Delhi Sultanate Summary...

Summary of the Delhi Sultanate...

Read The history of Delhi for more information...

The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). Five dynasties ruled over the Delhi Sultanate sequentially: the Mamluk dynasty (1206–1290), the Khilji dynasty (1290–1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1414), the Sayyid dynasty (1414–1451), and the Lodi dynasty (1451–1526).

Qutb al-Din Aibak, a former Turkic Mamluk slave of Muhammad Ghori, was the founder of the Delhi Sultnate, and his Mamluk dynasty conquered large areas of northern India. Afterwards, the victories of the Khilji dynasty expanded in the south. The sultanate reached the peak of its geographical reach during the Tughlaq dynasty, occupying most of the Indian subcontinent. This was followed by decline due to Hindu reconquests, states such as the Vijayanagara Empire and Mewar asserting independence, and new Muslim sultanates such as the Bengal Sultanate breaking off.In 1526, the Sultanate was conquered and succeeded by the Mughal Empire.

The sultanate is noted for its integration of the Indian subcontinent into a global cosmopolitan culture (as seen concretely in the development of the Hindustani language and Indo-Islamic architecture being one of the few powers to repel attacks by the Mongols (from the Chagatai Khanate)and for enthroning one of the few female rulers in Islamic history, Razia Sultana, who reigned from 1236 to 1240. Bakhtiyar Khalji's annexations were responsible for the large-scale desecration of Hindu and Buddhist temples (leading to the decline of Buddhism in East India and Bengal, and the destruction of Buddhist universities and libraries.Although at first disruptive for the Indian elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and customs. By repeatedly repulsing Mongol raiders, the sultanate saved India from the devastation visited on West and Central Asia, setting the scene for centuries of migration of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists, and artisans from that region into the subcontinent, thereby creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic Culture...

History of Delhi Part-2

Delhi's History Part-2...

The Reign of Muhammad and more...

The new king Muhammad Bin Tugluq,though cruel was far-sighted...

When he visited Devagiri he taught that this city would be an ideal place for living and would be far away from the mongols..

Then the people were asked to move to Devagiri[Renamed Daulatabad]..

But it was decided and the people had to move away from Delhi to a 700 mile far place...

Many died in the way and the sultan realised his mistake..

He ordered them to come back but again many died and only few survivors were left..

Those who reached Delhi again had no jobs,and were homeless and had many hardships..

Then after Tyghluq died Firuz Shah was appointed as his successor and he was a man of peace...

In 1354 he founded a new city named Firuzabad..

The Ashoka Pillar which is present in the city is 12.97m in height..

This pillar had writing on it which no one until 1837 as it was deciphered by an englishman named James Princep..

Firuz Shah died in 1388 and was buried at one corner of Hauz Khas near Qutb-Minar..

Many kings after him were incomponent rulers...

The Tughluq dynasty was after destroyed by Timur the Lame..

He plundered,looted and massacred the whole Delhi..

After a hundred years later One of his descendants Babur decided to deprive India of it's treasures..

That it was under the control of the last Lodi ruler- Sultan Ibhrahim Lodi..

But in the battle with Babur he breathed his last..

Zahir-Ud-Din-Muhammad Babur entered Delhi on April 24,1526..

After one year the Rajputs led by Rana Sanga gave him a threat..

So he dramatically cast of his favourite wine and inspired his soldiers to fight..

Finally Babur won the battle.

Then started the Mughal reign in India..

His son Humayun was brave but scholarly and foolish..

He built or restored the Purana Qila in Delhi...

Where the fort stands was once the ancient city of Indraprastha.

Archaeologists are excavating the fort to find it's antiquity...

Humayun was defeated twice by Sher Shah ,The Afghan..

After the second battle, Humayun fled from the field and became a homeless wanderer..

Sher Shah was a good ruler..

He built roads and improved communications.The Grand Trunk road was built during his reign..

He built a new city in Delhi using material from Firuzabad..

He constructed Kotla Firuz Shah and Sher Mandal.

Some years later Humayun came back..

When he went to a library and started reading his prayers started and he knelt on the stairs.

Then when he got up he slipped and Died..

Akbar and Jahangir did not care for Delhi and finally it became the city of Plague..

Then Shah Jahan built a new city in Delhi and also built the Red Fort and Jama Masjid in Delhi..

He also built a city named Shahjahanabad outside the Red Fort..

Shah Jahan soon died when his Aurangzeb had deposed him..

He murdered his brothers and ascended the throne..

He was helped by his sister Roshanara..

She is remembered because of the beautiful gardens which she had laid out and which are named after her..

Aurangzeb was also responsible for the death of Guru Tegh Bahadur..

The Banyan tree trunk under which he was beheaded can still be seen near Chandni Chowk..

After his reign Mughal empire had ended and many nobles came into power..

One such noble was Raja Jaisingh the second of Jaipur who constructed the Jantar Mantar's during the reign of Muhammad Shah (1719-1748)..

Then in 1739 Nadir Shah plundered Delhi and took the Kohinoor,The Peacock Throne and much wealth..

In the next hundred years Delhi was Ravaged by The Pathans,The Rohillas and The Marathas..

The last Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar had authority only within four walls of Red Fort..

Then in 1857 he was arrested by the British for leading revolutionary forces against them in the country..

Three of his sons were shot down near the gateway Khooni Darwaza and their bodies were exhibited on a platform in Chandni Chowk...

In 1811, the British decided to make Delhi the capital of British India and commisioned Sir Edward Lutyens to build a new city for them..

The new city was ready in 1931..

When the British left,New Delhi became capital of Free India.

Today Delhi is a city where ancient forts and modern stadia and flyovers stand side by side,the old mingling with the new..

Sources:

Wikipedia

Historic City of Delhi by Amar Chitra Katha

The age of Wrath

The Delhi Sultanate:A political and military History..

The Emergence of Delhi Sultanate 1192-1286

Watch this video for more information on Delhi..

The History of Delhi-Part 1...

Delhi's History-

Delhi has a great history starting from 732A.D when a Rajput clan called The Tunwars built a city..

They faced a threat from Muslim Invasion in the North-West around 1000 A.D..Their King Anangpal the second is said to have built a citadel called Lalkot and placed the Iron Pilar which is considered as a standard of Lord Vishnu..The Tunwars were overthrown by another Rajput clan called Chauhans..

The greatest ruler of this dynasty was Prithviraj the third...He strengthened the fort of Lalkot and named it Rai Pithora..In 1191,Muhhamad of Ghori invaded India...He defeated The Muhammad once but later got captured in Battle of Tarain..After the death of Muhammad, It passed on to Qutb-Ud-Din Aibak,One of Muhammad's Generals..He began his life as a slave so his dynasty  came to  be known as Slave Dynasty..

He started buiding the Qutb-Minar but he died before it was finished..His son-in-law Iltutmish made the entire Qutb-Minar and also enlarged it..It was 72.56m at height...His tomb stands adjacent to the mosque near Qutb-Minar..His tomb is simple outside but has profuse carvings inside...Iltutmish's children fought for the throne but one brother murdered one another for the throne..Finally his daughter Sultana Razia...

But she lost her life in a battle 3 years later..

This is how a chronicler of her time described her-

"She was wise, just and generous;A benefactor of her kingdom and dispenser of justice;the protector of her subjects and a leader of her armies....But she was not born of the right sex.And so,in the estimation of men,all these virtues were worthless .MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON HER.."

The Slave Dynasty in course of time gave place to the Pathan Dynasty.The Pathan Dynasty's greatest ruler was-Ala-Ud-Din who made himself master of a large part of India and proved his military prowess to the whole world by defeating the ferocious Mongol Invaders...

His coins describe him as Al-Sikunder-Al-Saquee,The second Alexander...

He loved to build..Nothing much remains of Siri,the city he founded...

....But the tank he constructed for the citizens is still intact which is known as Hauz-Khas or the royal tank.He also built the Alai-Darwaza near Qutb-Minar...

After his death it fell into the hands of Tughluqs.....

Ghiyas-Ud-Din Tughluq, The founder of the dynasty built a city in Delhi to stay away from the Mongols..

He named it Tughluqabad...

Ghiyas-Ud-Din died when he attended a reception in his honour the platform he sat on collapsed and he was crushed to death...

To be continued...