Delhi Sultanate - Medieval History

DELHI SULTANATE 

Mahmud of Ghazni 

In political and military terms, the invasions of Mahmud of Ghami were the actual precursors of the Delhi Sultanate. From a Persianized dynasty of Turks, his capital of Ghazni (Afghanistan) bacame a cultural, commercial, and intellectual metropolis of its time. He built upon the expoilts of his maternal grandfather Alaptigin and father Subuktgin.

• Beginning in 1000 AD, when the Hindu Shahi king, Jaypala was routed, the incursions became almost an annual feature of Mahmud till his death in 1030 AD.
• After taking Multan, he occupied Punjab. Later, Mahmud made incursions into the Ganga-Yamuna doab.
• The major interest of Mahmud in India was its fabulous wealth, vast quantities of which (in the form of cash, jewellery, and golden images) had been deposited in temples.
• From 1010 to 1026, the invasions were thus directed to the temple-towns of Thaneshwar, Mathura, Kannauj and Somanath.
• The ultimate result was the breakdown of Indian resistence, paving the way for Turkish conquests in the future. More importantly, the aftermath of the campaigns had exposed the inadequacy of Indian politics to offer a united defence against external threats.
• Within a short time'of Mahmud's death, his empire met the fate of other empires. Newly emerging  centres of powers, formed around growing clusters of Turkish soldier-adventurers, replaced the older ones.
• The Ghaznavid possessions in Khurasan and Transoxiana were thus annexed. In Afghanistan, their hegemony was brought to an end by the principality of Ghor.
• The faltering Ghaznavid rule survived in Punjab and Sind till about 1175 AD.
• His court had two great authors namely Al Beruni and Firdowsi (author of Shahnamah) 

Account of al Beruni  

• Abu Raihan Alberuni was born in 973 AD at Khwarizm (Afghanistan), where he was an astronomer at the royal court. Upon the capture of Khwarizm by Mehmud Ghazni, who assembled many prominent intellectuals and artists of the conquered lands to his capital of Ghazni, Alberuni too was taken to Ghazni where he spent the rest of his days. Alberuni completed his book on India, Kitab ul Hind, in 1030 which he wrote during his travels to India with the campaigns of Mehmud.
• His work on India gives new height to the interaction between the Indian knowledge and Sciences and the Muslim world, which was under process for the last few centuries before him but was complete bogged down in the meantime.
• For the Indians of later times, the book provides and deep insight into the causes of the stagnation of the advancements of Indian sciences and knowledge and a review of the Indian society from an outsiders perspective.
• The remarkable quality of his work is the scholarly focus in spite of the recurrent wars and the victories his side achieved, perhaps he could never forget the triumph of Ghazni over his own land and therefore never took glory in Mehmud's successful campaigns in India, devoting himself to his work.
• His work describes the Indian sciences like Geography, Geology, Astronomy, Medicine etc in great details. He quotes extensively from the Sanskrit sources.  

Indian Knowledge

• His knowledge of India was primarily based on the literary sources which he dwelt in great details. According to him the ancient Indian literature and Science on Astronomy, Mathematics, Poetry etc was highly advanced, however, the Astronomy overwhelmed all other sciences.
• Cosmology was an important part of Indian science.
• The calculation of various eclipses were accounted in Surya Siddhanta.
• He rates book of Charaka as the best work of medicine available in the whole world.
• He observes the stagnation in the Indian sciences and the recent advancements could not keep up with those of the earlier centuries.
• The most adept observation was that Indian science was confined to an elite class, whereas the majority of the population was kept intentionally ignorant and superstitious.
• In Indian literature of recent centuries, the emphasis is laid more on poetic rhyme rather than the suitability of the words.

Astronomy

• Being a student of Astronomy himself, he devoted a large part of his book on the topic, where he describes the theories of Earth and Heavens in Indian scriptures.
• He analyses the Indian calendars and time and the related terminologies like Kalpa, Yug etc.
• He also compared Greek and Indian astronomy and pointed out parallels and differences.
• He was impressed by the application of astronomy in the Hindu religion and made himself well aware of prominent Indian works on astronomy like Vayu Purana and Virat Samhita and even translated Laghu Jatak of Vaharmihira into Arabic.
• He gives details about the five books of Indian Astronomy- 
• a). Surya Siddhanta 
• b). Vasishtha Siddhanta 
• c). Pulisa Siddhanta 
• d). Romaka Siddhanta 
• e). Brahma Siddhanta

Geography

• He describes Geography of India and its features and with great accuracy reports the river system and soils of India along with the important towns and routes connecting these towns.
• He mentions the traditional Indian system of 10 directions which in all likelihood were taken from the Puranas.
• He describes the Indian concept of Madhyadesha (area around Kannauj), ie. middle of India and its political and historical importance.
• He gives an account of Varshakala (monsoon) and various rivers described in the Puranas and the mythical Mount Meru, from where these rivers originate.

Society

• In Indian Society, he decries the domination of Brahmins, who in spite of being well aware of scientific causes of the natural phenomenon, usually misleads the masses and push them deeper into the ignorance and amplify the superstitions.
• He describes how Indians looked down upon anything foreign, were belligerent against foreigners whom they called 'Malecchas' and their conversion to Hinduism was not permissible.
• However, this may be due to the fact that his contacts remained largely confined to the Brahmanical class, therefore his description of Indian society is more or less a description of the Indian Brahmanical class.
• Brahmins in many cases were seen to attain the office of King which was not the monopoly of the Kshatriyas.
• He describes the ordeal of the Shudras in great detail and the use of theology to keep their position of subordination. 
• He repeatedly pointed out the incongruity of the scientific knowledge in literature and superstitions and ignorance in society.
• According to him the Indian knowledge is full of baseless beliefs and therefore one should be watchful to avoid superstitious knowledge while gaining the required one.
• He quotes Purushsukta to describe the origin of the Chatur Varna system of the Indian society. He describes 'Antyaja', the lowest of the Indian social pyramid who are out of the Chatur-Varna system.
• In relation to women, he finds no practice like Purdah system in India, however, social segregation of the sexes was strictly observed.
• Women have not had any right of inheritance, but he observes the presence of the concept of 'Streedhan'.
• The majority of marriages were at an early age and he finds no doctrine of Divorce. Widows were not allowed to remarry and obviously inter caste marriage was very rare.
• His observation of Indian customs was that they are not only very different from his country but also defies the common sense.
• People allow nails to grow so long that it makes them unable to work, they drank wine before meals and used cow dung over the body as disinfectants, used to spit and blow their noses regularly, even in public meetings.
• The majority of the population had red teeth as eating arecanut and betel leaves was most common habit.
• Men generally used turbans instead of trousers whereas dress of women was blouse and saree with ornaments, even men used to wear ornaments of women.
• In all consultations, Indians seek and work on the advice of their women.
• He gives a detailed list of the Indian festivals, but writes that majority of the festivals are celebrated by children and women.

Religion

• His research on Hindu religion was exemplary where he studied the Puranas, schools of philosophy and other scriptures in great detail and quoted them very frequently in his book.
• The religion was exclusive domain of Brahmins, who recited the Vedas without knowing its context or meaning.
• Kshatriyas could attain the knowledge of the Vedas, but were not allowed to officiate the Vedic rites but only Puranic rites.
• He asserts that 'Reincarnation' is the basis of Hindu religion. He strikes out the fact that the beliefs of the educated upper class, who were interested in finding principles out of abstract happenings, were different from that of the uneducated lower class, who never looked for the facts behind whatever told to them.
• According to him, Hindus believe that God (Ishvara) is the cause of existence of everything, he is formless, limitless and gives without receiving. They believe the identical nature of spirit and soul.
• For Hindus paradise is ‘loka’(where everyone lives in bliss) whereas hell is ‘nagaloka’(world of snakes) or ‘patala’. It’s the middle world where they live.
• Salvation (Moksha) is the unity of man with God, however, the Indians seemed to differ on the question of who can attain the moksha.
• One section claims that only Brahmins and Kshatriyas could attain it, whereas others claim that all the castes can attain the Moksha. The plurality of Hindu religion is so wide that every Cult has its own theory of salvation and methods to attain it. 

Limitations of Alberuni's account

• His work is based largely on his readings of the Indian literature rather than his own travel experiences. Therefore, in the absence of first hand experiences, he miscalculated at many places and could not present the customs or practices in the spirit.
• He was silent on many issues, for eg. he made no mention of Rajputs, the ruling class of those times and hardly mentions Muslim rulers of the time or Shaivite-Vaishnavite rivalry. May be he was indifferent towards these issues or perhaps he did not make himself socially active enough to reach out to such issues. However, a scholar of his consciousness and intellect, not making references to these happenings is very striking and interesting.
• He, from the outset marks 'Hindus' as very different from his own. Such difference hasn't seems like for the need of observation but in a prejudiced way.
• Although he appreciates Hindus (Indians) as good in mathematics and astronomy, however, throughout he maintains his own knowledge as much superior to "them".
• He denounced Hindu sciences as unscientific, unlike Greek ones. He declares Indian sciences like alchemy (rasayanshastra) as witchcraft and practitioners of it as sorcerers. 

Muhammad Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan

In 1163, Ghiyasuddin Muhammad assumed the throne of Ghur.

• Ghori’s first expedition against India was launched in 1175 when he attacked and captured Multan.
• The following year Ghori captured Uchch. In 1178-79, he marched through Multan and Uchch to Neharwala in Gujarat.
• However, the Chalukyas under the regency of Naikidevi (widow of Ajaypala) inflicted a crushing defeat on Ghori near Mt. Abu. We are told that the Chaulukyas had requested Prithviraj for help, which he declined.
• The most famous among the Chauhan rulers was Prithviraj III who ascended the throne at Ajmer at the young age of eleven, in or about 1177. He immediately commenced a vigorous policy of expansionism at the cost of smaller states in Rajasthan.
• Between 1182 and 1187, Prithviraj attacked Chaulukyas of Gujarat. Gujarat ruler, Bhima II, who had earlier beaten off an invasion by the Ghori, defeated Prithviraj also.
• According to tradition, there was a long-drawn-out tussle between Prithviraj and the Gahadvalas of Kannauj, who had the most extensive kingdom in the area. The point to note is that by leading expeditions against all his neighbours, Prithviraj had isolated himself politically.
• After the failure of his Gujarat expedition, Ghori changed his whole plan of operations. Conquering Peshawar from the Ghaznavids in 1180s, he marched on Lahore in 1187. Ghori continuously expanded his control over the Punjab, including Sialkot, and also consolidated his control over Sind up to the coast.
• The collision of two ambitious Kings was now inevitable.
• The First Battle of Tarain (1191) In the battle, Prithviraj attained a complete victory, Ghori being saved by a Khalji horseman who carried the wounded Sultan to safety. After his victory, Prithviraj did not try to pursue the dispirited Ghurid army, either because he did not want to venture into hostile territory far away from his base, or because he thought that, like the Ghazanavids, the Ghurids, too, would be satisfied to rule over the Punjab.
• The second battle of Tarain (1192) Ghori had made careful preparations whereas Prithviraj had already alienated all his powerful neighbours by his militaristic policies. Prithviraj suffered a complete defeat and fled, but he was pursued and caught near Sarsuti or modern Sirsa in Hissar district. He was taken to Ajmer and allowed to rule. Delhi became the main base of Turkish operations in India. 
• Battle of Chandavar (1194) The Turks were now poised for attack on the Gahadvalas of Kannauj, reputed to be the most powerful kingdom in the country. The battle was fought at Chandawar in the modern Etawah district. Jai Chand, who is not known to have been a great warrior, suffered a disastrous defeat.
• In the west, Ghori's slave invaded Anhilwara in Gujarat
• Rumours of Ghori's death in central Asia led to a rebellion by the Khokhars in the Punjab. Ghori marched to India to suppress it.
• On his way from the Punjab, Ghori was killed on the banks of the river Indus (1206) by a band of Karamatias which, as we have seen, were a fanatical sect which had absorbed many features of Hindu/Buddhist beliefs and which Ghori had persecuted in his life time.

Reason of sweeping victories of Turks over Indian rulers 

• 1. Lack of political unity in the country, which prevented them to make a join front against the aggressor.
• 2. The Indian kings never kept themselves updated with latest technology and military techniques of the time.
• 3. The scarcity of able cavalry made the armies heavy and lethargic whereas Turks with their mounted archers were too fast and agile.
• 4. The major problem with Rajputs was that they staked everything on a single battle and made no distinction between battle and war. They will ruin themselves after a defeat with no retreat. Jayapal burned himself after a defeat, Ghori on the other hand came back even stronger the very next year.
• 5. Hindu rulers were devided into many castes while one fighting and others doing nothing which fragments the resources.
• 6. The slave system of Turks provided them battle hardened Generals who started their careers as a foot soldiers and rise through the ranks. Indian armies were controlled by Aristocrats born in high blood.
• 7. Indian Kings never saw a danger coming until it struck them. Mahmud of Gaznavi came 17 times but no one prepared his kingdom or forged any alliance against him. None of the King ever tried to learn the superior techniques of war or technology even they kept loosing for centuries.

The Slave Dynasty

• The year 1206 is therefore taken as the start of the Delhi Sultanate.
• All the Muslim rulers that ascended the throne of Delhi after the death of Muhammad Ghori in 1206 till 1290 were ‘Ilbari Turks’.
• This dynasty is called ’Memluk Dynasty’ (or Slave Dynasty) as Sultans were either themselves slaves or the descendants of these slave rulers.
• However one should not think of them as the slaves in its general meaning. These slaves are different from ‘domestic slaves’ and although bought in similar manner in slave markets but due to their prodigious talent for military warfare and similar skills.
• They rise through the ranks and reach as far as General of the military and as in this case to become Sultans.
• Muhammad Ghori had left his Indian possessions in the care of his former slave, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who on the death of his master, severed his links with Ghazni and asserted his independence and laid foundation of Memluk dynasty. 

Iltutmish

Before becoming the king, he was (governor) Subedar of Badayun. 

He was real founder of Delhi Sultanate as he secured a letter of investiture from the Caliph which bestowed him the title of Sultan of Hindustan.

He gave Sultanate legitimacy, capital, currency, administration, a centralised army. He took lead in a far off land when no precedent was in front of him.

He conquered many new Rajput states and reconquered the lost states and brought much of the North India under his control. Instead of Lahore, he made Delhi the capital.

During his rule the sultanate acquired stability and he made the post of King hereditary.

He nominated his successor without consulting Ulema and that too his daughter, a significant leap in the authority of the office of King.

Turk e Chahalagani (Chalisa or Corps of Forty)- In the absence of effective bureaucracy, he installed a new nobility, which was based on a confederation of Ilbaris, other Turks and a few Mawali (new Muslims of Hindu origin). They formed a council of forty (Chahalgan) which was very powerful and became the de facto rulers and Kingmakers behind the majority of his heirs.

Coinage - 

• The Rajput coins (before Delhi Sultanate) were called Dehliwala in this time, a silver-copper alloy of 3.38 grams, of which 0.59 gm was Silver.
• Iltutmish introduced Silver Tanka (11 gm silver) and Silver-Copper Jital (0.25 gm silver), “totally Arabic Coin” in India.
• Later Balban issued Gold Tanka of 11 gm (the same weight as silver Tanka, however Tanka meant silver Tanka in common parlance)

Qutub Minar- The Foundation of the Qutub Minar was laid by Qutb-ud-din as victory tower. The first storey was built by Qutub-ud-din and rest of the work was completed by Iltutmish. 

Hauz Shamsi- Iltutmish is known to have built the Hauz-i-Shamsi near Mahrauli in Delhi. On the edge of this reservoir, the Jahaz Mahal was built by the Lodhi Rulers. His eldest son when died he made built the First Islamic Mausoleum Sultan Garhi in Delhi. 

Iqta System -  

• The Iqta system was a practice of Tax farming that was introduced by Iltutmish in Delhi Sultanate. It was basically grant of revenue from a territory (Iqta) in lieu of salary. This grant was not hereditary and was subject to passing from officer to officer (later Feroz Shah Tughlaq made many iqtas hereditery).
• The system shares some similarities with the contemporary European custom of Feudalism (dedicating the profits of a certain land to warlords in payment of their martial service and political loyalty). It was basically grant of revenue from a territory instead of a salary. Iqta system linked the farthest part of the Sultanate linked to the Central Government.
• The land reserved by King was Khalisa land, from which tax goes directly to the Central Government.
• Another category of land was milk (proprietary right), inam, idrarat (pension) and waqf (endowment), these were given as rewards or gifts or pensions or religious endowments and they could be made hereditary. Although the Sultan could theoretically revoke such grants, in practice it was not really done
• Organization of Army- Iltutmish organized the army of the sultanate and made it the “King’s army” which was centrally recruited and centrally paid.

Ghiyasuddin Balban

• He ascended the throne in February 1266. He was father in law of sultan and rose to become deputy sultan. He changed his lineage and connected himself to Persian Shah Afrasiyab.  
• Among first thing he does was the annihilation of the Turk e Chahalgani, executed the survivors of the Chalisa and relieved himself of the dangers of rivalry.
• He introduced strict court etiquittes, Sajda (kneel and touch the ground with their head to greet the Sultan) and Paibos (kissing the feet of Sultan), called himself Zill e Illahi(shadow of God), a declaration that the Sultan was the representative of God on earth, forwarding the Iranian ‘Divine Right Theory’ of Kingship.
• He deployed a large number of spies to keep the nobles and officers in check and ensured security by an efficient system of espionage and severely punished spies for their defaults.
• He issued a royal instruction to the Ulemas to confine themselves to religious affairs.
• Before his time, power of Finance and Military was concentrated in the post of Wazir. He took military power from Wazir and created a seperate department of Military 'Diwan e Arz'.
• This also increased efficiency of Military. He made a strong frontier line at the strategic locations around the Indus river system.
• He also made diplomatic friendship with Mongol ruler Halagu Khan, the annihilator of Abbasid Caliphate.
• He made almost no expansion of the Sultanate and devoted all the resources to consolidation and to impose the authority over Rajputs.
• Law and Order problem in Doab areas and Mewat plains was a big issue for the sultanate. He got rid of them and suppressed them with the iron hand.
• He cleared the forests around Delhi and at a sacrifice of 100,000 men turned a haunt of bush-rangers into a peaceable agricultural district. He freed the roads from brigands by killing and burning without mercy. He built forts and established Afghan garrisons to guard communications with Bengal.
• The signature of his rule was the deep racialism adopted by him. He only promoted the Turks and never gave any important office to Indian Muslims. He was very cruel in his policies and very racial in his conduct making Sultanate only of Turks.
• He increased the centralization manifolds by establishing law and order which did not only helped in the workings of state bureaucracy in tax collection etc but it also helped in the development of trade and commercial activities as safe travel and peace are prerequisites for economy to prosper. Also he tightened the grip of state by mending the feudal and centrifugal actors across the empire
• He was precursor of Allauddin and prepared the way for his state system.

Allauddin Khilji

The ‘Absolute State” is the ideal for which Alauddin worked all his life, a state beyond the reach of Ulemas, unhampered by the ambitions of Nobility and unchallenged by the dominion states of Rajputs etc in his empire.

His policies towards nobility were harsh and cruel. He was devoid of any racialism and free of any fundamentalism.

He was the first Muslim ruler of Delhi to create an empire embracing the larger portion of India, political unity was restored after many centuries of disintegration. He gave some sort of administrative cohesion to the Sultanate which for so long was little more than a collection of military fiefs. 

He was a bold innovator in respect of the relation between the state and the Shariat or Islamic law. He is the only Sultan who surpasses Balban in both the parameters. His empire was so totalitarian that one could take it as antecedent of 20th century Socialist states. 

The feudal elements were under a strong grip, the clerical elements were not only neglected but also were given warnings from time to time.  

The most important measure to centralize the state was the elimination of intermediaries in revenue collection and administration of Iqtas by bureaucracy.

Market control - 

• The most important experiment undertaken by the Alauddin was the attempt to control the markets.
• Alauddin sought to control the prices of all commodities, from foodgrains to horses, and from cattle and slaves to costly imported cloth.
• The check on markets was kept by two officers-diwan e Riyasat and shahna e Mandi.
• The price control policy was implemented in at least all the towns and cantonment areas around the empire and obviously not in every part of the empire.
• This was the most enterprising of his reforms which aimed to control the price of everything. This enabled the state to employ a large number of soldiers at a consistent pay. Barani stamps the success of his price control policies by calling them “wonder of the age”.

Land Revenue- He was the first monarch of the Sultanate to establish direct relations with the peasants to know the actual amount they paid by way of land revenue.

• He extended the administration to rural areas. He was the first King on record to introduce the policy of ‘Land measurement’ by introducing the Biswa system.
• The land measurement system not only modernized the tax collection but also gave an estimate of the future collection. This helped him in fixing the accountability of the bureaucracy.
• He fixed the land revenue at 50% of the produce, vastly eliminating the intermediaries (we don’t know the extent of elimination). He totally eliminated (atleast the best state of that time could have) the intermediaries who now could not levy the extra cesses and cannot keep a part of taxes, so his high tax rate of 50%, was indeed burdensome but was not as cruel as it seems . 
• According to Barani, the village landlords Khut, Muqaddams and Chaudharies came on par with poor peasants and state now collects taxes directly via bureaucracy.

Military Reforms- He introduced the system of Dag and Chehra.

• Dag- Branding of Horses
• Chehra-identity cards cum muster roll for Soldiers.
• This not only curbed the corruption in the lower rungs of military but also created a strong and a centralized army. His General Malik Kafur led a large army towards Deccan and even crossed Kaveri, successfully returning with the unimaginable war booty.

Mongol Threat- He strengthened the defense line setup of Balban, he not only modernized it but also increased the force deployed there.

• He built many new forts at new places of strategic importance. Also made Siri his capital to protect it from Mongols invaders.
• He almost crushed the Mongol threat decisively and converted many Mongol prisoners to Islam.
• Many of them settled in Delhi and were called Naya Mussalmans (New Muslims).

Controlling the Ulema class

• He did not applied for the investiture from Caliph and openly announced that he was not willing to be directed by Ulemas.
• He worked for the seperation of state and theology to the extent possible during the age.
• His conversation with Qazi Mughisuddin makes clear about his secular visions about administering the state.
• He even changed the ratio of distribution of Khums (war booty) which earlier was ⅕ to state and ⅘ to the soldier to ⅕ to soldier and ⅘ to state, which was un-Islamic. 

Muhammad bin Tughlaq

By far the most controversial Sultan of Delhi Sultanate and perhaps of the Indian history.

He is best remembered as a ruler who undertook a number of bold experiments, and shown keen interest in agriculture, created Diwan e Kohi (department of agriculture) and formulated the ‘Famine code’ for relief to the famine affected people.

Like Alauddin he too re-established and re strengthened the frontier line of Balban.

He was also prepared to give high offices to people on the basis of merit, irrespective of whether they belonged to noble families or not.

Vastly increased and diversified nobility by assimilating Indians. This indeed was resented by the old nobility but instead of grouping against Sultan they were busy competing the new nobles.

He introduced dinar (gold coin) and adl (silver coin). Gold dinar of weight 202 grains while compared to the then standard weight of 172 grains. The silver adls weighed 144 grains weight and was his innovation aiming to adjust the commercial value of the metal with respect to gold. Seven years later, he discontinued it due to lack of popularity and acceptance among his subjects.

He established the city of Jahanpanah.

Taxation in the Doab He made an ill-advised financial experiment in the Doab between the Ganga and Jamuna.

• He not only increased the rate of taxation but also revived and created some additional Abwabs or cessess. Although the share of the state remained half as in the time of Alauddin, it was fixed arbitrarily and not on the basis of actual produce. Prices were also fixed artificially for converting the produce into money.
• Ghari or house tax and the Charai or pasture tax were levied. Rich became rebels, lands were ruined and cultivation arrested.
• The inflation soared and famines became common phenomena in which thousands perished.

Transfer of Capital (1327) He wanted to make Deogir second capital so that he might be able to control South India better. Deogir was named Daulatabad, however, after a couple of years, Muhammad Tughlaq decided to abandon Daulatabad largely because he soon found that just as he could not control South India from Delhi, he could not control north from Daulatabad. It gave unimaginable hardships to the people as he the migration was made mandatory for everyone. The net result was that Delhi lost its former prosperity and glory. 

Introduction of Token Currency (1330) He decided to introduce bronze coins, which were to have the same value as the silver ones. Muhammad Tughlaq might have been successful if he could have prevented the people from forging the new coins (as in modern times where only Central banks have the technology to create banknotes). He was not able to do so, soon the new coins began to be greatly devalue in markets. Finally, Muhammad Tughlaq decided to withdraw the token currency. He promised to exchange silver pieces for bronze coins. The technology of the age did not let him succeed in this too visionary a plan.

Khurasan and Quarachil Expeditions He had a vision of universal conquest. He decided to conquest Khurasan and Iraq and mobilized a huge army for the purpose. But his expedition proved a failure. The Quarachil expedition was launched to counter Chinese incursions. It also appears that the expedition was directed 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. Both the expeditions resulted in great loss of trained soldiers and cavalry.

The revolts and discontents aroused in all the parts of the empire and much of the state machinery was deployed to counter that.

His transfer of capital was so hectic that control of state over the empire was affected for more than 2 years.  

The historians are deeply divided in his assesment, they consider him either too visionary or too impatient and lacking in practical understanding.

With every failure of his schemes he grew bitter and recluse. He was a keen intellect and accomplished scholar, free of bigotry and fundamentalism.

However he did not bothered about sentiments of his people and was very cruel many a times.

Unlike his predecessors he had no animosity against Hindus or Jains.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388 AD)

At coronation, a large part of the nobility considered him not fit to be Sultan as his mother was a Hindu. Complete chaos in the revenue administration had already overburdened the population, since the time of his cousin, Muhammad bin Tughlaq. The famines and policies of his predecessor brought many hardships to rural agriculture. 

The nobles and ulemas at the court selected Muhammad’s cousin Firoz Shah as the next Sultan. He gave a number of important concessions to the theologians. He tried to ban practices which the orthodox theologians considered un-Islamic. He tried to win over the theologians proclaiming that he was a true Muslim king and the state under him was truly Islamic. In order to keep them satisfied, a number of them were appointed to high offices. To win over people to his side he remitted all their debts, he even made no efforts to recover the money from those who got it from state treasury by Khwaja i jahan in the bid to succession.

It was during the time of Feroz that Jaziya became a separate tax. He prohibited the practice of Muslim women going out to worship at the graves of saints. He persecuted a number of Muslim sects which were considered heretical by the theologians. He refused to exempt the Brahmans from the payment of Jaziya since this was not provided for in the shariat. Worse, he publicly burnt a Brahman for preaching to the Muslims, on the ground that it was against the shariat. He rejected the old tax system and introduced the Quranic taxation of four taxes ie. Kharaz, Jakat, Jaziya and Khums. He established Diwan-i-Khairat (department for poor and needy people) and Diwan-i-Bundagan (department of slaves).

Feroz made Iqtadari system hereditary and extended the principle of heredity to the army. Soldiers were allowed to rest during peace time and to send in their place, their sons. The soldiers were not paid in cash but by assignments on land revenue of villages. This novel technique of payment led to many abuses. He relaxed the people who took credit by forgiving it (Takan). Firoz also took a number of humanitarian measures. He banned inhuman punishments, such as cutting of hands, feet, noses, etc., for theft and other offences.

However, his rule is marked by peace and tranquility and credit for it goes to his Prime Minister, Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul.

He cancelled all the Taqavi loans and ordered that peasants should not be harassed by the officers, He also cancelled 24 cesses levied during Muhammad bin and decreased the tax rate. He was the builder of cities and founded many new cities like Firozabad, Jaunpur and Firozpur etc. He started a lot of irrigation projects like canals from Setluj and Yamuna and many others. A lot of wells were dug and he even introduced superior crops.

The centralization of the state suffered as never before, so much so that he shares a lot of blame for the weakening and collapse of the Delhi Sultanate itself. Making Iqtas and army hereditary puts dagger in the heart of the very spirit of a centralized state. He granted very big jagirs which had created power zones. His largesse in the financial matters and policies of appeasement made state unable to channelize enough resources to support state bureaucracy and its defenses.

Firoz Shah died in 1388. His successors were weak and incompetent. They were merely kings in name and acted as puppets in the hands of their ministers. Consequently, the Tughlaq Empire went rapidly down the path of decay. 

Timur invaded India in 1398 which left Delhi in ruins and almost depopulated. The whole of northern India was in disorder and confusion.

Sayyid Dynasty (1414–1451 AD)

Khizr Khan, a lieutenant of Timur, was a Sayyid and so his dynasty is called the Sayyid Dynasty. Khizr Khan ruled till 1420, but his whole reign was marked by utter chaos and disorder. He was succeeded, after his death, by his son Mubarak Shah (1421–1434). During his reign the subedars of Punjab, Bhatinda and Doab broke out in revolt and the whole of his period was spent in trying to suppress them. He died in 1434 and was succeeded by his son Mohammad Shah (1434–1443). During his reign, the ruler of Malwa invaded Delhi, which was however, saved by the valiant Subedar of Lahore, Bahlol Lodhi. After Mohammad Shah’s death, his son Alaud-Din Alam Shah (1443–1451) proved incompetent. He himself handed over the reins of his kingdom to Bahlol Lodhi and retired to Badaun.

Emerged as a principality of Multan it ended as a principality of Badaun. The dynasty has insignificant contribution to the culture and polity of medieval India. The study of this dynasty is also hindered by the scarcity of the primary sources and given its nonexistent clout and resources to rule, the absence of court poets and uninterest of travelers, it’s too obvious.

Lodhi Dynasty (1451–1526 AD)

The Lodhi dynasty ruled for a substantial period but throughout was marred by conflicts between crown and the nobility, zamindars and hakims. The main enemy of the Lodhi kingdom was the tribal polity of Afghans and its concept of partnership in Government. The army was also much like a tribal militia with no central command. A notable change during this time was that centre of power shifted from Delhi to Agra. 

Under all three rulers of the dynasty, it was a feudal state where centralization of state was of much diluted nature. King was considered a partner and equal and theories like ‘divine rights’ are unimaginable. The only point worth noting is that first King Bahlol Lodhi not only accepted these tribal tendencies but also encouraged them. Later Sikandar and Ibrahim fought very hard to curb these tendencies but only partially succeeded and it became the main cause of fall of first Afghan empire in India.

Bahlol Lodhi (1451–1489 AD)

Lodhi Sultans were the members of the first Pathan dynasty in India (Sher Shah Suri founded the next). 

Bahlol Lodhi was the founder of the Lodhi dynasty by usurping the throne from the last of the Sayyid rulers, Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah.

He was a kind and generous ruler who never exhibited his superiority while dealing with his nobles but also strong enough to sudue the recalcitrant ones. He was always prepared to help his subjects. Though he was himself illiterate, he extended his patronage to art and learning. He was a strong and brave ruler and an able motivator who very successfully rallied the Afghan nobles. There was no tinge of racialism or fundamentalism in his policies.

He tried to restore the glory of Delhi by conquering territories around Delhi and after continuous wars for 26 years, he succeeded in extending his authority over Jaunpur, Rewail, Etawah, Mewar, Sambhal, and Gwalior etc. However due to his recurring wars he could not establish any civil administration and state bureaucracy and his kingdom was run by feudal lords on tribal conventions. He died in 1488 leaving throne for his son Sikandar lodhi.

Sikandar Lodhi (1489–1517 AD)

Bahlol Lodhi was succeeded by his son Nizam Khan who ascended the throne in 1488 as Sikandar Lodhi. Like his father, he was a brave and able ruler. He was a staunch Sunni and a Muslim fanatic and lacked religious tolerance. In the name of religion, he perpetuated untold cruelties on the Hindus. He was a great lover of art and learning. Was just and believed in the well-being of his subjects. An able administrator, he was considered most able of all three afghan sultans. 

He extended the empire by conquering Dholpur, Chanderi and Jaunpur. He shifted his capital to Agra (1506). He took strong actions against Afghan nobles and jagirdars and kept strict vigilance on them. He exalted the position of the office of King. He introduced several reforms and provided an efficient administration.

During his reign, prices were low and people were happy, he made special efforts to re-establish law and order along the remote areas and highways. He levied 'Jaziya' on non-muslim. Introduced Gaz-i-Sikandari (Sikandar’s yard) of 39 digits 32 inches, for measuring cultivated land.

Ibrahim Lodhi (1516-26)

Sikander Lodhi was succeeded by his son Ibrahim Lodhi who ascended the throne in 1517.

• He was obdurate and haughty and adamant to change the tribal conventions.
• His ill-treatment turned the loyal Afghan noble against him. They hatched a conspiracy to declare his uncle, Jalal Khan, as the ruler of Delhi, but failed.
• He defeated Rana Sanga in the ‘battle of Gharoli’ (1517–18).
• Thereafter, Ibrahim crushed his nobles with cruelty. He was so whimsical that the honour of his nobles was never safe.
• There is no doubt he was brave and courageous but short tempered and lacked the political acumen. He demanded too much obedience and humility from his nobles.
• Tired of his continuous ill-treatment, Daulat Khan Lodhi, the governor of Punjab, invited Babur to invade India. Possibly he thought Babur, like Timur, will return after plundering.
• Babur took advantage of the opportunity and defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in 1526 in the First Battle of Panipat. Ibrahim Lodhi was killed in the battlefield and Babur founded the famous Mughal Dynasty.
• Ibrahim was unique in chivalry, courage and determination but master in turning loyal allies into enemies and failed to maintain authority over generals and officers and on the eve of Babur’s arrival he was surrounded by enemies on all sides.
• No Sultan of India except Sultan Ibrahim had been killed on the battle field.
• The reason of defeat of Ibrahim were the treachery of nobles, Babur’s scientific and advanced methods of warfare and his battle-hardened generals and most importantly his powerful artillery. 

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