Pargana or parganah , also spelt pergunnah during the time of the Delhi Sultanate , Mughal Empire times and British Raj , is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent . Each parganas may or may not be subdivided into pirs . Those revenue units are used primarily, but not exclusively, by Muslim kingdoms. After Indian independence the parganas became equivalent to Block / Tahsil and pirs became Grampanchayat .
142-523: Parganas were introduced by the Delhi Sultanate . As a revenue unit, a pargana consists of several mouzas , which are the smallest revenue units, consisting of one or more villages and the surrounding countryside. Under the reign of Sher Shah Suri , administration of parganas was strengthened by the addition of other officers, including a shiqdar (police chief), an amin or munsif (an arbitrator who assessed and collected revenue) and
284-506: A karkun (record keeper). In the 16th century the Mughal emperor Akbar organised the empire into subahs (roughly equivalent of state or province), which were further subdivided into sarkars (roughly the equivalent of districts), which were themselves organised into parganas (roughly the equivalent of district subdivisions such as tehsil). In the Mughal system, parganas served as
426-695: A "centralized structure in the Persian tradition whose task was to mobilize human and material resources for the ongoing armed struggle against both Mongol and Hindu monarchies ". The monarch was not the Sultan of the Hindus or of, say, the people of Haryana, rather in the eyes of the Sultanate's chroniclers, the Muslims constituted what in more recent times would be termed a "Staatsvolk". For many Muslim observers,
568-619: A Sanskrit text containing biographies of the Kharatara Jain monks. While the work was completed in 1336 CE, the part that mentions Prithviraj was written around 1250 CE. The Alha-Khanda (or Alha Raso ) of the Chandela poet Jaganika also provides an exaggerated account of Prithviraj's war against the Chandelas. Some other Indian texts also mention Prithviraj but do not provide much information of historical value. For example,
710-604: A description on the use of water wheels in the Delhi Sultanate. According to historians Arnold Pacey and Irfan Habib , the spinning wheel was introduced to India from Iran during the Delhi Sultanate. Smith and Cothren suggested that it was invented in India during the latter half of the first millennium, but Pacey and Habib said these early references to cotton spinning do not identify a wheel, but more likely refer to hand spinning . The earliest unambiguous reference to
852-530: A discriminatory tax on non-Muslims, although even then it is difficult to see how such a measure could have been enforced outside the principal centres of Muslim authority. The Delhi Sultanate also continued the governmental conventions of the previous Hindu polities, claiming paramountcy of some of its subjects rather than exclusive supreme control. Accordingly, it did not interfere with the autonomy and military of certain conquered Hindu rulers and freely included Hindu vassals and officials. The economic policy of
994-458: A handful of his slaves and family. In 1298, between 15,000 and 30,000 Mongols near Delhi, who had recently converted to Islam, were slaughtered in a single day, due to a mutiny during an invasion of Gujarat. He is also known for his cruelty against kingdoms he defeated in battle. After Ala ud-Din died in 1316 by assassination through his nobles, his general Malik Kafur, who was born to a Hindu family but converted to Islam, assumed de facto power and
1136-540: A kingdom which stretched from Thanesar in the north to Jahazpur (Mewar) in the south, which he aimed to expand by military actions against neighbouring kingdoms, most notably defeating the Chandelas . Prithviraj led a coalition of several Rajput kings and defeated the Ghurid army led by Muhammad of Ghor near Taraori in 1191 However, in 1192, Muhammad returned with an army of Turkish mounted archers and defeated
1278-534: A large infantry. This is most likely a gross exaggeration, aimed at emphasizing the scale of the Ghurid victory. Prithviraj wrote a letter to Muhammad of Ghor, promising him no harm if he decided to return to his own country. Muhammad insisted that he needed time to confer his brother Ghiyath al-Din who was ruling from his capital at Firozkoh . According to Firishta, he agreed to a truce until he received an answer from his brother. However, he planned an attack against
1420-472: A peace treaty with Prithviraj. According to Kharatara-Gachchha-Pattavali , a chief named Abhayada once sought Jagaddeva's permission to attack and rob the wealthy visitors from Sapadalaksha country (the Chahamana territory). In response, Jagaddeva told Abhayada that he had concluded a treaty with Prithviraj with much difficulty. Jaggadeva then threatened to have Abhayada sewn in a donkey's belly if he harassed
1562-471: A result of his wars against the neighbouring Hindu kings . Nevertheless, he managed to gather a large army to counter the Ghurids. Prithviraj successfully marshaled a sizeable army composed of over 100 Rajput rulers, mainly War elephants, cavalrymen and foot soldiers. The 16th century Muslim historian Firishta estimated the strength of Prithviraj's army as 300,000 horses and 3,000 elephants, in addition to
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#17327805854731704-468: A spinning wheel in India is dated to 1350. The worm gear roller cotton gin was invented in the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries; Habib states that the development may likely occurred in peninsular India, before becoming more widespread across India during the Mughal era. The incorporation of the crank handle in the cotton gin may have appeared sometime during the late Delhi Sultanate or the early Mughal Empire. India and China have connections throughout
1846-705: A systematic war of expansion into northern India in 1173. He sought to carve out a principality for himself and expand the Islamic world. Muhammad of Ghor created a Sunni Islamic kingdom of his own extending east of the Indus river, and he thus laid the foundation for the Muslim kingdom called the Delhi Sultanate. Some historians chronicle the Delhi Sultanate from 1192 due to the presence and geographical claims of Muhammad Ghori in South Asia by that time. Muhammad Ghori
1988-486: A town near Delhi named Tughlaqabad . His son Juna Khan and general Ainul Mulk Multani conquered Warangal in south India. According to some historians such as Vincent Smith , he was killed by his son Juna Khan, who then assumed power in 1325. Juna Khan renamed himself as Muhammad bin Tughlaq and ruled for 26 years. During his rule, the Delhi Sultanate reached its peak in terms of geographical reach, covering most of
2130-690: A treaty by 1187 CE. The area around Mount Abu was ruled by the Chandravati Paramara ruler Dharavarsha, who was a Chaulukya feudatory. Partha-Parakrama-Vyayoga , a text written by his younger brother Prahaladana, describes Prithviraj's night attack on Abu. This attack, according to the text, was a failure for the Chahamanas. It probably happened during the Gujarat campaign of Prithviraj. The Gahadavala kingdom, centered around Kannauj and headed by another powerful king Jayachandra ,
2272-412: Is also known as Kaimasa, Kaimash or Kaimbasa in the folk legends, which describe him as an able administrator and soldier devoted to the young king. Prithviraja Vijaya states that he was responsible for all the military victories during the early years of Prithviraj's reign. According to two different legends, Kadambavasa was later killed by Prithviraj. The Prithviraja-Raso claims that Prithviraj killed
2414-471: Is also part of a longer trend predating the spread of Islam . Like other settled , agrarian societies in history, those in the Indian subcontinent have been attacked by nomadic tribes throughout its long history. In evaluating the impact of Islam on the subcontinent, one must note that the northwestern subcontinent was a frequent target of tribes raiding from Central Asia in the pre-Islamic era. In that sense,
2556-627: Is debatable. The Madanpur inscriptions establish that Prithviraj sacked Mahoba, but historical evidence suggests that his occupation of Chandela territory is either a fabrication by the bards, or did not last long. It is known that Paramardi did not die or retire immediately after the Chauhan victory; in fact, he continued ruling as a sovereign nearly a decade after Prithviraj's death. Cynthia Talbot asserts that Prithviraj only raided Jejakabhukti, and Paramardi regained control of his kingdom soon after his departure from Mahoba. Talbot continues that Prithviraj
2698-665: Is some evidence of a battle between the Chahamanas and the Chaulukyas at Nagor. Two inscriptions found at Charlu village near Bikaner commemorate the death of Mohil soldiers at the battle of Nagor in 1184 CE (1241 VS ). The Mohils are a branch of the Chauhans (the Chahamanas), and it is possible the inscriptions refer to the battle described in Prithviraj Raso . Sometime before 1187 CE, Jagaddeva Pratihara signed
2840-682: Is the only surviving literary text from the reign of Prithviraj. Prithviraj Raso , which popularized Prithviraj as a great king, is purported to be written by his court poet Chand Bardai . However, it contains many exaggerated accounts, much of which is not useful for the purposes of history. Other chronicles and texts that mention Prithviraj include Prabandha-Chintamani , Prabandha Kosha and Prithviraja Prabandha . These were composed centuries after his death, and contain exaggerations and anachronistic anecdotes. Prithviraj has also been mentioned in Kharatara-Gachchha - Pattavali ,
2982-825: The Battle of Kasahrada in 1178 CE, forcing the Ghurids to retreat. Over the next few years, Muhammad of Ghor consolidated his power in the territory to the west of the Chahamanas, conquering Peshawar , Sindh , and Punjab . He shifted his base from Ghazna to Punjab, and made attempts to expand his empire eastwards, which brought him into conflict with Prithviraj. Prithviraja Vijaya mentions that Muhammad of Ghor sent an ambassador to Prithviraj, but does not provide any details. Hasan Nizami 's Taj-ul-Maasir (13th century CE) states that Muhammad sent his chief judge Qiwam-ul Mulk Ruknud Din Hamza to Prithviraj's court. The envoy tried to convince Prithviraj to "abandon belligerence and pursue
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#17327805854733124-637: The Indian subcontinent by the 12th century. By the late 12th century, the Ghazna -based Ghurid dynasty controlled the territory to the west of the Chahamana kingdom. While Prithviraj was still a child, in 1175 CE, the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor crossed the Indus River and captured Multan . In 1178 CE, he invaded Gujarat , which was ruled by the Chaulukyas (Solankis). During its march to Gujarat,
3266-496: The Indian subcontinent , for more than three centuries. The sultanate was established around c. 1206–1211 in the former Ghurid territories in India. The sultanate's history is generally divided into five periods: Mamluk (1206–1290), Khalji (1290–1320), Tughlaq (1320–1414), Sayyid (1414–1451), and Lodi (1451–1526). It covered large swaths of territory in modern-day India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , as well as some parts of southern Nepal . The foundation of
3408-662: The Permanent Settlement of 1793, which abolished the pargana system in favour of the zamindari system, in which zamindars were made the absolute owners of rural lands, and abolished the pargana dastur and pargana nirikh . British administration consisted of districts , which were divided into tehsils or taluks . Parganas remained important as a geographical term, persisting in land surveys, village identification and court decrees. The pargana system persisted in several princely states , including Tonk and Gwalior . Parganas disappeared almost completely after
3550-551: The Bhadanakas were an obscure dynasty who controlled the area around Bayana . According to Dasharatha Sharma, the Bhadanaka territory comprised the area around present-day Bhiwani , Rewari and Alwar . The 1182–83 CE (1239 VS ) Madanpur inscriptions from Prithviraj's reign claim that he "laid to waste" Jejakabhukti (present-day Bundelkhand ), which was ruled by the Chandela king Paramardi . Prithviraj's invasion of
3692-603: The Central Asian steppes and raising many of them to become loyal army slaves called Mamluks . Soon, Turks were migrating to Muslim lands and becoming Islamicized . Many of the Turkic Mamluk slaves eventually rose to become rulers and conquered large parts of the Muslim world , establishing Mamluk Sultanates from Egypt to present-day Afghanistan , before turning their attention to the Indian subcontinent. It
3834-590: The Chahamana capital Ajmer , where Muhammad planned to reinstate him as a Ghurid vassal . Sometime later, Prithviraj rebelled against Muhammad, and was killed for treason. This is corroborated by numismatic evidence: some 'horse-and-bullman'-style coins bearing names of both Prithviraj and "Muhammad bin Sam" were issued from the Delhi mint, although another possibility is that the Ghurids initially used Chahamana-style coinage to ensure greater acceptance of their own coinage in
3976-456: The Chahamana kingdom and killed Prithviraj's father Someshvara, capturing Nagor in the process. Prithviraj re-captured Nagor, and defeated and killed Bhima. This is known to be historically false, as the reign of Bhima II lasted nearly half a century after Prithviraj's death. Similarly, historical evidence suggests Bhima II was a child at the time of Someshvara's death, and therefore, could not have killed him. Despite these discrepancies, there
4118-504: The Chahamana territory, and captured Tabarhindah or Tabar-e-Hind (identified with Bathinda ). He placed it under the charge of Zia-ud-din, the Qazi of Tulak , supported by 1200 horsemen. When Prithviraj learned about this, marched towards Tabarhindah with his feudatories, including Govindaraja of Delhi . According to the 16th-century Muslim historian Firishta , his force comprised 200,000 horses and 3,000 elephants. Muhammad's original plan
4260-401: The Chahamanas. According to Jawami ul-Hikayat , Muhammad assigned a few men to keep the fires in his camp burning at night, while he marched off in another direction with the rest of his army. This gave the Chahamanas an impression that the Ghurid army was still encamped, observing the truce. After reaching several miles away, Muhammad formed four divisions, with 10,000 archers each. He kept
4402-471: The Chandela capital Mahoba . They killed the Chandela royal gardener for objecting to their presence, which led to a skirmish between the two sides. The Chandela king Paramardi asked his general Udal to attack Prithviraj's camp, but Udal advised against this move. Paramardi's brother-in-law Mahil Parihar ruled modern-day Orai ; he harboured ill-will against Paramardi and instigated the king to go ahead with
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4544-408: The Chandela territory is also described in the later folk legends, such as Prithviraj Raso , Paramal Raso , and Alha-Raso . Other texts such as Sarangadhara Paddhati and Prabandha Chintamani also mention Prithviraj's attack on Paramardi. The Kharatara-Gachchha-Pattavali mentions that Prithviraj had embarked upon a digvijaya (conquest of all the regions). This appears to be a reference to
4686-659: The Deccan region also marked campaigns of destruction and desecration temples, for example, the Svayambhu Shiva Temple and the Thousand Pillar Temple in Warangal . Revolts against Muhammad bin Tughlaq began in 1327, continued over his reign, and over time the geographical reach of the Sultanate shrunk. The Vijayanagara Empire originated in southern India as a direct response to attacks from
4828-940: The Delhi Sultanate into southern India with the help of Indian slave generals such as Malik Kafur and Khusro Khan . They collected much war booty (anwatan) from those they defeated. His commanders collected war spoils and paid ghanima (Arabic: الْغَنيمَة, a tax on spoils of war), which helped strengthen the Khalji rule. Among the spoils was the Warangal loot that included the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond. Ala ud-Din Khalji changed tax policies, raising agriculture taxes from 20% to 50% (payable in grain and agricultural produce), eliminating payments and commissions on taxes collected by local chiefs, banning socialization among his officials as well as inter-marriage between noble families to help prevent any opposition forming against him, and he cut salaries of officials, poets, scholars. These tax policies and spending controls strengthened his treasury to pay
4970-796: The Delhi Sultanate was characterized by greater government involvement in the economy relative to the Classical Hindu dynasties, and increased penalties for private businesses that broke government regulations. Alauddin Khalji replaced the private markets with four centralized government-run markets, appointed a "market controller", and implemented strict price controls on all kinds of goods, "from caps to socks ; from combs to pins ; from vegetables to soups , from sweetmeats to chapatis " (according to Ziauddin Barani [c. 1357] ). The price controls were inflexible even during droughts. Capitalist investors were completely banned from participating in
5112-472: The Delhi Sultanate was responsible for making India more multicultural and cosmopolitan. The establishment of the Delhi Sultanate in India has been compared to the expansion of the Mongol Empire and called "part of a larger trend occurring throughout much of Eurasia, in which nomadic people migrated from the steppes of Inner Asia and became politically dominant". According to Angus Maddison , between
5254-513: The Delhi Sultanate were left in a state of anarchy, chaos, and pestilence. Nasir ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughlaq, who had fled to Gujarat during Timur's invasion, returned and nominally ruled as the last ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty, as a puppet of the various factions at the court. The Sayyid dynasty was founded by Khizr Khan and it ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1415 to 1451. Members of the dynasty derived their title, Sayyid , or
5396-527: The Delhi Sultanate, and liberated south India from the Delhi Sultanate's rule. In the 1330s, Muhammad bin Tughlaq ordered an invasion of China, sending part of his forces over the Himalayas . However, they were defeated by the Kangra State . During his reign, state revenues collapsed from his policies such as the base metal coins from 1329 to 1332. Famines, widespread poverty, and rebellion grew across
5538-548: The Delhi Sultanate, the Mongol Empire may have been successful in invading India. The strength of the armies changes according to time. Historians state the Delhi sultanate during the Khalji dynasty maintained 300,000–400,000 horse cavalry and 2500–3000 war elephant as a standing army. Its successor state, the Tughlaq dynasty further expanded into 500,000 horse cavalry in their force. Some historians argue that
5680-418: The Delhi Sultanate. He was succeeded by Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388), who tried to regain the old kingdom, boundary by waging a war with Bengal for 11 months in 1359. However, Bengal did not fall. Firuz Shah ruled for 37 years. His reign was marked with prosperity much of which was due to the wise and capable Grand Vizier, Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul, a South Indian Telugu Muslim. His reign attempted to stabilize
5822-506: The Gahadavala army, allowing him to escape to Delhi with Samyogita. In Delhi , Prithviraj became infatuated with his new wife, and started spending most of his time with her. He started ignoring the state affairs, which ultimately led to his defeat against Muhammad of Ghor . This legend is also mentioned in Abu'l-Fazl 's Ain-i-Akbari and Chandrashekhara's Surjana-Charita (which names
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5964-547: The Gahadavala princess as "Kantimati"). Prithviraja Vijaya mentions that Prithviraj fell in love with the incarnation of an apsara Tilottama , although he had never seen this woman and was already married to other women. According to historian Dasharatha Sharma , this is probably a reference to Samyogita. However, this legend is not mentioned in other historical sources such as Prithviraja-Prabandha , Prabandha-Chintamani , Prabandha-Kosha and Hammira-Mahakavya . The Gahadavala records are also silent about this event, including
6106-588: The Ghurid army appears to have passed through the western frontier of the Chahamana kingdom, as evident by the destruction of several temples and sacking of the Bhati -ruled Lodhruva . The Prithviraja Vijaya mentions that the activities of the Ghurid army were like Rahu to the Chahamana kingdom (in Hindu mythology, Rahu swallows the Sun, causing a solar eclipse ). However, it does not mention any military engagement between
6248-402: The Ghurid garrison at Tabarhindah, which surrendered after 13 months of siege. Prithviraj seems to have treated the first battle of Tarain as merely a frontier fight. This view is strengthened by the fact that he made little preparations for any future clash with Muhammad of Ghor. According to Prithviraj Raso , during the period preceding his final confrontation with the Ghurids, he neglected
6390-418: The Ghurid king raised a fresh army with the support of a neighboring king, and marched to Delhi. Before the battle, he bribed Prithviraj's master of horses and musicians with gold coins. The master of horses had trained Prithviraj's horse to prance to drumbeats. The Ghurids attacked the Chahamana camp just before dawn, when Prithviraj was sleeping. Prithviraj tried to escape on his horse, but his musicians sounded
6532-549: The Ghurid territories amongst themselves. Khalji and Tughlaq rule ushered a new wave of rapid and continual Muslim conquests deep into South India . The sultanate finally reached the peak of its geographical reach during the Tughlaq dynasty, occupying most of the Indian subcontinent under Muhammad bin Tughluq . A major political transformation occurred across North India , triggered by the Central Asian king Timur 's devastating raid on Delhi in 1398, followed soon afterwards by
6674-472: The Hindu and Jain writers state that Prithviraj defeated Muhammad multiple times before being killed: While these accounts seem to exaggerate the number, it is possible that more than two engagements took place between the Ghurids and the Chahamanas during Prithviraj's reign. The early victories mentioned by the Hindu and Jain writers probably refer to Prithviraj's successful repulsion of raids by Ghurid generals. During 1190–1191 CE, Muhammad of Ghor invaded
6816-714: The Hindu rulers. He also attacked, defeated, executed Taj al-Din Yildiz , who asserted his rights as heir to Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori. Iltutmish's rule lasted until 1236. Following his death, the Delhi Sultanate saw a succession of weak rulers, disputing Muslim nobility, assassinations, and short-lived tenures. Power shifted from Rukn ud-Din Firuz to Razia Sultana and others, until Ghiyas ud-Din Balban came to power and ruled from 1266 to 1287. Ghiyasuddin Balban destroyed
6958-629: The Indian subcontinent. Muhammad bin Tughlaq was an intellectual, with extensive knowledge of the Quran, Fiqh , poetry and other fields. He was also deeply suspicious of his kinsmen and wazirs (ministers), extremely severe with his opponents, and took decisions that caused economic upheaval. For example, he ordered the minting of coins from base metals with face value of silver coins – a decision that failed because ordinary people minted counterfeit coins from base metal they had in their houses and used them to pay taxes and jizya . Muhammad bin Tughlaq chose
7100-527: The Indian subcontinent. India previously already had highly sophisticated agriculture, food crops, textiles, medicine, minerals, and metals. Water wheels also previously existed in India, as described by various Chinese monks and Arab travellers and writers in their books. During the Delhi Sultanate, various mechanical devices were introduced from the Islamic world to India, such as geared water-raising wheels and other machines with gears, pulleys , cams , and cranks . Later, Mughal emperor Babur provided
7242-513: The Mamluk dynasty. Aibak reigned as the Sultan of Delhi for four years, from 1206 to 1210. Aibak was praised by the contemporary and later accounts for his generosity and due to this was called with the sobriquet of Lakhbaksh . (giver of lakhs) After Aibak died, Aram Shah assumed power in 1210, but he was assassinated in 1211 by Aibak's son-in-law, Shams ud-Din Iltutmish . Iltutmish's power
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#17327805854737384-476: The Mughal chief Mudgala Rai, but these stories appear to be pure fiction. No historical records suggest existence of these persons. The construction of the now-ruined Qila Rai Pithora fort in Delhi is attributed to Prithviraj. According to Prithviraj Raso , Delhi's ruler Anangpal Tomar gave the city to his son-in-law Prithviraj, and was defeated when he wanted it back. This is historically inaccurate, as Delhi
7526-419: The Muslim intrusions and later Muslim invasions were not dissimilar to those of the earlier invasions during the 1st millennium. By 962 AD, Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in South Asia faced a series of raids from Muslim armies from Central Asia. Among them was Mahmud of Ghazni , the son of a Turkic Mamluk military slave, who raided and plundered kingdoms in northern India from east of the Indus river to west of
7668-595: The Paramara princess of Abu. Prithviraj's marriage to her led to a rivalry between the two kings. Historian G. H. Ojha dismisses this legend as fiction, because it states that Ichchhini was a daughter of Salakha, while Dharavarsha was the Paramara ruler of Abu at the time. Historian R. B. Singh, on the other hand, believes that Salakha was the head of another Paramara branch at Abu. The Raso also mentions that Prithviraj's uncle Kanhadeva had killed seven sons of Bhima's uncle Sarangadeva. To avenge these murders, Bhima invaded
7810-680: The Rajput army on the same battlefield . Prithviraj was captured and summarliy executed, although his minor son Govindaraja was reinstated by Muhammad as his puppet ruler in Ajmer . His defeat at Tarain is seen as a landmark event in the Islamic conquest of India , and has been described in several semi-legendary accounts, most notably the Prithviraj Raso . The extant inscriptions from Prithviraj's reign are few in number and were not issued by
7952-727: The Sanskrit poem anthology Sharngadhara-paddhati (1363) contains a verse praising him, and the Kanhadade Prabandha (1455) mentions him as an earlier incarnation of the Jalore Chahamana king Viramade . Prithviraj was born to the Chahamana king Someshvara and queen Karpuradevi (a Kalachuri princess). Both Prithviraj and his younger brother Hariraja were born in Gujarat , where their father Someshvara
8094-781: The Sultanate was established by the Ghurid conqueror Muhammad Ghori , who routed the Rajput Confederacy , led by Ajmer ruler Prithviraj Chauhan , in 1192 near Tarain in a reversal of an earlier battle . As a successor to the Ghurid dynasty, the Delhi Sultanate was originally one of several principalities ruled by the Turkic slave-generals of Muhammad Ghori, including Taj al-Din Yildiz , Qutb ud-Din Aibak , Bahauddin Tughril and Nasir ad-Din Qabacha , that had inherited and divided
8236-530: The Turco-Afghani regular units named Wajih , which were composed of elite household cavalry archers who came from slave backgrounds. A major military contribution of the Delhi Sultanate was their successful campaigns repelling the Mongol Empire 's invasions of India , which could have been devastating for the Indian subcontinent, like the Mongol invasions of China , Persia and Europe . Were it not for
8378-600: The Yamuna river seventeen times between 997 and 1030. Mahmud of Ghazni raided the treasuries but retreated each time, only extending Islamic rule into western Punjab. The series of raids on northern and western Indian kingdoms by Muslim warlords continued after Mahmud of Ghazni. The raids did not establish or extend the permanent boundaries of the Islamic kingdoms. In contrast, the Ghurid Sultan Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori (commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor) began
8520-461: The affairs of the state and spent time in merry-making. Meanwhile, Muhammad of Ghor returned to Ghazna , and made preparations to avenge his defeat. According to Tabaqat-i Nasiri , he gathered a well-equipped army of 120,000 select Afghan , Tajik and Turkic horsemen over the next few months. He then marched towards the Chahamana kingdom via Multan and Lahore , aided by Vijayaraja of Jammu . Prithviraj had been left without any allies as
8662-427: The afternoon, the Chahamana army was exhausted as a result of this pursuit. At this point, Muhammad led his reserve force of 10,000 mounted archers and attacked the Chahamanas, decisively defeating them. Chronicler Juzjani attributed the success of the Ghurid army to the 10,000 mounted archers which eventually overthrow the "infidel host". However, scholars like Dashratha Sharma and R.B. Singh argue that Ghoris' triumph
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#17327805854738804-692: The amirs and chiefs. Ibrahim Lodi was unable to consolidate his power, and after Jalal Khan's death, the governor of Punjab, Daulat Khan Lodi , reached out to the Mughal Babur and invited him to attack the Delhi Sultanate. Babur defeated and killed Ibrahim Lodi in the Battle of Panipat in 1526. The death of Ibrahim Lodi ended the Delhi Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire replaced it. The historian Peter Jackson explains in The New Cambridge History of Islam : "The elite of
8946-486: The attack. Prithviraj defeated Udal's contingent and then left for Delhi. Subsequently, unhappy with Mahil's scheming, Udal and his brother Alha left the Chandela court. They started serving Jaichand , the Gahadavala ruler of Kannauj . Mahil then secretly informed Prithviraj that Chandela kingdom had become weak in absence of its strongest generals. Prithviraj invaded the Chandela kingdom and besieged Sirsagarh, which
9088-573: The city of Deogiri in the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra (renaming it Daulatabad ), as the second administrative capital of the Delhi Sultanate. He ordered a forced migration of the Muslim population of Delhi, including his royal family, the nobles, Syeds, Sheikhs and 'Ulema to settle in Daulatabad. The purpose of transferring the entire Muslim elite to Daulatabad was to enrol them in his mission of world conquest. He saw their role as propagandists who would adapt Islamic religious symbolism to
9230-427: The city's temples. Prabandha Chintamani by the 14th-century Jain scholar Merutunga states that Prithviraj cut off the ears of one of his ministers, who guided the Ghurid invaders to his camp as revenge. Prithviraj was in deep sleep after a day of religious fasting, and therefore, was easily captured. Hammira Mahakavya by the 15th-century Jain scholar Nayachandra Suri states that after his initial defeat,
9372-497: The construction of the Qutb Minar but died before it was completed. It was later completed by his son-in-law, Iltutmish. The Quwwat-ul-Islam (Might of Islam) Mosque was built by Aibak, now a UNESCO world heritage site. The Qutub Minar Complex was expanded by Iltutmish, and later by Ala ud-Din Khalji in the early 14th century. During the Mamluk dynasty, many nobles from Afghanistan and Persia migrated and settled in India, as West Asia came under Mongol siege. The Khalji dynasty
9514-479: The descendants of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad , based on the claim that they belonged to his lineage through his daughter Fatima . Abraham Eraly thinks his forebears were likely that Khizr Khan's ancestors were likely descendants of an Arab family who had long ago settled in the region of Multan during the early Tughluq period, but he doubts his Sayyid lineage. A.L. Srivastava shares a similar viewpoint. According to Richard M. Eaton and Simon Digby , Khizr Khan
9656-465: The development of the Hindustani language and Indo-Islamic architecture . It was also one of the few powers to repel attacks by the Mongols (from the Chagatai Khanate ) and saw the enthronement of one of the few female rulers in Islamic history , Razia Sultana , who reigned from 1236 to 1240. Their treatment of Hindus, Buddhists, and other dharmic faiths are generally perceived to be unfavourable, as mass forcible conversions were popular during
9798-502: The drums. The horse started prancing, and the invaders easily captured Prithviraj. According to another Jain text, Prithviraja Prabandha , Prithviraj's minister Kaimbasa and his spear-bearer Pratapasimha were not on good terms. Kaimbasa once complained to king against Pratapasimha, who convinced the king that Kaimbasa was aiding the Ghurids. An angry Prithviraj attempted to kill Kaimbasa with an arrow one night, but ended up killing another man. When his bard Chand Baliddika admonished him,
9940-430: The early Delhi sultanate comprised overwhelmingly first-generation immigrants from Iran and Central Asia : Persians , Turks , Ghūrīs , Khalaj from the hot regions ( garmsīr ) of modern Afghanistan ". Medieval scholars such as Isami and Barani suggested that the prehistory of the Delhi Sultanate lay in the Ghaznavid state and that its ruler, Mahmud Ghaznavi, provided the foundation and inspiration integral in
10082-878: The food supply and reduce famines by commissioning an irrigation canal from the Yamuna river. An educated sultan, Firuz Shah left a memoir. In it he wrote that he banned the practice of torture, such as amputations, tearing out of eyes, sawing people alive, crushing people's bones as punishment, pouring molten lead into throats, setting people on fire, driving nails into hands and feet, among others. He also wrote that he did not tolerate attempts by Rafawiz Shia Muslim and Mahdi sects from proselytizing people into their faith, nor did he tolerate Hindus who tried to rebuild temples that his armies had destroyed. Firuz Shah Tughlaq also lists his accomplishments to include converting Hindus to Sunni Islam by announcing an exemption from taxes and jizya for those who convert, and by lavishing new converts with presents and honours. He also vastly expanded
10224-400: The form of grain were stored in the kingdom's storage. During famines that followed, these granaries ensured sufficient food for the army. Historians note Ala ud-Din Khalji as being a tyrant . Anyone Ala ud-Din suspected of being a threat to this power was killed along with the men, women, and children of that family. He grew to eventually distrust the majority of his nobles and favoured only
10366-499: The former Chahamana territory. After Prithviraj's death, Muhammad installed the Chahamana prince Govindaraja on the throne of Ajmer, which further supports this theory. The various sources differ on the exact circumstances: The 13th-century Persian historian Minhaj-i-Siraj states that Prithviraj was "sent to hell" after being captured. The 16th-century historian Firishta also supports this account. According to historian Satish Chandra , Minhaj's account suggests that Prithviraj
10508-678: The grandson of Firuz Shah Tughlaq who ruled from Delhi, and Nasir ud-Din Nusrat Shah Tughlaq , another relative of Firuz Shah Tughlaq who ruled from Firozabad , which was a few miles from Delhi. The battle between the two relatives continued until Timur's invasion in 1398. Timur , also known as Tamerlane in Western scholarly literature, was the Turkicized Mongol ruler of the Timurid Empire . He became aware of
10650-476: The growth of Agra continued during the Mughal Empire, after the end of the Delhi Sultanate. Sikandar Lodi died a natural death in 1517, and his second son Ibrahim Lodi assumed power. Ibrahim did not enjoy the support of Afghan and Persian nobles or regional chiefs. Ibrahim attacked and killed his elder brother Jalal Khan, who was installed as the governor of Jaunpur by his father and had the support of
10792-414: The horse trade, animal and slave brokers were forbidden from collecting commissions, and private merchants were eliminated from all animal and slave markets. Bans were instituted against hoarding and regrating , granaries were nationalized and limits were placed on the amount of grain that could be used by cultivators for personal use. Various licensing rules were imposed. Registration of merchants
10934-510: The independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, although the term lives on in place names, like the districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas in India's West Bengal state. Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi also known as the Empire of Hindustan was a late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of
11076-536: The keep of his growing army; he also introduced price controls on all agricultural produce and goods in the kingdom, as well as controls on where, how, by whom these goods could be sold. Markets called "shahana-i-mandi" were created. Muslim merchants were granted exclusive permits and monopoly in these "mandis" to buy and resell at official prices. No one other than these merchants could buy from farmers or sell in cities. Those found violating these "mandi" rules were severely punished, often by mutilation. Taxes collected in
11218-400: The king dismissed both the bard and the minister. At the time of Ghurid invasion of Delhi, Prithviraj had been sleeping for ten days. When the Ghurids came close, his sister woke him up: Prithviraj tried to flee on a horse, but Kaimbasa helped the Ghurids capture him by telling them about a certain sound that caused his horse to prance. Most medieval sources state that Prithviraj was taken to
11360-435: The king himself. Much of the information about him comes from the medieval legendary chronicles. Besides the Muslim accounts of Battles of Tarain, he has been mentioned in several medieval kavyas (epic poems) by Hindu and Jain authors. These include Prithviraja Vijaya , Hammira Mahakavya and Prithviraj Raso . These texts contain eulogistic descriptions, and are, therefore, not entirely reliable. Prithviraja Vijaya
11502-548: The kingdom. In 1338 his nephew rebelled in Malwa, whom he attacked, caught, flayed alive, and killed ultimately. By 1339, the eastern regions under local Muslim governors and southern parts led by Hindu kings had revolted and declared independence from the Delhi Sultanate. Muhammad bin Tughlaq did not have the resources or support to respond to the shrinking kingdom. The historian Walford chronicled that Delhi and most of India faced severe famines during Muhammad bin Tughlaq's rule in
11644-469: The latter of which resulting in conversion of significant parts of the population to Islam. The death of Firuz Shah Tughlaq created anarchy and disintegration of the kingdom. Firuz Shah's successor, Ghiyath-ud-Din Shah II was young and inexperienced and gave himself up to wine and pleasure. The nobles rose against him killed the Sultan and his vizier, and installed Abu Bakr Shah on the throne. However,
11786-444: The local administrative units of a sarkar . Individual parganas observed common customs regarding land rights and responsibilities, which were known as the pargana dastur , and each pargana had its own customs regarding rent, fees, wages, and weights and measures, known as the pargana nirikh . Pargana consisted of several tarafs , which in their turn consisted of several villages plus some uninhabited mountain and forest land. During
11928-599: The making of the Delhi regime. The Mongol and Hindu monarchies were the great "Others" in these narratives and the Persianate and class-conscious, aristocratic virtues of the ideal state were creatively memorialized in the Ghaznavid state, now the templates for the Delhi Sultanate. Cast within a historical narrative it allowed for a more self-reflective, linear rooting of the Sultanate in the great traditions of Muslim statecraft. Over time, successive Muslim dynasties created
12070-450: The minister after finding him in the apartment of the king's favourite concubine Karnati. Prithviraja-Prabandha claims that a man named Pratapa-Simha conspired against the minister, and convinced Prithviraj that the minister was responsible for the repeated Muslim invasions. Both these claims appear to be historically inaccurate, as the much more historically reliable Prithviraja Vijaya does not mention any such incident. Bhuvanaikamalla,
12212-502: The name of a tribe, and theorized that Bhuvanaikamalla defeated this tribe. According to historian Dasharatha Sharma , Prithviraj assumed actual control of the administration in 1180 CE (1237 VS ). The first military achievement of Prithviraj was his suppression of a revolt by his cousin Nagarjuna, and recapture of Gudapura (IAST: Guḍapura; possibly modern Gurgaon ). Nagarjuna was a son of Prithviraj's uncle Vigraharaja IV , and
12354-437: The nobility. Khusro Khan's reign lasted only a few months, when Ghazi Malik, later to be called Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq , defeated and killed him and assumed power in 1320, thus ending the Khalji dynasty and starting the Tughlaq dynasty. The Tughlaq dynasty was a Turko-Mongol or Turkic Muslim dynasty, which lasted from 1320 to 1413. The first ruler was Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq . Ghiyath al-Din ruled for five years and built
12496-638: The number of slaves in his service and those of Muslim nobles, who were converted to Islam, taught to read and memorize the Quran, and employed in many offices especially in the military, out of which he was able to amass a large army. These slaves were known as the Ghulaman-i-Firuz Shahi formed an elite guard which later became influential in the state. The reign of Firuz Shah Tughlaq was marked by reduction in extreme forms of torture, elimination of favours to select parts of society, but also increased intolerance and persecution of targeted groups,
12638-463: The old Ghulaman-i-Firuz Shahi turned against Abu Bakr, who fled, and on their invitation Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Shah was installed on the throne. The anamalous institution of the Ghulaman-i-Firuz Shahi became a corrupting influence on the successive Sultans following Firuz Shah. The last rulers of this dynasty both called themselves Sultan from 1394 to 1397: Nasir ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughlaq ,
12780-666: The paper may have arrived in Bengal from a separate route, as 15th-century Chinese traveller Ma Huan remarked that Bengali paper was white and made from "bark of a tree" similar to the Chinese method of papermaking (as opposed to the Middle-Eastern method of using rags and waste material), suggesting a direct route from China for the arrival of paper in Bengal and paper was already very well established and widespread in that part of
12922-414: The paternal uncle of Prithviraj's mother, was another important minister during this time. According to Prithviraja Vijaya , he was a valiant general who served Prithviraj as Garuda serves Vishnu . The text also states that he was "proficient in the art of subduing nāga s". According to the 15th-century historian Jonaraja , "naga" here refers to elephants. However, Har Bilas Sarda interpreted Naga as
13064-404: The path of rectitude", but was unsuccessful. As a result, Muhammad decided to wage a war against Prithviraj. The medieval Muslim writers mention only one or two battles between the two rulers. The Tabaqat-i Nasiri and Tarikh-i-Firishta mention the two Battles of Tarain. Jami-ul-Hikaya and Taj-ul-Maasir mention only the second battle of Tarain, in which Prithviraj was defeated. However,
13206-479: The people of Sapadalaksha. Historian Dasharatha Sharma theorizes that the Chahamana-Chaulukya conflict ended with some advantage for Prithviraj, as Jagaddeva appears to have been very anxious to preserve the treaty. According to historian R.C. Majumdar and Satish Chandra his long drawn out struggle against Gujarat was unsuccessful and he suffered a reverse against Bhima. Thus, Prithviraj concluded
13348-621: The period. The rise of the Delhi Sultanate in India was part of a wider trend affecting much of the Asian continent, including the whole of southern and western Asia: the influx of nomadic Turkic peoples from the Central Asian steppes . This can be traced back to the 9th century when the Islamic Caliphate began fragmenting in the Middle East , where Muslim rulers in rival states began enslaving non-Muslim nomadic Turks from
13490-672: The power of the Corps of Forty , a council of 40 Turkic slaves who had played a role as kingmakers and had been independent of the Sultan. He was succeeded by 17-year-old Muiz ud-Din Qaiqabad , who appointed Jalal ud-Din Firuz Khalji as the commander of the army. Khalji assassinated Qaiqabad and assumed power in the Khalji Revolution , thus ending the Mamluk dynasty and starting the Khalji dynasty. Qutb al-Din Aibak initiated
13632-468: The power of the Sayyid dynasty faltering, Islam's history on the Indian subcontinent underwent a profound change, according to Schimmel. The previously dominant Sunni sect of Islam became diluted, alternate Muslim sects such as Shia rose, and new competing centres of Islamic culture took roots beyond Delhi. In the course of the late Sayyid dynasty, the Delhi Sultanate shrank until it became a minor power. By
13774-499: The re-emergence of rival Hindu powers such as Vijayanagara and Mewar asserting independence, and new Muslim sultanates such as the Bengal and Bahmani Sultanates breaking off. In 1526, Timurid ruler Babur invaded northern India and conquered the Sultanate , leading to its succession by the Mughal Empire . The establishment of the Sultanate drew the Indian subcontinent more closely into international and multicultural Islamic social and economic networks, as seen concretely in
13916-673: The reign of the Bahmani Sultanate in the Deccan , tarafs represented the provinces of the sultanate and its main territorial division. Tarafs were ruled by a tarafdar , the provincial governor, who held a significant amount of autonomy. As the British expanded into former Mughal provinces, starting with Bengal , they at first retained the pargana administration, but, under the Governorship of Charles Cornwallis , enacted
14058-402: The rest of his army in reserve. He ordered the four divisions to launch an attack on the Chahamana camp, and then pretend a retreat. At dawn, the four divisions of the Ghurid army attacked the Chahamana camp, while Prithviraj was still asleep. After a brief fight, the Ghurid divisions pretended to retreat in accordance with Muhammad's strategy. Prithviraj was thus lured into chasing them, and by
14200-602: The rhetoric of empire, and that the Sufis could by persuasion bring many of the inhabitants of the Deccan to become Muslim. Tughluq cruelly punished the nobles who were unwilling to move to Daulatabad seeing their non-compliance with his order as equivalent to rebellion. According to Ferishta, when the Mongols arrived in Punjab, the Sultan returned the elite to Delhi, although Daulatabad remained an administrative centre. One result of
14342-573: The ruler, then proceeded east to make claims on Bihar . The Muslim governors of Bihar agreed to pay tribute and taxes but operated independently of the Delhi Sultanate. Sikandar Lodi led a campaign of destruction of temples, particularly around Mathura . He also moved his capital and court from Delhi to Agra , an ancient Hindu city that had been destroyed during the plunder and attacks of the early Delhi Sultanate period. Sikandar thus erected buildings with Indo-Islamic architecture in Agra during his rule, and
14484-443: The start of Prithviraj's march to Jejakabhukti. The legendary account of Prithviraj's campaign against the Chandelas goes like this: Prithviraj was returning to Delhi after marrying the daughter of Padamsen, when his contingent was attacked by the "Turkic" forces ( Ghurids ). His army repulsed the attacks but suffered serious casualties in the process. Amid this chaos, the Chahamana soldiers lost their way and unknowingly encamped in
14626-484: The struggle for the Chahamana throne had led to a rivalry between the two branches of the family. According to Prithviraja Vijaya , Nagarjuna rebelled against Prithviraj's authority and occupied the fort of Gudapura. Prithviraj besieged Gudapura with a large army comprising infantry , camels , elephants and horses . Nagarjuna fled the fort, but Devabhata (possibly his general) continued to offer resistance. Ultimately, Prithviraj's army emerged victorious, and captured
14768-470: The subcontinent. Prithviraj Chauhan Prithviraja III ( IAST : Pṛthvī-rāja; 22 May 1166 – December 1192), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora , was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha , with his capital at Ajmer in present-day Rajasthan in north-western India. Ascending the throne as a minor in 1177 CE, Prithviraj inherited
14910-468: The sultanate's rule and large-scale desecrations of Hindu and Buddhist temples, including universities and libraries took place. Mongolian raids on West and Central Asia set the scene for centuries of migration of fleeing soldiers, intelligentsia, mystics, traders, artists, and artisans from those regions into the subcontinent , thereby establishing Islamic culture there. Although conventionally named after its principal capital city, Delhi ,
15052-407: The supposed Rajasuya performance by Jayachandra. According to Dasharatha Sharma and R. B. Singh, there might be some historical truth in this legend, as it is mentioned in three different sources. All three sources place the event sometime before Prithviraj's final confrontation with Muhammad of Ghor in 1192 CE. The Prithviraj Raso mentions that Prithviraj defeated Nahar Rai of Mandovara and
15194-433: The supreme king. Jaichand's daughter Samyogita fell in love with Prithviraj after hearing about his heroic exploits, and declared that she would marry only him. Jaichand arranged a swayamvara (husband-selection) ceremony for his daughter, but did not invite Prithviraj. Nevertheless, Prithviraj marched to Kannauj with a hundred warriors and eloped with Samyogita. Two-thirds of his warriors sacrificed their life in fight against
15336-399: The terminology applied to domains under Delhi Sultanate was often unspecified. It was called as "Empire of Delhi" ( Persian : Mamalik-i-Delhi) by Juzjani and Barani while Ibn Battuta called the empire under Muhammad bin Tughlaq as " Hind and Sind ". The Delhi Sultanate was also known as the "Empire of Hindustan " ( Persian : Mamalik-i-Hindustan) , a name that gained currency during
15478-425: The texts state that he was particularly proficient in archery . Prithviraj moved from Gujarat to Ajmer, when his father Someshvara was crowned the Chahamana king after the death of Prithviraja II . Someshvara died in 1177 CE (1234 VS ), when Prithviraj was around 11 years old. The last inscription from Someshvara's reign and the first inscription from Prithviraj's reign are both dated to this year. Prithviraj, who
15620-413: The thousands of years of history. Paper had already reached some parts of India as early as the 6th or 7th century, initially through Chinese travellers and the ancient silk road which India was very well connected with. Earlier some historians believed that paper failed to catch on as palmyra leaves and birch bark remained far more popular but this theory was discredited later on. On the other hand,
15762-405: The time of the last Sayyid ruler, Alam Shah (whose name translated to "king of the world"), this resulted in a common northern Indian witticism, according to which the "kingdom of the king of the world extends from Delhi to Palam ", i.e. merely 13 kilometres (8.1 mi). Historian Richard M. Eaton noted that this saying showcased how the "once-mighty empire had become a joke". The Sayyid dynasty
15904-561: The traders. A network of spies was instituted to ensure the implementation of the system; even after price controls were lifted after Khalji's death, Barani claims that the fear of his spies remained and that people continued to avoid trading in expensive commodities. The sultanate enforced Islamic religious prohibitions on anthropomorphic representations in art. The army of the Delhi sultans initially consisted of nomadic Turkic Mamluk military slaves belonging to Muhammad of Ghor. The nucleus of this Southeast Asian sultanate military were
16046-566: The transfer of the elite to Daulatabad was the hatred of the nobility to the Sultan, which remained in their minds for a long time. The other result was that he managed to create a stable Muslim elite and result in the growth of the Muslim population of Daulatabad who did not return to Delhi, without which the rise of the Bahmanid kingdom to challenge the Vijayanagara kingdom would not have been possible. Muhammad bin Tughlaq's adventures in
16188-522: The two kingdoms. On its way to Gujarat, the Ghurid army besieged the Naddula (Nadol) fort, which was controlled by the Chahamanas of Naddula . Prithviraj's chief minister Kadambavasa advised him not to offer any assistance to the rivals of the Ghurids, and to stay away from this conflict. The Chahamanas did not immediately face a Ghurid invasion, because the Chaulukyas of Gujarat defeated Muhammad at
16330-551: The ultimate justification for any ruler within the Islamic world was the protection and advancement of the faith. For the Sultans, as for their Ghaznavid and Ghurid predecessors, this entailed the suppression of heterodox Muslims, and Firuz Shah attached some importance to the fact that he had acted against the ashab-i had-u ibadat (deviators and latitudinarians). It also involved plundering and extorting tribute from, independent Hindu principalities. Firuz Shah, who believed that India
16472-590: The weakness and quarrelling of the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, so he marched with his army to Delhi, plundering and killing all the way. Estimates for the massacre by Timur in Delhi range from 100,000 to 200,000 people. Timur had no intention of staying in or ruling India. He looted the lands he crossed, then plundered and burnt Delhi. Over fifteen days, Timur and his army raged a massacre. Then he collected wealth, captured women and men and children, and enslaved people (particularly skilled artisans), and returning with this loot to Samarkand. The people and lands within
16614-551: The wife, mother, and followers of Nagarjuna. According to Prithviraja Vijaya , a garland made of the defeated soldiers' heads was hung across the Ajmer fort gate. Two verses of Kharatara-Gachchha- Pattavali mention the victory of Prithviraj over the Bhadanakas , while describing a debate between two Jain monks . This victory can be dated to sometime before 1182 CE, when the said debate took place. According to Cynthia Talbot,
16756-475: The year of Prithviraj's birth as 1166 CE (1223 VS ). The medieval biographies of Prithviraj suggest that he was educated well. The Prithviraja Vijaya states that he mastered 6 languages; the Prithviraj Raso claims that he learned 14 languages, which appears to be an exaggeration. The Raso goes on to claim that he became well-versed in a number of subjects, including history, mathematics, medicine, military, painting, philosophy ( mimamsa ), and theology. Both
16898-470: The years 1000 and 1500, India's GDP , of which the sultanates represented a significant part, grew nearly 8% to $ 60.5 billion in 1500. Though the overall the percentage of the GDP share reduced from 33% to 22% According to Maddison's estimates, India's population grew from 85 million in 1200 to 101 million in 1500 AD in the period. The Delhi Sultanate period coincided with more use of mechanical technology in
17040-886: The years after the base metal coin experiment. In 1335, Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, a Sayyid native of Kaithal in North India, revolted and founded the Madurai Sultanate in South India. By 1347, the Bahmani Sultanate had become independent through the rebellion of Ismail Mukh . It became a competing Muslim kingdom in the Deccan region of South Asia, founded by Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah . Muhammad bin Tughlaq died in 1351 while trying to chase and punish people in Gujarat who were rebelling against
17182-493: Was "the moon to the lotus-like queens of Prithviraja" (a reference to the belief that the moon-rise causes a day-blooming lotus to close its petals). Since Bhima was a minor at the time, it appears that Jagaddeva led the campaign on the Chaulukya side. The historically unreliable Prithviraj Raso provides some details about the Chahamana-Chaulukya struggle. According to it, both Prithviraj and Bhima wanted to marry Ichchhini,
17324-578: Was a Punjabi chieftain from Khokhar clan. The Timurid invasion and plunder had left the Delhi Sultanate in shambles, and little is known about the rule by the Sayyid dynasty. Annemarie Schimmel notes the first ruler of the dynasty as Khizr Khan, who assumed power as a vassal of the Timurid Empire . His authority was questioned even by those near Delhi. His successor was Mubarak Khan, who renamed himself Mubarak Shah, discontinued his father's nominal allegiance to Timur and unsuccessfully tried to regain lost territories in Punjab from Khokhar warlords. With
17466-430: Was a minor at the time, ascended the throne with his mother as the regent . The Hammira Mahakavya claims that Someshvara himself installed Prithviraj on the throne, and then retired to the forest . However, this is doubtful. During his early years as the king, Prithviraj's mother managed the administration, assisted by a regency council. Kadambavasa served as the chief minister of the kingdom during this period. He
17608-407: Was annexed to the Chahamana territory by Prithviraj's uncle Vigraharaja IV . In addition, historical evidence suggests that Anangpal Tomar died before the birth of Prithviraj. The claim about his daughter's marriage to Prithviraj appears to have been concocted at a later date. Prithviraj's predecessors had faced multiple raids from the Muslim dynasties that had captured the north-western areas of
17750-468: Was assassinated in 1206, by Ismāʿīlī Shia Muslims. After the assassination, one of Ghori's slaves (or Mamluks), the Turkic Qutb al-Din Aibak, assumed power, becoming the first Sultan of Delhi. Qutb al-Din Aibak , a former slave of Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori , was the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. Aibak was of Turkic Cuman - Kipchak origin, and due to his lineage, his dynasty is known as
17892-538: Was brought up at the Chaulukya court by his maternal relatives. According to Prithviraja Vijaya , Prithviraj was born on the 12th day of the Jyeshtha month . The text does not mention the year of his birth, but provides some of the astrological planetary positions at the time of his birth, calling them auspicious. Based on these positions and assuming certain other planetary positions, Dasharatha Sharma calculated
18034-405: Was changed into a Muslim nation, declared that "no zimmi living in a Musalman country might dare to act". The Hindu kingdoms who submitted to Islamic rule qualified as "protected peoples" according to the wide spectrum of the educated Muslim community within the subcontinent. The balance of the evidence is that in the latter half of the fourteenth century, if not before, the jizyah was levied as
18176-499: Was conquered by the Grand Vizier Nusrat Khan Jalesari , the kingdom of Malwa by Ainul Mulk Multani , as well as Rajputana . However, these victories were cut short because of Mongol attacks and plunder raids from the northwest. The Mongols withdrew after plundering and stopped raiding northwest parts of the Delhi Sultanate. After the Mongols withdrew, Ala ud-Din Khalji continued to expand
18318-414: Was defeated. After his victory, Prithviraj sacked Mahoba. He then dispatched his general Chavand Rai to Kalinjar Fort to capture Paramardi. According to the various legends, Paramardi either died or retired shortly after the attack. Prithviraj returned to Delhi after appointing Pajjun Rai as the governor of Mahoba. Later, Paramardi's son recaptured Mahoba. The exact historicity of this legendary narrative
18460-595: Was displaced by the Lodi dynasty in 1451, however, resulting in a resurgence of the Delhi Sultanate. The Lodi dynasty was an Afghan, or Turco-Afghan dynasty, related to the Pashtun ( Afghan ) Lodi tribe . The founder of the dynasty, Bahlul Khan Lodi , was a Khalji of the Lodi clan. He started his reign by attacking the Muslim Jaunpur Sultanate to expand the influence of the Delhi Sultanate and
18602-494: Was executed immediately after his defeat, but R. B. Singh believes that no such conclusion can be drawn from Minhaj's writings. Viruddha-Vidhi Vidhvansa by the Hindu writer Lakshmidhara is the only source that claims that Prithviraj was killed on the battlefield. The Prithviraj Raso claims that Prithviraj was taken to Ghazna as a prisoner, and blinded. On hearing this, the poet Chand Bardai traveled to Ghazna and tricked Muhammad of Ghor into watching an archery performance by
18744-487: Was held by Udal's cousin Malkhan. After failing to win over Malkhan through peaceful methods and losing eight generals, Prithviraj captured the fort. The Chandelas then appealed for a truce, and used this time to recall Alha and Udal from Kannauj. In support of the Chandelas, Jaichand dispatched an army led by his best generals, including two of his own sons. The combined Chandela-Gahadavala army attacked Prithviraj's camp, but
18886-440: Was located to the east of the Chahamana kingdom. According to a legend mentioned in Prithviraj Raso , Prithviraj eloped with Jayachandra's daughter Samyogita , leading to a rivalry between the two kings. The legend goes like this: King Jaichand (Jayachandra) of Kannauj decided to conduct a Rajasuya ceremony to proclaim his supremacy. Prithviraj refused to participate in this ceremony, and thus, refused to acknowledge Jaichand as
19028-528: Was more a result of deceitful and treacherous strategies rather than the inherent strength of his forces. According to Taj-ul-Maasir , Prithviraj's camp lost 100,000 men (including Govindaraja of Delhi) in this debacle. Prithviraj himself tried to escape on a horse, but was pursued and caught near the Sarasvati fort (possibly modern Sirsa ). Subsequently, Muhammad of Ghor captured Ajmer after killing several thousand defenders, enslaved many more, and destroyed
19170-502: Was murdered in 1296 by Muhammad Salim of Samana, on the orders of his nephew and son-in-law Juna Muhammad Khalji , who later came to be known as Ala ud-Din Khalji. Ala ud-Din began his military career as governor of Kara province, from where he led two raids on the Kingdom of Malwa (1292) and Devagiri (1294) for plunder and loot. After he acceded to the throne, expansions towards these kingdoms were renewed including Gujarat which
19312-543: Was not able to annex the Chandela territory to his kingdom. Conversely, according to R.B. Singh, it is probable that some part of Chandela territory was annexed by Chahmanas albeit for a short time. The Kharatara-Gachchha-Pattavali mentions a peace treaty between Prithviraj, and Bhima II , the Chaulukya (Solanki) king of Gujarat . This implies that the two kings were previously at war. This war can be dated to sometime before 1187 CE (1244 VS ). The Veraval inscription states that Bhima's prime minister Jagaddeva Pratihara
19454-517: Was of Turko-Afghan heritage. They were originally Turkic, but due to their long presence in Afghanistan, they were treated by others as Afghan as they adopted Afghan habits and customs. The first ruler of the Khalji dynasty was Jalal ud-Din Firuz Khalji . He was around 70 years old at the time of his ascension and was known as a mild-mannered, humble and kind monarch to the general public. Jalal ud-Din Firuz ruled for 6 years before he
19596-446: Was partially successful through a treaty. Thereafter, the region from Delhi to Varanasi (then at the border of Bengal province), was back under the influence of the Delhi Sultanate. After Bahlul Lodi died, his son Nizam Khan assumed power, renamed himself Sikandar Lodi and ruled from 1489 to 1517. One of the better-known rulers of the dynasty, Sikandar Lodi expelled his brother Barbak Shah from Jaunpur, installed his son Jalal Khan as
19738-437: Was precarious, and several Muslim amirs (nobles) challenged his authority as they had been supporters of Qutb al-Din Aibak. After a series of conquests and brutal executions of opposition, Iltutmish consolidated his power. His rule was challenged several times, such as by Qubacha, and this led to a series of wars. Iltutmish conquered Multan and Bengal from contesting Muslim rulers, as well as Ranthambore and Sivalik from
19880-424: Was required, and expensive goods such as certain fabrics were deemed "unnecessary" for the general public and required a permit from the state to be purchased. These licenses were issued to amirs , maliks , and other important persons in government. Agricultural taxes were raised to 50%. Traders regarded the regulations as burdensome, and violations were severely punished, leading to further resentment among
20022-644: Was supported by non-Khalji nobles like Kamal al-Din Gurg . However, he lacked the support of the majority of Khalji's nobles who had him assassinated, hoping to take power for themselves. However, the new ruler had the killers of Kafur executed. The last Khalji ruler was Ala ud-Din Khalji's 18-year-old son Qutb ud-Din Mubarak Shah Khalji , who ruled for four years before he was killed by Khusro Khan, another slave-general with Hindu origins, who reverted from Islam and favoured his Hindu Baradu military clan in
20164-475: Was to return to his base after conquering Tabarhindah, but when he heard about Prithviraj's march, he decided to put up a fight. He set out with an army, and encountered Prithviraj's forces at Tarain . In the ensuing battle, Prithviraj's army decisively defeated the Ghurids. Muhammad of Ghor was injured and forced to retreat. Prithviraj did not pursue the retreating Ghurid army, not wanting to invade hostile territory or misjudge Ghori's ambition. He only besieged
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