satish chandra har-anand

286 Pages·2013·1.14 MB·English

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MEDIEVAL INDIA
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MEDIEVAL INDIA

FROM SULTANAT TO THE MUGHALS

PART ONE

DELHI SULTANAT:

(1206-1526)

SATISH CHANDRA

HAR-ANAND

PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD

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HAR-ANAND PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD

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Copyright © Satish Chandra, 1997

Second Edition, 2000

First Reprint, 2001

Second Reprint, 2002

Third Reprint, 2003

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written
permission of the publishers.

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PRINTED IN INDIA
Published by Ashok Gosain and Ashish Gosain for Har-Anand Publications Pvt Ltd and printed at H.S.
offset.

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PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
I am happy that this work which has been reprinted twice since its first publication in 1997, is now in its
second edition.

A few textual corrections have been carried out in the new edition, and a few modifications made where
considered necessary.

SATISH CHANDRA

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PREFACE
This work has been in the offing for a long time. During the past several years, friends, both within the
country and outside, have been asking me to write a book on Medieval India which would bring together
recent thinking and research on the subject, and could be of use both to the general readers and to the
students. However, 1 could not get down to the work in real earnest till I had finished my third trilogy,
Historiography, Religion and State in Medieval India (1996); the two earlier ones being Medieval India:
Society, Jagirdari Crisis and the Village (1982), and Mughal Religions Policies, the Rajputs and the Deccan
(1993),

The present work covers only the Sultanat period from 1206 to 1526. I have adopted the traditional
division, but have tried to bring out the continuities so that the self-imposed demarcation of periods
does not affect an understanding of the broader movement of history.

The present book would hardly have been possible without the friendly, prompting and personal
interest of Shri Narendra Kumar, Chairman, Har-Anand Publications Pvt Ltd.
I am grateful to Shri B. Sahay, Librarian, Indian Council of Historical Research; the Librarian, Nehru
Memorial Museum and Library, and Dr. A.P. Srivastava, the then Director of Libraries, Delhi University,
for their constant help in providing books and reference materials.

I am also grateful to Shri J.K. Gosain of the Society for Indian Ocean Studies, assisted by Ms. Monika
Moorjani, who have gone through the difficult task of reducing the pages of my manuscript to fine type-
written pages, and carrying out the corrections.

Lastly, I am grateful to my wife, Mrs. Savitri Chandra, for her constant help and support, and bearing
with me at all times while 1 was busy with my writing.

SATISH CHANDRA

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CONTENTS
1. West and Central Asia Between the 10th and 12th Centuries, and Turkish Advance towards India 13

i. Developments in West and Central Asia 14

ii. The Turkish Advance towards India:the Hindushahis 16

iii. Rajput Kingdoms in North India (10th- 12th centuries), and the Ghaznavids 19

iv. The Rise of the Ghurids and their Advance into India: the Battles of Tarain—Turkish Expansion into
the Upper Ganga Valley—Comparison of Muizzuddin Muhammad Ghuri and Mahmud Ghazni 22

v. Causes of the Defeat of the Rajputs 29
Map: Delhi Sultanat (13th Century) 35

2. Establishment and Territorial Consolidation of the Delhi Sultanat (1206-1236) 36

i. Qutbuddin Aibak and Iltutmish: 38

Establishment of the Delhi Sultanat: (a) Punjab and Sindh (b) Turkish Conquest of Bihar and Lakhnauti 38

ii. Internal Rebellions, Conquest of Ranthambhor and Gwaliyar, and Raids into Bundelkhand and Malwa
44

iii. Estimate of Iltutmish as a Ruler 45

3. Struggle for the Establishment of a Centralized Monarchy (1236-1290) 47

i. Razia and the Period of Instability (1236-46) 47

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ii. The Age of Balban (1246-87) 51

(a) Balban as naib—struggle with the Chihalgani

(b) Balban as a ruler

iii. Struggle for the Territorial Integrity of the Sultanat 58
iv. Assessment of Balban 62

4. The Mongol Threat to India during the 64 13th-14th Centuries

i. The Mongol Incursions (upto 1292) 64

ii. The Mongol Threat to Delhi (1292-1328) 68

Map: India (Century 1200) 74

5. Internal Restructuring of the Delhi Sultanat, and its Territorial Expansion (1290-1320) 75

i. Jalaluddin and Alauddin Khalji's Approaches to the State 77

ii. Agrarian and Market Reforms of Alauddin 78

iii. The Territorial Expansion of the Delhi Sultanat (upto 1328): (a) Gujarat— (b) Rajasthan—(c) Malwa—
(d) Maharashtra and South India (a) First Phase: Conquest (b) Second Phase: Annexation 86

6. Problems of a Centralised All-India-State— Ghiyasuddin and Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1320-1351) 96

i. Problems and Approaches 97

ii. Experiments and Reforms 99

(a) Administrative and Political Measures: Exodus to Deogiri—The Khurasan and Karachil Expeditions
(b) Economic and Agrarian Reforms: Token Currency—Agrarian Reforms

iii. Rebellions and Changes in the Ruling Class 108

7. Reassertion of a State Based on Benevolence—Disintegration of the Delhi Sultanat 113

i. Firuz's Concept of Benevolence and Peoples' Welfare 113

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ii. Military Expeditions of Firuz and the Impact of their Limited Success: The Bengal Campaigns—Jajnagar
(Orissa) and Nagarkot—The Thatta Campaign (1365-67) 116

iii. Reorganisation of the Nobility and the Administration 119

iv. Developmental Activities—Agrarian and Urban 122

v. Disintegration of the Delhi Sultanat and its Causes 126

8. Government and Administration under 129 the Delhi Sultanat (13th-14th Centuries)

i. The Sultan—the Ministries: The Wazir, Diwan-i-Arz, Diwan-i-Insha, Diwan-i- Risalat, Other Ministries
129

ii. Court and the Royal Household 139
iii. Provincial and Local Governments 140

9. Economic and Social Life in North India 144 Under the Delhi Sultanat

a. Economic Life

i. Agricultural Production, Village Society and the Revenue System 145

ii. Non-agricultural Production: Textiles, Metallurgy, Building Industry, Other Crafts including Paper-
making 151

iii. Trade: (a) Domestic Trade (b) Foreign Trade 154

b. Social Life

i. The Ruling Classes: (a) The Nobility (b) The Chiefs—Emergence of Zamindars 158

ii. Adjuncts to the Ruling Class: Judicial and Junior Administrative Officers, and the Ulema 164

iii. The Trading and Financial Classes 166

iv. Standard of Living 167

v. Towns and Town Life—Artisans and slaves 169

vi. Women, Caste, Social Manners and custom 172
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10. Politics, State, Society and the Economy in South India under Vijayanagar and Bahmanid Rule 175

(c. 1350-1565)

i. The Vijayanagar Empire—its Nature and Conflict with the Bahmani Kingdom 175

ii. The Bahmani Kingdom—its growth and disintegration—Age of Mahmud Gawan (1463-82) 183

iii. Climax of the Vijayanagar Empire and its Disintegration 188

11. Establishment of Portuguese Control in the Indian Seas and its Economic and Political Impact 192

i. The Asian Oceanic Trade Network before the Coming of the Portuguese 194

ii. The Portuguese Estado da India 199

iii. The Portuguese Impact on the Indian Ocean Trade Network 202

12. Rise of Regional Kingdoms in North India and a System of Balance of Power 208

i. Eastern India: Bengal, Assam and Orissa 209

ii. Western India: Gujarat, Malwa and Rajasthan 215
iii. North-West and North India: the Sharqis, the Lodi Sultans and Kashmir 222

13. Religious and Cultural Life Under the Delhi Sultanat 288

i. Architecture 230

ii. Religious Ideas and Beliefs: (a) The Sufi Movement: Early Origins— The Chishti and The Suhrawardi
Silsilahs (b) The Bhakti Movement: Early Origins— The Popular Bhakti in North India— The Vaishnavite
Movement 234

iii. Literature and Fine Arts: Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian, and Regional Languages; Music 257

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14. The State in India under the Sultanat 263

i. Legal, Political and Social Character of the State 264

ii. Relations with the ulema 269

iii. Position of the Hindus 271

iv. Despotism, benevolence and development 275

Glossary 279