CBSE Class 7 Social Science The Delhi Sultans Notes

THE DELHI SULTANATE

THE EXPANSION OF THE DELHI SULTANATE

From Garrison Town to Empire

In the early thirteenth century the control of the Delhi Sultans rarely went beyond heavily fortified towns occupied by garrison. The Sultans seldom controlled the hinterland of the cities and were therefore, dependent upon trade, tribute or plunder for supplies.

 

Controlling garrison towns in distant Bengal and Sind from Delhi was extremely difficult. Rebellion, war, even bad weather could snap fragile communication routes Delhi’s authority was also challenged by Mongol invasions from Afghanistan and by governors who rebelled at any sign of the Sultan’s weak- ness. The Sultanate barely survived these challenges. Its expansion occurred during the regions of Ghiyasuddin Balban, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq.

 

The first set of campaigns along the “internal frontier” of the Sultanate aimed at consolidating the hinterlands of the garrison towns. During these campaigns forests were cleared in the Ganga-Yamuna doab and hunter-gatheres and pastoralists expelled from their habitat.

 

These lands were given to peasants and agriculture was encouraged. New fortresses and towns were established to protect trade routes and to promote regional trade.

The second expansion occurred along the “external frontier” to the Sultanate. Military expeditions into southern India started during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and culminated with Muhammad Tughluq. In their campaigns, Sultanate armies captured elephants, horses and slaves and carried away precious metals.

 

By the end of Muhammad Tughluq’s reign, 150 years after somewhat humble beginnings, the armies of the Delhi Sultanate had marched across a large part of the subcontinent. They had defeated rival armies and seized cities. The Sultanate collected taxes from the peasantry and dispensed justice in its realm.

 

THE SLAVE DYNASTY

The Slave dynasty was founded in 1206 AD by Qutubuddin Aibak.

The prominent rulers of the Slave dynasty were.

Qutubuddin Aibak           – 1206-1210 AD

Shamsuddin Iltutmish     – 1210-1236 AD

Razia Sultana                 – 1236-1239 AD

Ghiyasuddin Balban        – 1266-1287 AD

 

Qutubuddin Aibak

Qutubuddin Aibak, who was a Turkish slave, a had played an important role in the expansion of the territories of Muhammad Ghori. He Declared himself the ruler after the death of Muhammad Ghori. He founded the Slave dynasty. His succesors were called Mamluk which means ‘slave’ or the son of a slave’.

 

Qutubuddin Aibak was very kind to all his subjects hence he was called as Lakhbaksh which means the ‘Giver of Lakhs’. He was successful in suppressing the internal revolts and external disturbances caused by the Mongols who invaded from the North-western part of India. Qutubuddin Aibak built the Qutab Minar in Delhi and also several mosques in Delhi and Agra. He did not live long as he fell from a horse and died.

 

Shamsuddin IItutmish

IItutmish was the slave and the son-in-law of Qutubuddin Aibak. He succeeded the throne and was conferred the title of Sultan. He was known for his efficient administration. Iltutmish introduced the following.

 

His army was organized.

 

He had the nobility, a select group of forty, called the Chalisa of Chahalgani.

 

He divided the empire into small units called Iqtas which were given to the nobles as salaries. He strengthened the North, western Frontier which protected the empire from the Mongols from Central Asia. The introduced Tankas-silver coins and Jitals-Copper coins.

 

The Qutab Minar at Delhi was completed by Iltutmish. He also built a mosque at Badaun and a tomb at Delhi.

Razia Sultana

Razia Sultana was the daughter of Iltutmish who succeeded her father. She dressed like a man, rode horses and led her army. She was a brave ruler. However, the nobles could not accept Razia Sultana being a woman as a Sultan. The Clergy (ulema) and Nobility found it humiliating to work under her, hence they betrayed her and killed her in 1239 AD.

Ghiyasuddin Balban

In 1266 AD, a Turkish slave called Balban took over the throne after the death of Razia Sultana. Balban is known for his firm policies and his efficient spy system. He successfully defeated the local enemies and defended his kingdom from all invasions. The Divine Right of Kingship was introduced by Balban. The justice was given to all and he was very firm in it. His policy is generally called as Blood and Iron Policy, because he mercilessly punished the robbers and zamindars, who did not accept him as ruler.

THE KHALJI DYNASTY

The death of Balban led to unrest in the empire. Balban’s grandson Kaiqubad ascended the throne but he was murdered by Jalaluddin Khalji who became the ruler and established the Khalji Dynasty.

The prominent rulers of Khalji dynasty were.

Jalaluddin khalji – 1290-1296 AD

Alauddin Khalji – 1296-1316 AD

Jalaluddin Khalji

Jalaluddin Khalji was the founder of the Khalji Dynasty. He was very old when he became the king. He could not rule for a long time. His nephew Alauddin Khalji murdered him and became the ruler in 1296 AD.

Alauddin Khalji

Alauddin Khalji was a great invader and adopted expansion policy. He called himself as ‘the Alexander’. He built a city called Siri in Delhi and also constructed Alai Darwaza near the Qutab Minar.

Alauddin Khalji conquered Gujarat, Rajasthan, Malwa Devagiri, Warangal and Dvarasamudra. He man- aged the Mongols invasion by strengthening the forts. He took measures to prevent rebellions and stopped the intermixing of nobles. New reforms were introduced to collect revenues. Revenue was collected on the basis of measurement of the land. Special officers were appointed to collect the revenue. Alauddin introduced a market control system according to which the prices of all goods were fixed. There were three markets …. One for foodgrains, another for cloths, and the third one for slaves, animals and cattle.

People were strictly punished on any violation of rules and unauthorized competition. Alauddin also controlled the prices of essential commodities. In the army, he introduced a system called Huliya in which the army soldiers were recorded. A Dagh (branding of horses) was used for cavalry with a royal seal. The Spy system was very efficient and well organised.

THE TUGHLAQ DYNASTY

In 1320 AD, Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq killed the last Khalji ruler and founded the Tughlaq dynasty. The prominent rulers of the Tughlaq dynasty were.

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq – 1320-12325 AD

Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq – 1325-1351 AD

Feroz Shah Tughlaq – 1351-1388 AD

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq was an efficient ruler and statesman, a good administrator and was able to establish peace in his territory. The famous Taghlaqabad Fort in Delhi was constructed by him but he died in 1325 AD in a mysterious circumstances.

Muhammed-bin-Tughlaq

Jauna Khan succeeded his father and took the title Muhammed-bin-Tughlaq in 1325 AD. The source of information was the writings of Moroccan traveler, Ibn Batuta.

 

TUGHLAQ DYSANTY:1321-1411

In 1321, Khursu Khan was killed and Ghazi Malik, then the governor of Dipalpur, ascended the throne of the Delhi Sultanate. He took the title of Ghiyas-ud- din Tughlaq and founded the Tughlaq Dynasty.

Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq: Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq built the city of Tughlaqabad outside Delhi. He successfully defended the Sultanate against the Mongols.He conquered many areas including the eastern part of Bengal. He died in 1325 while returning from a successful military campaign against Bengal.Muhammad bin- Tughlaq: The son and successor of Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq. Muhammad bin- Tughlaq was a competent, and knowledgeable person. But due to some of his decision, he became unpopular with his subjects. One of these was his decision to shift his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in the present day Andhra Pradesh. His decision to increase taxes in the fertile Doab region also met with failure. He died in 1351. (Read case study from the book)

Firoz Shah Tughlaq: Firoz Shah Tughlaq was the successor of Muhammad bin- Tughlaq. He made sure that people in his kingdom were happy.However he wasnot a strong military leader and unable to defend the Sultanate against external attacks. Firoz Shah died in1388. Though the Tughlaq dynasty lasted for another 26 years,none of the successors of firoz was able to prevent the collapse of the Sultanate. Timur’s Invasion and Sayyid Dynasty: In 1398,Timur, the ruler of Balkh in Central Asia, invaded India and attacked Delhi. His soldiers looted the city for many days, killed thousands of people and then went back to Central Asia. While leaving Delhi, Timur appointed Khizr Khan Sayyid, the governor of Multan, Lahore and Dipalpur ,as his deputy in India.In 1414 Khizr Khan conquered Delhi from its weak Tughlaq ruler and founded the Sayyid Dynasty.

Khizr was succeeded by three rulers in succession-

1. Mubarak Shah

2. Muhammad Shah Sayyid

3. Ala-ud-din Alam Shah

Mubarak Shah was capable but the nobles in his court were against his policies. The last two Sayyid rulers were weak and incompetent. In 1451, an Afghan chief Bahlul lodi defeated Alaud- din Alam Shah and founded the fifth and last dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate,the Lodi Dynasty.

LODI DYNASTY: There were three main rulers in this Dynasty starting from its founder Bahlul Khan Lodi, was the first Afghan ruler in Delhi. His territory was spread across Jaunpur, Gwalior and northern Uttar Padesh.

Sikander Lodi: After Bahlul Lodi’s death, his second son succeeded him as the King. He was given the title of Sultan Sikander Shah.

Ibrahim Lodi:Ibrahim Lodi was the son and successor of Sikander Lodi. Before ascending the throne, he fought a war with his own brother Jalal Khan. In that Jalal was killed. When Ibrahim Lodi: became the sultan of Delhi in 1517CE, he punished nobles ruthlessly, who supported Jalal.

Due to his attitude he became un popular. It divided the Afghan into different groups and weakened the Sultanate. Thus, Zahir ud-din Babur, the ruler of Farghana in Central Asia got the opportunity to invade Delhi.

In 1526, a fierce battle took place between the forces of Babur and Ibrahim Lodi. In that which is known as the First Battle of Panipat. Ibrahim Lodi was killed .Thus the rule of Delhi sultans came to an end. Babur founded a new dynasty in India, called the Mughal Dynasty.

Note:

1. Read the chapter thoroughly.

2. Do questions at the back of the chapter.(part E,F and G)