L-3

THE DELHI
SULTANATE

MADE BY:
SADHGI MEHTA
 INTRODUCTION
The Delhi Sultanate set the stage for an
interesting phase in history called later
medievel period.
5 dynasties ruled during this period- the Slave
Dynasty, the Khilji Dynasty, the Tughulab
dynasty, the Sayyid Dynasty, and the Lodi
Dynasty.
 SOURCES
 The main sources of Delhi Sultanate are inscriptions. They are
found on old coins, historical monuments, milestones, and
tombstones.
 Monuments are also an important source of information about
the Delhi Sultanate.
 We also get information about the Sultanate from the history
written in the Persian language (official language under the
Delhi Sultanate) known as tarikh or the tawarikh.
 SLAVE DYNASTY
• The Indian slave dynasty lasted from 1206 to 1290. It was also
called Mumluk Dynasty. The slave dynasty was the first
Muslim dynasty to rule India. It was founded by Sultan
Qutbuddin Aibak.
 RULERS
 Qutbuddin Aibak (1206-1210 AD)
 Iltmish (1210-1236 AD)
 Rukhuddin Firoz Shah (1236 AD)
 Razziya Sultan (1236-1240 AD)
 Nasir-ud-din Mahmud (1246-1266 AD)
 Ghiyasuddin Balban (1266-1290 AD)
 QUTBUDDIN AIBAK (1206-1210 AD)
 Qutbuddin Aibak is known in history
as the founder of the slave dynasty.
 it is believed that the dynasty derives
its name from Qutbuddin who was
originally a slave.
 Qutb-ud-din Aibak was born to a Turkish family in Central Asia. He was sold as
a slave in his childhood. 
 Qutb-ud-din Aibak was finally purchased by the ruler of Ghor  in
central Afghanistan, Sultan Muhammad Ghori. Qutb-ud-din Aibak gradually rose
to the rank of a Commander and became a trusted slave of Sultan Ghori. 
 Qutb-ud-din Aibak crowned himself the Sultan of Delhi in 1206, when
Muhammad Ghori was killed on the battlefield. After his death.
 He was hounered with the title Lakh Baksh as he gave a lot of wealth in charity.
 SHAMSUDDIN ILTUTMISH
Iltutmish was the successer
of Qutbuddin.
He was the most famous sultan
of slave dynasty.
 He was the third ruler of the
 Mamluk dynasty (or Slave dynasty).
He was married to the daughter of Qutb-ud-din Aibak. He became the ruler after
fighting against Qutb-ud-din's son.
He also shifted his capital from Lahore to Delhi.  He completed the Qutb
Minar which was started by Qutb-ud-din Aibak.
He crushed revolts, protected and strentened the bounderies and established a
strong and consolided Sultanate.
He did not think his sons would be good rulers. He was succeeded by his
daughter, Razia Sultan.
 RUKH-NUD-DIN FIROZ SHAH

 Iltutmish wanted his daughter Razziya to be the sultan of

delhi but this decision of Iltutmish was not liked by the
conserative nobles who had became powerful.
 After the death of Iltutmish, they placed Rukh-nud-din
firoz shah (one of the sons of Iltutmish) on the throne.
 Rukh-nud-din firoz shah did not have qualities of being a
king. He did not pay attention to the matters of the
sultanate and neglected the administration.
 People demanded an able and caring administrator. So,
they made Razziya the ruler of sultanate.
 RAZZIYA SULTAN
 Sultan Razziya was a great
monarch, wise, genrous,
leader of armies, protecter of
her subjects, but born of
wrong gender. In estimation of men all her virtues were worthless in
eyes of people.
 So, she threw off her female attire and put on a coat and a cap.
 She was successful in establishing law and order in her kingdom
but her reign was short and full of problems as the forty nobles
could not tolerate a women’s rule.
 Finaly, they killed her in a battle.
 PERIOD FROM 1240-1266 AD

 Razziya’s death created fresh problems. This period saw

many political disturbances.
 Many kings came to the throne.
 Nasir-ud-din-Mahmud, another son of Iltutmish ruled from
1246 to 1266 with the support of the nobles.
 During Nasir-ud-din’s reigh Balbn controlled the
administration, despite opposition from other nobles.
 GIYASUDDIN BALBAN
 In,1266 Balban came to thron. He was an able noble and a powerful
ruler also.
 He re-organised and strentened the army.
 He laid many campaings against the local rulers and defeated them.
 Balban also guarded the north-westernborders against mangol
raids.
 He wanted people to look up to sultan and regard him in high
esteem.
 He introduced the persian custums of sijdah and zaminbos.
 According to common people these customs were reserved for god
and therefore were un-islamic
 KHILJI DYNASTY
 The Khalji or Khilji dynasty was a Muslim dynasty which ruled
large parts of the Indian subcontinent between 1290 and
1320. It was founded by Jalal ud din Firuz Khalji and became the
second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate of India.
 They were good administrater, they combined the huge empire
and also expanded the feild of economics and market control
policies.
 RULERS

 Jalaluddin Firoz Khilji (1290-1296

AD)
 Aluaddin Khilji (1296-1316 AD)
 JALALUDDIN FIROZ KHILJI
 Jalaluddin was not strong ruler.
 He had a leinient policy towards the Mangols.
 He even married a his daughter to Uldugh Khan (a
mangol leader)
 During his reign, mangols enjoyed a powerful rule.
 Therefore, they hatched a consipirancy and killed
Jalaludin.
 After his death, his nephew Ali gurshap succeed him and
was given the title Alauddin.
 ALAUDDIN KHALJI
 Alauddin khalji was the most powerful ruler of khilji dynasty.
 He was the first to build an imperial empire in India that gained
name and fame.
 He extended the boundaries of delhi sultanate beyond the
Vindhayas up to Deccan.
 He was a brilliant gerneral
and very capable
administrator as well.
 He was also a great patron
Of art and literature.
 EXPANSION OF EMPIRE
 He conquered Gujarat, Malwa and Mewar. This gave him control
over western seaports.
 With the help of his general, Malik Kafur, he led a series of
successful raids into the Deccan.
 He captured Devagiri in 1307 CE.
 He then annexed Warangal, Dvarasamudra, Rameswaram, Mysore
and Mudarai.
 He thus became the first sultan of Delhi to extend his kingdom
south of the river Narmada.
 Towards the end of Alauddin’s reign, extent of his empire could be
campared to that of king Ashoka.
 REFORMS OF THE ARMY
 Alauddin Khalji had a well equipped, trained, diciplaned and
motivated army.
 His army had more than4,75,000 horsemen.
 Alauddin Khilji maintained a strong and huge standing army to
safeguard his empire.
 He introduced the system of branding of horses (dagh) and
maintenance of descriptive register of
 soldiers to prevent false musters and
corrupt practices.
 Alauddin abolished the Jagir system

and paid the salaries in cash.

 ECONOMIC MEASURES
Ala-ud-Din’s economic policy was guided by the following
considerations:
1. To raise as much finance as possible so as to maintain a well-
equipped strong and large army.
2. To reduce the wealth of the nobles and other sections of the
society as Ala-ud-Din believed that too much of wealth with them
was the most importance cause of the revolts.
3. To provide essential commodities of daily use so that the soldiers
could enjoy a reasonable standard of living in their pay.
4. To fix up price of the essential commodities and for this to control
the market through a well-regulated system and machinery.
ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC POLICY OF ALA-
UD-DIN:

IN GENERAL IT IS ADMITTED BY MOST OF THE HISTORIANS

THAT ALA-UD-DIN SUCCEEDED IN FULFILLING HIS OBJECTIVES
BY HIS ECONOMIC POLICY. HIS PRIMARY OBJECTS WERE TO
INCREASE THE INCOME OF THE STATE FOR THE MAINTENANCE
OF THE ARMY AND ROOTING OUT THE POSSIBILITIES OF
REVOLTS. HE ACHIEVED BOTH.
HOWEVER OPINIONS DIFFER REGARDING THE IMPACT OF HIS
POLICY ON THE PEASANTRY AND THE COMMON MAN. THE
REVENUE POLICY OF ALA-UD-DIN IMPOSED A HEAVY BURDEN
ON THE PEASANTRY. PROBABLY, IN SOME CASES, THE
PEASANTS HAD TO PAY 75 PER CENT TO 80 PER CENT OF THEIR
INCOME TO THE STATE AS TAXES.
 TUGHLUQ DYNASTY

 The Tughlaqs were a Muslim family of Turkic origin. The

dynasty reached its zenith point between AD 1330 and 1335
when Muhammad Bin Tughlaq led military campaign. Its rule
was marked by torture, cruelty and rebellions, resulting in
the rapid disintegration of the dynasty's territorial reach
after 1335 AD.
 RULERS


  Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320-1324
AD)
 Muhammad-bin- Tughluq (1324-
1351 AD)
 Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351-1388 AD)
 GIYASSUDDIN TUGHLUQ

 Giyasuddin Tughluq was the first ruler of Tughluq

Dynasty.
 He strentened the sultanate by crushing the
rebellions.
 Jauna Khan, his son succeeded him and was given
the title Muhammad-bin-Tughluq.
 MUHMMAD-BIN-TUGHLUQ
Muhammad bin Tughluq was the successer and the eldest
son of Giyasuddin Tughluq.
He was a knownagable person and well versed in astronomy,
philosphy, poetry and mathematics.
 he had sense of justice and had had an
open and progressive mind.
But he made certain mistakes that turned
against him.
Ibn Battuta who visted India during the
reigh of Muhammad bin Tughluq gives a
detailed about his mistakes.
 MISTAKES DONE BY
MUHMMAD-BIN-TUGHLUQ

Taxation in Doab
Shifting of capital
Introduction of token currency
Qurachil expetetion
Khurasan expetetion
 FIROZ SHAH TUGHLUQ

 He ascended to the throne at the age of forty six. He was

the son of Rajab by his Bhatti wife, who was the daughter of
Abuhar chief, Rana Mall.
 He was not a distinguished military leader his campaigns are
as follows: He led two unsuccessful campaigns into Bengal
against Haji Iliyas (Shams-ud-din Iliyas Shah) and Sikandar
Shah. Tartar Khan commanded the army.
 The Rai of Jajnagar (modern Orissa) and Nagarkot and the
ruler of Sind (Jam Babaniya) surrendered before the sultan.
He also indirectly acknowledged the independence of the
Balmani king by receiving embassy from him.
 REFORMS

 Firoz Tughlaq adopted measures like revenue reforms,

irrigation works, charitable programmes and public works etc.
which won praise from various quarters.
 At the same time, his military expeditions, slave system, feudal
practice and religious policy etc. brought discredit to him.
 Plenty of fruits and grains were grown as he laid 1200 gardens.
 He also set up educational institutes.
 He also bought to Ashoka pillars from Meerut and Sopara to
Delhi.
TIMUR’S INVASATION (1398)
IMPORTANT ASPECTS
OF THE RULE OF
TUGHLUQ
 THE DELHI SULTANATE COART

The court of the Sultan was very ceremonial.

Sijdah and paibos were performed which
clearly indicated that the Sultan was akin to
god.

Let us see how the court operated during

the period of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq
 THE DELHI SULTAN
 The sultan was all powerful but there was a constant struggle
between the sultan and the ulema during this period.
 The Sultan’s power lay in the fact that he was the chief justice
as well as commander-in-chief of the army.
 Income, expenditure, collection of revenue and , in general, all
the financises were looked after the Wazir.
 Army administration and needs of the army were looked after
by Ariz-i-mumalik and his deputies.
 The bakshi was the paymaster of the army.
 Chief Qazi was a judicial post.
 IQTA SYSTEM

 The Iqtadari was a unique type of land distribution

and,administrative system evolved during the sulta
nate of Iltutmish. Under this system, the entire
empire was very evenly divided into several large
and small tracts of land, called the Iqtas.
 SAYYID DYNASTY
 The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of
the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414
to 1451. Founded by Khizr Khan a former governor
of Multan, they succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and
ruled the sultanate until they were displaced by
the Lodi dynasty
 RULERS
Khizr Khan Sayyid (1414-1421 AD)
Mubarak Shah Sayyid (1421-1434 AD)
Mahammad Shah Sayyid (1434-1443
AD)
Alauddin Alam Shah Sayyid (1443-
1451 AD)
KHIZR KHAN SAYYID
 MUBARAK SHAH SAYYID

 Mubarak Shah was the son of Khizr Khan. He came

to the throne in 1421. He was a man of great vision,
but the nobles were against him and kept revolting.
 MAHAMMAD SHAH SAYYID
 Muhammad Shah was a nephew of Mubarak Shah.
 He ruled from 1434–1443.
 Muhammad Shah acceded to the throne with the
help of Sarwar ul Mulk. After that Shah wanted to
free himself from the domination of Sarwar ul Mulk
with the help of his faithful vizier Kamal ul Mulk
 The Nobles, however, were not in his favor. A
major part his rule was spend in controlling them.
 ALUADDIN ALAM SHAH SAYYID

 Alam shah succeeded Mahammad shah.

 In 1451, he was defeted by bahlul lodi.
 After this incident, the rule of Sayyid dynasty came
to an end.
 LODI DYNASTY
The Lodi dynasty was an Afghan dynasty that
ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was
the last dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was
founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when he replaced
the Sayyid dynasty
 RULERS

Bahlul Lodi (1451-1489 AD)

Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517 AD)
Ibrahim Lodi (1517-1526 AD)
 BAHLUL LODI
  Founder of the Lodi dynasty from the Delhi Sultanate.
 In 1479, Sultan Bahlul Lodi defeated and annexed Sharqi
dynasty based at Jaunpur.
 Bahlul did much to stop rebellions and uprisings in his territories,
and extended his holdings over Gwalior, Jaunpur and upper Uttar
Pradesh.
 Just like the previous Delhi Sultans, he kept Delhi the capital of his
kingdom.
 In 1486, he appointed his son, Babrak Shah as viceroy of Jaunpur. In
time, this proved to be problematic, as his second son, Nizam Khan
(Sikandar Lodi) was named successor, and a power struggle
ensued.
 SIKANDAR LODI
 Sikandar Lodi was the sultan of Delhi and second ruler of
the Lodi dynasty after Bahlul Lodi. He was the most
successful sultan of the Lodi dynasty of the Delhi
Sultanate. Sikandar Lodi ruled the sultanate from 17 July
1489 to 21 November 1517.
 He signed treaty of friendship with
the ruler of Bengal.
 He was a reformer too and introduced
many welfare measures.
 IBRAHIM LODI
 Ibrahim Lodi (died 21 April 1526) became the Sultan of Delhi in 1517
after the death of his father Sikandar Lodi.
 He was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, reigning for nine years
 Until being defeated and killed
at the Battle of Panipat by Babur's
invading army in 1526, giving way
to the emergence of the Mughal
Empire in India.
 Thus, the rule of glorious sultan came to an end.
 Below are some activities that can be conducted in the
classroom to enable interaction between students.
Discuss and Debate
 The Architecture of Today v/s The Architecture of the Sultanate
 Arguments For and Against Using Slaves

 Democracy v/s Communism
 Methods used by Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq to protect their kingdoms from the
Mongols.
 The Best and the Worst Kings of the Delhi Sultanate (give reasons)

Agree or Disagree
 The Chauhans defeated the Tomaras and established their rule in Delhi.
 No taxes were collected under Alauddin Khalji's rule.

 During the rule of the Tomars and the Chauhans, Delhi became an important commercial centre.
 Hinterlands are bordering areas, near coasts or banks of major rivers.
 During the rule of Allaudin Khalji, 'iqtas' (areas of land) were not inheritable (passed from father
to son).
 No house tax was collected during the Delhi Sultanate period.