THE FIVE DYNASTIES OF THE DELHI SULTANATE

• Delhi sultanate - Muslim sultanate in northern India from 13th-16th century

• established with the foundation of the Mamluk dynasty through the campaign of Qutbuddin Aibak.
• It gained stability under Ghiyas-ud-din Balban and became an imperial power under the Khalji
dynasty.
• Tughlaq attempted to set up a Muslim elite in the Deccan with the Tughlaq Empire, but shattered by
the invasion of Timur.
• The sultanate was reduced to a country power under the Sayyid dynasty, which was recovered
partially under the Lodhi dynasty.
• The Mughal leader Babur effectively put an end to the Delhi Sultanate, replacing it with the Mughal
dynasty that would last for over 300 years.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RULERS OF DELHI SULTANATE

• They had supreme authority
• local governors and officials had significant power for managing the administration of the large
region.

THE SLAVE/MAMLUK DYNASTY (1206-1290)

• founded by Qutub-ud-din Aibak of Turkish Mamluk from central asia.
• first of the five dynasties to rule Delhi sultanate.
• From the mid-tenth century, the Muslim world had come under the influence of Turks from Central
Asia either as Sultans or as soldiers.
• Turkish soldiers had been enslaved and trained in the art of war from a very young age.
• slave soldiers or mamluks gradually gained the confidence to assert themselves as potential rulers
• after the death of Muhammad Ghori, his empire split into minor sultanates led by his former
Mamluk
➢ generals Tajuddin Yildoz became the ruler of Ghazni
➢ Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji ruled Bengal
➢ Nasiruddin Qabacha became the Sultan of Multan
➢ Qutbuddin Aibak became the Sultan of Delhi;
• Aibak's rule as the Sultan of Delhi was short-lived as he died in 1210
• Replaced by his son-in-law Iltutmish in 1211.
• During the rule of Iltutmish, the Delhi Sultanate established good relations with the Abbasid
Caliphate between 1228-29 and succeeded in keeping India unaffected by the invasions of
Changez Khan and his successors.
• After death of Iltutmish in 1236, his daughter Razia Sultan took over but was defeated by Turkish
nobles who became more powerful.
• This state of affairs ended when the last of the Mamluk sultans died and was replaced by a Turkish
noble called Jalaluddin Khilji. Once he was accepted by the other noblemen as the rightful heir, the
Khilji Dynasty came into being.
IQTA: Iqta was an Islamic practice of tax farming that become common in Muslim Asia. They
collected land revenue and looked after general administration

THE FORTY NOBLES MAN: Iltutmish setup an official nobility of slaves known as ‘Chalisa’ or
Turkan-e-Chahalgani was a council of 40 mostly Turkic Slaves who played important role in the
administration of Delhi Sultanate.

ROLE OF BALBAN (1266-1286)

• The nobles who removed Razia Sultan took over the throne.
• He was one of the “Forty Nobles” who had been serving as advisers to the Mamluks of the Delhi
sultanate.
• As these nobles grew more powerful, they reduced the role of the sultan to that of a puppet.
• Ghiyas-ud-din Balban was a noble who ascended the throne and sought to consolidate his power by
breaking the influence of the Forty.
• He had them killed or tried on the name of justice to remove them from authority.
• Balban emphasized a certain court etiquette that had to be followed by people according to their
ranks, for example, higher ranking nobles were allowed to sit in court but those of a lower rank had
to stand.
• Balban also fortified his position as the sole monarch by
➢ strengthening the army
➢ increasing its size
➢ putting it under the leadership of capable and loyal individuals.
• It was with the help of this army that Balban was able to defend the Delhi Sultanate from several
Mongol invasions
• he left the throne to Jalaluddin Khilji, which marked the beginning of the Khilji Dynasty in 1286.

THE KHILJI DYNASTY (1290-1320)

• important in the establishment of Islam on the Indian subcontinent and enriching the Delhi
Sultanate united.
• Jalaluddin Khilji founded the Khilji dynasty in 1290, at the age of 70, through a well-timed coup.
• His policies of peace, though well-intentioned, were not widely accepted and did not cater to the
demands of the time
• Jalaluddin was mannered, humbled and kind monarch whose lenient dealings with rebels and
robbers encouraged disagreement,
• He was killed by his own ambitious nephew and successor, Allauddin Khilji, in 1296.

THE SUCCESS OF ALLAUDDIN KHILJI'S REIGN

• Allauddin was the longest ruling monarch in the Khilji dynasty, and the most significant of the
rulers, holding the throne for 20 years.
• he took immediate action to quell rebellions
• strengthened the intelligence department- the diwan-e-barid-so that he could know what was
happening in the provinces at all times.
 • To control alliances amongst the nobles Allauddin did not allow them to gather or intermarry
without royal permission.
• managed to raise armies large enough to keep out the feared Mongols in the north.
• He compared himself to Alexander the Great (he called himself Sikandare-Sani, which translated
to 'Alexander the Second'), and therefore invested time and resources to military exploits.
• He launched a devastating attack on the Deccan Plateau
• Amongst Allauddin's effective administrative policies was how he opted for the land
measurement method to calculate taxes, introduced produce-sharing policies, while also
abolishing all tax exemptions, thereby ensuring a stable income for his government.
• laid a lot of emphasis on art and learning, having significant patrons such as Amir Khusrau and
Mir Hasan Dehivi.
• He promoted architectural advancements through numerous expansions of mosques, and the
construction of Siri, a city now part of New Delhi.
• Allauddin fell sick in 1315, a prominent slave general Malik Kafur came to power
• When Allauddin died, Kafur tried to appoint Allauddin's underage son, Shihabuddin, as sultan,
and then acting as regent.
• He issued orders in all aspects of government and decreed that no decision could be made
without involving him.
• Malik Kafur's rule lasted for roughly one month before he was killed by Allauddin's former
bodyguards.

INTERNAL THREATS EXTERNAL THREATS

• Infighting among successors of Balban led to • Threat from Mongols, but Allaudin managed
breakup of Delhi sultanate. to raise large armies to keep them out
• Policies of peace weren’t accepted. This was
realized at the removal of Jaluluddin Khilji.
• No stable economic base for empire, it was
always low on funds. When Allaudin came to
power, he imposed heavy agarian taxes to
help stabilize the empire’s funds.
THE TUGHLAQ DYNASTY (1320-1440)
• Ghazi Malik renamed himself Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the first ruler of the Tughlag Dynasty.
• skilled military commander. extend control over key areas such as Bengal.
• He took over a region in anarchy
• His intelligence helped him put down revolts in critical areas
• Ghiyas-ud-din was succeeded by his son Ulugh Khan after his death in 1325.

MUHAMMAD BIN TUGHLAQ (1325-51)

• Ulugh Khan refashioned his name to Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
• Muhammad bin Tughlaq changed the capital of the empire from Delhi to Daulatabad, which had a
more central location, to have better control over southern, to protect the sultanate from Mongol
invasions.
• Sultan was moving to a different city, most of the people in the city had to migrate against their will.
It was a difficult migration that caused many problems, rebellions
• Muhammad bin Tughlaq realized the challenge of keeping an eye on the northern frontier from
Daulatabad, so ordered that Delhi once more become the capital
• The Tughlaq Fort in Tughlaqabad, Delhi, was built to protect Delhi from Mongol raids.
• The Tughlaq Dynasty is renowned for an indo-Islamic architecture seen in forts and places of worship
• The sultan introduced his economic policy featuring token currency
• This did not fare well since many forgers started making similar coins that they would use to unfairly
procure gold and silver.
• This currency experiment had devastating results on the trade and economy of the Sultanate.
• Muhammad bin Tughlaq knew multiple languages including Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit, and Turkish,
• great patron of learning.
• When the explorer and scholar Ibn Battuta came to Delhi in 1334, he was received by the sultan in
court, given many honors and gifts, and later appointed as the grand Qadi of Delhi.
• Battuta's writings have been a great learning source for historians as they paint a picture of
Muhammad Tughlaq as well as the empire under his rule.
• Battuta wrote of how the sultan, despite being generous also had a suspicious nature,
demonstrating instances of cruelty towards those who appeared to have slighted him.
• Muhammad bin Tughlaq was soon known as 'the mad king of India'. This was because despite
being one of the most educated sultans to ascend the throne, he exhibited poor judgement and
made poor, uninformed decisions that led to loss of life and revenue.

FEROZ TUGHLAQ (1331-88)

• After the death of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, his cousin Feroz Tughlaq came to the throne.
• His rule was different, instead of expanding the empire he invested time and resources upon
strengthening his hold on the existing lands.
• worked on city planning, constructed public buildings, and even pioneered the irrigation system in
India, encouraged agricultural activities.
• He set up mosques, and hospitals that provided citizens with free services.
• In 1349, he found the historic city of Jaunpur, naming it after his cousin Muhammad Tughlaq whose
given name was Jauna Khan.
• The State of Jaunpur grew to become a significant centre of Islamic learning, particularly under the
governance of Malik Sarwar
• Feroz Tughlaq was a man of learning, taking keen interest in history, literature, and art.
• He established many schools and colleges to encourage learning across the empire.
• Feroz Tughlaq also had many key works on art, medicine, and science translated from
Sanskrit to Persian.
• His autobiography titled 'Fatuhati-Firozshah' contained significant information that helped historians
understand what life was like under his tenure