Department of Architecture and Design

Title: Muslim Medieval Period in India

Submitted by: Sana Idrees - 017

Submitted to: Sir Fida, Miss Aishah Imdad

Date: 26th Dec, 2017.

Table of Contents

Early Muslim Invasions .............................................................................. 2

Later Muslim Invasions .............................................................................. 2

1. Ghaznavid Period
2. Ghaurid Period

The Five Dynasties of Delhi Sultanat ........................................................ 2-6

3. The Slave Dynasty ………………………………………………………3-4
4. The Khilji Dynasty (1290 - 1320 AD)………………………………4
5. The Tughlaq Dynasty( 1320-1414AD)………………………………4-5
6. The Saiyyid Dynasty(1414 AD to 1451 AD)……………………….5
7. The Lodhi dynasty(1451-1526AD)…………………………………5-6

References…………………………………………………………………………………………..7

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 Muslim Medieval Period in India

Early Muslim invasions

The very first Muslim attack on India in Sindh in the year 715 A.D was by Arabs led
by Mohammad Bin Qasim. They displaced Raja Dahir who ruled Sindh from his
capital Deval (near modern Karachi). The people of the conquered towns welcome
Muhammad Ibn Qasim as a liberator and helped him against their petty tyrants.
After this invasion, which was limited to Sindh, for a period of 300 years, king’s like
Raja Bhoja and other Gurjara Kings thwarted further Muslim attacks. The next
invasion was by Turk Sabuktagin. He had established himself in Khorasan and
extended hiskingdom to Kabul and Ghazni. In 986 AD he came into conflict with Raja
Jaipal of Bathinda. In 991 A.D. Raja Jaipal allied with other Hindu kings but got
defeated.

Later Muslim invasions

Ghaznavid Period: The elder son of Sabuktagin, Mahmud of Ghazni assumed the
throne in 997 AD. Mahmud carved out an empire in central Asia and established his
capital at Ghazni, south of Kabul, in 998 AD at the age of 27. He launched aggressive
expansionist campaigns, and is said to have invaded India no less than 17 times
between 1000 and 1025 AD.

Ghaurid Period: The next important Muslim ruler who had made his influence in
Indian history known was Muhammad Ghori. Muhammad Ghori was a conqueror
from the region of Ghor in Afghanistan. Muhammad Ghori is said to have invaded India
seven times. In 1191 AD Mohammad Ghori met Prithvi Raj Chauhan in the first
battle of Tarain. Mohammad Ghori was severely wounded and outnumbered. He was
defeated and left the battlefield. In the very next year in 1192 AD both the armies met
again at Tarain. This time Mohammad defeated Prithvi Raj Chauhan. In 1194 AD
Mohammad Ghori invaded defeated and killed the ruler of Kannauj Jaichand and also
captured Benares. Gwallior, Gujarat and Ajmer were also occupied by 1197 AD.
Mohammad Ghori died in 1206AD.

The Five Dynasties of Delhi Sultanat

The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived Islamic kingdoms or
sultanates of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between
1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty.

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Qutab-ud-din Aybek was the first of the thirty four Muslim kings who ruled at Delhi
from the beginning of the thirteenth century to the invasion of Babur in 1526. These 34
kings came in five successive dynasties:

1. Slave Dynasty (1206-1290AD):

Mohammad Ghori had left Qutab-ud-din Aibek who was a slave from Turkey
in charge of the Indian affairs. Qutab-ud-din laid the foundation of a new
dynasty called the Slave dynasty in 1206AD. Qutbuddin Aibak was a very
refined and inticrate builder. He led the constructions of the security towers,
check posts, tax posts and a few of the forts in the most important cities of his
empire to avoid plunderings and loots. In 1211 A.D. He also initiated the
construction of Delhi's earliest Muslim monuments, the Quwwat-ul-Islam
mosque and the Qutub Minar. The Qutub Minar is notable for being one of the
earliest and most prominent examples of Indo-Islamic architecture. It is
surrounded by several other ancient and medieval structures and ruins,
collectively known as Qutub complex.

Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque (1193 CE) Qutab Minar

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 Iltumish (son in law of Qutub-ud-din) ascended the throne. He spent his days
in retrieving the lost territories of Qutab-ud-dins. During his period Qutab
Minar in Delhi was completed. He shifted Capital from Lahore to Delhi.
Iltutmish's daughter Razia Begum came to power 1236 AD after a brief power
struggle and ruled till 1240 AD when she was killed. Nasir-uddin Mahmud the
youngest son of Iltumish came into power after another power struggle. He
ruled for twenty-five years. The affairs of the state were left to his father-in-law
and minister Ulugh Khan Balban. After the death of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud
in 1226 AD the power was taken over by Balban who was an able administrator.
He maintained a strict attitude towards the Hindus and kept them under strong
suppression with the help of his military power. He was one of the greatest
military rulers of the Slave dynasty. Balban died in 1287 AD.
2. The Khilji Dynasty (1290 - 1320 AD):
Following the death of Balban the Sultanate became weak and there were
number of revolts. This was the period when the nobles placed Jalaluddin
Khilji on the throne. This marked the beginning of Khilji dynasty. The rule of
this dynasty started in 1290 AD. Alauddin Khilji a nephew of Jalaluddin Khilji
hatched a conspiracy and got Sultan Jala-lud din killed and proclaimed himself
as the Sultan in 1296. In 1297 AD Alauddin Khilji set off for conquering Gujarat.
In 1301 A.D. Ramthambhor was captured and the Rajput Hamir Deva was
murdered. In 1303 A.D. he conquered Chittor killing Rana Rattan Singh. His
queen Rani Padmini with the other women committed Jauhar. In 1305 A.D.
Alauddin Khilji captured Malwa, Ujjain, Mandu, Dhar and Chanderi but failed
to capture Bengal. By 1311 A.D. he captured nearly the whole of North India.
His General Malik Kafurcaptured a large part of south India. During his reign
Mongols invaded the country several times but were successfully repulsed.
From these invasion Allauddin Khilji learnt the lessons of keeping himself
prepared, by fortifying and organizing his armed forces. Allaudin Khilji died in
1316 A.D.There was lot of infighting after Alauddin Khiljis death and Mubarak
Khan the third son of Alauddin Khilji ascended the throne as Qutb-ud-din
Mubarak in the year 1316 AD. The rule of Qutb-ud-din Mubarak was an utter
failure. Ultimately Qutb-ud-din Mubarak was murdered by Khusru Khan and
Khilji dynasty ended.
3. The Tughlaq Dynasty ( 1320-1414AD):
In 1320, Ghazi Tughlaq, the governor of the northwestern provinces took the
throne under the title Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq after killing Khusru Khan. In 1325
the Sultan met an accidental death and was succeeded by his son Muhammad
bin Tughlaq. During his reign, the territorial expansion of Delhi
Sultanate reached its farthest limits.The empire grew under his successor

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 Muhammad bin Tughluq, but the latter became notorious for ill-advised policy
experiments such as shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and
introducing copper coins without effective regulation against forgery.
After Muhammad bin Tughluq died, a collateral relative, Mahmud
Ibn Muhammad, ruled for less than a month, until a cousin Feroz
Shah Tughlaq killed him and assumed the throne. Feroz Tughluq
introduced reforms in the field of irrigation and also constructed buildings with
architectural skill. He reformed the currency system. After his death the dynasty
began to disintegrate. The last Tughluq ruler Mahmud Nasir-uddin ruled
from 1395-1413 AD. The invasion of Mongol ruler Timurin1398 A.D. sealed
the fate of the Tughluq dynasty. Muhammad fled and Timur captured the city
and destroyed many temples in north India. Thousands of people were killed
and Delhi was plundered for fifteen days, Timur returned to Samarkhand
carrying away a large amount of wealth with him. Muhammad Tughlaq re-
occupied Delhi and ruled till 1413 A.D.

Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, Delhi

4. The Saiyyid Dynasty(1414 AD to 1451 AD):

This family claimed to be Sayyids, or descendants of Prophet Muhammad. It
was founded by Khizr Khan. The central authority of the Delhi Sultanate had
been fatally weakened by the successive invasion of Timur (Timurlane) and his
sack of Delhi in 1398. The first task of Khizr Khan was the suppression of the
revolts in the empire. Last in Saiyyid dynasty was Muhammad-bin-Farid.
During his reign there was confusion and revolts. The empire came to an end in
1451 AD with his death.
5. The Lodhi dynasty(1451-1526AD):
Behlol Lodhi who was in service during Khizr Khan rule founded the Lodhi
dynasty. Behlol Lodhi an Afghan was proclaimed the Sultan in 1451AD. After

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his death his son Sikandar Lodi proved to be a capable ruler who brought
back the lost prestige of the Sultan. He maintained friendly relations with the
neighboring states. He encouraged education and trade. His military skill
helped him in bringing the Afghan nobles under his control. Sikandar Lodi was
succeeded by Ibrahim Lodi who is said to have been the last great ruler of the
Lodi dynasty. Ibrahim Lodi came to the throne in 1517 AD. His relations with
the Afghan nobles became worse and this led to several conflicts with him. The
discontented Afghan chiefs invited Babur the ruler of Kabul to India. Babur with
an army of 10,000 defeated Ibrahim Lodi who had an army of 100,000 in
the first battle of Panipat in 1526. Ibrahim Lodhi was killed in a fierce fight.
With this defeat the Delhi Sultanate was laid to rest. The History of India added
a new outlook with the coming of Babur. This was the beginning of the Mughal
dynasty in Indian History

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References:
http://www.gatewayforindia.com/history/muslim_history.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquests_of_the_Indian_subcontinent#Early
_Muslim_presence
https://unacademy.com/lesson/delhi-sultanate-slave-dynasty-part-1/4GO8NN6D
https://www.britannica.com/place/Delhi-sultanate