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Nature of State and Administration

The machinery of administration as it evolved under the Delhi sultanate was derived from
the Abbasid and following it, the Ghaznavid and the Seljukid systems of administration.
It was also influenced by the Iranian system of administration, and the situation in India
and Indian traditions. Both West Asia, including Iran, and India had a long tradition of rule
by a monarch assisted by a council of ministers.
Hence, we find that some of the departments of government, or even officers, were old
institutions under a new name.
However, the Turks were also able to evolve a number of new institutions and concepts
which provided a basis for centralization of power and authority of a type which had not
existed in India earlier.
The Nature of The Delhi Sultanate State
Theocratic state
A theocratic state is one whose entire functioning is based on the tenets of a religion and
a military state is one which depends on the military strength for its survival.
● The Sultanate state was a theocratic as well as a military state.
● It combined religious elements as well as military elements.
● The Delhi Sultanate like that of all other Muslim states of the time was a
theocracy. This meant that its political and administrative institutions were, in
theory, derived from the Islamic Law (Shariat) based upon the precepts of the
Quran. Islamic theocracy, in a larger sense, also meant that the entire Islamic
world was united under the religious and political authority of the Caliph, the
representative of the Prophet.
● Every Muslim State was look upon as the Caliph’s dependency and its ruler had
to pay allegiance to the Caliph and to seek confirmation for his right to rule as the
deputy of the Caliph.
● Islam being the religion of the State, it was the primary duty of the State to promote
Islam.
● The theocratic law was supreme, and the civil law was subordinate to it.
● The Ulemas, in general, interpreted the Islamic laws and thus had an influential
position.
● The Sultan was expected to show remarkable respect to the Shariat, to levy taxes
according to the Shariat. Historians like Aarti Tripathi, Ishwari Prasad, A.L
Srivastava present this view.
But Historians like Md. Habib, I.H Qureshi and Satish Chandra questioned the above
view.
In practice, however, this theory passed through some modifications. In a country like
India, where non-Muslims constituted an overwhelming large majority of population, and
the political and social conditions differed very widely from those contemplated by the
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Muslim-jurists, it was not possible to maintain the full rigidity of the Islamic law. Also the
degree of modifications depended on the personality, capability and power of the ruler
and the situations circumventing his freedom, initiative and judgment.
● Ulemas were not an important entity in the political system and many times views
of ulemas were negated like by Alauddin Khalji, Muhammad Bin Tugluq.
● Several practices and customs were adopted which were unIslamic like Shijda
and Paibos introduced by Balban.
● Barani distinguished between jahandari (secular) and dindari (religious) and
accepted the inevitability of some secular features.
Military State
● During the period of the Sultanate the military commanders were appointed
governors or Iqtadars of the ‘Iktas’ or provinces or territorial units.
● The state’s major revenue was spent in maintaining the army. Accordingly, state
revenue policy was dictated by military expenditure. The state suppressed the
internal revolts, maintained peace and defended the empire from foreign invaders
on the strength of its military.
● The Sultan himself was the commander-in-chief of the army. The Sultan’s
success primarily depended upon his military skill.
● Balban and Alau-ud-Din paid great attention towards making effective reforms in
their military organisation and successfully faced all internal and external
dangers.
Central Administration
The Sultan
● The node of the administrative apparatus was the Sultan. He was the ruler of the
entire realm, and after accession to the throne — he had absolute power in his
hands. He was the supreme commander of the army, and it was he, or officers
appointed by him, who led armies to conquer other areas. Thus, the sultan was in
many ways the head of the administrative system.
● Khutba and Sikka were recognized as important attributes of sovereignty. Khutba
was the formal sermon following the congregational prayer on Fridays wherein the
name of the sultan was mentioned as the head of the community.
● Coinage was the ruler’s prerogative: his name was inscribed on the coins (Sikka)
NATURE OF KINGSHIP
● No clear and well-defined law of succession developed in the Sultanate.
Hereditary principle was accepted but not adhered to invariably.
● There was no rule that only the eldest son would succeed (primogeniture). In one
case, even a daughter was nominated (for example, Raziya Sultan).
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● At any rate, a slave, unless he was manumitted, that is, freed, could not claim
sovereignty. In fact, as it operated in the Sultanate, 'the longest the sword, the
greater the claim'.
● Thus, in the absence off any succession rule in the very beginning intrigues
surfaced to usurp power: After Aibak's death, it was not his son Aram Shah but his
slave and son-in-law Iltutmish who captured the throne.
● Iltutmish's death (1236 AID.) was followed by a long period of struggle and strife
when finally Balban, Iltutmish's slave of the "Forty" fame, assumed power in 1266
A.D.
● Balban attempted to give a new shape to the concept of kingship to salvage the
prestige of the office of the Sultan, but the struggle for power that started soon
after Balban's death confirms again that the 'sword' remained the main deciding
factor.
● Kaiqubad was installed at the throne against the claims of Balban's nominee,
Kaikhusrau.
● Later, he was even slain by the Khalji Maliks (1290 A.D.) who laid the foundation
of the Khalji rule. In 1296 A.D.
● Alauddin Khalji, killed his uncle, Jalaluddin Khalji and occupied the throne.
Alauddin Khalji's death signalled civil war and scramble for power.
● Muhammad Tughluq's reign weakened due,to the rebellions of amirs. Rivalries
that followed after Feroz Tughluq ultimately led to the rise of the Sayyids (1414-51
A.D.).
● With the accession of the Lodis (1451-1526 A.D.) a new element-the Afghans was
added. The Afghans had a certain peculiar concept of sovereignty. They were
prepared to accept the position of a Sultan over them, but they sought to partition
the empire among their clans (Farmulis, Sarwanis, Niyazh, etc.).
● After the death of Sultan Sikandar Lodi (1517 A.D.), the empire was divided
between Ibrahim and Jalal. Even the royal privileges and prerogatives were equally
shared by the clan members.
● For example, keeping elephants was the royal privilege but Azam Humayun
Sarwani is reported to have possessed seven hundred elephants.
● Besides, the Afghans entertained the concept of maintaining tribal militia which
in the long run greatly hampered the military efficiency of the Central
Government.
● It is true that Sikandar Lodi tried to keep the ambitious Afghan nobles in check,
but it seems that the concept of Afghan polity was more tilted towards
decentralization that created fissures in the end.
Wizarat (Finance)
● After the seat of the sultan, the most important office in the sultanate was the
Diwani-Wizarat, headed by the wazir. He had under him a naib wazir.
● He was the primary advisor to the sultan, and often gave advice which, in
retrospect it is possible to say, may have shaped the course of history.
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● Muslim political thinkers tried to generalize this situation by saying that there was
two types of wazirs, the wazir-i-tafiviz who had unlimited powers except to
appoint his successor, and the wazir-i-tanfiz who merely carried out the wishes of
the ruler.
● The ruler wanted a wazir who was influential enough to relieve him from the day
to day burdens of government, but not powerful enough to eclipse or displace
him.
● To resolve this problem, a number of experiments were made.
● lltutmish's wazir was Fakhruddin Isami, an old man who had served in high offices
at Baghdad for thirty years. He was soon succeeded by Muhammad Junaidi, who
had the title of Nizamul Mulk. Muhammad Junaidi was a powerful person.
● However, his opposition to Razia cost him his office and his life.
● After the death of Razia, Muhazzab Ghanavi emerged for some time as a king
maker. But he suffered an eclipse with the rise of Balban to power.
● As the most powerful noble, Balban claimed, and was granted the post of naib-
us-sultanat, or deputy to the sultan. As such, Balban exercised all the power, the
wazir remaining under his shadow.
● When Balban became the ruler after displacing Nasiruddin Mahmud, he
abolished the post of naib-ns-sultanat. Balban was too dominating a person to
allow any powerful wazir to emerge. Though Balban did appoint a wazir, Khawaja
Hasan, he seems to have remained a titular wazir since he had little idea of
revenue affairs.
● The power of the wazir was further cut down by Balban appointing Ahmad Ayaz,
his favourite, as the Muster-Master (Ariz-i-Mamalik) who was responsible for the
payment, and maintenance of the efficiency of the army. Balban also appointed a
deputy wazir.
● The office of the wazir remained under eclipse till the end of Alauddin Khalji's
reign. Khwaja Khatir who had been a deputy wazir during the reign of Balban and
was a revenue expert, was re-inducted as wazir by Jalaluddin Khalji, and
continued for some time under Alauddin Khalji. But he was soon replaced by
Nusrat Khan, the sultan's brother, who was a noted warrior of his age.
● When Nusrat Khan died, the post of wazir was given to Malik Kafur, a favourite of
the king and a leading general. He combined the post of wazir with the post of
naib-us-sultanat.
● After the death of Alauddin, as naib Malik Kafur tried to act as king maker, but was
replaced by Khusrau Malik who also took the post of naib, and then ascended the
throne.
● Thus, the post of naib had come into bad odour and the Tughlaqs discontinued it
on coming to power.
● Later, it was revived in the 15th century by the Saiyid rulers under the title Wakil-
us-sultanat— a post which continued with some ups and downs till the time of
the Mughals.
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● Tughlaq rule is the period of the high water mark of the institution of wizarat in
India.
● After some experimentation by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, Muhammed bin Tughlaq
appointed Ahmed Ayaz with the title of Khan-i-Jahan as wazir.
● Khan-i-Jahan was an elderly person, and had worked as deputy in the department
of public works during the reign of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq. He was considered to be
a rigid but competent officer.
● The Sultan had so much confidence in him that he was left in charge of the
administration at Delhi when the sultan was out campaigning, or pursuing rebels.
He remained wazir throughout the long reign of twenty-eight years of Muhammad
bin Tughlaq, though we do not know his actual influence on Muhammad bin
Tughlaq and his policies.
● He did not try to, or was not allowed to build a group of his supporters so that he
failed miserably when, on Muhammad bin Tughlaq's death, he tried to prop up his
own nominee on the throne at Delhi.
● Firuz Tughlaq appointed as wazir Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul, a converted Tailang
brahman who had been deputy to the previous wazir. That an orthodox ruler like
Firuz could appoint a converted Hindu to such a high post shows how far the Delhi
sultanate had travelled from the time of Balban.
● The wazir was competent, and Firuz could depend on him to deal with all the
affairs of state when he was out campaigning, as for example in Bengal, or Orissa.
But it would be wrong to think that Firuz himself took no interest in administration,
and that Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul was all in all.
● Thus, when there was a sharp conflict between the wazir and his auditor-general,
Ain-i-Mahru, and the wazir tried to transfer the auditor-general, Firuz intervened,
and an amicable arrangement was arrived at. It has been rightly argued that Khan-
i-Jahan's success lay in managing Firuz rather than act as a rival centre of power.
● When Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul died in 1368-69 after serving as wazir for eighteen
years, he was, according to agreement, succeeded by his son, Jauna Khan, who
was also given the title of Khan-i-Jahan. Khan-iJahan II was equally, if not more
competent than his father. But he was no military leader, and failed in the conflict
for succession which began even during the lifetime of Firuz.
● He was captured, and executed. However, the charge that he wanted to set up his
own nominee on the throne is not accepted by many modern historians, such as
R.P. Tripathi.
● Under the Tughlaqs, the wazirs not only had great prestige, they received very high
salaries. In the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, while the highest grandee, a
Khan, received many lakhs of tankas annually as pay, Khan-i-Jahan received a
salary, which was equal to the income of Iraq.
● Under Firuz, Khani -Jahan Maqbul received 13 lakhs tankas as pay over the above
the expenses of his army and servants.
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● In addition, each of his sons received a wajah (salary) of 11,000 tankas, and his
sons-in-law even higher, 15,000 tankas each. That was how Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul
could present 4 lakh tankas every year to the Sultan.
The main function of the wazir was to look after the financial organisation of the state,
give advice to the sultan, and on occasions to lead military expeditions at the sultan’s
behest. Another important function included supervising the payment to the army,
the largest “non-producing” class of royal retainers. His office also kept a check on
land revenue collections from different parts of the empire.
● The Wizarat maintained a record of all the income and expenditure incurred by the
state. Therefore, the salaries of all royal servants in different parts of the empire
were controlled and/or recorded by this office. Charitable donations such as
waqfs, inams, etc were also handled by this department.
● Further, the mints, the royal buildings, intelligence departments and other sundry
affiliations of the royal court like the karkhanas, were all supervised by the
Wizarat.
● They also had a number of minor departments working under their supervision
with more specific functions. These included, for instance, the Mustaufi-i-
Mumalik [Auditor General, incharge of expenditure], Mushrif-i-Mumalik
[Accountant General, incharge of income] and the Majmudar [keeper of loans and
balances from treasury].
● With the passage of time, however, the complexities of the greatly enlarged
geographical territory saw further streamlining and introduction of new offices
which were monitored by the wazir and wizarat. These included the Diwan-i-
Waqoof [introduced by Jalaluddin Khalaji to supervise expenditure only; i.e, after
separating ‘income’ records from ‘expenditure’ records]; Diwan-i-Mustakhraj [set
up by Alauddin Khalaji to enquire into and realise arrears of revenue payments
from the different parts of the empire]; and the Diwan-I Amir Kohi [under
Muhammad bin Tughlaq, this department was responsible for bringing
uncultivated land into cultivation through state support].
● The wazir and the Diwan-i-Wizarat were thus the most important and trusted
offices of the empire. This was also evident from the fact that the wazir was one
of the very few persons who had direct access to the ruler and, according to Ibn
Battuta, stood closest to the sultan at court. It was on the wazir’s wisdom,
sagacity, sincerity and loyalty that the position and success of the sultan was
greatly dependent.
Diwan-i-Arz
● The Diwan-i-Arz was instituted especially to look after the military organisation of
the empire. It was headed by Ariz-i-Mumalik.
● The special responsibility of the Ariz-i-Mamalik was to recruit, equip and pay the
army. The Ariz was not the commander-in-chief of the army, the sultan himself
being the commander-in-chief. But the Ariz was invariably a leading noble, and a
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warrior in his own right. The Ariz is asked to be the friend and well wisher of the
soldier, and to look after him like his own son.
● The office of the Ariz existed under the Abbasids, and is mentioned in the Siyasat
Nama. It probably existed under iltutmish because we are told by Barani that
Ahmad Ayaz Rawat-i-Arz who was appointed Ariz-i-Mamalik by Balban, had held
this post for thirty years under the Shamsi rulers. Balban gave more importance
to this post than that of the wazir. So much so that Ahmad Ayaz declared. "Let all
those assembled hear: the (chief) defender and assistant of the system of
government and administration is "I".
● However, it was under Alauddin Khalji that the functioning of this office was
properly organized, with the introduction of the branding system (dagh) for horses
so that horses of inferior quality were not presented, an efficient cavalry force
being the main element on which the Turkish rulers depended.
● Alauddin Khilji introduced the system of dagh (branding) and huliyah (description)
and cash payment to soldiers. This was meant to strengthen his control over the
army.
● Firuz Tughlaq did away with the system of dagh and huliyah however Muhammad
Tughlaq continued the system of dagh. Under Sikandar Lodi huliyah was referred
to as chehrah.
● The Mir-Hajib or superintendent of the royal stables, a post held by Malik Yaqut
during the reign of Razia, and the Darogha-i-Pil or Keeper of the royal elephant
stables, were considered important officers till the office of the Ariz had been
organized. We hardly hear of the nobles who held these posts thereafter.
● According to Ibn Battutah, who came to India during the reign of Muhammad bin
Tughlaq, when anyone wanted to be enrolled in the army of the governor of Multan
as an archer, his strength was tested by giving him bows of different stiffness. If
he wanted to be enrolled as a trooper, a target was set up which he had to hit with
his lance, and to lift a ring from the ground with his lance while the horse was on
the gallop. A mounted archer had to hit a ball on the ground while galloping his
horse.
● This must have been part of a general system. The training mentioned above must
have continued after recruitment.
Diwan-i-Insha
● Royal authority was conducted to a fair degree through declarations,
announcements, farmans, and the like.
● The Diwan-i-Insha, headed by the Dabir-i-Khas, looked after the department of
royal correspondence.
● He drafted and dispatched royal orders, and received reports from officers in
various parts of the empire.
● This reflected the diplomatic perspective which conveyed in carefully chosen
language the commands of the ruler.
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● The Dabir was the formal channel of communication between the centre and the
other areas of the empire, and at a time when transport and communication was
underdeveloped, the job was made more difficult.
● The Dabir was also the private secretary of the sultan, responsible for writing the
farmans [except in the reign of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughluq when the office lost its
importance].
● The Diwan-i-Insha was nor a foreign office. In those days, relations between
states were not so.
● continuous as to need a separate office, or minister of foreign affairs.
● The wazir was expected, however, to keep track of developments in neighbouring
countries, and to keep the ruler informed.
● Formal epistles or letters were sometimes dispatched to neighbouring rulers and
towns to register a new succession to the throne or announce a major event, such
as a victory.
● These letters which were sometimes written in a grand manner with a great literary
flourish, were drafted, copied and despatched by the Diwan-i-Insha which was
headed by a dabir, or dabir-i-khas.
Diwan-i-Risalat
● The Diwan-i-Risalat is one of the four major ministries mentioned by Barani. But
the functions of this office were not mentioned by him, and there has been a sharp
division of opinion among modern historians about its duties.
● Some call it a ministry of foreign affairs, others a department for control of prices
and public morals, and still others a department of hearing public grievances.
● From its title—the word risalat being derived from rasul or a prophet, it apparently
had a holy character.
● One of the functions of medieval states was to grant stipends of rent-free lands
(inilak) to Muslim scholars and divines, the learned, and the recluse etc.
● The chief person in charge of this ecclesiastical department was either the Sadr-
i-Jahan, or the Wakil-i-Dar who was also called Rasul-i-Dar.
● Apart from the post of Sadr-i-Jahan, another important post was that of the Chief
Qazi or Qazi -ul-Qazzat who was the head of the judicial department.
● Sometimes, the posts of Sadr-i-Jahan and Chief Qazi were combined.
● Apart from granting stipends and revenue-free lands, the Sadr's department was
also responsible for the appointment of muhtasibs, or censor of public morals.
● These officials were meant to check gambling, prostitution and other vices, as
also to ensure that Muslims did not publicly violate what was prohibited in the
shara, such as wine-drinking, or not observing what were considered obligatory
duties, such as namaz (public prayers), roza (fasting during the month of
Ramzan).
● They were also to check weights and measures, and to keep a broad check on
prices. All this fell within the ambit of the diwan-i-risalat.
● The duties of the diwan-i-risalat could be added to or separate offices created.
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● When Alauddin was concerned with the control of the market, he appointed
shuhnas to control the different markets, and a prominent noble was deputed to
supervise their work. This was called the diwan-i-risalat. After the death of
Alauddin, and the disappearance of the market controls, we do not hear of this
department.
● Firuz Tughlaq who augmented the stipend and imlak (revenue free lands) of the
scholars, theologians and the students, was also concerned with abolishing the
injunctions prescribed by shara for disfiguring people by cutting off hands, ears,
nose etc. in punishment. He also wanted to have the reputation of being a
humane ruler.
● He separated the office of sadr and chief qazi. He also set up a separate
department of public grievances, which he called diwan-i-risalat.
● This was headed by a prominent noble, apparently the wakil-i-dar.
● Even the wazir and princes could apply to this department for redressal of
grievances.
● Thus, the diwan-i-risalat had different forms under different rulers, but its basic
function of giving stipends and revenue-free lands to the deserving and the needy
seems to have continued all the time.
Diwan-i-Mazalim
● It was headed by Amir-i-Dad in the absence of the Sultan.
● His role was to supervise the qadis, kotwal (police) and muhtasib (Executive
officer who supervised and enforced the public morals and public conveniences).
● Diwan-i-Qada was placed under a Qadi-i-mumalik. He was incharge of religious
and legal matters. Local qadis (judges) were chosen by him.
Smaller Departments
● Apart from these, there were a number of smaller ‘departments’ at the centre
which helped in the everyday administration of the empire.
● In a situation where the sultan was the centre of power, the organisation of the
court and of the royal household became matters of prime importance.
● However, unlike the Mughals, there was no single officer in charge of the court
and the royal household during the Sultanate.
● The most important officer concerned with the royal household was the wakil-i-
dar. He controlled the entire royal household and supervised the payment of
allowances and salaries to the sovereign's personal staff which included the royal
kitchen, the wine department and the royal stables. He was even responsible for
the education of the princes. The courtiers, the princes, the sultan's private
servants, even the queens had to approach him for various favors. As such, the
post was of great importance and sensitivity, and was bestowed only to a noble of
high rank and prestige.
● Another officer of high importance connected with the court and the royal
household was Amir Hajib. He was also called barbek. He was master of
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ceremonies at the court. He marshalled the nobles in accordance with their ranks
and precedence. All petitions to the Sultan were presented through him, or his
subordinates, called hajibs.
● The post was so sensitive that sometimes princes of blood were appointed to it.
● Another important officer connected with the royal household was the barid-i-
khas, or the head of the intelligence department. Spies or barids were appointed
to different parts of the empire. It was their business to keep the sultan informed
of all the developments. This was the main weapon used by Balban and Alauddin
Khalji to control and demoralise the nobles.
● There were many minor officials such as the head of the hunt, the officer in charge
of royal parties (majlis) etc. whom we may pass over. Two departments which,
however, may be noted are the Karkhana or royal stores and the Public Works
department. The Karkhanas were responsible for the storing and manufacture of
all the articles required by the Sultan and the royal household. This included food
and fodder, lamps and oil, clothes, furniture, tents etc.
● Firuz Tughlaq gave great importance to the karkhanas, and many slaves were
trained to become good artisans in these departments. Robes of silk and wool
which were distributed to the nobles twice a year by Muhammad bin Tughlaq were
manufactured in the royal karkhanas.
● Each karkhana was supervised by a noble of rank, and was assisted by a large
staff of accountants and supervisors.
● From the time of Alauddin Khalji, great importance was given to the department
of public works or diwan-i-amirat.
● But the prince of builders was Firuz Tughlaq who not only repaired many old
buildings, including sarais, mausoleums etc. but dug canals, and built many new
towns. A separate department, therefore, was set up under Malik Ghazi who was
called Mir-i-Imarat.
Conflict Between the Nobility And The Sultans
● Political history of the Sultanate period testifies that consolidation and decline of
the Sultanate were largely the result of constructive and destructive activities of
the nobles (umara). The nobles always tried to maximise their demands in terms
of the economic and political gains.
● Under the Ilbarite rule (1206-90 A.D.), the conflicts usually revolved around three
issues: succession, organization of the nobility and division of economic and
political power between them and the Sultans.
● When Qutbuddin Aibak became the Sultan, his authority was not accepted by the
influential nobles such as Qubacha (governor of Multan and Uchh), Yilduz
(governor of Ghazni), and Ali' Mardan (governor of Bengal).
● This particular problem was inherited by Iltutmish who finally overcame it through
diplomacy as well as by force. Later, Iltutmish organised the nobles in a '
corporate body, known as Turkan-i chihilgani ("The Forty”) which was personally
loyal to him.
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● Naturally, other groups of nobles envied the status and Privileges of the members
of the "Forty", but this does not mean that' the latter were free from their internal
bickerings. At the most they united in one principle: to plug the entry of non-
Turkish persons in the charmed circle as far as possible.
● On the other hand, the "Forty" tried to retain its political influence over the Sultan
who would not like to alienate this group, but at the same time would not
surrender his royal privilege of appointing persons of other groups as officers.
● Thus, a delicate balance was achieved by Iltutmish which broke down after his
death. For example, Iltutmish had declared his daughter, Raziya, as his successor
during his life, but some nobles did not approve her succession after his death,
because she tried to 'organize non-Turkish groups (Abyssinians and Indians) as
counterweight to the "Forty".
● That was one main reason why a number of nobles of this group supported her
brother, Ruknuddin whom they thought to be incompetent and weak, thereby
giving them an opportunity to maintain their position.
● This spectacle continued during the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud (1246-66 A.D.)
also, as exemplified by the rise and fall of Immaduddin Raihan, an Indian convert.
This episode coincided with the banishment of Balban who was the naib (deputy)
of Sultan Mahmud (and also belonged to the "Forty') and his subsequent recall.
● During Balban's reign (1266-87 A.D.), the influence of the turkan-i chihilgani was
minimized. Since he himself was a member of the "Forty” before his accession,
he was fully aware of the nobles' rebellious activities.
● Therefore, he eased out the "tallest poppies amongst them through assassin's
dagger or poisoning, even including his cousin. On the other hand, he formed a
group of loyal and trusted nobles called "Balbanl".
● The removal of many members of the "Forty” deprived the state of the services of
veterans and the void could not be fulfilled by the new and not so experienced
'Bhlbani" nobles. This situation inevitably led to the fall of the llbarite rule, paving
the way for the Khaljis.
● The reign of Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316 A.D.) saw a broadening in the composition
of nobles. He did not admit of monopolisation of the state by any one single group
of nobles.
● State offices were open to talent and loyalty, to the exclusion of race and creed.
Besides, he controlled them through various measures.
● Moreover, the enhancement of land revenue up to 50 per cent of the surplus
produce must have pacified the nobles because an increase in the revenue of
their respective iqta would have raised their salaries, too.
● Territorial expansion also provided enough resources towards recruiting persons
with talent. The case of MaIik Kafur, an Abyssinian slave, is well-known. But this
situation was short lived: the death of Alauddin Khalji brought out once again the
dissensions and conspiracies of the nobles, leading to the elimination of the
Khaljis as rulers.
History Optional June 2024 Batch Abhishek Mishra

● As for the Tughluqs, you know how Muhammad Tughluq made attempts to
organize nobles again and again, with turns and twists. But all his efforts failed to
put them under check. Even the Khurasanis, whom he used to call "Aizzah" (the
dear ones), betrayed him. The problems created by the nobles can be gauged
from the fact that twenty-two rebellions took place during his reign with the loss
of at least one territory, later known as Bahmani kingdom.
● The crisis set in motion after Muhammad Tughluq's death seems to have gone out
of hands. Under these circumstances, Feroz Tughluq could not be expected to be
stern with the nobles. They were given many concessions. They succeeded in
making their iqtas hereditary. The appeasement policy of the Sultan pleased the
nobles, but in the long run, it proved disastrous.
● The army became inefficient because the practice of branding (dagh) of the
horses introduced By Alauddin Khalji was almost given up.
● It was not possible, henceforth, for his descendants or later rulers to roll back the
tide of decline of the Delhi Sultanate.
● Under the Sayyids (1414-51 A.D.) and the Lodis (1451-1526 A.D.), the situation did
not appear to be comfortable: the former were not at all fit for the role of saviours.
● Sikandar Lodi made the last attempt to prevent the looming catastrophe. But
dissensions among the Afghans and their unlimited individual ambitions
hastened the final demise, actually its murder, with Babur as the executioner.
Iqta System
The initial Turkish conquests in the early 13th century displaced many local chiefs (whom
the contemporary sources refer to as rai and rana). In order to consolidate, the Turkish
rulers made revenue assignments (iqta), in lieu of cash to their nobles (umara). The
assignees (known as muqti and wali) collected revenue from these areas, defrayed their
own expenses, paid the troops maintained by them and sent the surplus (fawazil) to the
centre.
● Shamsa ud-din Iltutmish established the "Iqta' system" based on Mohammad
Gori's ideas
● Iqta is an Arabic word and the institution had been in force in the early Islamic
world as a form of reward for services to the State. It was used in the Caliphate
administration as a way of financing operations and paying civil and military
officers.
● The grant of iqta did not imply a right to the land nor was it hereditary though the
holders of iqta tended to acquire hereditary rights in Firuz Tughlaq’s reign.
● These revenue assignments were transferable, the iqta-holder being transferred
from one region to another every three or four years.
● The assignments could be large (a whole province or a part).
● Assignments given to nobles carried administrative, military and revenue
collecting responsibilities.
● Thus, provincial administration was headed by the muqti or wali. He had to
maintain an army composed of horsemen and foot soldiers.
History Optional June 2024 Batch Abhishek Mishra

The classical definition of the iqta system has been given by Nizam-ul Mulk Tus in his
Siyasatnama:
“They (the muqtis) should know that their right over the subjects is only to take the rightful
amount of money or perquisite (mal-i haqq) in a peaceful manner... the life, property and
the family of the subject should be immune from any harm, the muqtis have no right over
them; if the subject desires to make a direct appeal to the Sultan, the muqti should not
prevent him. Every muqti who violates these laws should be dismissed and punished…
the muqtis and walis are so many superintendents over them as the king is
superintendent over other muqti... After three or four years, the amils and the muqtis
should be transferred so that they may not be too strong.”
● Iltutmish (1210-36) is reported to have assigned in lieu of salaries “small iqtas” in
the Doab to the soldiers of the Sultan's army (hashm qalb).
● The holders of large Iqta were the provincial governors, who had some
administrative responsibilities also. On the other hand, the holders of the small
Iqtas were the small troops holders who had no administrative responsibilities
● It was Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316) who firmly established the practice of payment
of salaries in cash to the soldiers.
● A practice that was again altered by Firuz Tughlaq who began to assign villages to
soldiers in lieu of their salaries. These assignments were called wajh and the
holders wajhdars. These assignments tended to be not only permanent but
hereditary.
Iqta System in Operation
● In the early years of the foundation of the Sultanate, neither the revenue income
of these assignments was known nor the size of the contingent of the assignee
was fixed. However, certain modifications and mild attempts at introducing
central control to some extent were made by Balban (1266-86) when he
appointed a khwaja (accountant) with each muqti: this may imply that the
Sultanate now was trying to find out the actual income of the iqta and muqti’s
expenditure.
● The real intervention in the iqta administration came under Alauddin Khalji. The
central finance department (diwan-i wizarat) perhaps prepared some sort of an
estimated revenue income from each iqta. The audit was stringent, punishments
severe, transfers frequent and enhancements (taufir) were often made in the
estimated revenue income of the iqta on various pretexts.
● Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320-25) introduced some moderation. The
enhancements in the estimated revenue income by the central finance ministry
was not to be more than 1/10 or 1/11th annually. The muqtis were allowed to keep
l/10th to l/20th in excess of their sanctioned salaries.
● The attempt at central intervention reached its climax during the time of
Muhammad Tughlaq (1325-51). In several cases, a wali and an amir were
appointed to the same territory. The wali was to collect revenue and, after
History Optional June 2024 Batch Abhishek Mishra

deducting his pay, to send the rest to the treasury. The amir or commander had
nothing to do with revenue realization and received his own salary and the salary
of his troops in cash, presumably from the local treasury. During Muhammad
Tughlaq’s reign the troops of the iqta holders were paid in cash by the state's
treasury. This possibility infuriated the commanders and created political
problems for Muhammad Tughlaq.
● Firuz Tughlaq, therefore, decided to make concessions. He enhanced the cash
salaries of the nobles and got new estimates of revenue (mahsul) prepared which
was designated jama.
● There was no attempt to restore central control by the successors of Firuz. Under
the Lodis (1451-1426), the administrative charges and revenue assignments were
combined together and these were no longer called iqta but were simply called
sarkars and parganas. A system of sub-assignments came in vogue particularly
under Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517). The main assignees used to sub-assign portions
of their assignment to their subordinates who in turn made sub-assignments to
their soldiers.
Iqta and the Dispersal of Resources among the Ruling Class
● The income of the Sultanate was primarily and largely derived from the land
revenue. Khalisa was the term for the land whose revenue was exclusively meant
for the Sultan himself, while the revenue from the land, called iqta, was assigned
by the state to the nobles. The muqtis or iqta-holders were required to furnish
military assistance to the Sultan in times of need, apart from maintaining law and
order and collecting the revenue from their iqta.
● These revenue assignments were generally non-hereditary and transferable. In
fact, it was through the institution of iqta that the Sultan was able to control the
nobles. The muqti collected land revenue from the peasants of his territory and
defrayed therefrom his own salary as well as that of his soldiers. The demand to
send the excess amounts (fawazil) to the diwan-i wizarat was symbolic of the
trend towards centralization. The muqti had to submit accounts of their
realisation and expenditure to the treasury. Auditing was severe to prevent fraud.
● Alauddin Khalji also took other measures for controlling his nobility. Regular
reports from the barids (intelligence officers) kept him posted with the actions of
the nobles. A check was kept on their socialising, and marriages between them
could not take place without the permission of the Sultan. These measures have
to be seen against the background of recurrent incidents of rebellions in which
the muqtis utilised and appropriated the resources of their areas, to rebel or to
make a bid for the throne. This explains the principle of transfer also.
● Under Muhammad Tughlaq (1325-1351), the nobles were given iqta in lieu of cash
salary but their troops were paid in cash by the treasury in contrast to the earlier
period. These new fiscal arrangements and the greater control over assignments
possibly contributed to the conflict between the Sultan and the nobles since they
were deprived of the gains of the iqta management.
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● However, during the reign of Firuz Tughlaq there was a general retreat from the
practice of increased central authority over iqta. In practice, Firuz started granting
iqta to the sons and heirs of iqta-holders. The long reign of Firuz Tughlaq
comparatively witnessed few rebellions but it also saw the beginning of the
disintegration and decentralisation.
● By the time of the Lodis (1451-1526), the iqtadars (now called wajhdars) do not
seem to have been subject to constant transfers.
Provincial and Local Government
● The Sultanate comprised of provinces placed in charge of governors called wali
or muqti. In the 14th century with the consolidation of the sultanate the provinces
became unmanageable and were therefore partitioned into shiqs for
administrative convenience. They were administered by the shiqdars.
Subsequently the shiqs got transformed into sarkars in the Afghan period. The
sarkar as a territorial unit comprised of a number of parganas.
● A number of iqtas could be grouped together to form a province, called Khitta or
vialayat.
● According to Barani, there were 20 provinces in the Sultanate when it did not
include the south.
● The governor was helped in his military duties by the Ariz who looked after the
military contingents under the supervision of the governor. The Ariz was placed
under the Ariz-i-Mumalik.
Local Administration: Role of Khots, Zamindars, Rais, Ranas, etc.
● When the Turks conquered the country, they divided it into a number of tracts
called iqtas which were parcelled out among the leading Turkish nobles.
● The holders of these offices were called muqtis or walis. It were these tracts which
later became provinces or subas. We are told that under Muhammad Tughlaq
there were twenty-four provinces stretching upto Mabar in the south.
● At first, the muqtis were almost independent; they were expected to maintain law
and order in their tracts, and collect the land revenue due to the government.
● Out of the money they collected they were expected to meet the salaries due to
the soldiers and keep the balance. As the central government became stronger
and gained experience, it began to control the muqtis more closely.
● It began to try to ascertain the actual income, and to fix the salaries of the soldiers
and the muqti in cash. The muqti was now required to remit to the centre the
balance of the income after meeting the expenditure.
● The auditing of the accounts, which took place after a couple of years was often
accompanied by harshness, including torture and imprisonment of the muqti.
These were relaxed by Firuz Tughlaq towards the end of the Sultanat.
● Below the provinces were the shiqs and below them the pargana. We do not know
much about the administration of these units. We are told that the villagers were
History Optional June 2024 Batch Abhishek Mishra

grouped into units of 100 to 84 (traditionally called chaurasi). This must have been
the basis of the parganas. The pargana was headed by the amil.
● The most important persons in the village were the khut (landowners) and
muqaddam or headman. We also hear of the village accountant or patwari. We do
not know how exactly the village was administered—it was perhaps not interfered
with as long as it paid the land revenue due from it.
Other Officers: Shiqdar, Faujdar, Amil, etc
● Ziya Barani mentions two other officers — the shiqdar and the faujdar — at the
provincial level. Shiqdar is mentioned during Alauddin Khalji’s period. Barni also
refers to shiqdar and faujdar during Mohammad Tughlaq’s reign. Their duties are
not very clearly articulated, and often the role of the two seems to overlap.
● The shiqdar was in charge of a shiq, and assisted the governor in the maintenance
of law and order [particularly criminal justice] and provided military assistance,
especially if it was required in the collection of land revenue, or the suppression
of local rebellions. His salary seems to have been derived from the revenue
collections of the area [though we have no direct evidence to prove it] and it was
a fairly stable office since we find mention of it even during the Lodi period and
onwards.
● The shiqdar’s duties also included supervising the functioning of the smaller
administrative units such as the pargana. The duties of the faujdar were much
similar to that of the shiqdar, yet they seem to have existed simultaneously.
● In most cases, the shiqdar was superior to the faujdar though this seems to have
been reversed in the period of the Saiyyids. In the Tughlaq period in the deccan,
shiq was bigger than a district. Smaller shiqs are also mentioned under the
Tughlaqs. Shiqdar was assisted by the faujdars in maintaining law and order
during the Tughlaq period. The kotwal was placed under the faujdar. Under the
Lodis the shiqdar was the pargana or city officer who were responsible for both
civil and military administration.
● The shiqdar and faujdar were helped in carrying out their duties by a host of other
local officials including the Qazi [dealt mostly with civil cases and acted as a
jurisconsult since he was educated in the Quran], Amil [primarily responsible for
the collection of revenue], Amin [carried out measurement of land in the reign of
Sikandar Lodi as mentioned in the sources (Waq’at-i-Mushtaqi, late 16th century)
and Kotwal [an office of varying importance, he was under the shiqdar/faujdar,
and helped in the maintenance of law and order].
● The financial accounts of the provincial income and expenditure were maintained
by the Sahib-i-Diwan, who was appointed by the sultan on the recommendation
of the wazir. He was the book-keeper of provincial revenue, and was assisted in
his task by mutassarifs and karkuns. The nazir and waquf were officers who
looked after the collection of the revenue and expenditure respectively.
● We also find mention of the office of the Khwaja (probably same as Sahib-i-
Diwan), who kept a record of the income of the iqta, on the basis of which the
History Optional June 2024 Batch Abhishek Mishra

sultan was able to make his revenue demands. The Khwaja was also appointed by
the sultan on the recommendation of the wazir. This office was important
because the agricultural produce of the entire sultanate was never uniform, and
so the taxation system and demand were different for different parts of the
sultanate depending on the yield of different areas.
ARMY ORGANISATION
● The contingents stationed at Delhi was called Hasham-i-qalb and included
among others royal slaves and guards. Provincial contingents were called
hasham-i-atraf. Garrisons are mentioned in the time of Qutbuddin Aibak which
were placed under Kotwals. Cavalry was composed of murattab, sawar and do-
aspah (men with 2 horses, single horse and no horses of their own respectively).
● Elephant establishment at Delhi was supervised by the Shahnah-i-fil. The infantry
or foot soldiers were referred to as paiks (generally Hindus, slaves or persons of
low origin).
● The decimal system (multiples of 10) was the basis of army organisation under the
Ghaznavids and Mongols. Sultans of Delhi followed a similar system.
● Barani in his Tarikh-I-Firoz Shahi discusses the army organisation, “A sarkhail
commands 10 chosen horsemen; a sipah-salar 10 sarkhails; an amir 10 sipha-
salars; a malik 10 amirs, a khan 10 maliks, and a king should have at least 10
khans under his command”.
● Barani also refers to amirani-sada (centurians) and amiran-i-hajara (commanders
of one thousand). The hierarchy comprised of Sarkhail at the bottom (with 10
horse men subordinate to him), a sipah-salar (had 10 sarkhail under him), amir
(10 sipah-salars below him), malik (had power over 10 amirs), Khan’s troops (were
equal to troops under 10 maliks).
● The masalik-ul-absar (An Arabic source of the 14th century) gives an estimate of
the salaries of officers: Khan: 1 lakh tankhas, malik: 50 to 60 thousand tankhas,
etc. Soldiers were directly paid in cash by the central government during the time
of Khaljis and Tughlaqs. The nobles were given assignments of revenue in lieu of
salary. The standing army comprised of regular troops called wajhis and irregular
called ghair wajhis. Sometimes soldiers were also paid through itlaq (drafts)
Barani in Tarikh-I-Firoz Shahi says that Muhammad Tughlaq told the governor of Dhar
(Malwa) ‘ I hear that everyone who rebels does so owing to the support of the amiran-i-
sadah (Sadah amirs: commanders of one hundred) and the amirani-sadah support him
owing to their anger (at the imperial policy) and love of plunder.’
REVENUE ADMINISTRATION
● Since the economy in the Indian subcontinent was predominantly agrarian, the
primary source of income for the state was land revenue. States from ancient
times had taxed the farmer on their produce, and appropriated a portion of it as
tax/revenue to sustain the larger state structures. With the passage of time, the
machinery of tax collection had crystallised in different parts of the subcontinent.
History Optional June 2024 Batch Abhishek Mishra

Therefore, as the sultans expanded the frontiers of the sultanate, they were able
to utilise the existing administrative machinery for their purposes.
● The primacy of agriculture in the economy meant that the village remained the
basic unit of administration in the Delhi sultanate.
● The state held large tracts of land [khalisa] which were tilled by farmers
maintained by the centre and from where all the revenue came to the central
treasury through the agency of officials called amils. But the largest part of the
land was distributed as iqta within the sultanate.
● The centre’s policy of revenue collection reached its highest of one-half of the
produce during the reign of Alauddin Khalji, who had adopted the policy of actual
measurement of land [called hukm-i misahat] where land was measured and
revenue demand determined on its anticipated yield.
● The taxation principles followed by the Delhi Sultan were to some extent based on
the Hanafi School of Muslim Law. The revenue was broadly categoried into two by
the Muslim Jurists: Fay and Zakat. Fay was further subdivided into Khams, Jizya
and Kharaj. Zakat comprised of tax on flocks, herds, gold, silver, commercial
capital, agricultural produce, etc. Khams represented one fifth of the booty
acquired in war or mine or treasure trove (found) to be handed over to the state.
Jizya was imposed on non-muslims “in return for which they received protection
of life and property and exemption from military services”.
● Kharaj was the tax on land. Initially this tax was not levied on muslims however
due to the need of the state for revenue it was later not practical to give immunity
to muslims from the payment of this tax. Theoretically, the holders of Kharaj land
were to pay land tax whether land was cultivated by them or not.
Agrarian taxation in the Delhi Sultanate
● Barani in his Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi gives a description of Alauddin Khalji’s agrarian
policy in North India’. “The sultan decreed that 3 taxes were to be levied on the
peasants viz. the Kharaj (also called Kharaj-I-jizya) or tax on cultivation; charai, a
tax on milch cattle; and ghari (a tax on houses).
● As for Kharaj, all who engaged in cultivation whether of lands of large or of small
extent were to be subject to (the procedure of) measurement (masahat) and (the
fixation of) the yield per biswa (wafaI-biswa) and were without any exception to
pay half”.
● It seems that generally tax was collected in cash though it was sometimes also
collected in kind for specific purposes. An important consequence of Alauddin
Khalji’s tax administration was that Kharaj or mal henceforth became the main
source through which revenue was exacted from the peasants by the ruling class.
● Three groups of rural aristocracy-khots, muqaddam and chaudhari- who
collected land revenue (kharja) from the peasants on behalf of the state and
deposited the same with the officials of the diwan-I wizarat.
History Optional June 2024 Batch Abhishek Mishra

● For this service, they were allowed perquisites (haqq-I khoti) as remuneration by
the state which consisted of being exempted from the revenue of a portion of land
held by them. This was abolished during the time of Allauddin Khilji.
● Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq introduced changes in the earlier policy and tried to win over
the peasants and village headmen by providing relief measures (exemption from
additional levies, tax on cattle, etc.).The intermediaries got back their haqq-I
khoti. They were exempted from the house and cattle tax.
● Under Muhammad Tughlaq the whole of India including Gujarat, Malwa, Deccan,
South India and Bengal were brought under a monolithic taxation system. Barani
points out that abwab (additional cesses) were imposed on the peasants.
● The three taxes: ghari, charai, and Kharaj were strictly levied. There was thus an
increase in agrarian taxation. Kharaj was now calculated on standard yield and
not actual yield of measured land for assessment in kind.
● For obtaining the assessment in cash instead of actual prices officially laid down
prices were applied. Thus the demand rose. These measures resulted in agrarian
distress. Around this time famine hit Delhi and the Doab.
● Muhammad Tughlaq tried to provide relief by giving the peasants Sondhar
(agrarian loans) for encouraging cultivation through various means.
● Firoz Tughlaq reversed Muhammad Tughlaq’s policy and many agrarian levies
(abwab, ghari and charai) were discontinued. He abolished 23 cesses. However,
Jizya was imposed as a separate tax.
● Careful examination tells us that Jizya was closer to ghari since it was a levy on
the head of the house.
● Firoz also imposed water tax on the villages which utilized the canals and it was
one tenth of the produce.
● During the period of the Lodis land tax was collected in kind due to the declining
price situation.