Delhi Sultanate
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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.
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[edit] Dynasties
[edit] Mameluk
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, established control. The dynasty is also known as the Slave Dynasty as most of the rulers were former slaves of Muhammad of Ghor. He appointed Qutubuddin Aibak as his governor, and started building the Qutub Minar, which was completed by Iltutmish, his successor. Iltutmish was followed by Balban. Razia Sultana, daughter of Iltutmish, was a gifted administrator and the first female ruler from the Muslim world. But owing to discontent of the Turkish nobility, she had to step down. Many infamous and inefficient rulers followed her. Faced with revolts by conquered territories and rival families, the Mamluk dynasty came to an end in 1290.
[edit] Khalji
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.
[edit] Tughluq
[edit] 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 deputised 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 (Braudel 1984, pp 96f, 512ff).
[edit] 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.
[edit] Fall of Sultanate
The 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.
[edit] Female sultana Razia Sultana
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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] See also
- Islamic empires in India (part of the History of South Asia series) has more information at Islamic Empires in India#Delhi Sultanate
- List of Indian monarchs
[edit] References
- This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain. See Country Study, Pakistan
- Braudel, Fernand, The perspective of the World, vol III of Civilization and Capitalism 1984 (original French ed. 1979)
[edit] Literature
- Fernand Braudel The Perspective of the World, vol. III of Civilization and Capitalism (Harper & Row), 1984.
- Peter Jackson The Delhi Sultanate. A Political and Military History (Cambridge) 1999
- Majumdar, R. C. (ed.), The History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume VI, The Delhi Sultanate, (Bombay) 1960; Volume VII, The Mughal Empire, (Bombay) 1973.
- Nizami, Khaliq Ahmad Some Aspects of Religion and Politics in India in the Thirteenth Century (Delhi) 1961 (Revised Edition Delhi 2002)
- Memoir of the Emperor Timur (Malfuzat-i Timuri) Timur's memoirs on his invasion of India. Compiled in the book: "The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period", by Sir H. M. Elliot, Edited by John Dowson; London, Trubner Company; 1867–1877
- Dietmar Rothermund, Geschichte Indiens Vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart, C.H. Beck.
- Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877 - This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)
