JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA

FACULTY OF LAW

HISTORY PROJECT REPORT ON:

MUHAMMAD-BIN-TUGHLUQ'S MAJOR PROJECTS

SUBMITTED BY: Saima Gous

B.A.L.L.B(H)(Regular)
1st year,2nd Semester
Roll mno.-51
Student Id-201901961

SUBMITTED TO: Dr. Gulrukh Khan

Professor(History)
JMI(Faculty of Law)
 INTRODUCTION

Muhammad-bin-tughluq was the Sultan of delhi from 1325 to 1351.He was the eldest son of
Ghiyas-ud-din tughluq,the founder of the Tughluq dynasty.Muhammad ascended to the Delhi
throne upon his father's death in 1325.Very little is known of his childhood ,but he apparently
received a good education.He possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Quran,Muslim
Jurisprudence ,astronomy ,logic,philosophy,medicine and rhetoric.In 1321-22 his father sent hi
against the city of Warangal in the Deccan,in which campaign,after initial reverses,he subdued
his rebellions,Hindu rajas.In some ways Muhammad-bin-tughluq was one of the most
remarkable rulers of his age.He was deeply read in religion and philosophy.He conversed not
only with the Muslim mystics,but also with the hindu jogis and jain saints such as Jinaprabha
suri.This was not liked by many orthodox theologians who accused him of being ''rationalist'',that
is,one who was not prepared to accept religious beliefs as matter of faith.Unfortunately, he was
inclined to be hasty and impatient.That is why so many of his experiments failed,and he has been
dubbed an ''ill starred idealist''.He was a person with innovative ideas which however,led him to
ruin. Ghiyas-ud-din tughluq and Muhammad-bin-tughluq rejected Alauddin's policy of non-
annexation of distant statesand of being content with their formal submission.Thus,during their
rule,the direct control of delhi was extended to
Warangal(Telingana),Mabar(Coromondal),Madurai(Tamil Nadu)and Dvar Samudra(Karnataka)
upto the southern tip of India.

VIEWS OF CONTEMPORARY WRITERS ON MUHAMMAD-BIN-TUGHLUQ-:

1.ZIYA-UD-DIN BARANI-The celebrated author of Tarikh-i-firuz shahi and Fatwa-i-

jahandari,has been rated the greatest of all the contemporary historians of early medieval
India.Barani was a close associate of Amir Khusrau and rubbed shoulders with the highest of the
nobility in the sultanate.Barani,his close companion and counsellor for 17 years,often advised
him to abdicate but Muhammad disdainfully rejected his advice.Though barni praises Alauddin
Khilji for his control of the market and lauds him for crushing the Hindus,he criticizes him for
his policy of ''excessive bloodshed,and tyrannical behaviour and inflicting hardships on others
in order to get his orders obeyed''.Barani's criticism,which we may treat as a compliment,was
that he was a ''rationalist'',that is,he would not accept anything except by logical proof.

Barani's criticism of Muhammad-bin-tughluq's faults of character cannot,however,be dismissed

out of hand.He is accused of being hot and hasty in character,with an excessive reliance on his
own judgement without heeding the advice of others.1

2.MUHAMMAD IBN-BATTUTAH-Ibn Battutah was a Moroccan traveller and

writer.Battutah's descriptions of Muhammad-bin-tughluq cast the sultan as an eccentric
man,prone to severe fits of temper.He accused Muhammad-bin-tughluq of giving excessive
reward and punishments,and of appointing mean,low-born people to high offices.According to
Ibn Battutah,he issued large number of orders(Manshurs).However,only a few of these appear to
have been taken up seriously or to have made an impact.

Ibn Batuttah also gave a detailed description of how the magnificent city of Delhi was,after
Tughluq's compulsorily pressure moved every residents of Delhi to Daulatabad.Even the blind
and the lame were not spared.He mentions the magnificent fort of Deogiri,renamed as
Daulatabad by Tughluq,withits massive walls stretching three miles.2

3.KHURAJA ABDULLAH MALIK ISAMI -Isami,a scholar and poet of the 14th century,wrote
an historical masnavi,Futuhus Salatin in 1349-50 on the turkish rule in India.Isami migrated to
Daulatabad during the reign of Muhammad-bin-tughluq.Isami's approach to Muhammad-bin-
tughluq is highly subjective,he has painted the sultan in the darkest shade as the''wisest fool''of
the Islamic World.Nevertheless his book reveals in,in ample measure,the valuable contributions
made by the sultan towards the consolidation of the muslim hold and spread of islamic culture
in the south.The book is full of anecdotes which throw a flood of light on the social,religious and
cultural life of the period.3

EXPERIMENTS AND REFORMS-:

Many experiments and reforms were launched by Muhammad-bin-tughluq.Muhammad-bin-

tughluq was keen to tone up the administration and bring about uniformity in its functioning and
according to Ibn Battutah,he issued large number of orders(Manshurs).These orders were listed
by Barani and may be divided into two categories-:

a.ADMINISTRATIVE AND POLITICAL MEASURES:EXODUS TO DEOGIRI

1.TRANSFER OF CAPITAL-One of the most controversial step taken by Muhammad-bin-

tughluq early in his reign was his so called transfer of the capital from Delhi to Deogiri which
was renamed as Daulatabad.The attempt to bring the entire south India under the direct control

1
Ziya-ud-din Barani,Tarikh-i-firuz Shah(Sind Sagar Academy,Pakistan,1974)
2
http;//www.history.com/ibn-battutah
3
www.history discussion.net
of Delhi had led to serious political difficulties.The people of the area were restive under what
they felt as an alien rule.When they resisted the sultan enforced his orders ruthlessly and caused
great hardship of the population of delhi.A careful analysis of the contemporary and later sources
show that Barani grossly exaggerated when he alleges that the steps led to the ruination of delhi
which had equalled the leading cities of the islamic world.

The motive of the step taken by the sultan has been set out by Barani himself,viz,that it was
central to all parts of the empire.Deogiri had been the virtual base of operations in the
deccan.Muhammad-bin-tughluq had spent a number of years in the south,both as a prince and as
a ruler compaighning,and was familiar with Deogiri.

The decision making Deogiri a second capital was apparently taken in 1327 when Muhammad-
bin-tughluq passed Deogiri after his journey to the Karnataka to suppress the rebellion of his
cousin Gurshasp.At each station,a sufi saint was stationed and a ''Khanqah''(Hospice for the
saint was built).However,it seems that a good deal of pressure was exercised upon the people to
migrate.Nevertheless,most of the migrants were not happy as they lived there for hundred
years.Hence Muhammad-bin-tughluq invited Sufis,learned mrn and others living in
neighbouring cities to move to Delhi.Coins minted at Delhi,while the sultan was at Deogiri to
testify this.

The sultan marched to the south to suppress the rebellion and he retreated back to Daulatabad
because of an outbreak of bubonic plague in which many of his soldiers ere perished.The distance
between these two places was more than 1500 kilometres.Many people died during the rigorous
journey in the summer.Soon the entire south including Mabar,Dwar-Samudra(Karnataka)and
Warangal(Telingana) were lost to the Delhi sultanat and the raison d'etre of keeping Daulatabad
as a second capital disappeared.After two years the sultan abandoned Daulatabad and asked them
to return to Delhi.

Thus,the exodus to Daulatabad proved to be a costly failure and brought misery to many
peoples.However,its effects were felt largely by the upper class,and not by the people of
Delhi.One long term effect of Muhammad-bin-tughluq 's exodus to Daulatabad was that many
of the sufis and learned men decided to stay back at Daulatabad so that in course of time,it
became a centre of islamic learning. 4

4
Satish Chandra,,History of Medieval India(Orient Blackswan Private ltd,Delhi,2007)103-104
CRITICISM OF THE SCHEME-:

1.According to Barani,''So complete was the ruin that not a cat or a dog was left in the buildings
of the city.''

2.Ibn Battutah writes,''In the night the Sultan mounted the roof of his palace and looked around
delhi.When neither a light nor even a smoke or lamp came into sight.He remarked,''Now my
heart is pleased and my soul is at rest.''He further wrote,''Asearch was made and a blind man and
a cripple man were found.The cripple man was put to death while the blind man was dragged to
Daulatabad where his only one leg reached.''

3.Isami also wrote,''Muhammad-bin-tughluq ordered that Delhi should be set on fire and all the
populace should be turned out of it.''The sultan arranged all possible facilities for the people's
forty days journey from Delhi to Daulatabad.However the scheme flopped.A large number of
people died on the way.5

THE KHURASAN AND QARACHIL EXPEDITIONS:

KHURASAN EXPEDITION-Khurasan expedition was closely connected to events in central

and west asia and with Muhammad-bin-tughluq's desire to make sindh and Punjab safe at all
times from the danger of recurrent Mongol invasion.After the death of chingez Khan,the branch
of his descendants,the chaghtai branch had dominated Turkistan and captured Iran and
Iraq.Khurasan was used vaguely to describe the area, and barani adds Iraq and sometimes trans-
Oxiana to it.Muhammad-bin-tughluq invited leading men of those area and gave them lavish
grants and raised a large army of 370,000 soldiers and this large army was sold by Iqtas but
Barani says,no care was taken about enforcing the brand of the horses,or the description of the
soldiers or testing their swordsmanship. 6

QARACHIL EXPEDITION(1333)-This expedition came from a Kulu-Kangra region of

Himachal Pradesh.Some writers such as badayuni and Ferishta,call it the expedition to china and
Himachal.However Barani quite wrongly links it to the Khurasan expedition and says that its
conquest would have enabled him to capture horses.This expedition proved a failure.The
commander of the delhi armies advanced too far into the mountains so that his retreat was cut
off by the defending forces and almost entire army of 10,000 was destroyed.However this
expedition was not at all a total failure because after some time the ruler of the area patched up

5
http;//www.history discusstion.net/schemes founded by Muhammad bin tughluq
6
http;//www.encyclopedia.com
a treaty with Muhammad-bin-tughluq,agreeing to pay him a certain sum of money for the use of
the territory lying at the foothills. 7

b.ECONOMIC AND AGRARIAN REFORMS-:

2.INTRODUCTION OF TOKEN CURRENCY -In 1329-30 Muhammad-bin-tughluq

introduced a token currency.There was a shortage of silver through out the world in the 14 th
century.Kublai Khan issued paper money in China.In tha same manner,Muhammad-bin-tughluq
introduced the coin of copper and brass alloy and made it equivalent to the value of the ''silver
tanka''.The coin for the first time carried an inscription in persia.This new currency whose face
value was much higher than tha intrinsic value is termed as''token currency''.There had been a
great deal of controversy regarding the token currency.According to Barani it was part of his
ambition to conquer all the inhabited quarters of the world for which a huge army was needed
and a large treasury to pay them.

The experiment failed largely because the sultan was unable to prevent forging of the new
coins.Barani in his picturesque language says that the''house of every hindu became a mint''.The
state suffered a big loss because the ''Khuts'' and ''Muqaddams'' in the rural areas paid the
land revenue in the copper and brass coins,and purchased arms and horses with the same
currency.Soon their value depreciated rapidly and they became ''as worthless as stones and
potsherds''Professor Muhammad Habib writes that Muhammad-bin-tughluq issued coins of
bronze which had distinct inscription in persian and arabic to mark the new coins.there was
confusion because ordinary people could not easily distinguish between these and the forged
coins.The forged coins brought by people for redemption,but not accepted by government ,lay
heaped in mounds outside the fort for a long time.Thus the failure of the token currency must
certainly have affected the treasury adversely.But it was not too serious a blow,or upset public
life.8

3.HEAVY TAXATION IN DOAB-The failure of these three experiments,the exodus to

Deogiri,the failure of the Khurasan expedition,and the withdrawal of the token currency and also
the disastrous result of the Qarachil compaign must have affected the public reputation of the
sultan.Meanwhile,Muhammad-bin-tughluq made certain agrarian measures which when
combined by epidemics and famines lasted for six to seven years,and affected large parts of the
Doab and Malwa,created serious public distress,and a widespread peasant uprising.Muhammad-

Mohammad Habib and K.A.Nizami,A Comprehensive History of India(People’s Publishing

8

House,Delhi,1970)263
bin-tughluq increased the land revenue on the farmers of Doab(land between ganges and yamuna
rivers).It was an excessive and arbitrary steps on the farmers.It had resulted in the serious
peasants revolt.According to Barani,the sultan's policy was that increase in the incidence of
taxation was to be gradual,and such that it did not affect the prosperity of the peasantry. 9

4.AGRICULTURAL REFORMS-The sultan realized that adequate relief measures and the
promotion of agriculture were the real solution to the problem.He launched a scheme by which
''takkavi''loans were given to the farmers to buy seed and to extend cultivation.When
Muhammad-bin-tughluq came to the throne,he attempted a substantial increase in the scale of
the land-revenue demanded from the cultivators.Barani says that he increased it from''one to ten
or one to twenty''.New cesses were levied,and the old cesses,grazing tax(Charai),and house
tax(Ghari) were collected in a rigorous manner,the cattle being branded and the houses
counted.Further,when commuting the state's share into cash,not the actual but the officially
assumed prices were used.These,measures,led to the destruction of the peasantry and to an
agrarian uprising which affected large area near Delhi and the Doab.

Barani says that the hindus,the peasants set fire to the grain heaps,and drove away cattle from
their homes.Thus''whole regions were devastated.cultivation was totally
abandoned''.Thus,''Shiqdars''and ''faujdars''(revenue collectors and military officials) were
ordered to lay waste and plunder the country,many of the Khuts and Muqaddams were killed or
took refuge in forests.Thus,the entire area from Kannauj to Dalmau was laid waste.Muhammad-
bin-tughluq raised the land revenue to more than half.He was not able to keep a tight control
over the local revenue officials.

Barani says,when peasant heard of the ruin and destruction of the peasantry,and fearful,they rose
in rebellion.However,this may have been an exaggeration that the rebellion spread to areas
outside the Doab.

Barani says that the contraction of cultivation in the Doab,the ruin of its peasantry,the reduction
in the number of grain-carriers(banjaras),and the failure of the grains to reach delhi led to a
famine.The rains,too,failed.To cope with the famine,relief camps were opened at delhi,food
grains arriving from Awadh where there was no famine.Muhammad-bin-tughluq also advanced
agricultural loans(Sondhar) to dig wells and to buy seeds and implements and later sultan left
delhi.After returning to Delhi,Muhammad-bin-tughluq launched a scheme to extend and improve
cultivation in the Doab.He set up a separate department called''diwan-i-amir-i-kohi''.The

9
History of Medieval India 117-118
intention was to bring barren(banjar) land under cultivation.In the words of Barani,''thus wheat
would be sown instead of barley,and sugarcane instead of wheat'',and grapes and dates would be
planted instead of sugarcane.''

Thus,the scheme has two aspects,one,to extend cultivation,and second,to improve the crops.Both
would have led to the realisation of higher land-revenue.To implement the scheme,hundred
Shiqdars were appointed.Barani says that the entire scheme failed,and during three years,not a
thousandth or hundredth part of wasteland was brought under cultivation.The scheme failed
largely, because the men chosen for the purpose proved to be inexperienced and dishonest,and
misappropriated the money for their own use.Nevertheless,the scheme cannot be called a total
failure.The idea of extending and improving cultivation with the help of agricultural loans
became a standard practice with later sultans and became a part of the agricultural policy of the
mughals.

5.THE DECCAN POLICY-Deccan had been conquered by Alauddin but he had not annexed
it.He was satisfied by plundering the wealth of the territory and making the rulers of the various
states of Deccan accept him as his lordship.Muhammad-bin-tughluq on the other hand was an
annexationist and his policy was to replace hindu rule by direct muslim government.His rule in
the Deccan was very oppressive.The destruction of Dorasamudra,the capital of the Hoyasala
kings seriously outraged the hindu population.In fact Muhammad tughluq found the deccan
revolts running sores which ultimately ruined him. 10

6.REVENUE REFORMS-Muhammad-bin-tughluq wanted to make some reforms in revenue

system and made several declarations and issued ordinances.He also ordered the royal officials
to prepare the accounts of the provinces and send them to the centre.In fact,Muhammad-bin-
tughluq wanted to introduce a uniform policy of revenue in the entire kingdom.The main purpose
of the sultan was to introduce a uniform standard of land revenue throughout his empire and to
see that no village is left unevaluated.He built a sepate office for clerks and officers and appointed
them for work.

REBELLIONS-In order to present the image of a ruler who was confused,went from one
project to another which emptied his treasures,and the consequent discontent and outbreak of
rebellions which the sultan was unable to control,barani has lumped together all the rebellions

10
R.C.Majumdar, The History and Culture of the Indian people: The Delhi Sultanate( Bhartiya
Vidya Bhawan,Mumbai,2006)190
which took place in Mohammad bin Tughlaq's vast empire during a period of 26
years.However,in order to assess the true extent of Muhammad bin tughluq's successes and
failures,we have to discover his reign of three unequal parts.During the first phase(1224-
35),Muhammad bin tughluq was engaged in consolidating the vast kingdom he had inherited.The
only expansion was the conquest in karnataka following Muhammad bin tughluq's march to
crush the rebellion of his cousin,Gurshasp.There were rebellions in Multan and
Lakhanauti,which were crushed.There was also a rebellion in sindh which was brought under
control after some time.Despite the failure of his schemes of exodus to Deogiri,Khurasan and
Qarachil expeditions,and the token currency experiment,the sultan's prestige remained high,as
Ibn battutah testifies.

The second decade (1236-45)began with a rebellion in Mabar,and famine in the doab.The failure
of the Mabar campaign where epidemic played a role,led to the loss of all southern states.Bengal
was also lost.The sultan made little effort to recover these distant areas,either because he lacked
the resources in men and money,or because he felt that the control and direct administration of
these areas from delhi was an impossible task in the given circumstances.The only area which
he considered important,and to which he held on to was Daulatabad.

During the third period,there was a series of rebellions in north India,and also in the daulatabad
region which can be linked either to the discontent of the old nobles,or grasping revenue
policies.Perhaps,the most important rebellion of the old nobles was by Ainul Mulk,who had been
a close friend associate of the sultan,and had been governor of Awadh.Muhammad tughluq
became suspicious of the growing popularity of Ainul Mulk.Hence, he issued orders for his
transfer to Daulatabad,which was the occasion of the rebellion. 11

CONCLUSION

Muhammad-bin-tughluq is best remembered as ruler who undertook a number of bold

experiments and showed a keen interest in agriculture as well as administration.He was pne of
the most remarkable rulers of his age.He was highly educated and was well versed in arabic and
persian language.He was very much faithful to his own religion and obeyed the religious rites
and was regugar at his daily prayers.In spite of high qualification and knowledge,sultan suffered
from certain qualities of swiftness and impatience that is why many of his experiments failed
and he has been called an ill-starred idealist.Even contemporary historians like Barani and Ibn

11
Peter Jackson, The Delhi Sultanate, A Political and Military History(Cambridge University
Press,New York,1999)157
Batuttah have expressed opposite views about the character and achievements of the sultan.So,in
this context it is difficult to make an assessment of Muhammad-bin-tughluq.According to most
historians,he was one of the most learned and accomplished scholar of his time.But he was
proved to be a big failure as a ruler particular with regards to his experimenys.His increase of
tax in the fertile Doab region was not at all correct.His transfer of capital from Delhi to
Daulatabad displayed his lack of wit.Despite his many limitations,Muhammad-bin-tughluq
bequeathed a large empire with a functioning administration to his successor.While his rash and
hasty temperament,his suspicious nature,and giving excessive pinishments added to his
difficulties.Some of his experiments and reforms also had a long term significance.His
experiment with a token currency was a bold step,but one which was beyond his
time.However,he tried to rise above the narrow limitations of caste,inducting into service not
only people of land-owning classes,but men belonging to low,or artisan classes.Thus he has been
characterised as a mixture of opposites and a bundle of contradictions.It is sure that he had many
good ideas,but he had not the capacity to execute them.

BIBLIOGRAPHY-

1.Satish Chandra,History ofMmedieval India(Orient Blackswan PrivateLtd,Delhi,2007)

2.R.C Majumdar, The History and ulture of the Indian people:The Delhi Sultanate(Bhartiya
Vidya Bhawan,Mumbai,2006)

3.Peter Jackson,The Selhi Sultanate:A Political and Military history(Cambridge University

Press,New York,1999)

4. Ziya-ud-din Barani,Tarikh-i-firuz Shah(Sind Sagar Academy,Pakistan,1974)

5.Mohammad Habib and K.A.Nizami,A Comprehensive History of India(People’s Publishing

House,Delhi,1970)263

6.http;//www.history discusstion.net/schemes founded by Muhammad bin tughluq

www.history.discussion.net

7..Ziya-ud-din Barani,Tarikh-i-firuz Shah(Sind Sagar Academy,Pakistan,1974)

8.http;//www.history.com/ibn-battutah

9.www.history discussion.net
1o http;//www.encyclopedia.com.