Here is the class notes from Class  NCERT History- Chapter 3: “The Delhi Sultans”

Delhi

• Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the Tomara Rajputs.
•  Tomara were defeated in the middle of the twelfth century by the Chauhans (also referred to as Chahamanas) of Ajmer.
• It was under the Tomaras and Chauhans that Delhi became an important commercial centre.
• Many rich Jaina merchants lived in the city and constructed several temples.
• Coins minted here, called dehliwal, had a wide circulation.
• The transformation of Delhi into a capital that controlled vast areas of the subcontinent started with the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate in the beginning of the thirteenth century.

THE RULERS OF DELHI

Finding out about the Delhi Sultans

• Histories, tarikh (singular)/tawarikh (plural), written in Persian, the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans.
• The authors of tawarikh were learned men: secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers.
  • The authors of tawarikh lived in cities (mainly Delhi) and hardly ever in villages.
  • They often wrote their histories for Sultans in the hope of rich rewards.
  • These authors advised rulers on the need to preserve an “ideal” social order based on birthright and gender distinctions. Their ideas were not shared by everybody.
• In 1236 Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter, Raziyya, became Sultan.
• The chronicler of the age, Minhaj-i Siraj, recognised that she was more able and qualified than all her brothers.

Other women ruler

• Queen Rudramadevi (1262 1289), of the Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal, part of modern Andhra Pradesh.
  •  Rudramadevi changed her name on her inscriptions and pretended she was a man.
• Queen, Didda, ruled in Kashmir (980 1003).
  • Her title is interesting: it comes from “didi” or “elder sister”, term given to a loved ruler by her subjects.

From Garrison Town to Empire: The Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate

• In the early thirteenth century the control of the Delhi Sultans rarely went beyond heavily fortified towns occupied by garrisons.
• The Sultans seldom controlled the hinterland of the cities.

                     Hinterland:The lands adjacent to a city or port that supply it with goods and services.

•  Controlling garrison towns in distant Bengal and Sind from Delhi was extremely difficult.

Garrison town: A fortified settlement, with soldiers.

• Rebellion, war, even bad weather could snap fragile communication routes.
• Delhi’s authority was also challenged by Mongol invasions from Afghanistan and by governors who rebelled at any sign of the Sultan’s weakness.
• Its consolidation occurred during the reign of Ghiyasuddin Balban and further expansion under Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq.

Delhi sultante campaign

• Internal frontier
  • The first set of campaigns along the “internal frontier” of the Sultanate aimed at consolidating the hinterlands of the garrison towns.
  • During these campaigns forests were cleared in the Ganga-Yamuna doab and hunter gatherers and pastoralists expelled from their habitat.
  • These lands were given to peasants and agriculture was encouraged.
  • New fortresses, garrison towns and towns were established to protect trade routes and to promote regional trade.
• External forntier
  • The second expansion occurred along the “external frontier” of the Sultanate.
  • Military expeditions into southern India started during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and culminated with Muhammad Tughluq.
  • In their campaigns, Sultanate armies captured elephants, horses and slaves and carried away precious metals.

The Masjid

• A mosque is called a masjid in Arabic, literally a place where a Muslim prostrates in reverence to Allah.
• In a “congregational mosque” Muslims read their prayers (namaz) together.
• Members of the congregation choose the most respected, learned male as their leader (imam) for the rituals of prayer.
• He also delivers the sermon (khutba) during the Friday prayer.
• During prayer, Muslims stand facing Mecca. In India this is to the west. This is called the qibla.

Architecture

• Quwwat al-Islam

  • Quwwat al-Islam mosque and minaret, built during the last decade of the twelfth century.
  • This was the congregational mosque of the first city built by the Delhi Sultans, described in the chronicles as Dehli-i Kuhna (the old city).
  • The mosque was enlarged by Iltutmish and Alauddin Khalji.
  • The minar was built by two Sultans: Qutbuddin Aybak and Iltutmish

• Begumpuri mosque

  • Begumpuri mosque was built in the reign of Muhammad Tughluq, was the main mosque of Jahanpanah, the “Sanctuary of the World”, his new capital.

• Moth ki Masjid

  • Moth ki masjid, built in the reign of Sikandar Lodi by his minister.

A closer look: Administration and Consolidation under the Khaljis and Tughluqs

• The early Delhi Sultans, especially Iltutmish, favoured their special slaves purchased for military service, called bandagan in Persian.
• They were carefully trained to man some of the most important political offices in the kingdom.
• Since they were totally dependent upon their master, the Sultan could trust and rely upon them.
• The Khaljis and Tughluqs continued to use bandagan and also raised people of humble birth, who were often their clients, to high political positions.
• They were appointed as generals and governors.
• Slaves and clients were loyal to their masters and patrons, but not to their heirs.
• New Sultans had their own servants. As a result the accession of a new monarch often saw conflict between the old and the new nobility.

Iqtadar System

• Like the earlier Sultans, the Khalji and Tughluq monarchs appointed military commanders as governors of territories of varying sizes.
• These lands were called iqta and their holder was called iqtadar or muqti.
• The duty of the muqtis was to lead military campaigns and maintain law and order in their iqtas.
• In exchange for their military services, the muqtis collected the revenues of their assignments as salary.
• They also paid their soldiers from these revenues.
• Control over muqtis was most effective if their office was not inheritable and if they were assigned iqtas for a short period of time before being shifted.
• Accountants were appointed by the state to check the amount of revenue collected by the muqtis.
• Under Alauddin Khalji the state brought the assessment and collection of land revenue under its own control.
• The rights of the local chieftains to levy taxes were cancelled and they were also forced to pay taxes.
• The Sultan’s administrators measured the land and kept careful accounts.
• large parts of the subcontinent remained outside the control of the Delhi Sultans.
• Sometimes rulers like Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq could force their control in these areas but only for a short duration.
• The Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded Transoxiana in north-east Iran in 1219 and the Delhi Sultanate faced their onslaught soon after.
• Mongol attacks on the Delhi Sultanate increased during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and in the early years of Muhammad Tughluq’s rule.
• This forced the two rulers to mobilise a large standing army in Delhi which posed a huge administrative challenge.

• Unlike Alauddin’s defensive measures, Muhammad Tughluq’s measures were conceived as a part of a military offensive against the Mongols.

The Sultanate in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries

• Some of the states established in this period were small but powerful and extremely well administered.
• Sher Shah Sur (1540-1545) started his career as the manager of a small territory for his uncle in Bihar and eventually challenged and defeated the Mughal emperor Humayun (1530-1540, 1555-1556).
• Sher Shah captured Delhi and established his own dynasty.
• Although the Sur dynasty ruled for only fifteen years (1540-1555), it introduced an administration that borrowed elements from Alauddin Khalji and made them more efficient.
• Sher Shah’s administration became the model followed by the great emperor Akbar (1556-1605) when he consolidated the Mughal Empire.

The “Three Orders”, the “Peace of God”, Knights and the Crusades

• The idea of the “Three Orders” was first formulated in France in the early eleventh century.
• It divided society into three classes:
  • those who prayed
  • those who fought
  • those who tilled the land
• This division of society into “Three Orders” was supported by the Church to consolidate its dominant role in society.
• This helped the emergence of a new warrior group called Knights.
• The Church patronised this group and used them to propagate their idea of “Peace of God”.
• The attempt was to direct warriors away from conflict amongst themselves and send them instead on a campaign against the Muslims who had captured the city of Jerusalem.
• This led to a series of campaigns called the Crusades.
• These campaigns in the service of God and the Church completely altered the status of Knights.
• Originally, these Knights did not belong to the class of nobles.
• But by the end of the eleventh century in France, and a century later in Germany, the humble origins of these warriors were forgotten.
• By the twelfth century, nobles also wanted to be known as Knights.