Before
the Mughal Empire came to be, the Sultanate of Delhi stood as the most powerful
state in all of Northern India. A Sultanate founded by Afghan warlords, it
dominated its neighbors, defended itself against Mongols, and ruled by Sultan
with each having a different personality. Explore this Sultanate that endured
for centuries until the conquest of Babur came.
Foundation and the
Mamluk Dynasty
The
Delhi Sultanate traced its foundation to Mamluks – slave soldiers usually of
Turkish birth. Slavery in the Central Asian Muslim culture did not meant a
submission and degradation, but rather an opportunity to rise up in society and
politics. Masters bought Turkish slave boys and groomed them to become
excellent soldiers, advisers, and, luckily for some, successors. Such was the
particular condition of the Mamluk Dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.
The
Mamluk Dynasty and the Sultanate itself owed its rise to Mu’izz al-Din Muhammad
ibn Sam or Muhammad of Ghur, a warlord that built an Empire centered in modern
day Afghanistan. Thirst for conquest, he invaded Northern India and captured
cities of Mirat and Delhi. In the following year they won the Battle of Taraor
and Chandawar in 1194 leading to the capture of the sacred city of Benares.
With much of his Indian conquest secured by his victories, Muhammad left his
trusted Mamluk Qutb al-Din Aibak to serve as his viceroy while he returned to
Ghazni, the capital of his extensive Ghurid Empire.
Aibak
managed to consolidate Muhammad’s Indian holdings. He crushed rebellion and
resistance against Ghurid rule mainly coming from Rajputs and rulers of
Gwalior. He also expanded the realm to cover Gujarat and Kalinjar in 1196 and
1202 respectively. More lands followed as another Mamluk Mohammad Bakhtiyar
brought Bengal into the fold nominally. Thus, Muslim rule covered Northern
India. In 1206, with Muhammad of Ghur’s assassination, Aibak took the decision
to declare himself Sultan becoming its inaugural ruler.
Aibak
made Delhi his administrative center. From there he ruled vast lands, administered
justice, and collected tribute from lesser rulers who swore fealty to the
Sultanate. He placed upon himself the beautification of the city by building
mosques, one of which was the Qutb Complex and its Qutb Minar which then stood
as the tallest minaret and today a UNESCO Heritage Site. Aibak’s reign,
however, ended unexpectedly when he fell from his horse during a game of polo.
Division
followed the demise of Sultan Aibak. Various warlords rose up to rule different
regions. Aibak’s son failed to assert his rule and before long his reign ended
and one of his father’s Mamluk named Itutmish rose to power.
Sultan Itutmish
Itutmish
achieved the recognition of the Sultanate of Delhi by the Muslim world and took
the task of reunifying the Sultanate and defending its lands from foreign
invasion. Itutmish, like Aibak, also came from Central Asia and sold to
slavery. Later on, he found service under Aibek and received the same treatment
as Aibak had been treated by Muhammad of Ghur. Eventually, Itutmish rose to
become a trusted adviser and when situation suited, he took the opportunity to
take over a position he knew well. Once in power, he took on the task of
crushing his rivals that took over control of different provinces of the
Sultanate.
Besides
rivals within the Sultanate, Genghis Khan’s Mongol horde also posed a threat.
Refugees from the west flowed into India and stories of the strength and
brutality of the Mongols spread along with fear. The question Itutmish had:
When will the Mongols finally come? Luckily for Itutmish, the Khwarezm Empire
served as his buffer state against the scourge, and when the Mongols did
devoured the Empire, they turned westwards rather than India. Itutmish then turned
his attention in reestablishing the Sultan’s control over the Sultanate’s realm.
He finally succeeded in 1230 when his final rival ended his life by drowning in
the Indus River. With his rivals destroyed, he then turned his attention
towards his neighbors.
Expansion
of the Sultanate went to different directions, towards Malwa and Ujjain to the
southwest, and every land north of Vindhyas. Itutmish strive to survive and to
conquer earned him the powerful Abbasid Caliphate’s seal of recognition as
Sultan of Delhi and a prominent power in India.
Although
a Muslim, Itutmish set the tone of religious tolerance as part of the Delhi
Sultanate’s survival. He did faced pressure from extremist Muslims to convert
the “infidel” Hindus, but he resisted and insisted toleration as necessary to
preserve the country’s unity and stability. He believe forcing conversion meant
rebellion of most of their people. The self-made Mamluk Sultan Itutmish’s reign
ended in 1236. His son who succeeded him, however, ruled with tyranny and
before long he was murdered. Itutmish’s daughter Raziyat then took over as the
new Sultana of Delhi.
Raziyat and the Forty
Raziyat
proved herself to be kind hearted and skilled ruler. Nonetheless, her sex
proved to be a liability. Even though she tried to be associated closer to men
than women by wearing manly clothes, she failed to convince the patriarchal
Afghan and Turkish officials to recognize her skills. Rebellions began when she
grew closer to an Abyssinian slave in charge of the palace horses. Governor
Malik Altunia rebelled against the Sultana in response of the said love affair,
but Raziyat showed her political prowess, dedication, and charisma by
persuading the renegade Governor to become her ally and later husband. The
initial revolt failed, yet she was far from safe as other plots lingered around
her.
Ambitious
Mamluks who saw inspiration on the successes of Aibek and Itutmish rose up
against Raziyat under the reason of women as incompetent leaders. These Mamluk
who became known as the Forty rose up in rebellion and toppled down Raziyat in
1240 replacing her with his younger brother Sultan Bahram Shah.
The
Forty ruled the country in the name of incompetent and sometimes brutal
Sultans, thus turning the Sultanate into an oligarchy. The problem with power
being held by an elite group of men was the chance of internal squabbling.
Indeed internal struggle began and the Forty’s bickering made the country vulnerable
and defenseless against the Mongol Horde who finally into India capturing
Lahore in 1241 pushed towards western provinces of Punjab and Sind. The Forty’s
reign over Sultans eventually ended with the rise of another self-made Mamluk Sultan
named Ghiyas al-Din Balban.
Sultan Balban
Sultan
Balban once served as part of the Forty. He earned recognition as an excellent
administrator and military commander who won victories against the dreaded
Mongols. In 1246, he aided in enthroning Nasiruddin Mahmud as the new Sultan.
He served the Sultan well until he passed away in 1266. He had the support of
many officials who helped him to take power and become its new ruler. Under
him, the Sultanate underwent administrative reforms, including the breaking up
of the aging Forty. He removed many landlords or Khans from power centralizing
much of the power to Delhi. He established a vast network of spies to thwart
plots by traitors. He ordered vast road networks to increase commerce,
mobility, and speed to respond to any crisis and rebellions. Fort numbers rose
to improve defense and his grip over lands far from Delhi’s immediate reach. He
responded strongly against the constant threats of Mongol invasion and
rebellions. He had his son Mohammad to lead the Delhi army to fight against the
Mongols and scored a victory against the Horde in 1279. Internally, he crushed
the calls of Bengal for independence and secured it as part of the Sultanate
for another century. With his strong leadership, the Sultanate saw an era of
political stability as well as security under Balban. The strong Mamluk Sultan’s
reign ended with his demise on 1287. His son, failed to succeed him as Prince Mohammed
passed away 2 year ago, which some said brought great grief to the Sultan that
led to his health decline.
The death of Balban marked the decline of the Mamluk Dynasty. His grandson and successor was young and internal descent followed soon. The political chaos that followed marked the end of persevering self-made Mamluk Sultans and the rise of another dynasty - the Khalji – who ushered a new era of glory, expansion, iron-fisted rule to the Delhi Sultanate.
The death of Balban marked the decline of the Mamluk Dynasty. His grandson and successor was young and internal descent followed soon. The political chaos that followed marked the end of persevering self-made Mamluk Sultans and the rise of another dynasty - the Khalji – who ushered a new era of glory, expansion, iron-fisted rule to the Delhi Sultanate.
See also:
Bibliography:
Jackson, A.V. Williams. History of India Volume III: Medieval India from the Mohammedan Conquest to the Reign of Akbar the Great. London: The Grolier Society Publishers, 1906.
Kulke, Hermann & Dietmar Rothermund. A History of India. New York, New York: Routledge, 2004.
Stein, Burton. A History of India. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2010.
Srinivasachari, Rao Saheb & M.S. Ramaswami Aiyangar. History of India Part II: Muhammadan India. Mount Road, Madras: Srinivasa Varadachari & Co., 1937.
Website:
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Delhi Sultanate." In Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on February 6, 2009. URL: https://www.britannica.com/place/Delhi-sultanate
No comments:
Post a Comment