic, Alberuni’s Kitab-ul-Hind is the most famous work.

Regional languages also developed during this period.

Chand Baradai was the famous Hindi poet of this period.

Bengali literature had also developed and Nusrat Shah patronized the translation of Mahabaratha into Bengali.

The Bhakti cult led to development of Gujarati and Marathi languages.

The Vijayanagar Empire patronized Telugu and Kannada literature.

Alberuni’s Kitab-ul-Hind

Abu’l Rayan Alberuni was a philosopher scientist, whose Kitab-ul-Hind was the fi rst and most important discussion on Indian sciences, religion and society by an outsider.

Alberuni’s knowledge and interest covered many other areas such as astronomy, geography, logic, medicine, mathematics, philosophy, religion and theology.

He was attached to Mahmud’s court and accompanied him to India during various raids.

Alberuni’s Kitab-al-Hind or Tahkik-i-Hind is the survey of Indian based on his study and observations in India between 1017 and 1030.

To get a proper grip of the situation, he learnt Sanskrit so that he might go to the sources of Hindu thought and religion and acquire fi rst hand information. He read the religion texts and met the learned Indians.

His approach was scientifi c and religious prejudices do not mar the quality of his observations.

He quoted form the Bhagavat Gita, Vishnu Puran, Kapil’s Sankhya, and the work of Patanjali.

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While making his profound observation, Alberuni, did not pay a partisan role and condemned Mahmud Ghazni’s destructive activities.

He was perhaps the fi rst Muslim to have undertaken the study of Indian society on such a major scale.

Where Alberuni was not very sure of his own knowledge, he frankly admitted it.

According to Alberuni, the fact that Indians had started depending on tradition heavily was a hindrance to genuine intellectual quest. He felt that learning and scientifi c spirit suffered because they had been sub-ordained to religion.

Alberuni’s observation of Indian society can be studied under following six major sub-heads:

Caste-ridden Society The complete caste structure of Indian society did not go unnoticed by Alberuni.

One notable observation of Alberuni was that the Vaishyas were also fast degeneration to the rank of Sudras.

He noted the absence of any signifi cant difference between the Vaishyas and the sudras, who lived together in the same town and village and mixed together in the same house.

By the 11th century it seems that the Vaishyas come to be treated as Sudras virtually and legally.

The alliance of convenience between the Brahmanas and the ruling Kshatriyas was a fact that Alberuni refers to indirectly.

He also refers to a class of untouchables which existed in the society called antyaja.

Alberuni lists eight antyaja castes below the status of the Sudras. Some of the names of untouchable castes that are mentioned by him are: Bhodhatu, Bhedas, Chandala, Doma, and Hodi.

Closed Society According to Alberuni, the society was closed in nature and lacking dynamism.

The area within which a Brahmana could live was fi xed and a Hindu was not generally permitted to enter the land of the Turks. All this makes sense in the context of “feudal localism” which ruled out or other types of connection between one region of the country and another.

According to Alberuni, the isolationist attitude of Indians was further buttressed by a false sense of superiority.

In his opening chapter Alberuni wrote that the Indians belived that there is no country like theirs, no nation like theirs, no king like theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs. The Indian are by nature niggardly in communication what they know and they do not believe in exchange of ideas. They take the greatest possible care to with hold their knowledge from men of another caste, from among their own people, and even more from any outsider.

Stagnant Knowledge While the rich heritage of the past knowledge is highlighted by Alberuni when he refers to the various ‘sidhantas’ and the progress made in astronomy and mathematics, but he give details of a very pathetic picture of the 11th century.

According to Alberuni, “The Indians are in a state of utter confusion, devoid of any logical order, and they always mix up with silly notions of the crowd. I can only compare their mathematical and astronomical knowledge to a mixture of pearls and sour dates. Both kind of things are equal in their eyes since they cannot raise themselves to the method of a strictly scientifi c deduction.”

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Social Evils Alberuni mentions evil social practices within the Indian society like child-marriage, sati, low position of women in general and widows in particular.

He mentions that Hindus marry at a very young age.

If a wife loses her husband due to death she cannot remarry. A widow has only two options, either the remain a widow as long as she lives, or to burn herself (sati). The latter option was generally preferred because as a widow she was ill-treated.

Religious Beliefs and Practices Alberuni, who had carefully studied the Hindu religion’s philosophy and institutions, found no diffi culty in marking out the trinity gods (three deities of the Hindu religion) and philosophy of the Upanishads.

He says that the belief in a multitude of gods is vulgar and is a typical of the un-educated. Educated Hindus believe god to be one and Eternal. Hindus considered the existence of god as real because everything that exists, exists through god.

Alberuni also learned all about the Hindu concept of transmigration of soul. He explains that Indians believed that every act of this life will be rewarded or punished in the life to come, and the fi nal emancipation of a human being is possible only through true knowledge. He terms all these beliefs of the Indian as narrow-mindedness.

According to Alberuni, insularity at every level was the characteristic feature of India in the 11th century and the price of this insularity was the disruption of the country by the coming of the Turks.

Scientifi c Knowledge and Legal System Although Alberuni is critical of the scientifi c knowledge of Indians, sometimes he has praised their knowledge.

He made great effort to understand the Indian legal system.

He noted every practical aspect of the legal system and points out the difference between these and the legal theories as expounded in the law books like Manusmriti, etc.

He had praised the weights and measure system and distance measurement system of Indians.

He also noticed the many variations of the Indian alphabets.

He provided interesting geographical data and took into account local astronomical and mathematical theories.

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