The Delhi Sultans

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Delhi Sultans

Under the Tomaras and Chauhans, Delhi became an important commercial centre.
Many rich Jaina merchants lived in the city and constructed several temples.
Coins called dehliwal were minted in Delhi and had a wide circulation.
The transformation of Delhi into a capital controlling vast areas began with the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate in the early 13th century.
The Delhi Sultans built many cities in the area now known as Delhi.

Rulers of Delhi

Finding Out about the Delhi Sultans

Tarikh (singular)/tawarikh (plural) are valuable histories, written in Persian, the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans that provide a lot of information. It was written by learned men- secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers, who both recounted events and advised rulers on governance, emphasising the importance of the just rule. Following ideas to keep in mind:

the authors of tawarikh lived in cities (mainly Delhi) and hardly ever in villages.
They often wrote their histories for Sultans in the hope of rich rewards.
These authors advised rulers on the need to preserve an “ideal” social order based on birth right and gender distinctions.

Not everybody followed these ideas.
In 1236-Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter, Raziyya became Sultan-chronicler of the age, Minhaj-i Siraj, stated she was more able and qualified than all her brothers-He was not comfortable at having a queen as ruler- Nobles not happy at her attempts to rule independently. 1240-She was removed from the throne.

The Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate

Delhi's authority was challenged by Mongol invasions from Afghanistan.
The Sultanate consolidation occurred during the reign of Ghiyasuddin Balban and expanded further under Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq.
The first campaigns along the “internal frontier” of the Sultanate aimed at consolidating the hinterlands of garrison towns.
The second expansion occurred along the “external frontier” of the Sultanate.

A Closer Look: Administration and Consolidation under the Khaljis and Tughluqs

Consolidation of a kingdom (as vast as the Delhi Sultanate) requires reliable governors and administrators. Early Delhi Sultans, especially Iltutmish did not appoint aristocrats and landed chieftains as governors. They favoured their special slaves purchased for military service(called bandagan in Persian). The Khaljis and Tughluqs continued to use bandagan and also raised people of humble birth, who were often their clients, to high political positions and appointed them as generals and governors leading to political instability. Slaves and clients were loyal to their masters and patrons, but not to heirs. The accession of a new monarch often saw conflict between the old and the new nobility. Patronage of these humble people by the Delhi Sultans shocked many elites and the authors of Persian tawarikh criticised the Delhi Sultans for appointing the “low and base-born” to high offices.
The Khalji and Tughluq monarchs appointed military commanders as governors of territories of varying sizes (called iqta) and their holder was called iqtadar or muqti- duty of the muqtis 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-paid their soldiers from this revenues-to make the control over muqtis most effective their office was not inheritable-they were assigned iqtas for a short period of time before being shifted-appointed accountant checked the amount of revenue collected by the muqtis-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- rights of the local chieftains to levy taxes cancelled and were also forced to pay taxes-Some of the old chieftains and landlords serve the Sultanate as revenue collectors and assessors.
There were three types of taxes: (1) on cultivation called kharaj and amounting to about 50% of the peasant’s produce, (2) on cattle and (3) on houses-Large parts of the subcontinent remained outside the control of the Delhi Sultans-was difficult to control distant provinces like Bengal from Delhi-after annexing southern India, the entire region became independent- In the Gangetic plain, there were forested areas that Sultanate forces could not penetrate- Local chieftains established their rule in these regions-Rulers like Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq could force their control for a short duration in these areas.
1219- Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded Transoxiana in north-east Iran-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-forced the two rulers to mobilise a large standing army in Delhi which posed a huge administrative challenge.

See, below how both the sultans dealt with these administrative challenges:

The Sultanate in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries

After the Tughluqs, the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties ruled from Delhi and Agra until 1526.
By this time, Jaunpur, Bengal, Malwa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and South India had independent rulers with flourishing states.
This period saw the rise of new ruling groups like the Afghans and the Rajputs.
Sher Shah Sur (1540-1545) began as a manager of a small territory in Bihar and eventually challenged and defeated the Mughal emperor Humayun (1530-1540, 1555-1556).

MCQs

1. The duty of ______ was to lead military campaigns and maintain laws and orders in their iqtas.

(a) Manager

(b) Muqtis

(d) Mantri

► (b) Muqtis

2. _______, the lands adjacent to a city or port that supply it with goods and services.

(a) Garrison

(b) Doab

(d) Delta

► (c) Hinterland

3. Who was the founder of slave dynasty?

(a) Balban

(b) Qutt-ud-din Aibak

(d) Alla-ud-din Khilji

► (b) Qutt-ud-din Aibak

4. A mosque is called a masjid in Arabic, literally a place where a _______ prostrates in reverence to Allah.

(a) Sikh

(b) Christian

(d) Muslim

► (d) Muslim

5. What is the time of rule of Qutbuddin Aybak?

(a) 1236 to 1240

(b) 1210 to 1236

(d) 1266 to 1287

► (c) 1206 to 1210

6. Muhammad Tughlaq built Begumpuri mosque in his capital _____.

(a) Delhi

(b) Patna

(d) Agra

► (a) Delhi

7. _____ changed her name on her inscriptions and pretended she was a man.

(a) Rudramadevi

(b) Bina Devi

(d) Ali

► (a) Rudramadevi

8. Warangal is in

(a) Kerala

(b) Andhra Pradesh

(d) Bihar

► (b) Andhra Pradesh

9. 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

(a) Thirteenth century

(b) Twelfth century

(d) Eighteenth century

► (a) Thirteenth century

10. Sultan Iltutmish's daughter

(a) Roza

(b) Raza

(d) Raziyya

► (d) Raziyya

11. The Khalji and Tughluq Monarchs appointed military commanders as governors of territories of varying sizes. These lands were called _____.

(a) Doab

(b) Kshetra

(d) Region

► (c) Iqta

12. What was the period of rule of Qutb-ud-din Aibak?

(a) 1206 - 1210 A.D.

(b) 1208 - 1212 A.D.

(d) 1220 - 1225 A.D.

► (a) 1206 - 1210 A.D.

13. Which of the following is not from the Rajput dynasty

(a) Tomaras

(b) Ananga Pala

(d) Chauhans

► (c) Raziyya

14. What is the time of rule of Ananga Pala?

(a) 1165 to 1192

(b) 1200 to 1165

(d) 1175 to 1192

► (c) 1130 to 1145

15. Delhi became an important city only in the _____ century.

(a) fifteenth

(b) thirteenth

(d) twelfth

► (d) twelfth

16. When did Muhammad-bin Tughlaq die?

(a) 1316

(b) 1320

(d) 1351

► (d) 1351

17. Which of the following city was not developed by Delhi Sultanate

(a) Jahanpanah

(b) Siri

(d) Agra

► (d) Agra

18. Privileges claimed on account of birth. For example, people believed that nobles inherited their rights to govern, because they were born in certain families.

(a) Firstright

(b) Primeright

(d) Basicright

► (c) Birthright