Sultanate_of_Delhi

The Sultanate of Delhi During the Delhi Sultanate, several Turkic and Afghan dynasties ruled from Delhi, including 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). In 1526 the Delhi Sultanate was absorbed by the emerging Mughal Empire. The second Muslim invader, Muhammad of Ghor, had political ambitions. He fought the two Battles of Tarain with Prithviraj Chauhan and by winning the second battle,and by killing Prithviraj, established control.He appointed Qutubuddin Aibak,his slave, as his governor,who started independent rule after the death of his master.The Mamluk dynasty is also known as the Slave Dynasty as most of the rulers were former slaves of Muhammad Ghori. Aibek began the construction of Qutub Minar, which was completed by Iltutmish, his successor & son-in-law.Aibek'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 from the Muslim world. But she died in a war, 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. The Khalji or Khilji dynasty, 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. The Delhi Sultanate rule continued to extend into southern India, first by the Delhi Sultans, then by the breakaway Bahmani Sultanate of Gulbarga, and, after the breakup of the Bahmani state in 1518, by the five independent Deccan Sultanates. The kingdom of Vijayanagar united southern India and arrested the Delhi Sultanate's expansion for a time, until its eventual fall to the Deccan Sultanates in 1565. Qutb-ud-din Aybak Qutb-ud-din Aybak was a Turkic ruler of medieval India, the first Sultan of Delhi and founder of the Slave dynasty (also known as the Ghulam dynasty). He served as sultan for only four years, from 1206 to 1210. Early years Qutb-ud-din was born somewhere in Central Asia; he was of Turkic descent.[2][3] While still a child he was captured and sold as a slave (ghulam). He was purchased by the chief Qazi of Nishapur, a town in the province of Khorasan in northeastern Iran. The Qazi treated him like one of his own sons, and Aibak received a good education, including fluency in Persian and Arabic and training in archery and horsemanship. When his master died, his master's sons, who were jealous of Aibak, sold him to a slave merchant. Qutb-ud-din was purchased by General Muhammad Ghori governor of Ghazni. Muhammad Ghori established the first real Muslim state in North India. Upon Sultan Ghori's death in 1206, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, after a brief power struggle, succeeded in establishing himself as ruler of the empire in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India; Ghori's Central Asian possessions had been captured by none other than the Mongol warlord, Genghis Khan. The Qutab Minar, now a World Heritage Site in New Delhi, India, was built during his time. The areas over which Qutb-ud-din established his rule were those over which he already exercised power as Sultan Ghori's local receiver-general of periodic exactions and levies. Therefore, although his formal tenure as ruler was only four years, Qutb-ud-din managed to consolidate the administrative system that was established by his predecessor Sultan Ghori. This was achieved despite his having to quell rebellions by nobles like Taj-ud-din Ildiz and Nasir-ud-din Qubachah. Qutb-ud-din ruled initially from Lahore and later moved the capital to Delhi; he is hence considered the first Muslim ruler of South Asia. Qutb-ud-din Aybak initiated the construction of Delhi's earliest Muslim monuments, the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the Qutub Minar. Historical records compiled by Muslim historian Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai attest to the iconoclasm of Qutb-ud-din Aybak. The first mosque built in Delhi[6].These were completed by his successor, Iltutmish. Aibak,was otherwise known as "Lakh Baksh" or "giver of hundred thousands" because of his generosity. He was thus a pious Muslim, praised by contemporary Muslim clerics. He also patronized Nizami and Fakh-i-Mudabbir, both of whom dedicated their works to Aibak. Tazul Maasir is a work primarily dealing with Aybak. ==Death and succession== Qutb-ud-din died accidentally in 1210. While he was playing a game of polo on horseback (polo aka chougan in India), his horse fell and Qutb-ud-din was impaled on the pommel of his saddle. He was buried near the Anarkali bazaar in Lahore. Qutb-ud-din Aybak's son Aram, died in 1211 CE [1], so Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, another ex-slave of Turkic ancestry who was married to Qutb-ud-din's daughter, succeeded him as Sultan of Delhi. Qutb-ud-din Aibak's tomb is located behind Anarkali Bazaar, Lahore today. In the early 1970's, it was renovated at the orders of the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Iltutmish Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, or Altamash (Urdu: شمس الدین التتمش) (r. 1211 - 1236) was the third Muslim Turkic sultan of the Sultanate of Delhi and the third ruler of the Mamluk dynasty (or Slave dynasty) (died 1236)[1]. He was a slave of Qutub-ud-din-Aybak and later became his son-in-law and close lieutenant. He was the Governor of Badaun when he deposed Qutub-ud-din's successor Aram Shah and acceeded to the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in 1211. He remained the ruler until his death in May 1, 1236.[2][3]. He built the Hauz-i-Shamsi reservoir in Mehrauli in 1230 AD, which also has Jahaz Mahal standing on its edge, used by later Mughal Emperors. In 1231, he built Sultan Ghari, he built the mausoleum of his eldest son, Prince Nasiru'd-Din Mahmud, which was the first Islamic Mausoleum in Delhi. His own tomb exists, within the Qutb complex in Mehrauli, Delhi. Early Life and Career Shams-ud-din belonged to the tribe of Ilbari in Turkestan. He was remarkably handsome in appearance and showed signs of intelligence and sagacity from his early days, which excited the jealousy of his brothers, who sold him into slavery. His accomplishments attracted the notice of Qutub-ud-din-Aybak, then Viceroy of Delhi, who purchased him at a high price. He rose quickly in Qutub-ud-din's service, married his daughter, and served in succession as the Governor of Gwalior and Baran. He later served as Governor of Badaun between 1206 and 1211 until his accession to the throne in Delhi. In recognition of his services during the campaign of Muhammad of Ghur against the Khokhars in 1205-06, he was, by the Sultan's order, manumitted. In A.D. 1236 Iltumish died, and buried with the Qutb complex in Mehrauli. Razia Razia al-Din (1205-1240) (Persian/Urdu: رضیہ سلطانہ, Hindi: रज़िया सुल्ताना), throne name Jalâlat ud-Dîn Raziyâ (Persian/Urdu: جلالۃ الدین رضیہ, Hindi: जलालत उद-दीन रज़िया), usually referred to in history as Razia Sultan or Razia Sultana, was the Sultana of Delhi in India from 1236 to 1240. She was of Turkish Seljuks ancestry and like some other Muslim princesses of the time, she was trained to lead armies and administer kingdoms if necessary.[1] Razia Sultana, the fifth Mamluk Sultan, was the very first woman ruler in the Muslim and Turkish history. Razia succeeded her father Shams-ud-din Iltutmish to the Sultanate of Delhi in 1236. Iltutmish became the first sultan to appoint a woman as his successor when he designated his daughter Razia as his heir apparent. (According to one source, Iltumish's eldest son had initially been groomed as his successor, but had died prematurely.) But the Muslim nobility had no intention of acceding to Iltutmish's appointment of a woman as heir, and after the sultan died on April 29, 1236, Razia's brother, Ruknuddin Feroze Shah, was elevated to the throne instead. Razia refused to be addressed as Sultana because it meant "wife or mistress of a sultan". She would answer only to the title "Sultan". The Delhi Sultanate is the only sultanate of India to be ruled by a female, Princess Razia Sultana (1236-1240). While her reign was short, she is regarded well in the eyes of historians. Princess Razia Sultana was very popular and considered more intelligent than her brothers. She ruled from Delhi in the east, to Peshawar in the west, and from Kashmir in the north to Multan in the south. Rebels including Malik Altunia, forced her into battle. Forced to marry Altunia to save her life, both she and Altunia were was killed during a battle to reclaim the sultanate from her brother. Being the first female monarch of the Delhi Sultanate, Razia Sultan has been the subject of many legends. More recently, she was the subject of Razia Sultan, a 1983 Hindi film, written and directed by Kamal Amrohi, starring Hema Malini as Razia and Dharmendra as Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut. Ghiyas ud din Balban He was son of a Turkish noble of the Ilbari tribe, but as a child was captured by Mongols and sold as a slave at Ghazni. Khwaja, Jamaluddin Basri of Baghdad [2] Later, he was bought by Sultan Iltutmish in 1232 CE, who at the orders of his own master, Qutbuddin Aibak, released him from slavery and brought him up in a manner befitting a prince. He was liberally educated. He was first appointed as Khasdar (king's personal attendant)by the Sultan.[3]He became the head of the 'Chalissa', a group of forty Turkish nobles of the state. After the overthrow of Razia Sultana he made rapid strides in the subsequent reigns. He was initially the Prime Minister of Sultan Nasir ud din Mahmud from 1246 to 1266 and married his daughter, but Balban declared himself the Sultan of Delhi after the previous sultan Nasir ud din Mahmud's death because Sultan Nasir ud din Mahmud had no male issue. Sultan Balban ascended the throne in 1266 at the age of sixty with the title of Ghyas ud din Balban. During his reign, Balban ruled with an iron fist. He broke up the 'Chihalgani', a group of the forty most important nobles in the court. He tried to establish peace and order in the country of India. He built many outposts in areas where there was crime and garrisoned them with soldiers. Balban wanted to make sure everyone was loyal to the crown by establishing an efficient espionage system. Sultan Balban had a strong and well-organized spy system. Balban placed secret reporters and news-writers in every department. The spies were independent authority only answerable to Sultan. Balban was strict administrator of justice. He did not show any partiality even to his own kith and kinHe ruled as the Sultan from 1266 until his death in 1287, and was succeeded by his grandson, Muiz ud din Qaiqabad, who reign (1287-1290). His successors were weak and incompetent and the throne was eventually captured by Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji in 1290, bringing an end to the Slave dynasty. Balban's tomb is today, situated in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, beyond the Qutb complex. Alauddin Khilji Ala-ud-din Khilji real name Ali Gurshap; died 1316) was the second ruler of the Khilji dynasty in India. He reigned from 1296 to 1316. His historic attack on Chittor in 1303 AD, after hearing of the beauty of queen of Chittor, Rani Padmini, the wife of King Rawal Ratan Singh and the subsequent story has been immortalized in the epic poem Padmavat, written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi in the Awadhi language in the year 1540. Ala-ud-din Khalji was the nephew and son in law of Jalal-ud-din. His surname is Khilji in Dari/Farsi and Arabic documents, but the original Pashtu is Ghilzai. The obvious difference in spelling and pronunciation arises in lack of letters between Arabic/Dari and Pashtu. At first, Jalal-ud-din appointed Ala-ud-Din as the governor of Kara near the city of Allahabad. In 1296 Ala-ud-Din killed his uncle. But Malika Jahan, the widow of Jalal-ud-din, put her younger son Rukn-ud-din Khilji on the throne. Ala-ud-din quickly marched on Delhi from Kara. He entered Delhi with his uncle's head on a pike and on October 3, 1296, proclaimed himself the King of Delhi. Arkali Khan, Jalal-ud-din's older son, and Rukn-ud-din were blinded. Malika Jahan was imprisoned. Death Alauddin died in January 1316, of edema. It is believed that his lieutenant Malik Naib hastened his death. His tomb and madarsa dedicated to him, exists at the back of Qutb complex, Mehrauli, in Delhi. Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (also Prince Fakhr Malik, Jauna Khan and Ulugh Khan) (c.1300 – 1351) was the Turkic Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. Ghiyath al-din sent the young Muhammad to the Deccan to campaign against king Prataparudra of the Kakatiya dynasty whose capital was at Warangal. Muhammad succeeded to the Delhi throne upon his father's death in 1325. Muhammad Tughluq was a scholar versed in logic, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and physical sciences. He had knowledge of medicine and was skillful in dialectics. He was also a calligrapher. Ibn Batuta (Moroccan traveler) visited him during his reign. Rule of Tughluq Tughlaq was committed to maintaining the Sultanate's expansion into the newly conquered provinces of peninsular India. To strengthen the sultanate's hold on its southern parts, Tughluq early in his reign moved the capital from Delhi to Devagiri, 700 miles (1500 km) south in the Deccan, renaming Devagiri as Daulatabad. Instead of moving just his government offices there, he forcibly moved the entire population of Delhi to the new capital. The plan proved disastrous due to Mongol Attack on North.Inadequate water supply arrangements in Daulatabad; after only two years, the capital had to be shifted back again to Delhi. Multitudes died during the two moves, and it was said that Delhi was a ghost town for years after the move back. "When I entered Delhi, it was almost like a desert", wrote the famed North African travel writer, ibn Battuta. Tughluq also introduced token currency for the first time in India, modelled after the Chinese example, using brass or copper coins, backed by silver and gold kept in the treasury. However, very few people exchanged their gold or silver coins for the new copper ones. Moreover, the tokens were easy to forge, which led to heavy losses. It is said that after the plan failed, there were heaps of copper coins lying around the royal offices for years. Experiments with coinage Muhammad bin Tughluq is known for his active interest in experimenting with coinage. He memorialized himself and his activities through his coinage and produced more gold coins than had his predecessors. The coins boasted fine calligraphy. He issued a number of fractional denominations. The large influx of gold from his plundering of south Indian campaign led him to increase coinage weights. He enlarged the gold dinar from 172 grains to 202 grains. He introduced a silver coin, the adlis, which was discontinued after seven years due to lack of popularity and acceptance among his subjects. Religious tolerance Muhammad bin Tughluq was relatively liberal and permitted Hindus and Jains to settle in Delhi. The policy was reversed by his nephew Firuz Shah Tughluq. Collapse of the empire Tughluq died in 1351 on his way to Thatta. He had lived to see his empire fall apart. During the latter years of his reign new kingdoms broke away in the Deccan, such as the Bahmani kingdom founded by Hasan Gangu. Firuz Shah Tughlaq Firoz Shah Tughlaq 1309 - 1388 in Delhi, was a Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty from 1351 to 1388. He was the son of a Hindu Rajput princess of Dipalpur. His father's name was Razzab (the younger brother of Gazi Malik). Gazi Malik means Gayasuddin Tughluq. He succeeded his cousin Muhammad bin Tughluq following the later's death from a fatal illness, but due to widespread unrest Firuz's realm was much smaller than Muhammed's. Firuz was forced by rebellions to concede virtual independence to Bengal and other provinces. He was known as an iconoclast. Firoz probably learnt many lessons from his cousin Muhammad's rule. He decided not to reconquer areas that had broken away. He decided to keep nobles and the Ulema happy so that they would allow him to rule his kingdom peacefully. He was the first Muslim ruler to think of the material welfare of his people. Many rest houses, gardens and tombs were built. A number of madrasas (Islamic schools which provided Koranic education) were opened to encourage literacy. He set up hospitals for the free treatment of the poor. He provided money for the marriage of girls belonging to poor families. He commissioned many public buildings in Delhi. He built over 300 villages and dug 5 major canals for irrigation bringing more land under cultivation for growing grain and fruit. Hindu religious works were translated from Sanskrit to Persian. He had a large personal library of manuscripts in Persian, Arabic and other languages. He brought 2 Ashokan Pillars from Meerut and Topara, carefully wrapped in silk, to Delhi. He re-erected one of them in his palace at Firoz Shah Kotla. He had about 180,000 slaves, who had been brought from all over the country, trained in various arts and crafts. They however turned out to be undependable. Transfer of capital was the highlight of his reign. When the Qutb Minar struck by lightning in 1368 AD, knocking off its top storey, it was replaced by the existing two floors by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, faced with white marble. Firoz Shah's death led to many rebellions. His lenient attitude had weakened the sultan's position. His successor Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughluq II could not control the slaves or the nobles. The army had become weak. Slowly the empire shrank in size. Ten years after his death, Timur's invasion devastated Delhi. Cultural aspects The Sultans of Delhi enjoyed cordial, if superficial, relations with other Muslim rulers in the Near East but owed them no allegiance. The Sultans based their laws on the Qur'an and the sharia, and permitted non-Muslim subjects to practice their own religion if they paid jizya, or head tax. The Sultans ruled from urban center, while military camps and trading posts provided the nuclei for towns that sprang up in the countryside. Legacy The Sultanate ushered in a period of cultural renaissance. The resulting "Indo-Muslim" fusion left lasting monuments in architecture, music, literature, and religion. Due to the sacking of Delhi in 1398 by Timur (Tamerlane), other independent Sultanates were established in Awadh, Bengal, Jaunpur, Gujarat and Malwa. Sayyid The Sayyid dynasty ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1414 to 1451, succeeding the Tughlaq dynasty. The dynasty was established by Khizr Khan, who was deputized by Timur to be the governor of Multan (Punjab). Khizr Khan took Delhi from Daulat Khan Lodi on May 28, 1414 and founded the Sayyid 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 rule of the dynasty. Fall of Sultanate last Lodi ruler, Ibrahim Lodi was greatly disliked in his court and subjects alike, being considered overly ambitious. Daulat Khan, the governor of Punjab and Alam Khan, his uncle, sent an invitation to conquer Delhi to Babur, the ruler of Kabul. The first Battle of Panipat (April 1526) was fought between the forces of Babur and the Delhi Sultanate. Ibrahim Lodi was killed on the battleground. 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 India for another 300 years and with that ended the Sultanate of Delhi. [pic] Size of this preview: 800 × 400 pixels