Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate دلی سلطنت दिल्ली सलतनत | |||||||||||||||
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| 1206–1527 | |||||||||||||||
 Historical map of the Delhi sultanate | |||||||||||||||
| Capital | Delhi | ||||||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam Hanafi Fiqh | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||||
| Sultan | |||||||||||||||
• 1206–1210 | Qutb-ud-din Aibak | ||||||||||||||
• 1517–1526 | Ibrahim Lodi | ||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Late Medieval | ||||||||||||||
• Established | 1206 | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1527 | ||||||||||||||
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Delhi Sultanate, were short-lived Islamic kingdoms (sultanates) of Turkic and Afghan origin that were ruled from Delhi, India. There was instability and unrest in the kingdom as five dynasties that rose and fell which includes the Mamluk dynasty (1206–90), the Khilji dynasty (1290–1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1413), the Sayyid dynasty (1414–51), and the Lodi dynasty (1451–1526).
The Mamluk dynasty managed to conquer large areas of northern India, while the Khilji dynasty was also able to conquer most of central India, but were ultimately unsuccessful in conquering and uniting the subcontinent. The Khiljis are also noted for being one of the few states to repeatedly defeat the Mongol Empire[1] and thereby saving India from plundering raids and attacks.
The Sultanate ushered in a period of Indian cultural renaissance. The resulting "Indo-Muslim" fusion of cultures left lasting syncretic monuments in architecture, music, literature, religion, and clothing. It is surmised that the language of Urdu (literally meaning "horde" or "camp" in various Turkic dialects) was born during the Delhi Sultanate period as a result of the intermingling of the local speakers of Sanskritic Prakrits with immigrants speaking Persian, Turkic, and Arabic under the Muslim rulers. The Delhi Sultanate is the only Indo-Islamic empire to have enthroned one of the few female rulers in India, Razia Sultana (1236–1240). In 1526 the Delhi Sultanate was absorbed by the emerging Mughal Empire.
Dynasties
Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty
Muhammad of Ghori appointed Qutub-ud-din Aibak, his slave, as his governor, who started an independent rule after the death of his master. The Mamluk dynasty is also known as the Slave Dynasty as Aibak was a former slave of Muhammad Ghori. Aibak began the construction of Qutub Minar, which was completed by Iltutmish, his successor and son-in-law. Aibak's actual successor was his son Aramshah, but the nobles preferred Iltutmish, the Subedar of Badaun. Iltutmish was followed by Razia Sultana, his daughter, who was a good administrator and the first female ruler in the Muslim world. She was endowed with all qualities befitting a King, but she was not born of the right son. Her rumored relationship with a Habishi man in her service, Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut, forced her nobles to revolt against her. After Yaqut was killed and Razia imprisoned, she later wedded Altunia (a noble of Bhatinda), but she was killed by her nobles, after 3 and half years. Balban succeeded her and ruled until 1286 AD. Many infamous and inefficient rulers followed. Faced with revolts by conquered territories and rival families, the Mamluk dynasty came to an end in 1290.
Khilji
The Khalji or Khilji dynasty were Turkic, who had established themselves as rulers of Bengal in the time of Muhammad Ghori, took control of the empire in a coup which eliminated the last of the Mamluks. The Khaljis conquered Gujarat and Malwa, and sent the first expeditions south of the Narmada River, as far south as Tamil Nadu. Sultanate rule continued to extend into southern India, first by the Delhi Sultans, then by the breakaway Bahamani Sultanate of Gulbarga, and after the breakup of the Bahmani state in 1518, by the five independent Deccan Sultanates. The Vijayanagara Empire united southern India and arrested the Delhi Sultanate's expansion for a time, until its eventual fall to the Deccan Sultanates in 1565.
Tughlaq
The Tughlaq dynasty lasted for close to a hundred years. It produced two powerful Sultans- Muhammad-Bin Tughlaq and Firoz Shah Tughlaq. Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq (1320–1325) was the first ruler of the dynasty. He was an efficient military commander. The sultan was succeeded by Jauna Khan, who took the title of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. He was a very powerful ruler. He shifted his capital in 1326, from Delhi to Devgiri (now known as Daulatabad). During the Qarachil expedition, he lost control over the empire and died in 1351. He was succeeded by Firoz shah Tughlaq (1351–1388) who was very successful as a reformer.
Sayyid
The Sayyid dynasty ruled Delhi Sultanate in India from 1414 to 1451. They succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled the Sultanate until they were displaced by the Lodi dynasty.
Lodi
Lodi dynasty was a Ghilzai (Khilji) Afghan dynasty, who ruled over the Delhi Sultanate during its last phase, displacing the Sayyid dynasty. Founded by Bahlul Lodi, it ruled from 1451 to 1526. The last ruler of this dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi, was defeated and killed by Babur in the first Battle of Panipat on April 20, 1526. Sikander Lodi is considered the greatest ruler of the dynasty.
Monetary system
In the first half of the 14th century, the Sultanate introduced a monetary economy in the provinces (sarkars) and districts (parganas) that had been established and founded a network of market centers through which the traditional village economies were both exploited and stimulated and drawn into the wider culture. State revenues remained based on successful agriculture, which induced Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325–51) to have village wells dug, to offer seed to the peasants, and to encourage cash crops like sugarcane[2].
Mongol invasion
Perhaps the greatest contribution of the Sultanate was its temporary success in insulating the subcontinent from the potential devastation of the Mongol invasion from Central Asia in the thirteenth century. However, the invasion of Timur in 1398 significantly weakened the Delhi Sultanate. The Delhi Sultanate revived briefly under the Lodis before it was conquered by the Mughal emperor Babur in 1526.
Fall of Sultanate
The last Lodi ruler, Ibrahim Lodi was greatly disliked by his court and subjects. Upon the death of his father Sikander Lodi, he quashed a brief rebellion led by some of his nobles who wanted his younger brother Jalal Khan to be the Sultan. After seizing the throne by having Jalal Khan murdered, he never really did succeed in pacifying his nobles. Subsequently Daulat Khan, the governor of Punjab and Alam Khan, his uncle, sent an invitation to Babur, the ruler of Kabul to invade Delhi.
The first Battle of Panipat (April 1526) was fought between the forces of Babur and the Delhi Sultanate. Ibrahim Lodi was killed on the battlefield. By way of superior generalship, vast experience in warfare, effective strategy, and appropriate use of artillery, Babur won the First battle of Panipat and subsequently occupied Agra and Delhi. The new Mughal dynasty was to rule Delhi for until 1857.
Sultans
Mamluk dynasty
- Qutb-ud-din Aybak (1206–1210), appointed Naib us Sultanat by Muhammad of Ghor, first Muslim Emperor of India, ruled with Delhi as capital
- Aram Shah (1210–1211).
- Shams ud din Iltutmish (1211–1236), son-in-law of Qut-bud-din Aybak.
- Rukn ud din Firuz (1236), son of Iltutmish.
- Raziyyat-ud-din Sultana (1236–1240), daughter of Iltutmish.
- Muiz ud din Bahram (1240–1242), son of Iltutmish.
- Ala ud din Masud (1242–1246), son of Ruk-nud-din.
- Nasir ud din Mahmud (1246–1266), son of Iltutmish.
- Ghiyas ud din Balban (1266–1286), ex-slave, son-in-law of Sultan Nasir ud din Mahmud.
- Muiz ud din Qaiqabad (1286–1290), grandson of Balban and Nasir-ud-din.
Khilji dynasty
- Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji (1290-1296)
- Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316)
- Qutb ud din Mubarak Shah (1316-1320)
Tughlaq dynasty
- Ghiyas ud din Tughluq Shah I (1321 - 1325) [3]
- Muhammad Shah II (Muhammad bin Tughluq) (1325 - 1351)
- Mahmud Ibn Muhammad (March 1351)
- Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351 - 1388)
- Ghiyas ud din Tughluq II (1388 - 1389)
- Abu Baker (1389 - 1390)
- Nasiruddin Muhammad Shah III (1390 - 1393)
- Sikander Shah I (March - April 1393)
- Mahmud Nasir ud din (Sultan Mahmud II) at Delhi (1393 - 1394)
- Nusrat Shah, grandson of Firuz Shah Tughluq, controlled the west from Firozabad and Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah, son of Mahmud Nasir ud din, controlled the east from Delhi (1394-1398)
Sayyid dynasty
- Khizr Khan (1414 - 1421)
- Mubarak Shah (1421 - 1434)
- Muhammad Shah (1434 - 1445)
- Alam Shah (1445 - 1451)
Lodi dynasty
- Bahlul Lodi (1451–1489)
- Sikandar Lodi (1489 - 1517)
- Ibrahim Lodi (1517–26), killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat on April 20, 1526.
See also
References
- ^ The state at war in South Asia By Pradeep Barua, pg. 29
- ^ Braudel 1984, pp 96f, 512ff
- ^ Tughlaq Shahi Kings of Delhi: Chart The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 2, p. 369..
- Elliot, H. M. (Henry Miers), Sir. "15. Táríkh-i Fíroz Sháhí, of Ziauddin Barani". [[The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period]] (Vol 3.). London : Trübner & Co.
{{cite book}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Srivastava, Ashirvadi Lal (1929). The Sultanate Of Delhi 711-1526 A D. Shiva Lal Agarwala & Company.
- Khan, Mohd. Adul Wali (1974). Gold And Silver Coins Of Sultans Of Delhi. Government of Andhra Pradesh.
External links
| History of South Asia |
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