S.

N
.
1.
2.

King/sultan

Dynasty
Ghazni

3.

Mahmud of ghazni
Muizzuddin
Muhammad aka
Muhammad Ghori
Qutbuddin Aibak

4.

Iltutmish

5.

Razia

6.

Ghiyasuddin
Balbanaka Ulugh
Khan
Jalaluddin Khalji

7.
8.
9.

13.

Alauddin Khalji
Ghazi Malik aka
Ghiyasuddin
Tughlaq
Muhammad bin
Tughlaq aka Ulugh
Khan
Firoz Tughlaq
Naseer ud din
Mahmud
Khizr Khan

14.
15.
16.
17.

Mubarak Shah
Muhammad Shah
Alam Shah
Buhlul Lodi

18.

Sikandar Lodi

10.

11.
12.

Dynasty
Period
997 - 1030
1192-

Capital

Slave /Mamluk
Qutubi(1206 1290)
Slave /Mamluk
-First Ilbari
(1211-1266)
Slave /Mamluk
- First Ilbari
Slave /Mamluk
- Second Ilbari
(1266 - 1290)
Khalji
(1290-1320)
Khalji
Tughlaq
(1320- 1414)

1206 1210

Indraprasta,
Delhi/Lahore

Ghazni
Ghazni

1211- 1236 Lahore to

Delhi
1236 Delhi
1240
1266- 1287 Delhi

1290-1296

Delhi

1296-1316
1320-1325

Delhi
Delhi

Tughlaq

1325-1351

Delhi

Tughlaq

1351- 1388 Delhi

1394-1412

Sayyid
(1414 1451)

1414
1421

Lodi
(1451-1526)
Lodi

Delhi

-1445
1445-1451
1451-1489

Delhi

1489-1517

Delhi

19.
20.

Ibrahim Lodi
Babur

21.
22.

Humayun
Farid Aka Sher
Shah
Akbar
Jahangir
Shah Jaha
Aurangjeb
Bahdurshah I
Jahandar Shah
(Julfiqar Khan)
Farrukh Siyar
(nephew)
(Saiyid Brothers)
Muhammad Shah
(Saiyid Brothers)
Ahmad Shah
Alamgir II
Shah Alam II
Akbar II, aka
Akbar Shah II
Bahadur Shah Zafar

23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.

30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
S.N

Department

1.
2.
3.
4.

Diwan-i- Wizarat
Diwan-i-Ariz
Diwan-i- Rasalat
Diwan-iMustakhraj

5.

Diwan-i- Riyasat

Lodi
Mughal
(1526 -1857)
Mughal
Sur

1517-1526
1526-1530

Mughal
Mughal
Mughal
Mughal
Mughal
Mughal

1556 -1605
1605 -1627
1627 -1658
1658 -1707
1707-1712
1712-1713

Agra
Agra
Agra
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi

Mughal

1713-1719

Delhi

Mughal

1719-1748

Delhi

Mughal
Mughal
Mughal
Mughal

1748-1754
1754 -1759
1759 -1806
1806-1837

Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi

Mughal

1837-1858

Delhi

Introduction
By

Balwan
Alauddin Khalji

Alauddin Khalji

Delhi
Delhi

1530-1540 Delhi
1540 -1555 Delhi

Purpose

Officer

Finance
military
Religious affairs
Dept of
Revenue,
Arrears ( Check
corruption in
Revenue)
Day to Day
Admin

Wazir
Ariz-i-mumalik
chief Sadr

Naib-i-Riyasat
(Most powerful
after Sultan)

6.

Diwan-i-Kohi

Muhammad bin
Tughlaq

7.

Diwan-i- Insha

8.

Diwan-i-Khairat

Firoz Tughlaq

9.

Firoz Tughlaq

10.

Diwan-iBandgan
Judicial

S
N

Sultanat
e

1.
2.

Sultanat
e
Iqta

3.
4.

Shiq
Pargana

5.

Village

Agricultural
Correspondence
between the
ruler and the
officials
To care Orphan
and Widow
Affairs of slaves
Chief Qazi

Officer

Vijaynaga
r
Empire
Division

Officer

Muqtis or
Walis
nobles
Shiqdar
Amil

Mandalam

Mandaleswara Suba
or Nayak

Muqadda
m or
Chaudhari

Grama

Division

Mugha Officer
l
Empire

Sultan

Nadu
Sthala

Cirkar
Pargana
Or
Mahal

Fauzdar

S.
N

Book

Writer

Description

1.

Kitab-ulYamini &
Tareekh-iYamini

Utbi

He was court historian of

Mamhud Gajnavi.

2.
3.

4.

5.
6.

7.
8.

9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

15.

Kitab-ulHind
Shah Nama
Sangeet
mimansa,
Sangeet
Raj,
Sangeet
Ratnakar
Man
Kautuhal
Tabaqat-iNasari

Alberunis

It is written in Arabic.

Firdausi
Rana Kumbha

Its about Mahmud Gajnavi.

Raja Man Singh of

Gwalior
Minhaj-us-Siraj

a great musical work

Tareekh-iAmir Khusro
Dilli
Khazain-ul- Amir Khusro
Futuh
Tughlaq
Nama
Fatwa-iJahandari
Kitab-ulRehla
Tarikh-iFirozShahi
Futuhat-iFiroz Shahi
Tarikh-iMubaraksh
ahi
Rajatarangi
ni

Amir Khusro

It is written in persian, a
general history of Muslim
dynasties up to 1260.It is
devoted to sultan
Nasiruddin Mahmud, a
younger son of Iltutmish.

It is about Alauddins
conquests.
It deals with the rise of
Ghyiasuddin Tughlaq

Barani
Ibn- Batuta
Barani
Feroz Shah Tughlaq

It talked about postal

department.
It contains the history of
Tughlaq dynasty.
Autobiography

Yahiya-bin-Ahemad

It is single source to know

about sayid dynasty.

Kalhana

It belongs to the period of

Zain-ul-Abidin( 1420-

16. Premvatika,

Raskhan

17.

HAZRAT SHAH
MOHAMMAD GHOUSE

Sujan
Rskhan
Jawahir-eKhamsa ,
Piran-e-Pir
Bijak

Kabir

1470), the ruler of

Kashmir.
It is in pure Brajbhasha. It
is about Krishna.

19. Amukthama Krishna Deva Raya

It comprise of Ad-mangal,
Sakhi, Sabads, and Ramaini.
Amar Mul contains his dialogue
with Dharamdas.
Telgu

20.

Sanskrit

18.

21.

lyadha
Jambavati
Kalyanam
and
Ushaparinay
am
Maduravijay
am

22. Manucharit

23.

24.
25.
26.
27.
28.

am,Harikat
hasaram
Kavi Priya,
Ram
Chandrika,
Rasik Priya
Tareekh-eFarishta
Kitab-eNavras
Tuzuk-iBaburi
Humayunn
ama
Tabaqat-iAkbari

Krishna Deva Raya

Gangadevi

Allasani Peddanna

Keshavdas(1555-1617)

Mohammad
Qasim Farishta
Ibrahim Adil Shah II
Babur
Gulbadan Begum
Nizammudin Ahmad

Book of Nine Rasas

Autobiography written
Turkey language
She was daughter of
Humayun.
It is written in Farsi.

29. Ain-i-

Abul Fazal

Akbari and
Akbar
Nama
30. Ramznama

Abul Faizi

31. Anwar-I-

Abul Fazal

Translation of
mahabaharta to Persian
Translation of panctantra
to Persian
Autobiography

Suhaili

32.

Tuzuk-iJahangiri

33. Padshah

Jahangir
Abdul Hamid Lahori

Nama
34. Shah Jahan Inayat Khan
Nama
Dara Shikoh
35. Sirr-eAkbar
36. Majma-ul- Dara Shikoh
Bahrain

S
N

Name of
Foreigner

1.

Alberuni

2.

Ibne Batuta

3.
4.
5.

Nicolo de Conti
Abdur Razzak
Domingo Paes

6.

Ralph Finch

7.

Francisco Pelsaert

Time

Translation of upnishad in
Farsi.
It was his original work.

King
/Empero
r
Mahmud
Gaznavi
Muhammad
Bin Tughlaq

Deva Raya
Krishna
Deva Raya
15831591

He was shah Jahans court

historian.

Akbar

Jahangir

Description

He was morrocon traveler.He

made Kazi of delhi and
ambassador to china.
Venetian traveler
Persian traveler
Portuguese traveler
He was first English
merchant to reach Agra and
Fatehpur Sikri.
He was a Dutch. He wrote a
book Remonstrance about

8.
9.

Peter Mundy
Jean-Baptiste
Tavernier

10.

Franois Bernier

11.

Niccolao Manucci

16381663

Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan

(1639
1708)

Shah Jahan.

Jahangir reign.
Italian Traveler
He was a 17th-century
French gem merchant and
traveler. He wrote TravelsIn-India.
He was a
french physician and traveler.
He was briefly personal
physician to Prince Dara
Shikoh and after him
attached to the court of the
Emperor Aurangzeb for
around 12 years during his
stay in India.
He was an Italian writer and
traveller. He worked in
the Mughal courtin the
service of Dara Shikoh as
topachi. Manucci is famous
for his work "Storia do
Mogor", an account of
Mughal history and life.

S.N
.
1.

Sultanate

Founder

Description

Nizamshahi of
Ahmednagar

2.

Qutubshahi of
Golconda
(Hyderabad)

Malik Ahmed Shah Jahan annexed it

and Nizam Shahi ruler
Hussain Shah, sent as a
prisoner to the fort of
Gwalior.
Quli Qutub
Mughal emperor
Shah
Aurangzeb's army
conquered Golkonda in
1687.

3.
4.

Baridshahi of Bidar
Imadshahi of Berar

5.

Adilshahi of Bijapur

S.N. Name
Genghis
1.
Khan
Timur
2.
Nadir shah
3.
Ahmad
4.
Shah Abdali

The Sultanate was

conquered
by Aurangzeb in 1686
with the fall of Bijapur,
bringing the dynasty to
an end.

Indian King
Iltutmish

Time
1211-1236

Naeeruddin Mahmud
Muhammad Shah

1398
1739
1748-1761

S.n. Name of Battle

1.
Ghagra

2.
3.

Yusuf Adil
Shah

War

3rd war of
Panipat

Description
Between Babur and Mahmud Lodi in
5may, 1529. It was the last battle of
Babur.

Rajput Kingdoms
The Gurjara-Pratiharas were the earliest of the Rajput rulers. Its
first great leader was Harischandra with his capital at Bhinmal.
Gurjaras were in different branches. One branch ruled Gujarat
and another at Avanthi.
The Pratiharas involved themselves in a three-cornered contest
with the Palas of Bengal and the Rashtrakutas of Deccan.Later the
Pratiharas became weak.
The Chauhans, the most valiant of the Rajput races, ruled Ajmir.
Vigraharaj was their most important king, who occupied Delhi.
The Paramaras were also important Rajput rulers of this period. The
most important king was Bhoja.
Prophet Muhammad (570 -632)
The religion Islam was born at Mecca in Saudi Arabia in 570 AD. Its
founder was Prophet Muhammad. He migrated to Medina in 622 A.D.,
which was the starting point of the Muslim calendar and the
Muslim era called Hijra. After eight years he returned to Mecca with
his followers. He died in 632 A.D. The followers of Muhammad set up
an empire called the Caliphate. The Umayyads and the Abbasids
were called the caliphs.

In 712 A.D., Muhammad bin Qasim invaded Sind. He was an Arab.

He was the commander of the Umayyad kingdoms Al Hazzaj .
Qasim defeated Dahir, the ruler of Sind. His capital Aror was
captured. The people of Sind were given the status of zimmis
(protected subjects).

Mahmud of Ghazni (A.D. 997-1030)

The Turkish governors established independent kingdom. One among
them was Alptigin whose capital was Ghazni. He was succeeded by
his son-in-law Sabuktigin who succeeded in capturing Peshawar
from Jayapala. He was succeeded by his son, Mahmud.
Mahmud is said to have made 17 raids into India. The initial raids
were against the Hindu Shahi kingdom in which its king Jayapala
was defeated in 1001. His successor Anandapala fought against
Mahmud but he was also defeated in the Battle of Waihind, the Hind
Shahi capital near Peshawar in 1008. In 1011, he raided Nagarkot
in the Punjab hills and Thaneshwar near Delhi. In 1018, Mahmud
plundered the holy city of Mathura and also attacked Kannauj. In
1024, Mahmud marched from Multan across Rajaputana, defeated the
Solanki King Bhimadeva I, plundered Anhilwad and sacked the
famous temple of Somanatha.
Mahmud died in 1030 A.D. He built a wide empire from the Punjab in
the east to the Caspian sea on the west and from Samarkand in the
north to Gujarat in the south. The Ghaznavid empire roughly included
Persia, Trans-oxyana, Afghanistan and Punjab.
He issued silver coin with Sanskrit inscription on one side and
Arabic on other side.

Firdausi was the poet-laureate in the court of Mahmud. He was the

author of Shah Namah. Alberuni stayed in Mahmuds court and
wrote the famous Kitab-i-Hind, an account on India. He was the first
Muslim who studied purana. Al-Utbi was his court Historian.
Muhammad Ghori
Muizzuddin Muhammad popularly known as Muhammad Ghori
brought Ghazni under his control. Unlike Mahmud of Ghazni, he
wanted to conquer India and extend his empire in this direction.
In 1175, Muhammad Ghori captured Multan and occupied whole of
Sind in his subsequent expeditions. In 1186 he attacked Punjab,
captured it from Khusru Malik and annexed it to his dominions.
The annexation of Punjab carried his dominion eastward to the Sutlej
and led his invasion of the Chauhan kingdom.
He attacked on on Gujarat on 1178 but got defeated by Mulraj II or
Bhim II. It was his first defeat in india.
The Battle of Tarain (1191-1192)
The Hindu princes of north India formed a confederacy under the
command of Prithiviraj Chauhan. Prithviraj defeated Ghori in the
battle of Tarain near Delhi in 1191 A.D.
To avenge this defeat he gathered an army of 1,20,000 men. Prithviraj
gathered a large force consisting of 3,00,000 horses, 3000 elephants
and a large body of foot soldiers. Many Hindu rajas and chieftains also
joined him. In the ensuing Second Battle of Tarain in 1192,
Muhammad Ghori thoroughly routed the army of Prithiviraj, who was
captured and killed.
The first Muslim kingdom was thus firmly established in India at
Ajmer. Muhammad Ghori returned to Ghazni leaving behind his
favourite general Qutb-ud-din Aibak to make further conquests in
India. Aibak consolidated his position in India by occupying places
like Delhi and Meerut.

In 1193 he prepared the ground for another invasion by Muhammad

Ghori against the Gahadavala ruler Jayachandra.Kanauj was
occupied by the Muslims after the battle of Chandawar(at the
Yamuna bank near firozabad).The Battles of Tarain and
Chandawar contributed to the establishment of Turkish rule in
India.
The causes for the downfall of Hindu states have to be analysed
historically. The most important cause was that they lacked unity.
Secondly, many Hindu states were declining in power. Their military
methods were out of date and far inferior to those of Muslims.
Indians continued to rely on elephants while the Muslims
possessed quick-moving cavalry. The Muslims soldiers had better
organization and able leaders.
Their religious zeal and their greed for the greater wealth of India
provided stimulus to them. Among the Hindus, the duty of fighting was
confined to a particular class, the Kshatriyas.
Ghori issued coin which contained goddess Lakshmi on one side
and kalma in Arabic on other side.
Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji (- 1206) was a Turkic military
general/slave of Qutb-ud-din Aibak. The biggest credit in his record
is the conquest of Bengal and Bihar. He destroyed Nalanda and
vikramshila university in 1202.He defeated Bengali king
Lakshman Sen in 1204-05.

Delhi Sultanate
The Muslim invasions into India had ultimately resulted in the
establishment of Delhi Sultanate which existed from A.D. 1206 to
1526.
Five different dynasties the Slave, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyids and
Lodis ruled under the Delhi Sultanate.
Slave Dynasty

The Slave dynasty was also called Mamluk dynasty. Mamluk was the
Quranic term for slave. The Slave dynasty ruled Delhi from A.D. 1206
to 1290. In fact, three dynasties were established during this period.
1. Qutbi dynasty (1206-1211) founded by Qutbuddin Aibak.
2. First Ilbari dynasty (1211- 1266) founded by Iltutmish.
3. Second Ilbari dynasty (1266-1290) founded by Balban.

Qutbuddin Aibak (1206-1210)

Qutbuddin Aibak was a slave of Muhammad Ghori, who made him the
Governor of his Indian possessions. After the death of Ghori in
1206, Aibak founded the Slave dynasty as well as the Delhi
Sultanate.
Muslim writers call Aibak Lakh Bakshor i.e. giver of lakhs because he
gave liberal donations to them.
Aibak patronized the great scholar Hasan Nizami.
Aibak died suddenly while playing chaugan (horse polo) in 1210.
He was succeeded by his son Aram Baksh, who was replaced by
Iltutmish after eight months.
Iltutmish (1211-1236)
ltutmish belonged to the Ilbari tribe and hence his dynasty was
named as Ilbari dynasty.
Iltutmish was a slave to Aibak, who made him his-son-in law by
giving his daughter in marriage to him. In 1211 Iltutmish defeated
Aram Baksh and became Sultan.
He shifted his capital from Lahore to Delhi.
Temujin popularly known as Chengiz Khan, the leader of the
Mongols, started invading Central Asia. He defeated Jalaluddin
Mangabarni, the ruler of Kwarizam. Mangabarni crossed the river

Indus and sought asylum from Iltutmish. Iltutmish refused to give him
shelter in order to save his empire from the onslaught of the Mongols.
He also annexed Sind and Multan into the Delhi Sultanate. He
received the mansur, the letter of recognition, from the Abbasid
Caliph in 1229 by which he became the legal sovereign ruler of
India. In this way Iltutmish was first free Muslim king of Delhi.
Later he nominated his daughter Raziya as his successor. Hence
hereditary succession to Delhi Sultanate was initiated by
Iltutmish.
Minhaj-us-Siraj, Taj-ud-din, Nizam-ul-mulk ,Muhammad Janaidi, Malik
Qutb-ud-din Hasan and Fakhrul-Mulk Isami were his contemporary
scholars.
He built a magnificent mosque at Ajmir.
Iltutmish had also created a new class of ruling elite of forty powerful
military leaders, the Forty- Turkan iChahalgani or Chalisa.

Raziya (1236-1240)
Although Iltutmish nominated his daughter Raziya as his successor, the
Qazi of Delhi and Wazir put Ruknuddin Feroz on the throne. When
the governor of Multan revolted, Ruknuddin marched to suppress that
revolt. Using this opportunity, Raziya with the support of Amirs of Delhi
, seized the throne of Delhi Sultanate.
She appointed an Abyssinian slave Yakuth as Master of the Royal
Horses.
In 1240, Altunia, the governor of Bhatinda revolted against her.
She went in person to suppress the revolt but Altunia killed Yakuth and
took Raziya prisoner.
In the meantime, the Turkish nobles put Bahram, another son of
Iltutmish on the throne. However, Raziya won over her captor, Altunia,
and after marrying him proceeded to Delhi. But she was defeated and
killed.

In 1246 Ghiyasuddin Balban, who was also known as Ulugh Khan

succeeded in putting Nasiruddin Mahmud, a younger son of
Iltutmish, as Sultan and served as Naib or regent to Sultan
Nasiruddin Mahmud.

Balban (1266 - 1287)

In 1266 Nasiruddin Mahmud died without issues and Balban ascended
the throne. He knew that the real threat to the monarchy was from the
nobles called the Forty. He removed this system. He adopted blood
and iron policy.
According to Balban the Sultan was Gods shadow on earth and
the recipient of divine grace. He took the title of Zil-e-Illahi meaning
mirror image of God. Balban introduced rigorous court discipline and
new customs such as prostration(Sijda) and kissing the Sultans
feet to prove his superiority over the nobles.
He also introduced the Persian festival of Nauroz to impress the
nobles and people with his wealth and power. He stood forth as the
champion of Turkish nobility. Indian Muslims were not given important
post in the government. He spared only the most obedient nobles and
eliminated all others by fair or foul means.
Balban established a separate military department ,Diwan-i-Arz
to counter Mongols and reorganized the army.
He enhanced the power of the monarchy. However, he could not fully
safeguard India from the Mongol invasions. Robbers were mercilessly
pursued and put to death. As a result, the roads became safe for
travel.
Balban died in 1287. He was undoubtedly one of the main
architects of the Delhi Sultanate.

When Balban died, one of his grandson Kaiqubad was made the
Sultan of Delhi. After four years of incompetent rule, Jalaluddin Khalji
captured the throne of Delhi in 1290.
Khalji Dynasty(1290-1320)
The founder of the Khalji dynasty was Jalaluddin Khalji. Alauddin
Khalji treacherously murdered his father-in-law Jalaluddin Khalji
and usurped the throne of Delhi.
Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316)
He created a kingdom which was free from sharia. He wanted to
start a new religion and conquer the world. He took the title Sikander
e-Sani.
He was convinced that the general prosperity of the nobles, intermarriages between noble families, inefficient spy-system and
drinking liquor were the basic reasons for the rebellions.
He confiscated the properties of the nobles. The intelligence system
was reorganized and all the secret activities of the nobles were
immediately reported to the Sultan. The public sale of liquor and drugs
was totally stopped. Social gatherings and festivities without the
permission of Sultan were forbidden.
Alauddin Khalji introduced the system of dagh(branding of horses)
and prepared huliya(descriptive list of soldiers).
Alauddin Khalji introduced the system of paying salaries in cash to
the soldiers led to price regulations popularly called as Market
Reforms. Alauddin Khalji established four separate markets in
Delhi, one for grain; another for cloth, sugar, dried fruits, butter
and oil; a third for horses, slaves and cattle; and a fourth for
miscellaneous commodities.
Each market was under the control of a high officer called
Shahna-i-Mandi. There were secret agents called munhiyans who

sent reports to the Sultan regarding the functioning of these markets.

He started PDS.
A separate department called Diwan-i- Riyasat was created under an
officer called Naib-i-Riyasat.
Alauddin Khalji was the first Sultan of Delhi who ordered for the
measurement of land. He took back milk and wakf land which
resulted in increase of khalis land. He took land revenue tax upto
50%.
He started collection of two new tax.
1.Ghari(House) Tax
2.Charai Tax
Alauddin Khalji sent his army six times against the Mongols. The first
two was successful. But the third Mongol invader Khwaja came up
to Delhi but they were prevented from entering into the capital
city.
The next three Mongol invasions were also dealt with severely. The
north western frontier was fortified and Gazi Malik was appointed
to as the Warden of Marches to protect the frontier. Sindhu river
acted as boundary between mongols and khalzi.
He sent Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan to capture Gujarat in 1299.
Kafur, an eunuch, was taken to Delhi and later he was made the Malik
Naib military commander.
Then in 1301, Alauddin marched against Ranthampur and after a
three months siege it fell. In 1303 Alauddin stormed the Chittor fort.
Raja RatanSingh and his soldiers fought valiantly but submitted. The
Rajput women including Rani Padmini performed jauhar. This Padmini
episode was graphically mentioned in the book Padmavath written by
Jayasi.
Alauddin Khaljis greatest achievement was the conquest of
Deccan and the far souths Four important dynasties Yadavas of

Devagiri, Kakatiyas of Warangal, Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra

and the Pandyas of Madurai.
In Alauddin sent Malik Kafur against the ruler of Devagiri,
Ramachandra Deva, who submitted. In 1309 Malik Kafur launched
his campaign against Warangal. Its ruler Pratabarudra Deva was
defeated. Malik Kafurs next target was the Hoysala ruler Vira
Ballala III. Vira Pandya fled the capital Madurai.
Alauddin Khalji died in 1316.Mubarak Shah and Khusru Shah were
the successors of Alauddin Khalji. Ghazi Malik, the governor of
Dipalpur, killed the Sultan Khusru Shah and ascended the throne of
Delhi under the title of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq in 1320.

The Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1414)

The founder of the Tughlaq dynasty was Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq or
Ghazi Malik. Ghiyasuddin laid the foundation for Tughlaqabad
near Delhi. Tughlaq Dynasty ruled longest in Delhi sultanate.
Ulugh Khan was said to have treacherously killed his father and
ascended the throne with the title Muhammad bin Tughlaq in 1325.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325-1351)

Contemporary writers like Isami, Barani and Ibn Battutah were
unable to give a correct picture about his personality.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the only Delhi Sultan who had received
a comprehensive literary, religious and philosophical education.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq Blunders
1. Muhammad bin Tughlaq wanted to make Devagiri his second
capital so that he might be able to control South India better
2. Token Currency
3. Taxation in Doab
Agricultural Reforms
a. He launched a scheme by which takkavi loans (loans for
cultivation) were given to the farmers to buy seed and to
extend cultivation.
b. Separate department for agriculture, Diwan- i- Kohi was
established. He encouraged agriculture according to crop
pattern for maximum produce.
He introduced new gold coin which were called Dinar by Ibn
Battutah. Ibn Battutah was Moroccan traveler. He was appointed
Kazi of Delhi by Muhammad bin-Tughlaq. He wrote a book KitabUl-Rehla.
He used to participate in Hindu festival specially Holi. He appointed
Indian Muslims to govt. posts.
Mohammad bin Tughlaq died in 1351. According to Baduani, the
Sultan was freed from his people and the people were freed from the
Sultan.
Firoz Tughlaq (1351 - 1388)
After the death of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq in 1351 ,his cousin Firoz
Tughlaq, had the unique distinction of being chosen as sultan by
the nobles.

He appointed Khan-i-Jahan Maqbal, a Telugu Brahmin convert as

wazir (prime minister).
The reign of Firoz Tughlaq was more notable for his administration.
He pleased the nobles and assured hereditary succession to their
properties.Thus the iqta system was not only revived but also it was
made hereditary.
Feroz Shah Tughlaq following dictum of Quran. He levied only 4 taxes
named
1. Kharaj(tax on agricultural land),
2. Khums-one-fifth of spoils of war, booty collected from nonbelievers after a military campaign. This tax was paid to the Caliph
or Sultan, representing the state of Islam.
3. Zazia Tax on Non Believer
4. Zakat-is the practice of taxation and redistribution, including
benefits paid to poor Muslims, imposed upon Muslims based on
accumulated wealth.
Firoz established first time in India an employment office and PWD.
He was the first Sultan to impose irrigation tax or Haqq-i-Sharab. It
was 1/10 of produce. But at the same time he dug irrigation canals
and wells.
He also developed royal factories called karkhanas in which
thousands of slaves were employed.
New department called Diwan-i-Khairat was created to take care of
poor Muslims, orphan women and widows. He established a charity
hospital Dar-ul-Shafa. He arranged Haz yatra at the cost of state
treasury.
Firoz patronized scholars like Barani and Afif.
As he was guided by the ulemas, he was intolerant towards Shia
Muslims and Sufis. He treated Hindus as second grade citizens and
imposed Jiziya first time on Brahmins also.
Diwan-i-Wizarat reached to its glory in Firoz Tughlaq time.

Naseer ud din Mahmud (1394-1412) was last in tughlaq dynasty.

Famous mongol warrior Timur attacke india in his time (1398).
Sayyids (1414-1451)
The invasion of Timur in 1398 in the reign of had worsened the
situation. He withdrew from India in 1399 and his invasion in fact
delivered a death blow to the Tughlaq dynasty.
Before his departure from India, Timur appointed Khizr Khan as
governor of Multan. He captured Delhi and founded the Sayyid dynasty
in 1414. He died in 1421 and was succeeded by his son, Mubarak
Shah. Mubarak Shah was succeeded by his son Muhammad Shah.
Muhammad Shah died in 1445 and was succeeded by his son Alam
Shah (1445-1451) the weakest of the Sayyid princes. He handed over
the throne to Buhlul Lodi and retired to Badaun.
Lodi Dynasty (1451-1526)
The Lodis, who succeeded Sayyids, were Afghans. Buhlul Lodi was
the first Afghan ruler while his predecessors were all Turks. He
died in 1489 and was succeeded by his son, Sikandar Lodi.
Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517)
He was the greatest of the three Lodi sovereigns. Despite certain
laudable qualities, he was a bigot. He destroyed many Hindu temples
and imposed many restrictions on the Hindus.
Sikander Lodi laid the foundation of Agra in 1504 at the bank of
Yamuna to see greater control over Rajput kings.
Sikander Lodi introduced Gaz-i-sikandari for uniform measurement
of land. He withdrawn zakat(grain tax).
Sikandar Lodi was succeeded by his eldest son Ibrahim Lodi. He
was arrogant and used to insult courtier. Greatly displeased by the
arrogance of Ibrahim Lodi, Daulat Khan Lodi, the governor of the
Punjab, invited Babur to invade India. Babur marched against Delhi

and defeated and killed Ibrahim Lodi in the first battle of Panipat
(1526).
INDIA UNDER THE DELHI SULTANAT
Administration
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic state with its religion Islam.
Though Barni saw this not as Islamic state as most of the people didnt
follow Islam.
The Sultans considered themselves as representatives of the
Caliph. They included the name of the Caliph in the khutba( prayer
) and inscribed it on their coins.
Iltutmish, Muhammad bin Tughlaq and Firoz Tughlaq obtained
Mansur or letter of permission from the Caliph.
There was no clear law of succession during this period. All the sons
had equal claim to the throne.
Central Government
The post of Naib was the most powerful one. The Naib practically
enjoyed all the powers of the Sultan and exercised general
control over all the departments. Next to him was the Wazir who
was heading the finance department called Diwan-i- Wizarat.
The military department was called Diwan-i-Ariz. It was introduced
by Balwan. It was headed by Ariz-i-mumalik. He was responsible
for recruiting the soldiers and administering the military
department. He was not the commander-in-chief of the army. The
Sultan himself was the commander-in-chief of the army. Under
Alauddin Khalji the strength of the army crossed three lakh soldiers.
Diwan-i- Rasalat was the department of religious affairs. It was
headed by chief Sadr. Grants were made by this department for the
construction and maintenance of mosques, tombs and
madrasas.

The head of the judicial department was the chief Qazi. Muslim
personal law or sharia was followed in civil court. The Hindus were
governed by their own personal law and their cases were dispensed by
the village panchayats.
The criminal law was based on the rules and regulations made by
the Sultans.
Javabit implied law of land in sultanate period.
The department of correspondence was called Diwan-i- Insha. All
the correspondence between the ruler and the officials was dealt
with by this department.
Local Administration
The provinces under the Delhi Sultanate were called iqtas. They
were initially under the control of the nobles. The governors of the
provinces were called the muqtis or walis. They were to maintain law
and order and collect the land revenue.
Fawazil in the Sultanate period means excess amount paid to the
exchequer by the iqtadars.
The provinces were divided into shiq and the next division was
pargana.The shiqwas under the control of shiqdar. The pargana
comprising a number of villages was headed by amil.The village
remained the basic unit of the administration.The village headman
was known as muqaddam or chaudhri. The village accountant was
called patwari.

Economy
The lands were classified into three categories:
Iqta land lands assigned to officials as iqtas instead of payment
for their services.

Khalisa land land under the direct control of the Sultan and the
revenues collected were spent for the maintenance of royal court
and royal household.
Inamland land assigned or granted to religious leaders or
religious institutions.
The peasantry paid one third of their produce as land revenue, and
sometimes even one half of the produce.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq created a separate agricultural
department, Diwan-i -Kohi.
Sultans like Muhammad bi Tughlaq and Firoz Tughlaq took efforts to
enhance agricultural production by providing irrigational facilities and
by providing takkavi loans.
A number of cities and towns had grown during this period. Lahore,
Multan, Broach, Anhilwara, Laknauti, Daulatabad, Delhi and Jaunpur
were important among them. Delhi remained the largest city in the
East.
Overseas trade was under the control of Multanis and Afghan
Muslim. Inland trade was dominated by the Gujarati Marwari
merchants and Muslim Bohra merchants.
Sarais or rest houses on the highways were maintained for the
convenience of the travelers.
Cotton textile and silk industry flourished in this period. Sericulture
was introduced on a large scale which made India less dependent on
other countries for the import of raw silk.
The system of coinage had also developed during the Delhi
Sultanate. Ltutmish introduced the Arabic coinage into India.
Iltutmish issued several types of coins as silver tankas and Jitals
(Copper).The silver tanka weighing 175 grams became a standard
coin in medieval India.
Alauddin Masud shah put name of last caliph in his coin.

Shasgani was also a silver coin. It was introduced by Firoz

Tughlaq.
One silver tanka was divided into 48 jitals during the Khalji rule
and 50 jitals during the Tughlaq rule. Gold coins or dinars became
popular during the reign of Alauddin Khalji after his South Indian
conquests.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq issued several types of gold and silver coins.
They were minted at eight different places. At least twenty five
varieties of gold coins were issued by him. Copper coins were less in
number and dateless.

Social Life
Traditional caste system with the Brahmins on the upper strata of
the society was prevalent. The subservient position of women also
continued and the practice of sati was widely prevalent.
The seclusion of women:-The Arabs and Turks brought the purdah
system into India and it became widespread among the Hindu women
in the upper classes of north India.
During the Sultanate period, the Muslim society remained divided into
several ethnic and racial groups. The Turks, Iranians, Afghans and
Indian Muslims developed exclusively and there were no
intermarriages between these groups.
Hindu converts from lower castes were also not given equal
respect. The Muslim nobleso ccupied high offices and very rarely
the Hindu nobles were given high position in the government.
The Hindus were considered zimmi or protected people for which
they were forced to pay a tax called jiziya. In the beginning jiziya
was collected as part of land tax. Firoz Tughlaq separated it from
the land revenue and collected jiziya as a separate tax. Sometimes
Brahmins were exempted from paying jiziya.

Firoz Tughlaq established translation department so that Hindu

and Muslim religious text can be translated. Its aim was to develop
communal harmony.
Art and Architecture
The art and architecture of the Delhi Sultanate period was distinct
from the Indian style. The Turks introduced arches, domes, lofty
towers or minarets and decorations using the Arabic script.
In the beginning, they converted temples and other structures
demolished to make mosques. For example, the Quwwat-ul-Islam
mosque near Qutub Minar in Delhi and Adhai Din Ka Jhopra in
Ajmer was built by Aibek using the materials obtained from
destroying many Hindu and Jain temples.
The most magnificent building of the 13 th century was the Qutub
Minar which was founded by Aibek and completed by Iltutmish.
This seventy one metre tower, the tallest stone tower in India
(238 ft.), was dedicated to the Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakthiyar
Kaki. Firoz Tuglaq added two more story to it when 4th story was
struck by lightning.
Alauddin Khalj also built a famous gateway to Qutub Minar known as
Alai Darwaza and constructed a new capital at Siri.
The palace complex called Tughlaqabad with its beautiful lake
was built during the period of Ghyasuddin Tughlaq. Muhammad bin
Tughlaq built the tomb of Ghyasuddin on a high platform.
About 300 new towns were built during Firoz Tughlaq reign. He
established Indias first PWD dept. He planted 1200 fruit garden near
Delhi due to his fondness for gardening.
The famous among them was Firozabad near Red Fort in Delhi,
now called Firoz Shah Kotla.
Feroz Shah brought the two Asokan pillars from Khijrabad or
Topara and Meerut to Delhi.

Feroz Shah also laid foundation of Jaunpur in memory of his cousin

Jaun Khan(Muhamd Bin Tughlaq). Jaunpur became independent
kingdom in the reign of sultan Muhammad shah II in 1394. Its
founder was Malik Sarvar who was wazir of sultan Muhammad shah
II. The dynasty founded by him was named Sharqi because of his title
Malik-us-Sharq (the ruler of the east). The most acclaimed ruler of
this dynasty was Ibrahim Shah Sharqi. He is known as shiraz-ihind. Jaunpur was called Shiraj of India in this time. The last ruler
Hussain Shah was overthrown by Bahlul Lodi, and Jaunpur sultanate
was permanently annexed to Delhi sultanate by Sikandar Lodi.
The Lodi garden in Delhi was the example for the architecture of the
Lodis.
Jamia Masjid is a mosque in Srinagar. An important mosque was
built by Sultan Sikandar in 1400 AD. The son of Sultan Sikandar,
Zain-ul-Abidin got the mosque extended It has burj, Persian
architecture and similarity with buddha pagoda.
Zain-ul-Abidin (1418-1419,1420-1470) is called Akbar of
Kashmir. Zain-ul-Abidin earned a name for himself for his policy of
religious toleration and public welfare activities. He abolished Jaziya
on the Hindu majority of Kashmir, banned the slaughter of cows and
extended liberal patronage to Sanskrit language and literature.
Keerti Stambha in Chittor later served as a model for the Jaya
Stambha, constructed during 1458-68 by Rana Kumbha to
commemorate his victory over Mahmud Khilji. KirtiStambh Prashasti
throws light on it. Its Prasahtikar were Abhikavi and Mahes bhatta.

Music
Few musical instruments such as sarangi and rabab were
introduced during this period. The invention of Sitar(fusion of Veena
and Irani Tambura) and tabla was also attributed to Amir Khusrau.
Amir Khusrau introduced many new ragas such as ghora and
sanam. He evolved a new style of light music known as qwalis by
blending the Hindu and Iranian systems.

The Indian classical work Ragadarpan was translated into Persian

during the reign of Firoz Tughlaq.
Pir Bhodan, a Sufi saint was one of the great musicians of this period.

Literature
Sultan of Delhi sultanate accepted Farsi as court Language.
The most famous historians of this period were Hasan Nizami,
Minhaj-us-Siraj, Ziauddin Barani, and Shams-Siraj Afif.
Alauddin Khalj patronized poets like Amir Khusrau and Amir
Hasan.
Amir Khusrau (1252-1325) was the famous Persian writer of this
period. He was born at Patiyali in Kasganj in UP. He called himself
Tuti-I-Hind. He created a new style of Persian poetry called
Sabaq-i-Hind or the Indian style. He put great effort in rise of Hindi
(Khadi boli). He is considered main architect of khadi boli. He was
disciple of sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya. He has seen tenure of 7
sultan Balban,Kaikubad,Jalaluddin khalzi, Alauudin khalzi,Mubarak
shah,Giyasuddin Tughlaq and Muhmmad Bin Tughlaq. He was a
poet ,musician and historian.
The book Tutu Nama or Book of the Parrot became popular and
translated into Turkish and later into many European languages.
Zia Nakshabi was the first to translate Sanskrit stories into Persian.
BHAKTI MOVEMENT IN MEDIEVAL INDIA
SN Name
1. Shankara
2.
3.

Ramanuj
a
Namdeva

Time
788820
10171137
12701350

King/Sultan

Description

He was a Tailor.
He was founder of
Varkari

Sampradaya.
4.

Kabira

13981518
5. Nanka
14691539
6. Chaitanya 14861536
7. Meera
14981557
8. Dadu
1544Dayal
1603
9. Tukaram
16081649
10. Tyagaraja 17671847

Ibrahim Lodi & Babur

He was disciple of
Kabir.

Jehangir,Sahjahan,Shiva
Ji

The rise of Bhakti cult in Tamil Nadu started during the seventh and
eight centuries in direct influence to Shankaracharya. The Saivaite
Nayanmars and Vashnavaite Alwars preached the Bhakti cult
under the Pallavas, Pandyas and Cholas. Poyagai, Poodam and
Tirumangai was Alwar saints.
Chedi Kingdom edicts talk about Mattamayur which was a Shaiva
cult.
Medieval Bhakti movement revival in 15th&16th century was the direct
result of the influence of the spread of Islam in India. Monotheism
or belief in one God, equality and brotherhood of man and

rejection of rituals and class divisions are the distinctive

characteristics of Islam.
Sufism
Sufism was a liberal reform movement within Islam. It had its origin in
Persia and spread into India in the eleventh century.
Sufism stressed the elements of love and devotion as effective
means of the realisation of God. Love of God meant love of
humanity and so the Sufis believed service to humanity was
tantamount to service to God. In Sufism, self discipline was considered
an essential condition to gain knowledge of God by sense of
perception. Muslims emphasize external conduct, the Sufis lay stress
on inner purity. According to them one must have the guidance of a pir
or guru, without which spiritual development is impossible.
Sufism also inculcated a spirit of tolerance among its followers. Other
ideas emphasized by Sufism are meditation, Pranayama, Hathayoga in
seclusion, good actions, repentance for sins, performance of prayers
for spiritual awakening in followers and pilgrimages, fasting, charity
and suppression of passions by ascetic practice.
Akbar, the Mughal emperor, appreciated Sufi doctrines which shaped
his religious outlook and religious policies.
The Chishti Order was the first of the four main Sufi orders (Chishti,
Qadiriyya, Suhrawardiyya and Naqshbandi). It began in Chisht, a
small town near Herat, Afghanistan about 930 CE. Abu Ishq
Shami (First in chisti order) and his disciple Khwaza Abu Abdal
Chisti were founders of the Chishti Order. The Chishti Order is known
for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness.
Chishti considered Sama (music) as way to reach God. Naqshbandi
order was against sila (music).It was most conservative Sufi order.
Aurangjeb was follower of this order.
Moinuddin Chishti introduced the Chishti Order in Lahore (Punjab)
and Ajmer (Rajasthan), sometime in the middle of the 12th century

CE. He was eighth in the line of succession from the founder of the
Chishti Order, Abu Ishq Shami. He became a disciple of
the Chishti saint Usman Harooni. He was also known as Gharb
Nawz "Benefactor of the Poor". He came with Muhamad Ghori. His
disciple was Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakthiyar Kaki.
Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Masood Ganjshakaraka aka Baba Farid
was son-in-law of Balban. He was disciple of Kaki. His writings are
included in Guru Granth Sahib.
Another famous Sufi saint was Nizamuddin Auliya who belonged to
the Chishti order and who was disciple of Baba Farid. Nizamuddin
Auliya has seen reign of 7 Sultans. He denied to meet Alauddin
Khalzi. He was famous as Mehboob-E-Elahi. He believed in advaitvad
and sama(music). He died at Giyaspur (Dargah),Delhi in 1325.
Another well known Sufi saint was Bahauddin Zakariya who came
under the influence of another famous mystic Shihabuddin
Suhrawardi.
Amongst last in Sufi order was Salim Chisti. He was famous as Sheik
Ul Hind. He used to live in Sikri.
Shah Muhammad Ghaus Gwaliyari was a 16th-century Sufi master
of the Shattari order and the author of Jawahir-i Khams (meaning
the Five Jewels). Ghaus taught the Mughal Emperor Humayun and
was also a tutor of the Tansen. He considered Krishna as
Auliya(saint).
Another Sufi saint was Haji Waris Ali Shah. An urs locally known
as Dewa mela is observed in OctoberNovember,Dargah of Haji Waris
Ali Shah in Dewa,Barabanki.
The "Ulama" and the Religious Classes of Islam were collectively
known as Dastar-bandan, or turban-wearers, because they wore
their official head dress, the turban.
Bhakti Movement

When the Sufi movement was becoming popular in India, about the
same time the Bhakti cult was gaining strength among the Hindus.
In the south, Alvars represented the emotional side of Tamilian
Vaishnavism and the Acharyas, who were their successors, represented
the intellectual and philosophical sides of Vaishnavism and made it popular.

There prominence by Basava, the Prime Minister of the Kalachuri king

Bijjala. Lingayats are followers of Saivaism. They laid stress on love
and self surrender, truth and morality and cleanliness. They allowed
widow remarriage. The bhakti movement led by Nayanars (Saiva
saint) and Alvars (Vaishnav saint) spread all over the country. These
saints went from place to place carrying their message of love and
devotion. They disregarded the inequalities of caste. The path of
bhakti advocated by these saints was open to all, irrespective of caste.
This bhakti movement renewed emphasis on the Vedas and Vedic
worship on the one hand and powerful literary and intellectual
movement on the other hand. Trika, also called Pratyabhija is a form of
Saivism, popularly known as Kashmir Saivism which is a kind of monism on
non-dualism. The Saiva saints, the Nayanars made it more popular.
Another popular movement which spread in south India was of Lingayats or
Virasaivas, whose philosophy was influenced both, by Sankara and
Ramanuja.

Sankara
According to the Shringeri matha tradition, Sankara took birth in Kerala
around A.D. 788.The philosophy of Sankara is known as Advaita, meaning
'non-dual'.
He believed that absolute reality, called Brahma is non-dual.The greatest
achievement of Sankara is that he organised the ten branches of Advaita
school of Saivism, known as Dashanamis.
For the purpose of unity and integrity, and better interaction, he established
four mathas in four corners of the country. He sent his four disciples to each
one of these.
I.
II.

Jyotirmatha at Badrinath in the north,

Sharadapitha at Dvaravati (Dwaraka) in the west,

III.
IV.

Govardhanamatha at Puri in the east and

Shringerii matha,Mysore in the south

The ten orders in which Sankara organised the ascetics are known as
'Giri (hills), Puri (city), Bharati (learning), Vana (wood), Aranya (forest),
Parvata (mountain), Sagara (ocean), Tirtha (temple), Ashrama
(hermitage) and Saraswati (true knowledge). Sankara died at the age of 32.
He was an Acharya par excellence who took the Hindu faith to a new glory.

In the ninth century Sankara started a Hindu revivalist movement

giving a new orientation to Hinduism. He was born in Kaladi in
Kerala. His doctrine of Advaita or Monism was too abstract to
appeal to the common man.
Ramanuja
Ramanuja was a Tamil Brahman born at Tirupati around A.D. 1017.
Ramanuja disagreed with Sankara that knowledge was the primary
means of salvation. He argued that the grace of God was more
important than knowledge.The system of education which had
developed gradually in the earlier centuries continued during this
period. The later smiritis introduced a new sacrament called
vidyarambha (commencement of education) and aksharasvikriti or
aksharabhyasa training in the alphabet.
In the twelfth century, Ramanuja, who was born at Sriperumbudur
near modern Chennai, preached Visishtadvaita. According to him
God is Sagunabrahman.
There was a reaction against the Advaita concept of
Nirgunabrahman (God without attributes) with the emergence of
the idea of Sagunabrahman (God with attributes).
The creative process and all the objects in creation are real but not
illusory as was held by Sankaracharya. Therefore, God, soul, matter
are real. But God is inner substance and the rest are his attributes. He
also advocated prabattimarga or path of self-surrender to God.
He invited the downtrodden to his cult Vaishnavism.

Madhava
In the thirteenth century, Madhava from Kannada region
propagated Dvaita or dualism of Jivatma and Paramatma.
According to his philosophy, the world is not an illusion but a reality.
God, soul, matter are unique in nature.
Nimbarkacharya
Nimbarka is known for propagating the Vaishnava Theology of
Dvaitadvaita, duality in unity. Telungana region. He belongs to
Sanakadik or Nimbarka Sampradaya.
Vallabhacharya (14791531 CE)
Vallabhacharya accepted Vishnuswami Sampradaya (Rudra
Sampradaya). Rudra Sampradaya is one out of the four Vaishnava
Sampradaya. Vallabhacharya also propagated the Shuddha advaita
(Pure Non-dualism)/Pushtimarga.
Vallabhacharya was also other preachers of Vaishnavite Bhakti in
the Telungana region. Surdas was the disciple of Vallabhacharya
and he popularized Krishnacult in north India.
Ramananda, Kabir and Nanak
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Ramananda, Kabir and
Nanak remained great apostles of the Bhakti cult.
They helped the common people to shed age-old superstitions and
attain salvation through Bhakti or pure devotion. Unlike the early
reformers, they were not linked with any particular religious creed and
did not believe in rituals and ceremonies. They condemned
polytheism and believed in one god. They also denounced all
forms of idolatry. They strongly believed in Bhakti as the only
means of salvation. They also emphasised the fundamental unity
of all religions.
Ramananda

Ramananda was born at Allahabad. He was originally a follower of

Ramanuja. He was a worshipper of Rama. He used Hindi for his
preachings first amongst other Bhakti Saints.
Simplification of worship and emancipation of people from the
traditional caste rules were his two important contributions to the
Bhakti movement. He opposed the caste system and chose his
disciples from all sections of society disregarding caste.He said Dont
ask someone caste,religion/Sampradaya. His 12 famous disciples
were:
a) Kabir, a Muslim weaver
b) Raidasa, a cobbler from Varanasi
c) Sena, a barber
d) Sadhana, a butcher
e) Dhanna, a Jat farmer
f) Naraharai, a goldsmith and
g) Pipa, a Rajput prince

Kabir
Kabirs object was to reconcile Hindus and Muslims and establish
harmony between the two sects. He denounced idolatry and rituals
and laid great emphasis on the equality of man before God.
He is regarded as the greatest of the mystic saints and his followers
are called Kabirpanthis.
Guru NanaK (1469 -1539 )
Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion in Sikander Lodis reign and a
disciple of Kabir.
He was born in Talwandi near Lahore. He denounced caste
distinctions and rituals like bathing in holy rivers. He didnt believe
in reincarnation of God. His conception of religion was highly
practical and sternly ethical. He exhorted people to give up selfishness, falsehood and hypocrisy and to lead a life of truth, honesty.

Abide pure amidst the impurities of the world was one of his famous
sayings.
His life was dedicated to establishing harmony between Hindus and
Muslims. His followers were known as Sikhs. He died in 1539 in
derababa.
The Adi Granth/Guru Granth Sahib, was first compiled by the fifth
Sikh guru, Guru Arjun (15631606), from hymns of the first five
Sikh gurus and 15 other great saints, or bhagats, including some
from both Hindu and Muslim faiths(Sufi Saint Baba Farid).
Jahangir executed guru Arjun Dev.
Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed by Aurangazeb. His son guru Govind
singh converted Sikhs to Warrior Khalsa Panth. He was killed in
Nanded by a Afghan sardar.
Chaitanya
Chaitanya was another well-known saint and reformer of Bengal who
popularised the Krishna cult.
He proclaimed the universal brotherhood of man and condemned
all distinction based on religion and caste.
Tulsidas
He was born in Chitrakoot. His famous books are Ramcharitmanas and
Vinay Patrika.
MeeraBai
She was contemporary of Tulsidas. She was daughter of Mewar raja
Ratan Singh Rathore. She was married to eldest son of Rana Sanga
Kunwar Bhojraj.
Shankar Deva

He popularized Vaishnavite Bhakti cult in Kamrup. He founded

eksharan Dharma. He believed in one god. He is famous as
Chatanya of Assam.
Namadeva
Namadeva preached the gospel of love. He opposed idol worship and
priestly domination. He also opposed the caste system. He was
founder of Varkari Sampradaya of Vaishnavism.
Gnanadeva
Gnanadeva was the founder of the Bhakti Movement in
Maharashtra in the thirteenth century. It was called Maharashtra
dharma.He wrote a commentary of Bhagavat Gita called
Gnaneswari.
Ekanatha
In the sixteenth century, Ekanatha opposed caste distinctions and
sympathetic towards the lower castes.
Tukaram
Another Bhakti saint of Maharashtra was Tukaram, a contemporary of
Jehangir and shah Jahan. He was responsible for creating a
background for Maratha nationalism. He opposed all social
distinctions.
Importance of the Bhakti Movement
Bhakti movement provided an impetus for the development of
regional languages such as Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, etc.
Through these languages they made direct appeal to the masses.
The caste system was condemned by the Bhakti saints, the lower
classes were raised to a position of great importance.
The importance of women in society was also increased because the
Bhakti movement gave equal importance to them.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea in 4th century BC, to a virgin

mother. Good Friday is celebrated primarily by Christians,
commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Ester is a festival
celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, occurred
three days after his crucifixion by Romans.

VIJAYANAGAR AND BAHMANI KINGDOM

VIJAYANAGAR EMPIRE
Four dynasties Sangama (1336 - 1485), Saluva(1485 - 1505),
Tuluva(1505 - 1570) and Aravidu(1570 -1650) ruled Vijayanagar
from A.D. 1336 to 1672. It had capitals in Anegundi, Vijaynagar,
Vinugonda and Chandragiri in chronological order.
Political History
Vijayanagar was founded as a new city on the south bank of the
Tungabhadra river in 1336 by Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama
dynasty. Their father name was Sangam. so this dynasty was called
Sangam Dynasty.
They were originally served under the Kakatiya rulers of Warangal.
Then they went to Kampili where they were imprisoned and converted
to Islam. Later, they returned to the Hindu fold at the initiative of the
saint Vidyaranya and Syana who was an important commentator
on the Vedas.
By 1346, they brought the whole of the Hoysala kingdom under their
control. Hoysala Kingdom was Dwarasamudra. Its contemporary
name is Halebidu. It is situated near Hassan in Karnataka. Famous
Hoysaleswara templeis in Halebidu.
The struggle between Vijayanagar and Sultanate of Madurai lasted for
about four decades. Kumarakampanas (son of Bukka I) expedition
to Madurai was described in the Maduravijayam. He destroyed the

Madurai Sultans and as a result, the Vijayanagar Empire comprised

the whole of South India up to Rameswaram.
The conflict between Vijayanagar Empire and the Bahmani
kingdom lasted for many years. The dispute over Raichur Doab, the
region between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra and also
over the fertile areas of Krishna-Godavari delta led to this longlasting conflict.
Harihar II took Belgaon and Goa from Behmani kingdom.
The greatest ruler of the Sangama dynasty was Deva Raya II. But
he could not win any clear victory over the Bahmani Sultans. After his
death, Sangama dynasty became weak. Persian traveler Abdur
Razzak visited India in his time. Last tuler of this dynasty was
Virupaksha II.

Saluva dynasty
The next dynasty, Saluva dynasty founded by Saluva Narasimha
reigned only for a brief period (1486- 1509).
Immadi Narasimha Raya was last ruler. He was son of Saluva
Narasimha

Tuluva dynasty
The Tuluva dynasty was founded by Vira Narasimha. The greatest of
the Vijayanagar rulers, Krishna Deva Raya (1509 1530) belonged
to the Tuluva dynasty. Krishna Deva Raya was brother of Vira
Narasimha
The Muslim armies were decisively defeated in the battle of
Diwani by Krishna Deva Raya.
Then he invaded Raichur Doab which had resulted in the
confrontation with the Sultan of Bijapur, Ismail Adil Shah. But,
Krishna Deva Raya defeated him and captured the city of Raichur in
1520. From there he marched on Bidar and captured it.

Krishna Deva Rayas Orissa campaign was also successful. He

defeated the Gajapathi ruler Prataparudra and conquered the
whole of Telungana.
Krishna Deva Raya defeated Golkunda sultan Quli Qutubshah.
Quli Qutubshah laid foundation of Qutubshahi dynasty in
Golkunda.
He maintained friendly relations with the Portuguese. Though a
Vaishnavaite, he respected all religions.He was a great patron of
literature and art and Krishna Deva Raya was known as Andhra
Bhoja.
He also built a new city called Nagalapuram in memory of his queen
Nagaladevi. Besides, he built a large number of Rayagopurams.
After his death, Achutadeva and Venkata succeeded the throne. During
the reign of Rama Raya, the combined forces of Bijapur,
Ahmadnagar, Golkonda and Bidar(except Berar)defeated him at
the Battle of Talaikotta in 1565. This battle is also known as
Raksasa Thangadi(names of two nearby villages).
Rama Raya was imprisoned and executed. The city of Vijayanagar was
destroyed. This battle was generally considered to mark the end of
the Vijayanagar Empire.
Aravidu Dynasty (1570 - 1650)
However, the Vijayanagar kingdom existed under the Aravidu
dynasty for about another century. Thirumala laid foundation of
this dynasty in 1570 after replacing last ruler Sadashiva of Taluva
dynsaty. Thirumala, Sri Ranga and Venkata II were the important
rulers of this dynasty.The last ruler of Vijayanagar kingdom was Sri
Ranga III.
Venkata II was contemporary of King Wodeyar who laid foundation
of Mysore state in 1612.
Administration

The king enjoyed absolute authority in executive, judicial and

legislative matters. He was the highest court of appeal. The succession
to the throne was on the principle of hereditary.
The Empire was divided into different administrative units called
Mandalams, Nadus, sthalas and finally into gramas.
The governor of Mandalam was called Mandaleswara or Nayak.
Vijayanagar rulers gave full powers to the local authorities in the
administration.
Land revenue was fixed generally one sixth of the produce. Its
administration was under a department called Athavane. In the
matter of justice, harsh punishments such as mutilation and throwing
to elephants were followed.
The top-grade officers of the army were known as Nayaks or
Poligars. They were granted land in lieu of their services. These
lands were called amaram. Soldiers were usually paid in cash.
Social Life
Allasani Peddanna in his Manucharitam refers the existence of four
castes Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras - in the Vijayanagar
society. Foreign travelers left vivid accounts on the splendor of
buildings and luxurious social life in the city of Vijayanagar. Silk and
cotton clothes were mainly used for dress. Perfumes, flowers and
ornaments were used by the people. Paes mentions of the beautiful
houses of the rich and the large number of their household servants.
Nicolo de Conti refers to the prevalence of slavery. Dancing, music,
wrestling, gambling and cock-fighting were some of the amusements.
The Sangama rulers were chiefly Saivaites and Virupaksha was
their family deity. But other dynasties were Vaishnavites.
Gangadevi, wife of Kumarakampana authored the famous work
Maduravijayam.

Hannamma and Thirumalamma were famous poets of this period.

The attachment of dancing girls to temples was in practice. Paes refers
to the flourishing devadasi system. Polygamy was prevalent among
the royal families. Sati was honoured and Nuniz gives a description of
it.
Economic Condition
Vijayanagar Empire was one of the wealthiest parts of the world at
that time. Agriculture continued to be the chief occupation of the
people.Diamond mines were located in Kurnool and Anantapur
district.
The chief gold coin was the varaha but weights and measures varied
from place to place.
There were a number of seaports on the Malabar coast, the chief
being Cannanore.
Cultural Contribution
The chief characteristics of the Vijayanagara architecture were the
construction of tall Raya Gopurams or gateways and the Kalyana
mandapam with carved pillars in the temple premises.
The horse was the most common animal found in these pillars.The
most important temples of the Vijayanagar style were found in the
Hampi ruins or the city of Vijayanagar.
Krishna Deva Raya repaired most of the temples of south India. He
also built the famous Vittalaswamy and Hazara Ramaswamy
temples at Vijayanagar in this style. The Varadharaja and
Ekamparanatha temples at Kanchipuram stand as examples for the
magnificence of the Vijayanagara style of temple architecture.
The Raya Gopurams at Thiruvannamalai and chidambaram speak
the glorious epoch of Vijayanagar.
Different languages such as Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil
flourished in the regions.

Eight eminent scholars or poets known as Ashtadiggajas were at

Krishana Deva Rayas royal court. Allasani Peddanna was the
greatest and he was called Andhrakavita Pitamaga. His important
works include Manucharitam and Harikathasaram. Pingali
Suranna and Tenali Ramakrishna were other important scholars.
Krishna Deva Raya himself authored a Telugu work,
Amukthamalyadha and Sanskrit works, Jambavati Kalyanam
and Usha parinayam. All were Telgu scholar.
Translation of Mahabharat into Telgu started by Nanaya in 11 century.It
was completed by Tikkan in 13th century and yerrayan in 14th century.
They are famous as kavitriya.
The Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battuta, Venetian traveler Nicolo de
Conti, Persian traveler Abdur Razzak and the Portuguese traveler
Domingo Paes left valuable accounts on the socio-economic
conditions of the Vijayanagar Empire.
The copper plate inscriptions such as the Srirangam copper plates
of Devaraya II provide the genealogy and achievements of
Vijayanagar rulers.
Hoyasala kingdom had Dwarasamudra (Halebid) as its
capital.Hoyaleswar temple is situated here.

Bahmani Kingdom
The founder of the Bahmani kingdom was Alauddin Hasan aka
Bahman Shah aka Hasan Gangu in 1347. Bahmanid Sultanate was
the first independent Islamic Kingdom in South India. The
Bahmani capital was Ahsanabad (Gulbarga) between 1347 and 1425
when it was moved to Muhammadabad (Bidar) by Ahmad Wali
Shah.
The power of the Bahmani kingdom reached its peak under the rule of
Muhammad Shah III and guidance of Mahmud Gawan. Mahmud
Gawan was a Persian merchant. He waged successful wars against
Vijayanagar, Orissa and the sea pirates on the Arabian sea. His

conquests include Konkan, Goa and Krishna-Godavari delta. Thus he

expanded the Bahmani Empire through his conquests.
After 1518 the sultanate broke up into five states.They are
collectively known as the "Deccan Sultanates".
Ibrahim Adil Shah II is known in Indian history as Jagadguru
Badshah for his religious tolerance. He founded a new township at
Navraspur to give concrete shape to his idea of a musical city. .
Ibrahim II wrote the book Kitab-e-Navras (Book of Nine Rasas) in
Dakhani.
Gol Gumbaz or Gol Gumbadh, is the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil
Shah, Sultan of Bijapur. It is included in amongst largest gumbadh of
world.
Jama Masjid, Gulbarga, was constructed by Muhammad shah I.

THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

Mughals were Chagatai Turks. The Chagatai Turks are people who
descended from the Chagatai Khanate . Chagatai Khan was the second
son of Genghis Khan.
Political History
Babur (1526-1530)
Babur succeeded his father Umar Shaikh Mirza as the ruler of
Farghana. Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire in India. His
original name was Zahiruddin Muhammad. He was related to Timur
from his fathers side and to Chengiz Khan through his mother. He
wrote his memoirs, Tuzuk-i-Baburi in Turki language. A scholar of

Persian and Turki, he is said to have invented a new style of verse in

Persian known as Mubaiyan.
Military Conquest (1519 and 1523)
In the eve of Baburs invasion of India, there were five prominent
Muslim rulers the Sultans of Delhi, Gujarat, Malwa, Bengal and
the Deccan and two prominent Hindu rulers Rana Sangha of
Mewar and the Vijayanagar Empire.
By the end of 1525, Babur started from Kabul to conquer India. He
occupied Lahore easily by defeating its governor, Daulat Khan Lodi.
Daulat Khan Lodi invited Babur to instill Ibrahim Lodis Uncle Alam
Khan on Delhis throne.
In 21st April 1526 the first Battle of Panipat took place between
Babur and Ibrahim Lodi, who was killed in the battle. Babur
occupied Delhi and sent his son Humayun to seize Agra. Babur
proclaimed himself as Emperor of Hindustan and took the title of
Babur.
New tactics introduced by Babur were the tulghuma and
the araba. Tulghuma meant dividing the whole army into various
units, viz. the Left, the Right and the Centre. The Left and Right
divisions were further subdivided into Forward and Rear divisions.
Through this a small army could be used to surround the enemy from
all the sides. The Centre Forward division was then provided with carts
(araba) which were placed in rows facing the enemy and tied to each
other with animal hide ropes. Behind them were placed cannons
protected and supported by mantlets which could be used to easily
maneuver the cannons. These two tactics made Babur's artillery lethal.
Rana Sangha marched against Babur and in the Battle of Khanua
(near Agra) held in 1527, Babur won a decisive victory over him.
Babur assumed the title Ghazi. Babur exhorted his muslim soldiers
for Jehad against Hindus.

In 1528, Babur captured Chanderi from another Rajput ruler Medini

Rai. In the next year, Babur defeated the Afghans in the Battle of
Gogra in Bihar. By these victories, Babur consolidated his power in
India. Babur died at Agra in 1530 at the age of forty seven.
People gave him title of Kalandar due to his kindness in distributing
gift on the occasion of his victory.
Humayun (1530-1540)
Humayun was the eldest son of Babur. Humayun means fortune but
he remained the most unfortunate ruler of the Mughal Empire.
Humayun divided the empire among his brothers but this proved to be
a great blunder on his part. Kamran was given Kabul and Kandahar.
Sambhal and Alwar were given to Askari and Hindal.
Humayun captured Gujarat from Bahadur Shah and appointed Askari
as its governor. But soon Bahadur Shah recovered Gujarat from Askari
who fled from there.
Humayun defeated Afgans in Devra on the bank of Gomti in 1532.
In the meantime Sher Khan became powerful in the east. Humayun
marched against him and in the Battle of Chausa, held in 1539,
Sher Khan destroyed the Mughal army and Humayun escaped from
there.
Humayun reached Agra to negotiate with his brothers. But as they
were not cooperative, Humayun was forced to fight with Sher Khan
alone in the Battle of Bilgram in 1540. This battle was also known as
Battle of Kanauj. Humayun was thoroughly defeated by Sher Khan.
After losing his kingdom, Humayun became an exile for the next
fifteen years.
Humayun defeated Sikander Suri in battle of Sirhind, in 1555 and
reclaimed his lost empire.
Humayundied in 1556 due to his fall from the staircase of his library.

Sur Interregnum (1540-1555)

The founder of the Sur dynasty was Sher Shah, whose original name
was Farid. He was the son of Hasan Khan, a jagirdar of Sasaram in
Bihar. He completed his formal education in Jaunpur.
Sher Shah waged extensive wars with the Rajputs and expanded his
empire. His empire consisted of the whole of North India except
Assam, Nepal, Kashmir and Gujarat. He took title of Hazrat-e-Ala.
Sher Shahs Administration
The king was assisted by four important ministers:
1. Diwan i- Wizarat also called as Wazir- in charge of Revenue
and Finance.
2. Diwan-i-Ariz in charge of Army.
3. Diwan-i-Rasalat- Foreign Minister.
4. Diwan-i-Insha- Minister for Communications.

Sher Shahs empire was divided into forty seven sarkars(equivalent

to modern district).Chief Shiqdar (law and order) and Chief
Munsif(judge) were the two officers in charge of the
administration in each sarkar. Each sarkar was divided into
several parganas. Shiqdar(military officer), Amin(land revenue),
Fotedar(treasurer) and Karkuns (accountants) were in charge of
the administration of each pargana. There were also many
administrative units called iqtas.
All cultivable lands were classified into three classes good, middle
and bad. The states share was one third of the average produce and it
was paid in cash or crop.
Sher Shah introduced new silver coins called Rupaya and copper
coin Dam and they were in circulation till 1835.
(1 Rupaya=64 Dam)

Sher Shah had also improved the communications by laying four

important highways:1.
2.
3.
4.

Sonargaon to Sind
Agra to Burhampur
Jodhpur to Chittor
Lahore to Multan

Lahore Sonargaon ,Indias First highway is also known as Sadak-eAzam or GT road.

Sher Shah remained a pious Muslim and generally tolerant towards
other religions. He employed Hindus in important offices.
Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote the famous Hindi work Padmavat
during his reign.
After Sher Shahs death in 1545 in battle of Kalinjar his successors
ruled till 1555 when Humayun reconquered India.

Akbar (1556-1605)
Delhi was seized by the Afghans. Their commander-in-Chief, Hemu,
was in charge of it. In the second Battle of Panipat in 1556, Hemu
was almost on the point of victory. But an arrow pierced his eye and
he became unconscious. The Mughal victory was decisive.
Relations with Rajputs
He married the Rajput princess Harka Bai, the daughter of
Kachhwaha Rajput Raja Bharamal. It was a turning point in the
history of Mughals. Rajput served the Mughals for four generations.
Raja Bhagawan Das and Raja Man Singh were given senior
positions in the administration by Akbar. One by one, all Rajput states
submitted to Akbar.
Ranas of Mewar continued to defy despite several defeats. In the
Battle of Haldighati, Rana Pratap Singh was severely defeated by the
Mughal army led by Man Singh in 1576. Following the defeat of Mewar,

most of the leading Rajput rulers had accepted Akbars suzerainty.

Rana Amar Singh concluded treaty of chittore with Jahangir.
In the year 1562, Akbar vanquished the Malwa ruler Baz
Bahadur and annexed Malwa under Mughal dominion.
Rani Durgavati was defeated by Akbar in 1564 in the battle of Garh
and mandala.
Religious Policy
Akbar's policy of Sulah-e-kul, the religious policy of accommodating
all religious sects and giving them equal honour. His early contacts
with the sufi saints, the teachings of his tutor Abdul Latif, his
marriage with Rajput women, his association with intellectual giants
like Shaikh Mubarak and his two illustrious sons Abul Faizi and
Abul Fazl and his ambition to establish an empire in Hindustan
shaped his religious policy.
He abolished slavery in 1562, the pilgrim tax 1563 and later the
jiziya in 1564. The Kazi of Jaunpur
issued Fatwa against Akbar Charging him of Kufra in 1580.
In 1575, he ordered for the construction of Ibadat Khana (House of
worship) at his new capital Fatepur Sikri. Akbar invited learned
scholars from all religions like Hinduism, Jainism etc. He disliked
the interference of the Muslim Ulemas in political matters. In 1579, he
issued the Infallibility Decree by which he asserted his religious
powers.After that he took tilte of sultan-i-adil / Imam-i-adil.
In 1582, he promulgated a new religion called Din Ilahi or Divine
Faith. Its main purohit was Abul Fazal. It believes in one God. It
contained good points of all religions. Its basis was rational. It upholds
no dogma. It was aimed at bridging the gulf that separated different
religions. Even during his life time, it had only fifteen followers
including Birbal(only Hindu). Akbar did not compel anyone to his new
faith.

The tolerant view of Akbar is represented by the 'Ram-Siya' silver

coin type while during the latter part of Akbar's reign, we also see
coins portraying the concept of Akbar's newly promoted religion 'Din-eilahi' with the Ilahi type and Jalla Jalal-Hu type coins.
Akbar donated 500 Bigha land to 4thsikh guru Ramdas.
Finance and Land Revenue Administration
The growth of the diwan's department began with the appointment
of Muzaffar Khan Turbati in the ninth year (1565). He was first full
time Diwan.
The land revenue system of Akbar was called Zabti or Bandobast
system. Improved system by Raja Todar Mal was known as Ain-iDahsala(Ten Year System) which was completed in 1580.Todar Mal
introduced a uniform system of land measurement. The revenue was
fixed on the average yield of land assessed on the basis of past ten
years. It was one third of average of last ten years. Payment of
revenue was made generally in cash.
Todar mal also worked for Sher shah Suri in land administration.
The land was also divided into four categories
1.
2.
3.
4.

Polaj (cultivated every year),

Parauti(once in two years),
Chachar (once in three or four years) and
Banjar(once in five or more years).

Madad-i mash was tax-free lands given to pious or otherwise worthy

recipients as charity.
Miliatary system
The head of the military was called the Mir bakshi, appointed from
among the leading nobles of the court. He was not defacto
commander though. The mir bakshi was in charge of intelligence
gathering, and also made recommendations to the emperor for
military appointments and promotions.

Mansabdari System
Akbar introduced the Mansabdari system in his administration.
Under this system every officer was assigned a rank (mansab). The
lowest rank was 10 and the highest was 5000 for the nobles. Princes of
royal blood received even higher ranks. The ranks were divided into
two zat and sawar. Zat means personal and it fixed the personal
status of a person. Sawar rank indicated the number of
cavalrymen of a person who was required to maintain. Sawar(No of
horse) rank cant never be more than Zat(No of horse,no of
elephants etc).
Every sawar had to maintain at least two horses. The mansab
rank was not hereditary. All appointments and promotions as
well as dismissals were directly made by the emperor.
Mansabdari System was borrwed from army of mongol Ghenghis
Khan. The mansabdars were divided into 33 classes. The top three
commanding ranks, ranging from 7000 to 10000 troops, were normally
reserved for princes. Other ranks between 10 and 5000 were assigned
to other members of the nobility.It means Mansabdar could be
assigned to no military officers also.
10-500 - Umra
500-2500 Amir
2500-5000 Amir-i-Ajam
The empire's permanent standing army was quite small and the
imperial forces mostly consisted of contingents maintained by the
mansabdars. Persons were normally appointed to a low mansab and
then promoted, based on their merit as well as the favour of the
emperor. Each mansabdar was required to maintain a certain number
of cavalrymen and twice that number of horses. The number of horses
was greater because they had to be rested and rapidly replaced in
times of war. Akbar employed strict measures to ensure that the

quality of the armed forces was maintained at a high level; horses

were regularly inspected and only Arabian horses were normally
employed. Mansabdars were given Cash salaries as well as Jagirs.
The institution of Do-Aspa and Si-Aspa was introduced in the reign
of Jahangir. In Do-Aspa Mansabdarhad to maintain twice the no of
horses assigned to his sawar post. In Si-Aspa Mansabdar had to
maintain thrice the no of horses to his assigned to his sawar post.
Ahdi were recruited by the emperor and they were from good
families and were faithful soldiers and acts as personal bodyguard to
him. They were attached to mansabdar though they were directly in
control to king only.
Akbar was contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I (1553-1603).
(1 Rupaya=40 Dam)

Jahangir (1605-1627)
Prince Salim succeeded with the title Jahangir (Conqueror of
World) in 1605.His son Khusrau revolted in 1606 but was defeated
and imprisoned. One of his supporters, Guru Arjun Singh, the fifth
Sikh Guru, was beheaded.
Nur Jahan
In 1611, Jahangir married Mehrunnisa who was known as Nur Jahan
(Light of World).
English King James I sent William Hawkins(1608-1611) to Mughal
darbar. Jahangir awarded him title of English Khan. Sir Thomas
Row (1615-19) came later. He met to Jahangir in Ajmer.
Veer Singh Deo killed Abul fazal with tacit order of Jahangir. Prince
Khusro, Prince Khurram and Mahabat khan revolted against
Jahangir.

Shah Jahan (1627-1658)

In 1612, Asaf Khans daughter, Arjum Banu Begum (later known as
Mumtaj), married Jahangirs third son, prince Khurram (later Shah
Jahan).
Khandhar was lost to Persian king in the reign of Shah Jahan. It was
important to Mughal for strategic reason as defence of north western
frontier was weak without it.
His Deccan policy was more successful. He defeated the forces of
Ahmadnagar and annexed it. Both Bijapur and Golkonda signed a
treaty with the emperor. Shah Jahan carved four Mughal provinces
in the Deccan Khandesh, Berar, Telungana and Daulatabad.
They were put under the control of his son Aurangazeb.
Shahjahan, after his succession, abolished sajda which was
introduced was Balban. Instead, he introduced chahar taslim (four
salutations) the person while standing on his feet bowed double,
touched his forehead with the palm of his hand and then lowered his
hand so that the back of it touched the ground; this was done four
times).
Shah Jahan transferred his capital from Agra to Delhi.
War of Succession
The last years of Shah Jahans reign were clouded by a bitter war of
succession among his four sons Dara Shikoh (crown prince), Shuja
(governor of Bengal), Aurangazeb (governor of Deccan) and Murad
Baksh (governor of Malwa and Gujarat). Aurangazeb defeated Dara in
the Battle of Dharmat near Ujjain in 1658.
Shah Jahan was confined to the female apartments in the Agra fort
and strictly put under vigil. But he was not ill-treated. Shah Jahan
lived for eight long years lovingly nursed by his daughter Jahanara.
Upon her death, Aurangzeb gave her the posthumous title: Sahibatuz-Zamani (Mistress of the Age).

Aurangazeb (1658-1707)
Aurangazeb was one of the ablest of the Mughal kings. He assumed
the title Alamgir, World Conqueror.
Deccan Policy
The Deccan policy of the Mughals started from the reign of Akbar,
who conquered Khandesh and Berar. Jahangir fought against
Malik Amber of Ahmadnagar. During the Shah Jahans reign,
Aurangazeb, as governor of Deccan, followed an aggressive Deccan
policy. When he became the Mughal emperor, for the first twenty five
years, he concentrated on the northwest frontier. At that time, the
Maratha ruler, Sivaji carved out an independent Maratha
kingdom in the territories of north and south Konkan.
To contain the spread of the Marathas, Aurangazeb decided to invade
Bijapur and Golkonda. He defeated Sikandar Shah of Bijapur in
1686 and annexed his kingdom. Then, he proceeded against
Golkonda1687 and eliminated the Kutb Shahi dynasty. It was also
annexed by him. In fact, the destruction of the Deccan kingdoms was
a political blunder on the part of Aurangazeb. The barrier between the
Mughals and the Marathas was removed and there ensued a direct
confrontation between them. Also, his Deccan campaigns exhausted
the Mughal treasury. According to J.N. Sarkar, the Deccan ulcer ruined
Aurangazeb.
His son Muhammad Akabar rebelled against him due to his futile
policy against rajputs.
Religious Policy
The celebrated temples at Mathura and Benares were reduced to ruins.
In 1679, he reimposed jiziya and pilgrim tax. His invasions
against the Deccan sultanates were partly due to his hatred of the
Shia faith.The celebration of Muharram was stopped.

He was also against the Sikhs and he executed the ninth Sikh Guru
Tej Bahadur. This had resulted in the transformation of Sikhs into a
warring community.
He has maximum no of hindu commander i.e. 33 % in his army after
Shah Jahan.
He is called also Zinda Pir due to his simple lifestyle.
Causes for the Downfall of the Mughal
The weakness of the empire was exposed when Nadir Shah imprisoned
the Mughal Emperor and looted Delhi in 1739.
The neglect of the sea power by the Mughals was felt when the
Europeans began to settle in India.
Thus the decline and downfall of the Mughal Empire was due to the
combination of political, social and economic factors.

INDIA UNDER THE MUGHALS

Agriculture

The population of India at the beginning of the seventeenth century

was about 125 million.
During the seventeenth century two new crops, namely, tobacco and
maize were added. Potato and red chillies came later in the
eighteenth century. Jahangir banned tobacco due to its ill effects.
Shershah introduced the system of granting Kabuliyat and Patta to
each tenant, containing a record of the area of the land held by
him and the total amount of revenue(1/4) due from him.
Tax on Land produce was main source of income in Mughal
Administration.
Growth of Trade
Seth, bohra traders specialized in long distance trade while local
traders were called banik.
Another class of traders was known as banjaras, who specialized in
carrying bulk goods.
The trading community did not belong to one caste or religion. The
Gujarathi merchants included the Hindus, Jains and Muslims. In
Rajasthan, Oswals, Maheshwaris and Agarwals came to be called the
Marwaris. Multanis, Afghanis and Khatris conducted trade with central
Asia.
In south India, the Chettis on the Coramandal coast and the Muslim
merchants of Malabar were the most important trading communities
Bengal exported sugar, rice as well as delicate muslin and silk. The
Coramandal coast became a centre of textile production. Gujarat was
an entry point of foreign goods.

Cultural Development under the Mughals

Indian traditions were blended with Turko-Iranian culture which was

brought into India by the Mughals.
Art and Architecture
The Mughals were fond of laying gardens with running water.
Mughal gardens such as the Nishat Bagh in Kashmir, the
Shalimar Bagh at Lahore and the Pinjore garden in the Punjab
have survived even today.
Babur
Babur, the first Mughal ruler, kept the foundation stone of Sambhal's
Jama masjid.
Humayun
Humyn ascended the throne in 1530 and in 1533 founded a new
city, DinPanah,in Delhi on the bank of the Yamuna River.
Sher Shah
He built a new city on the banks of the river Yamuna near Delhi.
Now the old fort called Purana Qila and its single-domed Qila-iKuhna mosque is alone surviving. He also built a Mausoleum at
Sasaram, which is considered as one of the master pieces of Indian
architecture.
Akbar
He built many forts and the most famous one was the Agra Fort. It
was built in red sandstone. His other forts are at Lahore and
Allahabad. Akbar built Jahangir Mahal in it for crown prince Salim.
Akbar also built a palace-cum-fort complex at Fatepur Sikri (City of
Victory), 36 kilometres from Agra. Many buildings in Gujarathi and
Bengali styles are found in this complex. Gujarathi style buildings
were probably built for his Rajput wives. The most magnificent
building in it is the Jama Masjid. The gateway to it called Buland

Darwaza or the Lofty Gate. The height of the gateway is 176 feet. It
was built to commemorate Akbars victory over Gujarat.
Other important buildings at Fatepur Sikri are Diwan-i-Aam ,Diwani-Khas , Birbal house, Ibadat Khana ,Jodh Bais palace and Panch
Mahal with five storeys. It has taken inspiration from Budha
Vihara.
During Akbars reign, the Humayunstomb was built at Delhi, in
supervision of Humayun wife Hazi Begum and it had a massive
dome of marble. It may be considered the precursor of the Taj Mahal.
Maham Anga also built a mosque, 'Khairul Manazil' /madarsa -e
-begum in 1561 CE in Mughal architecture. It now stands
opposite, Purana Qila, Delhi on Mathura Road, south east to Sher Shah
Gate.

Jahangir
Akbars tomb at Sikandara near Agra was completed by Jahangir.
Nur Jahan built the tomb of Itimaddaulah at Agra. It was
constructed wholly of white marble with floral designs made of semiprecious stones on the walls. This type of decoration was called pietra
dura. It is used extensively in Taj Mahal.
Jahangir Mausoleum is in Shahadara ,Lahore.

Shah Jaha
The Moti Masjid at Agra was built entirely in white marble. The
Jama Masjid at Delhi was built in red stone.
The famous Red Fort at Delhi with its Rang Mahal, Diwan-i-Am
and Diwan-i-Khas was is of Shah Jahan creation. Red fort has two
gate :-western gate is known Lahori Gate and southern gate is known
as Delhi gate.
Musamman Burj also known as the Saman Burj or the Shah-burj, is
an octagonal tower standing close to the Shah Jahan's private hall
Diwan-e-Khas in Agra Fort.

Shah Jahan established a new city in Delhi, Shahjahanabad.

Sheesh Mahal , Nagina Masjid and Khas Mahal are other important
creation of him.
Many features of Mughal tradition can be seen in the Golden Temple
at Amritsar.
Aurangjeb
Moti Masjid in Lal Quila in Delhi is of Aurangjebs creation. He also built
Bibi ka Makbara in memory of his wife Rabia-ud-Daurani in
Aurangabad. It is also called second Taj Mahal. Aurangjebs
Makbara is also situated in Khuldabad(aurangabad).
Paintings and Music

Humayun
Humayun brought with him two painters Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdal
Samad to India.

Akabar
Baswan, Miskina and Daswant attained great positions as Akabars
court artists.
Illustrations of Persian versions of Mahabharata and Ramayana
were produced in miniature form. Indian fables became the miniature
paintings in the Art Studio established by Akbar.
The most important work is Dastan-i-amir Hamza or Hamznama,
which consisted 1200 paintings. Indian colours such as peacock blue,
Indian red began to be used. It was completed by Abdal Samad.
Historical works such as Akbar Nama also remained the main
themes of Mughal paintings.
Akbar patronized Tansen of Gwalior. Tansen composed many ragas.
Tansen and Swami Haridas were prominent dhrupad singer in
Akbar reign.

Jahangir
Mughal paintings reached its climax during the reign of Jahangir.He
employed a number of painters like Abul Hasan (Nadir-ul-zama) ,Ustad
Mansur (Nadir-ul- Asra ), Bishan Das, Madhu, Anant, Manohar and
Govardhan. Ustad Mansur(Mansoor-masoori-nature) has expertise
in Bird painting while Abul Hasan has exptertise in person
paintaing.
Subject of paintings were natural scnery,birds ,animals,darbar and
wars.
Mughal painting didnt influence Kalighat art.
Aurangzeb
He was proficient in playing Veena.
Language and Literature
Babur
Humayun
Gulbadan Begum was the daughter of Humyaun. She wrote
Humayunnama.
Akbar
Persian language became widespread in the Mughal Empire by the
time of Akbars reign. Nastalq is one of the main calligraphic hands
used in writing the Perso-Arabic script of Farsi language in Medival
period.
Abul Fazl was a great scholar and historian of his period. Abul Fazl
wrote Ain-i-Akbari and Akbar Nama.
Abul Fazal translated Panchtantra in Farsi as Anwar-I-Suhaili.
The leading poet of that period was his brother Abul Faizi. The
translation of Mahabharata Titled the Razmnama (Book of War)

into the Persian language was done under his supervision. Utbi and
Naziri were the two other leading Persian poets.
Badayuni translated ramayan into farsi.
Mukammal Khan was given the title of Jari Kalam by Akbar.
Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana, also known as Rahim was a poet who
wrote Rahim Satsai. He was one amongst Navaratnas. He
contributed most in development of hindi amongst muslim
scholar. Akbar Reign is considered golden period of Hindi language
development.
.

Jahangir
Jahangirs autobiography, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri was famous for its style.
It is written in Farsi.
He also patronized many scholars like Ghiyas Beg, Naqib Khan and
Niamatullah.
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan also patronized many writers and historians like Abdul
Hamid Lahori, author of Padshah Nama and Inayat Khan who
wrote Shah Jahan Nama.
Dara Shikoh translated the Bhagavat Gita and Upanishads into the
Persian language. He translated the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and
Yoga-Vasishta into Persian directly from Sanskrit and called it Sirr-eAkbar (The Great Mystery).
Majma-ul-Bahrain is original text written by Dara Shikoh.