Delhi Sultanate: History and Administration

• Delhi became an important city in the 12th century
• Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the Tomara Rajputs
• The Tomaras were defeated by the Chauhans (Chahamanas) of Ajmer in the mid-12th century
• Under the Tomaras and Chauhans, Delhi became an important commercial center
• Many rich Jaina merchants lived in Delhi and constructed temples
• Coins minted in Delhi, called 'dehliwal', had a wide circulation
• The transformation of Delhi into a capital controlling vast areas of the subcontinent started with the Delhi Sultanate's foundation in the early 13th century
• "Tarikh" (singular) and "tawarikh" (plural) are histories in Persian, the Delhi Sultans' language of administration
• Tawarikh authors were learned men, including secretaries, administrators, poets, and courtiers
• Tawarikh authors recounted events, advised rulers on governance, and emphasized the importance of just rule
• Tawarikh authors lived mainly in Delhi and rarely in villages
• They wrote histories for Sultans, hoping for rewards, and advised rulers to preserve an "ideal" social order based on birthright and gender distinctions
• In 1236, Sultan Iltutmish's daughter, Raziyya became Sultan
• Minhaj-us-Siraj recognized Raziyya's capabilities but was uncomfortable with a queen
• Nobles were unhappy with Raziyya's attempts to rule independently, and she was removed from the throne in 1240
• Raziyya mentioned being Sultan Iltutmish's daughter on coins and inscriptions
• Rudramadevi (Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal) pretended to be a man on inscriptions
• Didda ruled in Kashmir (980–1003) with the title "didi" or "elder sister"
• The Delhi Sultanate needed reliable governors and administrators
• Early Delhi Sultans, especially Iltutmish, favored purchased slaves for military service, known as bandagan in Persian
• Bandagan were trained for important political offices and were totally dependent on their master
• The Khaljis and Tughluqs used bandagan and raised clients to high political positions
• This introduced political instability, as slaves and clients were loyal to their masters, not their heirs
• New monarchs often faced conflict between the old and new nobility
• The Delhi Sultans' patronage of humble people shocked elites and tawarikh authors
• They criticized the Delhi Sultans for appointing “low and base-born” to high offices
• Sultan Muhammad Tughluq appointed people like a wine distiller, barber, cook, and gardeners to high posts
• Ziyauddin Barani viewed these appointments as a sign of the Sultan's loss of judgment and inability to rule
• The Khalji and Tughluq monarchs appointed military commanders as governors of territories
• These lands were called iqta, and their holders were called iqtadar or muqti
• Muqtis led military campaigns and maintained law and order in their iqtas
• The muqtis collected revenues as salary and paid their soldiers
• Control over muqtis was more effective if their office was not inheritable and if they were assigned iqtas for a short period
• Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq rigorously imposed these conditions
• Accountants were appointed by the state to check revenue collected by the muqtis
• The muqti was only allowed to collect state-prescribed taxes and had to maintain the required number of soldiers
• As the Delhi Sultans brought the hinterland under control, they forced landed chieftains to accept authority
• Under Alauddin Khalji, the state controlled the assessment and collection of land revenue
• Local chieftains' rights to levy taxes were canceled, and they were forced to pay taxes
• The Sultan’s administrators measured the land and kept careful accounts
• Some old chieftains and landlords served the Sultanate as revenue collectors and assessors
• There were three types of taxes: kharaj (on cultivation, 50% of peasant's produce), on cattle, and on houses
• Large parts of the subcontinent remained outside Delhi Sultan control
• It was difficult to control distant provinces, like Bengal, and southern India soon became independent after annexation
• Sultanate forces could not penetrate forested areas
• Local chieftains established their rule in these regions
• Sometimes rulers controlled these areas for a short duration
• Ibn Battuta described chieftains fortifying themselves in mountains, rocky places, and bamboo groves
• The Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded Transoxiana in 1219
• The Delhi Sultanate faced Mongol onslaught soon after
• Mongol attacks increased during Alauddin Khalji's and Muhammad Tughluq's rule
• This forced rulers to mobilize a large standing army, posing an administrative challenge
• After the Tughluqs, the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties ruled
• Jaunpur, Bengal, Malwa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and south India had independent rulers
• These rulers established flourishing states and prosperous capitals
• New ruling groups emerged, including the Afghans and Rajputs
• Some states were small, powerful, and well administered
• Sher Shah Sur (1540–1545) started as a manager in Bihar and defeated Mughal emperor Humayun
• Sher Shah captured Delhi, establishing his own dynasty and introduced an administration borrowed from Alauddin Khalji
• Sher Shah's administration became the model for Akbar (1556–1605) when he consolidated the Mughal Empire

Additional taxes

• Khums consisted of 1/5 of war booty and on mines
• Zakat was a tax levied on Muslims under which they had to give 40% of their annual saving to the needy and travellers
• Firoz Shah Tughlaq collected zakat as a regular tax
• Jizya was a tax paid by non-Muslims who were given protection by the Muslim state
• Initially jizya was collected together with the the land tax (kharaj), but Firoz Shah Tughlaq collected jizya as a separate tax