Afghans and the Sultanate of Delhi

• Who was the most able king of the Khilji (خلجی) dynasty? Describe the measures he took to make his rule prosperous and peaceful.

The Khilji dynasty ruled the Delhi Sultanate for 30 years; out of which 20 years were under Alauddin Khilji (علاؤالدّین خلجی). Alauddin was no doubt the most able and powerful ruler of the Khilji dynasty.

He established a strong army to deal with internal and external threats, as well as to expand his empire; this brought peace to his kingdom. To make his empire prosperous he brought prices of food items under the state control, fixed taxes, introduced land reforms to control the power of nobles (the Jagirdars). Public meetings were banned to stop rebellious thoughts and movements. He also promoted education which in turn further developed the economy.

• Why were the Mongols a threat to the Delhi sultanate? Who can be compared to them in the earlier history of the Hindu kingdoms?

The Mongol empire was the largest of its time; it had ended the Abbasid dynasty in Arabia and was spreading fast from Mongolia. Seeing the past history of invasions of India by Central Asian and Greek invaders, and present zeal and passion of the Mongols, it was not impossible that the Delhi Sultanate would be raided and ended too.

Mongols can be compared to the Huns in the Gupta era (c. 320 – 550 CE) who like the Mongols were a warrior tribe from Central Asia and took pleasure in plundering and destroying everything.

• How did Timur’s invasion become an important event for the Delhi Sultanate?

In 1398, Timur routed the army of the Delhi Sultan, Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah Tughlaq. His soldiers ransacked Delhi for three days. This invasion left India plundered and devastated. Timur, like Sultan Mahmud of Ghanzi, took Indian artisans and craftsmen back with him to develop his own empire. The Sultanate of Delhi lost its power and broke up into many small states.

• Explain why the two experiments by Muhammad (bin) Tughlaq (محمد بن تغلق) to improve his rule failed.

His first experiment of token currency failed because despite his vast knowledge and intelligence, he was not enough far sighted. He could not have anticipated the possibility of forged money.

Perhaps out of his overambitious nature and overconfidence, he made one more experiment which ended in a disaster. This time again, he did not prove to be a far sighted ruler. A lot of people died on the way to his new capital, Daulatabad. It could not maintain the new population without any fresh water supply.

• Who was Ibn Batuta (ابن بطوطہ)? Why are people like him important for the subject of history?

Ibn Batuta was a Moroccan traveller who came to India in 1333. He had started his travels at the age of 21 and journeyed through Africa and Asia.

Historians generally depend on previously written books and word of mouth before writing history. Such works are not as reliable as those which are created when a historian himself meets people in person and visits places to record biographies and events. Ibn Batuta was from the same kind of historians who extensively travelled to vast areas; served in India for 7 years as a judge. His works reflect his personal experience and the firsthand information.

• Why is Feroz (Shah) Tughlaq’s reign different from that of Muhammad (bin) Tughlaq?

He was not as good at warfare as his predecessor, Muhammad Tughlaq was, but he became prominent because of his welfare efforts. To improve agriculture and the life of the peasant, Feroz (Shah) Tughlaq started irrigation of farmlands by having canals dug. These canals were later retained and extended by the British. In addition, 150 wells were dug, and wheat, sugarcane, and fruits were grown extensively.

Feroz (Shah) Tughlaq (فیروز شاہ تغلق) was different from Muhammad (bin) Tughlaq in one more respect. Like the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan, he was a master builder and equalled the Roman Emperor Augustus’ love for building. He constructed five towns, 30 palaces, 200 caravan serais, 100 bridges, 1200 gardens, 10 monumental pillars, and 10 public baths.

• What was different about the Sayyid and Lodhi dynasties? What were the impacts of their rules?

The Sayyid dynasty ruled a small Sultanate for roughly fifty years. It was Turk in origin. They were replaced by an Afghan, Bahlol Lodhi (بہلول) who founded the Lodhi dynasty that lasted for seventy five years.

Lodhis were comparatively stronger than the Sayyids. They expanded their kingdom under Bahlol and Sikander. The rule of Sikander (سکندر) saw the beginning and rise of Hindu and Sikh revivalist movements – the Bhakti Movement and Sikhism, which later largely impacted the history of the subcontinent.

Social and cultural developments

• How did Urdu develop as a language?

Urdu started as a mixture of Persian, Turkish, Arabic and Sanskrit during the Delhi Sultanate where people from various cultures interacted and worked together, especially in the army camps, and bazars (markets). Sufis also used it to communicate with the common people as their audience belonged to different communities and Urdu served as a common language. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it developed as a literary language when great poetry and prose was written in it. Gradually it became a symbol of Muslim culture in north and south India but was as much as a language in use by the Hindus.

• What evidence of Islamic influence do we see in the subcontinent’s architecture?

Muslims ruled the subcontinent for several hundred years; it means a lot of its architecture should have the Islamic influence on it. It is very different from the way Hindu temples were decorated and designed. Qutb Minar (قطب مینار), mosques, tombs have characteristic arches, domes, geometrical patterns, arabesques, calligraphic forms and enameled tiles. Fancy carvings and delicate lattice work in stone and marble was used in pillars, domes and arches. Since almost all the Muslim rulers were Turkish, their architecture is a blend of Islamic (Arabic) and Central Asian designs.

• How do we know the histories of the Sultans of Delhi?

Many of the histories of the Sultans of Delhi were written by court historians such as Ferishta, Barani, Afif, and Amir Khusro. Ibn Batuta, the famous traveler also wrote an account of Muhammad Tughlaq’s reign. Feroz Shah Tughlaq wrote his autobiography, Fatuhat-e-Ferz Shahi. All these are a good source of information about the Delhi Sultanate.

• What role did the Sufis play in the spread of Islam during the Delhi Sultanate?

The most important role that they played was they acted as a bridge between the common people and the rulers. The Sultans held them in high esteem due to their own belief system and another reason that they had a great following of people.

The Sufis settled in various areas and with their simple and appealing lifestyles made thousands of converts to Islam. The local people such as the artisans, peasants, and farmers found good religious leaders in the Sufis because they practiced equality more than the Ulema who were not easily accessible.

• Which characteristics of the Sufis impressed the people to convert to Islam?

Compared to the Ulema, the Sufis were close to the people. Instead of literary Arabic and Persian, they used a simple language like Urdu to communicate with people. They impressed the masses with their simple lifestyles and made thousands of converts to Islam.

• Name two Sufi reformers of Sindh. How is respect shown to them by the people?

Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi and Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (Syed Shah Hussain Marwandi) were to sufi reformers of Sindh.

People show respect by visiting their shrines, give away charity, and seek blessings.

• What is the content of the book ‘Kashf-ul-Mahjoob’ (کشف المحجوب)?

The book ‘Kashf-ul-Mahjoob’ is a history of all the saings of sufi saints from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (BUH) to the time of Ali Bin Usman Hajveri (Data Ganj Bakhsh – داتا گنج بخش).

• Name the two orders of the Sufis that came to India. Find out the differences between the two.

The two orders are the Chishtiya silsila (چشتیہ سلسلہ) or order and the Qalandaria silsila (قلندریہ سلسلہ). The Chisthtiya order spread mainly in and around Delhi and the Doab region. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and Khwaja Nizamuddn Aulia belong to the same order. Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sindh belonged to the Qalandaria order.

Afghans and the Sultanate of Delhi

• Who was the most able king of the Khilji (خلجی) dynasty? Describe the measures he took to make his rule prosperous and peaceful.

The Khilji dynasty ruled the Delhi Sultanate for 30 years; out of which 20 years were under Alauddin Khilji (علاؤالدّین خلجی). Alauddin was no doubt the most able and powerful ruler of the Khilji dynasty.

He established a strong army to deal with internal and external threats, as well as to expand his empire; this brought peace to his kingdom. To make his empire prosperous he brought prices of food items under the state control, fixed taxes, introduced land reforms to control the power of nobles (the Jagirdars). Public meetings were banned to stop rebellious thoughts and movements. He also promoted education which in turn further developed the economy.

• Why were the Mongols a threat to the Delhi sultanate? Who can be compared to them in the earlier history of the Hindu kingdoms?

The Mongol empire was the largest of its time; it had ended the Abbasid dynasty in Arabia and was spreading fast from Mongolia. Seeing the past history of invasions of India by Central Asian and Greek invaders, and present zeal and passion of the Mongols, it was not impossible that the Delhi Sultanate would be raided and ended too.

Mongols can be compared to the Huns in the Gupta era (c. 320 – 550 CE) who like the Mongols were a warrior tribe from Central Asia and took pleasure in plundering and destroying everything.

• How did Timur’s invasion become an important event for the Delhi Sultanate?

In 1398, Timur routed the army of the Delhi Sultan, Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah Tughlaq. His soldiers ransacked Delhi for three days. This invasion left India plundered and devastated. Timur, like Sultan Mahmud of Ghanzi, took Indian artisans and craftsmen back with him to develop his own empire. The Sultanate of Delhi lost its power and broke up into many small states.

• Explain why the two experiments by Muhammad (bin) Tughlaq (محمد بن تغلق) to improve his rule failed.

His first experiment of token currency failed because despite his vast knowledge and intelligence, he was not enough far sighted. He could not have anticipated the possibility of forged money.

Perhaps out of his overambitious nature and overconfidence, he made one more experiment which ended in a disaster. This time again, he did not prove to be a far sighted ruler. A lot of people died on the way to his new capital, Daulatabad. It could not maintain the new population without any fresh water supply.

• Who was Ibn Batuta (ابن بطوطہ)? Why are people like him important for the subject of history?

Ibn Batuta was a Moroccan traveller who came to India in 1333. He had started his travels at the age of 21 and journeyed through Africa and Asia.

Historians generally depend on previously written books and word of mouth before writing history. Such works are not as reliable as those which are created when a historian himself meets people in person and visits places to record biographies and events. Ibn Batuta was from the same kind of historians who extensively travelled to vast areas; served in India for 7 years as a judge. His works reflect his personal experience and the firsthand information.

• Why is Feroz (Shah) Tughlaq’s reign different from that of Muhammad (bin) Tughlaq?

He was not as good at warfare as his predecessor, Muhammad Tughlaq was, but he became prominent because of his welfare efforts. To improve agriculture and the life of the peasant, Feroz (Shah) Tughlaq started irrigation of farmlands by having canals dug. These canals were later retained and extended by the British. In addition, 150 wells were dug, and wheat, sugarcane, and fruits were grown extensively.

Feroz (Shah) Tughlaq (فیروز شاہ تغلق) was different from Muhammad (bin) Tughlaq in one more respect. Like the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan, he was a master builder and equalled the Roman Emperor Augustus’ love for building. He constructed five towns, 30 palaces, 200 caravan serais, 100 bridges, 1200 gardens, 10 monumental pillars, and 10 public baths.

• What was different about the Sayyid and Lodhi dynasties? What were the impacts of their rules?

The Sayyid dynasty ruled a small Sultanate for roughly fifty years. It was Turk in origin. They were replaced by an Afghan, Bahlol Lodhi (بہلول) who founded the Lodhi dynasty that lasted for seventy five years.

Lodhis were comparatively stronger than the Sayyids. They expanded their kingdom under Bahlol and Sikander. The rule of Sikander (سکندر) saw the beginning and rise of Hindu and Sikh revivalist movements – the Bhakti Movement and Sikhism, which later largely impacted the history of the subcontinent.