In South Asian history, the Delhi Sultanate reigned from 1206 until 1526.
Decline of Delhi Sultanate
In South Asian history, the Delhi Sultanate reigned from 1206 until 1526. Five dynasties controlled Delhi during this three-hundred-year span. These were the Slaves, the Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyed, and Lodhis. The Delhi Sultanate was overthrown with the founding of the Mughal Empire. The Delhi Sultanate experienced many ups and downs over more than 300 years. Yet, it managed to remain a powerful political force. The decline of Delhi sultanate had begun during Muhammad bin Tughluq’s final days. The incompetent Sayyeds and the corrupt Lodhis could not stop this declining trend.
Causes For The Decline Of Delhi Sultanate
Let us understand the causes for the decline of the Delhi Sultanate
Role Of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq
Muhammad bin Tughluq’s transgression set in motion the decline of the Delhi Sultanate. It was hastened by Firuz Shah Tughluq’s weakness and careless actions. A few of these include the revival of the jagir system and an excessive increase in the number of enslaved people. Also, the imposition of jizya on non-Muslims and the repression of heretical Muslim sects made problems worse.
The feeble Sayyids and the cynical Lodis could not stop the decline of the Delhi Sultanate. The Lodis had some military victories to their name. However, they could not invigorate the government or end the practice of official oppression of the populace. Without strength and vitality, the Delhi Sultanate was teetering toward its inevitable collapse.
The Sultan’s personality, aptitude, and military prowess determined the Delhi Sultanate’s success. Because it was essentially based on the sword, Sultan’s subjects did not develop a habit of submitting to him. The Sultanate’s foundations were unstable.
The government succeeded when the Sultan was strong and effective, such as under an Iltutmish, a Balban, or an Ala-ud-din. In these times, Sultan’s commands were carried out. But whenever the Sultan was weak, the nobility, provincial governors, and others got busy pursuing their interests.
The main flaw of the Sultanate was that it used the jagir-granting system. It kept the central government preoccupied with putting down rebellions. If the centre were vulnerable, centrifugal tendencies would manifest.
The enormous number of enslaved people was increased further under Feroz Shah Tughluq. He established an official department for their maintenance.
This put a strain on the state’s resources and interfered with the administration in many ways, much like the army did. Qutb-ud-din, Iltutmish, and other capable administrators and rulers arose among the enslaved people. This class of capable and devoted slaves was never again to be found. This resulted in the decline of the Delhi Sultanate.
The nobility and other state officials maintained lives of luxury, intoxication, and excess. This made them completely unproductive. As a result, the administration went to a stalemate and became chaotic. Ala-ud-din took drastic measures to arrest the rot, but his successors did not continue in a similar vein.
The administration weakened due to the discriminatory treatment of non-Muslims, notably Hindus. Also, corruption and a lack of discipline among officials made it worse. The general tendency among revenue officers to speculate and extract excessive payments from the subjects was another issue.
Mongol invasions posed the biggest challenge to the Sultanate ever since it was founded. The Mongols were nomadic peoples who lived in the steppes east of Lake Baikal and north of China.
Under Chengiz Khan, they established a sizable nomadic empire in the 12th century. They frequently attacked the Delhi Sultanate beginning in the 13th century. As a matter of policy, the Sultans both appeased and occasionally attacked them. With all their military strength, Balban and Allauddin Khalji engaged them in combat.
Even Delhi was besieged by Mongols led by Qultlug Khwaja during Khalji’s reign, and they significantly damaged the city. The Sultans spent a lot of effort and resources defending against these assaults. But, they were unable to overthrow the Sultanate. During Muhammad Tughlaq’s rule, Tarmashirin launched the last great Mongol invasion.
Timur’s raid in 1398 was another significant incident that rocked the Sultanate’s basis. Timur’s assault on Delhi exacerbated the fragility of the Delhi Sultanate (1398). Temur was a Chagtai branch of the Turkish chief’s son. He controlled practically all of Central Asia when he invaded India.
Timur entered India on a plundering expedition. He intended to take the wealth the Delhi Sultans had amassed over the previous 200 years. Timur battled Sultan Nasiruddin and his Wazir, but they lost. Timur arrived in Delhi and resided there for 15 days.
He issued a widespread call for a massacre. This resulted in the decline of the Delhi Sultanate.
Timur’s invasion signalled the end of the Delhi Sultanate before he left India. Punjab was no longer under Delhi Sultanate’s jurisdiction.
Timur chose Khizr Khan to be the king of Multan and Punjab. He took control of Delhi when the Tughlaq dynasty was overthrown and established the Delhi Sultanate. He established the Saiyyid Dynasty’s foundation.
Five dynasties ruled the Delhi Sultanate during its three hundred years of existence. The primary cause of dynasty changes and the removal of rulers was a persistent conflict between the Sultan and the nobility (Umara). They started battling over the succession issue shortly after Aibak’s passing. Iltutimish ultimately triumphed.
A group of devoted nobles known as Turkan-i-Chahalgani (or “The Forty”) was established by Iltutimish.
After the death of Iltutmish, forty competed to install their preferred son or daughter as Sultan. Five sultans changed in ten years.
After then, one of the strong aristocratic, Balban, served as de facto Sultan while Nasiruddin Mahmud, the Sultan, who had held the throne for 20 years, barely ruled. The same Balban followed Nasiruddin following his passing. After the passing of each strong Sultan, almost similar things occurred. Each noble attempted to either crown himself or promoted a favourite successor of the deceased Sultan. This was because there was no clear succession legislation. Bahlol Lodi’s accession marked the end of the Turkish Sultanate. Later it led to the decline of the Delhi Sultanate.
Opposition of Hindu Chiefs
After the rule of the Khalji and Tughlaq dynasties, the Delhi sultanate was significantly reduced. The Indian chiefs’ resistance to the sultans had to be met regularly. Even after suffering defeat after defeat, the Rajput chiefs of Rajputana, Malwa in Central India, and many minor chieftains remained in conflict. All these conflicts weakened the Sultanate.
The rulers of the Delhi Sultanate implemented a policy of religious intolerance, which resulted in social divisions, and Hindus and Muslims became bitter rivals.
The Muslim rulers’ partisan policies harmed the interests of their Hindu subjects, creating jealousy and hatred between the two communities.
During this time, casteism, untouchability, and a sense of “class” emerged in society. The Muslims used to refer to Hindus as ‘Kafirs,’ while Hindus referred to Muslims as ‘Mlechhas.’
A sense of mutual suspicion prevailed between the two communities, which proved fatal to the Sultanate’s survival.
The Delhi Sultanate was a theocratic state with an administration based on Islamic principles.The Ulema and orthodox Muslims held a privileged position in the Sultanate and influenced the Sultan’s policies.
Because the majority of Hindus were not treated favourably by the Muslim rulers, they never cooperated with them. The Hindus were also irritated by the Sultans of Delhi’s religious intolerance.
Their act of demolishing Hindu temples and smashing idols of Hindu gods and goddesses irritated them even more.
The imposition of Jaziya and pilgrimage tax hurt the Hindus’ tender feelings, and their conversion on the points of sword offended them so much that they rebelled against the Sultanate and contributed to its demise.
Economic solidarity is the backbone of the empire, but the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate did not have a solid financial position.
They amassed a lot of wealth during their invasions and plundered the temples, but they also spent a lot of money organising the army and repelling the Mongol invasion.
Furthermore, Muhammad Tughluq’s ridiculous schemes depleted the royal treasury, and no government could be stable without sound finances.
The sultanate of Delhi spent a large sum on slave maintenance, and the nobles and Amirs embezzled a large portion of the Sultanate’s revenue, so the state’s income fell short of its expenditure.
As a result, the Delhi Sultanate’s economic weaknesses also contributed to its demise.
Babur’ s Invasion of India
The nobles of Ibrahim Khan Lodi were not satisfied with him because of his strict and rude behavior, so they invited Kabul’ s ruler Zaheeruddin Babur to invade Dehli Sultanate. Governor of Punjab Daulat Khan Lodi and the king of Mewar, Rana Sanga invited Babur to invade India and assured him of their support .
Rana Sanga was planning that Babur will invade and after elimination of Dehli sultan ,he will plunder like his ancestor Amir Timor did a century ago ,and turn back to Kabul .And taking advantage of the chaos ,created after his return, he will establish a Hindu state . On this invitation Babur , who was already planning to conquer India, invaded and by defeating the last Sultan, Ibrahim Lodi, founded Mughal empire in South Asia which was the largest and strongest empire for the next three hundred years.
Effects of the Disintegration of Delhi Sultanate
The immediate effect of the disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate was the emergence of a number of kingdoms.
For example, in 1336 AD, Harihara and Bukka established the Vijayanagar Empire; in 1347 AD, the Amirs of Daulatabad rose in revolt against Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq and helped establish the Bahmani kingdom at Gulbarga under Allauddin Hasan or Hasan Gangu; and in northern India, Bengal, Jaunpur, Kashmir, Marwar, and others gained independence.
Northern India’s newly formed states waged constant wars among themselves, either to expand their sphere of influence, settle their borders, or gain a dominant position among neighbouring states.
.In terms of the impact of the disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate on Indian society, the people in general once again lacked direction and led their parochial lives.
But after the emergence of Mughal empire these problems were solved by the Mughal emperors and they again united India under a single central government.
Conclusion
The last key factor in the decline of the Delhi Sultanate turned out to be Babur’s invasion. Babur’s well-trained and disciplined army entirely uprooted the Delhi Sultanate. The Mughal army defeated Ibrahim Lodi after failing to measure swords with the Mughal army and fell prostrate before it. Babur’s well-equipped an disciplined army completely uprooted the Delhi Sultanate.
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