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In Chapter 2 we saw that regions like the Kaveri delta became
the centre of large kingdoms. Did you noticethat there was no
mention of a kingdom with Delhi asits capital? That was because
Delhi became animportant city only in the twelfth century.
Take a look at Table 1. Delhi first became the capitalof a
kingdom under the Tomara Rajputs, who weredefeated in the middle of
the twelfth century by theChauhans (also referred to as Chahamanas)
of Ajmer. Itwas under the Tomaras and Chauhans that Delhibecame an
important commercial centre. Many rich Jainamerchants lived in the
city and constructed several
temples. Coins minted here, calleddehliwal, had a wide
circulation.
The transformation of Delhi intoa capital that controlled vast
areasof the subcontinent started withthe foundation of the
DelhiSultanate in the beginning of thethirteenth century. Take a
look atTable 1 again and identify the fivedynasties that together
made theDelhi Sultanate.
The Delhi Sultans built manycities in the area that we nowknow
as Delhi. Look at Map 1and locate Dehli-i Kuhna, Siriand
Jahanpanah.
3 THE DELHI SULTANS
Map 1Map 1Map 1Map 1Map 1Selected Sultanatecities of
Delhi,thirteenth-fourteenthcenturies.
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RAJPUT DYNASTIESRAJPUT DYNASTIESRAJPUT DYNASTIESRAJPUT
DYNASTIESRAJPUT DYNASTIES
Tomaras early twelfth century - 1165
Ananga Pala 1130 -1145
Chauhans 1165 -1192
Prithviraj Chauhan 1175 -1192
EARLY TURKISH RULERSEARLY TURKISH RULERSEARLY TURKISH
RULERSEARLY TURKISH RULERSEARLY TURKISH RULERS
1206-12901206-12901206-12901206-12901206-1290
Qutbuddin Aybak 1206 -1210
Shamsuddin Iltutmish 1210 -1236
Raziyya 1236 -1240
Ghiyasuddin Balban 1266 -1287
KHALJI DYNASTYKHALJI DYNASTYKHALJI DYNASTYKHALJI DYNASTYKHALJI
DYNASTY 1290 - 13201290 - 13201290 - 13201290 - 13201290 - 1320
Jalaluddin Khalji 1290 - 1296
Alauddin Khalji 1296 -1316
TUGHLUQ DYNASTYTUGHLUQ DYNASTYTUGHLUQ DYNASTYTUGHLUQ
DYNASTYTUGHLUQ DYNASTY 1320 - 14141320 - 14141320 - 14141320 -
14141320 - 1414
Ghiyasuddin Tughluq 1320 -1324
Muhammad Tughluq 1324 -1351
Firuz Shah Tughluq 1351 -1388
SAYYID DYNASTYSAYYID DYNASTYSAYYID DYNASTYSAYYID DYNASTYSAYYID
DYNASTY 1414 - 14511414 - 14511414 - 14511414 - 14511414 - 1451
Khizr Khan 1414 -1421
LODI DYNASTYLODI DYNASTYLODI DYNASTYLODI DYNASTYLODI DYNASTY
1451 - 15261451 - 15261451 - 15261451 - 15261451 - 1526
Bahlul Lodi 1451 -1489
The rulers of DelhiTable 1
Iltutmishs tomb
Alai Darwaza
Firuz Shah Tughluqs tomb
THE DELHI SULTANS
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Finding out about the Delhi SultansAlthough inscriptions, coins
and architecture providea lot of information, especially valuable
are histories,tarikh (singular) / tawarikh (plural), written in
Persian,the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans.
The authors of tawarikh were learned men:secretaries,
administrators, poets and courtiers, whoboth recounted events and
advised rulers ongovernance, emphasising the importance of just
rule.
The Circle of JusticeFakhr-i Mudabbir wrote in the thirteenth
century:
A king cannot survive without soldiers. And soldiers cannotlive
without salaries. Salaries come from the revenue collectedfrom
peasants. But peasants can pay revenue only when theyare prosperous
and happy. This happens when the kingpromotes justice and honest
governance.
Fig.1Four stages in thepreparation of amanuscript.1. Preparing
the paper.2. Writing the text.3. Melting gold tohighlight
importantwords and passages.4. Preparing thebinding.
Do you think thecircle of justice isan appropriateterm to
describethe relationshipbetween the kingand his subjects?
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Express Minhajsideas in your ownwords. Do youthink Raziyyashared
theseideas? Why doyou think it was sodifficult for awoman to be
aruler?
Keep the following additional details in mind: (1) theauthors of
tawarikh lived in cities (mainly Delhi) andhardly ever in villages.
(2) They often wrote their historiesfor Sultans in the hope of rich
rewards. (3) These authorsadvised rulers on the need to preserve an
ideal socialorder based on
birthrightbirthrightbirthrightbirthrightbirthright and gender
distinctionsgender distinctionsgender distinctionsgender
distinctionsgender distinctions.Their ideas were not shared by
everybody.
In 1236 Sultan Iltutmishs daughter, Raziyya,became Sultan. The
chronicler of the age, Minhaj-i Siraj,recognised that she was more
able and qualified thanall her brothers. But he was not comfortable
at havinga queen as ruler. Nor were the nobles happy at herattempts
to rule independently. She was removed fromthe throne in 1240.
What Minhaj-i Siraj thought about RaziyyaMinhaj-i Siraj thought
that the queens rule went againstthe ideal social order created by
God, in which womenwere supposed to be subordinate to men. He
thereforeasked: In the register of Gods creation, since her
accountdid not fall under the column of men, how did she gainfrom
all of her excellent qualities?
On her inscriptions and coins Raziyya mentioned thatshe was the
daughter of Sultan Iltutmish. This was incontrast to the queen
Rudramadevi (1262-1289), of theKakatiya dynasty of Warangal, part
of modern AndhraPradesh. Rudramadevi changed her name on
herinscriptions and pretended she was a man. Anotherqueen, Didda,
ruled in Kashmir (980-1003). Her title isinteresting: it comes from
didi or elder sister, anobviously affectionate term given to a
loved ruler byher subjects.
BirthrightBirthrightBirthrightBirthrightBirthrightPrivileges
claimedon account ofbirth. For example,people believedthat
noblesinherited theirrights to govern,because theywere born
incertain families.
GenderGenderGenderGenderGenderdistinctionsdistinctionsdistinctionsdistinctionsdistinctionsSocial
and biologicaldifferences betweenwomen and men.Usually,
thesedifferences are usedto argue that menare superior towomen.
THE DELHI SULTANS
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From garrison town to empireThe expansion of the Delhi
Sultanate
In the early thirteenth century the control of the DelhiSultans
rarely went beyond heavily fortified townsoccupied by garrisons.
The Sultans seldom controlledthe
hinterlandhinterlandhinterlandhinterlandhinterland of the cities
and were thereforedependent upon trade, tribute or plunder for
supplies.
Controlling garrison townsgarrison townsgarrison townsgarrison
townsgarrison towns in distant Bengal andSind from Delhi was
extremely difficult. Rebellion, war,even bad weather could snap
fragile communicationroutes. The state was also challenged by
Mongolinvasions from Afghanistan and by governors whorebelled at
any sign of the Sultans weakness. TheSultanate barely survived
these challenges. Itsexpansion occurred during the reigns of
GhiyasuddinBalban, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq.
The first set of campaigns along the internal frontierof the
Sultanate aimed at consolidating the hinterlandsof the garrison
towns. During these campaigns forestswere cleared in the
Ganga-Yamuna doab and hunter-gatherers and pastoralists expelled
from their habitat.
Garrison townGarrison townGarrison townGarrison townGarrison
townA fortifiedsettlement, withsoldiers.
HinterlandHinterlandHinterlandHinterlandHinterlandThe
landsadjacent to a cityor port that supplyit with goods
andservices.
Map 2Map 2Map 2Map 2Map 2Major cities capturedby
ShamsuddinIltutmish.
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Map 3Map 3Map 3Map 3Map 3Alauddin Khaljiscampaign intoSouth
India.
These lands were given to peasants and agriculture
wasencouraged. New fortresses and towns were establishedto protect
trade routes and to promote regional trade.
The second expansion occurred along the externalfrontier of the
Sultanate. Military expeditions intosouthern India started during
the reign of AlauddinKhalji (see Map 3) and culminated with
MuhammadTughluq. In their campaigns, Sultanate armiescaptured
elephants, horses and slaves and carried awayprecious metals.
By the end of Muhammad Tughluqs reign, 150 yearsafter somewhat
humble beginnings, the armies of theDelhi Sultanate had marched
across a large part of thesubcontinent. They had defeated rival
armies and seizedcities. The Sultanate collected taxes from the
peasantryand dispensed justice in its realm. But how completeand
effective was its control over such a vast territory?
THE DELHI SULTANS
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The The The The The MasjidMasjidMasjidMasjidMasjid
A mosque is called a masjid in Arabic, literally aplace where a
Muslim prostrates in reverence toAllah. In a congregational mosque
(masjid-i jami orjama masjid) Muslims read their prayers
(namaz)together. Members of the congregation choose themost
respected, learned male as their leader (imam)for the rituals of
prayer. He also delivers the sermon(khutba) during the Friday
prayer.
During prayer, Muslims stand facing Mecca. InIndia this is to
the west. This is called the qibla.
Fig. 2Quwwat al-Islammosque and minaretbuilt during the
lastdecade of the twelfthcentury. This was thecongregational
mosqueof the first city built bythe Delhi Sultans,described in
thechronicles as Dehli-ikuhna (the old city).The mosque wasenlarged
by Iltutmishand Alauddin Khalji.The minar was built bythree
SultansQutbuddin Aybak,Iltutmish and FiruzShah Tughluq.
Fig. 3Begumpuri mosque,built in the reign ofMuhammad Tughluq,was
the main mosqueof Jahanpanah, theSanctuary of theWorld, his new
capitalin Delhi. See Map 1.
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A closer look: Administration andConsolidation under the Khaljis
andTughluqsThe consolidation of a kingdom as vast as the
DelhiSultanate needed reliable governors andadministrators. Rather
than appointing aristocrats andlanded chieftains as governors, the
early Delhi Sultans,especially Iltutmish, favoured their special
slavespurchased for military service, called bandagan inPersian.
They were carefully trained to man some ofthe most important
political offices in the kingdom.Since they were totally dependent
upon their master,the Sultan could trust and rely upon them.
Fig. 4Moth ki Masjid, builtin the reign ofSikandar Lodi by
hisminister.
The Delhi Sultans built severalmosques in cities all overthe
subcontinent. Thesedemonstrated theirclaims to be protectorsof
Islam and Muslims.Mosques also helpedto create the sense of
acommunity of believers
who shared a beliefsystem and a code ofconduct. It wasnecessary
to reinforcethis idea of acommunity becauseMuslims came from
avariety ofbackgrounds.
Fig. 5Mosque of JamaliKamali, built in thelate 1520s.
Compare Figures 2,3,4 and 5. What similarities and differences
doyou note amongst the mosques? The mosques in Figures 3, 4 and
5show an evolution in architectural tradition that culminates in
ShahJahans mosque in Delhi (see fig 7 in Chapter 5).
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A clientclientclientclientclient issomeone who isunder
theprotection ofanother, adependent orhanger-on.
Slaves rather than sonsThe Sultans were advised: A slave, whom
one hasbrought up and promoted, must be looked after for itneeds a
whole lifetime and good luck to find a worthyand experienced slave.
Wise men have said that a worthyand experienced slave is better
than a son
Can you think of any reason why a slave would bebetter than a
son?
The Khaljis and Tughluqs continued to usebandagan and also
raised people of humble birth, whowere often their clients, to high
political positions. Theywere appointed as generals and governors.
However,this also introduced an element of political
instability.
Slaves and clientsclientsclientsclientsclients were loyal to
their masters andpatrons, but not to their heirs. New Sultans had
theirown servants. As a result the accession of a newmonarch often
saw conflict between the old and thenew nobility. The patronage of
these humble people bythe Delhi Sultans also shocked many elites
and theauthors of Persian tawarikh criticised the Delhi Sultansfor
appointing the low and base-born to high offices.
Officials of Sultan Muhammad TughluqSultan Muhammad Tughluq
appointed Aziz Khummar,a wine distiller, Firuz Hajjam, a barber,
Mank a Tabbakh,a cook, and two gardeners, Ladha and Pira, tohigh
administrative posts. Ziyauddin Barani, a
mid-fourteenth-century-chronicler, reported theirappointments as a
sign of the Sultans loss of politicaljudgement and his incapacity
to rule.
Why do you think Barani criticised the Sultan?
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Like the earlier Sultans, the Khalji and Tughluqmonarchs
appointed military commanders asgovernors of territories of varying
sizes. These landswere called iqta and their holder was called
iqtadar ormuqti. The duty of the muqtis was to lead
militarycampaigns and maintain law and order in their iqtas.In
exchange for their military services, the muqtiscollected the
revenues of their assignments as salary.They also paid their
soldiers from these revenues.Control over muqtis was most effective
if their officewas not inheritable and if they were assigned iqtas
fora short period of time before being shifted. These
harshconditions of service were rigorously imposed duringthe reigns
of Alauddin Khalji and MuhammadTughluq. Accountants were appointed
by the state tocheck the amount of revenue collected by the
muqtis.Care was taken that the muqti collected only the
taxesprescribed by the state and that he kept the requirednumber of
soldiers.
As the Delhi Sultans brought the hinterland of thecities under
their control, they forced the landedchieftains the samanta
aristocrats and richlandlords to accept their authority. Under
AlauddinKhalji the state brought the assessment and collectionof
land revenue under its own control. The rights ofthe local
chieftains to levy taxes were cancelled andthey were also forced to
pay taxes. The Sultansadministrators measured the land and kept
carefulaccounts. Some of the old chieftains and landlordsserved the
Sultanate as revenue collectors andassessors. There were three
types of taxes (1) oncultivation called kharaj and amounting to
about 50per cent of the peasants produce, (2) on cattle and(3) on
houses.
It is important to remember that large parts of thesubcontinent
remained outside the control of the DelhiSultans. It was difficult
to control distant provinceslike Bengal from Delhi and soon after
annexingsouthern India, the entire region became independent.Even
in the Gangetic plain there were forested areas
THE DELHI SULTANS
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that Sultanate forces could not penetrate. Localchieftains
established their rule in these regions.Sometimes rulers like
Alauddin Khalji andMuhammad Tughluq could force their control in
theseareas but only for a short duration.
Chieftains and their fortificationsIbn Battuta, a
fourteenth-century traveller from Morocco,Africa, explained that
chieftains sometimes fortifiedthemselves in mountains, in rocky,
uneven and ruggedplaces as well as in bamboo groves. In India the
bamboois not hollow; it is big. Its several parts are so
intertwinedthat even fire cannot affect them, and they are on
thewhole very strong. The chieftains live in these forestswhich
serve them as ramparts, inside which are theircattle and their
crops. There is also water for them within,that is, rain water
which collects there. Hence they cannotbe subdued except by
powerful armies, who enteringthese forests, cut down the bamboos
with speciallyprepared instruments.
Describe the ways in which the chieftains arrangedfor their
defence.
The Mongols under Genghis Khan invadedTransoxiana in north-east
Iran in 1219 and the DelhiSultanate faced their onslaught soon
after. Mongolattacks on the Delhi Sultanate increased during
thereign of Alauddin Khalji and in the early years ofMuhammad
Tughluqs rule. This forced the two rulersto mobilise a large
standing army in Delhi which poseda huge administrative challenge.
Let us see how thetwo Sultans dealt with this.
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Delhi was attackedattackedattackedattackedattacked twice,
in1299/1300 and 1302-03.As a de f ens i ve measure ,Alauddin Khalji
raised a largestanding army.
Alauddin constructedconstructedconstructedconstructedconstructed
a newgarrison town named Siri forhis soldiers. See Map 1.
The soldiers had to be fedfedfedfedfed. Thiswas done through the
producecollected as tax from landsbetween the Ganga and Yamuna.Tax
was fixed at 50 per cent ofthe peasants yield.
The soldiers had to be paidpaidpaidpaidpaid.Alauddin chose to
pay hissoldiers salaries in cash ratherthan iqtas. The soldiers
wouldbuy their supplies frommerchants in Delhi and it wasthus
feared that merchantswould raise their prices. To stopthis,
Alauddin controlled theprices of goods in Delhi. Priceswere
carefully surveyed byofficers, and merchants who didnot sell at the
prescribed rateswere punished.
Alauddins
administrativeadministrativeadministrativeadministrativeadministrativemeasuresmeasuresmeasuresmeasuresmeasures
were quite successfuland chroniclers praised his reignfor its cheap
prices and efficientsupplies of goods in the market.He successfully
withstood thethreat of Mongol invasions.
The Sultanate was attackedattackedattackedattackedattacked in
the early years ofMuhammad Tughluqs reign. The Mongol army
wasdefeated. Muhammad Tughluq was confident aboutthe strength of
his army and his resources to plan anattack on Transoxiana. He
therefore raised a largestanding army.
Rather than
constructingconstructingconstructingconstructingconstructing a new
garrison town, theoldest of the four cities of Delhi (Dehli-i
Kuhna) wasemptied of its residents and the soldiers
garrisonedthere. The residents of the old city were sent to thenew
capital of Daulatabad in the south.
Produce from the same area was collected as tax
tofeedfeedfeedfeedfeed the army. But to meet the need of the
largenumber of soldiers the Sultan levied additional taxes.This
coincided with famine in the area.
Muhammad Tughluq also paidpaidpaidpaidpaid his soldiers
cashsalaries. But instead of controlling prices, he used atoken
currency, somewhat like present-day papercurrency, but made out of
cheap metals, not gold andsilver. People in the fourteenth century
did not trustthese coins. They were very smart: they saved
theirgold and silver coins and paid all their taxes to thestate
with this token currency. This cheap currencycould also be
counterfeited easily.
Muhammad Tughluqs administrative measuresadministrative
measuresadministrative measuresadministrative
measuresadministrative measureswere a failure. His campaign into
Kashmir was adisaster. He then gave up his plans to
invadeTransoxiana and disbanded his large army.Meanwhile, his
administrative measures createdcomplications. The shifting of
people to Daulatabadwas resented. The raising of taxes and famine
in theGanga-Yamuna belt led to widespread rebellion. Andfinally,
the token currency had to be recalled.
Alauddin KhaljiAlauddin KhaljiAlauddin KhaljiAlauddin
KhaljiAlauddin Khalji Muhammad TughluqMuhammad TughluqMuhammad
TughluqMuhammad TughluqMuhammad Tughluq
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In this list of Muhammad Tughluqs failures wesometimes forget
that for the first time in the history of theSultanate, a Delhi
Sultan planned a campaign to captureMongol territory. Unlike
Alauddins defensive measures,Muhammad Tughluqs measures were
conceived as apart of a military offensive against the Mongols.
The Sultanate in the fifteenth andsixteenth centuriesTake a look
at Table 1 again. You will notice that afterthe Tughluqs, the
Sayyid and Lodi dynasties ruled fromDelhi and Agra until 1526. By
then, Jaunpur, Bengal,Malwa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the entire
south Indiahad independent rulers who established flourishingstates
and prosperous capitals. This was also the periodwhich saw the
emergence of new ruling groups like theAfghans and the Rajputs.
Some of the states established in this period weresmall but
powerful and extremely well administered.Sher Shah Sur (1540-1545)
started his career as themanager of a small territory for his uncle
in Bihar andeventually challenged and defeated the Mughal
emperorHumayun (1530-1540, 1555-1556). Sher Shahcaptured Delhi and
established his own dynasty.Although the Suri dynasty ruled for
only fifteen years(1540-1555), it introduced an administration
thatborrowed elements from Alauddin Khalji and madethem more
efficient. Sher Shahs administration becamethe model followed by
the great emperor Akbar(1556-1605) when he consolidated the Mughal
Empire.
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ImagineImagineImagineImagineImagine
You are a peasant in Alauddin Khalji sor Muhammad Tughluqs reign
and youcannot pay the taxes demanded by theSultan. What will you
do?
Lets recallLets recallLets recallLets recallLets recall
1. Which ruler first established his or her capital at
Delhi?
2. What was the language of administration under theDelhi
Sultans?
3. In whose reign did the Sultanate reach its
farthestextent?
4. From which country did Ibn Battuta travel to India?
The Three Orders, the Peace of God,Knights and the Crusades
The idea of the Three Orders was first formulated in France in
theearly eleventh century. It divided society into three classes:
thosewho prayed, those who fought, and those who tilled the land.
Thisdivision of society into Three Orders was supported by the
Churchto consolidate its dominant role in society. This helped
theemergence of a new warrior group called knights.
The Church patronised this group and used them to propagatetheir
idea of Peace of God. The attempt was to direct warriorsaway from
conflict amongst themselves and send them instead ona campaign
against the Muslims who had captured the city ofJerusalem. This led
to a series of campaigns called the Crusades.These campaigns in the
service of God and the Church completelyaltered the status of
knights. Originally, these knights did not belongto the class of
nobles. But by the end of the eleventh century inFrance, and a
century later in Germany, the humble origins of thesewarriors were
forgotten. By the twelfth century, nobles also wantedto be known as
knights.
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Lets understandLets understandLets understandLets understandLets
understand
5. According to the Circle of Justice, why was itimportant for
military commanders to keep theinterests of the peasantry in
mind?
6. What is meant by the internal and external frontiersof the
Sultanate?
7. What were the steps taken to ensure that muqtisperformed
their duties? Why do you think they mayhave wanted to defy the
orders of the Sultans?
8. What was the impact of the Mongol invasions on theDelhi
Sultanate?
Lets discussLets discussLets discussLets discussLets discuss
9. Do you think the authors of tawarikh would provideinformation
about the lives of ordinary men andwomen?
10. Raziyya Sultan was unique in the history of the
DelhiSultanate. Do you think women leaders are acceptedmore readily
today?
11. Why were the Delhi Sultans interested in cutting
downforests? Does deforestation occur for the same
reasonstoday?
Lets doLets doLets doLets doLets do
12. Find out whether there are any buildings built by theDelhi
Sultans in your area. Are there any otherbuildings in your area
that were built between thetwelfth and fifteenth centuries?
Describe some of thesebuildings, and draw sketches of them.
KEYWORDS
iqta
tarikh
garrison
Mongols
gender
kharaj
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