Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about Sultans of Delhi from Class 6 Social_Science. During the 11th and 12th centuries, the Turks repeatedly invaded Indian territories. These invasions finally culminated in the establishment of the rule of the Sultans of Delhi from 1206 to 1526 C.E. In this chapter, we will study the policies of the sultans, their administration, the socio-economic conditions of the period, and their contributions to architecture and literature. Our learning goals are to understand how Turkish invasions led to the Delhi Sultanate, to see the impact of their rule on economic, social, and cultural life, and to locate places from this period on a map.
[CHECKPOINT]
Beginning from the 8th century, there were repeated invasions on our country from across the north-western borders. These invasions aimed at looting wealth, acquiring territories, and spreading Islam. The Arabs were the first to invade Indian territories. The Arab army conquered Sindh and Multan in 712 C.E. With this, Islam started spreading roots in the newly conquered lands. But within a short period, the Arab conquest declined. About three centuries after the Arab invasion, Muhammad Ghazni of Turkish origin attacked India. Being the Sultan of Ghazni, a small kingdom in Afghanistan, he attacked India seventeen times. As a result, several wealthy cities in India were destroyed. Religious centres were also destroyed, including the Sri Krishna temple of Mathura and the Somnath temple of Gujarat. After Independence, the destroyed Somnath temple was rebuilt on a grand scale in 1951 C.E. It was inaugurated by the first President of India, Dr. Babu Rajendra Prasad.
[CHECKPOINT]
During the latter part of the 12th century, Muhammad Ghori of Afghanistan invaded India and seized the provinces of Sindh and Punjab. When he made further advances, Prithviraj Chauhan, the king of Delhi, defeated Ghori in the first battle of Tarain. However, the following year Ghori invaded again, defeated and killed Prithviraj in the second battle of Tarain. Delhi came under the control of Muhammad Ghori. He transferred the conquered territories to his general Qutb-ud-Din Aibak. Ever since, Aibak started ruling as Sultan of Delhi. After the death of Ghori, Qutbuddin Aibak started ruling Delhi independently. Delhi was ruled by five dynasties, namely the Slave, Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, and Lodis. Qutbuddin was a slave to Muhammad Ghori, so his dynasty was called the Slave Dynasty. He strengthened Turkish rule in India by defeating his enemies. To mark his victory, he started constructing the Qutb Minar at Mehrauli near Delhi. Later, it was completed during the period of Sultan Iltumish.
[CHECKPOINT]
The only female ruler during the Sultanate period was Raziya Sultana. The daring Sultana would give justice in the royal court. She dressed herself as a man and led the army on the battlefield. Intolerant of a woman’s rule, the nobles killed her. After the Slave dynasty, the Khilji dynasty came to power. Alauddin Khalji was the strongest of all the sultans of Delhi, and his rule was based on military power. Alauddin introduced several reforms in administrative, military, and economic fields. He regulated the price of commonly consumed goods. He banned the consumption of liquor and gambling, and the guilty were severely punished. Alauddin aspired to conquer the whole of India. First, he conquered north India by his military strength. To conquer south India, he sent Malik Kafur, a slave, with a huge army.
[CHECKPOINT]
Malik Kafur invaded the four major kingdoms of south India and looted their capitals. The kingdoms conquered were the Yadavas of Maharashtra with their capital Devagiri, the Kakatiyas of Telangana with their capital Warangal, the Hoysalas with their capital Dwarasamudra, and the Pandyas of Tamil Nadu with their capital Madurai. Continuing his military march, Malik Kafur proceeded up to Rameshwaram. He plundered many temples there and looted a huge quantity of wealth. Never before had such a huge quantity of wealth from south India flowed to Delhi. Alauddin patronised Amir Khusrau, Amir Hasan, and other Persian poets. He built a new fort in Delhi known as Siri. The Alai Darwaza in Delhi, a grand piece of architecture, was also his contribution. Alauddin's last days were tragic. There were several revolts in the palace. Finally, Malik Kafur, out of greed for power, killed Alauddin and declared himself Sultan. But he too was killed. Within a short period, the Khilji rule ended and the Tughlaqs came to power.
[CHECKPOINT]
Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the most notable sultan of the Tughlaq dynasty. He was a scholar, but he was shrewd, hasty by nature, lacked practical knowledge, and had a strange temperament. To improve the administration, Muhammad bin Tughlaq conducted several experiments. One experiment was the transfer of his capital. Muhammad believed that Devagiri, located in the central part of India, would be a better centre for the empire than Delhi. He also thought a central capital would make it easier to attack the southern kingdoms. He renamed Devagiri, which was 700 miles from Delhi, as Daulatabad. He passed strict orders that residents of Delhi should move there. But the migrating people experienced untold misery, and many died on the way. Realizing his mistake, he ordered people to return to Delhi. However, only a few survived and returned.
[CHECKPOINT]
Another experimental reform was replacing silver coins with token copper coins of the same face value. He failed to pass an order that only the government had the authority to mint copper coins. Consequently, people began minting their own copper coins. The government could not meet the demand for silver coins in exchange. Muhammad soon realized his folly and ordered the use of old coins. This experiment proved a great failure and weakened the financial condition of the state. Discontented by his rule, people revolted. While suppressing the revolt in Sindh province, he died of fever. After the Slave, Khilji, and Tughlaq rule, the Sayyid and the Lodi dynasties ruled from Delhi for a short period. The last Lodi ruler, Ibrahim, was defeated in the battle of Panipat by Babur, who laid the foundation of the Mughal empire.
[CHECKPOINT]
Let us now look at the contributions of the Delhi Sultans. Regarding administration, although Hindus formed the majority, the administration functioned on Turkish rules. Military power formed the backbone of the state, and the Sultans were despotic rulers. Balban, a notable sultan, declared that he was God’s representative and hence accountable to God alone. The sultans faced frequent revolts from local rulers and were always fearful of losing power. Regarding the economy, the burden of land tax fell heavily on the peasants. Muhammad bin Tughlaq further increased the land tax and collected it strictly, which caused peasants to revolt. Weaving was a major occupation of the people. The cities provided employment to a large number of workers due to brisk construction work. The sultans mainly imported war horses. Alauddin Khalji even fixed the price for slaves, and slaves were sold in open markets. The number of slaves under the sultans was indeed shocking. Alauddin Khalji had 50,000 slaves under him, while Firuz Shah Tughlaq owned 1,80,000 slaves.
[CHECKPOINT]
In architecture and literature, the main structures were the famous Qutb Minar, which stands 71 meters tall, the Alai Darwaza, an impressive entrance, the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, and the fort of Siri. During the sultanate period, the Urdu language evolved. Amir Khusrau and Amir Hasan were great Persian poets. Khusrau was also a great musician who designed musical instruments such as the tabla and sitar. The poet Jayasi wrote Padmavat, a sufi poem in Urdu. Ramananda, Kabirdas, Raidas, and Meerabai were devout saints of this period. Now, let us review the important timeline. The Arab invasion on Sindh happened in 712 C.E. Mahmud Ghazni's invasions took place from 1000 to 1026 C.E. The Battles of Tarain occurred from 1191 to 1192 C.E. The Rule of Delhi Sultans lasted from 1206 to 1526 C.E. Qutbuddin Aibak ruled from 1206 to 1210 C.E. Raziya Sultana ruled from 1236 to 1240 C.E. Alauddin Khalji ruled from 1296 to 1316 C.E. Muhammad bin Tughlaq ruled from 1325 to 1351 C.E. The Battle of Panipat and the beginning of Mughal rule happened in 1526 C.E. A new word to remember is Minar, which means a long tower.
[CHECKPOINT]
Now, let us practice with the exercises to prepare for your exams. Exercise one asks you to fill in the blanks. First, in the first battle of Tarain, Muhammad Ghori was defeated by Prithviraj Chauhan. Second, Alauddin Khilji built a fort named Siri in Delhi. Third, Ibrahim Lodi was defeated in the first battle of Panipat by Babur. Exercise two asks you to answer in a sentence. Question four: Against whom did Muhammad Ghori win the second battle of Tarain? He won against Prithviraj Chauhan. Question five: Who built Qutb Minar? It was started by Qutbuddin Aibak and completed by Sultan Iltumish. Question six: Who was the only woman who ruled during the Delhi Sultanate? Raziya Sultana was the only woman ruler. Question seven: Who was the general of Alauddin Khilji who attacked South India? Malik Kafur was the general who attacked South India. Question eight: From where to where did Muhammad bin Tughlaq shift the capital? He shifted the capital from Delhi to Devagiri, which he renamed Daulatabad. Question nine: Who was the Sultan of Delhi who claimed to be the representative of God? Balban claimed to be the representative of God.
[CHECKPOINT]
Exercise three asks you to discuss in groups and answer. Question ten: What were the results of Mahmud Ghazni’s invasions? Several wealthy cities and religious centres in India were destroyed, including the Sri Krishna temple of Mathura and the Somnath temple of Gujarat. Question eleven: State the achievements of Qutb-ud-Din Aibak. He strengthened Turkish rule by defeating his enemies, started the construction of the Qutb Minar at Mehrauli, and established the Slave Dynasty. Question twelve: State the policies of Alauddin Khalji and their results. His policies included administrative, military, and economic reforms, regulating prices, banning liquor and gambling, and conquering north and south India. The results were strong military rule, massive wealth flowing to Delhi, and the construction of Siri fort and Alai Darwaza. Question thirteen: Why did the policies of Muhammad bin Tughlaq fail? They failed because his capital transfer caused untold misery and death, and his token copper coin experiment failed because he did not restrict minting to the government, leading to widespread counterfeiting and financial ruin.
[CHECKPOINT]
Question fourteen: What were the social and economic conditions during the rule of the Sultans of Delhi? Socially, the administration followed Turkish rules, sultans were despotic, and slavery was widespread. Economically, heavy land taxes burdened peasants, weaving was a major occupation, cities provided construction jobs, and war horses were imported. Question fifteen: What were the contributions to architecture and literature? They contributed the Qutb Minar, Alai Darwaza, Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, and Siri fort. Urdu evolved, Persian poets flourished, Khusrau designed the tabla and sitar, Jayasi wrote Padmavat, and saints like Ramananda, Kabirdas, Raidas, and Meerabai preached devotion. Exercise four asks you to match List A with List B. One, Jayasi matches with Padmavat. Two, Daulatabad matches with Devagiri. Three, Alauddin Khilji matches with Alai-Darwaza. Four, Amir Khusrau matches with Sitar.
[CHECKPOINT]
Finally, let us look at the activities for your learning. First, collect pictures with details of the monuments of the period of Delhi Sultans. Second, locate historical places of the Sultans of Delhi on a map. When you look at a map of this period, you will see the north-western borders where invasions entered, the location of Delhi as the capital, the southern kingdoms of Devagiri, Warangal, Dwarasamudra, and Madurai, and the distant location of Rameshwaram where Malik Kafur marched. You can also trace the 700 mile route from Delhi to Daulatabad. Thank you for listening! Keep revising and practicing. Goodbye! [CHAPTER_COMPLETE]