UPSC History Delhi Sultnat (Gulam, Khilji, Tughlak, Sayyed, Lodhi) NCERT Extracts - Struggle for Empire in North India-I (Circa 1400-1525)

Eastern India - Bengal, Assam and Orissa

• Bengal had been frequently independent of the control of Delhi due to its distance, climate, and the fact that much of its communication depended upon waterways with which the Turkish rulers were unfamiliar.
• Due to the preoccupation of Muhammad Tughlaq with rebellions in various quarters, Bengal again broke away from Delhi in 1338.
• Four year later, one of the nobles, Ilyas Khan, captured Lakhnauti and Sonargaon and ascended the throne under the title Sultan Shamsuddin Ilyas Khan.
• The most famous sultan in the dynasty of Ilyas Shah was Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah (1389-1409). He was known for his love of justice.
• The sultans of Bengal adorned their capitals, Pandua and Gaur, with magnificent buildings. These had a style of their own, distinct from the style which had developed in Delhi. The sultans also patronised the Bengali language.
• The celebrated poet Maladhar Basu, compiler of Sri Krishna-Vijaya, was patronised by the sultans and was granted the title of Gunaraja Khan.
• His son was honoured with the title of Satyaraja Khan.
• But the most significant period for the growth of the Bengali language was the rule of Alauddin Hussain (1493-1519). Some of the famous Bengali writers of the time flourished under his rule.
• There were two warring kingdoms in north Bengal and Assam at that time.
• Kamata (called Kamrup by the writers of the time) was in the west, and the Ahom kingdom was in the east.
• The Ahoms, a Mongoloid tribe from north Burma, had succeeded in establishing a powerful kingdom in the thirteenth century.
• It had become Hinduized in course of time. The name Assam is derived from them.
• The eastern Brahmaputra valley was at this time under Suhungmung who is considered the greatest of the Ahom rulers. He changed his name of Svarga Narayana.
• This was an index of the rapid Hinduization of the Ahoms.
• He not only repulsed the Muslim attack, but also extended his kingdom in all directions.
• The Gajapati rule markes a brilliant phase in Orissa history.
• The rulers were great builders and warriors. The Gajapati rulers were mainly instrumental in extending their rule in the south towards Kamataka.

Western India - Gujarat, Malwa and Mewar

• On account of the excellence of its handicrafts and its flourishing seaports, as well as the richness of its soil, Gujarat was one of the richest provinces of the Delhi Sultanat.
• The real founder of the kingdom of Gujarat was, however. Ah mad Shah-I (1411-43), the grandson of Muzaffar Shah.
• He shifted the capital from Patan to the new city of Ahmedabad, the foundation of which he laid in 1413.

Mahmud Begarha

• The successors ofAhmad Shah continued his policy of expansion and consolidation. The most famous sultan of Gujarat was Mahmud Begarha.
• Mahmud Begarha ruled over Gujarat for more than 50 years (from 1459 to 1511).
• He was called Begarha because he captured two of the most powerful forts (garhs), Gimar in Saurashtra (now called Junagarh) and Champaner in south Gujarat.
• Mahmud Begarha had a striking appearance. He had a flowing beard which reached up to his waist, and his moustache was so long that he tied it over the head.
• According to a traveller, Barbosa, Mahmud, from his childhood, had been nourished on some poison so that if a fly settled on his hand, it swelled and immediately lay dead.
• Mahmud was also famous for his voracious appetite. It is said that for breakfast he ate a cup of honey, a cup of butter and one hundred to one hundred and fifty plantains.
• Under Mahmud Begarha the Gujarat kingdom reached its maximum limit, and emerged as one of the most powerful and well-administered states in the country.

Malwa and Mewar

• The state of Malwa was situated on the high plateau between the rivers Narmada and Tapti. It commanded the trunk routes between Gujarat and northern India, as also between north and south India.
• The geopolitical situation in northern India was such that if any of the powerful states of the region could extend its control over Malwa, it would be well on its way to make a bid for the domination of the entire north India.
• During the fifteenth century, the kingdom of Malwa remained at the height of its glory.
• The capital was shifted from Dhar to Mandu, a place which was highly defensible and which had a great deal of natural beauty.
• Here the rulers of Malwa constructed a large number of buildings, the ruins of which are still impressive.
• The large-scale use of coloured and glazed tiles provided variety to the buildings. The best known among them are Jama Masjid, the Hindola Mahal and the Jahaz Mahal.
• The early history of the state of Mewar is obscure. Though it dated back to the eight century, the ruler who raised it to the status of a power of be reckoned with was Rana Kumbha (1433-68).
• Marwar was under Mewar occupation, but soon it became independent after a successful struggle waged under the leadership of Rao Jodha.
• Kumbha was a patron of learned men, and was himself a learned man. He composed a number of books, some of which can still be read.
• The ruins of his palace and the Victory Tower (Kirti Stambha) which he built at Chittor show that he was an enthusiastic builder as well.
• The Lodi ruler, Ibrahim Lodi, invaded Mewar, but suffered a sharp reverse at the hands of Rana Sanga at Ghatoli.

The Sharqis, the Lodi Sultans and Kashmir

• Malik Sarwar was a prominent noble of the time of Firuz Tughlaq.
• He had been the wazir for some time, and then had been nominated to the eastern areas with the title, Malik-us-Sharq (Lord of the East).
• His successors came to be called the Sharqis after his title.
• The Sharqi sultans fixed their capital at Jaunpur (in eastern Uttar Pradesh) which they beautified with magnificent palaces mosques and mausoleums.
• The Sharqi sultans were great patrons of learning and culture. Poets and men to letters, scholars and saints assembled at Jaunpur and shed lustre on it.
• In course of time, Jaunpur came to be known as the "Shiraz of the East.
• Malik Muhammad Jaisi, the author of the well known Hindi work Padmavat, lived at Jaunpur.
• At length, in 1484, Bahlul Lodi, the ruler of Delhi, occupied Jaunpur and annexed the Sharqi kingdom.
• The most important Lodi sultan was Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517).
• He established a new measurement of a yard, called the gazz-i-Sikandari, which continued to prevail till the Mughal times.
• He re-imposed the jizyah on the Hindus, and executed a brahmana for holding that the Hindu and Muslim scriptures were equally sacred.
• He also demolished a few well known Hindu temples during his campaigns, such as the temple at Nagarkot.
• Sikandar Lodi gave magnificent grants to scholars, philosophers, and men of letters so that cultured people of all climes and countries, including Arabia and Iran, flocked his court.
• Due to the sultan's effort, a number of Sanskrit works were translated into Persian.
• He was also interested in music and had a number of rare Sanskrit works on music translated into Persian.
• Sikandar Lodi selected the site for the city of Agra (1506). The town was meant to command the area of eastern Rajasthan and the route of Malwa and Gujarat.
• In course of time, Agra became a large town and the second capital of the Lodis.

Kashmir

• During the period, Kashmir was known to be a centre of Saivism.
• Zainul Abidin, considered the greatest of the Muslim monarchs of Kashmir, ascended the throne.
• There had been a continuous incursion of Muslim saints and refugees from Central Asia into Kashmir, the Baramulla route providing an easy access.
• Sikandar Shah ordered that all brahmanas and learned Hindus should become Musalmans or leave the valley.
• Zainul Abidin( 1420-70) conciliated and brought back to Kashmir all the non-Muslims who had fled.
• Abul Fazi noted that Kashmir had one hundred and fifty majestic temples.
• Zainul Abidin continued the policy of broad toleration in other spheres as well.
• He was well versed in Persian, Kashmir!, Sanskrit and Tibetan languages.
• He gave partronage to Sanskrit and Persian scholars.
• At his instance, many Sanskrit works such as the Mahabharata and Kalhana's history of Kashmir, Rajatarangini, were translated into Persian and brought up-to-date.
• He was fond of music, and hearing of this, the Raja of Gwalior sent him two rare Sanskrit works on music.
• He also looked after the economic development of Kashmir. He sent two persons to Samarqand to leam the arts of paper-making and book-binding.
• He was an enthusiastic builder, his greatest engineering achievement being Zaina Lanka. the artificial island in the Woolur Lake on which he built his palace and a mosque.
• Zainul Abidin is still called Bud Shah (the Great Sultan) by the Kashmiris.
• Though not a great warrior, he defeated the Mongol invasion of Ladakh, conquered the Baltistan area (called Tibbat-i-khurd) and kept control over Jammu, Rajauri, etc. He, thus, unified the Kashmiri kingdom.
• The fame of Zainul Abidin had spread far and wide. He was in touch with the leading rulers in the other parts of India, as also the leading rulers of Asia.