Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
.
Measures against Nobility
Alauddin realised that it was important to crush the powers of the nobles. He took the
following steps against his nobles:
Nobles were forbidden to organise any party or intermarry without the prior permission of the
Sultan. Gambling was prohibited. This was done to ensure that the nobles do not gather and
conspire against him.
Nobles were not allowed to maintain armies.
Drinking wine was also banned.
An efficient spy system was set up. Spies reported every activity of the nobles to the Sultan.
Land grants which were given to the nobles by the previous rulers were taken back from them.
New grants of land were made, but the landholders were only allowed to collect the revenues
from the land and were not entitled to impose any additional taxes on the peasants.
Military Reforms
Alauddin .introduced various reforms to make the army efficient and disciplined. These were
He was the first Sultan of Delhi who laid the foundation of a permanent standing army.
He introduced the system of maintaining the descriptive roll of soldiers (chehre) and the
branding of horses (dagh).
He built new forts and repaired old ones.
Spies were employed in every army unit. Soldiers were paid regular salaries in cash.
Revenue Reforms
Alauddin .had maintained a huge army. To meet the expenses of such a huge army, he
introduced many revenue reforms. These were
The land was carefully measured and the taxes to be paid to the state were fixed.
Taxes were collected by the revenue officers who were appointed for this purpose.
The revenue to be paid was increased from one-third to half and had to be paid in cash.
The Tughlaq Dynasty
.
The Khilji dynasty came to an end when Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the Governor of Dipalpur,
became the Sultan of Delhi.
He was succeeded by his son Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
Nobles
The nobles formed an extremely powerful group as they held positions of provincial governors
and military commanders.