The Khilji And Tughalaq Dynasty

In this topic we have covered all the important facts about Khilji and Tughlaq Dynasty which have been asked in previous exams or there are chances of being asked. With this article you will get a brief overview of these topics. This article is relevant for all one day examinations. 

Khilji Dynasty (1290 – 1320) AD

Jalaluddin Khilji (1290 – 1296): 

• The real name of Jalaluddin was Malik Firuz.
• Jalaluddin Khilji is the founder of the Khilji Dynasty.
• Mongols attacked India under the leadership of Abdullah, who was the son of Jalaluddin.
• Jalaluddin appointed Alauddin as the Iqtedar of Haasi and Kada, 
• Alauddin was Jalaluddin’s nephew.
• Jalaluddin was killed by Alauddin in Kada.

Alauddin Khilji (1296 -1316):

• Alauddin Khilji was a nephew and son-in-law of Jalaluddin Khilji. 
• In 1296, Alauddin Khilji took over the throne after killing Jalaluddin.
• The first Turkish Sultan of Delhi to separate politics from religion was Alauddin.
•  He proclaimed ‘Kingship knows no Kingships’.

Alauddin’s Imperialism –

Alauddin annexed:-
Gujarat (1298), Ranthambore (1301), Mewar (1303), Malwa (1305), Jalore(1311).
In Deccan, Alauddin’s army led by Malik Kafur defeated Ramachandra (Yadava ruler of Devagiri), Pratap Rudradeva (Kakatiya ruler of Warangal), Veera Ballala III (Hoysala ruler of Dwarasamudra) and Vir Pandya  (Pandya ruler of Madurai).

Administrative Reforms Of Alauddin Khilji

• Alauddin enacted 4 ordinances to prevent the issues the nobles brought about. The 1st ordinance aimed to confiscate the religious endowments and free grants of lands. By the 2nd ordinance, Alauddin reorganised the spy system. The third ordinance outlawed the consumption of wine. The 4th ordinance issued by Alauddin laid down that nobles should not have a social gathering and they should not inter-marry without his permission.
• He introduced the system of Dagh (the branding of a horse) and Chehra (the descriptive roll of soldiers).
• Alauddin commanded that all land be measured before the state’s share was determined.
• To collect money, a position for a special officer called Mustakharaj was established.
• The peasants had to pay for the produce as land revenue. 
• Alauddin aimed to stabilise all commodity prices. He established three markets in Delhi for this purpose: one for food grains, one for pricey clothing, and one for horses, slaves, and livestock. A senior official named Shahna was in charge of overseeing each market. She kept track of the traders and tightly regulated the prices and shopkeeper behaviour. Diwan-i-Riyasat and Shahna-i-Mandi were the two officers that kept watch over the market.
• All products for sale were taken to Sara-i-Adal, a public market.
• He built numerous forts, with Alai Fort being the most significant. He also built the Alai Darwaja, the Qutub Minar’s main entrance. He also constructed the Hazar Sutun Palace of a Thousand Pillars.
• He supported education and the arts. His favourite court poet was the musician and poet Amir Khusrau.
• In 1316, after the death of Alauddin, Malik Kafur, called Hajardinari seized the throne. Before Kafur died, he nominated Shihabuddin (Alauddin’s 6-year-old prince) as King but imprisoned the eldest prince Mubarak Khan. The supporters of the Alauddin royal family assassinated Kafur.

Mubarak Khan (1316-1320) :

Mubarak Khan was released from prison upon Kafur’s passing and served as Shihabuddin’s regent. He captured the throne at the first opportunity he got but could rule only for a year as he sank into debauchery and could not give up his dissipated lifestyle. He awarded his lover Mubarak Hassan authority over the army and palace guards, who soon obtained full control over Sultan’s palace. Mubarak Hassan was given the Khusrau Khan by the Sultan and within months Khusrau killed Mubarak Khan and assumed the title of Nasiruddin in mid-1320.

Khusrau Khan (1320) :

When Khusrau Khan attempted to put down a rebellion led by Ghazi Malik and his son Fakhruddin Jauna, Ghazi Malik, the governor of Dipalpur, assassinated him. This brought the end of the Khilji dynasty and established the Tughlaq dynasty on the throne of Delhi. 

Tughlaq Dynasty (1320 – 1414) AD

Ghiyasuddin Tughalaq: 1320 – 1325

• Ghazi Malik assassinated Khusrau Khan, the last king of the Khilji Dynasty. Ghazi Malik ascended the throne assuming the title Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq.
• He died in an accident and his son Jauna (Ulugh Khan) succeeded him under the title Mohammad-bin-Tughalaq.
Mohammad-bin-Tughalaq : 1325 – 1351
• Prince Jauna, son of Ghiyasuddin Tughalaq ascended the throne in 1325.
• He attempted to implement numerous administrative reforms. He had five ambitious projects for which he became especially divisive.
1. Doab Taxation (1326): The Sultan conducted an ill-advised financial experiment in the Doab between the Ganges and the Yamuna. He not only raised the tax rate but also revived and created some new Abwabs or cesses. Although the state’s share remained the same as it was during Alauddin’s reign, it was determined arbitrarily rather than on the basis of actual production. Prices were also artificially set in order to convert the product into money. The increase is said to have been twentyfold, with the addition of the Ghari, or house tax, and the Charahi, or pasture tax. The Sultan established the Diwan-i-Kohi Department of Agriculture. This department’s major goal was to increase the amount of land that was being farmed by directly assisting the peasants.
2. Transfer of Capital (1327): The so-called shift of the capital from Delhi to Devagiri, which Mohammad-bin-Tughalaq made soon after his accession, was the most contentious move. Turkish dominance had been consolidated in South India from Devagiri. It seems that the Sultan wanted Devagiri to serve as their secondary capital so that he could have stronger control over South India. Daulatabad was the new name for Devagiri. After a few years, Mohammad-bin-Tughalaq made the decision to leave Daulatabad, mainly because he quickly realised that he could not govern the North from Daulatabad, just as he could not rule South India from Delhi.
3. Introduction of Token Currency (1329): Mohammad-bin-Tughalaq decided to introduce bronze coins, which were to have the same value as the silver coins. Mohammad-bin-Tughalaq might have been successful if he could prevent people from forging the new coins. He was not able to do so and soon the new coins began to be greatly devalued in markets. Finally, Mohammad-bin-Tughalaq decided to withdraw the token currency. He promised to exchange silver pieces for bronze coins. 
4. Proposed Khurasan Expedition (1329): The Sultan envisioned a world in which all people would be conquered. He organised a sizable army for the conquest of Iraq and Khurasan. The Khurasani nobility who had sought refuge in his court encouraged him to do so. Khurasan too experienced instability as a result of Abu Said’s unpopular rule. This undertaking was likewise shelved.
5. Karachi Expedition (1330): Allegedly to fend off Chinese intrusions, this expedition was started in the Himalayan Kumaon Hills. Additionally, it appears that the mission was meant to subdue some resistant tribes in the Kumaon-Garhwal region so that the Delhi Sultanate could rule over them. Although the initial assault was successful, the invaders suffered greatly when the rainy season arrived.

•  1336: Harihar and Bukka founded Vijayanagar,Warangal became independent (Kanhaiya)
•  The Sada Amirs revolted from 1341 to 1347.
• While running war in Sindh against the Turkish slave Taghi, he passed away in Thatta.

Firoz Shah Tughalaq : (1351-1358)

• He was a cousin of Mohammad-bin-Tughalaq. The court’s nobles and theologians chose Firoz Shah to succeed him as Sultan after his passing.
• After taking office, Firoz Tughalaq was tasked with stopping the impending dissolution of the Delhi Sultanate. He made it a point to impose his power solely over those districts that could be readily managed from the centre, in an effort to placate the nobility, troops, and theologians. Therefore, he didn’t make an effort to reassert his dominance over Deccan and South India.
• Firoz applied the law of heredity to the military. Soldiers were permitted to go to rest in peace and send their sons in their place. The soldiers were not paid in cash, but rather through assignments based on community property earnings (Vajeha). This innovative payment method gave rise to numerous instances of misuse.
• Firoz tried to win over the theologians by proclaiming that he was a true Muslim King and that the state under him was truly Islamic.  In order to keep the theologians satisfied a number of them were appointed to high offices.
• He tried to ban practices which the orthodox theologians considered as non-Islamic. Thus he prohibited the practice of Muslim women going to worship at graves of saints.
• It Jizya was first recognised as a distinct tax under Firoz. Firoz refused to exempt the Brahmanas from payment of Jizya since this is not provided for in Shariat.
• According to the Quran, a new taxation system was implemented. There were four different tax types that the Quran authorised. Kharaj, Zakat, Jizya, and Khams were these taxes. Jizya was imposed on non-Muslims, Kharaj was the land tax, which was equal to one-tenth of the harvest of the land, Zakat was two per cent, and Khams was one-fifth of the spoils of war.
• The Sultan gave irrigation a lot of thought as a means of promoting agriculture. Firoz made several canal repairs and enacted Haque-i-Sharb or Hasil-i-Sharb (water tax).
•  He is credited for founding the towns of Fatehabad, Hisar, Jaunpur, and Firozabad.
• The two pillars of Ashoka, one from Topra (Haryana) and the other from Meerut (UP) were brought to Delhi.
• The Sultan established Delhi a hospital described as Dar-ul-Shifa.
• To prepare arrangements for the marriage of underprivileged girls, a new division of Diwan-i-Khairat was established.
• Firoz too took a decision that was both political and economically motivated. He instructed his officials to choose well-born, gorgeous young men and send them as slaves to the Sultan whenever they attacked a location.
• However, his rule was marked by peace and tranquillity, and the credit for it goes to his Prime Minister Khan-i-Jahan-Maqbul.
• He died in 1388.

After Firoz Shah Tughalaq : 1388-1414

The Tughalaq dynasty could not survive much after Firoz Shah’s death. The Malwa, Gujarat and Sharqi (Jaunpur) kingdoms broke away from the Sultanate.

Timur’s Invasion: 1398-99 – Timur, the lame, a Turkish Chief and cruel conqueror from Mongolia and descendant of Changez Khan, invaded India in 1398 during the reign of Muhammad Shah Tughalaq, the last ruler of the Tughalaq dynasty. Delhi was pillaged and devastated by Taimur’s troops. Taimur left for Central Asia and left Khizr Khan in charge of Punjab. He passed away in 1404 when he was advancing in China.