Qutubuddin Aibak (1206-1290)

 Qutubuddin Aibak was a slave of Muhammad Ghori, who made him the Governor of
his Indian possessions. He was the founder of Slave dynasty (Mamluk dynasty) in India
(1206-1210).
 He was also known as “Laakh baksh” because he gave liberal donations to
muslims.
 He constructed two mosques “Quwat-ul-Islam” in Delhi and Adhai-Din-Ka-Jhopra in
Ajmer.
 He also started the construction of Qutub Minar in the honour of famous sufi saint
“Qutubdin bakhtiyar-kaki”.
 Lahore was the capital of Qutub-ud-Din-Aibak.
 He Died after falling from a horse while playing Polo(Chaugan) at Lahore in 1210.

Iltutmish (1210-1236)
 Aaramshah was the son of Qutub-din-aibak and he was defeated by Illtutmis in 1211.
 Iltutmis was the real founder of Delhi Sultanate.
 He made Delhi, the capital in place of Lahore.
 In order to crush the power of opponent nobles he formed “Turk-e-chihalgani or
“chalisaa”.
 “Iqta” system was introduced by Illtutmish for well administration.
 He issued the silver coins “Taka” and copper coins Jeetal for the first time.

 Justice bell - The contribution of Iltutmish in the field of justice was praise worthy.
Ibn-i-Battuta writes about it, “Two lions of marble were built in front of the palace of the
Sultan and bells were hung in their necks. The oppressed used to ring these bells and
justice was done to them after listening to their requests.
 The construction of Qutub Minar was completed during his reign.

Razia Sultan(1236 - 1240)

 After the death of Iltutmish, Razia became the sultan of Delhi Sultanate. It was the
last wish of his father because he found none of his sons were fit for the successor to the
throne.
 But the chihalgani opposed his last wish and made his son Rukn-ud-din firuz on the
throne.But Rukn-ud-din firuz was assassinated within 7 months and was succeeded by
Razia in 1236 and ruled till 1240.
 She disregarded "Parda system", she began to adorn male dress and used to ride
on Elephant's back.But the chihalgani couldn't accept the rule of a woman.They rebelled
against Razia when she promoted Jamal-ud-din Yakut, an Abyssinian, as the
superintendent of the stables(Diwan-e-Aakhur).
 The rebel chiefs were supported by Altunia, the governor of Bhatinda and thus Yakut
was killed and Razia was imprisoned.
 Later she married Altunia and they jointly tried to take the Sultanate back but both
were killed by her brother Bahram Shah with the help of khokhar tribes in the battle of
Kaithal.
 She was the first and the last Muslim women ruler of medieval India.
 Bahram Shah ruled for two years and then Nasir-ud-din, the youngest son of
illtutmish ruled till 1266 but was killed by his own father-in-law Balban and he took the
throne.
Ghiyas-ud-din Balban (1266-87)

 Balban (1266-87) was the slave of Iltutmish. He broke the power of Turk-e-
Chihalgani.
 He created a strong centralised army to deal with external disturbance and to check
Mangols.
 He ordered the separation of Military department from the finance department.
“Dewan-e-vizarak” and “Diwan-e-Ariz” (Military).Diwan-e-Ariz was established by him.
 The Persian court influenced Balban- conceptions of kinship, he took up the title
of zill-e-illahi.
 Iranian festival Nauroj was started by him.

 He introduced "Sijda" (prostration) and "Paibos" (feet- kissing) as the normal form
of Salutation for the king.
 Blood and Iron policy were introduced by him for a strong and absolute monarch is
expected to follow a strict policy in dealing with his enemies.
 “Kaiku-Bad” was the son of Balban and next Emperor of Delhi Sultanate.
 Quemaes was the son of kaiku-Bad (kaimur). He was killed by Zalal-ud-din khilji in
1290. And Zalal-ud-din khilji was the founder of khilji dynasty in India.

The Sayyid Dynasty (1414-50 AD)

Khizr-Khan, a lieutenant of Timur, was a Sayyid and so his dynasty is called Sayyid
Dynasty. Khizr Khan ruled till 1421, but his whole reign was marked by utter chaos and
disorder. He was succeeded, after his death, by his son Mubarak Shah (1421-1434). During
his reign the subedars of Punjab, bhatinda and Doab broke out in revolt and the whole of
his period was spent in trying to supress them. He died in 1434 and was succeeded by his
son Mohammad Shat (1434-1443). During his reign, the ruler of Malwa invaded Delhi,
which was however, saved by the valiant Subedar of Lahore, Bahlol Lodhi

Sayyid Dynasty Rulers

Khizr Khan 1414-21 AD

Mubarak Shah 1421-33 AD
Muhammad Shah 1421-43 AD
AlauddinAlam Shah 1443-51 AD

Khizr Khan(1414-1421):Timur's nominee captured Delhi and was proclaimed the new
Sultan and the first of the Sayyid Dynasty. They ruled over Delhi and surroundings districts.

He was a lieutenant of Timur.

He was a Sayyid and so his dynasty is called Sayyid Dynasty.

Mubarak Shah(1421-1434):He succeeded Khizr at the throne after his successful

expeditions against Mewatis, Katehars and the Gangetic Doab area. He was killed by the
nobles in his own court.

Muhammad Shah(1434-1443):The nobles put Muhammad Shah on the throne, but could
not survive the in-fighting among the nobles in the court. He was authorized to rule a
meagre area of around 30 miles and rest of the Sultnate was ruled by the nobles.

Alam Shah (1443-1451):The last Sayyid king descended in favour of Bahlol Lodhi and
himself retired. Thus began the Lodhi dynasty, which confined to Delhi and a few
surrounding areas.

Lodhi or Pathans Sultans

Bahlol Lodhi (1451-88 AD)


 Bahlol Lodhi was one of the Afghan sardars who established himself in Punjab afer
invasion of Timur
 He founded the Lodhi dynasty. He founded the rule of the Lodhi dynasty by usurping
the throne from the last of the Sayyid rulers.
 Bahlol belonged to the Shahu Khel clan of the Lodhi Pashtun tribe.
 He was a strong and brave ruler. He tried to restore the glory of Delhi by conquering
territories around Delhi and after continuous war for 26 years, he succeeded in extending
his authority over Jaunpur, Rewail, Itawah, Mewar, Sambhal, and Gwalior etc.
 He was a kind and generous ruler. He was always prepared to help his subjects.
Though he was himself illiterate, he extended his patronage to art and learning. He died in
1488.

Sikandar Lodhi (1489-1517 AD)

 Sikandar Lodhi was the son of Bahlol Lodhi who conquered Bihar and Western
Bengal.
 He shifted his capital from Delhi to Agra in 1504, a city founded by him.
 Sikandar was a fanatical Muslim and he broke the sacred images of the Jwalamukhi
Temple at Naga Kot and ordered the temples of Mathura to be destroyed.
 He took a keen interest in the development of agriculture. He introduced the Gaz-i-
Sikandari (Sikandar's yard) of 32 digits for measuring cultivated fields.
 He was a staunch Sunni and a Muslim fanatic. He lacked religious tolerance. In the
name of religion, he perpetuated untold cruelties on the Hindus.

Ibrahim Lodhi (1517-26 AD)

 He was the last king of Lodhi dynasty and the last Sultan of Delhi
 He was the son of Sikandar Lodhi
 The Afghan nobility was brave and freedom-loving people but it was because of its
fissiparous and individualistic tendencies that the Afghan monarchy was weakened.
Moreover, Ibrahim Lodhi asserted the absolute power of the Sultan.
 At last DaulatKan Lodhi, the governor of Punab invited Babur to poverthrow Ibrahim
Lodhi, Babur accepted the offer and inflicated a crushing defeat on Ibrahim Lodhi in the first
battle of Panipat in 1526.
 No Sultan of India except Sultan Ibrahim had been killed on the battle field.
 Causes of Decline of Delhi Sultanate:
 The main causes were:-
 Deposite and military type of government which did not have the confidence of the
people
 Degeneration of Delhi Sultans (esp. the wild projects of Muhammad-bin-
Tughlaq,Incompetence of FirozTughlaq)
 War of succession as there was no fixed law of it
 Greed and incompetency of nobles
 Defective military organisation
 Vastness of empire and poor means of communication
 Finanical instability
 Number of slaves increased to 1,80,000 in FirozTughlaq's time which was a burden
on the treasury
 Invasion of Timur
GhiyasuddinTughlaq 1320-24 AD
Muhammad Tughlaq 1324-51 AD
Firoz Shah Tughlaq 1351-88 AD
Mohammad Khan 1388 AD
GhiyassuddinTughlaq Shah II 1388 AD
Abu Baqr 1389-90 AD
Nasiruddin Muhammad 1390-94 AD
Humayun 1394-95 AD
Nasiruddin Mahmud 1395-1412 AD

GhiyasuddinTughlaq (1320-1325 AD)

 Ghazni Malik the last king of the Khilji dynasty, Khusrau Khan and assumed the
title GhiyasuddinTughlaq.
 He founded the city Tughlaqabad.
 Khusrau Khan, the last king of the Khilji dynasty was killed by Ghazni Malik,
and Ghazni Malik ascended the throne assuming the title GhiyasuddinTughlaq.
 He died in an accident and his soneJauna (Ulugh Khan) succeeded him under
the title Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq.
 Reintroduced the food laws of Ala-ud-Din
 Supressed the rebellions in the distant provinces with strong hand and resorted
the peace and order
 Organised better postal system
 Encouraged agriculture
In 1323, he defeated the ruler of Warrangal and annexed his territory. A war of
succession was going on in Bengal. Ghiyas-ud-din took an advantage of such a
situtation and invaded Bengal. He suppressed the rebels and in this way Bengal also
became a part of his empire.

Mohammad-bin Tughlaq (1325-1351 AD)

Mohammad bin Tughlaq is best remembered as a ruler who undertake a number of

bold experiments, and showed a keen interest in agriculture. He was deeply read in
religion and philosophy and had a critical and open mind. He had deep interest in
philosophy, astronomy, logic and mathematics. He conversed not only with the
muslim mystics, but also with the Hindu yogis and Jain saints such as Junaprabha Suri.

 Taxation in the Doab: The Sultan made an ill-advised financial experiment in

the Doab between the Ganges and Jamuna. He not only increased the rate of taxation
but also revived and created some additional Abwabs or cessess. Although the share
of the state remained half as in the time of Alauddin, it was fixed arbitrarily and not
on the basis of actual produce.
 Transfer of Capital (1327): It appears that the Sultan wanted to make Deogir
second capital so that he might be able to control south India better. Deogir was
named Daulatabad. However, after a couple of years, Muhammad Tughlaq decided to
abandon Daulatabad largely because he soon found that just as he could not control
south India from Delhi, he could not control North from Daulatabad.
 Introduction of Token Currency (1330): Muhammad Tughlaq decided to
introduce bronze coins, which were to have the same value as the silver coins.
Muhammad Tughlaq might have been successful if he could prevent people from
forging the new coins. He was not able to to do so and so on the new coins began to
be greatly devalued in markets.
 Transfer of the capital from Daultabad, earlier known as Devagiri.
 Introduction of token copper currency to replace gold and silver coins.
 Unsuccessful expedition to subjugate Quarajal-the region identified as the
modern Kulu in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
 Futile plan to conquer Khurasan and Iraq.
 Creation of Diwan-i-Kohi
 Independence of dinar (a gold coin) and adl(a silver coin).
 Establishment of city of Jahanpanah.
 Arrival of an envoy from the Chinese ruler, ToghanTimur(1341)
 The famous Moroccon traveller Ibn Batuta visited India during his reign.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq(1351-1388 AD)

 He was a cousin of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq. After his death the nobles and the
theologians of the court selected Firoz Shah as the next Sultan.
 Established of Diwan-i-Khairat (department for poor and needy people) and
Diwan-l-Bundagan (department of slaves)
 Making Iqtadari system hereditary.
 Construction of canals for irrigation from
 Yamuna to the city of Hissar
 From the Sutlej to the Ghaggar
 From the Ghaggar to Firuzabad
 From Mandvi and Sirmour Hills to Hansi in Haryana.
 Establishment of four new towns, Firuzabad, Fatebabad, Jaunpur and Hissar.
 He rebuilt two storeys of QutubMinar which were damaged by lightening in
1368 AD.

After Firoz Shah Tughlaq(1388-1414 AD

 The Tughlaq dynasty would not survive much after Firoz Shah's death. The
Malwa, Gujarat and Sharqi (Jaunpur) Kingdoms broke away from the Sultanate.

 TimurInvasion: (1398-99)Timur, a Turk, invaded India in 1398 during the reign

of Muhammad Shah Tughlaq , the last ruler of Tughlaq dynasty. His army mercilessely
sacked and plundered Dellhi. Timur returned to Central Asia, leaving a nominee to
rule to Punjab which ended the Tughlaq dynasty.