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2. Both of them collected produce from the doab Administration : The administration under the
region as tax to feed the army which was fixed Tughluqs was divided into four major departments :
at one-half of the total produce; however, Diwan-i-wizarat (finance), Diwan-i-risalat (religious
Muhammad-bin Tughluq also levied additional matters), Diwan-i-arz (military affairs) and Diwan-i-
taxes which unfortunately coincided with the ansha (court correspondence). Different nobles
famine in the area and resulted in resentment were the heads of different departments. The wazir
of the people. looked after revenue and general affairs of the
Sultanate. He appointed high officials in different
3. Ala-ud-din Khalji paid his soldiers in cash and
he regulated the prices of all essential departments. The qazi was the chief judge who
commodities in the market, so that he had to decided the criminal and religious matters; an
pay less to the soldiers. On the other hand, appeal could be made to the sultan. The bakshi was
Muhammad-bin Tughluq too paid his soldiers the paymaster for the army. The ariz-i-mumalik was
in cash, but instead, he issued cheap currency, the chief commander of the army who recruited,
much like paper currency in the present times, trained and equipped soldiers, though the supreme
but it was counterfeited easily; it resulted in a command of the army lay with the sultan.
lot of loss to the treasury.
SAYYID DYNASTY (1414-1451 AD)
4. Ala-ud-din was a good administrator and he
All the Sayyid sultans were weak and could not
was praised for his measures. On the other
hand, the ideas of Muhammad-bin Tughluq administer well. They had to face many problems
which they found incapable to tackle. This
failed miserably which led to rebellions in
dynasty ruled for a brief period of 27 years and
different parts of the country.
came to an end in 1451 when the Lodis took over
CASE STUDY : TUGHLUQS the Sultanate. The sultans of the Sayyid dynasty
,
The Sultan : The sultan was the most powerful were—Khizr Khan Sayyid Mubarak Shah Sayyid ,
person in the Delhi Sultanate. However, he had Muhammad Shah Sayyid and Ala-ud-din Alam
delegated powers to the nobles by giving them Shah Sayyid .
land grants called iqtas, for the purpose of
collecting taxes and maintaining army. He kept the LODI DYNASTY (1451-1526 AD)
other powers in his own hands. Yet a tussle was
always in existence as the nobles wanted to have The four earlier dynasties were Turks, while the
larger powers with them all the time, and they Lodis were Afghans.
revolted when they perceived any weakness in the Bahlul Lodi
sultan. So, the Tughluqs had to keep suppressing Bahlul Lodi captured the throne of Delhi in 1451
revolts one after another during their entire rule.
and thus the Lodi dynasty came to power. He
Another trouble spot for the sultan was the ulema, tried to consolidate his Sultanate. He expanded
who pressurised the sultan to rule as per the his area of influence from Punjab to Bihar. Also,
Quaranic law. A strong sultan did not listen to he changed the Turk nobles with the loyal Afghan
them much, but a weak sultan was bound to nobles.
appease them.
Sikandar Lodi
The Court : The court of the Tughluqs was very
ceremonial. All nobles were made to do sijdah. The Sikandar Lodi, the
sultan sat on a raised throne while the nobles had son of Bahlul Lodi,
fixed places to sit or stand. The guards and other came to power in
attendants met all needs of the court. A scribe 1489. He proved to
noted down all commands and proceedings of the be the greatest Lodi
court. ruler. He expanded
his empire by Tomb of Sikandar Lodi
The Delhi Sultanate Period
27
