4. Introduction
Delhi became a prominent city in India in the twelfth century. It was the capital
city of the Tomara Rajputs who were defeated by the Chauhans of Ajmer in the
middle of the 12th century. When Mohamed Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan
and captured Delhi in 1192, he marked the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate.
However, it was Qutub-ud-din Aibak, one of his slaves and general who
proclaimed himself as the ruler of Delhi. He led to the foundation of the Delhi
sultanate with his lineage of rulers known as the Slave Dynasty. Later on, many
other notable Delhi sultanate dynasties also ruled the land.
The subject of history is a very important subject for the students because it
helps the students in learning about our past, and the struggle as well as the
glories of our forefathers. India is a country which has a wide and Profound
history, and importantly we have a record of the same with us. And the same
goes with the history of the Delhi Sultanate, who for a little more than three
centuries, has ruled a rather greater part of India, and hence learning about
their rules is vital for the students in the subject of History. That is to say the
establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, their Administration, and their Dynasties.
5. Introduction cntd…
The transformation of Delhi into a capital that controlled
vast areas of the subcontinent started with the
foundation of the Delhi Sultanate in the beginning of the
thirteenth century.
The Delhi Sultans built many cities in the area that we
now know as Delhi.
6. Brief Account of the Introduction on
Delhi Sultanate
The introduction of the Delhi sultanate marks the period when
various Muslim dynasties ruled in India ( 1210-1526). It all started
with the campaigns of Muhamed bin-Sams and his lieutenant Qutub-
ud-din Aibak between 1175-1206. It was the victory against the
Rajput kings which marked the foundation of Delhi sultanate.
It was Prithviraj Chauhan who ruled the land of Delhi till the 12th
century. During his rule, he fought many prominent battles which also
included the two battle of Tarain. In both of these battles, he fought
against Mohamed of Ghur from the Ghuride dynasty of Afghanistan. In
the first battle of Tarain fought in 1191 A.D between Mohamed of
Ghur and Prithviraj Chauhan with other Indian rulers, the former
faced a harsh defeat and had to retreat. However, in 1192 A.D he
came with more reinforcement and a stronger army that eventually
made him succeed. The defeat of the Rajputs ended their supremacy
in northern India and gave way for the Turkish rulers to establish
themselves under the Delhi sultanate.
7. Understanding Delhi under the
Sultans
Histories are known as tarikh (singular)/tawarikh
(plural), in Persian, the language of administration under
the Delhi Sultans.
The authors of tawarikh were learned men: secretaries,
administrators, poets and courtiers, who both recounted
events and advised rulers on governance, emphasising
the importance of just rule.
8. Understanding Delhi under the
Sultans ctnd…
Keep the following additional details in mind:
(1) the authors of tawarikh lived in cities (mainly Delhi) and hardly ever in
villages.
(2) They often wrote their histories for Sultans in the hope of rich rewards.
(3) These authors advised rulers on the need to preserve an “ideal” social
order based on birthright and gender distinctions. Their ideas were not
shared by everybody. In 1236 Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter, Raziyya, became
Sultan. The chronicler of the age, Minhaj-i Siraj, recognised that she was
more able and qualified than all her brothers. But he was not comfortable at
having a queen as ruler. Nor were the nobles happy at her attempts to rule
independently. She was removed from the throne in 1240.
9.
10. A Closer Look: Administration under
the Khaljis and Tughluqs
The consolidation of a kingdom as vast as the Delhi
Sultanate needed reliable governors and
administrators. Rather than appointing aristocrats
and landed chieftains as governors, the early Delhi
Sultans, especially Iltutmish, favoured their special
slaves purchased for military service, called
bandagan in Persian. They were carefully trained to
man some of the most important political offices in
the kingdom. Since they were totally dependent
upon their master, the Sultan could trust and rely
upon them.
11.
12. A Closer Look: Administration under
the Khaljis and Tughluqs ctnd…
The Khaljis and Tughluqs continued to use bandagan and
also raised people of humble birth, who were often their
clients, to high political positions. They were appointed
as generals and governors. However, this also introduced
an element of political instability.
Slaves and clients were loyal to their masters and
patrons, but not to their heirs. Sultans had their own
servants. As a result the accession of a new monarch
often saw conflict between the old and the new nobility.
The patronage of these humble people by the Delhi
Sultans also shocked many elites and the authors of
Persian tawarikh criticised the Delhi Sultans for
appointing the “low and base-born” to high offices.
13.
14. A Closer Look: Administration under
the Khaljis and Tughluqs ctnd…
Like the earlier Sultans, the Khalji and Tughluq monarchs appointed military
commanders as governors of territories of varying sizes. These lands were called
iqta and their holder was called iqtadar or muqti. The duty of the muqtis was to
lead military campaigns and maintain law and order in their iqtas. In exchange
for their military services, the muqtis collected the revenues of their
assignments as salary. They also paid their soldiers from these revenues. Control
over muqtis was most effective if their office was not inheritable and if they
were assigned iqtas for a short period of time before being shifted. These harsh
conditions of service were rigorously imposed during the reigns of Alauddin
Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq. Accountants were appointed by the state to
check the amount of revenue collected by the muqtis. Care was taken that the
muqti collected only the taxes prescribed by the state and that he kept the
required number of soldiers.
15. A Closer Look: Administration under
the Khaljis and Tughluqs ctnd…
As the Delhi Sultans brought the hinterland of the cities under their control,
they forced the landed chieftains – the samanta aristocrats – and rich
landlords to accept their authority. Under Alauddin Khalji the state brought
the assessment and collection of land revenue under its own control. The
rights of the local chieftains to levy taxes were cancelled and they were also
forced to pay taxes. The Sultan’s administrators measured the land and kept
careful accounts. Some of the old chieftains and landlords served the
Sultanate as revenue collectors and assessors. There were three types of
taxes:
(1) on cultivation called kharaj and amounting to about 50 per cent of the
peasant’s produce,
(2) on cattle and
(3) on houses.
16. A Closer Look: Administration under
the Khaljis and Tughluqs ctnd…
It is important to remember that large parts of the
subcontinent remained outside the control of the
Delhi Sultans. It was difficult to control distant
provinces like Bengal from Delhi and soon after
annexing southern India, the entire region became
independent. Even in the Gangetic plain, there were
forested areas that Sultanate forces could not
penetrate. Local chieftains established their rule in
these regions. Sometimes rulers like Alauddin Khalji
and Muhammad Tughluq could force their control in
these areas but only for a short duration.
17.
18. A Closer Look: Administration under
the Khaljis and Tughluqs ctnd…
The Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded
Transoxiana in north-east Iran in 1219 and
the Delhi Sultanate faced their onslaught
soon after. Mongol attacks on the Delhi
Sultanate increased during the reign of
Alauddin Khalji and in the early years of
Muhammad Tughluq’s rule. This forced the
two rulers to mobilise a large standing army
in Delhi which posed a huge administrative
challenge.
19. The Sultanate in the Fifteenth and
Sixteenth Centuries
Take a look at Table 1 again. You will notice that after the Tughluqs, the
Sayyid and Lodi dynasties ruled from Delhi and Agra until 1526. By then,
Jaunpur, Bengal, Malwa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the entire south India had
independent rulers who established flourishing states and prosperous
capitals. This was also the period which saw the emergence of new ruling
groups like the Afghans and the Rajputs.
Some of the states established in this period were small but powerful and
extremely well administered. Sher Shah Sur (1540–1545) started his career
as the manager of a small territory for his uncle in Bihar and eventually
challenged and defeated the Mughal emperor Humayun (1530–1540, 1555–
1556). Sher Shah captured Delhi and established his own dynasty. Although
the Sur dynasty ruled for only fifteen years (1540–1555), it introduced an
administration that borrowed elements from Alauddin Khalji and made
them more efficient. Sher Shah’s administration became the model
followed by the great emperor Akbar (1556–1605) when he consolidated
the Mughal Empire.
20. Delhi Sultanate Administration
The Delhi sultanate administration was governed as per the Muslim laws
that were based on the Quran and Sharia. About the Delhi sultanate, there
are primary duties of the Sultan and nobles to observe the Islamic laws in
the matters of the state. The planned administration has various
departments with different ministers appointed to carry specific
responsibilities.
Sultan- The sultan was regarded as the head of state and enjoyed
unlimited power in every sphere.
Naib- He also held an equivalent position to that of the sultan.
Wazir- It was the position of the prime minister who also looked after the
financial department.
Diwan –I- Ariz- It was the military establishment that was headed by the
Sultan as commander in chief.
Diwan –I- Risalat- The foreign minister was in charge of establishing
charges with the neighbouring kingdoms and alliance with powerful rulers.
21. Delhi Sultanate Administration
ctnd…
Diwan-I-Insha- The minister was responsible
for local correspondence and different offices.
Sadr –Ur -Sadar - It is the religious
department that safeguarded the Islamic laws.
Amir –I-Mazls -Shahi - Headed by the minister
of the state for public conveniences and the
arrangement of festivals.
22. Delhi Sultanate Dynasties
The Delhi sultanate dynasty was a brief period of 1210- 1526 where many Muslim
leaders ruled Delhi. It all begins with the second battle of Tarain fought between
Mohhamed Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan in 1192 A.D. After winning, Ghori left his
kingdom to his trusted lieutenant and former slave Qutub-ud-din Aibak who started
the Slave or Mamluk Dynasty. He laid the foundation of the famous Qutub Minar which
was later completed by Illtutmish.
After this, the Khilji Dynasty came into existence with Jalaluddin Khilji as the founder
and first ruler of the dynasty. He killed the last ruler Kaikubad of the Slave dynasty.
Later, with the collapse of the Khilji dynasty, Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq took charge of
Delhi and established the Tughlaq dynasty. Feroz Tughlaq and Muhammad bin-Tughlaq
were the prominent rulers from this dynasty. Eventually, the Tughlaq dynasty also
came to an end in the 14th century with the invasion of the Turkish ruler Timur. Soon
Timur left a local governor from Multan known as Khizir Khan. He then declared
himself as the ruler of Delhi and established the Sayyid dynasty.
23. An Overview of the Delhi Sultanate.
From 1206 to 1526, that is to say, about 320 years Delhi Sultanate, which was an
Islamic empire, had ruled a substantial part of India. The capital of the
Sultanate was Delhi and it was expanded to the great part of the Indian
Subcontinent. In these 320 years, a total of 5 dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate
had ruled over Delhi and the subsequent Indian sub-continent. These five
dynasties were Mamluk, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi. If we have to understand
the territorial region of the Delhi Sultanate in modern geographical terms, then
we can say that the territory of the Delhi Sultanate covered modern-day India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, and some regions of Nepal.
The Delhi Sultanate was originally ruled by Muhammad Ghori, who was a Turkic
slave general, and who managed to win over a large part of northern India, and
also in many terms, the Delhi Sultanate can also be termed as the successor of
the Ghurid dynasty.
24. An Overview of the Delhi Sultanate.
Cntd…
Before 1000 AD India was ruled by the Hindu and Buddhist kingdom. But
starting from 962 AD, the invasion began from Central Asia, more
specifically from Afghanistan. These raids and invasions continued for
many years it did not establish the permanent boundaries of their
kingdom, not until 1173. In 1173 Muhammad Ghori made a systematic
attack in order to expand his rule to north India, and hence he created his
kingdom. Ghori died in 1206, and one of the mamluks who were Turkic
Qutb al-Din – Aibak became the first sultan of Delhi.
Qutb al – Din – Aibak reigned as the sultan for 4 years, that is to say, from
1206 to 1210. After him, the power was given to Aram Shah, who ruled for
a brief period of one year. In such a manner the reign of the Delhi
Sultanate expanded over the course of the next three centuries, until in
1526, when Ibrahim Lodi lost the battle of Panipat to Babur, and hence
ended the Delhi Sultanate
25. Did You Know?
A religious tax ‘zakah’ was imposed on the
wealthy and rich Muslims in India. It was
during the rule of the Delhi sultan, jakath
meant 2 ½ percent of the income. This
religious tax was a vital source of revenue
for the administration. The other taxes
that fall under the religious and land
categories comprise the khams, kharja,
jizya, and usher.
