Delhi Sultanate

📋Quick Overview

The Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) was a series of 5 Muslim dynasties that ruled from Delhi for 320 years. It began when Qutub-ud-din Aibak, a slave of Muhammad Ghori, became the first Sultan of Delhi. It ended when Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat (1526).

📖Five Dynasties of Delhi Sultanate

📝Most Asked Facts — Sultan Wise

📝Ghiyas-ud-din Balban (1266–1287) — VERY IMPORTANT

Balban was one of the most powerful Slave dynasty sultans. He started as one of the 'Forty' (Chalisa/Turkan-i-Chahalgani), a group of 40 Turkish slave nobles, and later became sultan. He is asked in EVERY competitive exam.

• •Policy of 'Blood and Iron' (Loh aur Rakht) — ruled with absolute power, crushed all opposition mercilessly
• •Introduced Sijda (prostration) and Paibos (kissing the Sultan's feet) — Persian court customs to show Sultan's superiority
• •Theory of Divine Kingship (Niyabat-i-Khudai) — claimed Sultan was God's shadow on earth
• •Destroyed the power of the Forty (Chalisa) — the group of 40 Turkish nobles who had become too powerful and were king-makers
• •Created a strong espionage/spy system (Barid) to monitor nobles and officials
• •Maintained strict law and order — eliminated bandits and robbers, especially Mewatis
• •Kept royal dignity very high — never laughed or joked in court. Banned drinking in court.
• •His son Prince Muhammad was killed fighting Mongols — Balban died heartbroken in 1287

📝Iltutmish (1211–1236) — Detailed

• •Real founder/consolidator of Delhi Sultanate (Aibak ruled only 4 years)
• •Completed Qutub Minar — which Aibak had started
• •First Sultan to issue pure Arabic coins — silver Tanka and copper Jital
• •Introduced the Iqta system (land revenue assignment) in India
• •Saved India from Mongol invasion by REFUSING shelter to Jalal-ud-din Mangbarni (Khwarezm prince fleeing Genghis Khan). This diplomatic masterstroke prevented Mongol wrath.
• •Received investiture (recognition) from the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad — making Delhi Sultanate legitimate in Islamic world
• •Nominated his daughter Razia as successor — bypassing his sons

📝Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388) — Detailed

• •Built 5 CANALS — most notable: Rajab Wah (from Yamuna to Hissar). Greatest canal builder of medieval India.
• •Established Diwan-i-Khairat (Department of Charity) — state fund for widows, orphans, and poor
• •Established Diwan-i-Bundagan (Department of Slaves) — had 1,80,000 slaves
• •Imposed Jaziya (tax on non-Muslims) on BRAHMINS for the FIRST time — earlier Brahmins were exempt
• •Built Firoz Shah Kotla (Delhi) — today's famous cricket ground area
• •Founded cities: Firozabad, Jaunpur, Hissar-Firoza, Firozpur
• •Brought two Ashokan pillars to Delhi (from Topra and Meerut) — earliest known interest in archaeology
• •Established hospitals (Darul-Shifa) and employment exchange (Diwan-i-Istihak)

📖Amir Khusro — Father of Qawwali

Amir Khusro (1253–1325) was a Sufi musician, poet, and scholar who lived during the Khalji and Tughlaq dynasties. He is one of the most important cultural figures of the Delhi Sultanate period and is asked frequently in exams.

• •Called 'Tuti-e-Hind' (Parrot of India) — for his mastery of poetry and languages
• •Father of Qawwali — invented this devotional music form combining Persian and Indian traditions
• •Credited with inventing Tabla and Sitar (claim debated by historians but asked in exams as fact)
• •Pioneer of Hindi-Persian mixed language (Hindavi / early Urdu) — brought Hindi words into Persian poetry
• •Disciple of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya — died shortly after his master's death
• •Wrote in Persian, Hindavi, and Arabic. Famous works: Khaliq Bari (Hindi-Persian vocabulary), Tughlaqnama, many ghazals and riddles
• •Lived during the reigns of 8 sultans — from Balban to Muhammad bin Tughlaq's era
• •His famous riddles (paheliyan) and songs in Hindavi are still popular in Indian culture today

📖Important Monuments

📝Memory Tricks

📝Exam Corner

📝Quick Revision — 15 One-Liners