The Delhi Sultanate
ICSE Class 7 · History & Civics · Chapter 4
What this chapter covers
- Five dynasties of the Sultanate
- The Khaljis and the rise of Alauddin
- Alauddin Khalji: expansion of the Sultanate
- Alauddin Khalji: reforms
- The Tughlaqs: a new dynasty
- Muhammad bin Tughlaq: a case study
- Firoz Shah Tughlaq
- Comparing the Khaljis and the Tughlaqs
- The Sayyids and the Lodis
- Decline of the Delhi Sultanate
Key definitions
Land revenue is the tax that farmers pay to the ruler on the crops they grow.
Token currency is money whose value is fixed by the government's order, not by the value of the metal in it.
Key points
- The Delhi Sultanate lasted from 1206 CE to 1526 CE under five dynasties: Slave, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi.
- Alauddin Khalji (1296–1316 CE) beat back the Mongols, conquered Gujarat, Ranthambhor, Chittor and Malwa, and sent Malik Kafur to make the southern kingdoms pay tribute.
- Alauddin controlled his nobles with spies, kept a standing army with dagh and huliya, took half the produce as land revenue and fixed prices through market control.
- Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325–1351 CE) was learned but his plans failed: the move to Daulatabad, token currency, higher taxes in the Doab, and the Khurasan and Qarachil expeditions.
- Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388 CE) dug canals, founded towns and set up a hospital and charity, but hereditary iqtas and army posts weakened the Sultanate.
- Timur sacked Delhi in 1398 CE; the Sayyids (1414–1451 CE) ruled only a small kingdom.
- The Lodis were Afghans; Sikandar Lodi founded Agra, and Ibrahim Lodi lost to Babur at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 CE.
- The Sultanate declined because of disputes over succession, weak rulers, rebellious nobles, its great size, the mistakes of the Tughlaqs and foreign invasions.
Questions answered
Name the five dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate in the correct order.
Slave (Mamluk), Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi.
How did Alauddin Khalji become Sultan?
He used the treasure from his raid on Devagiri to win over the nobles and the army, had his uncle Jalaluddin Khalji killed, and took the throne in 1296 CE.
What were dagh and huliya?
Dagh was the branding of army horses and huliya was a written description of each soldier; both stopped cheating at army inspections.
Why did Alauddin introduce market control, and how was it enforced?
He paid a large army in cash and wanted their salaries to be enough to live on. Prices were fixed, grain was kept in government granaries, and the Shahna-i-Mandi and spies watched the markets and punished cheating traders.
How did Alauddin's policy towards the southern kingdoms differ from Muhammad bin Tughlaq's?
Alauddin let the southern kings keep their thrones if they paid tribute; Muhammad bin Tughlaq tried to rule the south directly and even moved his capital to Daulatabad.
Give two reasons for the transfer of the capital to Daulatabad and one reason it failed.
Daulatabad was near the centre of the empire and further from the Mongols. It failed because most of the people of Delhi were forced to make a long, deadly journey, and the north could not be controlled from the south.
Why did the token currency fail?
The copper and brass coins were easy to copy, people made them at home and paid their taxes with them, and the Sultan had to exchange them for real coins at a heavy loss.
Name three public works of Firoz Shah Tughlaq.
Any three of: canals from the Yamuna and the Sutlej; the towns of Firozabad, Hisar and Jaunpur; the Dar-ul-Shifa hospital; the Diwan-i-Khairat; rest houses, wells and gardens; repair of old buildings.