Important Rulers and their Contributions

Mamluk/ Ilbari Dynasty (1206-90)

Qutubuddin Aibak (1206-10)

After the death of Mohammed Ghori, Aibak, his governor at Lahore claimed his Indian

territories.

However, before he could resolve the conflict against Yaldoz and Qabacha, he died

accidentally while playing Chaugan (Polo) in 1210 and thus could not consolidate his power.

• Itisgenerallyheldthatinspiteofthetitleof Sultanandthemanumission,Aibakshould

not be regarded as a sovereign of Delhi Sultanate. This is due to the following factors

• No coins have yet been discovered bearing his name
• Khutba was not read in his name
• Ibn Battuta does not consider him as the first independent sovereign of Delhi
• His name is not included in the list of Delhi sultans that Firuz Shah Tughlag

ordered to be inserted in the Friday Khutba.

Important details:

• He made Lahore as his capital.
• He was popularly known as 'Quran Khawan' and 'Lakh Baksh'.
• He constructed the Quwwat-ul Islam Mosque (1 st mosque in India) at Mehrauli, over

the destroyed remains of a Vaishnavite temple, which was earlier a Jain Temple.

• He built the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra Mosque (2 nd mosque in India) at Ajmer over the

remains of an old Buddhist monastery.

• He started construction on the Qutub Minar and was able to complete the first

storey.

• The second, third and fourth stories were built by Iltutmish.
• It was repaired by Feroz Shah Tughlaq after beingdestroyed by lightning and a

fifth story was added.

• The Qutub Minar was built as a victory tower symbolising Turkish victory over

India.

• It was dedicated to Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (a Chishti Sufi saint).

Iltutmish (1211-36)

He is considered to be the real founder of the Delhi Sultanate.

• He provided a solid administrative, military, economic and cultural foundation to the

Empire in its infancy and protected it from external challenges also.

Challenges Before Iltutmish

We can evaluate the achievements of Iltutmish in context of the problems which Iltutmish

had to face in his career.

• Almost all the Rajput states rebelled successfully during the weak rule of Aram Shah.
• The governor of Bengal, Iwaz, declared his freedom and became the independent

ruler in the name of Giyasuddin Iwaz Shah.

• The threat of the Mongol invasion was looming large over the newly founded Delhi

Sultanate.

• Yalduz and Qabacha continued to threaten Delhi's independence.
• The Sultanate lacked the support of an efficient administrative structure.
• Further, the newly founded Delhi Sultanate still lacked legitimacy and acceptance

from the caliph.

Measures taken by Iltutmish

• He shifted his capital to Delhi from Lahore.
• Iltutmish quickly subjugated the rebellious Rajput states:
• Kannauj
• Katihar
• Badaun
• Banaras
• Ranthambore
• Jalore
• He eliminated Yalduz and Qabacha as well.
• With his astute diplomacy, he was able to prevent a Mongol invasion of India under

Genghiz Khan.

• He was the first Sultan to have a permanent royal bodyguard called the Sar-i-

Jahandar, the precursor to a standing army.

• He also introduced the permanent cavalry called the Hashm-i Qalb.
• He provided an efficient administrative structure to this newly founded state.
• He selected some important slaves from the long list of slaves of Muhamad

Ghori and formed a group of officers known as 'Turkan-e-Chihalgani'.

• Most of the slaves were of Turkish origin but Iltutmish selected some Tajik

slaves as well to put create a proper system of checks and balance.

• All the important posts were given to the members of the Chahalgani.
• He also introduced the Iqta system.
• Among the sultans, Iltutmish was the first to recognise the economic

importance of the Gangetic Doab.

• He divided the area from Multan to Lakhnauti into administrative iqtas and

allocated them to nobles.

• Similarly,hegavesmallvillagesin the Ganga Yamuna Doabareato about 2000

Shamsi chiefs in return for military service rendered to the state.

■ Thus he also organised the military system.

• He was the first Sultan to introduce standard Arabic currency.
• Silver Tanka
• Copper Jital

■ Earlier,coinsissued by Mohammed Ghoriwere simplythedefaced and

restruck coins of Prithivraj III. They carried the image of the Goddess

Lakshmi and the name of Ghori in Devanagari script written as 'Sri

Muhammad bin Sam Suratan'

• He built two colleges at Delhi
• Nasiria
• Muzia
• He also built the 'Agrasen ki Baoli'/ 'Gandhak ki Baoli'.
• He was the first Sultan to receive the Mansur (letter of investiture from the Caliph).
• After this,he adopted the title 'Amin-ul Mominu Khalifa' (deputy of the leader

of the faithful).

• During his reign, Delhi became the cultural centre of the Islamic world.
• The sacking of Baghdad, Damascus, Samarkand, Samana, Aleppo, etc. by the

Mongols had suddenly uprooted the developed Islamic culture of West Asia.

• Alargenumberof Muslimscholars,artists,architects,engineersandcraftsmen

migrated to Delhi as the last refuge of Islam.

• Thus,Delhiwitnessedunprecedentedculturalprogressandbecamefamousas

'Hazrat-i-Delhi'.

Limitations

• He didn't create a strong base of administration.
• The 'Turkan-e- Chahalgani' was just an ad-hoc arrangement.
• His successors had to pay a heavy price as this Chalisa turned to be a

Frankenstein's monster.

• From the very beginning itself Iltutmish seems to have encouraged the ambition of

Muslim nobility through linking them to landed property.

Conclusion

• But in spite of the limitations mentioned above we can't diminish the achievements

of Iltutmish in the history of the Delhi Sultanate.

• In fact he was the real founder of this state and in one sense it was Iltutmish who

prepared the base for the strong rule of Balban and the imperialistic expansion of

Alauddin Khilji.

Razia Sultan (1236-1240)

• The only capable son of Iltutmish, Mohammad had already died during his lifetime.

The rest of his sons were incapable.

• Iltutmish tried to break precedence by nominating Razia as his successor, but the

members of 'Turkan-e-Chahalgani' selected an incompetent prince Ruknud-din-Firuz.

• Corruption was encouraged, law and order deteriorated and anarchy

prevailed.

• Taking advantage of this anarchy, Razia seized power with the support of the people

and a section of the army.

• In 1236 AD, she declared herself the sultan of Delhi.

Challenges before Razia Sultan

Unlike ambitious Mughal women like Maham Anga and Nurjahan who worked from behind

the scenes, Razia occupied the throne and ruled directly. But she had to face several

challenges.

• With a view to take advantage of the chaos during Razia's revolt, some nobles had

laid siege to the capital with a view to control the outcome.

• Orthodox Muslims and ulemas considered it against their dignity to be ruled by a

woman.

• The Chihalgani felt threatened by her popularity and independence:
• Razia was the popular choice.

■ This was unacceptable to the nobility, because they wanted a puppet

installed by them.

• Further, Razia was a competent and efficient ruler, therefore Turkish nobles

feared that their power would be curtailed.

• Some Rajput states rebelled again.

Razia's Response

• She lifted the siege of the nobles without bloodshed by sowing the seeds of mutual

suspicion among them.

• Razia proved to be an excellent administrator and quickly brought the anarchy in

Delhi under control.

• Law and order was restored and corruption was curtailed.
• Minhaj-us-Siraj writes that all the nobles and Maliks from Deval to Lakhnauti

bowed before Razia.

• She started promoting non-Turks to break the monopoly of Turkish nobles.
• An Abyssinian noble Yakut, earlier a simple Amir-i-Akhur (Lord of the stables),

he became Amir-ul-Umra (Chief of the Nobles).

• Similarly Hasan Ghori was made chief commander.
• Razia sent Hasan Ghori to suppress the rebellious Rajputs. He was able to do so

successfully.

Downfall

• The jealous Turkish nobility and Ulemas tried to tarnish her image by spreading the

rumour of an illicit relationship between Razia and Yakut.

• Then a series of revolts were orchestrated.
• The nobles at Delhi entered into a secret arrangement with the nobles at the

provinces.

• As Razia enjoyed the support of the people of Delhi, the nobles compelled her to fight

them outside the capital.

• Ultimately she was defeated.

Reasons for her Downfall

• Many historians try to emphasise that Razia's biggest weakness was her gender.
• Minhaj-us-Siraj writes that Razia had all the qualities of an efficient ruler; She

had only one weakness and that was her womanhood.

• However, this is an over-simplistic explanation of her downfall.
• The real reason behind the Shamsi nobility's opposition to Razia was her

independence and ability. It threatened their unbridled ambition.

• Razia refused to become a puppet in their hands. Infact, she took effective

measures to check their power.

• This, above all, was the main reason for her downfall.

Balban (1266-86)

Balban began his career as a mamluk foot soldier in Ghori's army.

• The Sultan realised his potential and groomed him for command. He displayed a

natural spark for leadership and rose quickly through the ranks.

• During the Shamsi period (Iltutmish's reign), he was a leading member of the

Chihalgani, later serving as Naib (prime minister) during the reign of his son-in-law

Nasiruddin Mahmud.

• Since the king was weak and irresolute, Balban emerged as the de facto ruler.
• After serving as Wazir for almost 20 years, it is believed that he had the Sultan

poisoned to death and took up the mantle of kingship himself.

Challenges before Balban

A proper evaluation of the achievements of Balban can be done in context of problems that

Balban had to face. At the time of his coronation Balban faced a number of challenges -

• During the period following Iltutmish's reign, the crown's power and prestige had

deteriorated considerably.

• The Shamsi nobility had emerged as kingmakers.
• Duringtheweakruleof Nasiruddin Mahmud,theyhadbecomeoverambitious

and unruly, openly defying the Sultan.

• This resulted in frequent revolts and rebellions.

■ Eg. Turghil Khan, the governor of Bengal had rebelled and declared

independence.

• Rajput Rebellions and Meo Issue
• The breakdown of political machinery was reflected in the deteriorating law

and order situation.

• Robbery became commonplace and fear of the law had virtually evaporated.
• Many Rajput states of the Gangetic valley were also in open rebellion.
• The problem of continuous Mongol invasions on the North- West border of India.
• The army was in shambles. As a result, the empire's frontiers were poorly

defended.

• The Mongols repeatedly raided Lahore and Multan and reached the outskirts

of Delhi on several occasions.

Balban's Response

• In order to prevent the empire's disintegration, Balban realised that the crown's

prestige and respect for authority must be restored.

• Despotism became a central feature of his policy.
• Further, he required a legitimising principle to justify his accession to the throne.
• The Sultanate needed to be strengthened from within to protect it from foreign

threats.

Theory of Kingship

He propounded a new theory of kingship in order to tackle the problem of the Turkan-i-

Chahalgani, legitimise his rule and ensure dynastic succession.

• Balban claimed that kingship had a semi-divine origin.
• According to him, the office of the Sultan was 'Niyabat-i-Khudai' (gift of God).

No ordinary person can receive this gift. It requires a man of extraordinary

capability and piety.

■ Thus, he took the title 'Zilullah' (shadow of God).

• In order to inspire high respect for the Crown, Balban also adopted Persian

court rituals such as the 'Sijda' and 'Paibos'.

• Nobles had to maintain the proper decorum in the court. They had to appear

in court in proper dress.

■ An official Amir-e-Hajib was appointed to strictly implement court

discipline.

• Balban also insisted on the principle that 'Kingship knows no kinship' i.e. impartial

justice.

• Togainthesupportofcommonmasseshegaveemphasisoverjustice.Through

this measure he tried to give a human face to his despotic regime.

• He adopted a two-pronged policy towards the Chalisa
• 'Blood and Iron' was a reflection of Balban's despotism.

■ To break the power of the Turkan-i-Chahalgani,he transferred some of

the members from one region to another. He also killed some of them

and punished some others.

■ All political opposition was ruthlessly suppressed and rebellion was

subdued with extreme prejudice.

■ Any opposition to the Sultan's rule was regarded as high treason and

as a violation to the will of God.

• At the same time, he emphasised upon the racial superiority of Turkish blood.

■ According to him, Turks had the exclusive right to rule.

• Thus, in the same instance, he emerged as the protector and destroyer of the

Shamsi nobility.

• Balban also insisted on dynastic succession. He claimed descent from Afrasiyab (a

mythical Persian hero).

• Further, in the style of Persian royalty, he named his sons and grandsons after

great Persian Kings such as Qaiqubad and Kaykhusraw.

• To portray himself as superior to ordinary men, he also affected a remarkable change

in his appearance and habits.

Military Reforms

• To maintain and perfect the despotic and coercive instrument in the authority of the

crown, it was essential to maintain a strong centralised army.

• Therefore, he increased the numerical strength of his army.
• He also enhanced the soldiers' pay and gave some of them the assignment of

villages as salary.

• Military exercises were more regular.
• Changes in strategy, like keeping the objectives of campaigns a close secret,

were also implemented.

• In order to create a powerful military base he created a new department 'Diwan-e-

Arz' under an official 'Ariz-e-Mumalik' responsible for military administration.

Mongol Policy

• He laid the foundation of the Mongol policy of the Delhi Sultanate. In fact he adopted

a two pronged strategy against them-

• He exchanged embassies with the Mongol courts.
• He created two defence lines in order to repulse Mongol invasion.

■ The first defence line was created along the regions of Lahore, Multan

and Dipalpur. He appointed his son prince Muhammad as the warden

of the marches.

■ The second defence line was laid in Samana, Sunam and Bhatinda.

Buhgra Khan, his youngest son, was appointed on this defence line.

Office of Khwaja

• In order to have better supervision of the income of the Iqta he appointed an officer

'Khwaja' in the Iqtas.

Spy System

• He organised the espionage system. This department was placed under an officer

'Barid-i-Mumalik'.

Response to the Law and Order and Rajput Problems

• In order to restore the law and order situation he constructed some forts in Delhiand

nearby regions and appointed Afghan mercenaries on these forts.

• Likewise,inthe Gangeticbasinherepairedsomeoldfortsandconstructedsomenew

ones at Jalali, Patiali and Gopalpur etc., so that the revolt of Rajputs and Meo menace

could be suppressed.

• In this way he restored the law and order situation in the vast region of North India.

Response to the revolt of Turghil Khan

• The revolt by the governor of Bengal,Tughril Khan was a bigchallenge tohim because

it was associated with the principle of royal supremacy over the nobility.

• Earlier he sent two military expeditions against Tughril. But these were

unsuccessful.

• So he himself took the command against Bengal.
• He adopted the policy of terror against Tughril.
• Tughril Khan was killed with the members of his family.
• It was meant as a lesson to the recalcitrant provincial governors.
• The Bengal campaign to subjugate Tughril ultimately led to the consolidation of the

empire.

Limitations

• In spite of his best efforts he couldn't stabilise his dynasty and just three years after

his death, it was uprooted.

• He gave too much emphasis over racial exclusiveness. As a result of this the social

basis of the state shrank.

• Overall the Mongol policy was also not successful because the frontier in the

northwest receded from Indus river to Beas river.

• In the course of implementation of his policies he showed excessive cruelty.

Conclusion

• In spite of these limitations, we can't diminish his achievements. He was the

consolidator of Delhi Sultanate.

• It is true that he didn't take interest in political expansion and rather gave priority to

the consolidation of his state but it was equally true that it was due to this

consolidation that the future expansion of Delhi Sultanate became possible.

• He restored law and order in the Gangetic basin that was one of the most

productive regions in the world.

■ So it led to economic growth in the region.

• That's why we can not deny that it was Balban who laid the foundation of

Khilji imperialism.

Khilji Dynasty (1290-1320)

Khilji Revolution

It is a term that denotes the replacement of the Ilbari dynasty by the Khilji dynasty.

But it was not simply a change of government, rather it was something more than that. It

involved the following aspects -

• Khiljis came to power not due to the support of the nobility, Ulema or the common

people but by dint of their military strength.

• It was a rejection of the racial policy of the Ilbaris. As a result, the social basis of the

state broadened.

• The Khiljis opened the gate of the nobility class not simply to non-Turks but

also to Indian Muslims.

• Khilji revolution implied a revolt of the lower class Muslims against the established

Muslim aristocracy.

• In one sense it was a revolt against those who were looking to Ghazni and

Ghur region for their pedigree.

• The Khilji revolution emphasised the separation of religion from politics.
• The Khilji revolution had a negative side as well.
• It gave too much emphasis on the military aspect of government, but in spite

of that limitation, the Khilji revolution implies the beginning of a new era.

Jalaluddin Khilji (1290-96)

• He founded the Khilji dynasty by overthrowing the last Mamluk king. He was 70 at the

time of his accession to the throne.

• His rise to power ended the monopoly of Turks in high offices.
• The Khilji's were an Afghan tribe who could not claim the nobility of pure

Turkish blood.

• He also tried to mitigate some of the harsh aspects of Balban's rule.
• He believed that the state should be based on the willing support of the

governed, and that any state in India could not be a truly Islamic State due to

the Hindu majority.

• Thus, he tried to win the goodwill of all his subjects by following a policy of

tolerance.

■ For this reason, he was considered a weak ruler.

• His forgiveness of Balban's nephew, Malik Chajju's revolt for the second time in 1292

wasseenasasignofweakness,leadingtohisultimateassassinationby Alauddin Khilji,

his nephew and son-in-law.

Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316)

• He had helped Jalaluddin in his rise to power and was appointed
• Amir-i-Tuzuk (master of ceremonies) and Ariz-i-Mumalik (commander-in-

chief).

• Duringhispredecessor'sreignhehad gainedthereputation for militaryconquest due

to his two victorious campaigns against:

• Bhilsa/Vidisha (1292)
• Devagiri (1296) - The first Turkish expedition to South India.
• In 1296,he assassinated Jalaluddin,crowned himself Sultan, and propounded hisown

theory of kingship

Theory of kingship

He borrowed some elements from Balban's theory and introduced some unique elements of

his own.

• The principle of strength was emphasised upon, according to which any person of

strength and capability could become Sultan.

• Qualifications like legitimate kingship were purely academic and all questions

regarding the legality of the Crown were futile.

• Alauddin emphasised that the crown is justification in itself.
• Despotism was central to his theory, even more so than Balban's.
• According to Alauddin, the king is answerable only to God. There should be

no secular or religious check on his authority.

• Secularism was an extension of Alauddin's despotism.
• He maintained a strict separation between the state and religion. He

prohibited the ulema from interfering in state affairs.

• Thus, he frequently issued 'Zawabits' (secular decrees).
• Racism was absent and Alauddin did not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity,

language or ancestry.

• This was a reflection of his Afghan origin, as unlike Balban, he could not claim

pure Turkish nobility.

• He promoted capable people on the basis of merit, including Turks, Afghans,

Persians, Tajiks and even Indian Musalmans.

• Imperialism was another central feature.
• Alauddin believed that neighbouring states are necessarily antagonistic. Thus,

it was the duty of a strong Sultan to subjugate his neighbours.

• His dream of conquest is reflected in his title, 'Sikander-i-sani' (Second

Alexander).

• He was the first Sultan of Delhi to have a conscious policy of imperialism.
• In North India, he followed the policy of direct control:

■ 1299 - Gujarat

■ 1301 - Ranthambore

■ 1303 - Mewar

■ 1305 - Malwa

■ 1308 - Jalore

• In South India, he followed the policy of indirect control.

■ Defeated rulers were restored on the condition of annual tribute and

recognition of overlordship of the Sultan.

• The South Indian campaigns were led by his trusted general, Malik Kafur, who

subjugated:

■ 1306 - Devagiri

■ 1308 - Warangal

■ 1309 - Dwarasamudra

■ 1310 - Madurai

• Thus,Allauddintransformed the Sultanatefromanorth Indianprincipality into

a pan Indian empire.

Military Reforms

• In order to fulfil his imperialistic ambitions, Allauddin maintained a huge standing

army of 3,50,000 soldiers.

• He organised his army on the decimal pattern.
• He introduced the practice of Dagh and Huliya.
• He discontinued the practice of being soldiers through Iqtas. Instead, they received

regular cash salaries.

• Cavalrymen were paid 238 Tankas per annum
• An additional allowance of 75 Tankas was given for the maintenance of a

horse.

• Infantrymen were paid 75 Tankas per year.

Administrative Reforms

Alauddin Khiljiwasconcernedaboutthepossibilityof rebellions,whichwerethemostserious

challenge to the health of the Sultanate.

After deep introspection and consultation, he came to the conclusion that these rebellions

had the following root causes:

• Excessive wealth with the people
• Negligence of the Sultan's
• Intermarriage among nobles
• Alcohol

In response he proclaimed four ordinances:

• To confiscate all tax-free land grants such as Inaam, Milk and Waqf; and abolish all

tax exemptions enjoyed by the upper and lower nobility.

• To reorganise the spy system, with a large number of regular spies (Barid) and

irregular spies (Muhiyan).

• All nobles must seek prior permission from the Sultan before intermarrying.
• To prohibit consumption of alcohol.
• According to Barni, he gave it up himself. However, people started fermenting

their own wine.

• Therefore, he modified the order and allowed private consumption.

Revenue reforms

These were part of his larger internal reformsandrestructuring, through which he wanted to

fill the state treasury so that he could raise a large army.

He was also determined to take away the excess wealth from his subjects to prevent the

possibility of a rebellion.

• He introduced the Mashahat system of survey and measurement.
• A new unit of land measurement known as the Wafa-i-Biswa was introduced

to measure farm area.

• Produce was estimated by applying the average yield to the farm area.
• The rate of land revenue was fixed at 50% of the produce.
• All intermediaries such as Khut, Muqaddam and Iqtadars were deprived of their

revenue collection duties.

• They were also ordered to pay land revenue at the prevailing rate. Their tax

exemptions were abolished.

• Diwan-i-Mustakharaj was created to collect accumulated revenue from the

upper and lower nobility on a retrospective basis

• All tax-free land grants were confiscated.
• Ghari (house tax) and Charai (grazing tax) were imposed.
• The rate of Khums (states share in war booty) was increased to 4/5.
• The Patwari'saccountswerefrequentlyinspected inordertopreventembezzlement.
• Irregularities were punished severely.

Market Reforms/ Price Controls

• These were an elaborate system of price controls designed to allow him to raise and

maintain a large army to fulfil his imperialistic ambitions of a pan-Indian empire.

• The Empire was divided into:
• Free zone
• Control zone - Price control was implemented only here.

■ It stretched from Lahore to Allahabad.

■ This was the most populous region of the Empire.

■ The control of the Sultan was strongest here.

■ The majority of the army was garrisoned in cities within the zone.

• A new department called Diwan-i-Riyasat was created to implement these reforms.
• Three different kinds of markets for established:
• Mandi for food items
• Sardar Adl for essential goods such as sugar, salt, oil and cloth
• Market for living beings such as horses and slaves
• Prices of all commodities were fixed by the state.
• A strict system of weights and measures was introduced.

■ Underweighing, overpricing and black marketing were punished

severely.

■ Spies employed by the state used to report such activities.

■ Surprise inspections were also conducted.

• Steps were taken to ensure the availability of important commodities:
• Half the revenue from the Doab was collected in kind.
• Licences were issued to Banjaras (nomadic grain traders) to transport grains

from the countryside to the cities.

• Only licensed traders were allowed to set up shop inside the market.
• Luxury goods were rationed
• The state subsidised imported items.
• A police official known as the Shahna-i-Mandi was appointed to maintain law and

order.

Impact of Price Controls

• Alauddin's price controls were remarkably successful. He was able to raise a large

army at a low-cost.

• According to Barni, city dwellers benefited from the low prices and easy availability

of goods.

• However, food producers/farmers outside cities suffered.
• They were not able to drive the benefit of price controls themselves.
• Moreover, their bargaining power with respect to grain traders also suffered.

Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1412)

Ghiasuddin Tughlaq (1321-25)

• Originally called 'Ghazi Malik', he was an important commander under Alauddin.
• He ascendedtothethrone as Gihasuddin Tughlaq in 1321,thusbecomingthefo under

of his dynasty.

• He laid the foundations of Tughlaqabad near Delhi.

Mohammed bin Tughlaq (1325-51 CE)

Originally called Jauna Khan, he assassinated his father and ascended the throne as

Mohammed bin Tughlaq.

• In history, he is looked upon as a paradox - a mixture of opposites; a generous and at

the same time a pitiless ruler; a 'Mad King;' and the 'Wisest Fool'.

• Thiswasmostlyduetohisambitiousprojectsandthenovelexperiments which

were all far ahead of their time.

• He was the only Delhi sultan to have received comprehensive literary, religious and

philosophical education.

• Very tolerant religiously, he heavily patronised non-Muslims:
• He promoted a number of Hindus to high office, both in civilian as well as

military capacities.

• Jina Prabha Suri(Jainscholar)washisclosepersonalfriendandtrustedadvisor.
• He celebrated the festival of Holi with great fanfare.
• He even visited the Hindu and Jain Temples of Mt. Abu and made donations

towards them.

• He maintained diplomatic relations with Egypt, Persia and China.
• As a Prince he led an expedition against the Kakatiya ruler Rai Rudra Dev and brought

Warangal under the direct control of the Delhi Sultanate.

• In 1324 healsodefeated Bhanu Dev II,therulerof Janjnagar(Odisha),whohadhelped

Rai Rudra Dev and annexed his territory as well.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq is famous for his 6 experiments

Transfer of capital (1327-1328)

• The capital was shifted from Delhi to Daulatabad.
• He had established direct control over South India and Daulatabad was better suited

to govern the new territory.

• Moreover, it was relatively safer than Delhi, which was constantly under Mongol

threat.

• According to Barni, all residents of Delhi were forced to make the long journey in the

height of summer, on foot. Not even cats and dogs had been left behind.

• Soon after reaching Daulatabad, the Sultan was forced to reconsider the transfer due

to shifting political currents in South India.

• Many newly acquired territories had rebelled against the Sultanate and his

position in Daulatabad had become precarious.

• Further, most historians suggest that Delhi was never deserted completely. Coins

struck in 1329 have been discovered, along with 2 Sanskrit inscriptions from Naraina

in Delhi, belonging to 1327 & 1328.

Token Concurrency (1329-1333)

• Mohammedbin Tughlaqissued basemetalcoinsofcopperandbronzeinsteadofgold

and silver coins.

• This experiment had to be abandoned due to widespread forgery.
• As a result of forgery, public confidence declined and the state was forced to replace

them with precious metal coins.

• Barni says that peasants used forged coins to pay revenue and rebels used them to

buy horses and arms.

Khorasan Expedition (1333-1334)

• Muhammad bin Tughlaq wanted to capture the Khurasan region (Central Asia).
• According to Barni, the flattery of some Khorasani nobles had filled the Sultan's head

with lofty ideas.

• Other contemporary sources suggest that the plan was the outcome of the

prevailing political chaos in Khurasan after the death of Tamarshin Khan.

• He raised a 3.7 Lakh strong army and paid them 1 year's salary in advance.
• However after waiting for six months the plan was abandoned.
• Barni says that the Sultan realised his mistake and came to his senses.
• According to him the treasury had been emptied completely and the soldiers

turned to highway robbery.

• However, other contemporary sources inform that Abu Said (a powerful ruler), had

established control over Khorasan before the Sultan's plan could materialise.

Qarachil Expedition (1333-1334)

• Qarachil was a small Himalayan tributary state of the sultanate, along the Indo-

Tibetan frontier.

• During Muhammad bin Tughlaq's reign, it declared independence and

stopped paying the annual tribute.

• The Sultan in turn, sent a force of 10,000 soldiers to subdue the recalcitrant

state.

• According to Barni the hasty campaign was disastrous.
• The men were poorly supplied and the Sultan had made the mistake of

appointing Hindu commanders.

• Thus, the forces were soundly defeated, and only 10 men returned to Delhi,

empty handed.

• In a fit of rage, the Sultan executed them on the spot.
• However, other contemporary sources suggest that it was successful, and Qarachil

was brought back into the fold.

• However, it was also costly due to the unfamiliar terrain and inclement

weather.

• While returning there was heavy rainfall and many soldiers were lost in

landslides.

Taxation in the Doab (1333-1334)

• Due to expensive military campaigns and disastrous policy experiments, the imperial

treasury was critically depleted and in order to replenish it, the Sultan introduced a

new tax policy in the Ganga Yamuna doab.

• According to Barni the burden of taxation was increased by 10-20 times.
• Sirhindi informs us that it was increased by more than 20 times.
• Isami says that it was doubled.
• Modernhistoricalresearchsuggeststhattheofficialrateofthetaxationwas the same

as Alauddin's reign (50%).

• However, the policy failed due to the insensitivity and corruption of state officials in

collecting revenue from helpless peasants.

• The very year that the policy was implemented, a severe drought affected

north India, resulting in widespread crop failure.

• However, tax officials forced peasants to pay the increased land revenue.
• Further, they also collected 'Abwabs' (illegal cesses) from the already

distressed peasants.

• Many peasants abandoned their fields, let their cattle loose and fled to the forests.

Agriculture collapsed completely and contemporary sources inform us that famine

affected north India for the next eight years.

• When the Sultan learnt of the situation, he immediately suspended tax collection and

introduced rehabilitative measures.

• A new department of agriculture known as the Diwan-i-Amir Kohi was

established, through which the state made rehabilitative loans known as

'Sondhar/Taqavvi' loans to peasants so that they may purchase seeds,

agricultural implements, animals and fodder. The state also provided

assistance in digging wells.

• A new famine code was also promulgated, consisting of guidelines regarding

the state's response to famine.

Model Agricultural Farm (1337-38)

The disastrous Taxation experiment in the Doab had resulted in a complete collapse of

agriculture.

• To revive it, the Sultan created a model agricultural farm, from which new methods,

techniques and practices could be taken to the general population.

• Further,thefarmwasalso meantto expand agriculture inordertoreplenish thestate

treasury.

• A parcel of land measuring roughly 100 square kilometres was selected and a sum of

70 Lakh Tankas was set aside for distribution among peasants over 3 years to expand

agriculture.

• Accordingto Barni,notasingleinch ofadditional land wasbroughtundertheplough.
• The Sultan had envisaged expansion of agriculture by bringing uncultivated

fertile land under the plough. However, the plot of land selected was

completely barren.

• Much of the money set aside to expand agriculture was misappropriated by

the bureaucracy.

• Finally,themoneywhichreachedthepeasantswasusedbythemto fulfiltheir

basic needs since they had still not recovered from the long years of famine.

As a result of these disastrous policies, revolts and rebellions were frequent.

• 1335 - Madurai broke away from the Sultanate
• 1336 - Harihara and Bukka declared independence and established the Vijaynagar

Empire.

• 1338 - Rebellion erupted in Bengal which declared its independence.
• 1347 - Deccan slipped out of the grasp of the Sultanate and Alauddin Bahman Shah

established the Bahmani Sultanate.

Feroz Shah Tughlaq (1351-88)

• After the death of Muhammad bin Tughluq, his cousin Feroz Shah Tughlaq was

elevated to the position of Sultan by the nobles.

• Feroz Shah Tughlaq ascended to the throne at a time of great crisis. His predecessor's

policies had extracted a heavy cost.

• The Sultanatehadlostmuchofitsterritoryandbeenreducedtoanorth Indian

principality.

• Agriculture was in ruins and was yet to recover from the disastrous taxation

policy. Unrest among the peasants was high and they were on the verge of

rebellion.

• Likewise, the nobility and clergy had seen their power and privilege disappear

under Muhammad bin Tughluq and were looking to retaliate.

• The treasury was completely depleted due to Muhammad bin Tughluq's

adventurism.

• Rebellions were frequent, with Bengal and Sind being the most problematic.
• The situationdemandedan able administrator and gifted general.Feroz Shah Tughlaq

lacked both these qualities. Therefore, he adopted a policy of appeasement, both

internally and externally.

External Policy

• In the early part of his reign, Feroz Shah Tughlaq undertook four military campaigns.
• Hesuccessfullyraided Nagarkot(HP),destroyedthe Jwalamukhitemple there,

and extracted tribute from its ruler.

• The other three campaigns ended in complete failure, two against Bengal and

one against Sind.

■ The Sind invasion could not even materialise because the Sultan and

his army lost its way in the Rann of Kutch and had to be rescued by his

Prime Minister Khan-i-Jahan.

• Following this, the Sultan abandoned the policy of war. He declared that he did not

wish to gain territory by shedding the blood of innocent Muslims.

• However, most modern historians believethat his pacifism wasa result of his military

ineptitude.

Internal/ Domestic Policy

Feroz Shah Tughlaq's reign was more notable for his internal administration, to which he also

applied his policy of appeasement, and to restore normalcy after the turbulent rule of his

predecessor.

• Revenue Reforms
• A detailed survey was conducted under Khan-i-Jahan (Prime Minister). The

revenue of the entire Sultanate was permanently fixed at 6.5 Crore Tankas.

• Feroz Shah Tughlaqabolished 21 non-Shariattaxesandreplacedthemwith the

5 Shariat taxes.

■ Kharaj - Land revenue collected from non-Muslims

■ Ushr - Land revenue collected from Muslims

■ Khums - The share of the state in war booty - it was restored to the

prescribed proportion of ⅕.

■ Zakat - Charitable donation made by Muslims.

■ Jizya - Poll tax imposed on Non-Muslims. He was the first Sultan to

collect it separately from Kharaj. He also imposed it upon Brahmins,

who had been exempted till now.

• Barni informs us that as a result of these reforms, agriculture flourished and

the imperial treasury was refilled.

■ There was no shortage or famine, the peasants were happy and new

land was brought under the plough.

• Agrarian Reforms
• Small experimental farms were set up in the vicinity of Delhi.
• 1200 orchards and gardens were laid around Delhi, which yielded an annual

income of 1.8 Lakh Tankas.

• The state also encouraged the cultivation of superior crops such as wheat

instead of millets and rice instead of paddy.

• The Taqavi loans made during Mohammed bin Tughlaq's reign were written

off.

• A network of five major canals was constructed around Delhi - Two from the

Yamuna, and one each from the Ghaggar, the Sutlej and the Kali Sindh.

• An irrigation tax of 10%, known as 'Haq-i-Sharb' was also introduced.
• Barni reports that these reforms were highly successful and that there was no

shortage of food during his reign.

■ The prices of food grains and fruits were low

■ Even the poor could afford rich fare including fruits and ghee.

• Judicial Reforms
• The penal code was made milder and inhumane practices such as torture and

amputations were prohibited.

• Welfare Initiatives
• Firoz Shah Tughlaq used the state machinery for the welfare of his subjects.

■ Diwan-i-Ishtiaq - Created to help those who had suffered under the

reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq by giving them state pensions.

■ Diwan-i-Khairat - Established to help poor parents marry their

daughters.

■ Diwan-i-Bandagan - You look after the welfare of slaves. The Sultan

himself and more than 1.8 lakh slaves.

■ Dar-ul Shifa/ Dawakhana - These were hospitals/ infirmaries overseen

by competent physicians employed by the state. Treatment was

provided free of cost.

■ Free Kitchens - The state organised Langars to provide free meals to

the poor.

■ Travellers' Welfare - A number of measures were initiated for the

welfare of travellers, such as maintenance of state owned rest houses

and inns, plantation of shady trees along roads and digging of wells

along state highways at state expense.

• It must be kept in mind that under Feroz Shah Tughlaq, these welfare

programmes were aimed not only to provide relief to subjects but also as a

means of promoting Islam.

■ They were available only to Muslims and were meant to act as

inducements to non-Muslims to convert to Islam.

• Public Works
• Firoz Shah Tughlaqwasthemostprolificbuilderamongall the Sultan'sof Delhi.

■ He built five cities

• Feroz Shah Kotla/ Firozabad (Delhi)
• Fatehabad (Haryana)
• Hisar Firoza (Haryana)
• Firozabad (UP)
• Jaunpur (UP)

■ He also constructed a network of five major canals around Delhi.

■ He repaired the Hauz-i-Shamsi (built by Iltutmish) and the Hauz-i-

Alai/Hauz Khas (built by Alauddin Khilji)

■ He repaired the Qutub Minar, which had been destroyed by lightning,

and added its fifth story.

■ He transported 2 Ashokan pillars to Delhi from Meerut and Topara.

■ He designed an astronomical calendar called 'Utsarlab' in order to

better detect the onset of seasons.

■ Theconceptofclocktowerswasintroducedbyhim.Thesewereknown

as 'Tas-i-Gharial'.

■ He also constructed a number of saris, palaces, bridges, mosques,

madrasas and pleasure resorts.

• Patronage to Learning
• Feroz Shah Tughlaq was a gifted scholar and the only Sultan to write an

autobiography called 'Futuhat-i-Firoz Shahi'.

• He also patronised accomplished scholars such as Barni and Afif, among

others.

• During the plunder of the Jwalamukhi Temple (Nagarkot), 1300 rare Sanskrit

manuscripts were confiscated. Firoz Shah had them translated to Persian in 3

different compilations.

■ 'Ragdarpan' - A work on music

■ 'Tib-i-Firuzshahi' - A work on medicine

■ 'Dalil-i-Firuzshahi' - A work on philosophy

Firozshah Tughlaq as the 'Ideal Muslim King'

Barni in his 'Fatwa-i-Jahandari', has highlighted the qualities of an ideal Muslim king. In his

judgement, Firoz Shah Tughlaq fulfils these qualities.

• Firoz Shah followed an orthodox religious policy in accordance with the Shariat.
• He showed utmost respect to the ulema, who became immensely influential during

his reign.

• He tried to promote Islam as a matter of state policy. For this, the carrot and stick

approach was adopted.

• Converted Hindus were rewarded with government appointments, tax

exemptions and welfare measures.

• On the other hand, those who resisted conversion were punished with tools

such as Jizya, pilgrimage tax and destruction of temples.

• He separated Jizya from Kharaj for the first time and also imposed it on

Brahmins.

• In his own words,he abandoned the policy of violent conquest to avoid shedding the

blood of innocent Muslims.

• Forcible conversions were also carried out even during peacetime.
• Persecutionofnon-Muslimswasalsocommon.Heoncehada Brahminburntalive for

merely suggesting that Hinduism is superior to Islam.

Although Barni has portrayed Firoz Shah as an Ideal Muslim King, who not only followed the

Islamic law in letter and spirit, but also made it a state priority to promote Islam, many of the

Sultan's personal traits contradict this notion.

• Hewasaddictedtogamblinganddrin king,whicharebothprohibited under Islam.He

also did not make any effort to prohibit these practices.

• Music is prohibited by orthodox Islamists, however, Feroz Shah himself was an

accomplished musician and generously patronised music.

• Islam permits a man to have a maximum of 4 wives. The sultan had many more than

that number.

• Although he abolished several non-Shariat taxes, he also introduced the Haq-i-Sharb,

which does not have any recognition under Shariat.

• While writing off Taqavi loans, he did not differentiate between Muslims and Non-

Muslims.

A closer examination of his reign reveals that his religious policy was shaped not only by his

personal outlook but also by his political compulsions.

• Many historians believe that:
• Through his orthodox policy, he was trying to compensate for having a Hindu

mother.

• Due to his weak nature and the political turmoil within the Sultanate, he was

forced to seek the support of the Ulemas and orthodox Muslims, which pulled

the state towards greater orthodoxy.

As such, it would be safe to conclude that his religious policy was an more an outcome of his

own weakness as a Sultan and the political compulsions of his time, rather than any desire to

live up to the model of an Ideal Muslim King.

Invasion of Amir Timur (1398)

Afif, in his'Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi',hasrecounted the horror ofthe Turkish invasion and the sack

of Delhi under Amir Timur, during the reign of Naseeruddin Mohammad Tughlaq.

• According to him, the invading forces slaughtered the entire population of Delhi, not

sparing even the elderly and crippled.

• A large number of Indians were enslaved and sent to Central Asia in chains.
• There was large-scale plunder and the Sultan was forced to pay a sum amounting to

3 years of revenue to purchase peace.

• The invasion had a lasting political impact on the Delhi Sultanate:
• The prestige of the Tughlaqs was completely destroyed leading to their

ultimate downfall.

• Frequent rebellions destabilised the empire.
• Punjabslippedoutofthegraspof the Sultan.Amir Timurappointed Khizr Khan,

as the governor of Punjab. He regularly interfered in the political affairs at

Delhi.

• Thisbecamethebackgroundfortheemergenceof the Sayyid Dynastyfounded

by Khizr Khan. It replaced the Tughlaqs in 1414.

• Delhi also lost its place as the cultural centre of the Islamic world. Timur carried off

the learned men, artists, architects, poets, musicians, scientists, philosophers and

theologians of Delhi to Samarkand.

Role of Firuz Shah Tughlaq in the decline of Delhi Sultanate:

The evaluation of the role of Firuz Shah Tughlaq in the decline of Delhi Sultanate is an

important question in Medieval historiography.

• Traditionally it was believed that the policy of appeasement by Firuzshah Tughlaq

proved instrumental in the decline of Delhi Sultanate.

• But this issue should be discussed in a larger context. When we observe minutely we

find that from the very beginning a rupture already existed in the basic structure of

the state. These were:

• Conflict between Sultan and nobility
• Conflict between Sultan and Ulema class
• Conflict between different sections of the nobility
• It was not Firuzshah Tughlaq who gave birth to these problems.
• From Iltutmish to Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq almost all the sultans of Delhitried

to solve these problems in their respective manner.

• It was in this context that Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq followed a strict policy.
• As a result of thishe left behind a disgruntled nobility and dissatisfied Ulema.
• So Firuzshah Tughlaq inherited a bitter legacy from his predecessor.
• He tried to solve this question in his own way and it was in this context that he

followed the policy of appeasement toward nobles and Ulemas.

• For short term gains, he unconsciously enlarged the rift which had already existed

within the structure of Delhi Sultanate.

• Inconclusion,althoughwe can'tabsolve Firuzshah Tughlaqfromtheresponsibility for

the decline of Delhi Sultanate, his role should be viewed in the context of objective

material factors as well. These were -

• Lack of well defined law of succession
• Conflict between Sultan and Nobles
• Crisis in Revenue Administration
• Rise of Regional states and
• Mongol Threat

Disintegration of Delhi Sultanate

• The disintegration of the Delhi sultanate was caused by some persistent problems,

such as-

• The relations between the monarch and the nobility.
• The conflicts with local rulers.
• The pull of regional and geographical factors.
• Individual rulers tried to cope with these problems but none of them were in a

position to bring about fundamental changes in society to affect these perennial

factors.

• Disintegration of the political fabric, thus, always lurked beneath the surface

andanyweaknessinthecentraladministrationsetoffachainofeventsleading

to political disintegration.

• Balbanand Alauddin Khaljimadesomeeffortstoevolveatheoryofkingshipthatcould

give permanence to the state, but all attempts were abortive.

• For that matter, the Delhi sultans themselves could never make a clean break from

the Caliphate.

• They were compelled to seek legitimacy by modelling the state as both the

sword and the oracle of Islam.

• This constricted the political leverage of the sultans and social base of the

sultanate.

• Opposition to the state was virtually endemic due to-
• Thehostilenativepopulation,recalcitranttraditionalaristocracyandintriguing

nobility.

• Absence of law of succession
• Heterogeneous nature of the army
• Coupled with these factors, the external invasions of Mongols made the state

amorphous

Limitations on centralization during the reign of Afghans

• A major shift was visible in the relationship between the sultan and the nobility with

the establishment of the Lodi dynasty. The Lodis were Afghans.

• As Afghans belonged to a tribal society so the sense of equality was much stronger.
• As a result, there was less scope for administrative centralisation. This led to the

strengthening of centrifugal forces.

• Bahlol Lodi had to face this difficult situation when he founded the first Afghan state.
• Bahlol Lodi did not even have a throne in his court. Rather he used to sit on

the carpet with his nobles.

• Although the administrative machinery, institutions, nomenclature of the

officers of the earlier period continued, imperial control was slackened

considerably, especially over the provinces.

• The position of Muqti became hereditary and he came to be known as

"wajahdar".

• The state did not contest the right of the wajahdars over the entire revenue

from the provinces.

• Later his successors Sikandar Lodi and Ibrahim Lodi tried to make monarchy a serious

profession but their bid for centralisation was unsuccessful.

• Ultimately the first Afghan state declined due to the role of centrifugal forces. Later

Shershahrevived the Afghanpowerandtriedtoinfusenewspiritintooldinstitutions.

• He borrowed the elements of centralisation from the Turkish model.
• He experimented with military reforms, land revenue reforms etc. and to

have a better control over lower level administration he divided his empire

into different Sarkars.

• Furthermore he made clear to his Afghan nobles that the rules of Afghan

succession would not be applicable to public life and the royal service.

• But in spite of his best efforts he could not free the system from the Afghan

legacy and shortly after his death, centrifugal forces resurfaced leading to the

decline of the second Afghan empire.

Nature of the State - Theocracy or Secular State

This is a matter of controversy among scholars whether the state under Delhi sultanate was

a theocratic state or a secular state.

• Before coming to any conclusion we have to make a close examination of the affairs

under Delhi Sultanate.

• The term theocracy originates from the word 'Theos', a Greek word meaning God.
• So Theocracy means the 'Rule of God'.
• To qualify as a theocracy or the rule by God, the Delhi Sultanate should have fulfilled

two criteria:

• The presence of a sovereign hereditary ulema class, ruling on behalf of God.
• The presence of divine laws exclusively.
• On observation we find that the state under Delhi Sultanate didn't fulfil either of

these.

• Although under the Delhi Sultanate there was an Ulema class and it was

involved in defining Shariat rules but these Ulemas were not hereditary.

■ Furthermore, Ulemas depended on the Sultan for their power and

prestige.

■ Powerful Sultans like Allauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq

placed proper checks over Ulemas.

• Secondly, under the Delhi Sultanate, although the laws of Sharia (divine laws)

were followed, there were certain rules, made by the sultan, which didn't

comply with the Sharia.

• Within the Delhi Sultanate, all legal aspects of the sharia were distorted.

Islamic Shariat covers 3 subjects - Ibadat (Prayer), civil law and criminal law.

■ In civil law, women were disinherited from property.

■ Likewise, there was distortion in the fixation of land revenue.

■ In criminal law, there was provision for dancing houses, prostitution

etc., which were banned by Islam. So these laws did not fulfil the

demand of a theocratic state.

• Furthermore, apart from Sharia laws, for practical purposes, even some

supplementary laws were formulated by Sultans. These laws were popularly

known as 'Urfi' or 'Zawabit'.

• Atthesametime,wecannotacceptthatthestate under Delhi Sultanatewassecular,

because in theory the declared objective of the state was to convert India from 'Dar-

ul-Harb' into 'Dar-ul-Islam'

How far was the Caliphate the source of power and the sanction of the legal authority of

the Sultan under Delhi Sultanate? (UPSC, 2017)

• Under the Delhi Sultanate, the relationship between Caliph and Sultan was vague

and complex. The formal and actual nature of relations remained quite different.

• Oneinterestingfactis that almostallsultansof Delhiusedtolooktowards the Caliph

for formal recognition but never allowed him to interfere in political and

administrative matters.

• In order to perceive their relations in totality, we need to explore different events

systematically.

• The Islamic world was marked by a major change in the 10 th century with the

decline of Abbasid Caliphate and the rise of the institution of Sultan.

■ Under Islam there was the concept of a single king who was the Caliph

but taking advantage of his weakening position, ambitious governors

began asserting their independence.

■ So, to maintain the at least formal unity of the Islamic Empire, the

Caliph began giving investiture to such governors. Thus emerged the

institution of the Sultan.

• In a formal sense, the Caliph was both the political and religious head and the

Sultan was his subordinate, but in reality, the Sultan was independent.

• Sultans usually preferred to accept the authority of the Caliph so that they

could gain legitimacy among the Muslim masses.

Different Sultans of Delhi:

• Iltutmish:- In Order to ensure the legitimate position of Delhi Sultanate, Iltutmish

sought investiture from the Caliph of Baghdad. But it was merely a matter of

formality.

• It can be ascertained from the fact that when the governor of Bengal received

the same investiture from the Caliph, Iltutmish did not respect this, rather he

eliminated Iwas Shah.

• Balban:- Balban gave due respect to the institution of Caliph even after Halagu Khan,

a grandson of Changiz Khan, executed the Caliph.

• Alauddin Khilji:- He could maintain his autocratic power by dint of his military

authority but still preferred to characterise himself as the right hand of the Caliph.

• Mubarak Shah Khilji:- On the other hand his successor Mubarak Shah Khilji declared

himself to be the Caliph of the age.

• Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq:- Initially MBT tried to neglect the Caliph and even struck

out his name from the coin, but later when the series of revolts started against him,

he sought investiture from the Caliph.

• Firuz Shah Tughlaq:- FST always tried to project himself an orthodox Sunni Muslim so

he maintained good relations with Caliph and received the investiture twice.

3 rd Urbanisation - Historiography

K.M. Ashraf - Changing Skyline

• Mosques, tombs and arches overshadowed the temples

Mohammad Habib - 'Urban Revolution'

• India of the eleventh century was a country of fortified cities and towns and

unfortified villages.

• Control of the higher classes was supreme and exclusive.
• The condition of the producing classes was tragic.
• The higher classes appropriated the cities and towns exclusively to themselves while

the workers lived in unprotected villages and in settlements outside the city-walls.

• This changed with Turkish conquest.
• Cities were thrown open to workers.
• 'Indian city labour, both low caste Hindu and Muslim, helped to establish the

new regime'.

• Thus the new regime emancipated the labouring classes.
• This also facilitated urban expansion.

Irfan Habib - Technological innovation led to expansion of the urban economy

• He rejected the notion of emancipation of the working class.
• Accordingtohim,theconditionofworkersandpeasantsremainedlargely the

same.

• He asserts that the expansion of urban economy and craft production was more of a

result of technological innovation.

• Introduction of the Persian wheel facilitated continuous water supply thus

irrigating vast tracts became possible that in turn created surplus, so essential

for the growth of towns.

• Similarly, introductionof charkhawith crank-handle increased the production

of the cotton yarn six fold.

• Introduction of the treadle (pit)-loom further facilitated the increase in the

textile production.

HK Naqvi - State led Urbanisation

• She argues that Sultanate towns were established as political centres by the state.
• Lahore, Sialkot, Multan, Delhi, Hissar, Jaunpur, Ahmadabad, Burhanpur, Agra.
• She even viewed the 'growth' of the towns as a result of state action.
• By establishing internal peace and security, maintenance of law and order

providing for a smooth administrative organisation, promotion of industries,

and improvement in communication system.

• The Sultans worked carefully towards urban growth. They provided the

essential 'outlay' by way of repairs, extensions, or introduction of new

constructions.

• She remarks since the growth of towns in the Sultanate period is 'politically inspired'

its future too got intertwined with the 'political vicissitudes'.

• The Portuguese blockade on the seas adversely affected growth of Gujarat

towns in the early 16 th century.

■ In the early 15 th century, Ahmedabad had 360 puras as reported in

'Haft Iqlim'. This number reduced to 175 and further the number came

down to 80 as reported in the Ain-i Akbari.

Satish Chandra - Agrarian Expansion led to Urban Growth

• Chandra has disputed Naqvi's model of state sponsored urbanisation.
• He argues that political stability played a minor role in the process of urbanisation.
• According to him, if political stability was such a decisive factor, then why did

the reign of Firozshah Tughlaq witness the emergence of new towns in spite

of the fact that a declining trend was clearly visible in the field of empire-

building.

• Rather, he tries to link the process of urbanisation with agrarian expansion.

Andre Wink & Sunil Kumar - Garrison Towns

• Wink has attributed the emergence of garrison towns to the rise of 'cash nexus' and

the 'iqta' system.

• He remarks that 'iqtas' could not be defined as 'local territorial units but as

garrisoned urban centres (khitta)'.

• In the entire conquest area - from Lahore to Lakhnauti - a similar pattern emerged.
• The new horse-troop garrison towns established by the Turkish conquerors

became centres of iqta management, aiming at

■ the safeguarding of trade routes, markets,

■ the subjugation of the marches,

■ agrarian expansion,

■ monetisation,regulationandrationalisationoflandrevenuecollection.

• He listed as many as eighteen such towns including Delhi, Gwalior, Multan, Uchh,

Lahore, Kara, Manikpur, and Lakhnauti.

• Kumar also argues that from its very inception, 'Delhi was a collection of garrison

towns commanded by senior military commanders and former slaves of Ghori.'

Pre-Turkish Towns

• However, when the Turks emerged on the scene many of these towns were already

flourishing;

• Though no doubt the thanas established by Balban, such Badaun were used

as 'garrisoned' posts which later developed into towns and qasabs, Lahore,

Kara, Manikpur and Lakhnauti, in no way could be labelled as 'garrison

towns'.

• Similarly, Delhi was not only recognised as the capital, but at the same time,

as the 'principal' town by Hasan Nizami.

• At the time of Muhammad Qasim's invasion both Uchh and Multan were

flourishing towns.

• Most of them owed their position to their strategic location or being capital towns.

Mongol Policy under Sultans of Delhi

KA Nizami has divided the Mongol policy of the Delhi Sultans into three phases-

1. The policy of avoidance/ aloofness under Iltutmish
2. The policy of appeasement under Razia to Nasiruddin
3. The policy of resistance from Balban to Alauddin Khilji

Iltutmish-

• He dissociated himself from the politics of central and West Asia by refusing the

asylum to Prince Jalaluddin Mangbarni of Khwarizm. In this way he maintained

aloofness.

Razia to Nasiruddin Muhammad-

• During the period of Iltutmish, Mongol invasion didn't take place.
• Itwasduetothefact that Mongolswerebusyintheregionof Centraland West

Asia.

• But after Iltutmish they moved towards India.
• The first Mongol invasion of Hindustan took place under Tair Bahadur in 1241.
• As the Delhi Sultanate at that time couldn't match the Mongol force so the policy of

appeasement was adopted towards them.

• It involved maintaining diplomatic relations with the Mongols and recognising

their nominal superiority.

• But this policy didn't succeed as the Mongols were divided into different groups.
• So even after engaging diplomatically with one group there was no guarantee

of safety from another group of invaders.

Balban to Alauddin Khilji-

• It was Balban who laid the foundation of Mongol policy of Delhi Sultanate. He built a

strong defence mechanism in the north-west.

• In fact, he built two defence lines.

■ One line went through Lahore, Multan and Dipalpur and another

through Sunam, Samana and Bathinda

■ He also built a large number of forts and deployed a large number of

soldiers there.

• Alauddin Khilji also continued the policy of Balban and even extended it.
• Once he realised that the weakness of the Delhi Sultanate was caused by poor

military preparedness, he developed a huge standing army and started to pay

cash salary to the soldiers.

• Furthermore, he also repaired the forts of Balban in the north-west and built

some new forts and appointed Ghazi Malik (later Ghiasuddin Tughlaq) as

warden of marches.

• Apart from that, Alauddin Khilji followed the dictum 'offence is the best

defence'.

• So now the Mongols were forced to be defensive.
• In this way, Alauddin Khilji almost eliminated Mongol menace. Thus, by the period of

the Tughlaqs, the Mongol menace was over.

• Only a single Mongol invasion took placeunder Tashmarshin Khan, at thetime

of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq but it was repelled.

• The period of Firuz Shah Tughlaq was free from Mongol invasions, as Mongol

power already declined and Mongol leaders were involved in internal conflicts

• However, it can be stated with certainty that the continuous Mongol invasions

produced a wider impact on political, administrative, economic as well as cultural

structure of Delhi Sultanate.

Impact of Mongol invasion on Delhi Sultanate

• According to Peter Hardy, Mongol invasions left a deep impact on polity under Delhi

Sultanate.

• Earlier sultans were so engrossed with the Mongol question that they didn't

take any initiative towards territorial expansion into India's interior.

■ In his entire reign, Balban never left his capital except on the Bengal

expedition.

• Furthermore, in order toconsolidate their power against the Mongols, initially

the Sultans of Delhi couldn't take any specific measures against provincial

officers like Muqtis. So Muqtis began enjoying greater autonomy.

• The need for countering the Mongols intensified the demand for resources so

that a strong standing army could be maintained.

■ Inspired by this objective, Alauddin Khilji took steps for land revenue

reforms.

■ Healsointroducedthemarketcontrolpolicysothatallessentialgoods

could have been available to soldiers at cheaper cost.

• Mongol invasions had a deep cultural impact as well.
• As Mongol invasions wreaked havoc in the Islamic world, scholars from

different regions of Islamic world rushed towards Delhi to take refuge.

• As a result, Delhi became a nerve centre for cultural activities. Apart from

scholars, even Sufi saints moved towards India as a safe haven.

Iqta System

Under the Delhi Sultanate, territory was divided between Khalisa and Iqta land.

Khalisa was the Crown land. The income from this land went directly into the royal treasury.

On the other hand, Iqta developed as a substitute for provincial administration. The literal

meaning of Iqta is a tract of land and the holder of Iqta was called Muqti.

Objectives behind Iqta system

1. To ensure surplus production from far off regions reached the treasury.
2. To synthesise the state interests and the personal ambition of nobles.

Functioning of Iqta system

Anofficerwasappointedinan Iqta.Hewascalled Muqtiandwassupposedtocollectrevenue

from the region and to spend part of the revenue in the maintenance of administration as

well as military structure.

But the remaining amount known as 'Fawazil' was transferred to the royal treasury.

Contributions:-

• It secured revenue for the royal treasury from remote areas
• It emerged as an instrument of administrative centralization
• The prevailing feudal structure was also suppressed through the Iqta system.
• It helped in the maintenance of a strong army.
• Iqta system also helped in the consolidation and expansion of the empire.
• Through the Iqta system even remote areas could be linked to the centre.
• Further, sometimes even Muqtis used to take some steps for the expansion of

the empire.

• In the spread of Islamic culture as well, the Iqta system played some role.
• Even provincial Muqtis patronised scholars, poets and artists.

Limitations:-

• Competition over surplus between the Sultan and the Muqtis led to tensions within

the empire.

• The interlinkage of the aristocracy and provincial power with land led to the

emergence of centrifugal tendencies.

Was the Iqta system feudal in structure?

• Some scholars try to characterise the Iqta system as feudal in nature and compared it

with the European fief (Jagir) that was given on hereditary basis.

• They also tried to prove that under Delhi Sultanate there was some sort of hierarchy

in the administrative structure e.g. the Sultan, Muslim nobles, then Hindu nobles,

Soldiers etc.

But when we observe minutely we find that in the Iqta system, some important features of

feudalism were missing, i.e.-

• Normallyunderfeudalism,the King'spositionwasweakbutunder the Delhi Sultanate

many sultans enjoyed too much power.

• Under feudalism Jagir was hereditary but Iqta was not.
• Underfeudalismthenoblesarehereditarybutunder the Delhi Sultanatethere

was always an influx of new elements from Central and West Asia. Therefore,

old elementswere replaced bynew ones, so there wasn't scope for hereditary

nobles.

• Under the Sultanate, the nobility was not an immutable and permanent institution.
• Its composition was fluid and Sultans had the power to elevate outsiders into

the aristocracy. In fact, they used this feature to check the power of the

nobility.

Working of Iqta system under different sultans

• It was Iltutmish who systematised the Iqta system in India.
• He divided the vast region between Multan and Lakhnauti and distributed it

among different nobles.

• These nobles were called Muqtis.
• But there was a big challenge before the Sultan - how to ensure Fawazil from

Iqtatothecentraltreasury.Sodifferent Sultansolveditintheirownrespective

way.

• Balban appointed an officer Khwaja to supervise income and expenditure from Iqta.
• Alauddin Khiljiincreasedtheinterventionofthecentreat the Iqtasthroughregulation

of provincial revenue.

• Gyasuddin Tughlaqseparatedthesalaryofsoldiersfromthepersonalsalaryof Muqtis

to prevent them from appropriating any part of the soldiers' salary.

• Mohammed bin Tughlaq took many stern steps to put a check on the

misappropriation of funds.

• Firstly, he began appointing two officers of equivalent rank in the Iqta. They

were known as Muqti and Wali-ul-Kharaj.

■ The first was responsible for general administration while the second

was responsible for collecting revenue in cash.

• Further,Mohammedbin Tughlaq introducedthe practice of appropriating the

entirerevenuecollectedfrom the Iqtainfavourofthecentraltreasury.Muqti

and other officers were paid cash salaries.

• It was due to this fact that there were so many revolts against Mohammed bin

Tughlaq.

Model Questions:

• Underline the role of the Iqta system in establishing the Islamic power in India.
• Explain different features of the Iqta system. Was it feudal in nature?
• Underline the political, economic and cultural impact of the Iqta system.

Land Revenue System

• Under Delhi Sultanate the theoretical basis of the land revenue administration was

provided by a text 'Kitab-ul-Kharaj' which was composed by Abu Yakub, a Qazi from

Baghdad.

• But in practice, the land revenue policy of the sultanate was influenced by Indian

elements as well.

• Due to practical compulsions, early sultans avoided making a direct intervention in

the land revenue system.

• Rather they preferred to take a lump-sum amount from Hindu nobles per

annum.

• Alauddin Khilji:Hewantedtomaintainapowerfularmyandthisprojectneededlarger

resources, so he became the first Sultan to directly intervene in rural administration.

• Measures taken by Alauddin Khilji-

■ He converted Milk, Waqf and Inam land into Khalisa land in order to

boost the royal income.

■ He abolished intermediaries like Mukuddam and Chaudhary.

■ He carried land measurement and his system was known as Mashahat

system.

■ He increased the rates of land revenue to 50% of the total production.

■ Also, Ghari (house tax) and Charai (grazing tax) taxes were imposed.

• The system of Alauddin Khilji was discarded by Gyasuddin Tughlaq who revived the

crop sharing or batai system.

• Later Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq tried to revive Alauddin's system of land

measurement and he extended it to the whole of the empire but he got only partial

success.

• Despite this, Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq became the first Sultan who tried to

introduce a new theory in land revenue system.

• He proposed that royal income can be increased not simply by increasing the

rate of land revenue but also by increasing production.

• This measure later inspired rulers like Sher Shah and Akbar as well.
• In this way, the Delhi Sultanate land revenue system underwent a phase of gradual

evolution or development.

• Some Sultans tried to promote the system of land measurement (mashahat)

but due to certain compulsions, this system remained confined to specific

regions.

• In other regions the old system continued i.e. Batai or Galla Bakshi, Nasaq and

Kankut.

■ Batai system was based on crop sharing

■ Nasaq and Kankut were based on some sort of estimation.

Historical chronicles as the source of study for Delhi Sultanate

• Unlike early medieval age for the study of which we mainly depend on the epigraphic

(inscriptions) and numismatic evidence, for the study of Delhi Sultanate, a large

number of historical chronicles are available which came to be known as the

Tawarikh.

• Tawarikh is a type of court narrative describing important political events and actions

of the ruling class.

• Ifweexplorethepre-Turkishtexts,wefindthatexcept for Kalhan's Rajtarangini,such

literature is missing. So, writing purely historical chronicles is supposed to be a grand

contribution of Islam in India.

• Naturally, a question arises, which factors worked as the stimulus behind the

compositionofsuchhistorical chronicles?Whenweobserveminutely,wefind several

factors behind it-

• One important factor was the tradition of the Quran itself. In fact, the Quran

encouraged the temperament of narrating events that influenced the

intellectual tradition of the age.

• The second factorwasthat in Islam,to narratethe events associated with the

life of the Prophet and Caliphs was supposed to be sacred work. So,

obviously, it encouraged history writing.

• Third, under the rule of the Caliphs, economic prosperity emerged. So, it

became easyto give patronageto a large numberof scholars.Such a tendency

definitely encouraged intellectual activities.

• Fourth,Islamwasalsoinfluencedbytheintellectualtraditionof the Byzantine

and Sassanian Empire, which valued the narration of events.

• Fifth, with the rise of early Turkish monarchs such as Mahmud of Gazni,

recording events associated with their lives was also encouraged.

• For example, it was under Mahmud Gazni that Firdausi composed his

first famous history chronicle 'Shahnama'. This text was associated

with Persian renaissance.

• Later the same tradition was adopted by the Sultans of Delhi as well, who

gave patronage to important scholars in their court and encouraged them to

record the events which speak about the achievements of their period.

• Islamic history writing can be divided into two phases.
• The first phase first was associated with early Arabic history writing which

hovers around the life of the Prophet and the Caliphs and

• The second phase was linked with Persian writing which started with

Shahnama of Firdausi and continued under Sultans of Delhi.

• Theearly Persiantext,whichrecordedthesuccessof Turksandthefoundationof Delhi

Sultanate, was 'Taj-ul-Masir' by Hassan Nizami, a court historian of Aibak.

• The 'Tabakat-i-Nasari' of Minhaj-us-Siraj continued the story. Siraj was a court

chronicle of Iltutmish and his son Nasiruddin Mahmud.

• Then Barani's 'Tarikh-i-Firozshahi' appeared almost as a sequel to Tabkat-i-Nasiri.
• In the same manner, 'Tarikh-i- Firozshahi' of Afif continues the story.
• In this tradition, we find other chronicles also e.g. 'Tarikh-i- Mubarakshahi' of Yahiya-

bin-Ahmad Sarhindi and the 'Futuh-us- Salatin' of Isami.

Limitations of court Chronicles/Tawarikhs

• For modern historians, Tawarikhs are a very attractive source of history. They

represent a ready-made historical narrative, recorded by professional contemporary

historians. On closer observation, we discover that such texts have their own pitfalls.

• Peter Hardy,believesthatsuchreadymadehistoricaltextsmaydullourcritical

insight while analysing the facts of history.

• Normally,historianstakesuchchronicles tobecontemporaryandauthentic sources,

but they ignore the bias of their creators.

• E.H. Carr has emphasised that an author can't be evaluated without knowing

his political and social background.

• Therefore, while making a study of any historical work, a historian must consider the

political, social and economic milieu in which it was created. The motivations of the

author and his personal bias must also be accounted for. This is true about the Delhi

Sultanate as well.

Barani as a Historian

For the study of the Delhi Sultanate, two important texts of Barani, the 'Tarikh-i-Firozshahi'

and the 'Fatwa-i-Jahandari' have greater importance.

• It is said that where 'Tabakat-i-Nasri' of Minhas-us-Siraj, ended the 'Tarikh-i-

Firozshahi' of Barani began.

• However, unlike Minhas-us-Siraj, he separated the history of India from that

of Central Asia.

• This text throws light on the period from the reign of Balban up to the early years of

Firozshah Tuglaq.

• As compared to other contemporary writers, Barani had a different conception and

ideal of history writing. For him, history writing was a religious work.

• This is reflected in his sense of guilt over being unable to oppose the anti

Islamic policies of Muhammad Bin Tuglaq.

• This is also the reason why he appears to be a overtly critical of Muhammad

Bin Tuglaq.

• On the surface it appears that the writing of Barani is very orthodox with a strong anti

Hindu tinge but closer examination, reveals that, Barani's prejudice is a result of both

his personal bias and the conflict between the Hindu and Muslim nobility.

Limitations

• He is very careless about dates and the chronology of events.
• He is overtly prejudiced against Hindus.

Conclusion

• Inspiteoftheselimitations,theaccountof Baraniisan importantsourceforthestudy

of the Delhi Sultanate.

• From the writings of Barani we not only get information about administrative and

economic affairs but also we get the reflection of the intellectual development of

society.

Amir Khusro as a Historian

• Amir Khusro was a noted scholar during the period of Delhi Sultanate. But he falls

under the category of a literary personality rather than a historian. Still his texts are

an important source for the study of this period.

• He saw the reign of seven sultans and his texts throw light on the period between

Bughra Khan and Giyassudin Tughlaq.

• The'Qiran-us-Sadain'coversaconversation between Bughra Khanandhisson

Kaiquabad. Apart from this, buildings, palaces, etc have also been mentioned.

• The 'Miftah-ul-Futuh', focuses on the period of Jalaluddin Khilji.
• His third text, 'Khazain-ul-Futuh' which was also known as 'Tarikh-i-Alai', he

throws light on the period of Alauddin Khilji and 15 years of his rule. From this

text, we come to know about Mongol invasions and Malik Kafur's Deccan

expeditions as well.

• Another important text,the 'Nuh Sipihr',exclusively focuses on praising Delhi,

the climate of Hindustan, its vegetation, flora and fauna etc.

• Being a literary person, his writing is chaste and ornate. He presents a very lively

picture of the social and cultural history of his time.

• Although he was a literary person, even the political events described by him appear

to be authentic.

• For example gives an accurate account of the battle between Khusro Shahand

Ghazi Mallik. Unlike Barani, he is careful about the dates and chronology.

Limitations

• He didn't select his subjects independently, rather he was given the assignment to

write on these subjects.

• So, sometimes hiswriting appearsto be a form of flattery meant for satisfying

his master.

• In order to win the favour of his master he simply omitted embarrassing episodes,

such as, the assassination of Jalaludin Khalji by Alauddin Khalji

Conclusion

• But in spite of the limitations mentioned above the writing of Amir Khusro remains to

be an important source for the study of the social, cultural and political history of

Delhi Sultanate.

• His sensibility as a literary person infused a new life in his history writing.

Ibn Battuta as a Historian

• Ibn Battuta was an inhabitant of Morocco. He started his tour from Africa and in 1333

he reached Delhi while crossing the regions of Constantinople, Alexandria, Kahira,

Arabia, Persia, Balkh, Samarkand and Herat.

• He easily got the patronage of Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq and was appointed as the

Qazi of Delhi, a post he held for the next 3 years.

• Later, on corruption charges he was imprisoned.
• After his release he was sent to China as an ambassador.
• Upon returning to Morocco, he composed his famous text Kitab-i-Rehla.
• The account of Ibn Battuta is important for the knowledge of the political and social

conditions during the period of Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq.

• Ibn Battuta commented on almost all the political events of his time.
• He threw light even on the grand projects of Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq.

Limitations:-

• As a foreign traveller he gives us only superficial knowledge of the events.
• He appears to be heavily prejudiced against Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.
• But still with proper caution, his account can be used as an important source for the

study of this (Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq) period.

Malfuzat: As a source of study of Delhi Sultanate

• Malfuzat or Malfuz was Sufi literature which reflects the conversation of important

Sufi saints, Pir, Seikh etc. Such conversations were recorded by the disciples of these

Sufi saints.

• The 'Fawad-ul-Fuwad' composed by Hasan Sijzi focuses on the conversations

and sermons of Nizamuddin Auliya while the 'Khair-ul- Majlis' by Hamid

Qalander covers the religious discourse of Nasiruddin Chirag-i-Dehlavi.

• Although these texts were associated with religion, they give equal focus on

contemporary society.

• Thus Malfuzat texts have emerged as valuable alternatives to Tawarikh

literature.

• While Tawarikh reflects a courtly attitude and elite lifestyle, Malfuzat takes us close

to the life of common people.

• That is why, scholars like Simon Digby have highlighted the importance of Malfuzat

for the study of Delhi Sultanate.

Art and Architecture during Delhi Sultanate

Introduction:

• The Central Asian tradition of architecture brought by the sultans to India is

sometimes styled as 'Islamic architecture' which is rather a misnomer.

• Arabia, where Islam took its birth, had no architectural traditions.
• The only structure of architectural interest, prevalent in that land, was 'the

roofless caravan serai' built in a rectangular form with a gate and guard's post

and small chambers, protected by a strong peripheral wall.

• Of course, it left a distinct mark on the infant Islamic culture; the mosque is a

replica of this 'caravan serai' with the additional provision of a prayer niche in

the wall, situated opposite to the main gate.

• Early Islamic architecture under the Arabs was nothing but an adaptation of

indigenous elements, borrowed from the various nations which they overcame to the

requirements of their religion.

Difference Between Indigenous and 'Islamic' Architecture:

• Broadly speaking, the indigenous architecture was based on the general principle of

'beam and bracket' which enabled the construction of vast and sprawling building

complexes of almost any dimension.

• Itwasmadepossiblebytheerectionofnarrowcolumnsandpillars,longbeams

andcorbelledbracketstosupporttheflatroofstowhichanynumberofstoreys

could be added.

• In technical language, this style is called 'trabeate' which implies the use of

rows of pillars and long beams, instead of arches and vaults, to span the

spaces.

• On the other hand 'the Islamic style' was 'arcuate' (bent like a bow or arched) which

employed arches and vaults to bridge the spaces and envisaged the construction of

graceful domes in place of flat roofs. This was the basic difference between the two

art styles.

• The other distinguishing features of the two art styles are-
• The'solidarityandgrace'of Indian architecture;these twovirtueswere readily

adopted by the sultans of Delhi in their building activities.

• The 'Hindu style' of ornamentations, though very rich in character was

'expressive of natural, particularly human forms'

• On the other hand, 'the decoration of the Muslims' under religious injunction,

avoided representation of living beings and took the form of flat surface

ornament depicting arabesque or geometrical and floral patterns etc.

However, these antitheses when drawn together served to enrich a new style

that was peculiarly Indian.

Cultural Synthesis:

• A synthesisofthetwostyles seemedlogicalfor the Turkish conquerors,whowerefew

in number, and who had the necessity to employ Indian artisans and sculptors for the

construction of their buildings.

• The Indian workers, with a rich experience of the indigenous styles, forms and

methods of construction, introduced consciously or unconsciously, Indian

architectural designs and decorative details.

• The Turkish rulers made extensive use of the rich architectural materials obtained by

the destruction and demolition of the Hindu temples and converted them into

mosques by simply demolishing their roofs and idolatrous features and erecting

domes and minarets in their place.

• As a consequence, a blending of the two styles was a natural corollary. In spite of the

apparent differences, there were some features common to both, e.g. the use of the

open courtyard encompassed by corridors.

• Consequently, the Indo-Islamic style as it developed was neither a form of Islamic art

nor a modification of the Hindu art but an amalgamation of the two concepts to suit

their environments and needs.

• It was purely Indian in composition. Ferguson has enumerated twelve to fifteen such

stylesthatvariedfromregionto region.Ofthese,theforemostwerethestylesof Delhi

and Ajmer, Jaipur, Gujarat, Malwa, Bengal and Gulbarga.

3 Phases

The growth and development of the 'Indo-Islamic' architecture during the sultanate period

took place in three phases.

• During the first phase buildings were constructed at Lahore, Ajmer and Deihi by the

Ilbari and the Khalji monarchs.

• The construction of buildings by the Tughlaqs constitutes the second phase, quite

distinct from the earlier phase.

• The construction of architectural monuments by the sultans of Delhi suffered a

setback after the downfall of the Tughlaq dynasty; albeit, by this time, the

architectural activities had shifted to the provincial and regional capitals of the

sultanate whose governors, particularly after declaring their independence. This

marked the third phase of development of architecture during the period under

review.

First Phase: Ilbari and Khalji dynasty

• At first, from 1200 to 1246 CE, the Turks seemed to find readymade mosques in the

courts of the Jaina temples. They only had to remove the existing structure in the

middle and erect a new wall on the west, adorned with 'Mihrabs' pointing the way to

Mecca.

• Later, they began to erect a series of arches in front of the Jaina pillars and to have

them carved by Indian artisans in a rich and intricate style with mixed natural and

religious motifs.

• There are two early mosques, the Quwat-ul-Islam mosque at Delhi and the

Arhai-Din-Ka-Jhopra at Ajmer, built mainly out of old Jaina and Hindu temples.

• Iltutmish added two wings to the prayer chamber and enlarged the outer court which

included the Qutub Minar.

• While he made more use of Islamic ideas, especially the weaving of sacred

texts with geometrical patterns, nevertheless, Hindu patterns were still used.

• Theoutstanding Ilbarimonument,Qutub Minar,isa tributeto theconstructivegenius

of the times, which was completed by Iltutmish and later repaired by other sultans. In

fact, the Qutub group of mosques with tapering towers, and beautiful blending of

calligraphic inscriptions with geometrical designs, comprise the best example of Delhi

style.

• The tomb of Itutmish, built by the sultan during his lifetime near the Quwat-ul-Islam

mosque, is a beautiful monument of the Persian art. It contains a single chamber,

made up of red sandstone with an outer layer of grey granite. It had arched entrances

on three sides and a mehrab, flanked by two small arched entrances on the fourth

side.

• An entirely different type of tomb was built by Iltutmish on the grave of his son

Nasiruddin Mahmmud called 'Sultan Garhi'. Its exterior is made of grey granite stone

and white marble while its inner base is octagonal in form and the roof is supported

by beautiful pillars with decorative capitals and arches of the Hindu architectural

designs.

• Balban's tomb, situated to the south-East of 'Oila-i-Rai Pithaura' is a square chamber,

coveredbyadomewhichhasdoorwaysonallsides.Itisalsofurnishedwiththearches

of the hindu style.

• The Khalji's continued the slave policy of building. Alauddin Khilji prepared an

elaborate plan for the extension of the architectural complex in the Qutub area. Alai

Darwaza 'a treasured gem of islamic architecture' was completed in 1311 and served

as an entrance to the imperial campus.

• Its building consisted of a square hall, covered by a dome, with arched

doorways on each of its four sides. It is made of red sandstone, picked out by

white marble strips and enriched by calligraphic inscriptions and decorative

carvings. It shows that by this time, Indian craftsmen had mastered the alien

style of decoration, for the decorative pendentives in this building introduce a

fresh style of ornamentation of the older simple Turkish styles. Also, the true

arch form is introduced here.

• Other important buildings of Alauddin Khalji are Jamait Khana, Siri, 'Mahal hazar

Satoon' and 'Hauz-i-Alai'.

Second Phase: Tughlaq Dynasty

• The buildings of the Tughlaqs reflect the growing political insecurity, economic

austerity and religious conservatism.

• They lost the youthful splendour and ornamentation of the earlier period. Seemingly

massive and solid, in reality they were poorly built.

• The rugged simplicity of the Turks re-asserted itself later in the fortress called

Tughlaqabad, constructed by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq in 1321 CE.

• Tughlaqabad includes Ghiyasuddin'stomb,Bijay Mandal built by Muhammad Tughlaq

and hall of thousand pillar which has only a few ruins left.

• Of all the Tughlaq rulers, Firuz Shah proved an indefatigable builder and numerous

cities, forts, palaces, mosques and tombs are credited to him.

• Like the preceding Tughlaq buildings, however, they too were made of poor

materials and clearly lacked the elegance of the Ilbari and the Khilji

monuments.

• Another important feature of Tughlaq architecture is batter or sloping wall that gave

the appearance of strength to a monument. The only exception is the monuments of

Firoz Tughlaq where use of batter is very rare.

Third Phase : Sayyid and Lodi Dynasty

• The shrunken political empire of the Lodis and the Sayyids seriously handicapped

them from undertaking any vast and elaborate buildings.

• Consequently, with few exceptions, their best efforts were confined to the tombs of

kings and nobles which nevertheless reflect an attempt to revive the animated style

of the Khiljis.

• Features:
• Building of monuments on higher platform
• Monuments were built in a garden.
• Normally the shape of the monument was octagonal.
• The construction of a double dome.
• The construction of a kiosk for decoration.
• Sikandar Lodi'stombwasbuiltby Ibrahim Lodiin 1518 A.D.Itstandsoutforitsinternal

and external ornamentation, use of several coloured tiles and the innovation of the

double dome used to preserve the symmetry and relative proportion of the interior

and the exterior. This was later massively used by the Mughals.

• Thetombsofvariousnobleslike Bara Gumbadand Moth-ki-Masjid,too,representthe

bestofthe Lodiarchitecturewhichneitherachievedthepoeticrefinementof the Ilbari

and Khilji monuments nor the later Mughal perfection.

• It, however, definitely displayed a sober dignity and use of imagination in achieving a

harmony of design and colour, which was lacking in the severity of the Tughlaq

architecture.

• Sher Shah's tomb is the last of the series of Turkish burial places. It is more elaborate

than the Tughlaq or Lodi memorials, but is still quite rugged.

• The basic plan of a Turkish tomb consists of an octagonal apartment, roughly 15 m. in

diameter, surrounded by a verandah of the same shape, each face ornamented by

three arches ofthe stilted style and supported bydouble square columns. It isderived

from the Jaina style, butbears no apparent similarityto itsprototype.Themosques of

the Turko-Afghans were as simple as their tombs.

• By the time of Sher Shah, there is visible a love of detail, pointing to a richer

imagination. Compared to the more ornamental mosques of the later period, the

contours of the Kalan Masjid in Delhi, for instance, remain hard. The buildings of the

Turko-Afghan monarchs are the index to the rough and ready culture which they

brought.

Development of Regional Architecture:

• With the decline and disintegration of the sultanate, the architectural activities were

also decentralised and shifted to the provincial capitals and the regional states which

emerged on its ruins.

• It resulted in the diversification of the Indo-islamic architecture, giving birth to a

numberofartstyleswiththemanifestationofnewfeatures,distinctfromthoseof the

traditional Indo-Islamic architecture as had been patronised by the sultans of Delhi in

the 13 th and the first half of the 14 th centuries.

• To the arched domes and radiating vaults of the mosques of the North, there were

added cloisters that surrounded the courts. The galleries of the interior were

elaborated with short square pillars, bracket capitals, horizontal archways and roofs

of flat slabs in the manner of the Hindu and Jaina temples.

Jaunpur

• Jaunpur developed a new style of Indo-Islamic architecture which showed a profuse

and very refreshing blending of the Hindu and Muslim architectural traditions.

• The Sharqiarchitects made simultaneoususe of the arcuate andtrabeateprinciples in

their building structures, thus bringing about a very healthy synthesis between the

two styles.

• The buildings of Jaunpur were noted for their beautiful arches and decorated vaults

side by side with square pillars with bracket capitals, massive sloping walls and

cloisters while its mosques were devoid of minarets of the traditional Islamic style.

• The earliest mosque at Jaunpur is distinguished by a number of carved pillars which

were obviously taken from a temple. However, the Jami Masjid (commenced by

Ibrahim Shah Sharqi and finished under Husain Shah about 1470 CE) is an attempt at

absorbing Middle Eastern and Egyptian influences.

• The Lal Darwaza mosque and the lovely Atala Masjid owe much more to the Indian

styles both Hindu and Buddhist.

• Among the extant monuments of the Sharqi dynasty may be mentioned the Jhanjhari

and Khalis Mukhlis.

Gujarat

• In Gujarat, the synthesis of Hindu and Muslim traditions was almost perfect. The

turkish governors and later on, the sovereign Muslim rulers of Gujarat thoroughly

exploited the local architectural talent thus giving birth to the most remarkable and

the finest among the provincial sties of Indo-Islamic architecture.

• Among the monuments of this period mention may be made of the magnificent Jama

Masjidof Ahmedabadwhichhasfifteendomes,eachsupportedoneightcolumns,and

a hall of 260 lofty pillars and wide cloisters on all the four sides of the open courtyard,

make it one of the noblest edifices' in the whole world. With this mosque; says Percy

Brown,"themedievalarchitecturereachedthehighwatermarkofthemosquedesign

in Western India, if not in the entire country.

• A small but elegant tomb of Rani Sipri with an attached lovely little mosque has been

adjudged, by far, as the most beautiful monument of Ahmedabad.

• Another production of rare architectural dignity at Ahmedabad is the 'Tin Darwaza'

crowned by a well-balanced and richly decorated arch, it constituted a stately

entrance to the royal building complex.

Bengal

• Bengal had a strong local tradition of art and architecture in ancient times;

accordingly, the Muslim rulers of the province, whether independent or subordinate

to the sultans of Delhi, became responsible for the emergence of remarkably original

Bengali style of Indo-Islamic architecture.

• It retained many popular Hindu traditions in the structural as well as decorative fields

even in the construction of purely Islamic art forms like the masjids and tombs.

• The Muslim architects adopted the Hindu temple style of curvilinear cornices, dwarf

square pillars and the carved designs, like lotus, for decoration.

• Paucityofstonenecessitatedtheuseof Kiln-burntbricksasthechiefbuildingmaterial

as ever before although the use of stone, where available, was also not neglected by

them.

• The tomb and a mosque of Zafar Khan Ghazi at Tribeni which constituted the earliest

architectural monument of the Indo-Islamic style in Bengal was constructed almost

exclusively from material of the hindu buildings.

• The 'Eklakhi' tomb of Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah (1415-31 CE) at Panda exhibits the

true character of the Bengali style of Indo-Islamic architecture.

• The Dakhil Darwazaat Gaurisanimposinggatewaywhichhasbeenbuiltofbricks with

terracotta surface decoration.

• Amongothermonumentsofthe later Ilyas Shahiand subsequent rulersof Bengalmay

be mentioned Tantipara, Chamkan Darasbari, Lotan, Bara Sona, Chhota Sona and

Qadam Rasul Mosque at Gaur and Bagha masjid in modern Bangladesh.

Malwa

• The Muslim rulers of Malwa have also left behind quite a few monuments of Indo-

Islamic architecture with a local strain.

• Of these, the Jama-i-Masjid of Mandu completed in 1454 CE is a beautiful edifice,

which has been built on a raised platform with a series of arched chambers on the

sides,andthreemassivedomes,standingontwelvepillarseachthusleavingverylittle

open space for the congregation.

• The tomb of Hushang Shah situated atthebackofthe mosque,ischaracterizedby the

extensive use of white marble, wide expanse of its dome, and an additional terrace,

with four corner cupolas between the dome and the lower square chamber.

• The Hindola Mahal which is "T shaped' in plan, was constructed by Hushang Shah.
• In its final stage of development, the Malwa style of Indo-Islamic architecture was

characterised by the immense love for pleasure and luxurious life.

• The first example of this art style is furnished by the Jahaz Mahal which stands

between two small lakes; a double storeyed building with a facade of well-

proportioned, tall and pointed arches.

• Among other such monuments may be mentioned the palaces of Baz Bahadur and

Roopmati in the vicinity of Mandu and the water-palace of Kaliadeh near Ujjain.

• Chanderi has also preserved a few monuments of Malwa style, including the Jam-i-

Masjid,Shahzadi Ka Rauza, the Madrassa tomb,and the seven-stroyed Kushak Mahal.

• The last monument of the period under review at Chanderi is the lofty Badal Mahal, a

double storey archway.

Kashmir

• In Kashmir too, a blending of the two styles was visible. They continued to use old

stone and wooden architecture but Muslim geometrical designs were also

incorporated.

South India

• In Southern India, the architecture was again a synthesis of Islamic, Persian, Egyptian

and Hindu styles.

• Of these, the large mosque at Gulbarga, erected according to an inscription, in 1367

CE, is a unique piece of architecture. This is the only mosque in India which is wholly

covered over, the light being admitted through the side-walls which are pierced with

great arches.

• Notable among the constructions in Bijapur is the Jami-Masjid, created out of the

remains of Hindu structures, but never completed.

• On the walls of the tomb of Adil Shah, the entire Quran was engraved and the skill of

South Indian craftsmen was ably used in its of Mahmud Gawan at Bidar.

• Thus,the art and architecture of the period cannot be classified into rigid divisions for

while its fundamentals may be traced to a particular school, they are equally

influenced by the topography, political and socio-economic conditions of the region.

• Thisespeciallyholdsgoodin Indiawhereitsvast area,diversityofclimateandfrequent

invasions, resulted in the growth of numerous styles or art and architecture.

Bhaktism

1. Origin and rise of Bhakti
2. Spread of Bhakti in North India
3. Nirguna Bhakti and its social impact
4. Saguna Bhakti and its manifestation in different parts of India
5. Historiography of Bhaktism
6. The role of women Bhaktas and the evolution of Bhaktism as a social liberator
7. Cultural contribution of Bhaktism

Origin and the rise of Bhakti

• Bhaktiisinherentin Indian culture.Atdifferentpointsinhistory,Bhaktitookthe form

of a philosophical movement then it became the largest cultural movement in India.

From the viewpoint of time, it covered more than 1000 years.

• Likewise, as for its nature, we can say it was an inclusive cultural phenomenon.
• For example,itassimilatedwithinitselfbothhigh Brahmaniccultureandlower

tribal culture,

• popular elements as well as feudal elements,
• Brahmanic orthodoxy as well as religious liberalism.
• So, it was heterogeneous in character.
• Some elements of Bhakti manifested even in ancient texts like Vedas and

Upanishads.

• But still,asasocial-religiousideology,wefindthefullextentof Bhaktisminthe

text, Bhagwat Gita, first.

• Pre-Gupta Period: Upto the Gupta period Bhaktism emerged as a philosophical

response to Buddhism, however, it largely remained confined to high philosophy and

never really affected the lives of the common people.

• Gupta Period: Then idol worship and temple cult started during Gupta period as a

result of the influence of non-Aryan elements.

• There was an expansion of Aryan culture due to the phenomenon of land

grants and through the process of cultural integration, a large number of non-

Aryan godswere assimilated within the Aryan pantheon preparingthe wayfor

future Hinduism.

• Post-Gupta Period: Tantricism became the dominant sect in North India and it

overpowered Bhaktism for some time.

• Furthermore, we should keep one thing in mind that during Gupta and Post-

Gupta periods, Bhakti got associated with a socio-political phenomenon that

emerged at that time and which was known as feudalism.

• Tamil Bhakti: Then in the 6 th and 7 th centuries, Bhakti appeared in South India as a

popular movement.

• Here the initiative was taken by Alavar and Nayanar saints. According to the

tradition, there were 12 Alwar saints and 63 Nayanar saints.

• Although these saints came from different social backgrounds, most came

from the lower castes. So they opposed varna division.

• That's why initially the Bhakti movement in south India did not work simply as

a religious movement but also a social movement.

• Alavar and Nayanar saints made a demand not simply of religious equality but

also of social equality.

• Acharyas: But after the 10 th century CE, Brahmanic elements started to penetrate

the Tamil Bhakti movement. They were known as Acharyas for example, Nath muni,

Yamunacharya, Ramanujacharya, Vallabhacharya, Madhavacharya etc.

• They began promoting Bhakti as a philosophy once again.
• Ramanujacharya: Then in the 12 th century CE, under Ramanuja, a compromise

formula was reached.

• According to this, although in the religious field equality for all was accepted,

in the social field, Varna division had to continue.

• As a result of thischange, the Bhakti movement was converted from a popular

movement into an elitist movement.

• Ironically, Bhakti became a strong weapon in the hand of Brahmins, with the

support of which they could eliminate Buddhist and Jaina adversaries.

• Simultaneously, this period was marked by the rise of new dynasties in South

India i.e. Cholas.

• This dynasty was in search of legitimacy so they could gain support to

Brahmanas and temple cult.

• Thus Bhaktiemergedasareligiousstructurebasedonanalliancebetweenmonarchy

and Brahmans who were being supported by idol worship and temple cult.

Medieval Bhakti in North India

• Afterthe 13th century,Bhaktitravelledto North India.Itissaidthatit was Ramananda

who carried the message of Bhaktism from South to North India.

• Ramanandaappearedat the endofthe 15th centuryand early 16th century.Hespent

his early life in South India then the rest of the life he spent at Banaras.

• Althoughhewasafollowerof the Ramanujatradition,hebroughtcertaininnovations.
• Forexample,herelaxedthecastebarriersandaccepteddiscipleseven among

lower caste Hindus.

• That's why he is supposed to be the spiritual inspiration behind the lower

caste saints like Kabir, Ravidas, Sena and Dhanna.

Nirguna Bhakti

• By the 15 th century in North India, Nirguna Bhakti had emerged. The background for

Nirguna Bhakti was prepared by the Nathpanthi sect. It had two specialities.

• Firstly, although Nathpanthi saints were worshippers of Lord Shiva, they

worshipped Lord Shiva in a shapeless form.

• Secondly, they were vehemently opposed to the caste system.
• In fact, it is through a proper mix between Nathpanth and Bhakti that Nirguna Bhakti

came into existence in North India.

• Apart from Nathpanth and Bhakti, we can underline the influence of Sufism on

Nirguna Bhakti as well.

• Possibly the intensity of love for God was inspired by Sufism.

Kabirdas became a great exponent of Nirguna Bhakti in North India. His Bhakti had the

following features-

1. Worship of a shapeless God:-

• Kabir's Ram was quite different from Tulsi's Ram as Kabir's Ram is not represented in

anthropomorphic form.

• It was this factor in Kabir which made him opposed to Idol worship.
• So unconsciously he fell into the category of a religious reformer.

1. Opposed to the caste system:-

• Kabir inherited a sense of bitterness against the caste division from Nathpanth.

Simultaneously there might have been some influence of monotheism of Islam as

well.

• Kabirdas asserted that if Allah and Ishwar (God) are one and the same then

how can the followers of Allah and Ishwar be separated from each other as

Muslims and Hindus. In this way,through propagating religions unity Kabirdas

emphasised social unity as well.

• In fact, Kabir had a bitter experience of the caste system. He belonged to the weaver

caste. This caste was at the lowest ladder of Hindu society.

• So in the hope of improvement in their social condition weaver (Julaha) caste

embraced Islam but it realised that even within Muslim society it was

marginalised.

• Sopractically Kabir Dasdevelopedasenseofdisillusionmentin both Hinduism

and Islam.

• It was one of the reasons why Kabir made an attack on Hindu and Islamic ritualism

simultaneously.

1. Challenged the infallibility of the religious scriptures:

• Kabir Das was deprived of education. As he was illiterate he did not get support from

scripture or Shastra.

• But it became a blessing in disguise for Kabir as Kabir made his personal experience

as his guide.

• It was a very important reason why Kabir expressed such original ideas in socio-

religious fields at that time.

1. Kabir as a mystical thinker:-

• When there is intensity of love, but the object of love is not clear thus originates

mysticism.

• In the case of Kabir we find that he worshipped God in shapeless form. But he

expressed a deep love for God in the manner of a Sufi Saint.

• Kabir gave the symbol of a beloved to the Soul and the symbol of lover to Brahma.
• Then he tried to express the relationship between Brahma and Soul through

the symbol of human relations. It is here mysticism in Kabir originates and

brings him near to Sufi Saint as well.

• Apart from Kabir, some others were associated with the saint tradition. For example,

Ravidas,whowasaleatherworker from Banaras;Dhanna,whowasa Jatpeasantfrom

Rajasthan; Sena, a barber and Pipa; all of them belong to lower caste and shared the

same world view with Kabirdas.

Guru Nanak and Sikhism

• Guru Nanak's Bhakti was also influenced by Nath Panth.
• In his speech, there is the use of terms like 'Shabad' (sound) and 'Sunniya'

(emptiness). These terms have been taken from Nath Panthi.

• In this way, he had ideological proximity to Kabir.
• Apart from that, on Sikhism, we can underline the impact of monotheism of Islam as

well.

• Guru Nanak's Bhakti produced a tangible result in the formation of the Sikh state. It

became possible due to certain reasons-

• Sikhism was deeply associated with a collective spiritual experience, rather

than simply an individual experience as you find in the case of other forms of

Nirguna Bhakti.

• For example, Guru Nanak created a large group of followers who were known

as Sikhs.

• Likewise, he started a community kitchen in the form of 'Langar'.
• Later, Guru Arjandev, the fifth guru, gave a textual flavour to Sikhism in form

of Guru Granth Sahib.

• Thenlateranegalitarian Sikhsocietycollidedwiththecoercivefeudal system

under Mughal. It developed a sense of mission.

• Certainly, such developments paved the way for the rise of an independent

Sikh state in the 18 th century.

Contributions of Nirguna Bhakti

1.Itpromotedsocialradicalismthroughanattackonthecaste system.Itrejectedtheexisting

pattern of society.

• Although Kabirdas, Nanak, etc. were basically spiritual leaders, they unconsciously

brought certain reforms within the society itself.

• This was due to the responsibility of religious ritualism for many social evils, for

example, caste division, idol worship, pilgrimage, etc.

• So once these saints attacked religious ritualism, social evils automatically

came into their ambit.

• It is due to this fact, Kabir is characterised as the Martin Luther of the 15 th century.

1. Nirguna Bhakti rejected asceticicism and preferred to remain associated with productive

activities.

• Kabir even after being a saint continued his weaving activity.
• So in one sense, Nirguna Bhakti encouraged production.

1. Apart from this, Nirguna Bhakti promoted production by breaking the relationship

between craft and caste which was a prevailing norm in India at that time.

• In other words, the change of craft created the situation of Varna Samkara that was

decried in society at that time.

• But Nirguna saints encouraged the people to adopt new crafts, thus weakening the

caste system.

1. Nirguna Bhakti made a major contribution to the cultural field as well.

• These saints, not simply reflected the feelings of the common people but also the

language of the common people.

• For example, Kabir used the language of the common people, Hindavi, while Punjabi

was adopted by Nanak. So local dialects were promoted. Kabir has declared that

Sanskrit was just a well's water while Hindavi (perverted form of Hindi) was a

stream.

• Furthermore, Nirguna Bhakti gave support to local literature as well.
• Nanak established Punjabi literature.
• Likewise, Kabir's Sakhi, Ramnia and other sorts of poems contributed to Hindi

literature.

• Bijak and Granthawali of Kabir are supposed to be based on his sermons.
• Even in the development of music, Nirguna Bhakti made its contribution.
• Guru Nanak introduced devotional songs in Sikhism and also the instruments

like Rabab.

• Even today devotional songs are part of the Gurudwara's life.

Limitations:

But in spite of the positive contribution of Nirguna Saints, we shouldn't overestimate it.

• Although it is true that Nirguna Bhakti made an attack on religious rituals and social

tradition, they couldn't bring any radical change in existing religious or social

structure in the true sense.

• Essentially, they were spiritual leaders so, even their reform program was mainly

guided by their personal spiritual realisation, not by any rational ideology.

• That's why they failed to give any alternative system and their protest

remained simply a timely reaction.

• It is sometimes compared with the Protestant movement of Europe.
• In Europe,the Protestantmovementsuccessfullybrokethepillaroffeudalism

and paved the way for the rise of capitalism. However, Nirguna Bhakti could

not overpower the prevailing feudalism of the time.

Vaishnava Bhaktism

• It was different from Nirguna Bhakti. Nirguna Bhakti believed that God didn't take

incarnation nor did he come to earth to play his Lila.

• On the other hand, Saguna Bhakti believed in the concept of incarnation and

reincarnation.

• Two important exponents of Vaishnava Bhakti in North India were Ramananda and

Vallabhacharya.

• Ramananda became an inspiration for both the Nirguna and Saguna Bhakti in North

India.

• Ramananda brought three important changes with respect to the Bhaktism of South

India.

• In place of Lord Vishnu and Shiva, he introduced the Rama cult in North India.
• Secondly, in place of Sanskrit he introduced local dialects in order to spread

his message to the common people.

• Above all, he created a band of followers from the lower castes. In this way,

the difference is clearly visible with prevailing Brahmanic orthodoxy.

• Similarly, Vallabhacharya became an ideological inspiration behind Krishna Bhakti in

North India.

• Vallabhacharya was a Telugu Brahmin. He also appeared at the end of 15 th

and early 16 th century. He was born in Banaras and remained active in North

India.

• He laid the foundation of Ashtachap which comprises 8 important Krishna Bhaktas

and who were ardent followers of Vallabhacharya.

• Vallabhacharya influenced mainly Gujarat and later after the appearance of Surdas,

this movement would be an influential movement in North India in the 17 th century.

The difference in the perception of Nirguna and Saguna Bhakti

1. Nirguna Bhaktiemphasisedontheworshipof Godinashapelessform while Suguna

Bhakti believed in individual Gods.

1. Nirguna Bhakti was having a radical social outlook as it rejected caste division while

Saguna Bhaktimadeacompromisewiththevarnasystemandacceptedcastedivision.

The manifestation of Vaishnava Bhakti in different regions of India

• Vaishnava Bhakti shouldn't be taken as a monolithic movement rather it was

heterogeneous in nature.

• In different regions, its manifestation was slightly different and there it reflected the

influence of some local elements as well.

North India

In North India as well as in Western India, Vaishnava Bhakti manifested itself in two different

branches, i.e. Rama Bhakti and Krishna bhakti. Both became popular movements in these

regions.

Rama Bhakti

• Tulsidas appeared to be a great exponent of Rama bhakti. It was he who carried Ram

Katha to every Hindu household.

• He composed the famous text 'Ramcharitmanas' in Awadhi language which

was associated with the birthplace of Ram. If today the story of Rama has

survived, it isn't in Valmiki's Ramayana, but it is in the language of Tulsidas.

• Another important Ram Bhakta was Nabhadas. He composed a famous text i.e.

'Bhaktamal' in which 200 Bhaktas are mentioned.

Krishna Bhakti

• Surdas emerged to be a great exponent of Krishna bhakti and he popularised his

Bhakti among common masses.

• Heused Braj Bhasha,alocaldialect,andcomposedhisfamoustext,'Sur Sagar'

in this language.

■ The popular story of Lord Krishna, Radha, the Gopis, etc. possibly

caught popular imagination much deeper than even Rama Bhakti.

• Krishna Bhaktiwaspromotedby Narsingh Mehtain Gujaratand Mira Baiin Rajasthan.

Maharashtra Dharma

• Maharashtra Dharma reflected assimilation between Vaishnavism and Nathpanthi

ideology.

• The centre of Maharashtra Dharma was Pandharpur and the God around whose

Maharashtra Dharma revolves was Vithoba, a local God. The followers of Vithoba

formed a new sect that was the Varkari sect.

• Namdeva was supposed to be a bridge between Maharashtra Dharma and Bhakti

movement in North India.

• One important exponents of Maharashtra Dharma was Gyandeva. He composed a

commentaryon Bhagavad Gitainthe Marathilanguage knownas 'Gyaneshwari Gita'.

• Some other important saints associated with this sect were Namdeva, Eknath,

Tukaram.

• Maharashtra Dharmawasdifferentfrom other Vaishnavasectsasit advocatedfor the

eradication of social differences between high and low born in society.

• In this way, a common Maratha identity to the people was given.
• So unconsciously Maratha saints laid the foundation of the future Maratha state as

they encouraged the process of human capital formation for the promotion of a

common political cause.

• In the 17 th century, Saint Ramdas Samartha emerged.
• He was Shivaji's teacher as well.
• He laid the foundation of the Dharkari sect.
• The emphasis of this sect was the assimilation between spiritual and

mundane life.

• So gradually Maharashtra Dharma evolved from a Shahishnu Dharma (a tolerant

religion)toa Jayishnu Dharma (Asectforconquest).Thuswasprepared abasisforthe

future Maratha state.

Bhaktism in Eastern India

In Eastern India Bhaktism was influenced by Siddha and Nath saints.

• Early exponents of Bhakti ideas in Bengal were Jayadeva and Vidyapati.
• Jayadeva composed a famous text 'Geet Govinda' in Sanskrit.

■ This text focused on the relationship between Radha and Krishna and

presented this relationship in a very erotic manner.

• Vidyapati carried Bhakti tradition and composed his text in the Maithili

language.

• Likewise, one of the earliest Bhakti saints was Chandidas in Bengal.
• But the most important was Chaitanya.
• He popularised Krishna Bhakti in Bengal and created such a deep impact on

the mind of the people that he was presented as the reincarnation of Lord

Krishna.

• It was Chaitanya who introduced Kirtana (devotional song). So he brought

Bhakti to the moment of emotional ecstasy.

• In Assam, Sankardeva was also a Bhakti saint.
• In Assam Bhakti, Radha didn't play a significant role.
• Likewise, in place of young Krishna, Bala Krishna (Childhood) became a major

theme of Bhaktism.

Contribution of Saguna Bhakti :-

1. Although it is true, Saguna Bhakti made a compromise with the Varna system but at least

they tried to soften the rigour of the Varna system.

1. Even in Saguna Bhakti, we can underline the element of protest against Brahmanic

orthodoxy and elite norms. For example, Maharashtra Dharma reflected popular

consciousness. Likewise, in Krishna Bhakti, the existing social norms have been challenged.

1. In the cultural field, Vaishnava Bhakti made a larger contribution. In one sense, Bhaktism

became a majortheme in contemporary literature, architecture, music,dance, painting, etc.

• Support for local dialects like Hindi, Awadhi, Braj Bhasha, Bengali, Marathi, etc.
• Saguna Bhakti encouraged temple cult so the rare example of temple architecture

is associated with Saguna Bhakti.

• Sankritana system introduced by Chaitanya, devotional songs of Mira, Dhrupada

singing of Swami Haridas, made a rare contribution to Indian music. In one sense, it

was Bhaktism which prepared the way for the development of Hindustani music in

India.

Limitations of Saguna Bhakti -

• Through accepting caste division and temple cult, Saguna Bhakti accepted the

Brahmanic world view and it strengthened the position of Brahmanism in socio-

religious life of India.

• In one sense, the resurgence of Saguna Bhakti overpowered Nirguna Bhakti in North

India where Nirguna Bhakti had so far continued to promote some sort of social

radicalisation.

Women Bhaktas and a note of protest -

Bhaktism is supposed to be a movement that advocated for the creation of an egalitarian

society but on observing sincerely we find that while some saints raised the caste issue and

opposed the caste system but simultaneously they neglected the issue of women's

exploitation.

• But in the course of the Bhakti movement, some women Bhaktas emerged.
• David Kingsley asserts that for them it became difficult to reconcile their love

for the lord and perform their worldly duties.

• So in one sense, the rise of women Bhaktas symbolises a protest against the

drudgery of domestic life.

• We come to know about some important women Bhakta such as Lalded/Laleshwari

of Kashmir.

• She was a dedicated Shaivite.
• She opposed all sorts of social taboos and religious ritualism.
• Ideologically she came close to the rishi sect (a Sufi sect) in Kashmir. Nuruddin

Rishi was highly influenced by the spiritual perfection of Lalded.

• On the one hand, Lalded became a symbol of protest against the male

dominance of society; on the other in association with the Rishi sect and its

exponent Nuruddin, she also became a symbol of Hindu-Muslim amity.

• As in Rajasthan, Mirabai was associated with the same symbol of social protest.
• Shelostherhusbandatayoungagethenalsolostherfather-in-law,Maharana

Sanga, as well after the battle of Khanwa.

• Along with a sense of loneliness, she also felt a sense of being victimised as a

result of domestic violence.

• It was from the earlier phase she was indulging in Krishna Bhakti but later she

became a complete Bhakti saint. She was a symbol of social rebellion. This

phenomenon can be ascertained even on the basis that even in earlier phases

shedidn'tenjoyrespect among Rajasthaniwomenwhotookherasthebreaker

of social norms.

• Mahadevi Akka was a Bhakti saint from the Karnataka region.
• She also became a symbol of women's protest against male dominance in

society. In this way, women Bhakta gave a new dimension to the Bhakti

movement.

Historiography of the Bhakti Movement

Bhakti proved to be the largest cultural movement in India. Almost every part of India was

touched by it and it made its presence felt for a long time i.e. 1000 years. So it is very natural

that there should be some controversy among scholars in specifying its nature.

• Earlier R.G. Bhandarkar, while making a study of Bhaktism, tried to find out its

indigenous roots.

• In other words, he linked Bhaktism to the earlier religious tradition of India.
• R.C. Zaehner tried to link it to the influence of Islam.
• Likewise, some other scholars, such as Yusuf Hussain, divided Bhaktism into two

phases -

• 1. Starting from the 4 th - 5 th century to the 12 th century, when Bhaktism was

an individual perception.

• 2. Then, from the 13 th century to the 16 th century, when Bhaktism became a

religious creed after an interaction with Islam.

• Some scholars tried to prove that bhakti was an outcome of the desperation of the

lower castes. For them, it was an expression of social protest.

• They were caught between Devil and Deep Blue Sea.
• Ontheonehand,theywereexploitedbyhigher-caste Hindusandonthe other,

they were unable to link themselves to the cruel world view given by the

Turkish ruling class.

• So they moved towards Bhaktism for emotional support.
• Other scholars like Irfan Habib interpret Bhakti in relation to craft and caste.
• In fact, he emphasised the point that Nirguna saints promoted new crafts

through delinking relations between craft and castes.

• Another interpretation about this movement is that it was a reaction of caste-ridden

Hindu society against the challenge of Islam.

Conclusion

Considering different views about the nature of the Bhakti movement we come to the point

that it wasn't uniform in nature rather it was polyphonic in nature.

• In fact, it encompassed within itself varied and sometimes even mutually

contradictory elements.

• We can very well underline its multifaceted nature when we come to know that on

the one hand, it represented elite elements on the other popular elements.

• Likewise, it also symbolises the assimilation between Brahmanic orthodoxy and

popular revolt.

• Apart from that, at some places it appeared to be a bit insensitive to women but at

other places, it represented women's protest also in the form of devotion of Lalded

and Mirabai.

• Furthermore, Bhaktism on the one hand strengthened the position and power of the

ruling class, on the other hand, it represented the revolt of regional elements against

the centralised power in the form of Maratha and Sikh movement.

So, while making the study of Bhakti, we need to be cautious about generalisations.

Sufism

• The term 'Sufism' came into use for the first time in the 19 th century. Earlier, it was

known as 'Tasawwuf'.

• Sufism originated from the term Safa or Suffa, which means sacred. Safa also means

a coarse blanket made of wool. It also symbolises a rejection of luxurious life.

• So far as the term 'suffa' is concerned it symbolized a religious place outside of the

mosque.Onthissuffa,saintssatandperformedmeditation.Theywereknownas Sufi.

• Sufism emerged in the Islamic world in the 10 th century, when on the one hand there

wasthe decline of the Islamic empire, and on theother hand there wasthe rise of the

Turkish monarchy.

• This period was marked by a transition of values in the Islamic world.
• It was a time when power, wealth and influence had completely

overshadowed the original values of egalitarianism, love and rule by the

consent of the governed.

• The new generation of Muslim youth was deeply attracted to a luxurious life.
• So, Sufism represented a spiritual reaction against this social decadence.
• The Quran itself, provides the basis to Sufi ideas. In fact, the Quran had two different

types of interpretations.

• First was the Shariyat, presented as the orthodox interpretation;
• At the same time the other interpretation was the Tariqat. It gives a liberal

interpretation of the Quran. So, it was Tariqat which prepared the basis for

mystical ideas of Sufism.

• Initially, Sufism was not accepted in the Islamic world as there were two important

differences between orthodox Islam and Sufism.

• Firstly, according to orthodox Islam, the relationship between Allah and the

common man is just like a master and slave, while Sufismbelieved in monistic

ideas and talked about unity and equality of god and soul.

• Likewise, orthodox Islam and ulemas gave primacy to faith while Sufism

believed in the tradition of mutazil (reasoning).

• It is on the issues mentioned above that tension continued between the two.
• Eg. In 10 th century CE, a Sufi saint Mansur-bin-Hallaz declared himself to be

Anhalq (unity of god and soul). He was awarded the death sentence.

• Later in the 12 th century a saint Al-Gazzali made Sufism acceptable in Islamic world

by bringing an important change in its ideas.

• Hedeclaredthat Allahandhismerits can'tberealizedonlythroughreasoning

but also through faith.

• Although it was an attack on the tradition of Mutazil and ultimately proved

costly to the Islamic world, but during this period, the conflict between

orthodox Islam and Sufism ceased for time being.

• Sufismissupposedto have originated in Iran,then spread to otherpartsof the world.
• Right from the time of Turkish conquest of Punjab under Ghazani, Sufi saints started

to travel towards India.

• The first Sufi saint who came to India was Sheikh Al-Hujwiri or Data Ganj

Baksh. He came to India during the period of Mahmud Gazani. He composed

'Kashf-ul-Mahjoob', a famous text.

• Following the invasion of Ghori, Sheikh Moinuddin Chisti moved to India and built his

Khanqah at Ajmer. After his death his Khanqah became a Dargah and a pilgrimage

centre. Several other scholars and Pirs rushed towards India due to the Mongol

Menace.

• One of Chisti's disciples was Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar. He established his

Khanqah at Ajodhan in Punjab. He became a famous saint and by his period

the Chisti sect became fully established in India.

• Later there appeared two important Chisti saints, Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya

and Nasiruddin Chirag-e-Dehlavi.

• Nizamuddin created a wide band of followers. He came in touch even with

Hindu Yogis and appropriated the Yoga method. Yogis of his age referred to

him as a Siddha (perfect Yogi).

Why did the Chisti sect gain in popularity in comparison to others?

• The Chistis maintained relations with the common people but avoided contact with

the ruling class.

• Chisti saints adopted local languages like Awadhi, Punjabi, Urdu and Deccani and

expressed their spiritual experience through popular stories from Hindu houses.

• Sufi saints came in touch with lower strata of the society e.g. Nizamddin Auliya

contacted Nathpanti Yogis.

Other Sufi Sects-

• Another important Sufi sect was the Suhrawardi sect. Its founder was Bahauddin

Zakariya.

• Apart from the Suhrawardi sect there were some other sub-sects as well e.g. Sattari,

Firdausi, Naqshbandi, Qadiri etc.

• According to Abul Fazal, there were a total 14 Sufi sub-sects which worked in India.

Sufi Ideology:

• The objective of Sufismwas to make Ruh (Soul)free from earthlybonds. In the course

ofitsjourneyto God,Ruhhastocross 7 valleysorinspiritualterms,sevenlevels.Then

the soul would come to manifest god.

• Under Sufism some important concepts are Wahadat-ul Wajood (Unity of Being),

Wisal-i- Yaar (sense of loss due to separation from the beloved), Pir/ Haq (teacher/

highest reality),Murid (disciple),Dayra(spiritualterritory),Wali (spiritualsuccessor of

Pir) and Fanah (self-annihilation).

• Other articles of faith include Dargah/ Mazar (tomb of a Sufi Saint), Ziyarat

(Pilgrimage), Futuh (unsolicited gift), Urs (death anniversary of a Sufi saint), Qawwali

(devotional songs), Raksh (dance), Sama (musical gathering) and Hala (state of

ecstasy).

Contribution of Sufism:-

• It was Sufism which provided a social basis to Islam in India.
• The people in India were having bad memory for invasions from Muslim army.
• So, it was Sufism that gave an ointment to the wound of Indians. So in one

sense it was Sufism due to which Muslim rule in India became acceptable.

• Sufi saints even worked as a critic of government policy. In this way they worked as a

pressure-group.

• Elite Muslim youth was much attracted to the luxuries of life. So Sufi saints

through criticising luxurious life infused some moral values in them.

• Sufism also contributed to the economic field.
• As Sufi saints settled in interior regions or forests and built a Khanqah.
• So very soon devotees started going there, the forest was cleared and

agriculture developed there.

• Moreover, these places developed as the Kasba or town in course of time.
• Likewise, Sufism encouraged trade and commerce as well.
• Infact, Sufi Khanqah became a meeting place for merchants.
• Furthermore, through donations, vast wealth was accumulated in a Sufi

khanqah and the khanqah started to invest capital in merchants' business.

• In the cultural field, Sufism made a great contribution.
• It promoted Indian languages like Awadhi and Panjabi.
• By telling stories from the houses of Hindus, it promoted the composite

culture of India.

• It made a great contribution to music i.e. Gazal and Kawwali are the most

important forms of music developed by Sufism.

■ Md. Gauss was the teacher of Tansen.

• Above all, Sufi saints tried to mitigate the cruel behaviors of orthodox Islam on

Hindus.

• Eg. For orthodox Muslims, the term 'Kafir' meant non- believer but Sufi saints

changed its meaning. For them it means beloved.

Vijayanagara Empire

Background:

• In c. 1334 CE, Muhammad bin Tughlaq marched to suppress a rebellion in Malabar.

But, plague struck his camp. Rumours spread that the Sultan had perished along with

thousands of others.

• Immediately, all the southern units of the Empire viz. Malabar, Telangana, Kampil etc.

revolted. At this point, Tughlaq decided to move back to Delhi.

• Some of the old kingdoms survived and some emerged after the collapse of Tughlaq

rule over the South, viz. Hoysalas of Mysore, Valema rulers of Warangal, Reddis of

Telangana and Sultan of Madurai etc.

• All these powers fought and aligned with each other as it suited them. The

stage was set for the rise of two formidable powers in Peninsular India-

Vijayanagara Empire and Bahmani Kingdom.

• There is a consensus that Harihar and Bukka laid the foundation of Vijayanagara

Empire in c. 1336 CE. However, their origin story has some variations.

• A popular opinion is that they had served under the state of Warangal. When

it fell to the Tughlaqs, they moved to Kampil.

• They were captured, converted and sent to Delhi when Kampil fell, too.
• However, MBT sent them back to consolidate the Sultanate control over

Kampil.

• Here, they deepened their roots and unfurled the banner of revolt when the

suitable opportunity presented itself.

• Their association with Musunuri Kapaya Nayak and a Hindu monk Vidyaranya (who

allegedly brought them back into the fold of Hinduism) and some early policies of this

upstart kingdom gave this independence project a tinge of Hindu revivalism.

• But, we can clearly see that both, Vijayanagar and Bahamani Kingdoms, were the

result of regional assertion against imperial subjugation.

Political History of Vijayanagara Empire

Sangama Dynasty

• Harihar of Sangama dynasty was crowned in c. 1336 CE. He was followed by his

brother Bukka I in c. 1356 CE.

• A new capital Vijayanagara was set up ostensibly on the advice of Vidyaranya

during this period.

• The struggle for Raichur doab started as early as c. 1356 CE when Raichur fell to the

Bahamanis.

• Thewarfarebetweentwosideswasfrequentwhichhaditsrootsinthe ancient

history of this geographical area.

• During this period, first the Hoysala kingdom and later the Madurai Sultanate (till c.

1377 CE) were incorporated into the Empire.

• Having reached peak expansion in the South, Vijayanagara embarked on the

expansion in the West and North-East under Harihar II.

• He snatched Belgaum and Goa from Bahamanis.
• He also sent an expedition to northern Sri Lanka.
• The struggle for the Doab area renewed under Deva Raya I.
• But, he lost to the Bahamani Sultan, Firuz Shah Bahamani (c. 1397-1422 CE).

He had to cede some territory in the doab, pay war indemnity and marry a

daughter to Firuz Shah.

• Later, Deva Raya aligned with Warangal to split the Reddi Kingdom between

the two. This brought the Warangal out of the alliance with Bahamani

Kingdom. Consequently, Deva Raya I inflicted a shattering defeat on the Firuz

Shah Bahaman and annexed almost the entire Doab.

• Also, Deva Raya I dug a canal to meet the drinking water needs of his capital.

This canal and one other on Haridra River, were used for irrigation purposes

also.

• Deva Raya II inducted 2000 Muslim archers in his army and gave them Jagirs.
• Accordingto Ferishta, this was in addition to the 10000 Muslims already in the

service of Vijayanagara army.

• According to Nuniz, the kings of Sri Lanka, Quilon, Pegu, Tennasserim (Burma)

and Malaya paid tribute to Deva Raya 2 nd.

■ Sri Lanka was invaded a number of times.

• But, it is doubtful whether Vijayanagara was powerful enough in the Indian

Ocean to extract tribute from Malaya and Burma.

• This possibly means that these states wanted to maintain friendly relations

with the Vijayanagara Empire and sent lavish gifts.

• Thedeath of Deva Raya II wasfollowedbycivil war.Thegeographicalauthorityofhis

successors shrank considerably as many feudatories assumed independence.

Saluva Dynasty

• The last ruler of the Sangama dynasty was overthrown by the Saluva Narsimha in c.

1485, laying the foundation of the Saluva dynasty. Narasimha was originally the

governor of Chandragiri.

• The Saluva kings restored order in the Empire. After them, came the Tuluva dynasty

in c. 1505 CE.

Tuluva Dynasty

Krishna Deva Raya

• Krishna Deva Raya (c.1509-1530),the greatest of Vijayanagara Kings,belongedto this

dynasty.Hegainedallaroundvictories,patronisedart&culture andbrought military

and administrative reforms.

• He had to deal with internal problems and external problems, viz. the Deccani

state, Orissa, Portuguese etc.

• By this point, Portuguese had started to harass the small coastal feudatory

states of Vijayanagara into making concessions.

• Krishna Deva Raya defeated both Orissa state and Bijapur separately. He ousted

them both from the Raichur doab.

• However, unlike Cholas, he did not build a strong navy and largely ignored the

Portuguese threat to the trade of Peninsular India.

• The Portuguese possibly gave him a monopoly over the supply of horses.
• Domingo Paes, a Portuguese traveller, has given a very positive account of his

personality.

Decline of the Vijayanagar Empire

• Some chaos followed his rule. He was succeeded by Achyuta Rai and Sadasiva Raya,

consecutively.

• Rama Raya, the prime minister of Sadasiva Raya, played the Deccan states against

each other.

• He concluded a pact with the Portuguese to deny horses to the Bijapur state.
• He attacked Bijapur in alliance with Golconda and Ahmednagar in c. 1543.
• Then, he sacked Ahmednagar in alliance with Bijapur.
• But, he humiliated his allies who in turn patched up their differences.
• Four of them united and defeated the Vijayanagara Kingdom in the battle of

Talikota, c. 1565 CE.

• Hampi, the Vijayanagara capital, was sacked. But, the kingdom lingered on for

almost 100 years more while shrinking rapidly.

Aravidu Dynasty

• Rama Raya's brother, Tirumal Raya, and the King Sadasiva fled to Penugonda.
• Gradually, Tirumal Raya retook some parts of the erstwhile empire and

established order. Tirumala Raya led the foundation of the Aravidu dynasty in

• 1570 CE.

• One of his successors, Venkat II shifted the capital to Chandragiri. He unsuccessfully

tried to stem the rot and prevent further disintegration.

• Gradually, the subordinate Nayaks of Mysore, Tanjore, Madurai and Bednur

etc.becameindependentduring the 17th centuryand the Vijayanagara Empire

faded into insignificance.

• Much of its territory was absorbed by Golconda and Bijapur.

Administration

• Due to constant warfare, the military aspect of the kingdom was emphasised and it

shaped the politico-administrative structure of the Vijayanagara Empire.

• Though the institutions of Vijayanagara administration evolved locally, they had

imprints of North India.

King

• The King, called Raya, was an autocratic head of state, who gained legitimacy on

account of his public works.

• Kingship was hereditary, though revolts and coups were common.
• The king was supposed to rule according to the Dharmashastras and local traditions.
• A king was supposed to look after the interest of people.
• Inhisworkonpolity,Krishna Deva Rayaenjoinsthata Kingshouldprotectgood

and punish evil as far as possible.

• Nothing should escape his due justice and he should tax his subjects

moderately.

• The King was assisted by a council of ministers and high ranking officials.
• There was another council which consisted of provincial governors, Nayakas,

Nigam representatives and other men of influence.

• But, the King was not bound by their advice.
• Princes could be enrolled into administration so as to gather experience.

Provincial Administration

• Provincial administration had geographical and historical variations.
• In the peripheral areas like the Tamil country and coastal areas, local chiefs were

allowed to rule.

• However,theroyaladministrationmaintainedawatchoverthemandtheyhad

to pay regular tributes to the emperor.

• The Kingdom was divided into Rajyas/Mandalam, headed by the Pradhans. Their

number must have varied with the expansion and contraction of the empire.

• Earlier, mostly the members of the royal family were Pradhans, but later, these posts

went more to the military aristocrats. They were quite autonomous.

• They could issue coins in their own name.
• They could maintain their own militia.
• They were authorised to levy new and abolish old taxes.
• These governors had to send a fixed amount of revenue to the centre.
• Kollam/ Valnadus were equivalent to the districts.
• These were divided into Nadus, which in turn were subdivided into a group of villages

known as 'Melagrama' or 'Sthala'.

• 'Ur' (village) was the smallest unit.
• The concept of Rajyas, as an administrative and revenue unit, vanished by the time

Nayaka system became entrenched under the rule of Krishna Dev Raya.

Nayankara System:

• Constant warfare on all its sides made the Vijayanagara state militaristic and feudal.

The Nayakara system should be evaluated in this context.

• It was an administrative innovation of the Vijayanagara state.
• According to some historians, Nayaks were originally military officers. Though, some

believe that these were the Zamindars.

• Eventually, Nayaks turned into a strong military-aristocratic class, which was difficult

to subjugate at times.

• Nuniz and Paes have left a detailed account of this system.
• The state used to allot 'Amaram' land to the Nayaks.
• In turn, they had to administer their area, pay a certain amount of revenue to

thestateandmaintainacertainnumberof troops- elephants,cavalry,infantry

etc.

• The Nayaks were different from a typical provincial governor, in that they were not

transferable. They were more like feudal lords.

• They were more autonomous.
• The office of a Nayak was hereditary.
• The big Nayaks were called 'Amarnayakas' and smaller Nayaks were called 'Palaigar'.
• Amarnayakas were supposed to maintain two representatives - military and political

• in the royal court.

Control

• Theoretically, the state could take back their land. But, this was rare in practice.
• The Vijayanagara state maintained a monopoly over the distribution of horses, so as

to control these Nayaks.

• Later, an official named 'Mahamandaleshwara' was appointed to monitor their

movement during the reign of Achyuta Raya.

• However, all these measures were not sufficient. Nayakas always remained a

challenging centrifugal force for the Kings of Vijayanagara.

Ayagar System:

• The local self-government institution of the Chola period had declined up to this

time.

• The responsibilities of village committees were taken over by a group of 12 officials.
• They were paid in land grants.
• Their post was hereditary and it could be bought and sold.
• This whole system was called the Ayagar system.

Revenue Administration:

• The main sources of the royal income were the revenue from crown land

(Bhandarvada), tributes from the Nayaks, revenue from provincial governors and

tolls on goods etc.

• Other than that, houses, factories, occupations and herds etc. were taxed.
• Even marriages were taxed.
• Krishna Deva Raya had decreed that the 1/4 th of the revenue had to be spent on the

court, 1/2 nd on the army and the 1/4 would go to the treasury.

• Sometimes, a criticism is that the Vijayanagara state levied too many taxes.
• But, given the all-around prosperity reflected in the sources, it is natural that

the state would seek a part of it.

• Also, the number of taxes may be more but their rates were lower. And, the

state was adequately focused on public welfare.

Q: Was the foundation of Vijayanagara Empire a result of Hindu resistance?

Answer:

• Vijayanagara Empire was the product of a cultural reaction to the Delhi Sultanate.
• Harihar and Bukka took the help of Hindu revivalist movement of Kapaya

Nayaka to complete their independence project.

• They were also associated with a Hindu monk Vidyaranya.
• During the early stages, Bukka I appealed to the Hindu scholars and artists

from all around to come to the Vijayanagara Empire so as to give a Hindu

identity to this state.

• Often, the violence between Bahamanis and Vijayanagara took a bloody

religious turn.

• But, the claim of Hindu revival is rhetorical and not substantive.
• There were no separate policies for the Hindu and Muslim subjects of the

empire.

• Mosques flourished during this period.
• A large number of Muslim soldiers were enrolled into the Vijayanagara army.
• Muslim merchants were quite active in this kingdom and the Arab merchants

dominated the overseas trade.

• While applying the Rajamandala principle, secular considerations alone

prevailed. Vijayanagar's earliest enemies were the Hoysalas, who were great

patrons of Hindu temples.

• When Gajapatis of Orissa occupied parts of the Vijayanagara kingdom, they

aligned with the Bahamani kingdom to oust them.

• Hindu Warangal was aligned with Bahamanis against Vijayanagara for a very

long time.

• Vijayanagara architecture borrowed freely from the Indo-Islamic architectural

tradition.

• Abovefactsareenoughtoconvinceusthat the Vijayanagara Empirewasageo political

entity with a separate cultural identity. It was not a Hindu revivalist state. It was a

reaction to the exploitative intrusion of Delhi Sultanate into the region.

Nature of the Vijayanagara state:

• The nationalist historiography led by Nilkantha Shashtri, which emphasised

centralisation remained unchallenged for a long time.

• Later, Burton Stein, rather unconvincingly, tried to apply the 'Segmentary State

Model' to the Vijayanagara Empire.

• Here,hetriedtoseparatetheritualheadofthestatefromtheactualsovereign

authority of an area.

• He opined that there were many segments of power which were disjointed

from each other.

• The King did not control the far off region with the help of bureaucracy and

army, rather with the help of religion and rituals.

• An example was cited that the annual nine day Dussehra festival in the

Vijayanagaracapitalwasnotpresided overbythe Brahminpriestsbut the King

himself performed the rituals.

• TV Mahalingam calls it a feudal state and compares it with European feudalism.
• European feudalism chained the entire society together in the link of sub-

infeudation by smaller and smaller land tenures and fealty to the immediate

superior lord.

• Whereas, the Nayakara system only bonded Nayaks with the King.
• King gave them revenue assignments in return for certain responsibilities.
• Though these Nayaks could lease out their land to smaller Nayaks,which looks

like sub-infeudation, the concept of fealty by the small land holders and

cultivators to the Nayaks is absent in the Nayakara system.

• A closer readingofthe accountsofforeigntravellersand the Vijayanagara inscriptions

by Karashima and Subbayaralu tells us that the Vijayanagara state was essentially

feudal.

• Karashima says that the strength of Vijayanagara state's control over the

Nayaks bringsitsfeudalism closer to the 'Tokugawa feudalism' of Japan,more

than the European feudalism

• Herman Kulke calls it 'military feudalism'.
• Burton Stein himself modified his views in his book, 'Vijayanagara', in 1989 CE. He

said that the Vijayanagara administration was based on the patrimonial bureaucracy

model.

We can conclude from the above discussion that the Vijayanagara state was not centralised

but it was a feudal state due to the presence of the Nayak class.

Causes for the disintegration of Vijayanagara Empire:

Vijayanagara was created as well as destroyed by the same set of factors.

• It was surrounded by enemies. So, it could never reorient from being a military state

to becoming a development oriented state.

• Its essential character was feudal under the overall 'Nayakara-Palaigar-

Ayagara' set up.

• These military aristocrats were a headache for all the rulers and they easily

broke into civil wars when the centre became weak.

• Their deep rooted vested interests prevented the evolution of long lasting

politico-administrative institutions that could embed the name of

Vijayanagara kings into the popular mind for centuries.

• The military-feudal state consumed all the surplus.
• R.S.Sharmasaysthat Vijayanagarastateshowednoenthusiasmformodernityunlike

their contemporary European rulers, e.g. Henry, the navigator, of Portugal.

• Barring its religious tolerance, its essential character was still medieval.
• According to C. V. Vaidya, it was not possible to establish an eternal state as the state

failed to set up robust mercantile processes.

• Mercantilism was the order of the day in the world during this period.
• The policy to allow the Portuguese to entrench themselves on the western

coast, reduced its reputation as well as profits from overseas trade.

• Duetoitsintensefocusonpatronisingart,literatureandarchitecture,thestatespent

a lot of wealth on these narrow groups instead of commissioning durable public

welfare works.

• Nuniz says that the peasants ended up giving as much as 80% of their

production to different agencies.

• As long as Vijayanagara could keep its enemies from uniting, it sustained. But, it all

changed in the battle of Talikota which ended the glory of Vijayanagara.

• However, the state lingered for the next hundred years or so.
• The capital was first moved to Penugonda by Tirumal of the Aravidu dynasty.

He regained some portions of the erstwhile state back and established law &

order.

• Venkat IIwasthelastrulerwhotriedtorevivetheempirefromhisnewcapital,

Chandragiri.

• However, during the 2 nd half of the 17 th century, regional chiefs asserted

themselves and much of the remaining territory was absorbed by Golconda

and Bijapur.

Foreign Travellers

During the reign of Devraya I, NICCOLO CONTI (Italian traveller) visited Vijayanagara.

• Hehasgivenadetailedaccountofthecityof Vijayanagar,whichaccordingtohim,was

"as large and as beautiful as Rome".

• He has also commented on the prevalence of Sati.

The Persian traveller ABDURR RAZZAQ visited India during the reign of Dev Raya II. He first

visited the Zamorin of Calicut and then went to the Vijaygnara empire.

• He was a historian and scholar from Herat, sent to Vijayanagar as an ambassador of

the ruler of Khurasan, Shah Rukh Mirza, to the court of Deva Raya II.

• He has described the time period of Deva Raya II in his travelogue, 'Matla-us-Sadain

wa Majma-ul-Bahrain'.

• He specially describes the wealth and splendour of the capital. He vouches that

Vijayanagar's market was ten times the size of Herat's market.

• He says Vijayanagar was the largest and the most well provisioned city in the

world.

• Accordingtohim,tradersofpreciousmetalsandjewelsflockeditsstreets and

bazaars, and the market sold every commodity imaginable.

• He mentions that the Vijayanagara treasury was filled with molten gold

nuggets.

• According to him, Vijayanagara had seven fortification walls within which there were

provisions of all year water supply and agriculture fields.

• He mentions that the Sati system prevailed in Vijayanagara.
• According to him, state derived taxation income from prostitution and brothels.
• He pegs the strength of Vijayanagara army at 11 lakh and counts the number of ports

at 300.

During Krishna Deva Raya's reign, 2 Portuguese travellers visited the empire-

● Durate Barbosa -

• He describes the ship building and sati system.
• He mentions that diamond and precious stones were imported from Pegu and

silk was imported from China, whereas, black pepper came from Malabar

coast.

● Domingo Paes

• He was received by Krishnadeva Raya at his court.
• He has described the beauty of Vijayanagar and the king's personal attributes.

According to him, Krishna deva raya was a warrior king, whose body was

covered in battlescars.

During the reign of Achyuta Raya, the Portuguese horse trader, FERNANDO NUNIZ, visited

the empire.

• He has mainly described the social and cultural aspects of Vijayanagara in his

travelogue.

• He says that there were women scribes, wrestlers, astronomers, musicians

and fortune tellers in Vijayanagara.

• He also mentions the social evils like dowry, Sati and child marriage which

prevailed in the Vijayanagara society.

• He praises the Brahmins of Vijayanagara as honest people who were good

scribes also.

• Accordingto Nuniz,therulersof Quilon,Sri Lanka,Pulicat,Pegu,Tennasserim

and Malaya paid tribute to the Vijayanagara King.

• Healsodescribes the Nayankarasystemandsaysthattherateoflandrevenue

was 1/10 th.

Economy

The Vijayanagara economy was similar to the Chola economy.

• Economic administration was shaped according to the mercantile conditions. The

coastal areas were dotted with ports and cities. Often, cities were centres of

commercial, cultural, religious and political activities.

• Its main income sources were agriculture and commerce, the former being the main

sourceofincome.Thetaxranged from 1/4 to 1/6,dependinguponthequalityof land.

• Irrigation was an important source of income for the state.
• It wascalled 'Dashavanda' in the Tamil area and 'Kattukadage' in the Kannada

area.

• Even temples and Amaranayakas encouraged the extension of irrigation to

the semi-arid areas.

• In the Karnataka area, the Kattukadage rights were especially mentioned in

the inscriptions so as to protect the income of the concerned individual.

• Land was divided into three parts-
• 'Amaram' land, which was biggest of the three groups, went to the Nayak;

'Bhandarvada' land was the crown land and a part of income from this land

went to the maintenance of forts and

• The tax free 'Manya' land was granted to the temples, Brahmans and Mathas.
• A majority of people lived in the rural areas which were fairly self-dependent.
• Temples played an important role in rural life.
• Temples had amassed huge land and acted as centres of socio- economic life.
• Artisans operated in guilds.
• Theireconomicimportance gavethempoliticalinfluenceinthecourtand their

leaders had the ears of important political figures.

• Items of trade
• According to 'Amuktamalyada', the main items of import were horses,

precious stones, sandalwood and pearl etc.

• According to Nuniz, Vijayanagara state was importing 13000 horses annually.
• Commodities like rice, sugar, coconut, dyes, sandalwood, black pepper, ivory,

silk and printed cotton were exported mainly to Persia, Africa, China and Sri

Lanka.

• The level of monetization was high as the trade was mainly in coins.
• Hence, the Vijayanagara state had many mints.
• Also, the state made sure that the foreign trade did not slip into the hands of rival

states.

• Thus, they made concessions to foreigners like the Portuguese.
• Overall, the internal trade during this period was stable and increased gradually.
• The trade of India during this period invited both envy and admiration of the

foreign travelers.Perhaps,Indiawasintheprocessofbecoming the proverbial

'Golden Bird' during this period.

Society

The society was caste based and hierarchical, however, unlike north India, there was not a

four-fold Varna division, rather the society had Brahmins and Non-Brahmins.

• Brahmins held the supreme position and enjoyed both political power and social

prestige.

• The kings, top officials, ministers, army commanders, etc. were Brahmin.
• Brahmin priests received lightly taxed land grants.
• Educational institutions were completely under their control
• Religious life was characterised by regimented ritualism due to which their

importance increased.

• The Non-Brahmins were divided into the Valangai (right handed) and Idangai (left

handed) castes.

• The Valangai group consisted of castes with an agricultural basis, whereas,
• The Idangai group consisted of castes which were involved in manufacturing,

craft and trading etc.

• The society was not divided along blood relations but on the basis of geography.
• So, it was common that blood relatives living in separate geographical areas

establish marital relations.

• Due to Brahmanical orthodoxy prevalent in the Vijayanagara society, the condition of

women in the Vijayanagara society was no better than north India.

• Child Marriage and Polygamy were common.
• Widow remarriages were considered taboo.

■ However, the rulers encouraged it through tax exemptions.

• Tippadiyal (Sati) was also popular.

■ At the same time, we also find evidence of male Royal bodyguards

jumping onto the funeral pyres of deceased kings.

• Intemples, Devadasiswereheavilyexploitedbuttheconditionof Ganikaswas

far better.

• Although the Varnashrama Dharma system was rigidly observed, the Vijayanagara

kings were remarkably liberal and practical in their outlook.

• Theyreadilypatronisedskilledartisans,workmen,scholarsandpromotedable

administrators and military commanders from all backgrounds, including

Muslims.

• They welcomed Christian missionaries from Portugal.
• They even joined hands with the Golconda Sultanate against the Gajpati

rulers.

Culture

Bukka I invited scholars and artists from all over India to his Kingdom. In the subsequent

centuries, Vijayanagara Empire oversaw further evolution of the Dravida School of

architecture, development of Telugu literature and evolution of new art forms etc.

Architecture

Vijayanagara made special contributions to the Dravida School.

• Now, the temple enclosures became wider.
• The temple walls were painted with themes from epics and Puranas and the lavishly

ornamented Gopurams grew taller as they enclosed more area.

• Kalyan Mandapa was a Vijayanagara addition to the temples, where ceremonial

weddings of the deities were organised.

Another important feature was the profusely decorated pillars.

• A mount with two lofted feet is an impressive sculpture on these pillars.
• Pillars invariably had brackets as their capitals.

Vithhal Swamiand Hazaratemplesarethetwoexamplesofthisperiodwithraisedplatforms,

big assembly halls and pillars.

• Kumbakonam, Kanchipuram, Srirangam, Chidambaram, Tirumala and Vellore etc. are

full of the Vijayanagara era temples.

Secular buildings had features of Indo-Islamic architecture too.

• E.g. The elephant stable at Hampi which had domes and the Lotus Mahal Ruins of

Vijayanagara (modern Hampi) are the witness to the genius of Vijayanagara

architecture.

Vijayanagara architecture was carried forward by the Madurai school in later centuries.

Literature

Vijayanagara kings were great patrons of literature and education and Krishna Deva Raya has

a special place among them.

Sanskrit Literature

• Sanskrit literature was reinvigorated under state sponsorship.
• Under the leadership of Sayanacharya (brother of Vidyaranya), scholars

composed a large number of Sanskrit works including commentaries on the

Vedic corpus.

• Hemadri also wrote a commentary on the Dharmashastras.
• Authors in the regional languages- Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil- were also

patronised.

Telugu Literature

• This was also the period of Telugu renaissance, e.g. the gems produced by the

Astadiggaja of Krishna Deva Raya.

• Additionally, a large number of Sanskrit religious and secular literature was

translated into Telugu

■ eg. Tirumal wrote a commentary on the 'Geet Govinda' of Jayadeva.

Malayalam Literature

• The first authentic Malayalam literature, 'Unnuneeli Sandesham' waswritten during

this period, which is based on Kalidasa's Meghadutam.

• Madhav Panikkar translated Bhagavad Gita into Malayalam.

Kannada Literature

• Kannada scholar Madhur wrote, Dharmanathapuran, which is based on the life of

15 th Jain Tirthankar.

• Palkuriki Somnatha wrote many pieces on Virashaivism in Telugu and Kannada.
• 'Karnataka Shabd Anushasan', the Kannada grammar was written during this period.

Tamil Literature

• Except for Tamil, the themes and styles of these works were mostly derived from

Sanskrit literature.

• Jain, Shaivite and Vaishanava saints composed religious literature in Tamil.

Other art forms

• Portuguese writers and Abdur Razzaq have mentioned the talented painters in the

service of Vijayanagara state.

• Lepakshi painting developed during this period.
• Themes from epics were used in this type of painting.
• A large number of portrait sculptures were made during this period.
• The portrait sculpture of Krishna Deva Raya and his queens is found in Tirupati

temple

• A new art form called, 'Yakshgana', developed during this period which mixed both

music and dance.

• It was mostly associated with temples.
• Nambudiri Brahmins developed a new art form, 'Koodiyattam', in which Puranic

stories are told through dance.

• The Vijayanagara period saw Carnatic music evolve into a definite form.
• Purandara Dasa was a renowned proponent of Carnatic music.
• Rudraveena was possibly invented during this period.
• Bharatnatyam was also promoted during this period, primarily as a form of temple

art.

Contribution of Krishna Dev Raya to art and literature:

Duetohiscreativegenius,Krishna Deva Rayawascomparableto Akbar.Despitetheincessant

fighting, he could focus on the creative potential of his empire as his court was decorated

with many scholars and artists.

• He had good command over both Telugu and Sanskrit.
• He continued the earlier tradition of writing commentaries on the Vedas and

other Sanskrit works.

• During his period, Telugu literature came out of the shadow of Sanskrit

literature. His reign was a period of Telugu renaissance.

■ His court had 8 Telugu poets (Astadiggajas) - Allasani Peddana, Nandi

Thimmana,Madayyagari Mallana,Dhurjati,Ayyala-raju,Pingali Surana,

Ramaraja Bhushanudu and Tenali Ramakrishna.

■ These scholars authored amazing masterpieces.

■ His own work, Amuktamalyada, is an epic poem in Telugu which

describes the wedding of Lord Vishnu and Andal, a Tamil bhakti poet.

• He patronised Tamil and Kannada scholars too.
• He composed literature in Sanskrit too.
• He also patronised art and architecture.
• Dravida School of architecture evolved further under his rule, e.g. Hazara

temple and Vithhal temple.

• Duarte Barbosa profusely praises him for his religious tolerance, his sense of justice

and his efficient administration.

Bahmani Sultanate (1347-1687)

Unified Bahmani (1347-1482)

• After Muhammad bin Tughlaq abandoned Daultabad, it was captured by Zafar Khan

alsoknownas Hasan Ganguinc.1345 CE.Hetookthetitle, 'Allauddin Bahaman Shah'

upon founding the Bahmani Sultanate which lasted roughly two centuries.

• He moved his capital to Gulbarga in c. 1347 CE, which was moved again to Bidar in c.

1422 Ce.

• A running theme in the entire history of Bahamani Kingdom is the struggle with

Vijayanagara Empire for the control over Raichur Doab, Krishna-Godavari Delta and

the Konkan coast, especially its ports like Goa and the conflict between Afaqi and

Dakhni nobles.

• Political fortunes kept swinging and the details of individual struggles are not

important from the point of view of historical processes.

Firoz Shah Bahmani

• The brightest star on the Bahmani firmament was the Firuz Shah Bahamani (c. 1397-

1422 Ce).

• He was a polymath who was deft in religion,logic, natural sciences and linguistics etc.
• He was conversant in several languages such as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu,

Kannada and Telugu.

• He was tolerant of other religions and had personally read both the Old and New

Testament.

• It was during his reign that Gesu Daraz, the famous Chishti Sufi saint

established his Khanqah at Gulbarga.

• Thedeclineof the Delhi Sultanatemeantthatmanylearnedmenmigrated from Delhi

to the Gulbarga.

• Firoz also invited scholars and nobles from Iraq and Iran.
• Manyof these West Asian migrantswere Shiite.Undertheir influence, Persian

culture and Shiite doctrine grew within the Bahmani Sultanate.

• He also inducted a largenumber of Hindus in administration,which possibly acted as

a balance against the influx of foreigners called Afaqis or Gharibs.

• He built an observatory at Daulatabad.
• Having initially defeated Devaraya I, he was later dealt a crushing defeat by a

Warangal-Vijayanagar alliance led by Devaraya I and was forced to abdicate in favour

of his brother Ahmad Shah 'Wali'.

Ahmed Shah Wali

• He conquered Warangal, thus breaking the Vijayanagar-Warangal alliance. Following

this, he shifted the capital to Bidar to better control the newly conquered territory.

• This shifted the balance of power in the favour of Bahamanis.
• They conquered Berar, Khandesh and some parts of the Konkan coast during

the second half of the 15 th century.

• Asaresult,Vijayanagarwasconsiderablyweakened.Theperiodafter Devaraya IIwas

a period of chaos and the frontiers of Vijayanagar shrank on all sides.

• The confusion allowed the Gajapatis of Orissa to move into the Delta region.
• However, he is remembered more for his contribution as sufi saint than as a ruler. He

was a close associate of Gesu Daraz and his death anniversary is jointly celebrated by

both Hindus and Muslims.

Muhammad Gawan

Not much is known about his early life. He gradually rose in the service of the Bahamani

kingdom until he was appointed as 'Wakil-us Sultanat' (Prime Minister) when the new King

Muhammad Shah III was coronated in 1463. He dominated the affairs of the Bahamani

kingdom for the next two decades.

Territorial Expansion

• He aligned with Vijayanagara to defeat the Gajapatis.
• He also made deep inroads into Vijayanagara.
• He annexed the Raichur doab and reached as far as Kanchipuram.
• He was also able to snatch Dabhol and Goa from Vijayanagara.

■ Control over these two ports greatly boosted the external trade.

Internal trade and manufacturing of the Kingdom also grew.

• Gawan had to wage a bitter struggle with Malwa ruler Mahmud Khalji over the

question of Berar.

• In this struggle, he was given active help by the Gujarat rulers.

Internal Reforms and Downfall

• He carried out the administrative reorganisation of the Sultanate by dividing it into 8

provinces 'Taraf/Atrafs'.

• He also strengthened the military by including local Marathas in the army. He

introduced the practice of making land grants to top commanders, thus winning

Maratha loyalty.

• He also introduced the system of survey and measurement for land revenue.
• Apart from opening 'Muqtabs' for elementary education, Gawan also set up a large

Madrasa (college) in Bidar in the traditional Persian style called 'REGISTAN'.

• It wasa three storeybuilding in which a thousand teachers and students could

live.

• Some of the most famous scholars of the time from Iran and Iraq came there

to teach.

• The struggle between the Afaqis and Dakhni nobles was initially calmed by Mahmud

Gawan.

• However, he couldn't bridge the factional gap completely, ultimately falling

victim to it himself.

• The young sultan executed him on trumped up charges.

The strife became only more intense after this and the Bahamani Kingdom soon splintered

into the five Deccan states, out of which, Bijapur, Golconda and Ahmednagar played

important historical roles.

Afanasy Nikitin

• He was possibly the first Russian traveller to come to India. He has described both

Vijayanagar and Bahamani kingdom in the 15 th century.

• Nikitin calls Mahmud Gawan, 'Tuzzar', as Mahmud Gawan held the title of 'Malik-i-

Tuzzar'.

• According to him, the land was very populous and the common people were very

poor. But the nobles lived in great luxury.

• Nikitin was amazed to see the king and the nobles ride on men. Perhaps he

refers to palanquins carried by four to twenty men on special occasions.

• It was his observation that, in India, everyone goes naked. All were barefoot, walked

fast and were strong.

• The intensity of heat possibly made people use scanty clothes. Perhaps this

practice made Nikitin think that they went 'naked'.

• He, however, admits that they wore jewellery and ornaments.
• He has given a rich, but not free from errors, account of contemporary society.

Administration

The Bahamanis imitated the broad administrative structure of Delhi Sultanate. The offices

and departments bear similarity with the ones from Delhi Sultanate.

• However, some new offices were created with time, e.g. Wakil-us-Sultanat (Prime

minister).

• Muhammad I (c. 1358-78 CE) is credited for institutionalizing the administrative

structure.

• The Sultanate was divided into four 'tarafs' with their headquarters at Daulatabad,

Berar, Bidar and Gulbarga.

• Governors (Tarafdars) of different provinces were given different titles.
• Mahmud Gawan tried to reform the administration.
• He tried to issue revenue assignments on the basis of land measurement.
• He also tried to curb the power of the 'tarafdars', who were controlling the

military administration of the province.

• The law of primogeniture gained comparatively more acceptance in the Bahamani

Kingdom than the Delhi Sultanate.

• Throughoutthelifeof Bahamani Kingdom,therewasatusslebetween the Dakhniand

Afaqi nobles over plum posts in the administration.

Economy and Society

• The economy under the Bahamani sultans was prosperous but highly unequal.
• Nikitin has thrown light on the trade and commerce of this period. According

to him, Dabhol port was connected with the other ports of the Indian

subcontinent and Africa.

• Horses, clothes, silk and black pepper etc. were important items of trade.
• Horses were imported from Arabia, Khurasan and Turkistan.
• Indian merchants dominated the inland trade.
• Nikitin highlights the glaring inequality between the nobility and commoners.
• However, the society must have been more differentiated than this binary

classification as the different occupational and ethnic groups must have

occupied different positions in the socioeconomic hierarchy.

• The social outlook of the Bahmani kings was mostly liberal.
• Hindus of all castes, local Muslims, the immigrants from central and west Asia

etc. lived in the kingdom which had a cosmopolitan structure.

• Shia Muslims emerged as a social group due to migration from central Asia.
• Persian, Marathi, Dakhni, Kannada and Telugu etc. were the commonly spoken

languages.

• Hindus were usually not discriminated against.
• There isno solid evidence to suggest that Jizyawasimposed.If it wascollected

at all, then, it was a part of Kharaj.

• Sufis migrated to the Deccan before and during this period in a large number. Sultans

needed their support for legitimacy. Sattariya, Chishti and Qadiri were among the

main Sufi orders.

• Bidar was an important centre of the Qadiria order.
• The Chistisaint Syed Muhammad Gesu Darazmigrated from Delhito Gulbarga

in c. 1402 CE. Firuz Shah granted 'Inam' land for the maintenance of his

'khanqah'.

Successor States (1482-1687)

• Ahmednagar-itwasruledby the Nizam Shahidynasty.In 1601 itwasforcedtoaccept

the Mughal suzerainty by Akbar. It was finally annexed by Shah Jahan in 1636.

• Bidar- it was ruled by the Barid Shahi Dynasty and was absorbed by the Ahmednagar

Sultanate.

• Berar - it was ruled by the Imad Shahi dynasty, and was also absorbed by the

Ahamednagar.

• Bijapur - it was ruled by the Adil Shahi dynasty. It was forced to accept the Mughal

suzerainty by the Shah Jahan in 1636 and later annexed by Aurangzeb in 1686.

• Golkonda - it was ruled by the Qutub Shahi dynasty and suffered the same fate as

Bijapur. Shah Jahan established Mughal overlordship over it in 1636 and Aurangzeb

annexed it in 1687.

Important personalities of the later phase included

• Ibrahim Adil Shah - He built the Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur, the largest dome in Asia. He

was also known as Jagatguru due to his religious tolerance, love for knowledge and

music.

• Malik Ambar - originally a slave from Ethiopia named Chapu.
• He was educated and trained in Baghdad, converted to Islam and renamed.
• Hewassoldintotheserviceof Malik Dabir(Royal Scribe)of Ahmednagar under

whom he gained administrative and military experience.

• After the death of his master, he was freed and became a military leader,

raising his own force.

• Mughal aggression towards the Deccan allowed him to quickly rise in power.
• He became the Prime Minister and had his daughter married to the Sultan of

Ahmednagar, becoming the regent and de facto ruler of Ahmednagar.

• He joined hands with the Marathas to successfully resist Mughal

encroachment.

Bahmani - Vijayanagar Struggle

The 14 th century saw the emergence of two powerful Deccani kingdoms.

• Bahamani Sultanate covered the linguistic region of Telugu, Kannada and Marathi. It

was situated to the north of the Vijaynagar Empire.

• The Vijaynagar Empire covered the linguistic region of Telugu, Tamil, Kannada.
• Their proximity led to a number of disputes between the two kingdoms and

their history in rife with incessant warfare. For almost 200 years, they fought

for the control of,

■ The Konkan Coast, including important ports such as Goa and Dabhol

■ Raichur Doab (between the Krishna and the Tunghbadhra)

■ Krishna-Godavari Delta

• During this period, their fortunes shifted constantly. Finally in 1565, the combined

armies of 4 successor states (Ahmednagar, Bijapur, Golconda and Bidar) defeated the

Vijayanagar Empire, being led by Rama Raya, in the decisive Battle of Talikota/

Bannihatti/ Rakshasa Tagadi.

• The Vijaynagar empire collapsed after this. However, some of its Amara Nayakas

continued to rule independently.

Q: Examine the nature of conflict between the Vijayanagara Kingdom and the Bahamani

Sultanate.

Both, Vijayanagara Empire and Bahamani Kingdom were born almost simultaneously and

started fighting immediately.

• Harihar and Bukka took the help of Hindu revivalist movement of Kapaya Nayaka to

complete his independence project.

• They were also associated with a Hindu monk Vidyaranya.
• Often, the geopolitical contest between the Bahamanis and Vijayanagara took a

bloody religious turn.

• Vijayanagara Kingstriedtocreatetheimageofa Hindustateand the Sultansalso used

religion and religious vengeance as it suited them.

• Richard Eaton calls the Vijayanagara frontier the 'Maginot Line' of the Deccan.

Historiography

• However, it was essentially a geopolitical conflict with historical roots.
• They fought for the control of fertile land and strategic ports, just like the

erstwhile kingdoms of the Peninsular India had fought for the control of

Raichur Doab, Krishna-Godavari Delta and the Konkan Coast.

• Their Rajamandala considerations were purely secular. Once they even aligned with

each other.

• Firuz Shah employed a large number of Hindus in his administration and Vijayanagara

inducted Muslim archers in their army.

• Within their respective kingdoms, there was no considerable favouritism in the

matters of taxation, trade and rights of the subjects.

• Both kingdoms practised their own versions of tolerance.
• Thus, it becomes clear that the Vijayanagar-Bahmani conflict was not a religious

crusadebut religionwascertainlyusedto mobilise the respectivesides more strongly.