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Sultanate Period ( Medieval History )
Islamic rule started in India
– The rule of the Turks from Delhi was called the Delhi Sultanate and the history of northern India from the 13-16th century is commonly called by this name.
– The Turkis rulers who ruled some parts of northern India from 1206 to 1290 have been divided by Persian historians into the Muizzi, Kutwi, Shamsi and Balbani Categories.
– Shamsuddin Iltutmish was an Ilbari Turk, while Qutbuddin Aibak was not an Ilbari Turk.
– Balban called himself the Ilbari Turk.
– Habibullah has called the early Ottoman rule ‘Mamluk’ rule. Mamluk is a Persian word. Mamluk – Free children of slave parents.
(Slave Dynasty)
| Name of Ruler | Time period |
| Qutb ud-Din Aibak | 1206-1210 AD |
| Aram Shah | 1210–1211 AD |
| Iltutmish | 1211–1236 AD |
| Ruknuddin Firoz | 1236 AD |
| Razia | 1236-40 AD |
| Bahram Shah | 1240-1242 AD |
| Ala-ud-din Masud Shah | 1242-1246 AD |
| Nasiruddin Mahmud | 1246-1266 AD |
| Balban | 1266–1287 AD |
| Kaiqubad | 1287-90 AD |
| Qamarsh | 1290 AD |
Qutb ud-Din Aibak (1206-1210) :
– In 1206, the Turkish slave Qutbuddin Aibak succeeded Mohammad Ghori.
– He ruled from the post of ‘Malik’ and ‘Sipahsalar’ instead of holding the office of Sultan, he is considered the real founder of Delhi Sultanate.
– His coronation happen in Lahore.
– He is also considered as the first Muslim ruler of India.
– Due to his generosity and charitable nature, he is also known as Lakhbakhsh and ‘Hatim II’.
– Fakhr-e-Mudabbir, the author of Adab-ul-Harb and Hasan Nizami, the author of Taj-ul-Masir, lived in his court.
– The credit for the construction of ‘Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque’ and ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’ goes to Aibak.
– Aibak’s tomb is in Lahore.
Shams ud-Din Iltutmish : (1211-1236)
– Iltutmish was an Ilbari Turk.
– Qutbuddin Aibak bought Iltutmish for one lakh Jital and married his daughter with him.
– Before becoming the Sultan, Iltutmish was the Subedar of Badaun.
– He was the first ruler of Delhi Sultanate who assumed the title of “Sultan”.
– Iltutmish first made ‘Delhi’ his capital instead of Lahore.
– Iltutmish obtained the right of religious and political recognition from the Caliph Billah Mansur of Baghdad in 1229 AD, which gave formal recognition to the Delhi Sultanate.
– Iltutmish is considered to be the first legal and fully sovereign ruler of the Delhi Sultanate.
– Due to the transfer of the capital to Delhi, it is considered the real founder of the Delhi Sultanate.
– Iltutmish assumed the titles of ‘Sultan’ and ‘Nasir-Amir-ul Momin’.
– Iltutmish formed a group of 40 loyal chieftains “Turkan-i-Chihalgani” (Forty Parties) to organize and run his administration, which was later abolished by Balban. Barani called it ‘Turkan-e-Chhagani’.
– The first use of “Iqta” was done by Mohammad Ghori but Iltutmish gave the form of the institution.
– The land/jagir given to the officers and soldiers of the state in lieu of salary was called ‘Iqta’. Its head was called ‘Iqtedar’.
– He was the first Ottoman ruler to issue pure Arabic coins and started the tradition of inscribing the name of the mint on the coins.
– Iltutmish started the silver tanka (175 grains) and the copper jeetal.
– Iltutmish got the gate of Atarkin built at Nagaur.
– Iltutmish got the ‘Madrasa-e-Muiji’ constructed from Delhi to Badaun.
– Iltutmish completed the construction of Qutub Minar and built 3 storeys above it.
– The architect of Qutub Minar was Fazl ibn-Abul Mali.
– Iltutmish is considered to be the father of the tomb building style.
– Iltutmish built the tomb of his son Nasiruddin Mahmud in Sultangarhi, which is the first tomb of the Sultanate period.
– Iltutmish got ‘Madrasa-i-Nasiri’ built in the memory of his son.
Razia (1236-1240) :
– She was the first and last Muslim woman ruler of medieval India.
– For the first time the citizens of Delhi decided the matter of succession on their own.
– He put an end to the alliance of provincial rulers under the leadership of Junaid (former wazir of Iltutmish).
– He suppressed the rebellions of Yakut Khan, the governor of Lahore and Altunia, the governor of Bathinda.
Balban (1266-1287) :
– With the accession of Balban to the throne, the era of a powerful centralized rule began with the Ilbari Turk.
– Balban declared himself a descendant of the famous Turkish warrior Afrasiab in order to relate himself to the noble families and persons of ancient dynasties.
– The main task of Balban was to increase the power and prestige of the emperor by dissolving the power of the Chahalgani or Turkish chieftains. For this he killed his relative Sher Khan by giving him poison.
– Balban created the military ministry- Diwan-i-Arz
– He followed the policy of ‘iron and blood’.
– In order to reduce the influence of the Turkic nobles, Balban introduced the practice of sijda (bowing his head on the knee) and pabos (kissing the feet before the emperor) which were Iranian and un-Islamic in origin.
| Sultanate | Architecture |
| Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque | Qutb-din Aibak (Delhi) |
| Qutab Minar | Qutb-din Aibak and Iltutmish (Delhi) |
| Aadhai Din Ka Jhopra | Qutb-din Aibak (Ajmer) |
| Red Fort | Balban (Delhi) |
| Alai Darwaza | Alauddin Khilji (Delhi) |
| Jamaatkhana Mosque | Alauddin Khilji (Delhi) |
| Sikandar Lodhi’s tomb | Ibrahim Lodhi (Delhi) |
| Sultan Ghari | Iltutmish |
| Hauz-i-Shamsi | Iltutmish |
| Atarkin’s ka Darwaza | Iltutmish |
| Hauz-e-Khas | Alau-Din Khilji |
| Tughlakabad | Gayasuddin Tuglak |
| Adilabad’s Fort | Muhammad Bin Tughlaq |
| Jahanpanah City | Muhammad Bin Tughlaq |
| Kotla Firozshah | Firuz Shah Tughlaq |
| Tomb of Khan-i-Jahan Telangani (Octagonal) | Juna Shah |
| Kaali Masjid | Firuz Shah Tughlaq |
– He also started the Nauroz (Persian) system.
– Before his death, Balban appointed Bugra Khan as his successor. But Kaikhusro was made the successor after Bugara expressed his reluctance.
– Balban considered the kingship as a divine institution and declared the king as Niamate Khudai (representative of God).
– He got the name of the Caliph inscribed on the coins.
– He gave royalty to Amir Khusrau and Amir Hasan.
– After the death of Balban, Kaikhusro became the Sultan but the Amirs of Delhi deposed him and made another grandson of Balban, Kaiqubad, the Sultan.
– On the survival of Kaiqubad’s father Bughra Khan, he was also made the Sultan.
– Kaiqubad made Jalaluddin Khilji his general.
– Later the Ottoman chieftains declared his son Shamsuddin Qamar as the Sultan.
– Jalaluddin Khilji established the Khilji dynasty by killing the Qamars.
Khilji Dynasty
Jalluddin Khilji (1290-1296)
– Jalaluddin Khilji made Kilokhari his capital.
– The non-Turkish Maliks welcomed the Khilji rebellion.
– Khilji did not deprive the Turks of high positions but ended their monopoly.
– He was the first sultan of Delhi Sultanate who clearly laid down his views that the basis of the state should be the support of the subjects, since most of the people of India were Hindus, hence no state could be an Islamic state in the true sense.
– During his reign, Mongol invader Abdullah invaded Punjab in 1292.
– When Alauddin was returning after the successful campaign of Devagiri, the Sultan himself went hard to meet him where Alauddin Khilji killed his uncle while hugging him.
Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316) :
– Alauddin Khilji was earlier the governor of Kara.
He was famous as Ali Gurshasp in his childhood.
With his accession began the imperialist era of the Sultanate.
– His coronation took place in the Lal Mahal of Balban.
– He assumed the title of Sikandar-e- Sani, Sikandar II.
– There were many Mongol invasions during his reign.
Major campaigns of Alauddin Khilji
– He attacked Raikarna of Gujarat in 1298 AD, Hammirdev of Ranthambore in 1300-1301 AD, Ratan Singh of Chittor in 1303 AD, Mahalak Dev of Malwa and Sheetaldev of Siwana in 1305 AD and Kanhaddev of Jalore in 1311 AD.
– The important powers of the contemporary south of Alauddin were the Yadavas of Devagiri, the Hoysalas of Telangana, the Kakatiyas of Warangal and the Pandya dynasties of Madura.
– Alauddin was the first Muslim ruler who invaded the southern states.
– He defeated Ramachandra by attacking Devagiri and gave him the title of ‘Rai Ryan’. Apart from this, Ramchandra also got the fort of Navsari.
– In 1310 AD, he defeated Pratap Rudradev, the Kakatiya ruler of Warangal. From here the world famous ‘Kohinoor’ diamond was found.
– The invasion into the southern states was led by Malik Kafur.
– Money was collected from the southern states and not included in the sultanate.
Administrative Reforms of Alauddin :-
– He separated religion from politics.
– The Department of Diwan-i-Riyasat was established by Alauddin Khilji which was the Ministry of Trade and Commerce.
– To end the corruption in the military system, he started the system of Daag and Hulia.
– He started the practice of direct recruitment of the army and payment of cash salary.
Market Control System
– The major economic contribution of Alauddin Khilji is the market control policy.
– The first Sultan to take interest in financial and revenue reforms was Alauddin Khilji.
– Due to the huge wealth received by Alauddin from the southern conquest, the spread of currency increased and the value of money increased due to the decrease in the value of the currency.
Sources of Alauddin’s market control policy
Ibn Battuta’s Rehla
Isami’s Futuh-us-Salatin
Khazain-ul Futuh of Amir Khusrau
Tarikh-e-Firozshahi of Ziauddin Barni
Khayrul Majlis of Sheikh Nasiruddin
Officers related with market control-
– Diwan-i-Riyasat
– Shahn-i-Mandi
– Barid-i-Mandi
Major Markets at the time of Alauddin
– Alauddin built three types of markets in Delhi.
– Market for clothing and other manufactured goods.
– Food and Grain Market
– Market for horses and cattle and slaves.
– In order to keep the soldiers alive on a fixed salary, Alauddin Khilji fixed the prices of all items.
– He was the first Sultan who fixed the revenue on the actual income of the land. It was announced to take 50% of the produce on the land in the form of land tax or kiraj, which is called Jabita/Masahat system.
– Taxes called housing tax (ghari), grazing tax were also imposed.
– He gave shelter to Amir Khusrau and Hassan.
– He died in 1316 AD.
Tughlaq Dynasty
Ghiyas-ud-Din uddin (1320-1325AD) :
– Ghazi Malik assumed the title of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah and established the third dynasty of the Sultanate.
– He stopped the practice of Alauddin Khilji of land measurement.
– He was the first ruler who planned the construction of canals for irrigation.
– By reducing the rate of rent, he fixed it at 1/11th of the produce.
– He got the city-fort of Tughlaqabad built and prepared a new life for the architecture of the Sultanate period.
Muhammed-Bin-Tughlaq(1325-1351 AD) :
– Muhammad bin Tughlaq has also been called an astonishing mixture of contradictions, bloodthirst or benevolent or mad. Nizamuddin Auliya had said about Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq that ‘Delhi is still far away.
– After the death of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, his son Jauna Khan ascended to power in the name of Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
– Information about him is found from ‘Tarikh-i-Firozshahi’ of Barani and ‘Rehla’ of Ibn Battuta.
– The African traveler Ibn Battuta was appointed Qazi of Delhi by the Sultan and in 1342 AD he went to China as the Sultan’s ambassador.
– Muhammad bin Tughlaq is famous for his five plans.
– The most controversial decision of the Sultan was the change of capital, under which the capital was shifted from Delhi to Devgiri (Daulatabad).
– The second project of the Sultan and the circulation of the emblem currency.
– Sultan’s third project also Khorasan campaign.
– Under the Karachi campaign, the Sultan sent a huge army under the leadership of Khusro Malik to conquer Karachil located in the Kumaun-Garhwal region.
– As part of the final project, the Sultan increased the tax in the ‘Doab region’. Unfortunately there was a famine around this time and due to extortion by the authorities, there was a rebellion in that area and the project was unsuccessful.
– A department named ‘Diwan-e-Amir-e Kohi’ was established for expansion and development in agriculture.
– During the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, two brothers named Harihar and Bukka established the independent Vijayanagara kingdom in the south in 1336.
Sultanate Books
| Tabaqat – i- Nasiri | Minhaj – us – Siraj (persian) |
| Tarikh – i – Firozshahi | Zia-ud-din Barani (persian) |
| Fatwa – i – Jahandari | Zia-ud-din Barani (persian) |
| Khazain – i – Futuh | Amir Khusrow (persian) |
| Nuh – siphir | Amir Khusrow (persian) |
| Ashiqa | Amir Khusrow (persian) |
| Qiran – ul – Saqdin | Amir Khusrow (persian) |
| Khazain – ul – Futuh | Amir Khusrow (persian) |
| Tughlaqnama | Amir Khusrow (persian) |
| Futuh – us – Salatin | Khwaja Abdullah Malik Isami (persian) |
| Tarikh – i – Firozshahi | Shams – e – Shiraj Afif (persian) |
| Futuhat – i – Firozshahi | Firozshah Tughlaq (persian) |
| Tarikh – I – Mubark Shahi | Sarhindi (persian) |
| Tarikh – i – Yamini | Uttavi |
| Jafarnama | Sarafuffin Ali Yajid |
Firoz Shah (1351-1388 AD) –
– Firoz Shah Tughlaq was the son of a Rajput mother (Ranmal’s daughter was the son of Bibi Naila).
– He also imposed jizya tax on Brahmins.
Irrigation tax called ‘Haq-e-Sharb’ was imposed on irrigation also.
He introduced good quality crops and 1200 fruit orchards were planted.
In lieu of cash salary to the army, villages with land revenue were given.
In 1361 AD, attacked Nagarkot and defeated the ruler there and broke the Jwalamukhi temple.
– To help the needy, he established the ‘Diwan-e-Khairat’ department.
– The establishment of cities like Firozabad, Jaunpur, Hisar, Fatehabad etc. was also done during his reign.
– During his reign, the Ashoka pillars located in Meerut and Topra were brought to Delhi and established.
– A separate department named ‘Diwan-i-Bandagan’ was established for the protection of the slaves.
Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1451 AD) :
– Khizr Khan was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty.
– After that Mubarak Shah (1421-1434 AD) became his successor.
– Wazir Bahlul Lodhi laid the foundation of the new dynasty by dethroning the last Sayyid ruler Shah Alam.
– During the reign of Mubarakshah, Yahiya bin Sirhindi composed a book called Tarikh-e-Mubarakshahi.
Lodhi Dynasty
Bahlul Lodhi (1451-1489 AD) :
– Bahlul Lodhi was born in Shahukhel, a branch of the Gilzai clan of Afghanistan.
– He defeated the Sharqi ruler of Jaunpur and again included Jaunpur in the Sultanate.
– The Gwalior campaign was his last military campaign.
– He minted Bahluli coins.
Sikandar Lodhi (1489-1517 AD) :
– He got the city of Agra built in 1504 AD and after that shifted his capital to Agra.
– He used ‘Sikandari Gaj’ to measure the land.
– He used to write poems under the name ‘Gulrukhi’.
Ibrahim Lodhi (1517-1526 AD) :
– He subjugated Vikramjit Singh, the ruler of Gwalior, but his campaign against Mewar ruler Rana Sanga was unsuccessful.
– Ibrahim Lodhi was defeated on April 21, 1526 in the first battle of Panipat by the Timur dynasty ruler Babur.
Administration of Delhi Sultanate
– The Ottoman sultans declared themselves to be the sovereign successors of the Abbasi Caliphate of Baghdad and included his name on the khutbe.
– The Sultan was the head of the judiciary, the executive.
– There was no accepted rule of succession.
– The wazir was the supreme minister of the state.
– The golden period of the Indian market is called ‘Tughlaq period’.
– The head of the provincial government was called Vali or Mukti.
– Provinces were also called ‘Iqtas’.
– Iqtas were divided into shiks or districts. Amil or Nazim used to rule here.
– The military department was called Diwan-i-Ariz. Its head was Ariz-i-Mumalik.
– The Mongol army’s classification system ‘decimal system’ was adopted by Alauddin Khilji during the Sultanate- period.
– Iltutmish started the tradition of distributing iqta to soldiers, which was abolished during the reign of Alauddin Khilji.
– In the local administration, khut, muqaddam and chaudhary used to collect revenue and deposit it in the royal treasury.
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