NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY AND JUDICIAL ACADEMY, ASSAM

History (Major)
9
Archaeological Sources of the Delhi sultanate

 SUBMITTED TO:

 Mrs. Upasana Devi

(Assistant Professor,
National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam )

 SUBMITTED BY:

 Aneesh raj
 2nd semester
 UID- SM0120071
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Mrs. Upasana

Devi ma’am who gives me a golden opportunity to do this wonderful project, which

helped me in doing lots of reading and I came to know about so many new ideas. I’m

really thankful to my teacher. I’m also thankful to all who has helped me in

completion of my assignment in limited time frame.

Thanking you!

Aneesh Raj
 Archaeological Sources of the Delhi sultanate

 Introduction: -

Ancient ruins, remains and monuments recovered as a result of excavation and

exploration are archaeological sources of history. The archaeological remains are
subjected to scientific examination of radio-carbon method for its dates.
Archaeological sources give us some knowledge of the life of the ancient people.
India is rich with ancient ruins, remains, and monuments.
Many things associated with the Delhi Sultanate are buried inside. The material
remains discovered from excavations and ruins speak a good deal of the past. All over
India there are various sources associated with Delhi Sultanate. It gives an evidence of
custom and practices of that time.

 Various sources and its significance: -

There are various archaeological sources of Delhi Sultanate. Architectural monuments
of the Delhi sultanate can be broadly classified as civil, religious and military. The
town planning pattern of cities presupposes considerable forethought. The necessary
ingredients of town or village planning, particularly about water provisioning and
food storage, gives an information of the caste-wise habitation or segregation
observed meticulously during the sultanate period. Archaeological sources include
inscriptions, coins and monuments.
 Coins: -
coins constitute a major body of historical, economic and artistic material and
evidence. Coins as a source of history gives multiple information about Delhi
sultanate. The surviving coins by far outnumber other groups of sources such as
ceramics and inscriptions, and contrary to most other classical remains they
automatically mirror the public sphere, as by definition their value and acceptance
must be guaranteed by the state. So, coins - both in themselves and in the context
of hoards - are not only sources for economic history or just a medium for art
work, but they can also give extensive information about - official - religion and
cult, political thought, ideology and autonomous artistic features such as
portraiture as well as monetary policy.
Iltutmish introduced Silver Tanka and Copper Jital, the two coins of the Delhi
Sultanate. The coins prior to Iltutmish were introduced by the invaders which
bear the Sanskrit characters and even Bull and Shivalinga. Iltutmish was the first
to introduce a “Pure Arabic Coin” in India. The Coins were engraved with “The
Mighty Sultan, Sun of the Empire and the Faith, Conquest-laden, Il-tutmish,”
after he received an investiture of Sovereign Sultan of Delhi from the Caliph of
Baghdad. The Silver Tanka issued by Iltutmish was weighing 175 grains. Gold
Tanka of the same weight was later issued by Balban.
Muhammad Bin Tughluq: Dinar gold coin of 200 grains, Adali a Silver coin 140
grains & in 1329-30 Copper coins (Token currency system) Edward Thomas
describe him as “A prince of Moneyers”. Firoz Shah Tughluq issued Jital- Adha
(half Jital) Bikh (quarter Jital) which was mixture of Copper & Silver. These
coins give information of economic condition, name of the king, date and the
religious belief.

 Inscriptions: -
There are compilations of large number of inscriptions related to Delhi
Sultanate. Several of the inscriptions record land-grants made by various rulers
and chiefs; others are descriptions of battles or eulogies to rulers. Together, they
constitute a wealth of information on the history of different regions and
localities, and provide valuable supplementary details about local dynasties and
potentates. A large number of Sanskrit inscriptions too speak highly about the
Tughluq sultan and their liberal appointments of the Hindus to the key posts.

 Monuments: -
There were various monuments associated with Delhi sultanate. It speaks
about development of Indo-Islamic style of architecture and helps the
historians to reconstruct the history of Delhi Sultanate. Monuments informs us
about social beliefs, religious beliefs and culture of people and about the
period in which monuments were built.
Monuments include forts, well, tanks, palaces, temples, public building, etc.
They were built by Kings and his subordinate officials for public purposes,
 throw light on different aspects such as Engineering skills, technology, social,
economic and religious conditions of the past.
 Some of popular monuments of Delhi sultanate: -

 Dhai Din Ka Jhonapara at Ajmer: -

Adhai Din ka Jhonpra is a mosque that is said to be built within two and a half
days by the order of Mohammad Ghori. The sultan ordered the mosque to be
built within 60 hours and the workers worked day and night but were only able
to construct a screen wall so that the sultan could offer his prayers. This gives
a detail picture of ruler and his spiritual beliefs at that time.

 Qutub Minar: -
Qutubdin Aibak was a patron of Art. He started the construction of Qutub
Minar in Delhi. It has been named after the name of famous Sufi saint Khawja
Qutabuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. This was completed by Iltutmish. It was
constructed to to give calls for prayer . Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, to the
north-east of minar was built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak in A.D. 1198. It is the
earliest extant - mosque built by the Delhi Sultans. It consists of a rectangular
courtyard enclosed by cloisters, erected with the carved columns and
architectural members of 27 Hindu and Jaina temples, which were demolished
by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak as recorded in his inscription on the main eastern
entrance. Later, a lofty arched screen was erected and the mosque was
enlarged, by Shams-ud- Din Itutmish (A.D. 1210-35) and Ala-ud-Din Khalji.
The Iron Pillar in the courtyard bears an inscription in Sanskrit in Brahmi
script of fourth century A.D., according to which the pillar was set up as a
Vishnudhvaja (standard of god Vishnu) on the hill known as Vishnupada in
memory of a mighty king named Chandra. A deep socket on the top of the
ornate capital indicates that probably an image of Garuda was fixed into it.
 Ghiyasuddin Tughluq founded new city Tughluqabad buit his own tomb and
Palace. • Muhammad Bin Tughluq constructed new city Jahanpanah near old
Delhi and built Adilabad fort. • Firoz Shah founded new city Kotla Firoz Shah
built Palace & fort.
 Conclusions: -
Archaeological sources are important sources of history. It helps in discovering our
past cultures and traditions. The archaeological source enhanced our knowledge about
our past and also provided important materials, which we could not have been
obtained otherwise. Various monuments constructed under Delhi sultanate
disseminate information of cultural and religious practices of that time. These sources
have great significance from historical point of view. Therefore, these monuments
need to be preserved.
There might be various sources of archaeology associated with the Delhi sultanate
that haven’t been discovered yet. Once it would be discovered we would be
acquainted with clearer picture of Delhi Sultanate.
 Reference: -

 Survey of Sources: Literary and Archaeological,

https://gfgc.kar.nic.in/dandeli/GenericDocHandler/361-94562904-8233-4308-
b10a-5d77878958f9.pdf .
 Know India, https://knowindia.gov.in/culture-and-heritage/monuments/qutub-
minar.php, (last visited on May 22, 2021).
 Anthony Welch, Hussein Keshani and Alexandra Bain, Epigraphs, Scripture,
and Architecture in the Early Delhi Sultanate, Vol. 19, Brill, 12, 12-40,
(2002).