In 1192, Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated by Muhammad Ghuri in the Second Battle of Tarain.With this came to end the rule of Chahamana Rajput and a new line of rulers came to power, the new rulers were the Turks from Central Asia or Afghans called the Sultans.
The Sultans of Delhi - Class 7 History
The Sultanate period - 1206 CE to 1526 CE (320 years)
| Name | Know This | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qutb-ud-din Aibak (1206-1210) | During his regime Qutb Minar in Delhi the tallest brick minaret was started. He died in 1210. |
| 2 | Aram Shah | Aram Shah was a weak ruler so was overthrown by Iltutmish |
| 3 | Iltutmish (1211-1236) | He ruled for 25 years. He introduced the silver coin known as tanka and the copper coin called jital. During his regime Qutb Minar was completed. He nominated his daughter Razia as his successor. |
| 4 | Razia (1236-1239) | The The nobles under her did not like Razia’s manners so they plotted against her and killed her. |
| 5 | Ghiyas-ud-Din Balban (1266-1287) | He died in 1287 and thus came the end of Slave Dynasty and the rule of Khaljis began |
| Name | Know This | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jalal-ud-Din-Khalji | During his regime the Mongols attacked but he fought bravely against them and defended the Sultanate. In 1294 he was murdered by his nephew Ala-ud-Din Khalji. |
| 2 | Ala-ud-Din-Khalji | He conquered almost all of North India and most part of South India with the help of his favorite slave Malik Kafur. Ala-ud-Din died in 1316 |
| 3 | Qutb-ud-Din Mubarak Shah | The third and last ruler of the Khalji Dynasty. He abolished all taxes and penalties. He released all prisoners of war who were captured in battles. Khusru Khan his own slave killed him. Thus the Khalji dynasty came to an end. |
| Name | Know This | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq | – He successfully defended the Sultanate from the Mongols. He conquered many areas including the Eastern part of Bengal. He built the city of Tughlaqabad outside Delhi. He died in 1325. |
| 2 | Muhammad Bin Tughlaq | The son of Ghiyas-ud-Din became the next successor. He was a knowledgeable person. His decisions were not popular with his subjects like shifting his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in Andhra Pradesh, increasing taxes in fertile Doab region met with failure. He died in 1351. |
| 3 | Firoz Shah Tughlaq | Successor of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq. He ensured that people in his kingdom were happy. He was not a strong military leader though so he was unable to defend the Sultanate. He died in 1388. The Tughlaq Dynasty lasted for another 26 years however none of the successors were able to prevent the collapse of the Sultanate. |
| Name | Know This | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khizr Khan | In 1398 the Timur the ruler of Balkh in central Asia invaded India and attacked Delhi. While leaving Delhi he appointed Khizr Khan, Khizr Khan conquered Delhi in 1414 and founded the Sayyid Dynasty. |
| 2 | Mubarak Shah Sayyid | |
| 3 | Muhammad Shah Sayyid | |
| 4 | Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah Sayyid | . In 1451 an Afghan chief Bahlul Lodi defeated Ala-ud-din Alam Shah and founded the fifth dynasty the Lodi Dynasty |
| Name | Know This | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahlul Khan Lodi | First Afghan to rule Delhi |
| 2 | Sikander Lodi | Second son of Bahlul Khan Lodi, he was given the name Sultan Sikander Shah. He founded the town of Agra. |
| 3 | Ibrahim Lodi | Successor of Sikander Lodi, he became sultan in 1517, his attitude towards the powerful Nobles were not good so he became unpopular thus weakening the Sultanate. In 1526 he was killed by the forces of Babur in the First Battle of Panipat. Thus started the Mughal Dynasty. |
The Sultanate: Important Developments:
Relationship between the ruler and the nobles
There was no rule of succession, anyone could become ruler, Turkish nobleman generally thought they were equal to the rulers as the rulers could not boast of a noble family name or the natural right to rule. The Chahalgani were a group of Turkish noblemen who enjoyed high administrative positions under Iltutmish. When Iltutmish died they tried to put a puppet on the throne who they could rule, Razia failed to suppress them and was killed. However Ghiyas-ud-din Balban succeeded in superssing the Chahalgani. He introduced rituals like Sijda and Paibos(lying on the ground and kissing the monarch’s feet) to show his superiority, he did not let the noble have their say and thus strengthened the monarchy.
Empire Building
During the early phase the Sultans only administered areas which were covered by the army known as garrison grounds. The materials (crops, money, and other material amenities) needed for such garrison grounds to grow were not available, so the Sultans conducted raids in areas where such materials were available. Ghiyas-ud-did Balban, Ala-ud-din Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq solved these problems as they captured new areas. The Sultanate took the shape of Empire during the reign of Ala-ud-din Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
Sultanate administration
Administration - First in the line of power was the Sultan. Under him were his Trusted Nobles (Turkish and Non-Turkish) and Ulama (religious people who advised the Sultan on judicial and religious matters)
Sulatanate Provinces Heads
Sultanate in operation – The Tughlaqs
Muhammad Bin Tughlaq was a learned man well versed in religion and philosophy. He tried ways to strengthen the Sultanate most of which failed but his experiments were acknowledged. He transferred the capital of Delhi to Devgiri in the Deccan so that he could control the Southern territories. He ordered many trustworthy officers, Sufi saints to move to Devgiri which was then renamed Daulatabad. The road from Delhi to Daulatabad was long many people died on the way, though the expirement failed but it improved communication between North and South India.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq introduced the token currency as it was new system of monetization so it created confusion between traders and common people, people also started forging and the circulation of coins became more in market and the coins lost their value in market so the coin system was withdrawn.
He planned to raise a large army to attact the Mongols, so he raised taxes in the Doab region to feed his army but this region was in the grip of famine, so the peasants revolted there. His policy of appointing talented and efficient men to high offices failed due to the opposition of the nobles. Though his experiments failed still he is considered the most progressive Sultans of his time.
Decline of the Sultanate
The decline started in the Tughlaq Dynasty because of new kingdoms emerging in Malwa, Bengal, Gujarat and South India. It also further lost its authority due to the invasion of Timur. The South kingdoms had their own systems of rule while in the North the Rajputs and the Afghans emerged as important regional powers.
