Delhi Sultanate

Background of Delhi Sultanate

Mohammad Bin Qasim ● Invaded India in 712 AD & conquered Sindh

● 17 expeditions to India for wealth & defeated Jayapal (Shaniya ruler of Waihind)
● Burnt the Mathura temple in 1014, attacked Somnath temple ( Gujarat ) in 1025 &
Mahmud of Ghazni it was destroyed in 1026
● Yamin-al-Dawla (Right hand of state) from Caliph & his dynasty also known as
Yamini Dynasty

● Founder of muslim rule in India

Mohammad Ghori ● Battle of Tarain - I ( 1191 ) : Prithviraj defeated Ghori
● Battle of Tarain - II ( 1192 ) : Ghori defeated Prithviraj
● Ananga Pala : He ruled Delhi before Prithviraj Chauhan (CGL)

Slave Dynasty ( 1206-90 AD )

● Slave of Mohammad Ghori & first Sultan of Delhi (CPO)

● He occupied Badaun (1197-98) & appointed Iltutmish as its first Muslim
About Governor (MTS)
● During the Sultanate of Delhi, the term "Ulema" was associated with
Learned theologians & Jurists (MTS)

Another name ● Lakh Bakhsh ( giver of Lakhs )

His capital ● Lahore

● Quwat-ul-Islam ( Triumph of Islam ) at Delhi. It was built during the last

Qutubuddin Aibak
decade of 12th century (CGL)
( 1206-10 AD )
Construction ● Adhai din ka Jhonpra at Ajmer
● Qutub Minar honour of Sufi Saint Bakhtiyar Kaki ( not completed )
● Qutub Minar is an example of Indo-Islamic architecture (CHSL).
Approximate height : 73m (CPO)

Patronised ● Hasan - un - Nizami & Fakhruddin

● First imposed Jizya tax in India, abolished by Mughal emperor Akbar,

Events reintroduced by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb

Died ● Died in 1210 accident while playing chaugan (Horse polo)

● Slave & son in law of Aibak, occupied Delhi in 1211 after deposing
Aram Shah (Son of Aibak)
About ● Real founder of Delhi Sultanate
● He belonged to Ilbari tribe hence the dynasty is called ‘Ilbari dynasty’
● Nizam-ul-Mulk Junaidi Wazir of Sultan Iltutmish (GL)

Another name ● Shamsuddin

His capital ● Shifted his capital from Lahore to Delhi

Construction ● Completed the construction of Qutub Minar which was started by Aibak
● Iltutmish constructed Hauz-i Sultani or the Kings Reservoir (MTS)

Patronised ● Minhaj-us-Siraj (CGL)

Iltutmish ● Introduced the silver coin (tanka) & copper coin (jital) (CGL)(MTS)
( 1211-36 AD ) ● Iqtadari system (it influence of both Vijayanagar & Bahmani Kingdoms)
Introduced (CGL)
● The Iqta was a territorial assignment given to administrative officers and
nobles in lieu of the services they performed for the state (CPO)
● Set up an official nobility of slaves known as Chahalgani / Chalisa
(group of 40) (CGL). The group was finally eliminated by Balban
● Established a centre of learning at Patna

● 1215 : Third battle of Tarain, He defeated Taj-ud-dinYalduz

● 1219 : Genghis Khan defeated the Khwarizm empire completely
● Prince Khwarizm ( Jalaluddin Manglbarani ) asked for asylum to
Events Iltutmish, but he denied as Iltutmish didn't want rivalry of Genghis Khan
● 1227 : Genghis Khan died
 About ● Daughter of Iltutmish (MTS)
● First & only muslim lady who ever ruled India

Slave ● Yakut ( Ethiopian or Abyssian ) - slave of Razia

Razia Sultan
( 1236-40 AD ) ● Against Razia - Multan, Badaun, Hansi, Lahore, Altunia - governor of
Bhatinda revolt against Razia
Events ● Finally Altunia murdered Yakut & Razia was imprisoned in Qila Mubarak
fort in Bathinda & later on Razia married to Altunia (CGL)
● Razia Sultana chronicled by Minhaj-i-Siraj (MTS)

Died ● 1240 : Razia was killed near Kaithal (Haryana). Her tomb is situated in
Kaithal (Haryana) & it is made of baked bricks (GL) (CHSL)

Nasiruddin About ● Son of Iltutmish & he was a Darvesi King

( 1246-66 AD ) ● He appointed Ghiyasuddin Balban as his Prime Minister (CHSL)

Died ● 1265

Another name ● Zil-i-Ilahi ( shadow of god ) (MTS)

● Title : Ulugh Khan (CGL)

● Broke the power of Chalisa

● Appointed spy system & military department - Diwan-i-arz
Introduced ● Introduced the policy of Iron & Blood, nobody can oppose to king
Ghiyasuddin Balban ● Introduced : Paibos ( kissing the feet of monarch ) & Sijda ( prostration
(1266-87 AD ) before the monarch ) (CGL)
(CGL) ● Destroyed the Mewatis & introduced the Persian festival of Nauroz

● Signed an agreement with Mongols to avoid invasion of Mongols to

Events India
● 1279 : Governor of Bengal, Tughril Beg revolted and assumed the title
of Sultan. Balban sent his forces to Bengal and killed Tughri (CGL)

Tomb ● Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Balban in Mehrauli ( Delhi )

Kaiqubad About ● Last ruler of Slave Dynasty & he was killed by Khilji family
( 1287-90 AD )

Khilji Dynasty ( 1290-1320 AD ) - Shortest ruling dynasty in Sultanate period

● The Khilji rulers were probably of Turko-Afghan origin

About ● Founded Khilji Dynasty (MTS)
Jalaluddin Khilji ● He served as Ariz-i-Mumalik (Minister of War) during Balban’s reign.
( 1290-96 AD ) Some scholars call this event as the dynastic revolution of 1290

Another name ● Firoz

● Son in law of Jalaluddin Khilji

● He had helped his uncle in his struggle for power and was appointed as
Amir-i-Tuzuk (Master of Ceremonies)
● Alauddin had two victorious expeditions during the reign of Jalaluddin.
After the first expedition of Bhilsa (Vidisha) in 1292 AD, he was given the
iqta of Awadh, in addition to that of Kara
● 1294 : He was also appointed Arizi-i-Mumalik (Minister of War)
About ● He led the first Turkish expedition to South India & plundered Devagiri
● 1296 : he murdered his uncle Jalaluddin Khilji & crowned himself as the
Sultan
● His favourite poet - Amir Khusrau ( Parrot of India or Tota-e-Hind )
● Amir Khusrau wrote Ashiqa, which contains the love story of Deval Rani
and Khizr Khan
● Zafar Khan : famous general (CGL)

Another name ● Sikander-i-Sani ( 2nd Alexander )

Administrative ● Free grants of lands, reorganised spy system, Prohibited use of wine
reforms ● Shouldn't have social gatherings & inter marry without his permission
● He imposed many taxes like the Jizya tax, Gharai tax & Zakat (CGL)
Alauddin Khilji
● He set up 3 markets in Delhi : 1 - for food grains, 2 - costly clothes, 3 -
( 1296 - 1316 AD )
horses, slaves & cattles
Market ● Each market was under the control of high officer Shahna
reforms ● 2 officers kept for checking market - Diwan-i-Riyasat & Shahna-i-mandi
(CGL)
● During Alauddin Khilji's reign, the cloth market was known as Sarai-i-Adl
(CGL)
 ● He introduced Dagh system to brand his horses and huliya system to
maintain records of his soldier's physical descriptions (CGL)
● Chehra ( descriptive roll of soldiers )
Introduced ● First Sultan of Delhi who attempted the conquest of South India (ML)
● First Sultan of Delhi to fix land revenue in cash
● The post of special officer called Mustakhraj was created for purpose of
collection of revenue

Battles under ● 1299 : Gujarat, 1301 : Ranthambore, 1303 : Chittor (HSL), 1305 : Malwa
Alauddin Khilji

Alauddin's army led by Malik Kafur ( Hazar Dinari ) defeated below kingdoms
Battles under ● 1307 : Ram Chandra ( Yadava ruler of Devagiri ) (CGL)
Malik Kafur ● 1309 : Pratap Rudradeva ( Kakatiya ruler of Warangal )
● 1310 : Vir Ballal III ( Hoysala ruler of Dwarasamudra )
● 1311 : Vir Pandya ( Pandya ruler of Madurai )

Construction ● Alai Darwaza ( red sandstone ) : Entrance gate of Qutub Minar (MTS)
● Hazar Sutun : Palace of thousand pillars
● 1303 : He laid the foundation of his capital Siri (CGL)

Khusrau Khan About ● Last ruler of Khilji Dynasty, he was killed by Ghazi Malik
( 1320 AD )

Tughlaq Dynasty ( 1320 - 1414 AD ) - Longest ruling dynasty in Sultanate period

● Founder of the Tughlaq dynasty & he focuses on irrigation work

● Sent his son Jauna Khan to re-establish his authority in Warangal
About (Kakatiya) & Madurai (Pandyas)
● He said : my bow and arrow is my throne
● He was the governor of Punjab during the reign of Alauddin Khilji
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (CGL)
( 1320-25 AD )
(MTS) Another name ● Ghazi Malik

Introduced ● Batai system was established & banned gamblings

Construction ● He built the fortress city of Tughlaqabad (MTS)

Died ● He died due to the collapse of wooden structure

● He ascended the throne 1325 (MTS)

● Only Delhi Sultan who had received comprehensive literary,
About religious, philosophical education
● The king was freed from his people and they from their king
● He participated in public celebration of Holi

Another name ● Jauna ( Ulugh Khan )

● Mixture of opposite / intelligent fool

● Increase the tax on Doab region ( Ganga & Yamuna region )

Taxation in Doab ● Agriculture department : Diwan-i-Kohi (CGL)
( 1326 ) ● Launched a scheme : ‘Takkavi loans’ (Loans for cultivation)

Transfer of Capital ● Delhi to Devagiri later renamed it as Daulatabad ( now it is

( 1327 ) Aurangabad, Maharashtra) (MTS)

● In China, Kublai Khan successfully implemented a paper-based

Token Currency token currency
( 1329 ) ● Ulugh Khan introduced a copper coin instead of a silver coin but
Muhammad Bin people began to mint token currency in their houses. Finally he
Tughlaq withdraw the token currency
( 1325-51 AD )
(MTS) Khurasan (Iraq) -
expedition ( 1329 )

Qarachil -
expedition ( 1330 )

● He led the early expeditions against Rai Rudra Dev who was
defeated after a prolonged conflict
● Bhanudeva II, the ruler of Jajanagar in Orissa had helped Rai
Battles Rudra Dev of Warangal in his battle against Delhi Sultans
● Ulugh Khan led an army against him in 1324. Bhanudeva II was
defeated and his territory annexed
● 1337 : Conquered Karachil
 ● 1335 : Madurai became independent
● 1336 : Foundation of Vijayanagar, Warangal became
During his reign independent
● 1346 : Bengal became independent
● 1347 : Foundation of Bahamani kingdom

He appointed ● { Aziz Khummar : wine distiller (CHSL), Firuz Hajjam : a barber

● Mank a Tabbakh : a cook, two gardeners : Ladha & Pira (CGL) }
to high administrative post

Contemporary ● Traveller Ibn Batuta come from Morocco (CHSL) (CPO)

● Barani called : ideal Sultan of Delhi Sultanate

● Majumdar called : fanatic Sultan & forefather of Sikandar Lodi &
Aurangzeb
● Timur invasion : 1398 (CGL)
About ● Appointed Malik Maqbul as his PM & given the title Khan-i-johan
(He was Brahmin of Warangal- converted to Islam)
● Ziyauddin Barani wrote the 1st version of his chronicle in the year
1356. He then rewrote the work two years later (CGL)

Another name ● Title : “Syed-us-Salatin” by Caliph

Firoz Shah Tughlaq ● Hospital : Dar-ul-Shifa, Diwan-i-Khairat : marriage for poor girls,
( 1351-88 AD ) Departments Employment bureau : Diwan-i-Bandagan, Old age pension :
(MTS) Diwan-i-Istikaka

● 1st Sultan to impose irrigation tax & he abolished 24 taxes

● Kharaj : land tax which is equal to 1/10 of produce of land
Revenue ● Jizya : levied on non muslims &Zakat : 2% tax on property (MTS)
administration ● Khams : 1/5 of the booty captured during war
● Water tax : Haque-i-Sharb or Hasil-i-Sharb

● Qutub Minar as we find at present, was finally rebuilt

Construction ● Built two canals : Yamuna to Hisaar & Sutlej to Hansi
● The city Jaunpur was founded by Firuz Shah Tughlaq

Last ruler : Mahmud Shah Tughlaq

Sayyid Dynasty ( 1414-50 AD )

Khizr Khan ● Timur's nominee & governor of Multan

(1414-21 AD) ● The author of Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi, Yahya Sirhindi claimed that the founder of the
(MTS) Sayyid dynasty was a descendant of the prophet

Mubarak Shah ● Son of Khizr Khan & Mubarak adopted the title Shah after taking the monarchy
(1412-34 AD) ● First Sultan ruler to appoint Hindu nobles in the court of Delhi

Muhammad Shah -
(1434-45 AD)

● He abandoned Delhi for Badaun in 1448, 3 yrs later Bahlul Lodi, ruler of Punjab, seized
Delhi & inaugurated Lodhi dynasty
Alam Shah ● He was given the name Ala-ud-Din at birth, & after assuming control of Dynasty, he
(1445 AD) changed it to Alam Shah
● Voluntarily abdicated his throne & moved to small town away from Delhi, where he lived
for 3 full decades in contentment & peace

Lodhi or Pashtun dynasty ( 1451-1526 AD )

Bahlol Lodi ● One of the Afghan Sardar & founded Lodhi dynasty
(1451–1489 AD)

● Son of Bahlol Lodhi, he established Agra (1504 ) (CPO), shifted his capital Delhi to Agra
● Another name : Nizam Khan (MTS)
● Musical note : Lahjat-I- Sikander shahi was created & supported children’s education
● He introduced Gaz-i-Sikandari ( Sikandar's yard ) & reintroduced Jizya Tax
Sikandar Lodi ● He was contemporary of Rana Sanga of Mewar as well as Mehmud Begrah of Gujarat
(1489–1517 AD) ● Composed poems in Persian with the pen name Gulrukhi
(GL) ● He abolished Zakat tax
● The Lodi dynasty introduced the "double dome" feature of Indo-Islamic architecture. The
1st example of double dome in Indo-Islamic architecture is tomb of Sikandar Lodi (MTS)
● Jaunpur Sultanate ruled the Sharqi dynasty between 1394 & 1494 (CGL)

Ibrahim Lodi ● Last sultan of Delhi Dynasty & he was killed in the 1st Panipat battle in 1526 (HSL)
(1517-1526 AD) ● He was the first Sultan of Delhi who was killed in the battle field
(CPO)
 Department Head ( Founded by ) Administrative Unit Head

Diwan-i-Wizarat ( Finance ) Wazir Iqta ( Province ) Muqti or Wali

Diwan-i-Ariz ( Military ) (CGL) Ariz-i-Mumalik Shiq ( District ) Siqdar

Diwan-i-Insha ( Correspondence ) Dabir-i-Mumalik Paragana ( Taluka ) Chaudhary & Amil

(CGL)

Diwan-i-Mustakharaj ( Arrears ) Alauddin Khilji Gram ( Village ) Muqaddam, Khut

Diwan-i-Riyasat ( Commerce ) Alauddin Khilji

Diwan-i-Kohi ( Agriculture ) Mohammad bin Tughlaq

Diwan-i-Bandagan (Slaves) (CPO) Firoz Tughlaq

Diwan-i-Khairat ( Charity ) Firoz Tughlaq

Diwan-i-Risalat ( Appeals ) Dabir-i-Mulq

Diwan-i-Ishtiaq ( Pensions ) Firoz Tughlaq

Diwan-i-Qaza-i-Mamalik ( Justice ) -

Administration

Central Administration :

● Wazir : Primarily military leaders. In 14th century, wazir began to considered more an expert in revenue affairs
● Muhammad bin Tughlaq wazir, Khwaja Jahan, was widely respected
● Firuz Shah Tughlaq had set up a separate department of slaves, known as Wakil-i-Dar

Army :

● Ariz-i-Mumalik : head of the Diwan-i-Arz department

● Amir-i-Akhur : Officer commanding royal horses
● Sahna-i-Pill : Superintendent of royal elephants
● Amir-i-Bahr : Officer incharge of police and transport naval port

Literature of Delhi Sultanate

Book Author Book Author

Tahqiq-i-Hind Alberuni Khamsah Amir Khusrau

Tabaqat-i-Nasiri Minhaj-us-Siraj Shah Namah Firdausi

Laila-Majnu Amir Khusrau Kitab-ul-Rehla Ibn Batuta

Khazain-ul-Futuh Amir Khusrau Multa-ul-Anwar Amir Khusrau

Tughlaq-Nama Amir Khusrau Ayina-i-Sikandari Amir Khusrau

Nuh-Sipihr Amir Khusrau Hasht-Bihisht Amir Khusrau

Fatawa-i-Jahandari Ziauddin Barani Futuh-us-Salatin Isami

Tarikha-i-Firoz Shahi Ziauddin Barani

Qanun-e-Masudi Alberuni

Taj-ul-Maasir Hasan Nizami

Selection Post Matriculation level (ML), Selection Post Higher secondary level (HSL), Selection Post Graduate level (GL)