Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq:

Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, Ghiasuddin Tughlaq, or

Gazi Malik (Ghazi means 'Muslim defender'),
(died c. 1325 ) was the founder of the Tughluq
dynasty in India, who ruled over the Sultanate of
Delhi from 1320 to -1325. He founded the city of
Tughluqabad. His reign was ended five years later
when he died under mysterious circumstances in
1325.

He was succeeded by Muhammad bin Tughluq

Literary, numismatic and epigraphic texts make it

clear that Tughluq was the name of the Sultan,
not the name of the ancestors. His genealogy is
disputed among modern historians, because the
earliest sources are quite different in relation to
it. Tughluq court poet Badr-i Chach tried to trace the royal family line, but this
could be dismissed as flattering. This is evident from the fact that another board
member, Amir Khusrau, in his Tughluq Nama, claims that Tughluq described
himself as an insignificant person ("awara mard") in his first job. Moroccan pilgrim
Ibn Battuta states that Tughluq belonged to the "Turkish Qarauna", who lived in
the hilly region between Turkestan and Sindh. Ibn Battuta's source of the claim
was Sufi saint Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fateh, but the claim is not substantiated by
another modern source. Ferishta, based on inquiries in Lahore, wrote that Indian
historians and correspondents had refrained from making any explicit statements
about the origins of the monarchy, despite admitting that Tughluq's father was a
Turkish slave of former Balban dynasty who formed a coalition despite Jatt's
monarchy.

Different sources give different accounts of Tughluq's original work. Shams-i Siraj
Afif, in his book Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi states that Tughluq arrived in Delhi from
Khorasan during the reign of Alauddin Khalji (r. 1296-1316), along with his
brothers Rajab and Abu Bakr. However, Amir Khusrau, an official of Tughluq, in his
book Tughluq Nama states that he was already in Delhi during the reign of his
predecessor Alauddin Jalal-ud-din (1290-1296). Tughluq Nama says nothing about
Tughluq's arrival in India from another country, thus meaning that Tughluq was
born in India.

Tughlaq began his career as a humble servant working for a merchant where he
worked as a horse keeper before entering the service of Khalji.

Life:
According to Tughluq Nama of Khusrau, Tughluq spent a long time looking for
work in Delhi, before joining Jalaluddin Khalji's royal bodyguard. Khusrau states
that Tughluq first came to prominence in the early 1290s, during the
Ranthambore siege, when the Khalji forces were led by Ulugh Khan.Khusrau
suggests that Tughluq was temporarily blackened after the assassination of
Jalaluddin by his nephew Alauddin Khalji. This is possible because, unlike many
other officials, Tughluq did not immediately change his allegiance to Alauddin.

However, it was during Alauddin's reign that Tughluq succeeded. He entered the
service of Khalji as a personal employee of Alauddin's brother Ulugh Khan. At the
Battle of Amroha (1305), when the Khalji army defeated the Mongol army from
the Chagatai Khanate, Tughluq was one of the great Khalji general commanders
Malik Nayak. During the Mongol invasion in 1306, Tughluq led an army in Khalji,
under General Malik Kafur, and defeated the invaders.

Alauddin installed Tughluq as governor of Multan, then installed Dipalpur, both of

present-day Pakistan. These provinces were located near the border with the
Delhi Sultanate, and included the routes used by the Mongol invaders. The fact
that Alauddin trusted Tughluq with such difficult assignments suggests that by this
time Tughluq had gained a reputation for his martial arts.
After Alauddin's death in 1316, Malik Kafur ruled the Sultanate for a while with
Alauddin's youngest son Shihabuddin Omar as puppet ruler. There is no record
that Tughluq was opposed to Kafur at this time. Kafur sent Ayn al-Mulk Multani to
end the rebellion in Gujarat, but was killed shortly afterwards, while Multani was
in Chittor on his way to Gujarat. Alauddin's eldest son Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah
then took over the administration, sending Tughluq to Chittor with a message
asking the Multani to continue his march to Gujarat. Multani welcomed Tughluq
to Chittor, but refused to continue the march, as his officials had not personally
witnessed the new Sultan. Tughluq then returned to Delhi, and advised Mubarak
Shah to send firms (royal powers) confirming his position to the Multani
authorities. The new Sultan agreed, and as a result, the Multani's power resumed
its march to Gujarat. Tughluq allied himself with the force, although Multani
maintained its supreme command.

Reversal and rebellion

Muhammad ibn Tughluq faced serious problems resulting from expansion into southern
India. Eschewing the Khilji policy of maintaining Hindu tributary states in the south, Muhammad ibn
Tughluq, while still a prince, had begun to bring southern Hindu powers under the direct control of the
sultanate, a policy he continued as sultan. Direct Muslim rule in the south, however, did not necessarily
signify control from Delhi. In an effort both to settle other Muslim nobles in the south and to maintain
his control over them, the sultan made Daulat Abad (Dadagiri) his second capital in 1327.

Muhammad ibn Tughluq moved to Daulat Abad to ensure an effective control over the wealthy and
fertile Deccan and Gujarat and possibly also to gain access to the western and southern ports.
Gujarat, the Coromandel Coast, and Bengal were the core areas of India’s overseas trade. Huge
supplies of textiles and other goods, including glass and metal objects manufactured in these regions,
were exported to the Middle East, Africa, and East and Southeast Asia in exchange for
horses, precious metals, extracted goods, and raw materials. Muhammad ibn Tughluq also planned
to face the Mongols by positioning and equipping himself at a safe distance from the northwest.

However, no sooner was the sultan established at Daulat Abad than trouble broke out in the north, on
the western border, and in Bengal. Muhammad ibn Tughluq had to move back to Delhi to crush the
rebellions by his nobles. He also was less successful against an invasion by the Mongols, who had come
almost to the gates of Delhi. On the other hand, by 1335 the Muslim governor of Maber, the
southernmost province of the sultanate, declared his independence and founded the sultanate
of Madura while Muhammad ibn Tughluq was busy quelling a rebellion in Lahore. Soon rebellions by
Hindu chiefs had resulted in the formation of several new states, the most important of which
was Vijayanagar. During the next few years, while the sultan shuttled to and for in an attempt to put
down rebellions in practically every province, he lost control of the rest of his south Indian possessions
after successful rebellions in Gulbarga (1339), Warangal (1345–46), and Daulat Abad, which led to
the founding of the Bahmani sultanate (1347). Muhammad ibn Tughluq spent the last five years
of his life trying to suppress yet another rebellion in Gujarat and thus could not make an attempt to
regain Daulat Abad.

Muhammad ibn Tughluq’s successor, his cousin Firoz Shah (reigned 1351–88), campaigned in Bengal
(1353–54 and 1359), Orissa (1360), Nagarro (1361), Sind (1362 and 1366–67), Etowah (1377),
and Cather (1380). Firoz was unable to recover Bengal for the sultanate, and Sind was no more than a
tribute-paying vassal during his reign. Firoz also showed no interest in reconquering the southern
provinces. He refused to accept an invitation (c. 1365) from a Bahmani prince to intervene in the politics
of the Deccan.

Firoz has been noted in particular for his conciliatory attitude toward the two main influential Muslim
groups of the period—the religious leaders and the nobility. While Alan al-Din Khilji had kept religion
and religious leaders apart from his political plans and Muhammad ibn Tughluq had incurred
the enmity of at least some Sufis because of his refusal to give them what they regarded as proper
support, Firoz rewarded Sufis and other religious leaders generously and listened to their counsel. He
also created charities to aid poor Muslims, built colleges and mosques, and abolished taxes not
recognized by Muslim law.

Balaban, Alan al-Din, and Muhammad ibn Tughluq all had made attempts to check the power of the
nobility and the religious leaders; the latter two also had realized the necessity of allowing a certain
amount of mobility both into and within the army and civil administration for groups that had come to
represent significant and articulated interests. Such a policy also enhanced the power of the
sultans over all the nobility, because it removed old nobles and provided grateful new ones. Judging by
the revolts during his reign, however, Muhammad ibn Tughluq’s policy toward his nobility was too
autocratic to succeed. Firoz adopted policies that gave his nobles much more autonomy. The result
was that the sultan lost both an important means of leverage and a means of adjusting to new political
circumstances. Firoz also made little or no attempt to pay officers in cash (rather than in assignments of
land revenue), granted hereditary appointments, and extended the system of revenue farming. All these
measures, which reversed policies adopted by one or more of the strong rulers of the previous several
decades, tended to decrease Firoz’s control over his nobility and over the revenue system.
Reign:
Tughluq established the Tughluq dynasty and ruled over the Sultanate of Delhi
from 1320 to 1325. Tughluq's policy was harsh against the Mongols. He had
executed Ilkhan Oljeitu's envoys and severely punished Mongol prisoners. He
fought various campaigns against the Mongols and defeated them in 1305 at the
Battle of Amroha. As Tughluq continued on from Multan to Delhi, the Soomro
tribe rebelled and took Thatta. Tughluq appointed Tajuddin Malik as governor of
Multan and Khwájah Khatír as governor of Bakkar and left Malik Ali Sher in charge
of Sehwan.

In 1323, Tughluq sent his son Fakhruddin Jauna (later Muhammad bin Tughluq)
on a trip to the Katatiya capital, Warangal. The subsequent siege of Warangal led
to the establishment of Warangal, as well as the end of the Katatiya dynasty.

In 1323 he appointed his son Muhammad Shah as his successor and successor and
took a promise or written agreement from the Minister and dignitaries of the
state.

He also started building Tughlaqabad Fort.

During his reign, Tughlaq built a stable administration of the indigenous Punjab,
reflecting his traditional power in Dipalpur, and the methods he used to seize
power.

Society and the state under the Tughluqs

The Tughluq rule roughly coincided with an important and interesting development in the Hindu
countryside, which, to a degree, was a reaction to Alan al-Din Khilji’s harsh measures. If, on the one
hand, his new policy of taxation cut into the power of the erstwhile ruling chiefs who had escaped
regular payment by offering tribute only under military pressure, it meant, on the other hand, a heavy
loss of revenue for the small landlords and village headmen. The latter were also often subjected to
severe corporal torture. The power of the Delhi regime, however, suffered an obvious setback after that.
The former rural elite began to reappear, consolidated into the great Rajput caste spread over much of
northern India. Incorporating such groups as the Chauhan’s and the Gadwalls as subcastes and clans, the
Rajput’s claimed power and perquisites, at least at the local level. The first appearance of the generic
term zamindar, which denoted first superior rights over land and its produce and later came to
represent the local power-mongers themselves, dates to this period. The new caste cohesion also
created a sense of unity between the village elite and the peasantry, which in turn added to their
strength; at certain levels, the two classes became virtually undifferentiated.

The Tughluqs thus had to handle the rural classes with care and diplomatic skill. Ghalyah al-Din Tughluq
modified Alan al-Din Khilji’s system by exempting the village headmen from paying taxes on their
cultivation and cattle, but he confirmed the Khilji sultan’s injunctions that the headmen were not to levy
anything in addition to the existing land tax on the peasantry.

As Muhammad ibn Tughluq adopted a stern policy, he provoked rebellion by the rural chiefs and the
peasants, but, interestingly, he was also the first Indian ruler in recorded history to advance loans
(acavid) to the villagers for rehabilitation following a disastrous famine. He also proposed a grand
scheme for improving cropping patterns and extending cultivation. Firoz Tughluq created the biggest
network of canals known in premodern India, wrote off the loans granted earlier to the peasants by
Muhammad ibn Tughluq, and, more significantly, enforced a policy of fixed tax, as opposed to the
former proportional one, thus guaranteeing in normal times a larger share of surplus to the
intermediaries.

The desire of the Tughluq sultans for warmer relations with society as a whole was further illustrated by
a generally appreciative approach to local social and religious practices. A few Hindus and Jains had
held state positions under the Khilji’s; under the Tughluqs the non-Muslim Indians rose to high and
extremely responsible offices, including the governorships of provinces. Muhammad ibn Tughluq was
the first Muslim ruler to make planned efforts to induct Hindus into administration. He also conducted
several discourses with Indian scholars and saints. Firoz showed keen interest in Indian culture,
commissioning Persian translations (Persian being the court language) of some important Sanskrit texts
and placing an Ashokan pillar in a prominent position on the roof of his palace.

While all these developments indicated the sultans’ broadly tolerant and catholic policies, they
demonstrated at the same time the strength of the locality. What was then emerging was a kind of tacit
sharing of power between the local Hindu magnates and the essentially town-based
Muslim aristocracy as a crucial source of political stability. Significantly, by the time of the Tughluqs,
a theory of Islamic power, different from the universal Islamic theory of state, had also begun to
emerge. The Tughluq state was, in a formal sense, Islamic. The sultans could not allow open violation of
Sahirah. They appointed Islamic scholars (ulama) to profitable offices and granted revenue-free lands
to many of them. But the policy of the state was based increasingly upon the opinion of the sultans and
their advisers and not on any religious texts as interpreted by the (ulama). In view of practical needs
and worldly considerations (jihadi), the sultans supplemented Sahirah by framing their own state laws
(thaw bit). These regulations in cases of conflict overrode the universal Muslim law.
Accommodation and tolerance afforded a most secure course in such a situation; however, the threat
from the locality, as well as from the Muslim nobles in control of the provinces, sometimes compelled
the sultans to assert their Islamic connections rather forcefully. By doing so, the sultans also intended to
strike a balance between the demands of orthodoxy and the needs of the state. Ghalyah al-Din
Tughluq’s success against Khosrow Khan was presented as the regeneration of Islam in India.
Muhammad ibn Tughluq had removed the name of the Abbasid caliph from his coins, but, when he
faced rebellion from every side, he searched for a caliph who could give him some moral authority to
deal at least with his refractory Muslim officers. Firoz inherited a more difficult situation. Like his
predecessor, he obtained a letter of investiture from the caliph. Further, he took several measures to
align the state with Sunnite orthodoxy. In addition to giving important concessions to
the (ulama), he banned unorthodox practices, persecuted heretical sects, and refused to exempt the
Brahmans from the payment of jizya, or poll tax on non-Muslims, on the ground that this was not
provided for in the Sahirah. Muhammad ibn Tughluq’s largesse toward the Muslim foreigners was
legendary. Firoz generously funded pious works within his territory and in other parts of the Islamic
world.
The Tughluqs did not fare well in the face of an imminent crisis of the central treasury. With the loss
of Bengal and the southern provinces, Delhi was disconnected from the important supply lines of its gold
and silver. This in turn affected its capacity to import horses and soldiers. Cavalry, the backbone of
the sultanate army, was thus severely crippled. Good warhorses were extremely expensive; in the mid-
14th century an ordinary Central Asian steed cost 100 silver tangas, an exceptional one 500 silver
tangas, while a fine Arabian or Persian racehorse cost as much as 1,000 to 4,000 silver tangas. The
sultans’ liberal support of the various holy centers and eminent individuals of the Islamic East also
contributed to the shortage of precious metals. In response, Muhammad ibn Tughluq attempted to
reduce the weight of his coins and experimented with token money. His proposed expeditions to
Khurasan and the Himalayas were possibly aimed at locating new sources of horses and precious
metals. Firoz Tughluq addressed the crisis by withdrawing the practice of cash payment to the soldiers
and by building an army from among the huge corps of slaves ( mukluks) plundered from throughout
the sultanate. The slaves were, however, no match for the mounted archers from the countries
northwest of the subcontinent.

Thus, Firoz’s weak policy toward his nobility, his light hand on the reins of administration, the resultant
inefficiency and corruption among his ranks, and, indeed, his predecessor Muhammad ibn Tughluq’s
failure could be explained only in part in terms of these leaders’ personal proclivities. Both were
overwhelmed by social and economic circumstances
Decline of the sultanate
By 1388, when Firoz Tughluq died, the decline of the sultanate was imminent; subsequent succession
disputes and palace intrigues only accelerated its pace. The sons and grandsons of Firoz, supported by
various groups of nobles, began a struggle for the throne that rapidly diminished the authority
of Delhi and provided opportunities for Muslim nobles and Hindu chiefs to enhance their autonomy. By
1390 the governor of Gujarat had declared his independence, and between 1391 and 1394 the
important Rajput chiefs of Etowah rebelled and were defeated four times. By 1394 there were two
sultans, both residing in or near Delhi. The result was bitter civil war for three years; meanwhile, the
disastrous invasion of Timur (the Tamerlane of Western literature) drew nearer.

Timur invaded India in 1398, when he was in possession of a vast empire in the Middle East and Central
Asia, and dealt the final blow to the effective power and prestige of the Delhi sultanate. In a well-
executed campaign of four months—during which many of the disunited Muslim and Hindu forces of
northern India either were bypassed or submitted peacefully while Rajput’s and Muslims fighting
together were slaughtered at Bhatnagar—Timur reached Delhi and, in mid-December, defeated the
army of Sultan Mahmood Tughluq and sacked the city. It is said that Timur ordered the execution of at
least 50,000 captives before the battle for Delhi and that the sack of the city was so devastating that
practically everything of value was removed—including those inhabitants who were not killed.

Timur’s invasion further drained the wealth of the Delhi sultanate. Billon tanga then replaced the
relatively pure silver coins as the standard currency of trade in almost the entire northern part of
India. Bengal, which imported silver from Myanmar (Burma) and China, was, however, an obvious
exception. The silver and gold coins struck in the period of the last Tughluqs and their successors in Delhi
in the 15th and early 16th centuries were mainly commemorative issues.

Death:

Tomb of Ghalyah al-Din Tughluq:

In 1324, Tughluq annexed Bengal,
now in the midst of a civil war. After
the victory, he installed Nasiruddon
on the West Bengal throne as a junior
state, and East Bengal was installed.
In Afghanpur in February 1325, a
wooden platform used for his reception collapsed, killing him and his second son,
Prince Mahmud Khan. Ibn Battuta said it was a plot hatched by his vizier, Jauna
Khan.