Delhi Sultanate | History(Prelims) by UPSC Toppers PDF Download

Delhi Sultanate

Following dynasties ruled over Delhi

1. The Slave Dynasty 
2. Khalji Dynasty 
3. Tughlaq Dynasty 
4. The Sayyid Dynasty 
5. Lodhi Dynasty 

The Slave Dynasty

1. Qutub-ud-din Aibek 
2. Iltutmish 
3. Raziya 
4. Balban 
5. Rulers of the Sultanate Period 

Qutub-ud-din Aibek

Qutub-ud-din Aibek laid the foundation of a new dynasty called the slave dynasty in 1206 AD. He established himself as the sultan of Delhi at Lahore. He strengthened his position through matrimonial alliances with his rivals. He gave his daughter to Iltutmish the foremost of his slaves.

Iltutmish

After Qutub-ud-din Aibek his son, Aram Shah succeeded the throne. He was not able to display the skill of conquests and administration shone by his forerunners. His rule was overthrown by Iltutmish with the support of the nobles. A battle followed in which Aram Shah was defeated and killed.

In 1211 AD Iltutmish came to the throne. He was also known as Shamsuddin. He spent his days retrieving the lost territories of Qutub-ud-din Aibek and also added Malwa and Sind. During the reign of Iltutmish, he fought against the rival slave chiefs Yaldoz and Qubacha. On the battlefield of Tarain Yalduz was defeated.

Iltutmish also faced danger from the Mongols led by Chingiz Khan. In his diplomatic decision, he avoided the conflict with the mighty Mongol by preventing Jalal-ud-din the ruler of Khawarism from coming to India.

Another major threat to the power of Iltutmish was the independent Rajput rulers who in spite of their rivalry could pose a serious danger to the Sultanat. In 1226 AD he attacked Ranthambore and Mansor. He also occupied Ajmer, Jalor, Nagor.In 1229 Gwalior was occupied and the fort of Kalinjar was plundered. Kannauj, Benaras and Badaun were under his dominion.

In the year 1229AD, the Caliph of Baghdad recognized him as Sultan. He brought order in Rohilkhand. He suppressed the revolt of Tughril Khan, the governor of Bengal. Iltutmish was the greatest ruler of 13th century India and a wise statesman. He was generous to talented people who willingly became the pillars of the central administration.

Raziya

Raziya came to the throne by overthrowing her brother Rukn-ud-din. After elevating many Tajiks to high positions Raziya appointed Jamal-ud-din Yaqut an Ethiopian slave as superintendent of the royal horses which aroused resentment in a majority of the already disgruntled Turkish nobles. Moreover, sultana began to appear unveiled in public.

Though the people of Delhi supported her, hostility mounted among the iqtadars. In 1239-40 she crushed some of the rebellious iqtadars but one of them Altunia killed Yakut and took Raziya prisoner. In the meanwhile, the powerful Turkish nobles put Iltutmish’s third son Bahram on the throne. Raziya married Altunia and their combined efforts to capture Delhi failed. They were killed during an attack on their convoy. The fall of Raziya made the clique of Turkish nobles dominant in the court and they started a scramble for supremacy.

Raziya's successor Bahram Shah was a weak and incompetent ruler and was overthrown by the nobles after a brief reign of two years. Alauddin Masud Shah who also met the same fate as Bahram Shah succeeded him. In 1246 Nasir-ud-din Mahmud the grandson of Iltutmish ascended the throne. He owed his throne to the Turkish aristocracy and the latter was bound to have tremendous influence in the administration. He places all his powers in the hands of his prime minister Balban. Balban married off his daughter to Sultan and was made Naiib-i-Mamlakat with the title of Ulugh Khan. Balban became the de facto ruler of the Sultanate. In 1266 Nasiruddin Mahmud died.

Balban

Balban had full control over sovereignty sat on the throne of Delhi in 1266 and he adopted the name of Ghiyasuddin Balban. With his accession, the line of rulers of the family of Iltutmish ended.

The most serious problem, which he faced soon after his succession, was the restoration of law and order in Delhi and other parts of his kingdom. Balban in his attempt to curtail the power of the nobility increased the power and prestige of the Sultan. For this purpose, he introduced Persian ceremonies and etiquettes in his court and allowed no manner of levity there. He was a thorough aristocrat and he never gave office to anyone except to well-born men. He impressed upon the people that kingship was the vice regency of God on earth and in its dignity, it was next only to prophethood. The king was the shadow of God and was the repository of divine guidance and radiance.

Having consolidated his authority Balban addressed himself to the task of maintaining peace and order with his characteristic vigor. He realized that a strong army was essentially necessary to cope with the internal troubles and external dangers. Hence he reorganized his army and increased his efficiency. Additional officers were appointed with higher emoluments.

Balban did not try to extend his empire although he had a powerful army. He instead concentrated on consolidating the territory already in possession. He suppressed the revolts in the Doab and Oudh and tracked down recalcitrant elements in the region of Rohilkhand. Mongols invaded again in 1279 and 1285 but were defeated and driven away. In 1286 the Mongols reappeared and this time Prince Muhammad was killed. Balban could never recover from the tragedy and died in 1286.

Khalji Dynasty

1. Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji 
2. Alauddin Khalji 
3. Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah Khalji 
4. Ruler of the Khalji Dynasty 

Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji

Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji was the founder of the Khalji dynasty. He came to power after the overthrow of the slave dynasty. Their ascendancy is known as Khalji imperialism because, with the accession of Jalaluddin on the throne of Delhi, the supremacy of the Turks ended in India.

He expanded the boundaries of his empire besides his achievements include suppression of the revolt of Malik Chhaju with the governor of Oudh. He suppressed the Thuggees a band of robbers and send them off peacefully to Bengal. He adopted a conciliatory policy towards the Mongols. He allowed some of the Mongols to settle in India.

It was during the conquest of Bhilsa that Alauddin the nephew of Jalaluddin started realizing the dream of being sultan. In 1292 AD Alauddin led an expedition to Devagiri hearing of its wealth. Devagiri was forced to pay a huge war indemnity. This helped Alauddin in buying the nobles and pleasing the soldiers who were dissatisfied by the rule of Jalaluddin. Alauddin then hatched a conspiracy and got Sultan Jalaluddin killed and proclaimed himself as the sultan.

Alauddin Khalji

In 1296 Alauddin became the sultan after Malika Jan the widow of Jalaluddin and her younger son Qadir Khan left Delhi. He also exterminated the old Balbani and Jalali nobles.

The reign of Alauddin Khalji marks the zenith of the power of the Delhi Sultanate.

In 1297 he set off for conquering Gujarat. He sent an expedition under Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan to Gujarat. On the way Ulugh Khan conquered Jaisalmer. During the plunder of the rich port of Cambay Alauddin's commander, Nusrat Khan acquired a Hindu turned Muslim slave Kafur who later on rose to become a great military general and the Malik Naib of Alauddin. After the conquest of Gujarat Alauddin sent an expedition under Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan to Ranthambhore. However, the Rajputs beat them and Nusrat Khan died. Alauddin went to Ranthambhor and annexed it in 1301.

The next expedition was sent to Mewar and after the siege of 8 months, he captured Chittor in 1303. The government of Chittor was put in the hands of Khizr Khan, the eldest son of Alauddin. Chittor was renamed Khizrabad after the name of Khizr Khan. In 1305 Alauddin sent Ain-ul-Mulk Multani for the conquest of Malwa which was placed under the governorship of the latter. By the end of 1305, the whole of Northern India fell into the hands of Alauddin and he directed his attention to the conquest of Deccan.

Between 1307 and 1312 he began the southward expansion of his empire. He invaded Devagiri in 1306-07 AD. The immediate cause for this was an unduly long delay in sending the annual tribute. In 1309 the Kakatiya kingdom was attacked and its ruler Pratap Rudra Deva accepted the suzerainty of Delhi and surrendered vast treasures. The next expedition was against Vir Ballala III the Hoysala ruler in 1311. His capital Dwarsamudra was captured. The whole of Deccan was forced to acknowledge the supremacy of Alauddin. His motives were to secure the immense wealth and to force the southern states to accept the suzerainty of the Sultanate.

He had to face more than dozen invasions. These invasions started from the end of 1296 and continued upto 1308. The Mongols threatened not only Punjab, Multan, and Sindh but even Delhi and the Ganga-Yamuna Doab. This grave crisis compelled him to take strong measures for the protection of the northwest frontier. The 20 years of his rule came to an end with his death on 2nd January 1316 AD.

Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah Khalji

A young son of the Sultan was placed on the throne and Malik Kafur acted as the regent. Malik Kafur killed other members of the Allauddin's family but he was murdered and Mubarak Khan the third son became the regent. He imprisoned Sahibuddin and ascended the throne as Qutubuddin Mubarak in the year 1316. He tried to win the goodwill of the people. He liberalized Alauddin's rigorous administrative policies and repealed economic regulations. All prisoners were released and harsh regulations were canceled. The lands, which were confiscated, were given back to their legitimate owners. Taxes were lowered.

He was under the influence of a youth called Hassan who later was called Khusru Khan who conspired to kill him. Thus Khalji dynasty came to an end. Khusro tried to strike a reign of terror to control the nobles. This was resented by the nobles particularly Ghazi Malik who captured and beheaded the sultan. He ascended the throne under the title of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah.

The Thuglaq Dynasty

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq

• Ghazi Malik or Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq of the Qaurana tribe was the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty.
• He was the governor of Dipalpur before coming to power as Sultan
• He died in the collapse of the victory pavilion near Delhi

Mohammad Bin Tughlaq (1325-51)

• Prince Jauna, son of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq ascended the throne in 1325.
• He gained the title Ulugh Khan, he was most educated of all the Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate
• He was a good calligraphist
• He had discussions with Jain saint Jinaprabha Suri, and use to play Holi
• He created a department Diwan-e-Amir-e-Kohi for the improvement of the agriculture
• He distributed Sondhar i.e. agriculture loans advanced for extension of agriculture of barren land
• He encouraged cash crops in place of cereals
• He reversed the policy of Allauddin Khalji of non-annexation of the states in southern India
• The empire extended under his reign but because of the insufficient communication channels, he wasn’t able to consolidate the expansion of the empire.
• As a result, a number of revolts took place during his reign and regional principalities declared their independence under local rulers.
• His last days were spent checking the revolts (altogether 36 revolts in 25 years).
• 1335: Mudurai became independent under Jalaluddin Ahsan Shah
• 1336: Foundation of Vijayanagar by Harihar and Bukka; and Warangal became independent under Kanhaiya)
• 1341-47: Revolts of Sada Amirs
• 1347 Foundation of Bahamani kingdom under Hasan Gangu

The five experiments

• Taxation in the Doab: The Sultan made an ill-advised financial experiment in the Doab between the Ganges and Yamuna. He not only increased the rate of taxation but also revived and created some additional Abwabs or cesses. Although the share of the state remained as in the time of Alauddin, it was fixed arbitrarily not on the basis of actual production. Prices were also fixed artificially for covering the produce into money. It is said that the increase was twentyfold and to this were added Ghari or house tax and the Charahi or pasture tax. The Sultan created a new department of Agriculture called Diwan-i-Kohi. The main object of this department was to bring more land under cultivation by giving direct help to peasants. However, because of the corruption and misappropriation, the whole plan failed and the peasants of the doab area revolted.
   
• Transfer of Capital: The most controversial step which Mohammad-bin Tughlaq undertook soon after his accession was the so-called transfer of capital from Delhi to Devagiri. He ordered a mass exodus from Delhi to Devgiri. Devagiri had been a base for the expansion of Turkish rule in South India. It appears that the Sultan wanted to make Devagiri the second capital so that he would be able to control South India better. Devagiri was thus named Daulatabad.
   
• Introduction of Token Currency: Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq decided to introduce bronze coins, which were to have the same value as the silver coins. Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq might have been successful if he could prevent people from forging the new coins. He was not able to do so and the new coins began to be greatly devalued in markets. Finally, Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq decided to withdraw the token currency. He promised to exchange silver pieces for bronze coins.
   
• Proposed Khurasan Expedition: The Sultan had a vision of universal conquest. He decided to conquest Khurasan and Iraq and mobilized a huge army for the purpose. He was encouraged to do so by Khurasani nobles who had taken shelter in his court. Moreover, there was instability in Khurasan on account of the unpopular rule of Abu Said. This project was also abandoned because of the change in the political scenario in Khurasan.
   
• Qarachil Expedition: This expedition was launched in Kumaon hills in the Himalayas allegedly to counter Chinese incursions. It also appears that the expedition was directed against some refractory tribes in the Kumaon-Garhwal region with the object of bringing them under the Delhi Sultanate. The first attack was a success but when the rainy season set in, the invaders suffered terribly.
   
• He died in Thatta while campaigning in Sindh against Taghi, a Turkish slave.

Feroz Shah Tughlaq (1351-88)

• He was a cousin of Mohammad-bin Tughlaq.
• He was the son of a Hindu mother
• He was raised to the throne by Ulemas, Sufis, and nobles.
• He adopted the policy of appeasement with the nobility, the army, and the ologians
• He decreed that whenever a noble died his son should be allowed to succeed to his position including his Iqta and if he had no sons, his son-in-law and in his absence his slave. This was a policy of appeasement towards nobles
• Firoz extended the principle of heredity to the army. Soldiers were allowed to rest in peace and to send in their place their sons. The soldiers were not paid in cash but by assignments on land revenue of villages (Vajeha).
• This led to many problems in the long run and infused malaises like indiscipline and corruption in the army. The earlier practices like dagh and chera passed into oblivion.
• The new system of taxation was according to quran. Four kinds of taxes sanctioned by the Quran were imposed and those were Kharaj, Zakat, Jizya, and Khams. Kharaj was the land tax, which was equal to 1/10 of the produce of the land, Zakat was 2% tax on property, Jizya was levied on non-Muslims and Khams was 1/5 of the booty captured during the war.
• Firoz tried to ban practices, which the orthodox theologians considered non-Islamic. Thus he prohibited the practice of Muslim women going out to worship at graves of saints and erased paintings from the palace.
• It was during the time of Firoz that Jizya became a separate tax. Firoz refused to exempt the Brahmanas from payment of Jizya since this was not provided for in Shariat.
• In order to encourage agriculture, the Sultan paid a lot of attention to irrigation. Firoz repaired a number of canals and imposed Haque-i-Sharb or water tax
• He was a great builder as well; to his credit are cities of Fatehabad, Hisar, Jaunpur, and Firozabad.
• The two pillars of Ashoka, one from Topra (Haryana) and the other from Merrut (U.P.) were brought to Delhi.
• The Sultan established Delhi, a hospital described as Dar-ul-Shifa.
• A new department of Diwan-i-Khairat was set up to make provisions for the marriage of poor girls.
• Another step that Firoz took was both economic and political in nature. He ordered his officials that whatever they attacked a place they should select handsome and well-born young boys and send them to Sultan as slaves.
• However, his rule is marked by peace and tranquility, and credit for it goes to his Prime Minister Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul.
• He died in 1388.

The Sayyid dynasty

• Khizr Khan (1414-21): Timur’s nominee captured Delhi and was proclaimed the new Sultan and the first of the Sayyid dynasty. He ruled in the name of Shah Rukh, Timur’s successor.
• Mubarak Shah (1421-34): He was the son of Khizr and succeeded Khizr at the throne after his successful expeditions against Mewatis, Katehars, and the Gangetic Doab area. He was killed by the dominant faction of nobles in his own court.
• Muhammad Shah (1434-43): He was the adopted son of Mubarak Shah. The nobles put Muhammad Shah on the throne, but could not survive the in-fighting among the nobles in the court.
• Alam Shah (1443-51): The famous saying indicating the small area he ruled over was that he ruled just from Delhi to Palam. He was the last Sayyid king descended in favor of Bahlol Lodhi and he retired. Thus began the Lodhi dynasty.

The Lodi Dynasty

Bahlol Lodhi: 1451-88

• Bahlol Lodhi was one of the Afghan sardars who established himself in Punjab after the invasion of Timur.
• He founded the Lodhi dynasty.
• Jaunpur was annexed into Delhi Sultanat during his reign
• The tribal connections were very powerful among the Afghan sardars and the Sultan was considered just as first among the equals

Sikandar Lodhi: 1489-1517

• Sikandar Lodi was the son of Bahlol Lodhi who conquered Bihar and Western Bengal.
• He was the son of a Hindu mother
• Agra city was founded by him.
• Sikandar was a fanatical Muslim and he broke the sacred images of the Jwalamukhi Temple at Nagar Kot and ordered the temples of Mathura to be destroyed.
• He laid great emphasis on justice.
• He reimposed Jaziya tax on non-Muslims
• He abolished the corn tax
• He used to write poems with the pen name “Gulrukhi”
• He took a keen interest in the development of agriculture. He introduced the Gaz-i-Sikandari (Sikandar’s yard) of 32 digits for measuring cultivated fields.

Ibrahim Lodhi: 1517-26

• He was the last king of the Lodhi dynasty and the last Sultan of Delhi.
• He was the son of Sikandar Lodhi.
• At last Daulat Khan Lodhi, the governor of Punja invited Babur to overthrow Ibrahim Lodhi.
• Babur accepted the offer and inflicted a crushing defeat on Ibrahim Lodhi in the first battle of Panipat in 1526.
• He was the only Sultan who died on the battlefield

Mangol attacks during Sultanat

Administration under Sultanate

• The Turkish Sultan in India declared themselves Lieutenant of the faithful i.e. of the Abbasid caliphate of Baghdad and included his name in Khutba, it did not mean that the caliph became the legal ruler. The caliph had only a moral position.
• Jandhari laws were made by Sultans for the day to day administration
• Sultanat was not the state based on theology
• The Sultan derived their court ceremonials from pre-Islamic Iranian traditions.
• Political, legal, and military authority was vested in the Sultan. He was responsible for administration and was also the commander –chief of the military forces.
• No clear law of succession developed among Muslim rulers. Thus military strength was the main factor in succession to the throne.
• There were four pillars of the state i.e.:
• Diwan-i-Wizarat or finance department
• Diwan-i-Risalat or department of religious matters and appeals
• Diwan-i-Arz or department of military affairs
• Diwan-i-Insha or department of royal correspondence
• The other important departments of the Sultanat period were as:

The administrative units under the Sultanat were: