Medieval Indian History
🔒 Log in to trackDelhi Sultanate (1206–1526)
🔒 Log in to trackFive dynasties in order
| Dynasty | Years | Founder |
|---|---|---|
| Mamluk / Slave (Ilbari) | 1206–1290 | Qutb-ud-din Aibak |
| Khalji | 1290–1320 | Jalal-ud-din Khalji |
| Tughlaq | 1320–1414 | Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq |
| Sayyid | 1414–1451 | Khizr Khan |
| Lodi (only Afghan dynasty) | 1451–1526 | Bahlol Lodi |
Ruler → signature fact (most asked)
| Ruler | What SSC asks |
|---|---|
| Qutb-ud-din Aibak | "Lakh Baksh" (generous giver); began Qutub Minar; Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque (Delhi) & Adhai Din ka Jhonpra (Ajmer); died falling from horse playing chaugan (polo) 1210; capital Lahore |
| Iltutmish | Real consolidator; shifted capital to Delhi; iqta system; Turkan-i-Chahalgani (Group of Forty); pure Arabic coins — silver tanka & copper jital; completed Qutub Minar; investiture from Abbasid Caliph (1229) |
| Razia Sultan | First and only woman ruler of Delhi (1236–40); daughter of Iltutmish |
| Balban | "Blood and iron" policy; sijda (prostration) and paibos (kissing feet); Persian festival Nauroz; created Diwan-i-Arz (military dept); crushed the Chahalgani |
| Alauddin Khalji | Market control (Shahna-i-Mandi, price fixing); dagh (branding horses) & chehra (descriptive roll of soldiers); standing army paid in cash; land revenue 50%; Alai Darwaza (1311), Siri Fort; general Malik Kafur raided the south |
| Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq | Built Tughlaqabad; died when a pavilion collapsed (1325) |
| Muhammad bin Tughlaq | Capital to Daulatabad (Devagiri) 1327; token currency in bronze/copper (1329–30); Diwan-i-Amir-Kohi (agriculture dept); Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta was his qazi of Delhi |
| Firoz Shah Tughlaq | Canals (Yamuna, Sutlej); Diwan-i-Khairat (charity), Diwan-i-Bandagan (slaves); jizya extended to Brahmins; founded Firozabad, Hisar, Jaunpur; brought Ashokan pillars from Topra and Meerut to Delhi |
| Timur's invasion | 1398, under Nasir-ud-din Mahmud Tughlaq |
| Sikandar Lodi | Founded Agra (1504); Gaz-i-Sikandari (measuring yard); pen-name Gulrukhi |
| Ibrahim Lodi | Last Sultan; killed at First Battle of Panipat, 1526 |
Historians of the Sultanate: Minhaj-us-Siraj – Tabaqat-i-Nasiri; Ziauddin Barani – Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, Fatawa-i-Jahandari; Amir Khusrau – Khazain-ul-Futuh, Tughlaqnama.
Five dynasties, 320 years (1206–1526)
| Dynasty | Period | Remember |
|---|---|---|
| Slave (Mamluk/Ilbari) | 1206–1290 | Qutbuddin Aibak founded; Iltutmish consolidated; Razia (only woman); Balban (kingship theory) |
| Khalji | 1290–1320 | Alauddin: market control, standing army, southern raids |
| Tughlaq | 1320–1414 | MBT's experiments; Firoz Shah's works |
| Sayyid | 1414–1451 | Khizr Khan (after Timur's sack) |
| Lodi | 1451–1526 | First Afghan house; Ibrahim Lodi fell at Panipat 1526 |
Iltutmish (real founder) introduced the silver tanka and copper jital, completed the Qutub Minar, and formed the Chahalgani ('the Forty') group of Turani nobles. Balban stressed royal dignity — sijda and paibos — and ruled by 'blood and iron'. Alauddin Khalji ran a standing army (soldiers identified by chehra descriptive rolls, horses by daag branding), fixed market prices (Shahna-i-Mandi supervising), and sent Malik Kafur into the far south. Muhammad bin Tughlaq tried the capital shift to Daulatabad and token copper currency (forged, and failed). Firoz Shah Tughlaq built canals, rest houses, Diwan-i-Khairat (charity) and Diwan-i-Bandagan (slaves), and extended jizya to Brahmanas. Timur's sack of Delhi (1398) broke the Tughlaqs; the Lodis' Sikandar founded Agra, and Ibrahim Lodi lost to Babur at Panipat (1526) — the Sultanate's end.
The machinery of the state
- Iqta system: revenue assignments (iqta) to nobles (muqti/iqtadar) who collected tax and kept troops — the Sultanate's revenue-military base.
- Diwans: Wizarat (finance), Ariz (military), Risalat (foreign/religious), Qaza (justice), Insha (correspondence).
- Barids and munihiyan: intelligence and secret agents. The ulema's opinion weighed in state matters; Persian was the court language.
Economy and society
Land tax (kharaj) could reach a third to a half of produce; jizya fell on non-Muslims (as a state practice from Firoz Shah, on Brahmanas too). Craft and markets thrived (Alauddin's price control is the classic case); Persianate culture, calligraphy and mosque-arch architecture (arch and dome, Alai Darwaza, Tughlaq sloping walls) took root.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Dynasty ↔ founder ↔ landmark chain
'Which dynasty ruled when', founder questions, Razia as first woman ruler, 'the Forty'.
Ladder with dates: Slave 1206, Khalji 1290, Tughlaq 1320, Sayyid 1414, Lodi 1451, end 1526.
Anchors: Aibak founded, Iltutmish consolidated (tanka, Forty), Razia = first and only woman sultan, Balban = blood & iron.
Sayyids came after Timur's 1398 sack; Lodis were the first Afghan house.
The group of forty leading slaves of Iltutmish, which dominated court politics, was called —
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Chahalgani (Turkan-i-Chihalgani), 'the Forty' — it set up and pulled down sultans after Iltutmish.
Administration and economy: iqta, diwans, market control
'The iqta system meant', Diwan-i-Ariz/Wizarat functions, chehra-daag, price control machinery, kharaj-jizya.
Iqta: revenue assignment to a muqti in return for troops and service — not ownership.
Diwans: Wizarat = finance, Ariz = army, Risalat = foreign/religious, Qaza = justice, Insha = correspondence.
Alauddin's army tools: chehra (descriptive roll), daag (horse branding); market control under the Shahna-i-Mandi.
Which department of the Delhi Sultanate looked after the army?
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Diwan-i-Ariz — the military department (headed by the Ariz-i-Mumalik).
Sultans' landmark acts and famous experiments
Daulatabad shift, token currency, canals and charity departments of Firoz Shah, jizya extensions, Qutub Minar.
MBT's pair of failures: Daulatabad capital shift and token copper currency (forgery killed it); also Khorasan and Qarachil expeditions.
Firoz Shah: canals, Diwan-i-Khairat & Diwan-i-Bandagan, Firoz Shah Kotla, and jizya extended to Brahmanas.
Qutub Minar begun by Aibak, completed by Iltutmish.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq's token currency failed mainly because —
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Copper tokens were easily forged by the public; the treasury had to redeem them at face value, and the scheme was withdrawn.
Foreign invasions and the Sultanate's end
Mongol threat and Siri, Timur's sack and the Sayyids, Bakhtiyar Khalji in Bihar-Bengal, First Battle of Panipat.
Mongols: repelled by Balban's stern policy; Alauddin built Siri and met them at the gates of Delhi.
Timur, 1398 — sacked Delhi, ended Tughlaq power, led to the Sayyids.
1526, First Battle of Panipat — Babur beat Ibrahim Lodi; Sultanate ends, Mughals begin.
Which sultan built the fort of Siri as a shelter against the Mongols?
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Alauddin Khalji — Mongol invasions pressed Delhi repeatedly in his reign.
Shortcuts that save time
Slave → Khalji → Tughlaq → Sayyid → Lodi. Starting years 1206 – 1290 – 1320 – 1414 – 1451 end at 1526 (Panipat).
Which dynasty ruled Delhi immediately before the Lodis?
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Tum Sab Lo → Sayyid comes just before Lodi.
Iltutmish = Iqta + Investiture; Balban = Bow down (sijda/paibos); Alauddin = All prices fixed; Muhammad bin Tughlaq = Move capital + Money tokens; Firoz = Fields & canals.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Token currency and Daulatabad = Muhammad bin Tughlaq, not Firoz Shah.
Market control = Alauddin Khalji; Balban never fixed prices.
Qutub Minar was begun by Aibak but completed by Iltutmish.
The Lodis were Afghans; all earlier Sultanate dynasties were Turkish (the Sayyids claimed descent from the Prophet).
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Dynasty ladder: Slave 1206 → Khalji 1290 → Tughlaq 1320 → Sayyid 1414 → Lodi 1451 → ends 1526 (Panipat).
Iltutmish: tanka-jital, Chahalgani, Qutub Minar; Balban: sijda-paibos, blood & iron.
Alauddin: chehra-daag, market reforms (Shahna-i-Mandi), Malik Kafur's southern raids, Siri.
MBT: Daulatabad shift + token currency (both failed); Firoz Shah: canals, charity departments, jizya on Brahmanas.
Iqta = revenue-for-service; Diwan-i-Ariz = army; Timur 1398 → Sayyids; 1526 ends it all.
Practice: 13 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 13 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.