Medieval India: Delhi Sultanate
Delhi as the center of attraction
When did Delhi become strategically important as a center of political importance? Who were
the major rules of Delhi during the medieval period? Hopefully you will get answers to these
questions in this post.
● Delhi became an important city only in the 12th century.
● Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the Tomara Rajputs, who were
defeated in the middle of the twelfth century by the Chauhans .
Rajput Dynasty
1. Tomaras [early twelfth century – 1165]
2. Ananga Pala [1130 -1145]
3. Chauhans [1165 -1192]
4. Prithviraj Chauhan [1175 -1192]
Delhi Sultans
● By the 13th century Sultanates transformed Delhi into a capital that controlled vast
areas of the subcontinent .
● “Histories”, tarikh (singular) / tawarikh (plural), written in Persian, the language of
administration under the Delhi Sultans by learned men: secretaries, administrators,
poets and courtiers who lived in cities (mainly Delhi) and hardly ever in villages.
● Objectives of these writings : (a) They often wrote their histories for Sultans in the
hope of rich rewards (b) they advised rulers on the need to preserve an “ideal”
social order based on birthright and gender distinctions (c) their ideas were not
shared by everybody.
● In 1236 Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter, Raziyya, became Sultan. Nobles were not
happy at her attempts to rule independently. She was removed from the throne in
1240.
, Early Turkish [1206-1290]
1. Qutbuddin Aybak [1206 -1210]
2. Shamsuddin Iltutmish [1210 -1236]
3. Raziyya [1236 -1240]
4. Ghiyasuddin Balban [1266 -1287]
The expansion of the Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate – Boundaries
● In the early 13th century the control of the Delhi Sultans rarely went beyond heavily
fortified towns occupied by garrisons.
● The Sultans seldom controlled the hinterland, the lands adjacent to a city or port
that supply it with goods and services, of the cities and were therefore dependent
upon trade, tribute or plunder for supplies.
● Controlling garrison towns in distant Bengal and Sind from Delhi was extremely
difficult.
● The state was also challenged by Mongol invasions from Afghanistan and by
governors who rebelled.
● The expansion occurred during the reigns of Ghiyasuddin Balban, Alauddin Khalji
and Muhammad Tughluq.
Khilji Dynasty [1290 – 1320]
1. Jalaluddin Khalji [1290 – 1296]
Delhi as the center of attraction
When did Delhi become strategically important as a center of political importance? Who were
the major rules of Delhi during the medieval period? Hopefully you will get answers to these
questions in this post.
● Delhi became an important city only in the 12th century.
● Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the Tomara Rajputs, who were
defeated in the middle of the twelfth century by the Chauhans .
Rajput Dynasty
1. Tomaras [early twelfth century – 1165]
2. Ananga Pala [1130 -1145]
3. Chauhans [1165 -1192]
4. Prithviraj Chauhan [1175 -1192]
Delhi Sultans
● By the 13th century Sultanates transformed Delhi into a capital that controlled vast
areas of the subcontinent .
● “Histories”, tarikh (singular) / tawarikh (plural), written in Persian, the language of
administration under the Delhi Sultans by learned men: secretaries, administrators,
poets and courtiers who lived in cities (mainly Delhi) and hardly ever in villages.
● Objectives of these writings : (a) They often wrote their histories for Sultans in the
hope of rich rewards (b) they advised rulers on the need to preserve an “ideal”
social order based on birthright and gender distinctions (c) their ideas were not
shared by everybody.
● In 1236 Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter, Raziyya, became Sultan. Nobles were not
happy at her attempts to rule independently. She was removed from the throne in
1240.
, Early Turkish [1206-1290]
1. Qutbuddin Aybak [1206 -1210]
2. Shamsuddin Iltutmish [1210 -1236]
3. Raziyya [1236 -1240]
4. Ghiyasuddin Balban [1266 -1287]
The expansion of the Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate – Boundaries
● In the early 13th century the control of the Delhi Sultans rarely went beyond heavily
fortified towns occupied by garrisons.
● The Sultans seldom controlled the hinterland, the lands adjacent to a city or port
that supply it with goods and services, of the cities and were therefore dependent
upon trade, tribute or plunder for supplies.
● Controlling garrison towns in distant Bengal and Sind from Delhi was extremely
difficult.
● The state was also challenged by Mongol invasions from Afghanistan and by
governors who rebelled.
● The expansion occurred during the reigns of Ghiyasuddin Balban, Alauddin Khalji
and Muhammad Tughluq.
Khilji Dynasty [1290 – 1320]
1. Jalaluddin Khalji [1290 – 1296]
