Shah Jahan) Supported by His Father-In- Law, Asaf Khan Rebelled Against Jahangir
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Ghiasuddin Balban (1266– 86 C.E.) ØHe was slave of Iltumish. ØHe was one of the prominent members of the Chalgani created by Iltutmish. ØHis major challenge was from the Chalgani (The Forty) so through overt (putting down the rebellions) & covert operations (Sijda, Paibos) he liquidated them. ØBalban’s policy was of Blood & Iron, this made him a despot. Continued.. ØHe propounded the Divine Right Theory of Kingship as he considered himself the Vice Royalty of God on Earth. ØHe described himself as Zil-i-Ilahi (shadow of God on Earth) in his coins. ØHe traced his descent to the Mythical Turkish hero Afrasiyab. ØHe introduced several Persian customs such as Sijda (prostration to the king) and Paibos (Kissing of king’s feet) ØPersian Calendar & Persian festival of Nauroz was introduced by him. ØBalban patronized Amir Khusrau (The parrot of India). ØHe established a separate military department Diwan-i-Arz & reorganized the army. ØHe also appointed spies to check the activities of the nobles. ØBalban’s rule saw the restoration of law & order around Delhi. ØEarlier the Mewathis often plundered its outskirts, so, Balban went down heavily on them & restored order thus the roads became safe for travel. End ØBalban groomed his son prince Muhammad to be his successor but the latter was killed in a battle against Mongols in the North-West. ØBalban died in 1287 C.E., nominating Kai Khusrau, his grandson to be the next Sultan but he was over looked & Kaikubad, other grandson of Balban was placed in the throne but he was incompetent & this led Jaluluddin Khilji, to occupy Delhi by a military coup in 1290 C.E. ØThus the dynasty came to an end within 3 years of the death of Balban. Sample Question Which among the following rulers belonged to Mamulak Dynasty? [a] Sikandar Lodhi [b] Mahmud Ghazni [c] Balban [d] Mohammed Ghori The Khilji Dynasty (1290 C.E. – 1320 C.E.) Jalal-ud-din Khilji(1290–96 C.E.) ØJalal-ud-din Khilji was the founder of this dynasty. ØHis policy was of peace & moderation. ØHe arrested numerous thugs & robbers but pardoned & sent them to Bengal. ØHe defeated the Mongols who invaded the north-western region in 1292 C.E. but accepted their peace offer & pardoned them. Ø1296 C.E.: Alauddin Khilji took an expedition to Devagiri & returned to Kara with a huge booty, during the reception there, he treacherously murdered his father-in-law Jalaluddin Khilji & usurped the throne of Delhi. Alauddin Khilji (1296 C.E. – 1316 C.E.) ØHis original name was Ali Gurshasp. ØHe was considered the most powerful sultan of Delhi. ØMilitary Conquests: Ø1299 C.E.: Alauddin sent an army under the command of Nusrat Khan & Ulugh Khan to conquer Gujrat. The Raja Karan of Anhilvar (Bhagela dynasty) was caught unaware, therefore, he escaped along with his daughter while the queen was caught & sent to Delhi where the sultan married her and made her the chief queen. ØAlauddin’s 2nd great find in Gujarat was the handsome Hindu turned Muslim eunuch (Malik Kafur), who was made the Malik Naib military commander by him later. Allauddin’s Victories Ø In 1301 C.E., Alauddin marched against Ranthambore. It fell after a 3 months siege & its ruler Hamir Deva was killed. Ø Raja Ratan Singh of Chittor was defeated but his wife & other Rajput women including Rani Padmini performed Jauhar keeping up with the tradition. (This Padmini episode has been described in the book Padmavat written by Malik Mohammed Jayasi) Ø Alauddin Khilji was the first sultan who invaded South India. Ø He sent his trustworthy general Malik Kafur against the ruler of the south namely Ramachandra ,the Yadava ruler of Devagiri, Pratap Rudra Deva, the Kakatiya ruler of Warangal, Vira Ballal III, the Hoysala ruler of Dwarasamudra & Vira Pandya the Pandya ruler of Madurai. Ø Malik Kafur defeated them all & brought a huge booty to Delhi. Ø Malik Kafur reached till Rameshwaram before returning to Delhi. Ø Ala-ud-din successfully repelled the Mongol invasion several times except once when the Mongols came upto Delhi but they were prevented from entering the city. Sample Question Which of the following military general of Alauddin led the Khilji dynasty invasions to South India? [a] Ulugh Khan [b] Malik Kafur [c] Khusrau Shah [d] Arizuddin Khan Reforms of Alauddin Khalji Ø He maintained a large permanent standing army & paid them in cash from the royal treasury. Ø He introduced Dagh (branding of horses) & prepared Huliya (description list of soldiers). Ø Review of army from time to time was also carried out. Ø He introduced price regulations for various products. Ø He established 4 markets (Mandis) in Delhi Ø Grain market Ø Cloth market Ø Cattle market (horses, donkeys etc.) & Ø Miscellaneous commodities. Ø Government store houses were built & this ensured that the prices did not rise even during famines. Ø Each market was under a high control called Shahna-i-Mandi. Ø Every merchant was registered under the market department which was under the Diwan-i-Riyasat (The commerce ministry) Ø Secret agents called Munhiyans sent reports to the sultan about the functioning of the markets. Ø Weights & measures were seriously checked. Reforms of Alauddin Khalji ØHe was the first sultan of Delhi who ordered for the measurement of land. ØMeasurement of land ensured that nobody evades land tax. ØHe fixed the land revenue as half of the produce & called it Kharaj. ØHe abolished intermediaries such as Zamindars & brought the peasants a&farmers in direct contact with the sultanate. ØCattle tax & house tax were also levied. ØThe Khalisa lands (the territory whose revenue accrued directly to the imperial treasury) were significantly expanded. ØLand revenue was collected in cash. Reforms to control the Rebellions ØHe considered that the general prosperity of the nobles, inter marriages between noble families, inefficient spy systems & drunkenness of the nobles were the reasons for the rebellions, therefore, he passed 4 ordinances, which are: ØMarriage, social gatherings and festivities should only be conducted after receiving the permission from the sultan. ØHe introduced complete prohibition on the sale of liquor & other intoxicating drugs. ØHe confiscated lands granted to nobles. ØHe reorganized the intelligence system. ØAlauddin Khilji was the first sultan of Delhi to segregate politics from religion. ØAlauddin Khilji established a new city called Siri near Delhi which became his new capital and in this city he constructed a huge tank called Hauz Khas. ØHe constructed a famous gateway of Delhi known as Alai Darwaza. ØAlauddin Khilji died in 1316 C.E. due to an acute health condition. End ØAfter his death, Malik Kafur placed Shihabuddin , six year old son of Alauddin Khalji to the throne but he was removed by Mubarak Khan (1316 C.E. – 1320 C.E.) ØQutbuddin Mubarak Shah was an incapable & weak ruler and he showed special favors on one of the slave boys named Khusrau Khan and made him Wazir. ØIn 1320 C.E., Khusrau Khan, treacherously put his master to death & ascended the throne with the title of Nasiruddin Khusrau Shah. ØNasiruddin Khusrau Shah let loose the reign of terror & this made Gazi Malik (Ghiasuddin Tughlaq), the governor of Punjab to rise in & and invade Delhi, this resulted in the defeat & death of Khusrau Shah Tughlaq Dynasty Ghiasuddin Tughlaq Shah:(1320 –25 C.E.) Ø He was the founder of Tughlaq dynasty. Ø He was originally called Ghazi Malik but after ascending the throne of Delhi in 1320 C.E., he called himself Ghiasuddin Tughlaq Shah. Ø He constructed the city of Tughlagabad, the first fortified city built by Sultans of Delhi Sultanate. Ø Amir Khusrau adorned his court also. Amir Khusrau served under 5 different sultans. Ø He made Jauna Khan (Ulugh Khan (then) Mohammed-bin-Tughlaq) his son the crown prince. Ø Ghiasuddin Tughlaq left Delhi in charge of Jauna Khan & led an expedition to Bengal. He won the battle. Ø Jauna Khan arranged a grand reception for Ghiasuddin Tughlaq, his father at Afghanpur near Delhi on the triumphant return of the imperial army from Bengal. The Wooden Pavilion Under which the Sultan was received & entertained collapsed suddenly killing the king Ghaisuddin Tughlaq when the elephants entered the venue. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (1325 –51 C.E.) ØFakruddin Muhammad Jauna Khan ascended the throne after the death of his father at Tughlaqabad after which he was popularly called as Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. ØHe was the most educated of all the preceding sultans of Delhi. ØHe was a scholar of Persian & Arabic and well versed in subjects like Astronomy, Mathematics and Philosophy. ØHe maintained diplomatic relations with far off countries like Egypt, China & Iran. ØIsami, Ibn Battuta (Morrocan traveler), Ziauddn Barani were the notable cotemporary authors of his time. ØHe brought in reforms in almost all sectors but almost all reforms either failed or back fired at him. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (1325 –51 C.E.) ØThe first grand project conceived by Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq was to transfer his capital from Delhi to Devagiri in Deccan which was renamed Daulatabad in 1327 C.E. This project caused the people great hardship as the whole royal household, Ulemas & Sufis were also ordered to shift. Many people died during the rigorous journey in the summer. After 2 years, the Sultan abandoned Daulatabad & asked everyone to return to Delhi. ØThe second unprecedented project launched by Muhammad-bin- Tughlaq was the introduction of Token Currency. This was a concept that was far ahead of his time. ØThis token currency experiment costed him dearly because people began to forge currencies & the new coins were not accepted in the market. So, the sultan stopped the circulation of token currency and exchanged silver coins for bronze coins this emptied the state treasury.