Delhi Sultanate-
Delhi was ruled by different Dynasties and in total it was 5 dynasties
(1) The Slave Dynasty (1206-1290)
(2) The Khilji Dynasty (1290-1320)
(3) The Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1414)
(4) The Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1451)
(5) The Lodi Dynasty (1451-1 526)
First three dynasties belonged to Turkish race ,Sayeeds were Arabs and Lodis were Afghans
1. The Slave or illbari Dynasty –
The Slave dynasty was also called Mamluk dynasty. Mamluk was the Quranic term for slave
It is also called as illbari dynasty because all ruler except Aibak belonged to IIbari tribe of turks
Qutbuddin Aibak (1206-1210)-
He belonged to the tribe of Aibek
He was a slave of Muhammad Ghor who later made him his Governor
He set up his military headquarters at Indraprasta, near Delhi
After the death of Ghori in 1206, Aibak declared his independence and founded Slave dynasty
He assumed the title Sultan and made Lahore his capital
His court included famous scholars such as Hasan Nizami and Fakhre Mudir-
Hasan Nizami wrote Taj-ul- Massir
Fakhre Mudir wrote Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi‘
Muslim writers call Aibak Lakh Baksh or giver of lakhs because he gave liberal donations to them
Aibak died while playing chaugan -horse polo in 1210
Art and Architecture by him-
He built two mosques known as Quwat-ul-Islam at Delhi and Dhai Din Ka Jhonpara at Ajmer
He started the construction of Qutub minar , dedicated to sufi saint Khwaja Qutbuddin Bhaktiyar kaki.
Qutb Minar-
There was influence of more than one Delhi rulers on its development
Material from Hindu temples was used for its construction
It is UNESCO world heritage site and have long tapering tower
Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque
It was built on Jain and Hindu temples
Marbe and Red Sandstone was used for its construction
Shamsuddin Illtutmish (1210-36)-
Shamsuddin Iltutmish was born to noble Turkish parents of the Ilbari tribe of Central Asia and was slave of Aibak
He saved Delhi Sultanate from the attack of Chengiz Khan, the Mongol leader, by refusing shelter to Khwarizm Shah, whom Chengiz was chasing
He shifted his capital from Lahore to Delhi
He started coinage system of Delhi Sultanate, Tanka (silver coin ),Biranz( bronze coin) and Jittal-(copper coin)
He started Iquta system
The Forty-
He created a new class of ruling elite of forty powerful military leaders, the Forty
This ‘group of forty’ also known as turkan-i-chahalagni became a new order of nobility that enhanced the prestige of the Sultan.
Military conquests-
He annexed- Bengal, Bihar, Sind and Multan
Scholar and Sufi saints during his time-
Minhaj-us-Siraj(author of Tabaqat-i-Nasiri.), Taj-ud-din, Nizam-ul-mulk Muhammad Janaidi, Malik Qutb-ud-din Hasan and Fakhrul-Mulk Isami
Art and Architecture by Illtutmish-
He completed the construction of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the Qutb Minar
He built Mosque at Ajmer
Later he nominated his daughter Raziya as his successor
Raziya (1236-1240)-
She was the first and only Muslim lady who ever ruled India
She married Altuniya, the governor of Bhatinda
She appointed an Abyssinian slave Yakuth as Master of the Royal Horses
She further offended the nobles by her preference for an Abyssian slave Yakut
In 1240 AD, Razia became the victim of a conspiracy and was assassinated near Kaithal
After her, Nasurudin was ruler
Ghiyasuddin Balban(1266-86)-
Like Iltutmish, Balban was also an Ilbari Turk
He was also known as Ulugh Khan, served as Naib or regent to Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud
After the death of Nasiruddin; Balban ascended the throne in 1266
He introduced Sijda (prostration before the monarch) and Paibos (kissing the feet of monarch) as the normal forms of salutation.
According to Balban the Sultan was God’s shadow on earth and the recipient of divine grace
He introduced rigorous court discipline
He also introduced the Persian festival of Nauroz to impress the nobles and people with his wealth and power
He reduced the power of The Group of Forty
He appointed different spies to strengthen his position
He put the army under the charge of Imad-ul-Mulk, a very competent and loyal officer and made him diwan-i-ariz which means Minister in charge of the Army
He attacked-
Tughril Khan, the governor of Bengal
The Mewatis, who created disturbance around Delhi
2. Khalji Dynasty (1290-1320)
Jalaluddinn Khalji (1290-96)
Jalaluddin Khilji founded the Khilji dynasty
He was generous and lenient
In 1292 when Malik Chhajju the governor of Kara and nephew of Balban revolted , then he was replaced by his son-in-law, Alauddin Khalji
Later on Alauddin Khalji killed Jalaluddinn Khalji and occupied the throne
Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316)-
He won the nobles either by bribe or through forceful action
He was the first Turkish Sultan of Delhi who separated religion from politics
Army of Alauddin Khalji-
He maintained a large permanent standing army and paid them in cash
He introduced the system of dagh which means branding of horses) and prepared huliya which means descriptive list of soldiers
Military expeditions-
Gujarat-
He sent Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan to capture Gujarat in 1299
Ranthambhor-
In 1301, Alauddin marched against Ranthampur and defeated them
Chittor-
In 1303 Alauddin attacked the Chittor fort. Raja Ratan Singh and his soldiers were defeated
The Rajput women including Rani Padmini performed jauhar
This Padmini episode was graphically mentioned in the book Padmavath written by Jayasi
Jalor-
Defeated in 1311
Conquest of Deccan-
Allaudin sent Malik Kafur to attacked deccan kings
Malik kafur was able to defeat-
Prathaprudradeva of Kakatiya kingdome
Ramachandradeva of Devagiri
Veera Bhallala 3 of Hoysala
Veera and Sundara of Pandya in 1311
Fight against Mongols-
There were many fights between Army of Alauddin and Mongol invader Khwaja and some of these fights led to defeat of Alauddin but at last he was able to have control over north western India
Reforms of Alauddin Khalji-
Alauddin ordered that all land was to be measured and then the share of state was to be fixed.
Land revenue was collected in cash in order to enable the Sultan to pay the soldiers in cash.
Mustakharaj : special officer for the purpose of collection of revenue
Alauddin Khalji established four separate markets for cloths,grains etc. in Delhi
Each market was under the control of a high officer called Shahna-iMandi
He ordered to have proper ad fixed price of commodities
Munhiyans: secret agents to monitor these markets
Art and Architecture of Khilji’s-
Most of the monuments during this time were built in the Arabian style of architecture.
Hauz Khas Complex
Ala-ud-Din built a Hauz-i-Khas or Hauz i-lllah-
It was a tank made up of stone to provide water to the city
Siri –
It was one among eight cities of Delhi
This city was situated in the north of Qutab
In this city there is large number of pillars that were used
Alai Darwaza-
It is the southern gateway of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Qutb complex in Delhi
It is made up of Red sandstone and have square domed gatehouse
The Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1414)-
The founder of the Tughlaq dynasty was Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq and he added Tughlaqabad city to Delhi
Mohammad Bin Tughlaq (1325-51)-
He was known for his administrative experiments
He was very tolerant in religious matters
He was educated and he introduced many liberal and beneficial reforms. But all his reforms failed
Campaigns and Expeditions-
Mongol invasion-
As per historians, Mohammad bin tughlaq was not able to defeat the Mongols and they reached up to Delhi and at the end he payed large amount of money to them
Nagarkot-
In 1337, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq led an expedition against the fort of Nagarkot in the Kangra Valley.
Quarchal-
He attacked Quarchal situated in the Kumaon hills and was able to get tribute from the king
The Deccan-
He captured Anegundi, Dwarasamudra and Mabar In 1326 and thus he had control over southern region of India
Administrative reforms-
Revenue Reforms-
A department called diwan-imustakhriz was established to recover dues and arrears
He ordered the compilation of a detailed register of income and expenditure of all provinces of the sultanate
Token Currency-
In 1329-30 Muhammad bin Tughlaq introduced a token currency
A new coin called dokani was introduced
He issued copper coins at par with the value of the silver tanka coins
But goldsmiths began to forge the token coins on a large scale and it led to failure of new currency and also led to decrease of state treasury
Taxation in Doab-
In order to raise resources of the state the sultan increased the taxes by ten to twenty times more
But during that time there was famine in the doab region which led to agitation of the people
Transfer of Capital-
He wanted to make Devagiri as his second capital and he also named it as Daulatabad
In 1327 he decided to shift the capital from Delhi to far south at Daulatabad
But his attempt was again unsuccessful and many people died during the journey to Daulatabad
Agricultural reforms-
He set up a separate department of agriculture called as Diwan- i- Kohi under a minister, amir-i-kohi
His main focus was to improve the agriculture in his state
He launched a scheme by which loans for cultivation known as Takkavi were given to the farmers
Feroz Shah Tughlaq (1351-88)-
He ascended the throne of Delhi after the demise of his cousin Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq
Military Campaigns-
He led campaigns against-
Bengal, but was not successful
Jajnagar (modern orrisa)
Nagarkot in Kangra –destroyed Jwalamukhi temple
Reforms by Firuz Shah-
Reform in the Revenue System-
He simplified the taxation system and abolished many taxes
His revenue consist of-
Ushr- one-tenth of the produce charged from Muslim cultivators; Khams- one-fifth of the money captured in war;
Tarkat- control over heirless property
Zakat- a two per cent tax on property realized from the Muslims to be spent for specific religious purpose only
Jizya- a poll tax payable by the non-Muslims
He was the first Sultan to impose irrigation tax.
Public Works-
He dug irrigation canals and wells.
The longest canal was about 200 kilometres from Sutlej to Hansi. Another canal was between Yamuna and Hissar
He established diwan-i-khairat, a charity bureau to help the widows and orphans
A charitable hospital, dar-us-shafa was founded
Employment of slaves on a large scale and the creation of a separate department for them and also developed royal factories called karkhanas
The jagir system, abolished by Alauddin Khilji was reintroduced by Firuz Shah
Scholars and literatures-
He wrote his own autobiography entitled Futuhat-i-Firuzshahi.
Dalyal-i-Firuzshahi: translation of book that was captured fom Nagarkot
Barani was important scholar during his time and he wrote Fatwa-i-Jahandari and Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi
Art and Architecture of Firozshah tuglaq-
Firozabad-
It was the 5th city of Delhi
There are Palace, Forts and mosque in this city
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was a fortress built in 1354 by Feroz Shah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Firozabad
The two pillars of Ashoka, one from Topra (Haryana) and other from Meerut (U.P.) were brought to Delhi during his time
Khirki Masjid
It was built by the Prime minister of Firoz shah in Delhi
It has a covered square plan
There are four open courtyards encircled by arcades
The four corners of the mosque are adorned with towers with three protruding gateways, one in the middle of each face