Delhi Sultanate

The Delhi Sultanate was a Delhi-based Islamic empire that lasted for 320 years (1206–1526)
over large parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Delhi Sultanate was sequentially controlled
by five dynasties: The Mamluk / Slave dynasty (1206-1290), the Khilji dynasty (1290-1320),
the Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1414), the Sayyid dynasty (1414-1451), and the Lodi dynasty
(1451-1526). Parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and some parts of southern Nepal were
protected.
The Delhi Sultanate was originally one of a number of principalities ruled by Muhammad
Ghori 's Turkish slave-generals, who had occupied large parts of northern India, including
Yildiz, Aibek and Qubacha, which had inherited and divided the Ghurid territories among
themselves, as a successor to the short-lived Ghurid empire. The Mamluks were overthrown
in the Khalji revolution after a long period of infighting, which marked the transition of
power from the Turks to a heterogeneous Indo-Mussalman nobility. The subsequent Khalji
and Tughlaq dynasties also saw a new wave of rapid Muslim conquests deep into South
India. During the Tughlaq Dynasty, the sultanate eventually reached the height of its
territorial reach, occupying much of the Indian subcontinent. This was accompanied by
decline due to Hindu conquests, independence being claimed by states such as the
vijayanagara and Mewar, and new Islamic sultanates such as the Bengal Sultanate splitting.
In 1526, the Mughal Empire invaded and replaced the Sultanate.
The sultanate is noteworthy for its inclusion of the Indian subcontinent into a worldwide
cosmopolitan culture (as seen clearly in the emergence of the Hindustani dialect and Indo-
Islamic architecture), as one of the few forces to resist raids by the Mongols (from Chagatai
Khanate) and one of the few female rulers in Islamic history, Razia Sultana, who ruled from
1236 to 1240. The annexations of Bakhtiyar Khalji were responsible for a major-scale
defilement of Hindu and Buddhist temples and the destruction of universities and libraries
(leading to the collapse of Buddhism in East India and Bengal). For centuries, Mongolian
attacks on Western and Central Asia set the stage for the immigration from those regions to
the subcontinent of escaping warriors, educated men, shamans, merchants, artists, and
craftsmen, thus creating Islamic culture in India and the region in general.
Historical Backgroud

The meaning behind rise of India's Delhi Sultanate was part of a broader pattern that
influenced most of the Asian continent, including much of South and West Asia: the
migration of Turkic nomadic tribes from the steppes of Central Asia. This can be traced back
to the 9th century, when the umayyad caliphate started to fragment in the Middle East, where
Muslim rulers started enslaving and raising many of the non-Muslim nomadic Turks from the
Central Asian steppes to become loyal military slaves called Mamluks in rival states. Turks
soon moved to Muslim lands and became Islamicized. Eventually, many of the Turkish
Mamluk slaves rose to become rulers and conquered vast parts of the Muslim world, setting
up Mamluk sultanates from Egypt to present-day Afghanistan before turning their attention to
the subcontinent of India.
It is part of an ongoing pattern that predates Islam's expansion. Those in the Indian
subcontinent have, like other settled, agrarian societies throughout history, been targeted
during their long history by nomadic tribes. In determining the effect of Islam on the
subcontinent, it should be noted that in the pre-Islamic period, the northwestern subcontinent
was a frequent target for tribes raiding from Central Asia. In that sense, during the 1st
century, the Muslim intrusions and subsequent Muslim invasions were not unlike those of the
earlier invasions.
By 962 AD, South Asia's Hindu - Buddhist kingdoms were under a surge of attacks from
Central Asian Muslim armies. Among them was Mahmud Ghazni, the son of a Turkish
Mamluk army slave, who, between 997 and 1030, raided and plundered kingdoms in northern
India from the east of the Indus River to the west of the Yamuna River seventeen times. The
treasuries were raided by Mahmud of Ghazni but withdrawn each time, only extending
Islamic rule into western Punjab.
After Mahmoud of Ghazni, the wave of attacks on North Indian and Western Indian
kingdoms by Islamic warlords continued. The raids did not create or expand their Muslim
kingdom's permanent boundaries. A systematic war of expansion into northern India was
launched in 1173 by the Ghurid Sultan Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, commonly known
as Muhammad of Ghor. By extending the Islamic world, he tried to carve out a principality
for himself. A Sunni Islamic empire of its own stretching east of the Indus River was sought
by Muhammad of Ghor, and he thus laid the foundation for the Delhi Sultanate, the Muslim
empire. Due to the presence and geographical claims of Muhammad Ghori in South Asia at
that time, some historians chronicled the Delhi Sultanate from 1192.
In 1206, Ghori was assassinated in some accounts by Ismail Shia Muslims or by Khokhars in
others. One of Ghori 's slaves or Mamluks, the Turkic Qutb al-Din Aibak, took power
following the assassination, becoming the first Sultan of Delhi.
Sayyid Dynasty

The Delhi Sultanate was ruled from 1415 to 1451 by the Sayyid dynasty. The conquest and
plundering of the Timurids left the Delhi Sultanate in complete disarray, and little is known
about the Sayyid dynasty 's reign. The first ruler of the dynasty was noted by Annemarie
Schimmel as Khizr Khan, who seized power by pretending to represent Timur. Even those
near Delhi were challenging his legitimacy. Mubarak Khan, his heir, who renamed himself
Mubarak Shah and attempted to reclaim lost territories from Khokhars in Punjab,
unsuccessfully.
As per Schimmel, Islam's history on the indian sub - continent witnessed a dramatic shift
with the strength of the Sayyid dynasty wavering. The mainstream Islamic Sunni faction
became diluted, alternative Muslim factions like Shia flourished, and outside Delhi, new
competing centres of Islam took hold.
The Sayyid dynasty was the Delhi Sultanate 's fourth empire, with four rulers reigning from
1414 to 1451. Established by a former governor of Multan, Khizr Khan, the Tughlaq dynasty
succeeded them and ruled the sultanate until the Lodi dynasty replaced them. On the basis of
the argument that they belonged to his ancestry through his daughter Fatima and his son-in -
law and cousin Ali, members of the dynasty inherited their title, Sayyid, or the descendants of
the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.
Under Firuz Shah Tughlaq, Khizr Khan was the administrator of Multan. Khizr Khan, a
Sayyid from Multan, supported him as Timur attacked India. He was appointed by Timur to
administer Multan and Lahore. He then captured the area of Delhi and, in 1414, began the
reign of the Sayyids. He ruled in Timur 's honour. In all ways, he couldn't even hold an
autonomous position. The name of the Mongol ruler (Shah Rukh) was uttered in the khutba
as a symbol of appreciation of the sovereign control of the Mongols, but the name of Khizr
Khan was also added to it as a fascinating novelty. Oddly enough, however, the Mongolian
ruler 's name never was engraved on the coins, and thus the old Tughlaq sultan 's name
remained on the coins. C urrency in the name of Khizr Khan are not identified.
He was followed by a chain of weak reigns until Lodis from Afghanistan too over the
sulatanate, Mubarak Shah the son of Khizr Khan, succeeded to the throne in 1421, but barely
made any effort to regain the former territories of the kingdom. Muhammad Shah was
Mubarak Shah 's nephew. From 1434–1443 he ruled. With the aid of Sarwar ul Mulk,
Muhammad Shah acceded to the throne. After that, Shah, with the aid of his loyal courtier,
Kamal ul Mulk, decided to liberate himself from the rule of Sarwar ul Mulk. Many uprisings
and deceptions marked his rule, and he expired in the year 1445. Alauddin Alam Shah, the
very last monarch of the Sayyid dynasty, was vanquished by Bahlol Lodi, who established
the Lodi or the afghan dynasty.
Lodi Dynasty

The Lodi Dynasty or Lodhi (1451-1526 C.E.) were tribal rulers of Pashtun (Afghan) Ghilzai
descent and ruled during the Delhi Sultanate's last period. Bahlul Khan Lodi (died 1489), a
soldier and administrator of Punjab, succeeded to the throne after the last Sayyid emperor,
Mohammed-bin-Farid, died in 1451, after other claimants abdicated. By giving Jaghirs to his
ethnic Afghan nobility, he stopped rebellions within provinces and gathered political backing.
Before becoming king, his role as a governor guided him well, but his successors were much
less involved with effective governance than he was. They are characterized as being lazy
and concerned with the acquisition and personal enjoyment of resources. Their own nobles
welcomed Babur, the first monarch of the Mughal, to attack, causing the Lodi dynasty to
collapse.

Origins of the Dynasty

His second son, Sikandar Lodi (born Nizam Khan, died 1517), was appointed by Bahlul to
replace him. The reign of Barbak Shah, his first son, who had been appointed viceroy of
Jaunpur, was, however, assisted by nobles. A political battle occurred, and the war against
Barbak and his supporter, Hussain Shah of Jaunpur, was finally won by Sikandar. He seemed
to be a competent monarch, and to his enemies, he was kind of compassionate. He permitted
Jaunpur to be ruled by Barbak, and also settled disagreements with an uncle, Alam Khan,
who had conspired to topple him. Sikandar also brought under his influence many Afghan
nobles, captured Gwalior and Bihar, and facilitated trade in his holdings. Education, he
patronised. In 1503, he established the present-day city of Agra, later known as the location
of the Taj Mahal. In their assessment of Sikandar, Muslims and Hindus vary. Muslims
probably view his rule as fair, but Hindus point to his desecration of Hindu temples, like
those at Nagarkot's Mathura, Utgir, and Jwalamukhi, and to the construction of mosques as
an indication of his oppression in their location. Babur, the first mughal Emperor, will uphold
this tradition. It is asserted that a butcher was given idols (images) from ruined temples to use
as weights. In accordance with Hindu traditions, Hindus have been forbidden from shaving
their heads and facial hair.
In 1517, the throne was taken by Sikandar 's son, Ibrahim Lodi (died 1526). From the
beginning, his rule was troublesome, as nobles called his brother, Jalal Khan, ruler of
Jaunpur, in an effort to break his empire. In an effort to hold on to power, Ibrahim had his
brother murdered. Guru Nanak (1465-1539) noted that the brothers were competitors for
power and resources, and lost any genuine consideration for better governance; Ibrahim never
quite got his subjects' support. Against his citizens, and even his officials, he used terror. By
recapturing Gwalior in a military conquest, Ibrahim tried to make his presence felt, but
Ibrahim's luck ran out against Rana Sangha, Mewar's king, who twice vanquished his forces
and pushed him away. The Afghan nobility became unhappy with the rule and brutality of
Ibrahim and sent the troops of Babur, Kabul's emperor, to topple the Lodi dynasty. The law
of Ibrahim has been characterised as totalitarian.
Bahlul Lodi

The nephew and son-in - law of Malik Sultan Shah Lodi, the administrator of Sirhind in
(Punjab), India, was Bahlul Khan Lodi (r. 1451–1489) and replaced him during the reign of
Sayyid dynasty ruler Muhammad Shah as administrator of Sirhind. He was elevated to the
rank of Tarun-Bin-Sultan by Muhammad Shah. He was the most influential of the Punjab
commanders and a strong leader, with his commanding presence, keeping together an
informal confederacy of Afghan and Turkish leaders. He reduced to compliance the chaotic
heads of the provinces and injected some vigour into the administration. Bahlul Khan Lodi
ascended the throne of the Delhi sultanate on 19 April 1451 after the last Sayyid ruler of
Delhi, Ala-ud - Din Alam Shah, willingly resigned in his benefit. The Acquisition of Jaunpur
was the most significant event of his rule. Bahlul spent much of his time battling against and
finally annexing the Sharqi dynasty. In 14866, he placed his oldest surviving son, Barbak, on
the chair of Jaunpur.

Sikandar Lodi

After his death on 17 July 1489, Sikandar Lodi (r. 1489–1517) (born Nizam Khan), the
second son of Bahlul, succeeded him and took the title Sikandar Shah. He was chosen to
replace him by his father and was proclaimed Sultan on 15 July 1489. In 1504, he established
Agra and constructed mosques. He moved the capital to Agra from Delhi. He eliminated the
duties of corn and patronised markets and trade. He was a poet of repute, writing under
Gulruk 's pen-name. He was also the learning patron and ordered Sanskrit medical work to be
interpreted into Persian. He curbed his Pashtun nobles' particularistic impulses and forced
them to send their accounts to the state review. He was, therefore, able to incorporate the
administration with vigour and consistency. The annexation of Bihar was his largest
accomplishment.

Ibrahim Lodi

Ibrahim was of Pashtun origin. Upon the father ’s death, Sikandar, he ascended to the throne
but was not endowed with the same governing capacity. A range of rebellions were awaiting
him. The nobility also disappointed Ibrahim Lodi when he superseded old and senior
commanding officers with younger ones faithful to him. Eventually, his Afghan aristocracy
enabled Babur to conquer India.
In 1526, in the Battle of Panipat, the Mughal troops of Babur, emperor of Kabulistan (Kabul,
present-day Afghanistan), vanquished Ibrahim's much larger army. In the war, he was killed.
It is estimated that the armies of Babur numbered about 12,000-30,000 individuals and had
between 20 and 24 ground artillery. Along with at least 300 mounted cavalries, Ibrahim Lodi
had about 100,000-120,000 men.
The period of Mughal rule began after the demise of Ibrahim's rule.
Theory of Afghan Kingship and Lodi Sultans

The idea of kingship in Afghanistan was distinct from that of the Turks. Consistent with the
theory of Christian and Hindu emperors. The Turkish theory of kingship, right from Sultan
Illtutmish to the Sayyid kings, the Turkish Sultans claimed in absolutist monarchy and a few
of them also asserted divine nature.
They believed that the Sultan was greater to all in the state and his subordinates were all his
nobility, ministers, followers, etc. Therefore, none could assert parity with the Sultan and no
one had the right to participate in the state administration but only with the Sultan 's
agreement or instructions.
On the opposite, the Afghans considered the Sultan to be one of themselves or only first
among equals. They didn't really believe in the Sultan's divine power and, thus, asserted
authority and reverence in state matters. Thus, the Afghan theory of kingship believed in the
equality of nobility with the Sultan, thus endorsing an oligarchy somewhat.
This theory's main characteristics were as follows:
1. The Afghans did not recognise the Sultan 's appointment of a replacement. They
believed in the nobility 's preference of a Sultan.
2. Each noble Afghan claimed to be the chief of his troops and did not recognise his
troops as part of the Sultan 's troops.
3. The Sultan 's right was not recognised by the Afghans. All the rights to which the
Sultan was qualified, were claimed.
As a result, every Afghan noble maintained his separate armies, asserted vast jagirs, enjoyed
equal privileges with the Sultan and was able to persuade him to rely on their control. In the
event of the Sultan's hostility, they could put up an equally strong army against him on the
field.
Bahlul Lodi was the Delhi Sultanate's first Afghan emperor. He was really the father of the
Lodi dynasty and was thus recognised as its chief by the nobles. Yet, Bahlul undermined the
Afghan people's spirit of freedom and independence.
. He worked on the Afghan kingship principle, considered himself to be the first amongst
equals, sat and ate on the very same carpet with his significant nobles, called his nobles
Masnad-i-Ali, visited one's residence if one felt dissatisfied or was sick, shared the
bounty equally with others, did not keep private security, got his food every day from
some noble, and was offered horse by one of the nobles when he planned on riding
He said, "It is enough if my name is connected with the kingdom". The author of Vakiyat-i-
Mushtaqi, Mushtaqi, stated," He never sat on the throne and forbade his nobles to stand
before him". Bahlul appointed his nobility with vast jagirs and enabled them to expand their
power and authority.
Thus, in coping with his aristocracy, Bahlul valued all Afghan values and kept them happy.
He never proclaimed himself as the Sultan and distributed with his aristocracy the authority
of the state.
In accordance with the feelings of the Afghans and his father's values, Bahlul Lodi
proclaimed to be nothing but one of Afghan peers. The title of Sultan and the governance of
the Afghans made him very pleased. The Afghan kingdom in its day was a kind of
confederacy of clans presided over by Emperor Lodi.
However, in relation to Bahlul Lodi 's policy towards his nobles, some professional historians
articulated their material difference this view. The motivations of the strategy followed by
Bahlul are primarily different. He acknowledges that Bahlul acted favorably or more on fair
footing with his peers, but he claims that it was not because he truly believed in that
approach, but because he complied with conditions.
They say that Persian ancient writers indicate that Bahlul believed in a dictatorial regime, but
since he needed the support of his Afghan nobles to maintain and grow his infant empire
so he acted the way he did.

Afghan Factionalism

The Afghan nobility were split into two types. They wanted the kingdom to be split into two
parts. Ibrahim embraced his suggestion and Jalal Khan, his brother, became Jaunpur's ruler as
a result. Ibrahim, however, changed his stance and it resulted in a severe dispute with his
brother. They vanquished Jalal Khan. Ibrahim had his brother poisoned, and he remorselessly
persecuted Jalal Khan's supporters. For Ibrahim, this act generated mistrust and resentment
among the Afghan nobility.

Religion

The Lodhi Sultans embellished themselves as the representatives of the Abbasid Caliphs, like
their ancestors, and thus accepted the imaginary jurisdiction over the islamic community of a
unified Caliphate. They issued cash grants and loans and granted the islamic ulama, the Sufi
sheikhs, the alleged descendants of Prophet Muhammad, as well as the members of his
Quraysh tribe revenue-free territories.
The islamic subjects of the Lodis remained obliged, for religious merit, to pay the zakat tax,
and the non-Muslims were obliged to pay the jizya tax for state security. The Hindus were
forced to pay an extra pilgrimage tax in certain parts of the kingdom. Nevertheless, many
Hindu officials were part of the revenue collection of the Sultanate.
Since Sikandar 's mother had been a Hindu, by maintaining a strong Sunni Conservatism as a
political idea, he attempted to prove his Islamic legitimacy. He demolished Hindu temples
and permitted the execution of a Brahmin, who proclaimed Hinduism to be as truthful as
Islam, under the pressure of the Ulama. He also prohibited females from accessing the mazars
(mausoleums) of saints, and forbade the revered Muslim martyr Salar Masud 's annual march
of spears.
Local officials carried out assigned responsibilities in smaller townships before Sikandar 's
time, while the Sultan himself consulted the philosophers of Islamic law (sharia). In several
towns, Sikandar founded sharia courts, allowing the qazis to apply the law of sharia to a
bigger population. While such courts have been set up in areas with a strong Muslim
community, they have also been available to non-Muslims, even on non-religious issues such
as land disputes.

The central governmental setup was as follows:

“Chief Minister (Wazir)”

“Minister for War and Pay Master to Army (Ariz-I Lashkar-I Mamalik/Bakshi-I Mamalik)”
“Commander-in-Chief (Sipah-salar)”
“Chief of the Correspondence Department (Dabir)”
“Chief Justice (Mir-I ‘Adl)”
“Minister of Religious Endowments and Charity (Sadr)”
“Chamberlain (Hajib)”
“Prefect of the City Police (Kotwal)”
“Censor of Public Morals and Overseer of Markets (Muhtasib)”
“Superintendent of Posts and Chief Secret Intelligence Officer (Darogha i-Dak-Chowki)”
“Superintendent of Irrigation and Agriculture (Amir-i-Kohi)”
“Judge of the Canon Laws (Qazi)”
“Master of the Royal Hunt (Mir-I Shikar)”
“Superintendent of Royal Buildings (Mir-I Imarat)”
“Chief of the River Fleet (Mir-I Bahr)”
“Chief of the King’s Cavalry (Khassa Khail)”
“Palace Mayor (Wakil-I Dar)”
“Head Armor bearer (Silahdar)”
“Chief of King’s Mounted Bodyguard (Sar-I Jandar)”
“Head Eunuch of Women’s Apartments (Sarapardah-dar)”
“Master of the Royal Stables (Akhurbeg)”
“Superintendent of Royal Elephants (Shahna-I Pil)”
“Grand Usher (Barbak)”
“Royal Librarian (Kitabdar)”
“Royal Ink Stand Holder (Dawatdar)”
“Reciter of the Holy Quran (Quran Khwan)”
“Court Astrologer (Munajjam)”

Fall of Lodi Dynasty

Daulat Khan Lodi, the administrator of Lahore, and Alam Khan, an uncle of Sultan Ibrahim,
formally requested Babur to conquest India. With this welcome challenge, at the Battle of
Panipat in 1526, Babur brought his forces and was able to overthrow the Lodi dynasty. But at
the other hand, the Lodis were able to deploy a force of 100,000 men and 1,000 elephants
against Babur's pitifully small force of 12,000, amid their own internal conflicts. Babur
defeated the Lodi Sultan, amid the obstacles, and took control of Delhi. The use of artillery
by his army, plus the abandonment of many nobles and warriors from the army of Ibrahim
Lodi, contributed to conquest despite being numbered. Under Babur, the first emperor of the
Mughal Empire in India, Indian rule had to shift. For having to resort to magic to try and
defeat Babur and for failing to properly safeguard their kingdom, the Lodi king
were criticized.

Architectural Legacy

Tombs seem to be the only architectural addition of the Lodi Dynasty, as if to reinforce the
already gloomy air of a social climate of turmoil, and many of them are in this lovely
landscape.
Lodi Gardens:
Within the Lodi Gardens, two different types of domes are prevalent: octagonal columned
tombs topped by a dome and two-tiered square tombs with false window openings to decorate
the top level. Squinches mount the four sides of a squared room, making it an eight-sided
layout; then, two additional levels of squinches make the room 16-sided and then 32-sided.
The stocky dome is eventually comfortably assembled.
Bada Gumbad and Masjid:
Considered as the 15th century 's magnificent doorway, this is a squared tomb with cannons
at the edges, with two levels creating a false appearance of a double-story structure. lThis is
the highest construction in the compound, and the omission of a grave within the tomb means
that it was designed as a major doorway to the mosque, between both the mosque on its right
and the complicated of the "guest house" on its left. All of its sides are open, so there's no
Mihrab wall. The massive tomb utilises corbelled entryways in the temple style as well as
arches in the Islamic style. Over time, mostly because of the use of organic materials in
building, the interior of the structure has become stained over fungi.
This is the complex's most majestic and compelling memorial. There are five arched
openings in the abundantly jewelled mosque with three bays, with the central opening on an
expanding frame. Three domes mount the three bays. The mosque, which has numerous
mihrab walls, is adorned by very minute and intricate calligraphic designs. On the frames,
small niches used for lamps can be seen. The interior of the arched hall is defined by orange,
red, and blue calligraphic lines. Hindu-style Jharokhas and five floored tapering pillars are
mounted on the back of the Mihrab (the western wall), like mini Qutb Minar-type tapering
towers.
Shish Gumbad:
Its interior ceiling is adorned with Quranic engravings and floral designs, based on the very
same "double-storied" design of Bara Gumbad. It was initially adorned with cobalt-blue and
midnight-blue glossed Persian tiles, contributing to its name as the "Glass Dome," but now it
is in a quite sorry condition. This is the tomb is of Bahlul Lodi, in the estimation of historian
Simon Digby, as contrasted to the humble tomb near Chirag Delhi, now called his real tomb.
Curiously, when heading in the western direction towards Mecca, the mihrab walls of Shish
Gumbad and the Bara Gumbad are differentiated by 15 degrees from one another, which may
be due to structural errors.
Sikandar Lodi’s Tomb:
This is a framework that integrates the start of the garden-tomb design in the centre of a
fortified walled complex. Set in a simplified char-bagh theme, other than of the chhatris are
absent, the garden is modelled mostly on octagonal model of the tomb of Muhammad Shah.
Maybe to avoid pillaging, the walled perimeter was built. Designed with grey-quartzite and
some red sandstone, the access points feature a corbelled pattern in the Hindu temple theme.
Water from the neighboring Yamuna-tributary was continuously transmitted through outlets
on the external perimeter to the char-bagh gardens within the tomb complex. There is a Wall
Mosque at the centre of the western side of the partition.