Khalji dynasty Delhi Sultanate | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1290–1320 | |||||||||||||
 Flag of the Delhi Sultanate according to the contemporary Qutb ad-Din Mubarak | |||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
• Established | 13 June 1290 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1 May 1320 | ||||||||||||
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| Today part of | India Pakistan | ||||||||||||
The Khalji or KhiljiJalal ud din Firuz Khalji.[9]
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| Delhi Sultanate | |
|---|---|
| Ruling dynasties | |
|
Nasiruddin Mahmud | 1246–1266 |
| Ghiyas ud din Balban | 1266–1287 |
| Muiz ud din Qaiqabad | 1287–1290 |
| Shamsuddin Kayumars | 1290 |
| Jalaluddin | 1290–1296 |
| Alauddin | 1296–1316 |
| Shihabuddin Omar | 1316 |
| Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah | 1316–1320 |
| Khusrau Khan | 1320 |
| Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq | 1320–1325 |
| Muhammad bin Tughluq | 1325–1351 |
| Firuz Shah Tughlaq | 1351–1388 |
| Tughluq Khan | 1388–1389 |
| Abu Bakr Shah | 1389–1390 |
| Nasir ud din Muhammad Shah III | 1390–1393 |
| Ala ud-din Sikandar Shah | 1393 |
| Nasir-ud-din Nusrat Shah Tughluq | 1394–1398 |
| Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq | 1394–1413 |
| Khizr Khan | 1414–1421 |
| Mubarak Shah | 1421–1434 |
| Muhammad Shah | 1434–1445 |
| Alam Shah | 1445–1451 |
The Khalji dynasty was of
According to The New Cambridge History of Islam in the thirteenth century the Khalji were regarded as a separate people distinct from the Turks. The so-called “Khalji revolution” was the transfer of power from a Turkish ruling elite to a non-Turkish one.[20] André Wink however, states that Khaljis were a Turkicized group and remnants of early Indo-European nomads such as Kushans, Hephthalites, and Sakas who later merged with the Afghans. Also, stating that "at that time they were not perceived as Turks or Mongols. Contemporary historians clearly distinguish the Khaljis from the Turks" [21][22] The Khalaj are, according to Doerfer, perhaps of Sogdians who were Turkicized.[23] These Khalaj were later Afghanized and are believed to be the ancestors of Ghilzai/Ghilji Pashtuns.[24]
According to C. E. Bosworth, the Ghilzai, who make up the majority of the Pashtuns in Afghanistan, are the modern result of the Khalaj assimilation into the Pashtuns.[25] Between the 10th and 13th centuries, some sources refer to the Khalaj people as of Turkic, but some others do not.[26] Minorsky argues that the early history of the Khalaj tribe is obscure and adds that the identity of the name Khalaj is still to be proved.[27] Mahmud al-Kashgari (11th century) does not include the Khalaj among the Oghuz Turkic tribes, but includes them among the Oghuz-Turkman (where Turkman meant "Like the Turks") tribes. Kashgari felt the Khalaj did not belong to the original stock of Turkish tribes but had associated with them and therefore, in language and dress, often appeared "like Turks".[26][28] Muhammad ibn Najib Bakran's Jahan-nama explicitly describes them as Turkic,[29] although he notes that their complexion had become darker (compared to the Turks) and their language had undergone enough alterations to become a distinct dialect. However, the Jahan-nama describes them as "tribe of Turks" going through a language shift, speaking the Khalaj dialect, which was summarized by V. Minorsky.[29]
Khaljis were vassals of the
Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji, who was around 70 years old at the time of his ascension, was known as a mild-mannered, humble and kind monarch to the general public.[32][33]
Jalaluddin succeeded in overcoming the opposition of the Turkish nobles and ascended the throne of Delhi in January 1290. Jalal-ud-din was not universally accepted: during his six-year reign (1290–96), Balban's nephew revolted due to his assumption of power and the subsequent sidelining of nobility and commanders serving the Mamluk dynasty.[34] Jalal-ud-din suppressed the revolt and executed some commanders, then led an unsuccessful expedition against Ranthambhor. Jalal-ud-din used an Afghan enclave in the suburb of Delhi, Kilokhri, as his de facto capital.[3]
He also repelled several Mongol attacks on India and was successful in destroying a Mongol force on the banks of the Sind River in central India with the help of his nephew Juna Khan.[35]
In a plot by his nephew, Jalaluddin was assassinated by Muhammad Salim of
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At the beginning of his reign, defeated a major Mongol invasion, at the Battle of Jaran-Manjur (1298). The victory consolidated Alauddin's power and prestige, thus stabilizing his position on the throne of Delhi.
To secure a route to Gujarat's trading ports, Ayn al-Mulk Multani was sent to conquer the Paramara kingdom of Malwa. Its Rai defended it with a large Rajput army, but he was defeated by Multani who became the governor of the province.[46]
Then in 1299 Nusrat Khan was sent to conquer Gujarat itself, where he defeated its Solanki king.[47] Nusrat Khan plundered its chief cities and sacked its temples, such as the famous temple of Somnath which had been rebuilt in the twelfth century. It was here where Nusrat Khan captured Malik Kafur who would later become a military general.[48] Alauddin continued expanding Delhi Sultanate into South India, with the help of generals such as Malik Kafur and Khusraw Khan, collecting large war booty (Anwatan) from those they defeated.[49] His commanders collected war spoils from conquered kingdoms and paid khums (one fifth) on ghanima (booty collected during war) to Sultan's treasury, which helped strengthen the Khalji rule.[50]
_in_the_Catalan_Atlas_(1375).jpg)
) at the center, in the Catalan Atlas (1375). On top of the city of Diogil floats a peculiar flag (
), while coastal cities are under the black flag of the Delhi Sultanate (.png)
).[51][1] Devagiri was ultimately captured by Alauddin Khalji in 1307.[52] The trading ship raises the flag of the Ilkhanate (
Alauddin Khalji reigned for 20 years. He conquered
In 1308, Alauddin's lieutenant,
In 1311, Alauddin ordered a massacre of Mongols in the Delhi Sultanate wherein between 15,000 and 30,000 Mongol settlers, who had recently converted to Islam, were killed after Khalji suspected them of plotting an uprising against him.[55][56]
Alauddin Khalji died in January 1316. Thereafter, the sultanate witnessed chaos, coup and succession of assassinations.[31] Malik Kafur became the sultan but lacked support from the amirs and was killed within a few months.
Over the next three years following Malik Kafur's death, another three sultans assumed power violently and/or were killed in coups. First, the amirs installed a six-year-old named Shihab-ud-din Omar as sultan and his teenage brother,
Alauddin Khalji changed the tax policies to strengthen his treasury to help pay the keep of his growing army and fund his wars of expansion.[57] He raised agriculture taxes from 20% to 50% – payable in grain and agricultural produce (or cash),[58] eliminating payments and commissions on taxes collected by local chiefs, banned socialization among his officials as well as inter-marriage between noble families to help prevent any opposition forming against him; he cut salaries of officials, poets and scholars in his kingdom.[57]
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Alauddin Khalji enforced four taxes on non-Muslims in the Sultanate - jizya (poll tax), kharaj (land tax), kari (house tax), and chari (pasture tax).[59][60] He also decreed that his Delhi-based revenue officers assisted by local Muslim jagirdars, khuts, mukkadims, chaudharis and zamindars seize by force half of all produce any farmer generates, as a tax on standing crop, so as to fill sultanate granaries.[61] His officers enforced tax payment by beating up middlemen responsible for rural tax collection.Furthermore, Alauddin Khalji demanded, state Kulke and Rothermund, from his "wise men in the court" to create "rules and regulations in order to grind down the common man, so as to reduce them to abject poverty and deprive them of wealth and any form of surplus property that could foster a rebellion;[59] At the same time, he confiscated all landed property from his courtiers and officers.[59] Revenue assignments to Muslim jagirdars were also cancelled and the revenue was collected by the central administration.[62] Henceforth, state Kulke and Rothermund, "everybody was busy with earning a living so that nobody could even think of rebellion."[59]
Alauddin Khalji taxation methods and increased taxes reduced agriculture output and the Sultanate witnessed massive inflation. In order to compensate for salaries that he had cut and fixed for Muslim officials and soldiers, Alauddin introduced price controls on all agriculture produce, goods, livestocks and slaves in the kingdom, as well as controls on where, how, and by whom these could be sold. Markets called shahana-i-mandi were created.[62][63][64] Muslim merchants were granted exclusive permits and monopoly in these mandi to buy and resell at official prices. No one other than these merchants could buy from farmers or sell in cities. Alauddin deployed an extensive network of Munhiyans (spies, secret police) who would monitor the mandi and had the power to seize anyone trying to buy or sell anything at a price different from the official controlled prices.[64][65] Those found violating these mandi rules were severely punished, such as by cutting out their flesh.[35] Taxes collected in form of seized crops and grains were stored in sultanate's granaries.[66] Over time, farmers quit farming for income and shifted to subsistence farming, the general food supply worsened in north India, shortages increased and Delhi Sultanate witnessed increasingly worse and extended periods of famines.[35][67] The Sultan banned private storage of food by anyone. Rationing system was introduced by Alauddin as shortages multiplied; however, the nobility and his army were exempt from the per family quota-based food rationing system.[67] During these famines, Khalji's sultanate granaries and wholesale mandi system with price controls ensured sufficient food for his army, court officials and the urban population in Delhi.[57][68] Price controls instituted by Khalji reduced prices, but also lowered wages to a point where ordinary people did not benefit from the low prices. The price control system collapsed shortly after the death of Alauddin Khalji, with prices of various agriculture products and wages doubling to quadrupling within a few years.[69]
Regarding the military, historians states the standing army of sultanate during Khilji dynasty consist of 300,000-400,000 horse cavalry and 2500-3000 war elephant.[70][71][72] Which is less than its successor state, the Tughlaq dynasty whose fielding to 500,000 horse cavalry in their force.[71]
The tax system introduced during the Khalji dynasty had a long term influence on Indian taxation system and state administration,
Alauddin Khalji's taxation system was probably the one institution from his reign that lasted the longest, surviving indeed into the nineteenth or even the twentieth century. From now on, the land tax (kharaj or mal) became the principal form in which the peasant's surplus was expropriated by the ruling class.
— The Cambridge Economic History of India: c.1200-c.1750, [73]
Within Sultanate's capital city of Delhi, during Alauddin Khalji's reign, at least half of the population were slaves working as servants, concubines and guards for the Muslim nobles, amirs, court officials and commanders.[74] Slavery in India during the Khalji dynasty, and later Islamic dynasties, included two groups of people - persons seized during military campaigns, and people who defaulted on their taxes.[75][76] The institution of slavery and bondage labor became pervasive during the Khalji dynasty; male slaves were referred to as banda, qaid, ghulam, or burdah, while female slaves were called bandi, kaniz or laundi.[citation needed]
Alauddin Khalji is credited with the early Indo-Mohammedan architecture, a style and construction campaign that flourished during
Perso-Arabic inscriptions on monuments have been traced to the Khalji dynasty era.[5]
Historians have questioned the reliability of historical accounts about the Khalji dynasty. Genuine primary sources and historical records from 1260 to 1349 period have not been found.
| Titular Name | Personal Name | Reign[81] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shāyista Khān
(Jalal-ud-din) |
Malik Fīroz ملک فیروز خلجی |
1290–1296 | |
| Ala-ud-din علاءالدین |
Ali Gurshasp علی گرشاسپ خلجی |
1296–1316 | |
| Shihab-ud-din شھاب الدین |
Umar Khan عمر خان خلجی |
1316 | |
| Qutb-ud-din قطب الدین |
Mubarak Khan مبارک خان خلجی |
1316–1320 | |
Khusro Khan ended the Khalji dynasty in 1320.
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| History of the Turkic peoples pre–14th century | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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in the depiction of the Delhi Sultanate in the Catalan Atlas
...helps identify another curious flag found in northern India – a brown or originally silver flag with a vertical black line – as the flag of the Delhi Sultanate (602-962/1206-1555).
The Khaljis and other Afghan tribes kept apart from their mostly Hindu subjects, living in cantonments, or mahalas, based on clan affiliation. Jalal al-Din Firuz, the first Khalji Sultan, even refused to attend the court in Delhi, and built a new capital a few kilometers away in the Afghan enclave of Kilokhri.
Apabhramsha seemed to be in a state of transition from Middle Indo-Aryan to the New Indo-Aryan stage. Some elements of Hindustani appear ... the distinct form of the lingua franca Hindustani appears in the writings of Amir Khusro (1253–1325), who called it Hindwi[.]
This dynasty, like the previous Slave dynasty, was of Turkish origin, though the Khaljī tribe had long been settled in Afghanistan. Its three kings were noted for their faithlessness, their ferocity, and their penetration to the South of India.
In 1290, the Turk-Afghan Khalji clan ended the first mamluk dynasty and then ruled in Delhi until one of their own Turkish mamluk commanders rebelled and established his own Tugluq dynasty
The Khalji rebellion was welcomed by the non-Turkish sections in the nobility. The Khaljis who were of a mixed Turkish-Afghan origin, did not exclude the Turks from high offices, but the rise of the Khaljis to power ended the Turkish monopoly of high offices
A Bactrian Document (BD T) from this period brings interesting information about the area to our attention. In it, dated to BE 476 (701 AD), a princess identified as `Bag-aziyas, the Great Turkish Princess, the Queen of Qutlugh Tapaghligh Bilga Sävüg, the Princess of the Khalach, the Lady of Kadagestan offers alms to the local god of the region of Rob, known as Kamird, for the health of (her) child. Inaba, arguing for the Khalaj identity of the kings of Kabul, takes this document as a proof that the Khalaj princess is from Kabul and has been offered to the (Hephthalite) king of Kadagestan, thus becoming the lady of that region. The identification of Kadagestan as a Hephthalite stronghold is based on Grenet's suggestion of the survival of Hephthalite minor stares in this region,' and is in con-
Indeed, it seems very likely that [the Khalaj] formed the core of the Pashto-speaking Ghilji tribe, the name [Ghilji] being derived from Khalaj.
salim of samana, the silahdar, accompanied the position behind the Sultan
Nusrat Khan Jalesari who was the Kotwal in the first year of the Alai reign was an Indian Muslim
the Sultan appointed his Wazir Nusrat Khan to deal with the Jalali nobles...Nusrat Khan confiscated property worth about one crore. This brought to an end the influence of the Jalali nobles and strengthened the government treasury. Also the Sultan got a happy riddance from a nobility, whose loyalty was always doubtful. After this he created a new nobility whose distinctive feature was its loyalty and friendship of Ala-ud-Din
Malik Naik(a Hindu convert to Islam)
The sultan captured the Rajput fort of Chitor, in Rājasthān, and in 1310 he subjected most of the Deccan to his power. He took Devagiri – the capital of the Yādava – in 1307
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