Pariksha SaathiLesson 8 of 10 · Ancient and Medieval Indian History
The Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526): Dynasties, Reforms and Architecture
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Five dynasties
The Delhi Sultanate lasted 320 years under five dynasties: the Mamluk or Slave dynasty (1206-1290), the Khaljis (1290-1320), the Tughlaqs (1320-1414), the Sayyids (1414-1451) and the Lodis (1451-1526). The first three were Turkish and the Lodis Afghan. Persian was the language of government, and our main sources are court histories such as Minhaj-us-Siraj's Tabaqat-i-Nasiri and Ziauddin Barani's Tarikh-i-Firozshahi, and the account of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta.
The Mamluks
Qutbuddin Aibak (1206-1210), a slave of Muhammad Ghori, ruled from Lahore, was famous for generosity (Lakh Baksh), began the Qutub Minar, and built the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in Delhi and the Adhai Din ka Jhonpra at Ajmer; he died after a fall while playing chaugan (polo). Iltutmish (1211-1236), the real founder, made Delhi the capital, completed the Qutub Minar, organised the Turkan-i-Chahalgani (the Forty), introduced the iqta system and the silver tanka and copper jital, and received investiture from the Abbasid Caliph in 1229. He kept the Mongols away by refusing shelter to Jalaluddin Mangbarni, whom Chengiz Khan was chasing. His daughter Razia Sultan (1236-1240), the only woman to rule Delhi, was overthrown by nobles who resented her favour to the Abyssinian Yaqut. Balban (1266-1287) held that the king was the shadow of God (Zil-i-Ilahi), introduced sijda (prostration), paibos (kissing the king's feet) and the Persian festival of Nauroz, broke the power of the Forty, created a military department (Diwan-i-Arz), and used spies (barids) and a policy of blood and iron.
Alauddin Khalji's reforms
Alauddin (1296-1316) killed his uncle Jalaluddin Khalji and seized the throne with gold from Devagiri. He took Gujarat (1299), Ranthambore (1301), Chittor (1303) and Malwa (1305), and his general Malik Kafur raided the far south: Devagiri, Warangal of the Kakatiyas, Dwarasamudra of the Hoysalas and Madurai of the Pandyas. Against repeated Mongol attacks he kept a large standing army paid in cash and introduced dagh (branding of horses) and chehra (a descriptive roll of each soldier). To pay it he controlled prices: separate markets for grain, for cloth and costly goods (Sarai-i-Adl), and for horses, slaves and cattle, run by the Shahna-i-Mandi and the Diwan-i-Riyasat, with spies watching the traders. He measured land, raised the land tax to half the produce, added house and grazing taxes, and issued ordinances to curb the nobles. Barani is the main source for these measures. He built Siri fort, the Hauz-i-Khas tank and the Alai Darwaza, and Amir Khusrau was his court poet.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq's experiments
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320-1325) founded the dynasty and built Tughlaqabad. His son Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325-1351), learned but impatient, is remembered for bold schemes that failed: raising taxes in the Doab during a famine, which caused revolt; shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (Devagiri) in 1327; issuing bronze and copper token coins around 1330, which were forged on a large scale and had to be withdrawn; planning a Khurasan expedition; and sending an army into the Qarachil (Kumaon) hills, where it perished. He set up an agriculture department, Diwan-i-Amir-Kohi, and gave taccavi loans to farmers. Ibn Battuta reached India in 1333 and Delhi in 1334, served as qazi of Delhi and was sent as his envoy to China. Revolts in his reign led to the founding of Vijayanagara (1336) and the Bahmani kingdom (1347).
Firoz Shah Tughlaq to the Lodis
Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388) ruled by Islamic law; he abolished many taxes, kept the four allowed by sharia (kharaj, khams, jizya and zakat), and imposed jizya on Brahmins as well. He dug canals from the Yamuna and the Sutlej, founded towns such as Firozabad, Hisar and Jaunpur, set up departments for slaves (Diwan-i-Bandagan) and charity (Diwan-i-Khairat) and a hospital (Dar-ul-Shifa), made iqtas hereditary, brought two Ashokan pillars from Topra and Meerut to Delhi, and wrote the Futuhat-i-Firozshahi. After him Timur sacked Delhi in 1398. Timur's nominee Khizr Khan founded the Sayyid dynasty in 1414. Bahlul Lodi founded the Lodi dynasty in 1451; Sikandar Lodi founded Agra in 1504 and introduced the gaz-i-Sikandari (a measuring yard); and Ibrahim Lodi was killed by Babur at Panipat in 1526.
Administration
The Sultan was head of the state, the army and justice. The wazir ran finance (Diwan-i-Wizarat), the ariz-i-mamalik the army (Diwan-i-Arz), the dabir-i-mamalik royal correspondence (Diwan-i-Insha), and the sadr-us-sudur religious affairs and grants; qazis gave justice under sharia. Nobles held iqtas, assignments of land revenue in return for military service, while khalisa land was managed directly for the Sultan. Provinces were divided into shiqs and parganas, and villages were run through hereditary headmen such as the khut, muqaddam and chaudhari, with the patwari keeping records.
Architecture
The Sultanate brought the true arch and dome, minarets, lime mortar and decoration with calligraphy and arabesque (geometric and floral patterns) in place of human figures. Key buildings are the Qutub Minar, the Sultan Ghari (built by Iltutmish for his son, the first Islamic tomb in India), Balban's tomb and the Alai Darwaza (1311), usually cited as the first examples of the true arch and the true dome respectively, Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's tomb with sloping walls, Firoz Shah Kotla, and the octagonal tombs of the Sayyids and Lodis in Delhi's Lodi Garden.
Key facts
- Order of Sultanate dynasties: Mamluk (1206-1290), Khalji (1290-1320), Tughlaq (1320-1414), Sayyid (1414-1451), Lodi (1451-1526).
- Qutbuddin Aibak: Lakh Baksh, began the Qutub Minar, built Quwwat-ul-Islam (Delhi) and Adhai Din ka Jhonpra (Ajmer); died playing chaugan.
- Iltutmish: Delhi capital, Turkan-i-Chahalgani, iqta, silver tanka and copper jital, investiture from the Abbasid Caliph in 1229.
- Balban: Zil-i-Ilahi, sijda and paibos, Nauroz, Diwan-i-Arz, blood and iron; Razia Sultan was the only woman ruler of Delhi.
- Alauddin Khalji: dagh and chehra, market control (Shahna-i-Mandi, Sarai-i-Adl), land tax at half the produce, Alai Darwaza (1311); Malik Kafur's southern raids.
- Muhammad bin Tughlaq: capital to Daulatabad (1327), token currency, Diwan-i-Amir-Kohi, taccavi loans; Ibn Battuta was his qazi and envoy to China.
- Firoz Shah Tughlaq: canals, towns (Firozabad, Hisar, Jaunpur), Diwan-i-Bandagan, Diwan-i-Khairat, Dar-ul-Shifa, Ashokan pillars to Delhi, Futuhat-i-Firozshahi.
- Timur sacked Delhi in 1398; Khizr Khan founded the Sayyids (1414); Sikandar Lodi founded Agra (1504); Ibrahim Lodi fell at Panipat (1526).
- Architectural firsts as usually cited: Sultan Ghari (first Islamic tomb), Balban's tomb (first true arch), Alai Darwaza (first true dome).
Quick revision
Mamluk, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi (1206-1526); Aibak began Qutub Minar; Iltutmish iqta, tanka, jital, Chahalgani; Razia only woman ruler; Balban Zil-i-Ilahi, sijda, paibos; Alauddin dagh, chehra, market control, half-produce land tax; Malik Kafur in the south; Muhammad bin Tughlaq Daulatabad 1327, token currency; Ibn Battuta 1333; Firoz canals, jizya on Brahmins; Timur 1398; Agra 1504; Sultan Ghari first tomb; Alai Darwaza 1311 first true dome.