Archeological Sources of Delhi Sultanate

There are largely three types of sources to study history i.e. archaeological sources, literary
sources, and oral sources. The archaeological sources are largely concerned with numismatics
and inscriptions. There are number of remarkable thirteenth century epigraphs in Delhi which
have mainly been composed by merchant families. B.D. Chattopadhyaya refers Palam Baoli
inscription of 1276 AD. Pushpa Prasad provides a detailed discussion of such Sanskrit
inscriptions of the Delhi Sultanate. Most of the Palam Baoli inscription was authored by Pandita
Yogisvara. Such inscriptions mention contemporary rulers of Delhi, starting with Sahavadina
(Shihabuddin Muiz al din Mohammad Ghori) and coming up to Sri Hammira Gayasamdina
(Ghiyasuddin Balban). These rulers are listed as a part of genealogy of rulers: Sahavadina
(Shihabuddin), Sudavina (Qutbuddin), Samasudina (Shamuddin Iltutmish), Pherujasahi
(Ruknuddin Firoz), Jalaldina (Jalaluddin Razia), Maujadina (Muizuddin Bahram), Alvadina
(Alauddin Masud), Nasaradina (Nasiruddin Mahmud), Sri Hammira Gayasamdina (Ghiyasuddin
Balban). A similar genealogy is present in the Sarban stone inscription of 1378 AD, found in the
Raisina area of Delhi.

Inscriptions record certain past activities which were considered useful and meaningful to
their contemporary audience. Inscriptions, just like the medieval court literature, are forms of
discourse containing representations of the self and the world. Therefore, they served social and
political aspirations along with the ideology they conveyed. In order to understand the
knowledge disseminated by the inscriptions, it is necessary to study them along with other
contemporary sources.

Numismatics is the study of coins. Medieval states, with their many ruling dynasties and kings,
issue their own coins. Since these coins were controlled and monitored by the state, they provide
us with a series of historical documents. Coins can shed lights upon diverse facts about rulers,
their names, dynasties, their thoughts, and actions. R.S. Sharma argues that the numismatic
picture in the period ranging from the reign of the Guptas to the advent of the Muslims in Indian
in the twelfth century AD is extremely dismal. Gold coins are rare, silver coins are few in
number, and copper coins even rarer. Considering these developments, Sharma argues that there
was a collapse of the coinage system in the given time period between 7th and the 12th century.

P.L. Gupta refers to Turkish coins pointing out that Mahmud Ghazni had placed the true
translation of the Kalima in Sanskrit and in Nagari characters. Similarly, Mohammad Ghori had
stamped the figure of Lakshmi on his own gold coins and has his name inscribed in Nagari
characters. Thus, countering the point that they were fanatic Muslims and iconoclasts. Iltutmish
issued silver coins with various legends and Kalima in his name. Alauddin Khalji made no
mention of Khalifa in his coins and replaced it with self-laudatory title-Sikandar-us-sani Yamin-
ul-Khilafat. Similarly the coins of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq inform us about his monetary policy.
He issued coins in the name of his father Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, Scholars believe that the purpose
behind this was to clear his name. Since Muhammad bin Tughlaq was charged with the
conspiracy to murder his father, these coins served the purpose of gaining people’s faith that he
was loyal to his father.

The archaeological sources are extremely important for understanding the history of Delhi
Sultanate. These sources along with the literary sources confirm our interpretations and
understanding of the socio-political and cultural milieu.