Delhi Sultanate | IAS https://ias.org.in/2012/08/delhi-sultanate-dynasties.

html

Delhi Sultanate
By Prafull - August 4, 2012

The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived dynasties and one sultan, Delhi
based kingdoms or sultanates, mostly of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled
from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty. The
five dynasties were the Mamluk dynasty (120690); the Khilji dynasty (12901320); the
Tughlaq dynasty (13201414); the Sayyid dynasty (141451); and the Afghan Lodi dynasty
(14511526).
The Slave Dynasty
Slave Dynasty
Time period

1. Qutub-ud-din Aibak 1206-1210 AD

2. Iltutmish 1210-1236 AD

3. Raziya Sultan 1236-1239 AD

4. Bahram Shah 1240-1242 AD

5. Ala-ud-din Masud 1242-1246 AD

6. Nasiruddin Mahmud 1246-1266 AD

7. Balban 1266-1285 AD

8. Kaikubad 1286-1290 AD

Qutub-ud-din Aibek

1 of 8 3/5/2017 12:34 PM
Delhi Sultanate | IAS https://ias.org.in/2012/08/delhi-sultanate-dynasties.html

Qutub-ud-din Aibek laid the foundation of a new dynasty called the slave dynasty in 1206 AD.
He established himself as the sultan of Delhi at Lahore. He strengthened his position through
matrimonial alliances with his rivals. He gave his daughter to Iltutmish the foremost of his
slaves.
Read Also: The Vijayanagar Empire: Social life and Economic condition

Iltutmish
After Qutub-ud-din Aibek his son, Aram Shah succeeded the throne. He was not able to display
the skill of conquests and administration shone by his forerunners. Iltutmish over threw his
rule with the support of the nobles. A battle followed in which Aram Shah was defeated and
killed. In 1211 AD Iltutmish came to the throne. He was also known as Shamsuddin. He spent
his days in retrieving the lost territories of Qutub-ud-din Aibek and also added Malwa and Sind.
During the reign of Iltutmish, he fought against the rival slave chiefs Yildiz and Qabacha.
At the battlefield of Tarain Yildiz was defeated. Iltutmish also faced danger from the Mongols
led by Chingiz Khan. In his diplomatic decision, he avoided the conflict with the mighty Mongol
by preventing Jalal-ud-din the ruler of Khawarism from coming to India. Another major threat
to the power of Iltutmish was the independent Rajput rulers who in spite of their rivalry could
pose a serious danger to the Sultanat. In 1226 AD he attacked Ranthambor and Mansor. He
also occupied Ajmer, Jalor, Nagor.
In 1229 Gwalior was occupied and the fort of Kalinjar was plundered. Kannauj, Benaras, and
Badaun were under his dominion. In the year 1229AD the Caliph of Baghdad recognized him
as Sultan. He brought order in Rohilkhand. He suppressed the revolt of Tughril Khan, the
governor of Bengal. Iltutmish was the greatest ruler of 13th century India and a wise
statesman. He was generous to talented people who willingly became the pillars of the central
administration.

Raziya
Raziya came to the throne by overthrowing her brother Rukn-ud-din. After elevating many
Tajiks to high positions Raziya appointed Jamal-ud-din Yaqut an Ethiopian slave as
superintendent of the royal horses which aroused resentment in a majority of the already
disgruntled Turkish nobles. Moreover, sultana began to appear unveiled in public. Though the
people of Delhi supported her, hostility mounted among the iqtadars. In 1239-40 she crushed
some of the rebellious iqtadars but one of them Altunia killed Yakut and took Raziya prisoner.
In the meanwhile, the powerful Turkish nobles put Iltutmishs third son Bahram on the throne.
Raziya married Altunia and their combined efforts to capture Delhi failed. They were killed

2 of 8 3/5/2017 12:34 PM
Delhi Sultanate | IAS https://ias.org.in/2012/08/delhi-sultanate-dynasties.html

during an attack on their convoy.

The fall of Raziya made the clique of Turkish nobles dominant in the court and they started a
scramble for supremacy. Raziyas successor Bahram Shah was a weak and incompetent ruler
and was over thrown by the nobles after a brief reign of two years. He was succeeded by
Alauddin Masud Shah who also met the same fate of Bahram Shah. In 1246 Nasir-ud-din
Mahmud the grandson of Iltutmish ascended the throne. He owed his throne to the Turkish
aristocracy and the latter was bound to have tremendous influence in the administration. He
places all his powers in the hands of his prime minister Balban. Balban married off his daughter
to Sultan and was made Naiib-i-Mamlakat with the title of Ulugh Khan. Balban became the
defacto ruler of the Sultanate. In 1266 Nasiruddin Mahmud died.

Balban
Balban had full control over sovereignty sat on the throne of Delhi in 1266 and he adopted the
name of Ghiyasuddin Balban. With his accession, the line of rulers of the family of Iltutmish
ended. The most serious problem, which he faced soon after his succession, was the
restoration of law and order in Delhi and other parts of his kingdom. Balban in his attempt to
curtail the power of the nobility increased the power and prestige of the Sultan. For this
purpose, he introduced Persian ceremonies and etiquettes in his court and allowed no manner
of levity there. He was a thorough aristocrat and he never gave the office to anyone except to
well-born men. He impressed upon the people that kingship was the vice-regency of God on
earth and in its dignity it was next only to prophethood. The king was the shadow of God and
was the repository of divine guidance and radiance. Having consolidated his authority Balban
addressed himself to the task of maintaining peace and order with his characteristic vigour. He
realized that a strong army was essentially necessary to cope with the internal troubles and
external dangers. Hence, he reorganized his army and increased his efficiency. Additional
officers were appointed with higher emoluments.
Balaban did not try to extend his empire although he had a powerful army. He instead
concentrated on consolidating the territory already in possession. He suppressed the revolts in
the Doab and Oudh and tracked down recalcitrant elements in the region of Rohilkhand.
Mughals invaded again in 1279 and 1285 but was defeated and driven away. In 1286 the
Mongols reappeared and this time, Prince Muhammad was killed. Balban could never recover
from the tragedy and died in 1286.
Also, Read: Important Muslim Emperors of India
Khalji Dynasty

3 of 8 3/5/2017 12:34 PM
Delhi Sultanate | IAS https://ias.org.in/2012/08/delhi-sultanate-dynasties.html

Rulers of the Khalji Dynasty Time period

1. Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji 1290-1296 AD

2. Alauddin Khalji 1296-1316 AD

3. Qutubuddin Mubarak 1316-1320 AD

Jalaluddin Firoz KhiljiJalaluddin Firoz Khilji was the founder of the Khilji dynasty. He came to
power after the overthrow of slave dynasty. Their ascendancy is known as Khilji imperialism
because, with the accession of Jalaluddin on the throne of Delhi, the supremacy of the Turks
ended in India. He expanded the boundaries of his empire besides his achievements include
suppression of the revolt of Malik Chhaju with the governor of Oudh. He suppressed the
Thuggees a band of robbers and send them off peacefully to Bengal. He adopted
the conciliatory policy towards the Mongols. He allowed some of the Mongols to settle in India.

It was during the conquest of Bhilsa that Alauddin the nephew of Jalaluddin started realising
the dream of being sultan. In 1292 AD Alauddin led an expedition to Devagiri hearing of its
wealth. Devagiri was forced to pay a huge war indemnity. This helped Alauddin in buying the
nobles and pleasing the soldiers who were dissatisfied by the rule of Jalaluddin. Alauddin than
hatched a conspiracy and got Sultan Jalaluddin killed and proclaimed himself as the sultan.

Alauddin Khilji
In 1296 Alauddin became the sultan after Malika Jan the widow of Jalaluddin and her younger
son Qadir Khan left Delhi. He also exterminated the old Balboni and Jalali nobles. The reign of
Alauddin Khilji marks the zenith of the power of the Delhi Sultanate. In 1297 he set off for
conquering Gujarat. He sent an expedition under Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan to Gujarat. On
the way Ulugh Khan conquered Jaisalmer. During the plunder of the rich port of Cambay
Alauddins commander Nusrat Khan acquired a Hindu turned Muslim slave Kafur who later on
rose to become a great military general and the Malik Naib of Alauddin.
After the conquest of Gujarat, Alauddin sent an expedition under Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan
to Ranthambhore. However the Rajputs defeated them and Nusrat Khan died. Alauddin went
to Ranthambhor and annexed it in 1301. The next expedition was sent to Mewar and after the
siege of 8 months, he captured Chittor in 1303. The administration of Chittor was put in the
hands of Khizr Khan, the eldest son of Alauddin. Chittor was renamed as Khizrabad after the
name of Khizr Khan. In 1305 Alauddin sent Ain-ul-Mulk Multani for the conquest of Malwa
which was placed under the governorship of the latter. By the end of 1305, the whole of

4 of 8 3/5/2017 12:34 PM
Delhi Sultanate | IAS https://ias.org.in/2012/08/delhi-sultanate-dynasties.html

Northern India fell into the hands of Alauddin and he directed his attention to the conquest of
Deccan.
Between 1307 and 1312 he began the southward expansion of his empire. He invaded
Devagiri in 1306-07 AD. The immediate cause for this was an unduly long delay in sending the
annual tribute. In 1309 the Kakatiya kingdom was attacked and its ruler Pratap Rudra Deva
accepted the suzerainty of Delhi and surrendered vast treasures. The next expedition was
against Vir Ballala III the Hoysala ruler in 1311. His capital Dwarsamudra was captured. The
whole of Deccan was forced to acknowledge the supremacy of Alauddin. His motives were to
secure the immense wealth and to force the southern states to accept the suzerainty of the
Sultanate. He had to face more than a dozen invasions. These invasions started from the end
of 1296 and continued upto 1308.The Mongols threatened not only Punjab,Multan and Sindh
but even Delhi and the Ganga-Yamuna Doab. This grave crisis compelled him to take strong
measures for the protection of the northwest frontier. The 20 years of his rule came to an end
with his death on 2nd January 1316 AD.

Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah Khalji

A young son of the Sultan was placed on the throne and Malik Kafur acted as the regent. Malik
Kafur killed other members of the Allauddins family but he was murdered and Mubarak Khan
the third son became the regent. He imprisoned Sahibuddin and ascended the throne as Qutub
uddin Mubarak in the year 1316. He tried to win the good will of the people. He liberalized
Alauddins rigorous administrative policies and repealed economic regulations. All prisoners
were released and harsh regulations were cancelled. The lands which were confiscated were
given back to their legitimate owners. Taxes were lowered. He was under the influence of
youth called Hassan who later was called Khusru Khan who conspired to kill him. Thus, Khalji
dynasty came to an end. Khusro tried to strike a reign of terror to control the nobles. This was
resented by the nobles particularly Ghazi Malik who captured and beheaded the sultan. He
ascended the throne under the title of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah.
Dont Miss: BEGINNING OF MOHAMMEDAN RULE
Tughlaq Dynasty

Rulers of the Tughlaq Dynasty Time period

1. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah 1320-1325 AD

2. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq 1325-1351 AD

5 of 8 3/5/2017 12:34 PM
Delhi Sultanate | IAS https://ias.org.in/2012/08/delhi-sultanate-dynasties.html

3. Firuz Tughlaq 1351-1388 AD

4. Later Tughlaq 1388-1414 AD

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq laid the foundation of the Tughlaq Dynasty. The word Tughlaq was not
the name of any tribe or clan but was the personal name of Ghiyasuddin. He had to face
enormous problems as a Sultan. There were riots in various parts of the empire and the royal
treasury was empty. He pursued a policy of reconciliation with the nobles and the people who
were severely restricted under Alauddin. He liberalized administration in certain respects. He
gave up the practice of physical torture in case of economic offences and recovery of debts.
He also discarded Alauddins system of measurement of land for the assessment of land
revenue. He attempted to improve the finances of the state and perused a policy to encourage
agriculture. His twin object was to increase land under cultivation and improve the economic
condition of the cultivators. He took a keen interest in the construction of canal for irrigation
and formulated famine policy to provide relief to peasants in the time of drought. The state
demand of revenue was fixed between 1/5th and 1/3rd of the produce. He further instructed
that the land revenue should not be enhanced more than 1/11th of the estimated produce.
He continued the system of Dagh and Chehra instituted by Alauddin. He built the fortified city
of Tughlaqabad and gave a new touch to the architecture of the Sultanate period. In 1321 he
dispatched the crown prince Jauna Khan to re-establish Sultans authority in the south. He
annexed Warangal. Madurai and Bengal.
Mohammad Bin Tughlaq

Jauna Khan ascended the throne in 1325 AD with the title of Mohammad Bin Tughlaq. He ruled
up to 1351. He was a profound scholar of Persian, a penetrating critic, a litterateur of repute.
He was a great scholar of Persian and Arabic. He faced many revolts and rebellions. The first of
these revolts included his attempt to consolidate his empire by curbing the rebellions of 1327
by his cousin Bahauddin Garsharp in the Deccan and other of Kishulu Khan the governor of
Multan and Sind in 1328.
One of the much-condemned experiments of the Sultan was the transfer of capital from Delhi
to Devagiri (1327). The transfer was attempted primarily due to two reasons -for its central
location and secondly its close proximity to the south which was a newly conquered region.
The transfer of capital involved the shifting of the army, officials, servants, tradesmen, court
and shift of population. There was a widespread resentment against the Sultan who decided to
retransfer the capital to Delhi. The order of going back to the old capital caused much distress
to the people. Another of his novel and daring experiments was the introduction of the token

6 of 8 3/5/2017 12:34 PM
Delhi Sultanate | IAS https://ias.org.in/2012/08/delhi-sultanate-dynasties.html

currency of bronze coins in place of silver tanka in 1329-30.

The value of the token coins was deemed to be equal to a silver coin. The main reason for this
measure was the scarcity of silver. This measure proved useful in the beginning but later on it
caused serious problems. People soon began to manufacture counterfeits of bronze in large
numbers. There was a surfeit of coins in circulation. This naturally led to its depreciation and
most people began to prefer copper tankas for payments and silver or gold issues for receipts.
The Sultan was compelled to withdraw the token currency. He offered to exchange all the
token coins for the silver coins resulting in huge losses to the treasury. He planned an
expedition for the conquest of Khurasan and Iraq.
He raised an army of 3,70,000 soldiers and gave it a whole years salary in advance. But the
army did not leave for the expedition and was disbanded. The scheme was abandoned when
the Sultan learnt that the conditions in Iraq had improved and was not conducive to an
expedition. Towards the end of his reign, the sultan increased the land revenue in the doab.
He decided to enhance the land tax in the doab because of the richness of its soil. Doab was
facing total famine which was followed by the plague. The Sultan raised the tax from 5 to
10%. Therefore, the peasants instead of paying the taxes abandoned their lands and adopted
highway robbery. The tax collectors continued to collect taxes by oppression. It resulted in
extensive revolts. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq died in 1351. The whole of south India became
independent during his lifetime and three major independent states- the empire of
Vijayanagar, the Brahmani kingdom and the Sultanate of Madura were founded in the
territories of the sultanate of the south.
Also, Read:
The Delhi Sultnate
18 Wars of Medieval India Battles that changed destiny of India
Zoroastrianism-Introduction to Persian Religion

Prafull
https://ias.org.in

Prafull is an independent blog writer, writing mostly to educate and inform aspirants of Civil
Services Examination. He is having LL.B., MBA, and Engineering. Connect

7 of 8 3/5/2017 12:34 PM
Delhi Sultanate | IAS https://ias.org.in/2012/08/delhi-sultanate-dynasties.html

FOL LOW U S ON INS T A G RA M @ I AS .OR G .I N

8 of 8 3/5/2017 12:34 PM