ESTABLISHMENT AND EXPANSION OF THE DELHI SULTANATE
The
First Battle of Tarain (AD 1191)
In the first battle fought at Tarain in AD 1191, Ghori‘s army
was routed and he narrowly escaped death. Prithviraj conquered Bhatinda but he
made no efforts to garrison it effectively. This gave Ghori an opportunity to
re-assemble his forces and make preparations for another advance into India.
The Second Battle of Tarain (AD 1192)
This battle is regarded as one of the turning points in
Indian History. Muhammad Ghori made very careful preparations for this
conquest. The Turkish and Rajput forces again came face to face at Tarain. The
Indian forces weremore in number but Turkish forces were well organized with
swift moving cavalry. The bulky Indian forces were no match against the
superior organisation, skill and speed of the Turkish cavalry. The Turkish
cavalry was using two superior techniques. The first was the horse shoe which
gave their horses a long life and protected their hooves. The second was, the
use of iron stirrup which gave a good hold to the horse rider and a better
striking power in the battle. A large number of Indian soldiers were killed.
Prithviraj tried to escape but was captured near Sarsuti. The Turkish army
captured the fortresses of Hansi, Sarsuti and Samana. Then they moved forward
running over Delhi and Ajmer. After Tarain, Ghori returned to Ghazni, leaving
the affairs of India in the hand of his trusted slave general Qutbuddin Aibak.
In AD 1194 Muhammad Ghori again returned to India. He crossed Yamuna with
50,000 cavalry and moved towards Kanauj. He gave a crushing defeated Jai Chand
at Chandwar near Kanauj. Thus the battle ofTarain and Chandwar laid the
foundations of Turkish rule in Northern India. His death in AD 1206 did not
mean the withdrawal of the Turkish interests in India. He left behind his slave
General Qutbuddin Aibak who became first Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate.
Delhi Sultanate
After the assassination of Muhammad Ghori, Qutubuddin Aibek
got the control over Delhi This period can be divided into 5 distinct periods
viz.
1. The Slave Dynasty (1206-90)
2. The Khilji Dynasty (1290-1320)
3. The Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1414)
4. The Sayyid Dynasty (1414-51)
5. The Lodhi Dynasty (1451-1526).
TheSlaveDynasty 1206 - 1290
Qutubuddin
Aibak (1206-10)
• A Turkish slave by origin, he was purchased by Mohammad
Ghori who later made him his Governor. • After the death of Ghori, Aibak became
the master of Hindustan and founded the Slave Dynasty in 1206. • The capital
during his reign was not Delhi but Lahore. • For his generosity, he was given
the title of Lakh Bakhsh(giver of lakhs).
• He died in 1210 while playing Chaugan orPolo. • He constructed
two mosques i.e. Quwat-ul-Islam at Delhi and Adhai din ka Jonpra at Ajmer. • He
also began the construction of Qutub Minar, in the honour of famous Sufi Saint
Khwaja Qutibuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. • Aibak was great patron of learningand
patronized writers like Hasan-un-Nizami, author of‗Taj-ulMassir‘ and
Fakhruddin, author of‗Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi‘.
Aram
Shah (1210)
• He was the son of Aibak, who was defeated by Illtutmish in
the battle of Jud.
Shamsuddin
Illtutmish (1210-36)
• He was a slave of Qutubuddin Aibak of Mamluke tribe and
occupied the throne of Delhi in 1211. • Illtutmish began his career as Sar-e
Jandhar or royal bodyguard. • He was a very capable ruler and is regarded as
the ‗real founder of the Delhi Sultanate‘. • He made Delhi the capital in place
of Lahore. • He saved Delhi Sultanate from the attack of Chengiz Khan, the
Mongol leader, by refusing shelter to Khwarizm Shah, whom Chengiz was chasing.
• He introduced the silver coin (tanka) and the copper coin (jital). • He
organized theIqta Systemand introduced reforms in civil administration and
army, which was now centrally paid and recruited. • He set up an official
nobility of slaves known as Chahalgani/ Chalisa (group of forty). • He
completed theconstruction of Qutub Minar which was started by Aibak. • He
patronized Minhaj-us-Siraj, author of‗Tabaqati-Nasiri‘.
Ruknuddin
: 1236
• He was son of Illtutmish and was crowned by her mother,
Shah Turkan, after death of Illtutmish. • He was deposed by Razia, daughter of
Illtutmish.
Razia
Sultana: (1236–40)
• Iltutmish had nominated his daughter Razia as the
successor, the nobles placed Ruknuddin Feroz on the throne. • She was the‗first
and only Muslim lady who ever ruled India‘. • She use to rule without the veil
• She further offended the nobles by her preference for an Abyssian slave
Yakut. • The wazir of Illtutmish Junnaidi revolted against her but was
defeated. • There was a serious rebellion in Bhatinda, Altunia, governor of
Bhatinda refused to accept suzerainity of Razia. Razia accompanied by Yakut
marched against Altunia. • However, Altunia got Yakut murdered and imprisoned
Razia. • Subsequently, Razia was married to Altunia and both of them marched
towards Delhi as nobles in Delhi raised Bahram Shah (3rd son of Illtutmish) to
throne. • In 1240 AD, Razia became the victim of a conspiracy and was
assassinated near Kaithal (Haryana).
Bahram
Shah: 1240-42
• Iltutamish‘s third son Bahram Shah was put on throne by
powerful Turkish council Chalisa. • He was killed by Turkish nobles.
Allauddin
Masud Shah: 1242-46
• He was son of Ruknuddin Feroz. • He was disposed after
Balban and Nasiruddin Mahmud‘s Mother, Malika-e-Jahan, conspired against him
and established Nasiruddin Mahamud as the new Sultan.
Nasiruddin
Mahmud 1246-66
• He wasthe eldest son of Illtutmish. • Minaj-us-Siraj has
dedicated his book Tabaquat-iNasiri to him
Ghiyasuddin
Balban: 1266-87
• After the death of Nasiruddin; Balban ascended the throne
in 1266.
• He broke the power of Chalisa and restored the prestigeof
the crown. He made kingship a serious profession.
• The Persian court model influenced Balban‘s conception of
Kingship. He took up the title of Zil-iIlahi (Shadow of God).
• He introduced Sijda (prostration before the monarch) and Paibos
(kissing the feet of monarch) as the normal forms of salutation.
• Divine right of the king was emphasized by calling himself
Zil-i-Ilahi.
• He gave great emphasis on justice and maintaining law and
order.
• He established the military department Diwan-iArz.
• In his last days he overlooked Sultanate affairs due to
death of his eldest and most loving son, Muhammad, and rebellion by his closest
and most loved slave, Tughril. Muhammad died fighting Mongolians in 1285 and
Tughril was captured and beheaded.
Kaiqubad:
1287-90
• He was the grandson of Balban was established on the throne
by Fakruddin, the Kotwal of Delhi
• But Kaiqubad was killed by nobles Kaimur
• He was the minor son of Kaiqubad who came to throne at an
age of 3
• He was the last Illbari ruler
• The Khalji nobles revolted against him and he was killed
within three months.
The Khilji dynasty (1290-1320A.D.)
Jallauddin
Khalji
• Jalaluddin Khilji founded the Khilji dynasty.
• He was a liberal ruler and adopted the policy of religious
toleration
• His son-in-law and nephew was Allauddin Khalji
Allauddin
Khalji
• He was the first Turkish Sultan of Delhi who separated
religion from politics. He proclaimed ‗Kingship knows no Kinship’. • During the
reign of Jallauddin Khalji, he was the governor of Kara
• He adopted the title Sikander-e-Saini or the second
Alexander
• Alauddin annexed Gujarat (1298), Ranthambhor (1301), Mewar
(1303), Malwa (1305), Jalor (1311).
• In Deccan, Aluddin‘s army led by Malik Kafur defeated Ram
Chandra (Yadava ruler of Devagiri), Pratap Rudradeva (Kakatiya ruler of
Warangal), Vir Ballal III (Hoyasala ruler of Dwarsamudra) and Vir Pandya
(Pandya ruler of Madurai).
• Malik Kafur was awarded the title Malik Naib
Shiabuddin
Umar (1316)
• He was the minor son of Jhitaipali who was raised to throne
after the death of Allauddin.
• He became victim of the court politics and was later
blinded.
Mubarak
Khalji (1316-20)
• He released 18,000 prisoners
• He reversed all the administrative and market reforms of
Allauddin Khalji.
• During his time Devgiri was annexed.
The Thuglaq Dynasty 1320 - 1414
Ghiyasuddin
Tughlaq
• Ghazi Malik or Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq of Qaurana tribe was the
founder of 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 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
Jalaluddin
Ahsan Shah
1336: Foundation of Vijayanagar by Harihar and Bukka; and
Warangal became independent under Kanhaiya.
The five experiments
•Taxation in the Doab: The Sultan made an illadvised
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. The Sultan crated 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.
•Transfer of Capital: The most controversial step which
Mohammad-bin Tughlaq under took soon after his accession was the so called
transfer of capital from Delhi to Devagiri. He ordered 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 second capital so
that he would be able to control South India better. Devagiri was thus named
Daulatabad.
• Introduction ofToken Currency: Mohammad-binTughlaq decided
to introduce bronze coins, which were to have 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 andthe new coins began to be
greatly devalued in markets. Finally Mohammadbin-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 mobalised 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 political scenario in Khurasan.
• Qarachil Expedition: This expedition was launched in Kumaon
hills in Himalayas allegedly to counter Chinese incursions.It also appears that
the expedition wasdirected against some refractory tribes in Kumaon-Garhwal
region with the object of bringing them under 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 adopted the policy of appeasement with the nobility, the
army and theologians
• 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 was1/5 of the booty captured during 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.
• In order to encourage agriculture, the Sulatan 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 builderas well; to his credit are cities of
Fatehabad, Hisar, Jaunpur and Firozabad.
• The two pillars of Ashoka, one from Topra (Haryana) and
other from Meerut (U.P.) were brought to Delhi.
• The Sultan established at Delhi, a hospital described as
Dar-ul-Shifa.
• A new department of Diwan-i-Khairat was set up to make
provisions for marriage of poor girls.
• However his rule is marked by peace and tranquility and
credit for it goes to his Prime Minister Khan-iJahan Maqbul.
• He died in 1388.
The Sayyaid dynasty
• Khizr Khan (1414-21)
• Mubarak Shah (1421-34)
• Muhammad Shah (1434-43)
• Alam Shah (1443-51)--He was the last Sayyid king descended
in favour 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
Sikandar
Lodhi: 1489-1517
• Sikandar Lodi was the son of Bahlol Lodhi who conquered
Bihar and Western Bengal.
• 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 reimposed Jaziya tax on non muslims
• He use 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 in battle field
2.2
Administration under Sultanate
• 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 2.3 Art and architecture under Delhi
Sultanate
• The new features brought by the Turkish conquerors were :
The dome The lofty towers The true arch unsupported by beam The vault.
• Aibak built a Jami Masjid and Quwwatul Islam mosque, he
also began the construction of Qutub Minar
Aibak also built the Adhai-din ka Jhonpra at Ajmer has a
beautiful prayer hall, an exquisitely carved Mehrab of white marble and a
decorative arch screen.
• The first example of true or arch is aid to be the tomb of
Ghiyasuddin Balban in Mehrauli (Delhi).
• Allauddin Khalji began the work of Alai minar to rival
Qutab Minar, but this could‘nt be completed because of his death
• Some notable Tughlaq monuments are the fort of
Tughlaquabad, the tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq which marked a new phase in
Indo-Islamic architecture.
