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DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

VISAKHAPATNAM, A.P., INDIA

PROJECT TITLE

TUGHLAQ DYNASTY AND IT’S ROLE ON INDIAN ADMINISTRATION

SUBJECT

HISTORY

NAME OF THE FACULTY

Dr .VISWACHANDRANATH MADASU SIR

Name of the candidate: PRATHIPATI.NAVYA

Roll number : 2017067

Semester : I

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like express my heartfelt gratitude to our History teacher Dr. Viswachandranath
Madasu sir for giving me this wonderful opportunity to do a project on Tughlaq dynasty
and its role on Indian administration .I have put all my efforts to collect the information
and to complete this project.

I would also extend my thanks to history sir for his support, guidance and encouragement
throughout the project. I would also like thank my friends and family for their support
throughout the project.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT--------------------------------------------------------------------- 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS--------------------------------------------------------------------------------3

SYNOPSIS-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

INTRODUCTION----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5

THE TUGHLAQ DYNASTY--------------------------------------------------------------------------6

THE TUGHLUIDS--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

RULERS OF TUGHLAQ DYNASTY----------------------------------------------------------------8

1.GHIZA-UD-DIN TUGHLAQ--------------------------------------------------------------------------8

(i)Early Career............................................................................................................9

(ii)Administration of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq............................................................9

(iii)Conquests of Ghiyas-ud –din-Tughlaq...............................................................10

(iv)Death of Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq in 1325 A.D..................................................10

2.MUHAMMED- BIN- TUGHLUQ(1325-1351)---------------------------------------------------11

SHIFTING OF CAPITAL -------------------------------------------------------------------------12

ECONOMIC REFORMS---------------------------------------------------------------------------13

(i)Token Currency.....................................................................................................13

(ii)Taxation in the Doab..............................................................................................14

(iii)Department of Agriculture....................................................................................14

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VISIONARY SCHEMES OF CONQUEST------------------------------------------------------15

(i)Khurasan Expedition.............................................................................................

(ii)Karajal Expedition

SUPPRESSION OF REBELLIONS

THE ESTIMATE OF SULTAN MUHAMMAD-BIN-TUGHLAQ

THE REASONS FOR HIS FAILURES

PERSONAL LIFE & LEGACY

3.FIROZ TUGHLAQ(1351-1388)--------------------------------------------------------------------17

FAILURE OF EXPEDITIONS

RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION

BENEVOLENT REFORMS

DEATH OF FIROZ TUGHLAQ

DOWNFALL OF TUGHLAQ DYNASTY--------------------------------------------------------21

CONCLUSION-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22

BIBILIOGRAPHY--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------23

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SYNOPSIS

Objectives/Aim of the study:


The Objective of the study is to know about the Tughlaq dynasty and it’s role on Indian
administration.

Significance/Benefit of the study:


The benefit of the study is to know about how the rulers of tughlaq dynasty played their role
in Indian administration.

Review of literature :
The researcher will go through the various books, journals, magazines and online resources
like the websites and various reports to collect the information relating to the project topic
and collect the information for doing the project.

Research Methodology:
The researcher will do a doctrinal research which includes theoretical descriptions of the
subject which can be taken from the books, journals, magazines and other online resources.

Research problem :
Whether the administration of tughlaq dynasty has good impact on development of india.

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INTRODUCTION
The establishment of the Delhi Sultanate in 1206 A.D. was landmark in Indian History.The
Delhi Sultanate was a Muslim sultanate based mostly in Delhi that stretched over large parts
of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206-1526).Five dynasties ruled over the Delhi
Sultanate sequentially .the Mamuluk dynasty(1206-90),the Khalji dynasty (1290-1320),the
Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1414),the Sayyid dynasty(1414-51),and the Lodi dynasty (1451-
1526).The sultanate is noted for being one of the few states to repel an attack by the Mongol
Empire.

The Tughluq dynasty was one of the dynasties ruling India collectively referred to as the
Delhi Sultanate. Most historians mark the years of Tughlaq dynasty from 1321 to 1414. The
Tughluq family was a Muslim clan that originated in Turkey. A number of alliances with
Turks, Afghans, and other Asian Muslims characterized most of the Tughluq rule.

THE TUGHLUQ DYNASTY:

The Tughluq Dynasty , a North Indian Dynasty ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1320 AD to
1414 AD which was a Turko-Indian origin. The founder of the Tughlaq dynasty was
GhiyasuddinTughlaq. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq sent his son Juna Khan to fight against
Warangal. He defeated Pratabarudra and returned with rich booty. Ghiyasuddin laid the
foundation for Tughlaqabad near Delhi. Ulugh Khan was said to have treacherously killed his
father and ascended the throne with the title Muhammad bin Tughlaq in 1325.

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In 1320 AD, Khusro Khan, a Hindu convert killed the last ruler of Khilji Dynasty Qutbud
din Mubarak Shah and thus ended the Khilji Dynasty. Khusro Khan ruled for a short period
of time. Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq was a governor from the time of Ala-ud-din Khilji. Ghiyas-
ud-din Tughlaq sent his son Juna Khan to fight against Warangal. He defeated Pratabarudra
and returned with rich booty. Ghiyasuddin laid the foundation for Tughlaqabad near Delhi.
Ulugh Khan was said to have treacherously killed his father and ascended the throne with the
title Muhammad bin Tughlaq in 1325.

The dynasty expanded its territorial reach through a military campaign led by Muhammad
ibnTughluq, and reached its zenith between 1330 and 1335. Its rule was marked with torture,
cruelty and rebellions, resulting in the rapid disintegration of the dynasty's territorial reach
after 1335 AD.[ ]

The Tughluqids (1320–1412)

With the murder of Qutb al-Din-Mubarak Shah in 1320, the line of the Khalji sultans of
Delhi came to an end, and his assassin, his Hindu convert slave Khusraw Khan Barwari,
ascended the throne as Sultan Nasir al-Din. But his reign was cut short by the rebellion of
Ghazi Malik Tughluq, governor of Dipalpur in Panjab, who had risen to prominence under
the Khaljis, utilizing resentment against the ascendancy of the Hindus in the state under
Khusraw Khan: in 1320 Nasir al-Din was defeated and killed by Ghazi Malik, who ascended
the throne as Ghiyath al-Din (1320–5). The line of sultans which he inaugurated is
conveniently referred to as the Tughluqids, although Tughluq was almost certainly a personal
name of Ghazi Malik rather than a Turkish ethnic or tribal name.

In 1320 the last ruler of the Khilji dynasty, Nasir-ud-Din Khusro, confronted the governor of
Punjab, Ghazi Malik, in a battle near Delhi. Khusro, a Hindu who had converted to Islam,
began a purge of Muslim military officers while appointing Hindus in their place.

This created a great deal of unrest throughout India. Ghazi Malik and his forces were
victorious in the battle and he proclaimed himself king of Delhi. Malik followed with an
attempt to locate a rightful successor to the Khalji dynasty.

A successor could not be found and sentiment grew for Malik to follow Khusro. Soon after,
Ghazi Malik changed his name to Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughluq. Ghazi Malik’s ascension to power
was the beginning of the Tughlaq dynasty.

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Upon taking power, Tughluq commenced a policy of exterminating the former allies of
Khusro. In addition, Tughluq introduced a series of administrative reforms in order to restore
order throughout the kingdom.

RULERS OF TUGHLUQ DYNASTY:

GHIYASUDDIN TUGHLAQ (1320-1412):

Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq was the founder of the Tughlaq Empire in India. For many years he
served under Ala-ud-Din Khilji as the Warden of the Marches or the Governor of the Frontier
Province. He was the son of a Turk Father and his mother was a Hindu Jat. He was earlier
known as Ghazi Tughlaq.

Early Career

Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq rose to the high position by dint of his personal merits. He led many
expeditions against the Mongols and gave them such heavy punishments that they dared not
attack India during the reign of his master (Ala-ud-Din Khilji).

At the head of a strong army and accompanied by his son Juna Khan he marched against
Khusro Khan and after defeating him near Delhi he got him beheaded. Then Ghazi Tughlaq
ascended the throne with the title of Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq. But it was not an easy throne
for him because confusion was prevailing all around and the distant provinces were trying to
declare their independence. But Ghiyas-ud-Din raised equal to the occasion and because of
his wisdom, abilities and strength he succeeded in maintaining peace and order.

Administration of Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq

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Soon after his accession to the throne the Sultan paid his attention towards the administration.
Ghiyasuddin constructed a new city by the name of Tuglakabad near Delhi which still excites
our curiosity for ti’s massiveness and Simplicity.Very able and honest officers were recruited
and various reforms were introduced in the judicial and police departments.He punished
those who were responsible for atrocities on Khiljis.The land revenue which had been raised
to ½ of the total produce during Ala-ud-Din’s reign was reduced to 1/10 and the revenue
officers were warned against any harassment of the peasants.Ghiyas-ud-Din carried out many
works of public utility.Canals were dug,gardens were planted and forts were built to provide
shelter to the people against the thieves and robbers and reduced various military reforms.He
introduced the shift postal service.The system of branding the horses and writing the
descriptive roles of the soldiers was revived.The Sultan also patronized art and learning.Amir
Khusro continued to receive the Sultan’s favour.

He returned sardar lands to the owners which were taken by Allauddin.He waived the taxes at
the time of calamities .He brought thousands of acres of waste lands into cultivation.He
introduced an efficient system of dak,and according to Ibn Batuta,the letters would reach at a
distance of 200 miles only in twenty four hours.

Conquests of Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq:

Taking full advantage of the confusion that prevailed in India after the death of Ala-ud-Din
Khilji, the distant governors tried to assert their independence. Soon after his accession to the
throne, Ghiyas-ud-Din had to pay his attention to this side also.

Ghiyasuddin attempted to restore the authority of the sultanate in the deccan. He sent two
expenditions against the Kakatiya rulers of Warangal.The first expedition ended in defeat,but
the second managed to secure the surrender of the Kingdom.In 1324 A.D the sultan himself
directed a campaign against Bengal and annexed eastern and southern Bengal.On his return
from Bengal,Ghiyasuddin Tughluq defeated the Raja of Tirhut and annexed his territories.

Ghiyas-ud-din proved himself more aggressive imperialist than even Ala-ud- din. Ala-ud-din
did not annex the territories of the kingdoms of the South. He was satisfied by bringing them
under his suzerainty. Devagiri was annexed to his empire only when Shankar Deva
completely refused to accept his overlordship. On the contrary, Ghiyas-ud-din frankly
pursued the policy of annexation. He annexed the territories of all those rulers who were
defeated by him.

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Death of Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq in 1325 A.D :

But Ghiyas-ud-Din was not destined to enjoy a long reign. When he returned to Delhi from
the Bengal expedition he was cordially received by his son Juna Khan in the new pavilion
that was specially constructed for this purpose in Afghanpura, near his new capital
Tughlakabad. But the pavilion fell down and the Sultan was killed under it in 1325 A. D.
There is a good deal of controversy on the question whether the Sultan’s death was the result
of some conspiracy or it occurred by accident.

Historians have differed regarding the death of Ghiyas-ud-din. Dr Mahdi Husain and Dr B.P.
Saxena have expressed that he died of an accident while Dr Ishwari Prasad and Sir Woolseley
Haig regarded it as a result of conspiracy of prince Jauna Khan against the Sultan.

Dr A.L. Srivastava and Dr R.C. Mazumdar also agree with their view. Among contemporary
historians Ibn Batuta and Isami blamed the prince for the death of Sultan while the account of
Barani is short and inconclusive. He simply wrote that ‘the Sultan had an accident because of
the sudden fall of lightning.’

According to Ibn Batuta, while the Sultan was in Bengal, he received disquieting news of the
activities of prince Jauna in Delhi. He was informed that the prince was increasing the
number of his followers, had become the disciple of Shaikh Nizam-ud-din Auliya with whom
the Sultan was displeased and, probably, aspired for the throne.

The Sultan and his younger son, Mahmud Khan, were crushed under the building. Jauna
Khan is said to have delayed in removing the debris and when these were removed the Sultan
was found bent over the body of prince Mahmud Khan as if to protect him. Ibn Batuta was
told of this incident by Shaikh Rukn-ud-din who was present in the pavilion at that time but
was asked by prince Jauna Khan to leave for his prayers before elephants were brought for
parade.

Thus, Ibn Batuta charged prince Jauna Khan for the murder of the Sultan. Whether the charge
is correct is disputable but most of the historians agree that even if there was any conspiracy
to murder the Sultan, Shaikh Nizam-ud-din Auliya had probably nothing to do with it.He
ruled for five years from 1320 to 1325 and was succeeded by his son Muhammed –Bin-
Tughlaq.

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Muhammad-Bin-Tughluq(1325-1351):

The crown prince Juna,who,according to some accounts,had a hand in the accident of his
father,ascended the throne under the title Muhammad-Bin-Tuqhlaq.He was ,undoubtedly,the
ablest man among the crowned heads of the middle ages.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq was well known for his wisdom and character. People had a lot of
expectations from him and he on the other hand, had the desire for more valuable
contribution for his countrymen than his predecessors.

That is why right from the beginning of his rule; he decided to take some bold reformative
measures for the improvement as well as safeguard of the country.

Muhammad-bin-Tughluq next to Alluddin Khilzi was the greatest sultan of Delhi who is best
remembered for his bold experiments and innovative thought in the field of administration as
well as in agriculture.

He was learned,pious and liberal in his relations with Hindus. He attempted to bring about the
suppression of sati and employed the Hindus in high positions of the State.Hence,Isami and
Barani denounced him as irreligious and Isami went so far as to castigate the Sultan as a
Kafir and called for a general uprising against him.

He was one of the most remarkable rulers of his time. He was highly educated and was well
versed in Arabic and Persian language. He was well read in the subjects of religion,
philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, medicine and logic.

He was also a good calligraphist. Further from military point of view, he was an excellent
commander and during the time of Sultan Mubarak Shaha Khiliji he was promoted to the
rank of the master of the horse from an ordinary soldier. And again during the time of his

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father Sultan Giyasuddin Tughlaq he led the imperial forces to Telengana and Warrangal. He
was highly ambitious and was a man of high moral character. He was very much faithful to
his own religion and obeyed the religious rites and was regular at his daily prayers. He
abstained himself from drinking in public. He was very kind and generous to the poor and
pandits .He is caricatured for his quixotic projects and the exceptionally large number of
revolts that rocked his kingdom.The first great political experiment of Mohammed Tughlak
was the transfer of capital .

SHIFTING OF CAPITAL

He shifted his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (Devagiri) in 1326-27 on the basis of the
following reasons:

(i)that Daultabad was centrally situated;

(ii) that it had strategic value,and

(iii) that he could safeguard his kingdom from Mongols.

Isami,however,alleged that the sultan was suspicious of the people of Delhi and in order to
break their powers, thought of driving them in the direction of Maharashtra.According to
some historians,the project was directed by the paucity of Muslims in the Deccan and the
Sultan’s desire to make Daultabad a centre of Islamic culture.While doing so,he ordered that
the people also should move along with official machinery.He gave gold,cash,and grants of
land in deccan to those who compiled with his order.Though he took all measures and
provided facilities to the migrants,ultimately it ended in a colossal failure because of his poor
judgement of human nature.He again shifted his capital to Delhi in 1335-36.Ultimately his
experiment ended in failure.

Though the attempt to make Devagiri a capital failed, it had a number long-range benefit. It
helped in bringing north and south closer together by improving communications. Many
people, including religious divines who had gone to Daulatabad, settled down there. They
became the means of spreading in the Deccan the cultural, religious and social ideas which
the turks had brought with them to north India.

This resulted in a new process of cultural interaction between north and South India.
However Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq has been criticized for this transfer of capital. Neither his

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selection of the place Devagiri as a site of capital nor his act of shifting the entire population
of Delhi was welcomed by any historian. According to Standly Lane-poole, “Daulatabad was
a monument of misdirected energy.”

ECONOMIC REFORMS

There are many economic reforms introduced by Mohammad Bin Tughlaq.Among them one
of the most important reform was Token Currency.

(i)TOKEN CURRENCY:

Mohammad Tughlaq reformed the entire system of coinage,fixed the relative value of the
precious metals and issued various types of coins.But far more daring and original was his
attempt to introduce token currency either due to the scarity of silver or due to the financial
deficiency of his treasury or due to his love for experiment.It is said that in introducing this
experiment the sultan had been encouraged by the examples of Chinese and Persian
rulers.Mohammed Tughlaq issued an order making copper coins the legal tender and putting
them at par with gold and silver coins.The sultan,however,took no steps to make the minting
of the coins a monopoly of the state and took no steps to put down forgery.As a result,a
number of counterfeit coins were minted by both the Hindus and Muslims.Barani remarks in
an orthodox manner that the house of every Hindu had become a mint.The people,as a result
,became rich and the state suffered a great deal.Trade came to a standstill and all business
paralysed.When the inferior currency was available the people were bound to withhold the
circulation of superior currency of silver and gold.When the sultan realized the failure of his
scheme,he issued an order that silver coins would be issued to the people in lieu of brass and
copper coins.

The Sultan issued a bronze coin,jital in place of siver tanka.The bronze coinage remained in
circulation for three years roughly from 1329-1332.Though the idea was sound,but it’s
execution was foolish .When the new token currency became valueless as pebbles,prices rose
high.Gold and silver became scarce.Barani says that the necessity of issuing token currency
arose due to the bankruptcy of his treasure due to his plans to conquer foreign lands and the
recruitment of huge army of nearly four lakh soldiers for the Khurasan expedition.Some
scholars argued that the experiment of token coins was not due to bankruptcy of the Sultan
for when the currency experiment failed he redeemed the token coins in gold and silver.

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(ii) TAXATION IN THE DOAB

The expendition of the Khurasan army forced the Sultan to increase the rate of taxation in the
Doab,the richest and most fertile region of his empire.According to Barauni,the taxation was
increased 10 to 20 times more,of course an exaggeration.Unfortunately for Muhammad,at
that time there was a great famine in Doab and the Kharaj already stood at half the
produce.As a result the peasants failed to pay heavy taxation ,abandoned their lands and set
fire to the grain heaps and burnt them.They took to highway robbery.Added to this,the
Sultan’s officials acted rigorously in collecting taxes.The officials plundered the
country.They killed many Khots and muqaddams,and many they blinded.Those who escaped
gathered in bands and fled into jungles;and the country became ruined.However,the Sultan
noticed the real difficulties of peasantry.Then he ordered the digging of wells and granting
loans to the cultivators.Unfortunately these measures came late.Iswari Prasad says,”Never
were benevolent schemes of reforms more cruelly frustrated by an evil fate than in the case of
Muhammed.”

(iii) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The non –arrival of grain from the Doab created on acute food shortage and the onset of
drought aggravated the situated.The famine spread to Malway and eastern Punjab.To bring
more land under cultivation and to render financial support to the cultivators.He set up the
department of agriculture called Diwan-i-Kohi.Lands were distributed to the landless
peasants.Huge sums of money were granted and a large body of officials were appointed to
look after it.But the whole scheme failed due to the misappropriation of funds and corrupt
officials.Barani states that the greedy men,who undertook to bring ,300,000 bighas of barren
land under plough were sanctioned loans (sondhar) to the tune of seventy lakh tankas,but
spent the money on themselves.All famine relief measures which were taken by him failed
miserbly in implementation.

A large number of peasants were engaged in the work of cultivation. They were supplied with
all sorts of agricultural instruments and seeds. They were asked to grow different crops in
rotation. A large number of officers and guards were appointed to look after the project. The
government spent over it more than seventy lakhs. In spite of this, the scheme failed

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miserably. The target amount of production could not be achieved. The expenditure in it
outstripped the income from it. It was due to several reasons.

Firstly, the land chosen for cultivation was not fertile. Secondly, the officers lacked
experience which accounted for bad planning or faulty implementation. There were also
some corrupt officials who misappropriated a huge amount of production and money.

VISIONARY SCHEMES OF CONQUEST

Khurasan Expedition:

Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq’s experiments were not confined to internal matters only; it was


also down with external affairs. His Khurasan project was the first of them. In-order-to fulfill
his ambition of a great conqueror; he planned to conquer the kingdom of Khurasan which
was then ruled by Iraq. He recruited one lakh soldiers for this purpose and paid them one
year’s salary in advance.

He spent nearly three lakhs of rupees for this mission. But this project was dropped because
he did not get the help of the Persian emperor who had assured him to help in this mission.
Ultimately the Sultan incurred a huge financial loss and his reputation as a conqueror
hampered much.

Karajal Expedition:

Karajal expedition was another mis-judged step of Muhammad-bin- Tughlaq. Karajal was a
Hindu kingdom located between India and China. In 1337 Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq sent a
huge army to invade Karajal. After some initial success, the Delhi army perished in the
mountainous region of Himalayas due to severe rain fall.

The army suffered terribly and we are told by Barani that out 10, 000 army only 10 horse-
men could return to Delhi to tell the story of the disaster. It was a great loss to the Sultan both
in men and money. Though the Hindu raja of Karajal accepted the Suzerinty of Delhi, but
considering to the amount of loss, it can be described that the Karajal expedition was an
unsuccessful adventure of Sultan.

SUPPRESSION OF REBELLIONS

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The turbulence in the Doab fuelled revolts in distant provinces like Malabar,Bengal and
Telangana.As a result of his ill-thought out schemes,many rebellions broke out in the
empire.He made several futile attempts to suppress the rebellions.All these were due to lack
of realism and practical sense of Sultan.

The Estimate of Sultan Muhammad-bin- Tughlaq:


While making an estimate of Sultan Muhammad-bin- Tughlaq’s character and achievements,
historians have strongly differed and have expressed diametrically opposite views. Historians
like Elphinstone, Edward Thomass, Havell and V.A. Smith have agreed that the Sultan
Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq was affected by some degree of insanity. But on the other hand
historians like Gardiner Brown and Dr. Iswari Prasad have described Muhammad-bin-
Tughlaq with high sounding words and do not believe that he was suffering from insanity.

Even contemporary historians like Barani and Ibn Batuta have expressed opposite views
about the character and achievements of the Sultan. So in this context, it is very difficult to
make an important and unprejudiced assessment of the Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq.
Almost all the historians have agreed that Sultan Muhammad was one of the most learned
and accomplished scholars of his time.

He had profound knowledge in logic, philosophy, mathematics astronomy and physical


sciences. He was well versed in Arabic and Persian language and literature. He was a lover of
music and fine arts. Barani says, the sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq was a veritable wonder
of creation whose abilities would have taken by surprise even Aristotle and Asaf.

THE REASONS FOR HIS FAILURES

The factors responsible for his failure were:

(i)The peoples attitude was conservation;

(ii)The antagonistic attitude of Islamic ulemas,quazis,khatibs(preachers) and infiuential


Muslims;

(iii)The corrupt officials;

(iv)The lack of realistic touch of his good plans ;

(v)He did not take into consideration the financial aspects of the people;

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(vi)Natural calamities such as severe famines for a decade;

(vii)His infliction of cruel punishments on the innocent people when the people failed to
respond favourably to his measures.

Personal Life & Legacy


Muhammad bin Tughluq was married to the daughter of the raja of Dipalpur.The major part of his
reign was spent engaged in warfare. In 1351 he was on his way to Thatta, Sindh in order to
intervene a war between members of the Gujjar tribe, when he died enroute.

FIROZ TUGHLAQ (1351-1388)

Firoz Shah Tughlaq succeeded to the throne of Delhi Sultanate after the death of Muhammad
Bin Tughlaq. He ascended the throne but he was neither an able administrator nor a tolerant
ruler, neither did he succeed in recovering the lost territories in the Deccan. The capture of
Jajnagar, Nagarkot fort and parts of Sindh were some of his successes. Firoz Shah Tughlaq
was born in 1309. He ruled for the period between 1351-1388.

FAILURE OF EXPEDITIONS

In 1353 and 1359 ,he led two campaigns to Ikdala in Bengal.On both occasions he tested
early success,but made peace without effecting the annexation of the region.His largest
campaign was to Thatta (Sindh) and Gujarat,during which he suffered heavy loss of
army.The sultan decided to march on to Gujarat and return to Thatta later to continue the
attack;but could succed only due to fortuitousness,in the assault of Thatta.He was
unsuccessful against other kingdoms.He marched against the ruler of Orissa,uprooted the idol
of Jagannath and desecrated the temple and withdrew without being able to change the
existing power equations in the state.His most successful campaign was against
Nagarot,whose ruler had repudiated Delhi’s suzerainity.The Rai finally
surrendered,consented to pay tribute and requested Firoz Tughlaq not to destroy Jwalamukhi
teertha.With all other failures the prestige of imperial authority was seriously affected.There
were no Mongol attacks in the reign of Firoz Tughlaq,power by now having passed from the
Mongols to the Barlas Turks.

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RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION

The influence of the ulema in state affairs revived under Firoz.He is reputed to have been
harsh to his Hindu subjects.He was the first Muslim ruler to impose the jaziya on the
Brahmins,who had hitherto been exempted from the tax.He destroyed three new temples at
Malwa,Salihpur and Gohana.He exempted from jaziya or poll-tax the Hindus who become
Musalman.In the country side,jaziya was emerged with the land tax (kharaj) and not collected
separately.

BENEVOLENT REFORMS

The sultan had taken up a number of benevolent measures;

(i)He reformed the judicial system in order to reduce the severity and punishment.He
abolished torture and inhuman punishments.

(ii)He established a hospital,Dar-ul-Shafa,at Delhi,were medicine and food were supplied


free to the patients.

(iii)The sultan struck off loans which had been advanced during the previous reign,increased
the salaries of the revenue officials and abolished physical coercion.

(iv)Firoz constructed five irrigation canals for harnessing the waters of the Ganga and the
Yamuna rivers for cultivation.He provided,Taqavi loans to the cultivators.

DEATH OF FIROZ TUGHLAQ

Firoz died in 1388 and was succeeded by a string of weak rulers between 1388 and 1414 and
the chiefs and governors began to declare themselves independent one after the other.The
catastrophic invasion of Timur(1398) occurred in the reign of one of his successors (Mahmud
tughlaq) and hastened the end of the Tughlqa dynasty in 1412 after the death of Mahmud
Tughlaq.

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 DOWNFALL OF TUGHLAQ DYNASTY

There were several reasons which lead to the downfall of the Tughlaq Empire.The Tughlaqs
established most extensive empire among the Delhi Sultanate.Ghiyas-ud-din took advantage
of the conquest of the south and annexed larger part of it.Mohammed bin Tughluq
contributed most towards extension of the Empire both as a prince and a Sultan.But the
process of disintegration began during his reign.The annexation of the South, the failures of
Muhammed Tughlaq,the weakness of Firoz Shah Tughlaq,the incompetency of his
successors.the incompetence and demoralization of the nobility and the invasion of Timur
were the chief factor for downfall.

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq adopted the policy of annexing the conquered territories of the south
which was led to perfection by Mohammed Tughlaq .But this measure was against the
permanent interest of the Empire.Due lack of proper means of transport it was difficult for the
rulers of the north to keep the south under his control for long.Thus the south became
independent during the later period of Muhammad Tughlaq.The conquest of the south
brought no advantages to the Tughlaqs.On the contrary,it adversely affected the resources and
the strength of the Empire.Mohammad Tughlaq failed both in his internal and foreign
policy.While Bengal and the south regained independence and the hold of the Delhi Sultanate
became weak over Gujarat and Sindh,no significant territory could be added to the Empire
permanently.

All the schemes of Muhammed Tughlaq failed miserably and brought 14 department for poor
and needy people economic reign to the empire.Besides,his policies and severe measures
resulted in widespread revolts at several places which taxed further the energy and resources
of the empire.Nobles and provincial governors of latter Tughlaqs took the advantage of the
incompetence of the rulers.Those who were ambitious and competent established
independent kingdoms out of the ruins of the Empire and those who were incompetent were
struck to the court engaging themselves in corruptions and luxuries.None of them were
capable and whosoever was competent was disloyal to the Sultan and therefore worked
against sultan.

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ROLE ON INDIAN ADMINISTRATION:

The rulers of the Tughlaq dynasty has introduced many reforms for the development of their
dynasty.Though they were no successfully implemented they also have some good impact on
the society.Some of the reforms and their impact on Indian administration are:

SHIFT OF CAPITAL:

Transfer of the capital from Delhi to Devagari (Daultabad) has the most controversial step of
Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. Several factors prompted him to take this decision.

This resulted in a new process of cultural interaction between north and South India.
However Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq has been criticized for this transfer of capital. Neither his
selection of the place Devagiri as a site of capital nor his act of shifting the entire population
of Delhi was welcomed by any historian. According to Standly Lane-poole, “Daulatabad was
a monument of misdirected energy.”

TOKEN CURRENCY:

Introduction of token currency was another bold experiment of the Sultan Muhammad-bin-
Tughlaq. Since currency or money is a medium of exchange, it is greatly required that to with
a huge quantity to serve the purpose of exchange in modern time. Muhammad-bin- Tughlaq’s
predecessors depended on gold and silver coins as medium of exchange. But during the time
Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq a huge quantity of coins was required for various transactions and
there was a dearth of gold and silver coins in the country.

These coins Barani says, were heaped up outside the fort and remained lying there for many
years.- These above experiments not only brought wastage of money but also affected the
prestige of the Sultan.

Though they introduced several good reforms like shifting of capital,token currency and
taxation of doab etc they were against to the will of the people so couldn’t implement
properly and made successful.So they don’t have that much role on Indian Administration for
the development of the country or changes in the country.

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CONCLUSION

The Tughlaq dynasty started in 1312 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the throne under
the title of Ghiya-su-Din Tughluq.The Tughluqs were a muslim family of Turkic origin.Their
rule rellied on their alliances with Turkic,Afghan,and other Muslim warriors from outside
south asia.The empire grew under Mohammed –bin-Tughluq ,but latter became notorious for
illadvised policy experiments such as shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and
introducing copper coins without effective regulation against forgery.Tughluqi as a result
become synonym for brilliant if stubborn eccentricity in the Urdu language.After Mohammed
bin Tughluq(1324-51AD) it was Firoz Shah Tughlaq.The tughlaq dynasty would not survive
much after Firoz Shah’s death.

After his death, there was renewed struggle between the sultan and the nobles. Local rajas
and zamindars took this opportunity to set themselves up independently. In the reign of
Nasir-ud Din Mahmud (1394-1412), the governors of provinces became independent and the
sultanate was confined virtually to a small areas surrounding Delhi. The situation worsened
as a result of Timur's invasion (1398).

The Malwa,Gujarat and Sharqi (jaunpur) kingdoms broke away from the sultanate.Timur,a
Turk,invaded india in 1398 during the reign of Mohammed shah Tughlaq,the last ruler of
Tughlaq dynasty.His army mercilessely sacked and plundered Delhi.Tughlaq dynasty had lost
its prestige prior to the invasion of Timur but after his invasion it was thoroughly destroyed
forever.

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BIBILIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:

INDIAN HISTORY (S.R MYNENI ed..,2 2006 ).

INDIAN HISTORY (Dr.MATA PRASAD ed.,1 2008)

PDF FILES:

RIAZUL ISLAM AND C.E BOSWORTH .,THE DELHI SULTANATE

WEBSITES:

https:// en.Wikipedia.org

www.importantindia.com

www.en.unesco.org

www.preservearticles.com

www.historydiscussion.net

documents.mx

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