The Delhi Sultanate

(1200-1526)
Arab Invasion of India

 In the early 8th century, the Arabs invaded India from the North-West
region. In 712 CE, the invasion was led by Muhammad Bin Qasim, a
general of the Umayyad caliphate.
 Between 633–637 CE, the Arabs conquered West Asia, Jordan Syria,
Iraq, Turkey and Persia. They also conquered parts of North Africa and
Southern Europe. Between 639–637 CE, they conquered Egypt. By 712
CE, they had entered Spain and were soon making inroads into Southern
France.
 By the 8th Century, the Arabs had acquired a core position from Spain
to India, connecting the trade of Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
 However, the reason for the invasion of Sindh in 712 was to avenge the
plunder of Arab ships by pirates of Debol.
 When King Dahir refused to punish the pirates, Hajjaj, the governor of Iraq
dispatched an army under Muhammad Bin Qasim. He arrived in Sind in 712,
and besieged Debol which was situated on the sea coast.
 At Rawar, Muhammad Bin Qasim attacked Dahir, who was defeated and
killed. Muhammad Bin Qasim now proceeded forward and within a short
span he conquered various important places in Sind.
 As a result of these campaigns, the economic life of Sind got. A large
number of people, including merchants, fled from Sind.
 His rule lasted only for two years. However, many Arabs settled down in
Sind and established relations with the local population. The Arab
influence continued for a long period with pockets of Muslim influence
established in various parts of Sind.
Mahmud Ghazni

 Mahmud Ghazni invaded India 17 times, between 1000–1026.

 The initial raids were directed against the Hindushahi rulers, who, at the
time, held Peshawar and the Punjab – starting with Jayapala in 1001.
 Between 1014–1019, Mahmud enriched his treasury by looting the temples
of Nagarkot, Thanesar, Mathura and Kanauj.
 In 1025, Mahmud embarked on the most ambitious Indian campaign: the
attack on the Somnath temple in Saurashtra. Mahmud captured the city
after grim struggle,but left after a fortnight when he came to know that
the Gujarat king Bhima I had completed preparations to confront him.
 His attacks on India were an attempt to fulfil his ambition to make Ghazni
the formidable power in the politics of Central Asia.
 Mahmud’s raids into India were only to acquire wealth to help him
consolidate his vast rule in Central Asia.
 He did not wish to establish an empire in India.
 The Ghaznavids had their control on parts of Punjab and Sind, which
continued till AD 1135.
 However, his invasions exposed the weak defense of Indian kingdoms.
 They also opened possibility of attacks in future by the Turks.
Muhammad Ghori

 In 1173, Shahabuddin Muhammad, also called Muhammad of Ghor, ascended the

throne of Ghazni.
 The Ghoris were not strong enough to meet the growing power and strength of the
Khwarizmi Empire; they realized that they could gain nothing in Central Asia.
 This forced Ghori to turn towards India to fulfil his expansionist ambitions.
 Muhammad Ghori was very much interested in establishing permanent empire in
India and not merely looting its wealth.
 His campaigns were well organised and whenever he conquered any territory, he
left a general behind to govern it in his absence.
 His invasions resulted in the permanent establishment of the Turkish Sultanate in
the region lying north of the Vindhya Mountains.
 By 1190, he secured Multan, Sind and the Punjab.
 The First Battle of Tarain (1191): Muhammad Ghori’s possession of
Punjab and his attempt to advance into the Gangetic Doab brought
him into direct conflict with the Rajput ruler Prithivaraja Chauhan.
 He had overrun many small states in Rajputana, captured Delhi and
wanted to extend his control over Punjab and Ganga valley.
 In the first battle fought at Tarain in 1191, Ghori’s army was routed
and he narrowly escaped death.
 The Second Battle of Tarain (1192):
 This battle is regarded as one of the turning points in Indian History.
 The Turkish cavalry used two superior techniques. The first was the
horse shoe which gave their horses a long life and protected their
hooves.
 The second was, the use of iron stirrup which gave a good hold to the horse rider and
a better striking power in the battle. A large number of Indian soldiers were killed.
Prithviraj tried to escape but was captured near Sarsuti. The Turkish army captured
the fortresses of Hansi, Sarsuti and Samana. Then they moved forward running over
Delhi and Ajmer.
 After Tarain, Ghori returned to Ghazni, leaving the affairs of India in the hand of his
trusted slave general, Qutbuddin Aibak.
 In 1194, Muhammad Ghori again returned to India. He crossed Yamuna with 50,000
cavalry and moved towards Kanauj. He gave a crushing defeat to Jai Chand at
Chandwar near Kanauj.
 Thus, the battles of Tarain and Chandwar laid the foundations of Turkish rule in
Northern India. The political achievements of Muhammad Ghori in India were long
lasting than those of Mahmud of Ghazni. While Mahmud Ghazni was mainly interested
in plundering Muhammad Ghori wanted to establish his political control. His death in
AD 1206 did not mean the withdrawal of the Turkish interests in India. He left behind
his slave General Qutbuddin Aibak who became first Sultan of the Delhi Sultanat
 While Mahmud Ghazni was mainly interested in plundering Muhammad
Ghori wanted to establish his political control.
 His death in 1206 did not mean the withdrawal of the Turkish
interests in India. He left behind his slave General Qutbuddin Aibak
who became first Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate.
Difference Between Mahmud of Ghazni
and Muhammad Ghori
 Mahmud of Ghazni had no intention to set up an empire in India. His
main aim had been to loot and plunder to acquire wealth.
 Muhammad Ghori wanted to establish his own empire in India.
Therefore, he appointed faithful generals to oversee the territories
that had been conquered by him.
Causes for their Success

 Lack of unified resistance from the Indians, many of whom were rivals.
 Social and organizational weaknesses of the Indian kingdoms; many of them
ere feudal – presence of local chiefs had weakened central control. The
rulers were also dependent on local chiefs to provide men and horses for the
army – made coordination difficult.
 The Rajputs did not have a powerful cavalry.
Dr. K. A. Nizam (on the advantages of cavalry): “Mobility was the keynote of
Turkish military organization at this time. It was the ‘age of horse’ and a
well-equipped cavalry with tremendous mobility was the great need of the
time.”
The Mamluk Sultans

 They ruled from 1206 to 1290.

 Mamluk is an Arabic word meaning “owned”. It was used to distinguish
the imported Turkish slaves meant for military service from the lower
slaves used as domestic labour or artisan.

 Qutbuddin Aibak (1206-1210)

 The founder of the Delhi Sultanate.
 Qutbuddin Aibak was a Turkish slave who had risen to high rank in
Muhammad Ghori’s army. After Muhammad Ghori’s death, control of his
Indian possessions was passed on to Qutbuddin Aibak.
 Due to his generosity, he was known as “Lakh Baksh”.
 He died in 1210 of injuries received after a fall from his horse while
playing chaugan (Polo).

 Iltutmish (1210-1236)
 After Aibak’s death, a few nobles placed his son Aram Shah on the
throne in Lahore – a weak ruler.
 The Turkish chiefs of Delhi invited the governor of Badayun (and the
son-in-law of Qutbuddin Aibak), Iltutmish, to come to Delhi.
 Aram Shah proceeded against him at the head of the army from
Lahore to Delhi but Iltutmish defeated him and became the Sultan.
 He is credited with consolidating the Delhi Sultanate.
 When Iltutmish ascended the throne, he found himself facing issues from
all sides.
 Other commanders of Muhammad Ghori, like Yaldauz, Qubacha and Ali
Mardan, rose against him.
 Several Rajput chiefs declared their independence.
 From the NW frontier, the Mongols under Chenghiz Khan threatened the
Sultanate.
 Iltutmish took up the task of consolidating his position. He defeated
Yaldauz in 1215 in the battle of Tarain.
 In 1217, he drove away Qabacha from Punjab.
 In 1220, when Chenghiz Khan destroyed the Khwarizm expire, Iltutmish
realised the political necessity of avoiding a confrontation with the
Mongols. Thus, when Jalaluddin Mangbarani, the son of the Shah of
Khwarizm, while escaping from the Mongols, sought shelter at Iltutmish’s
court, Iltutmish turned him away – saved the Sultanate from destruction
by the Mongols.
 Iltutmish completed the unfinished work of Aibak – consolidated the
Sultanate.
 He organised his trusted nobles (amirs) into a group of Forty (Turkan-i-
Chahalgani). They advised and helped the Sultan. After the death of
Iltutmish, this group assumed great power; they even decided on the
selection of the Sultans. The group was finally eliminated by Balban.
 He separated the Delhi Sultanate from Ghazni, Ghor and Central Asian
politics. Iltutmish also obtained a ‘Letter of Investiture’ in 1229 from the
Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad to gain legitimacy.
 He gave the Sultanate two of its basic coins– the silver ‘Tanka’ and the
copper ‘Jittal’.
 To have greater control over the conquered areas, Iltutmish granted iqtas
(land assignments in lieu of cash salaries) to his Turkish officers on a large
scale. The recipients of “iqtas” called the “iqtadars” collected the land
revenue from the territories under them.
 Out of this, they maintained an armed contingent for the service of the
state, enforced law and order and met their own expenses.
 Iltutmish realized the economic potentiality of the Doab and the iqtas were
distributed mainly in this region. This secured for Iltutmish the financial and
administrative control over one of the most prestigious regions of North
India.

 Raziya (1236-1240)
 Iltutmish did not consider any of his sons worthy of the throne, nominating
his daughter Raziya instead  heavy opposition.
 He had groomed his eldest son, Nasiruddin Mahmud, to take his place; died
in 1229.
 Raziya had governed Delhi between 1231 and 1232, when her father was
busy campaigning  was an able administrator. Iltutmish considered her
better than his surviving sons.
 When his nobles questioned his decision, and asked him to appoint one of
his surviving sons, he is said to have replied that Raziya was the more able
that them.
 After his death, his son Ruknuddin Firoz was placed on the throne with the
help of army leaders. However, with the support of the people of Delhi and
some military leaders, Raziya soon ascended.
 Razia's ascension to the throne was unique in two aspects: she was a
woman, and the support from the general public was the driving force
behind her appointment
 Modern writers refer to her as Raziya “Sultana”  incorrect. Sultana was
used for the wives of Sultans instead of a female ruler.
  In her coins, she is called “Sultan Jalalat al-Duniya wal-Din” or ”al-Sultan
al-Muazzam Raziyat al-Din bint al-Sultan.”
 Raziya was qualified for the throne, but had one obvious flaw: she was a
woman in a society that favoured men in positions of power.
 She also made enemies because of her decision to create a rank of non-
Turkish nobility; they were particularly angry over her decision to
appoint the Abyssinian Malik Jamaluddin Yaqut as the amir-i-akhur
(master of the horses); the recruitment of a few other non-Turks to
important posts further inflamed matters.
 The nobility realized that she would not be their puppet  revolts
against her.
 They accused her of violating feminine modesty – wore men’s clothing,
rode on elephants through the streets of Delhi – and being too friendly
with Yaqut.
 In 1240, she was deposed by the nobles.
 She married one of the rebels, Ikhtiyaruddin Altunia, and attempted to
regain the throne, but was defeated by her half-brother and
successor Muizuddin Bahram, and was killed in 1240.
 Nasiruddin Mahmud (1246–66)
 During Raziya’s reign, there began a struggle for power between the
Turkan – Chahalgani and the Sultan.
 After Raziya’s death, the power of Chahalgani increased; they
became responsible for choosing the Sultans.
 Behram Shah (1240–42) and Masud Shah (1242–46) were made Sultans
and removed in succession.
 After them, in 1246, Ulugh Khan (later known as Balban) placed the
inexperienced and young Nasiruddin (grandson of Iltutmish) on the
throne and assumed the position of Naib (deputy).
 To further strengthen his position, he married his daughter to
Nasiruddin.
 Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud died in 1265; according to Ibn Battuta and
Isami, Balban poisoned him and ascended the throne.
 Ghiyas ud din Balban (1266-1287)
 A slave of Iltutmish, he was a part of the Turkan-i-Chihalgani.
 He slowly accumulated power, and in 1266, ascended the throne.
 When Balban became the Sultan, his position was not secure – many
Turkish chiefs were hostile to him, the Mongols were looking forward for
an opportunity for attacking the Sultanate, the governors of the distant
provinces were trying to become independent rulers, the Indian rulers
were also ready to revolt.
 Disruption of law and order – the roads were infested with thieves and
robbers.
 Balban sought to elevate the position of the Sultan; in the process, he
attempted to reduce the powers of the nobles around him.
 Balban’s Theory of Kingship:
• The was the representative of God on the earth and Kingship was a divine
institution. He declared this to make the nobles believe that he got the
crown or the Kingship not through their mercy but by the mercy of God.
• He used to say that the “Sultan is the representative of God on earth
(Niyabat-i-Khudai) and in his dignity, he is next only to prophethood and,
therefore, his actions cannot be judged by nobles or the people.”
• He declared that he was the descendant of the legendary Turkish warrior,
Afrasiyab.
• He told his son Bughra Khan that “Kingship is the embodiment of
despotism,” and, therefore, he is not answerable to anybody. He tried to
enhance the power and prestige of the crown.
• He changed the way he dressed, his behaviour, and manner.
• He gave up drinking, stayed away from festivities, and maintained an aloof
personality.
 He framed rules for his nobles to follow. They were not allowed to be
seated in his presence. He introduced two practices:
1. Sizda: prostration
2. Paibos: Kissing the feet of the Sultan
 The historian Barani, who was himself a great champion of the
Turkish nobles, says that Balban remarked ‘whenever I see a base
born ignoble man, my eyes burn and I reach in anger for my sword (to
kill him).” We do not know if Balban actually said these words but his
attitude towards the non-Turks was that of contempt.
 Balban was not prepared to share power with anyone, not even with
his own family.
 Breaking the Power of the Turkan-i-Chihilgani
 A  major problem Balban faced was the all-powerful Turkan I Chihilgan
which had dominated the politics of the sultanate since the death of
Iltutmish.
 The group had at one time played a constructive role, but in the days of
Iltutmish's weak successors it had become a major threat to the state.
 Originally, Balban had been one of the Forty, but now he set about
breaking their power by all possible means, including the use of poison
and the assassin's dagger.
 To keep himself well informed, Balban appointed spies in every
department.
 Defence Against the Mongols
 He also organised a strong centralized army, both to deal with internal
disturbances, and to repel the Mongols who had entrenched themselves in
the Punjab and posed a serious threat to the Delhi Sultanate.
 Balban reorganised the military department (Diwan-i-arz).
 In 1270, Balban restored the fortifications of Lahore, which had been
virtually deserted since its sack by the Mongols in 1241 for the defense of
the northwest. Balban also built a chain of fortifications in the northwest.
 The command of this strategic area was entrusted initially to Sher Khan
Sunqar, his most distinguished general, and on Sunqar's death to Prince
Muhammad Khan, Balban's favorite son and heir-apparent.
 Prince Muhammad Khan was killed in 1285 in a battle with the Mongols, but
the arrangements that had been made for the defense of the northwestern
frontier kept the Mongols in check.
 Balban died in 1287. After his death, the nobles placed his grandson
Kaiquabad on the throne.
 Breakdown of the Sultan’s authority – the Khalji family became powerful.
 The Khalji chief, Makik Jalal-ud-din Firuz, as head of the army department,
had one of the most important offices in the realm. He used this position to
have himself proclaimed sultan in 1290, after a Khalji noble had murdered
Kaiqubad.
 He ascended the throne under the name Jalaluddin Khalji.
 With this, the Mamluk dynasty came to an end and the Khalji dynasty
began.