JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 3 The Delhi Sultans

→ Delhi became an important city in the twelfth century.

It was under the Tomara Rajputs and Chauhans that Delhi became an important commercial centre.
Many rich Jaina merchants lived in the city and constructed several temples. Coins minted here, called dehliwal, had a wide circulation.
In the beginning of the thirteenth century, the transformation of Delhi into capital started with the foundation of Delhi Sultanate.

→ The rulers of Delhi Table 1:

Rajput Dynasties Tomaras Early twelfth century	1165
Ananga Pala	1130 – 1145
Chauhans	1165 – 1192
Prithviraj Chauhan	1175 – 1192
Early Turkish Rulers	1206 to 1290
Qutbuddin Aybak	1206 – 1210
Shamsuddin Iltutmish	1210 – 1236
Raziyya	1236 – 1240
Ghiyasuddin Balban	1266 – 1287
Khalji Dynasty	1290 to 1320
Jalaluddin Khalji	1290 – 1296
Alauddin Khalji	1296 – 1316
Tughlaq Dynasty	1320 to 1414
Ghiyasuddin Tughluq	1320 – 1324
Muhammad Tughluq	1324 – 1351
Firuz Shah Tughluq	1351 – 1388
Sayyid Dynasty	1414 to 1451
Khizr Khan	1414 – 1421
Lodi Dynasty	1451 to 1526
Bahlul Lodi	1451 – 1489

→ Finding out about the Delhi Sultans

Inscriptions, coins and architecture gives us a lot of information.
Tarikh (singular) / tawarikh (plural), were written in Persian, the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans.
Tawarikh were written by learned men: secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers who lived in Delhi and advised rulers on governance, stressing the significance of just rule based on gender and birthright distinctions.
Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter, Raziyya, became Sultan in 1236. But she was dethroned in 1240 as nobles were not satisfied to have a queen as a ruler.

→ From Garrison Town to Empire: The Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate

The control of the Delhi Sultans rarely went beyond heavily fortified towns occupied by garrisons in the early thirteenth century.
During the reigns of Ghiyasuddin Balban, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq expansion occurred in the Delhi Sultanate.
Expansions occurred along the ‘internal frontier’ and ‘external frontier’ of the Sultanate.
The armies of the Delhi Sultanate had defeated rival armies and seized cities. The Sultanate collected taxes from the peasantry and dispensed justice in its kingdom.

→ A Closer Look: Administration and Consolidation under The Khaljis and Tughluqs

To administer the vast kingdom or Sultanate it required reliable administrators and govemers.
Iltutmish, favoured their special slaves purchased for military service, called bandagan in Persian. They were trained and Sultan could rely and trust upon them.
The Khaljis and Tughluqs continued to use bandagan and raised people of humble birth, who were often their clients, to high political positions in their kingdom.
In Persian tawarikh, the Delhi Sultans were criticised for appointing the “low and base- born” to high offices.
Military commanders were appointed as governors of territories of different sizes. These lands were called iqta and their holder was called iqtadar or muqti by the Khalji and Tughluq monarchs.
There were three types of taxes
1. on cultivation called kharaj and amounting to about 50 percent of the peasant’s produce,
2. on cattle and
3. on houses under the reign of Alauddin Khalji.
Genghis Khan, a Mongol ruler increased its attacks on Delhi which forced Khaljis and Tughluqs to mobilise large standing army in Delhi.

→ The Sultanate in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries

The Sayyid and Lodi dynasties ruled Delhi and Agra until 1526 after the Tughluqs. This period saw the emergence of groups like the Afghans and the Rajputs.
Many independent rulers flourished and became prosperous as well in Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Malwa, Jaunpur and whole south India.
Sher Shah Suri established his own Suri Dynasty from 1540-1555. Sher Shah’s administration became a model which was followed by Akbar as well. He took some segment from Alauddin Khalji and made them more efficient and powerful.