The Delhi Sultanate

In the 11th–12th centuries Turkic and Afghan tribes raided and settled in northern India. In the conquered provinces a sultanate with its capital at Delhi arose in 1206 (1206–1526); its first ruler Qutb ud-Din Aibak had an army whose core was cavalry from Turkic tribes. Under Shams ud-Din Iltutmish (1211–1236) Punjab, Sind and Bengal were subdued. All land counted as the ruler’s; the main type was the iqta: the iqta holder collected taxes from the area granted to him, spent part of them on himself and on keeping troops, and had to supply the sultan with troops when needed. The khalisa was land at the state’s disposal whose taxes went to the treasury; some land belonged to local Hindu feudal lords, the zamindars, and some was waqf or land granted by the sultan. After Iltutmish the struggle for the throne grew; Ala ud-Din Khalji (1296–1316), of the Khalji dynasty that came to power at the end of the 13th century, carried out reforms that raised treasury revenue, built a strong army and repelled Mongol attacks from the north. Under Muhammad Tughluq, who took the throne in 1325, most of the peninsula was united, but his tax reform failed because of a drought, and his copper coins meant to circulate in place of gold and silver lost value. Firuz Shah Tughluq cut taxes and leased state lands to peasants. Political fragmentation grew in the 14th century. In 1398–1399 Amir Temur’s troops defeated Sultan Mahmud’s army and took Delhi, and he brought many Indian craftsmen and architects back to Samarkand. After that India broke into small principalities; the Sayyid dynasty (1414–1451) came, then the Afghan chief Bahlul Lodi (1451–1489); his grandson Ibrahim Lodi fought Zahir ud-Din Muhammad Babur.