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DELHI SULTANATE
• Mohammad Bin Qasim of Iraq was the first Muslim to Invade India in AD 712.
Turkish Invasions:
Mahmud of Ghazni:
• Mahmud Ghaznavi was the ruler of Ghazni who ruled from 971 to 1030 AD.
• He was born in AD 971 and ascended the throne in AD 998.
• He first attacked modern Afghanistan and Pakistan in 1000 AD.
• He invaded India 17 times and looted the vast wealth here and took it to Ghazni.
• He plundered Somnath Temple in AD 1025 (his sixteenth raid).
• He patronized three persons, contemporary to him: Firdausi (court poet), Alberuni
(scholar) and Utbi (court historian).
• Alberuni wrote ‘Kitab-ul-Hind'.
• He died in AD 1030.
• The objective of Mahmud’s expeditions was to plunder and loot, He was not interested in
expanding his empire to India.
Muhammad Ghori:
• The Turkish Empire in India is attributed to Muhammad Ghori.
• He conquered Multan (first invasion AD 1175) and Kutch (AD 1178).
• By 1186 AD, Gauri had conquered Lahore, Sialkot, and Bhatinda.
• In the First Battle of Terrain (1191) Ghori forces were completely rooted out by
Prithviraj Chauhan.
• The Second Battle of Terrain (1192) is regarded as one of the turning point in Indian
history. In this battle, Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated by Muhammad Ghori.
• The defeat laid the foundation of Muslim rule in India.
• Muhammad Ghori died in AD 1206.
The Delhi Sultanate
➢ The Sultanate of Delhi had five ruling dynasties with 34 kings.
The Ilbari or Slave Dynasty:
Founder: Qutubuddin Aibak (1206-1210)
Capital: Lahore and Delhi
• After Muhammad Ghori's death, Qutubuddin Aibak (Slave of Muhammad Ghori) ruled over
Delhi and founded his dynasty (Slave Dynasty).
• He constructed two mosques Quwwat-ul-Islam at Delhi and Adhai Din Ka Jhopra at
Ajmer.
• He also began the construction of Qutub Minar in the honor of famous Sufi Saint Khwaja
Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki.
• For his generosity, he was given the title of Lakh Baksh.
Aram Shah (AD 1210)
• After Qutubuddin's death, his son Aram Shah succeeded him.
Iltutamish (AD 1210-1236)
Capital: Delhi
• He is the greatest slave king and real consolidator of the Turkish conquest in India.
• He was the son in law of Qutubuddin Aibak.
• He completed the construction of Qutub Minar.
• He constituted a group of 40 nobles, Known as Turkan-i-Chahalgani or Chalisa.
• He started the Iqta System.
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• He introduced the Silver Tanka and Copper Jital.
Razia Sultan (AD 1236-1240)
• Iltutamish appointed his daughter Raziya as his successor.
• First and last Muslim woman ruler of Medieval India.
• She discarded the female apparel and started holding the court with her face unveiled.
Ghiyasuddin Balban (1265-1286)
• He ascended the throne in 1265, after killing all members of Iltutamish's family.
• He established the military department Diwan-i-Arz.
• He took up the title of Zil-i-Ilahi.
• He introduced Persian etiquettes like Sijda and Paibos.
• He started the festival of Nauroz.
• He adopted the policy of Blood and Iron.
Kaiqubad (AD 1287-90)
• Grandson of Balban.
• He was killed by the Khilji rulers. This led to the end of the Ilbari dynasty.
The Khilji Dynasty (AD 1290-1320)
• Founder: Jalaluddin Khilji
Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316)
• He came to the throne by murdering his uncle and father-in-law Jalaluddin Khilji.
• He firstly conquered Gujarat and married Kamla Devi.
• He acquired Malik Kafur from there.
• He captured Ranathambhaur, Chittor, and Malwa.
• He patronised great poets like Amir Khusro and Mir Hasan Dehlvi.
• Nasiruddin Shah killed Mubarak Shah and himself was killed by Ghazi Malik. This ended
the 30 years rule of the Khilji dynasty.
Tughlaq Dynasty (AD 1320-1414)
Founder: Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
Capital: Tughlagabad
• First Sultan of Delhi who took up the title of Ghazi.
• Started the Batai System (sharing of crops).
Muhammad Bin Tughalaq (AD 1325-1351)
• His real name was Jauna Khan.
• He renamed Deogiri as Daulatabad.
• Famous Moroccan traveler Ibn-Battuta came to Delhi in 1334.
• His five ambitious projects were:
o Taxation in the Doab (1326)
o Transfer of the Capital (1327): Delhi to Deogiri
o Introduction of Token Currency (1329)
o The Khurasan Expedition (1329)
o Qarachil Expedition (1330)
Firozshah Tughalaq (1351-1388)
• He made the Iqta System hereditary.
• He imposed Haq-i-Sharb or Hasil-i-Sharb (water tax).
• Built new towns of Fatehabad, Hissar, Jaunapur and Firozabad.
• He brought two pillars of Ashoka from Topara and Meerut to Delhi.
• Introduced new coins: Adha and Bikh.
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• Imposed Jaziya Tax upon the Brahmans (first time in the history of Sultanate).
• He wrote Tarikh -i- Firozshahi and Fatwa-i- Jahangiri.
• Died in AD 1388.
The Sayyid Dynasty (AD 1414-1450)
➢ Founder: Khizr Khan (1414-1421)
➢ Took the title of Rayat-i-Ala.
➢ Other kings of this dynasty: Muhammad Shah (1434-43) and Alauddin Shah Alam (1443-
1451)
The Lodhi Dynasty (AD 1451-1526)
➢ Lodhi Dynasty is considered as the first Afghan dynasty of India.
➢ Bahlol Lodhi (AD 1451-1489) was the founder of this dynasty.
Sikandar Lodhi (AD 1489-1517)
➢ He was son of Bahlol Lodhi.
➢ He conquered Bihar and Bengal in AD 1504.
➢ Built new city Agra made it his capital.
➢ Introduced Gaj-i-Sikandar (for measurement of land).
Ibrahim Lodhi (1517-1526)
➢ He was defeated and killed at the hands of Babur in the First Battle of Panipat in AD
1526.
➢ This marked the end of the Delhi Sultanate.
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