L-3 History

L-3 THE DELHI SULTANATE MADE BY: SADHGI MEHTA

INTRODUCTION The Delhi Sultanate set the stage for an

interesting phase in history called later medievel period. 5 dynasties ruled during this period- the Slave

Dynasty, the Khilji Dynasty, the Tughulab dynasty, the Sayyid Dynasty, and the Lodi Dynasty.

SOURCES  The main sources of Delhi Sultanate are inscriptions. They are

found on old coins, historical monuments, milestones, and tombstones.  Monuments are also an important source of information about

the Delhi Sultanate.  We also get information about the Sultanate from the history

written in the Persian language (official language under the Delhi Sultanate) known as tarikh or the tawarikh.

SLAVE DYNASTY •

The Indian slave dynasty lasted from 1206 to 1290. It was also called Mumluk Dynasty. The slave dynasty was the first Muslim dynasty to rule India. It was founded by Sultan Qutbuddin Aibak.

RULERS  Qutbuddin Aibak (1206-1210 AD)  Iltmish (1210-1236 AD)  Rukhuddin Firoz Shah (1236 AD)  Razziya Sultan (1236-1240 AD)  Nasir-ud-din Mahmud (1246-1266 AD)  Ghiyasuddin Balban (1266-1290 AD)

QUTBUDDIN AIBAK (1206-1210 AD)  Qutbuddin Aibak is known in history

as the founder of the slave dynasty.  it is believed that the dynasty derives

its name from Qutbuddin who was originally a slave.  Qutb-ud-din Aibak was born to a Turkish family in Central Asia. He was sold as

a slave in his childhood.   Qutb-ud-din Aibak was finally purchased by the ruler of Ghor  in

central Afghanistan, Sultan Muhammad Ghori. Qutb-ud-din Aibak gradually rose to the rank of a Commander and became a trusted slave of Sultan Ghori.   Qutb-ud-din Aibak crowned himself the Sultan of Delhi in 1206, when

Muhammad Ghori was killed on the battlefield. After his death.  He was hounered with the title Lakh Baksh as he gave a lot of wealth in charity.

SHAMSUDDIN ILTUTMISH Iltutmish was the successer

of Qutbuddin. He was the most famous sultan

of slave dynasty.  He was the third ruler of the

 Mamluk dynasty (or Slave dynasty). He was married to the daughter of Qutb-ud-din Aibak. He became the ruler after

fighting against Qutb-ud-din's son. He also shifted his capital from Lahore to Delhi.  He completed the Qutb

Minar which was started by Qutb-ud-din Aibak. He crushed revolts, protected and strentened the bounderies and established a

strong and consolided Sultanate. He did not think his sons would be good rulers. He was succeeded by his

daughter, Razia Sultan.

RUKH-NUD-DIN FIROZ SHAH  Iltutmish wanted his daughter Razziya to be the sultan of

delhi but this decision of Iltutmish was not liked by the conserative nobles who had became powerful.  After the death of Iltutmish, they placed Rukh-nud-din

firoz shah (one of the sons of Iltutmish) on the throne.  Rukh-nud-din firoz shah did not have qualities of being a

king. He did not pay attention to the matters of the sultanate and neglected the administration.  People demanded an able and caring administrator. So,

they made Razziya the ruler of sultanate.

RAZZIYA SULTAN  Sultan Razziya was a great

monarch, wise, genrous, leader of armies, protecter of her subjects, but born of wrong gender. In estimation of men all her virtues were worthless in eyes of people.  So, she threw off her female attire and put on a coat and a cap.  She was successful in establishing law and order in her kingdom

but her reign was short and full of problems as the forty nobles could not tolerate a women’s rule.  Finaly, they killed her in a battle.

PERIOD FROM 1240-1266 AD  Razziya’s death created fresh problems. This period saw

many political disturbances.  Many kings came to the throne.  Nasir-ud-din-Mahmud, another son of Iltutmish ruled from

1246 to 1266 with the support of the nobles.  During Nasir-ud-din’s reigh Balbn controlled the

administration, despite opposition from other nobles.

GIYASUDDIN BALBAN  In,1266 Balban came to thron. He was an able noble and a powerful

ruler also.  He re-organised and strentened the army.  He laid many campaings against the local rulers and defeated them.  Balban also guarded the north-westernborders against mangol

raids.  He wanted people to look up to sultan and regard him in high

esteem.  He introduced the persian custums of sijdah and zaminbos.  According to common people these customs were reserved for god

and therefore were un-islamic

KHILJI DYNASTY  The Khalji or Khilji dynasty was a Muslim dynasty which ruled

large parts of the Indian subcontinent between 1290 and 1320. It was founded by Jalal ud din Firuz Khalji and became the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate of India.  They were good administrater, they combined the huge empire

and also expanded the feild of economics and market control policies.

RULERS

 Jalaluddin Firoz Khilji (1290-1296

AD)  Aluaddin Khilji (1296-1316 AD)

JALALUDDIN FIROZ KHILJI  Jalaluddin was not strong ruler.  He had a leinient policy towards the Mangols.  He even married a his daughter to Uldugh Khan (a

mangol leader)  During his reign, mangols enjoyed a powerful rule.  Therefore, they hatched a consipirancy and killed

Jalaludin.  After his death, his nephew Ali gurshap succeed him and

was given the title Alauddin.

ALAUDDIN KHALJI  Alauddin khalji was the most powerful ruler of khilji dynasty.  He was the first to build an imperial empire in India that gained

name and fame.  He extended the boundaries of delhi sultanate beyond the

Vindhayas up to Deccan.  He was a brilliant gerneral

and very capable administrator as well.  He was also a great patron

Of art and literature.

EXPANSION OF EMPIRE  He conquered Gujarat, Malwa and Mewar. This gave him control

over western seaports.  With the help of his general, Malik Kafur, he led a series of

successful raids into the Deccan.  He captured Devagiri in 1307 CE.  He then annexed Warangal, Dvarasamudra, Rameswaram, Mysore

and Mudarai.  He thus became the first sultan of Delhi to extend his kingdom

south of the river Narmada.  Towards the end of Alauddin’s reign, extent of his empire could be

campared to that of king Ashoka.

REFORMS OF THE ARMY  Alauddin Khalji had a well equipped, trained, diciplaned and

motivated army.  His army had more than4,75,000 horsemen.  Alauddin Khilji maintained a strong and huge standing army to

safeguard his empire.  He introduced the system of branding of horses (dagh) and

maintenance of descriptive register of  soldiers to prevent false musters and corrupt practices.  Alauddin abolished the Jagir system

and paid the salaries in cash.

ECONOMIC MEASURES Ala-ud-Din’s economic policy was guided by the following considerations: 1.

To raise as much finance as possible so as to maintain a wellequipped strong and large army.

2.

To reduce the wealth of the nobles and other sections of the society as Ala-ud-Din believed that too much of wealth with them was the most importance cause of the revolts.

3.

To provide essential commodities of daily use so that the soldiers could enjoy a reasonable standard of living in their pay.

4.

To fix up price of the essential commodities and for this to control the market through a well-regulated system and machinery.

ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC POLICY OF ALAUD-DIN: IN GENERAL IT IS ADMITTED BY MOST OF THE HISTORIANS THAT ALA-UD-DIN SUCCEEDED IN FULFILLING HIS OBJECTIVES BY HIS ECONOMIC POLICY. HIS PRIMARY OBJECTS WERE TO INCREASE THE INCOME OF THE STATE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE ARMY AND ROOTING OUT THE POSSIBILITIES OF REVOLTS. HE ACHIEVED BOTH. HOWEVER OPINIONS DIFFER REGARDING THE IMPACT OF HIS POLICY ON THE PEASANTRY AND THE COMMON MAN. THE REVENUE POLICY OF ALA-UD-DIN IMPOSED A HEAVY BURDEN ON THE PEASANTRY. PROBABLY, IN SOME CASES, THE PEASANTS HAD TO PAY 75 PER CENT TO 80 PER CENT OF THEIR INCOME TO THE STATE AS TAXES.

TUGHLUQ DYNASTY  The Tughlaqs were a Muslim family of Turkic origin. The

dynasty reached its zenith point between AD 1330 and 1335 when Muhammad Bin Tughlaq led military campaign. Its rule was marked by torture, cruelty and rebellions, resulting in the rapid disintegration of the dynasty's territorial reach after 1335 AD.

RULERS 

 

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320-1324 AD)

 Muhammad-bin- Tughluq (1324-

1351 AD)  Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351-1388 AD)

GIYASSUDDIN TUGHLUQ  Giyasuddin Tughluq was the first ruler of Tughluq

Dynasty.  He strentened the sultanate by crushing the

rebellions.  Jauna Khan, his son succeeded him and was given

the title Muhammad-bin-Tughluq.

MUHMMAD-BIN-TUGHLUQ Muhammad bin Tughluq was the successer and the eldest son of Giyasuddin Tughluq. He was a knownagable person and well versed in astronomy, philosphy, poetry and mathematics.  he had sense of justice and had had an open and progressive mind. But he made certain mistakes that turned against him. Ibn Battuta who visted India during the reigh of Muhammad bin Tughluq gives a detailed about his mistakes.

MISTAKES DONE BY MUHMMAD-BIN-TUGHLUQ

Taxation in Doab

Shifting of capital Introduction of token currency Qurachil expetetion Khurasan expetetion

FIROZ SHAH TUGHLUQ  He ascended to the throne at the age of forty six. He was

the son of Rajab by his Bhatti wife, who was the daughter of Abuhar chief, Rana Mall.  He was not a distinguished military leader his campaigns are

as follows: He led two unsuccessful campaigns into Bengal against Haji Iliyas (Shams-ud-din Iliyas Shah) and Sikandar Shah. Tartar Khan commanded the army.  The Rai of Jajnagar (modern Orissa) and Nagarkot and the

ruler of Sind (Jam Babaniya) surrendered before the sultan. He also indirectly acknowledged the independence of the Balmani king by receiving embassy from him.

REFORMS  Firoz Tughlaq adopted measures like revenue reforms,

irrigation works, charitable programmes and public works etc. which won praise from various quarters.  At the same time, his military expeditions, slave system, feudal

practice and religious policy etc. brought discredit to him.  Plenty of fruits and grains were grown as he laid 1200 gardens.  He also set up educational institutes.  He also bought to Ashoka pillars from Meerut and Sopara to

Delhi.

TIMUR’S INVASATION (1398)

IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE RULE OF TUGHLUQ

THE DELHI SULTANATE COART The court of the Sultan was very ceremonial. Sijdah and paibos were performed which

clearly indicated that the Sultan was akin to god.

Let us see how the court operated during the period of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq

THE DELHI SULTAN  The sultan was all powerful but there was a constant struggle

between the sultan and the ulema during this period.  The Sultan’s power lay in the fact that he was the chief justice

as well as commander-in-chief of the army.  Income, expenditure, collection of revenue and , in general, all

the financises were looked after the Wazir.  Army administration and needs of the army were looked after

by Ariz-i-mumalik and his deputies.  The bakshi was the paymaster of the army.  Chief Qazi was a judicial post.

IQTA SYSTEM  The Iqtadari was a unique type of land distribution

and,administrative system evolved during the sulta nate of Iltutmish. Under this system, the entire empire was very evenly divided into several large and small tracts of land, called the Iqtas.

SAYYID DYNASTY  The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of

the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451. Founded by Khizr Khan a former governor of Multan, they succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled the sultanate until they were displaced by the Lodi dynasty

RULERS Khizr Khan Sayyid (1414-1421 AD) Mubarak Shah Sayyid (1421-1434 AD) Mahammad Shah Sayyid (1434-1443

AD) Alauddin Alam Shah Sayyid (1443-

1451 AD)

KHIZR KHAN SAYYID

MUBARAK SHAH SAYYID  Mubarak Shah was the son of Khizr Khan. He came

to the throne in 1421. He was a man of great vision, but the nobles were against him and kept revolting.

MAHAMMAD SHAH SAYYID  Muhammad Shah was a nephew of Mubarak Shah.  He ruled from 1434–1443.  Muhammad Shah acceded to the throne with the

help of Sarwar ul Mulk. After that Shah wanted to free himself from the domination of Sarwar ul Mulk with the help of his faithful vizier Kamal ul Mulk  The Nobles, however, were not in his favor. A

major part his rule was spend in controlling them.

ALUADDIN ALAM SHAH SAYYID  Alam shah succeeded Mahammad shah.  In 1451, he was defeted by bahlul lodi.  After this incident, the rule of Sayyid dynasty came

to an end.

LODI DYNASTY The Lodi dynasty was an Afghan dynasty that

ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the last dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when he replaced the Sayyid dynasty

RULERS

Bahlul Lodi (1451-1489 AD) Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517 AD) Ibrahim Lodi (1517-1526 AD)

BAHLUL LODI   Founder of the Lodi dynasty from the Delhi Sultanate.  In 1479, Sultan Bahlul Lodi defeated and annexed Sharqi

dynasty based at Jaunpur.  Bahlul did much to stop rebellions and uprisings in his territories,

and extended his holdings over Gwalior, Jaunpur and upper Uttar Pradesh.  Just like the previous Delhi Sultans, he kept Delhi the capital of his

kingdom.  In 1486, he appointed his son, Babrak Shah as viceroy of Jaunpur. In

time, this proved to be problematic, as his second son, Nizam Khan (Sikandar Lodi) was named successor, and a power struggle ensued.

SIKANDAR LODI  Sikandar Lodi was the sultan of Delhi and second ruler of

the Lodi dynasty after Bahlul Lodi. He was the most successful sultan of the Lodi dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. Sikandar Lodi ruled the sultanate from 17 July 1489 to 21 November 1517.  He signed treaty of friendship with

the ruler of Bengal.  He was a reformer too and introduced

many welfare measures.

IBRAHIM LODI  Ibrahim Lodi (died 21 April 1526) became the Sultan of Delhi in 1517

after the death of his father Sikandar Lodi.  He was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, reigning for nine years  Until being defeated and killed

at the Battle of Panipat by Babur's invading army in 1526, giving way to the emergence of the Mughal Empire in India.  Thus, the rule of glorious sultan came to an end.

Below are some activities that can be conducted in the classroom to enable interaction between students. Discuss and Debate  The Architecture of Today v/s The Architecture of the Sultanate  Arguments For and Against Using Slaves  Democracy v/s Communism  Methods used by Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq to protect their kingdoms from the

Mongols.  The Best and the Worst Kings of the Delhi Sultanate (give reasons)

Agree or Disagree  The Chauhans defeated the Tomaras and established their rule in Delhi.  No taxes were collected under Alauddin Khalji's rule.  During the rule of the Tomars and the Chauhans, Delhi became an important commercial centre.  Hinterlands are bordering areas, near coasts or banks of major rivers.  During the rule of Allaudin Khalji, 'iqtas' (areas of land) were not inheritable (passed from father

to son).  No house tax was collected during the Delhi Sultanate period.