The Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE) was created when Muhammad Qutb-ud-din declared his independence from the Ghurids, which in turn followed the defeat of the last Hindu ruler of Delhi in 1192 CE.
[1]
Qutb-ud-din’s successor, his son, had his rule as Sultan of Delhi legitimized by a representative of the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad.
[2]
The Sultanate lasted 320 years which spanned five successive Turko-Afghan dynasties (Mamluk Dynasty, Khalji Dynasty, Tughlaq Dynasty, Sayyid Dynasty and Lodi Dynasty) that spread Islam and the Persian language of administration in northern India.
[1]
[3]
The Delhi Sultanate had a highly-complex central administration but was not a centralized state. In the provinces, much of its power was devolved to local Hindu rulers and landholders.
[3]
Only the area around Delhi was ruled directly by the Sultan, and here units of land given to military commanders, in return for the right to collect revenue.
[3]
According to Habib (2005) any centralisation that existed only lasted for a few decades before the polity become much more loosely organised.
[3]
Ala al-Din (r.1296-1316 CE) reorganized the revenue and administrative systems in order to support a large standing army. A successful army was crucial for maintaining the personal authority of the Delhi Sultan in India and for expanding, or defending, territory.
[4]
By the fourteenth century, the vizier of the Sultan became more powerful. Whilst earlier his duties were confined only to the military, they were extended to revenue affairs. The vizier was responsible for fiscal administration, income and expenditure, appointment of officials, and the collection of taxes.
[5]
Hindus joined the ranks of the administrative class
[3]
and "many elements of the Rajput political system, with or without changes, were incorporated into the Turkish administration in India."
[6]
Under the later dynasties, revenue collection began to be less efficient, and conflicts between elite power-holders emerged. The Sultanate ended when Ibrahim was defeated by Babur, the Mongol ruler, in 1526 CE.
[7]
[1]: (Wolpert 1997, 110, 212) S A Wolpert. 1997. A new history of India. Oxford: Oxford University Press
[2]: (Kulke 1990, 157) H Kulke D Rothermund. 1990. A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition).
[3]: (Habib 2005, 37-44) I Habib. 2005. The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
[4]: (Asher 2006, 39-40) Catherine B Asher. Cynthia Talbot. 2006. India before Europe (New York: Cambridge University Press.
[5]: (Ahmed 2011, 98) Farooqui Salma Ahmed. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[6]: (Ahmed 2011, 96) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[7]: Habib, I. (2005). The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp.37-44.
| 43 R |
| Delhi Sultanate |
| Delhi | |
| Devagiri | |
| Agra |
| Mamalik-i Dihli |
| nominal allegiance to [---] |
| Persian | |
| Turkish | |
| Islamic |
| continuity |
| UNCLEAR: [continuity] | |
| Succeeding: Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp) [cultural assimilation] | |
| Succeeding: Sind - Samma Dynasty (pk_samma_dyn) [None] |
| confederated state |
| [200,000 to 400,000] people |
| [2,800,000 to 3,200,000] km2 |
| inferred present | 1206 CE 1295 CE |
| present | 1296 CE 1526 CE |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| present |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| absent | 1206 CE 1399 CE |
| unknown | 1400 CE 1449 CE |
| present | 1450 CE 1526 CE |
| absent | 1206 CE 1399 CE |
| unknown | 1400 CE 1449 CE |
| present | 1450 CE 1526 CE |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| present |
| inferred present |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| Year Range | Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate) was in: |
|---|---|
| (1206 CE 1207 CE) | Middle Ganga |
| (1207 CE 1339 CE) | Kachi Plain Middle Ganga |
| (1339 CE 1525 CE) | Middle Ganga |
In order to rule his vast empire from a more central capital, Muhammad Tughluq built a new one at Daulatabad, the old Yadava capital at Devairi. After shifting to Daulatabad Muhammad Tughluq lost his control over North India without being able to consolidate his hold on the South. When he finally returned to Delhi this was taken as a sign of weakness and independent states arose in the South.
[1]
. Sikander, the Lodi Sultan, built a new capital at Agra.
[2]
Sikandar (1489 CE -1517 CE) moved the capital down the Yamuna river, from Delhi to Agra, so that he could better watch his outlying dependencies.
[3]
[1]: Kulke, H., & Rothermund, D. (1990). A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition), pp. 165-166
[2]: Kulke, H., & Rothermund, D. (1990). A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition), pp. 167.
[3]: McLeod, J. (2002). The history of India (Vol. 1096, No. 2905). Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 39.
In order to rule his vast empire from a more central capital, Muhammad Tughluq built a new one at Daulatabad, the old Yadava capital at Devairi. After shifting to Daulatabad Muhammad Tughluq lost his control over North India without being able to consolidate his hold on the South. When he finally returned to Delhi this was taken as a sign of weakness and independent states arose in the South.
[1]
. Sikander, the Lodi Sultan, built a new capital at Agra.
[2]
Sikandar (1489 CE -1517 CE) moved the capital down the Yamuna river, from Delhi to Agra, so that he could better watch his outlying dependencies.
[3]
[1]: Kulke, H., & Rothermund, D. (1990). A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition), pp. 165-166
[2]: Kulke, H., & Rothermund, D. (1990). A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition), pp. 167.
[3]: McLeod, J. (2002). The history of India (Vol. 1096, No. 2905). Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 39.
In order to rule his vast empire from a more central capital, Muhammad Tughluq built a new one at Daulatabad, the old Yadava capital at Devairi. After shifting to Daulatabad Muhammad Tughluq lost his control over North India without being able to consolidate his hold on the South. When he finally returned to Delhi this was taken as a sign of weakness and independent states arose in the South.
[1]
. Sikander, the Lodi Sultan, built a new capital at Agra.
[2]
Sikandar (1489 CE -1517 CE) moved the capital down the Yamuna river, from Delhi to Agra, so that he could better watch his outlying dependencies.
[3]
[1]: Kulke, H., & Rothermund, D. (1990). A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition), pp. 165-166
[2]: Kulke, H., & Rothermund, D. (1990). A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition), pp. 167.
[3]: McLeod, J. (2002). The history of India (Vol. 1096, No. 2905). Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 39.
During the reign of Ala-ud-din Khalji (1296 CE-1316 CE), the sultanate reached its peak of centralized power and acquired imperial dimensions. To maintain a full treasury, the sultan raised the land tax to 50 percent of each crop and strictly enforced its collection from all Hindu subjects in his realm. He also introduced two new taxes, one on milk cattle, the other on houses. His network of spies and loyal courtiers was efficient enough to make him more feared than hated. He introduced a successful system of wage and price control in Delhi. Private holding of gold and silver, common throughout much of Indian history, was temporarily ended during his reign. The prices of food, grains, and cloth were kept low enough to permit soldiers and average workers to survive without high salaries. Merchants were licensed, and their profits were kept under strict state control; peasants were obliged to sell their grains only to registered food merchants at fixed prices. Hoarding was forbidden and, if discovered, severely punished.
[1]
The Sultanate was at its height during the early fourteenth century CE, when it was the largest polity in South Asia.
[2]
[1]: Wolpert, S. A. (1997). A new history of India (p. 212). Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.114-115
[2]: Habib, I. (2005). The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp.37-44.
Start date 1206 CE : Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji was murdered in 1206 CE and his vast empire seemed on the verge of disintegration. After the death of his master Muhammad, Qutb-ud-din took the decisive stage of declaring his independence from the Ghurids. Iltutmish, Qutb-ud-din’s son-in-low, succeeded him in 1210 CE, and in 1229 CE he was solemnly consecrated as Sultan of Delhi by a representative of the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad.
[1]
End Date 1526 CE: Daulat Khan Lodi, the governer of Punjab and a member of the Sultan’s own tribe, rebelled and sought the assistance of Babur, the ruler of Kabul. Babur who was a direct descendant of both Temür and Genghis Khan, had already invaded India three times in an effort to reestablish his family’s supremacy there. He welcomed Daulat Khan’s invitation, captured Lahore in 1524 CE, and two years later advanced on Delhi. The armies of Babur and Sultan Ibrahim (1517 CE-1526 CE) met at Panipat north of Delhi on April 20, 1526 CE. Ibrahim was killed in battle. Babur and his successors became the most powerful dynasty in Indian history, the Mughal emperors.
[2]
[1]: Kulke, H., & Rothermund, D. (1990). A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition), pp. 157.
[2]: McLeod, John. The history of India. Vol. 1096. No. 2905. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002, pp. 39.
Independent polity.
[1]
"owed only nominal allegiance to the Abbasid Caliphs"."
[2]
[1]: Habib, I. (2005). The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp.37-44.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 97) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
Its heartland lay in the north and west of South Asia. [1]
[1]: Habib, I. (2005). The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp.37-44.
The origins of the first rulers of Vijayanagara are obscure and much debated, but it is clear that they were effective and creative military leaders who, after establishing their capital on the southern banks of the Tungabhadra River, rapidly expanded their territories to the south and resisted challenges from the north [1] .
[1]: Carla M. Sinopoli, ’From the Lion Throne: Political and Social Dynamics of the Vijayanagara Empire’, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol 43, No. 3 (2000), pp. 369-70
Centralisation only lasted for a few decades before the polity become much more loosely organised.
[1]
"the Delhi Sultanate was more like a conglomeration of nearly-independent principalities, jagirs and provinces, each ruled by a hereditary chief or zamindar, with their subjects looking more to their immediate governors who had absolute power in the provinces than the sovereign who was far away."
[2]
Only the area around the capital and a few major fortresses elsewhere, were under the direct rule of the sultan. Outlying areas were administered either by Muslim governors appointed from Delhi or by Hindu kings who recognized the sultan’s supremacy. Across most of the sultanate, local power remained in the hands of petty Hindu chieftains. In return for paying the land revenue to muqtas, subject kings, provincial governors, or sultans, the chieftains were allowed to rule their tiny kingdoms more or less as they pleased. Governers and kings alike assumed independence whenever the sultanate was too weak to keep them in check.
[3]
[1]: Habib, I. (2005). The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp.37-44.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 100) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[3]: McLeod, J. (2002). The history of India (Vol. 1096, No. 2905). Greenwood Publishing Group, pp.39.
Persian (official language). Sanskrit was used by Hindus and local dialects were spoken by the general population The process of Hindus learning the Persian language for employment in state service caused an upsurge from below. [1] Urdu "a mixture of Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Hindu" was developing as a common language. [2]
[1]: Siddiqi, I. H. (2012). Composite culture under the Sultanate of Delhi. Delhi : Primus Books, pp. 26.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 105) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
Persian (official language). Sanskrit was used by Hindus and local dialects were spoken by the general population The process of Hindus learning the Persian language for employment in state service caused an upsurge from below. [1] Urdu "a mixture of Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Hindu" was developing as a common language. [2]
[1]: Siddiqi, I. H. (2012). Composite culture under the Sultanate of Delhi. Delhi : Primus Books, pp. 26.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 105) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
persons.
"Delhi in the thirteenth century had grown to be one of the largest cities of the Muslim world. A number of other cities had emerged as major urban centres during this period - Multan, Lahore, Anhilwara, Kara, Kambath, Sonargaon and Lakhnauti, to name a few".
[1]
Delhi became probably the largest city in South Asia.
[2]
The population of Gaur, the principal city of Bengal, was estimated at 200,000 persons. Delhi would have a much bigger population than Gaur.
[3]
. It received large numbers of immigrants from Central Asia and Persia, who were driven there by the Mongol invasions.
[4]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 101) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[2]: Asher, Catherine B., and Cynthia Talbot, India before Europe (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), pp.39-40.
[3]: Grewal, J. S. (2006). The state and society in medieval India (Vol. 7). Oxford University Press, USA, pp. 398.
[4]: Habib, I. (1931). Researches in the history of India, 1200-1750. New Delhi : Oxford University Press, pp.32-33.
squared kilometers, calculated using Google area calculator and map of Sultanate at its height c.1320-1350 CE
The Sultans began to cede territory for the rest of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, losing control of Bengal, the Deccan and the south.
[1]
[1]: Habib, I. (2005). The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp.37-44.
"Delhi in the thirteenth century had grown to be one of the largest cities of the Muslim world. A number of other cities had emerged as major urban centres during this period - Multan, Lahore, Anhilwara, Kara, Kambath, Sonargaon and Lakhnauti, to name a few".
[1]
(6) Delhi - described in contemporary sources as the the largest city in the sub-continent.
[2]
(5) Large cities/regional capitals - Lahore, Multan, Patan, Cambay, Kara.
[2]
(4) Wilayat (larger provinces)
[3]
(3) Shiqq/Sarkar (sub province)
[3]
(2) Parganah (aggregate of villages)/Sadi
[3]
(1) Village
[3]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 101) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[2]: Habib, Irfan, ‘Non-Agricultural Production and Urban Economy’, in The Cambridge economic history of India Vol. 1,, ed. by Tapan Raychaudhuri and Irfan Habib (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), pp.82-83.
[3]: Qureshi, I. H. (1971). The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (p. 93). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, pp. 201-203.
"Though the Delhi Sultans ruled independently in India, they perceived themselves to be part of the Islamic world that operated through the Caliphate of Baghdad. ... Most of the sultans included the name of the caliph in their khubta of Friday sermon, on the coins that they issued, and in the titles they assumed, which were all symptomatic of their humility to the caliph."
[1]
1. Caliph
"owed only nominal allegiance to the Abbasid Caliphs".
[2]
1. Sultan
2. Advisory Council"Since the sultans were expected to enforce the law of the Shariah, they were also obliged to take the opinion of the ulema."
[2]
2. Sadr-u’s-sudur (minister of theological affairs).The Sadr-u’s-sudur was a highly venerated official who not only enjoyed great prestige but also exercised much power. The offices of qadi-i-mumalik and sadr-u’s-sudur were given to the same men because offices of a religious and legal nature were often concentrated in the hands of single individuals in the empire.
[3]
He was officially presided over the ahl-i-qalam (men of pen).
[4]
3. Khatib - u’l - khutaba.Subordinate to the Sadr-u’s-sudur. "A preacher of exceptional eloquence .. as leader of the diwan - i - risalat, he appointed the religion preachers and imans to lead prayers and manage the mosques the realm."
[4]
He was officially presided over the ahl-i-qalam (men of pen).
[4]
4. Shaikh-u’l-Islam. The large number of sufis and faqirs under the patronage of the state were under a shaikh-u’l-Islam. Probably administration of hospices and tombs of saints and kings ultimately rested in the hands of shaikh-u’l-Islam, because in many cases derwishes were included among the beneficiaries.
[5]
4. Qadi.The provincial qadis (judges) also acted as sadrs in their respective areas.
[6]
5. Imam.Imams led prayers and managed the mosques of the realm. They were generally trained at a college in theology.
[7]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 96) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 97) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[3]: Qureshi, I. H. (1971). The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (p. 93). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, pp.175-176.
[4]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp.246.
[5]: (original source: Minhaj, Fawa’id-u’l-fuwad, p.67) Qureshi, I. H. (1971). The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (p. 93). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, pp. 190-191.
[6]: Qureshi, I. H. (1971). The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (p. 93). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, pp. 176.
[7]: Qureshi, I. H. (1971). The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (p. 93). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, pp. 175.
1. Sultan.
Sultan "was the commander-in-chief of the army, but the ariz-i-mumalik was its captain for all practical reasons, and exercised a lot of influence on the state."
[1]
"The institution of slavery provided the basis for well-trained and loyal martial slaves (the mamluks) to the sultans."
[2]
2 Ariz-i mamalik.The Ariz-i-mamalik was the head of the army department (diwan-i-arz). He kept the iqtadar’s (military assignee) muster-roll, recruited new troops and looked after the equipment and efficiency of fighting forces. He was, besides, the paymaster-general of army.
[3]
3. Khan.A khan’s force contained at least ten maliks.
[4]
4. Malik.A malik had authority over ten amirs.
[4]
5. Amir.An amir commanded ten sipah-salars.
[4]
6. Sipah-salar.A sipah-salar directed ten sar khels.
[4]
7. Sar Khel.A sar khel had ten horsemen under him.
[4]
8. Horsemen.
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 98) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 104) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[3]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 197. (original source: Barani, Ziauddin : Tarikh-i Firozshahi. Calcutta, 1890).
[4]: Qureshi, I. H. (1971). The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (p. 93). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, pp. 153.
"many elements of the Rajput political system, with or without changes, were incorporated into the Turkish administration in India."
[1]
1. Sultan
"The insecurity that accompanied the throne resulted in frequent civil wars, military revolutions and large-scale massacres of royal families. In some cases, the sultan nominated his heir, or else the claimants to the throne were left to fight a war of succession."
[2]
Sultan "was in charge of the state’s administration and of the army."
[2]
2. Advisory CouncilSultans "took the opinion of an advisory council on all important matters dealing with the administration of the state. The advisory council was not a legally constituted body and the numbers of advisers varied according to the importance of the matters discussed and also according to the personal preferences of the monarch."
[3]
_Central government_
2. Wazir of the diwan-i-wizarat"The wazir or prime minister was the most important officer, next only to the sultan. By the fourteenth century, the wazir, whose earlier duties were confined only to the military, had now become an expert on revenue affairs too, and was made responsible for the entire fiscal administration of the realm and all matters relating to income and expenditure. He was entrusted with powers to appoint revenue officials, organize and collect taxes, and largely control the state’s expenditure."
[4]
Next to Sultan, the chief executive office belonged to the wazir. Primarily he was one of the four departmental heads, the "four pillars of state" but his rank was a little above the others for he was the chief minister. As the Sultan’s chief counselor, he had access to him at all times.
[5]
3. mustauf-i-mumalik (Auditor general)
3. Musharraf-I-mumalik (Accountant general)"A separate auditor general was appointed for supervising expenditure and there was also an accountant general for inspecting the income. Both officers assisted the wazir in discharging his duties."
[6]
3. sadr-us-sadar or qazi-i-mumalik of ?? diwan-i-risalat (department for religion) what did the sadr-us-sadar lead if not the diwan-i-risalat?"religious affairs and provide scholarships to academics and men of piety."
[4]
4. Khatib - u’l - khutaba of ?? diwan-i-risalat (department for religion) what did the sadr-us-sadar lead if not the diwan-i-risalat?"junior qazis appointed to assist him"
[7]
"A preacher of exceptional eloquence .. as leader of the diwan - i - risalat, he appointed the religion preachers and imans to lead prayers and manage the mosques the realm."
[8]
He was officially presided over the ahl-i-qalam (men of pen).
[8]
3. munshi-i-mumalik of diwan-i-insha (department for post)"dealt with the entire state’s postal correspondence. Groups of horsemen or runners were used to carry the correspondence across the kingdom. Sultans planted spies, called barids, in different parts of the kingdom to obtain information on people, events and occurrences."
[4]
3. Department for Revenue"the sultan was assisted by a team of ministers who were individually responsible for various departments, such as revenue, public works, war, local and provincial governments, etc. The number, power and function of the ministers varied from time to time."
[2]
3. Minister for Public Works"There were a number of other departments like the public works department, the agricultural department, the audit department and the department of slaves - each under the charge of a minister."
[4]
4. sub-official by type of public work inferred5. On-site manager of a public work inferred6. On-site worker on a public work inferred
3. Minister for Audit
3. Minister for Agriculture
3. Minister for War
3. Minister for the Royal Household"looked after the personal comforts of the sultan and the requirements of the harem."
[4]
3. Wakil-i-dar of the department for slaves"Firuz Shah Tughlaq had set up a separate department of slaves, many of whom were employed in royal workshops. The officer in charge of this was known as the wakil-i-dar, who other than being responsible for maintaining court decorum, also oversaw the seating arrangement of nobles at court."
[4]
4. sub-administrators for different types of workshop? inferred5. Manager of royal workshop
3. Minister for Markets
"and another who controlled the markets."
[4]
3. Minister for Provincial Government"a minister appointed as a link between the provincial and central governments"
[4]
_Provincial government_
"the Delhi Sultanate was more like a conglomeration of nearly-independent principalities, jagirs and provinces, each ruled by a hereditary chief or zamindar, with their subjects looking more to their immediate governors who had absolute power in the provinces than the sovereign who was far away."
[9]
3. Iqtadar (or muqti or wali)"The kingdoms of the various dynasties were categorized into a number of divisions called iqtas, each under an iqtadar, muqti or wali. Therefore, iqtas were territorial units allotted to nobles, performing civil and military duties, in lieu of salary."
[7]
Main functions of an Iqtadar: "collection of land revenue, which was payable to the central treasury, and the maintenance of law and order. Out of the total land revenue collected, a fixed share was given to the state, while the rest went towards the expenditure of governing the iqtas and the personal expenses of the iqtadars."
[7]
"In principle, the Iqtadars could be transferred within the kingdom."
[10]
In all probability, the term "wali" was reserved for governors with extraordinary powers. The number of such governors was small and the major part of the sultanate was administered by governors with limited power.
[11]
The muqti (fief holder) was appointed by the Sultan, and could be transferred and dismissed at will. Usually he maintained a body of troops consisting of both infantry and horsemen, out of his provincial revenues, and was responsible not only for the defense of his province, but also for the maintenance of law and order.
[12]
4. Provincial governor of a province"Iqtas were divided into provinces that were further sub-divided into shiqs and parganas."
[13]
Some Hindus became provincial governors.
[14]
5. shiqdar of a shiq"The provinces were again divided into shiqs and parganas."
[9]
6. ? of a parganas is there someone at this level or is it just a term for a sub-division"The provinces were again divided into shiqs and parganas."
[9]
7. Amils of a sub-division (number of villages) of a parganas
[9]
8. muqqaddam of a village (village headman)"The village headman was known as the muqqaddam and the landowners as khuts. The village accountant or patwari assisted the officials in the discharge of their functions at the village level."
[9]
"The villages enjoyed a more-or-less autonomous status, with village republics managing their own affairs. The sultan did not usually interfere with the workings of local institutions."
[9]
9. patwari (village accountant)
8. Khutd (land owner)
Khutd (village headmen). The headman of villages controlled the countryside and agricultural production.
[15]
3. Tribute paying (Hindu) states
4.
_Note for later polities_
"This new administrative structure of the Delhi Sultanate had a powerful impact on small states and principalities that were formed after its disintegration as well as on the Mughal administration that would come into existence in the sixteenth century."
[1]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 96) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 97) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[3]: (Ahmed 2011, 97-98) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[4]: (Ahmed 2011, 98) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[5]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 194-196.
[6]: (Ahmed 2011, 978) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[7]: (Ahmed 2011, 99) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[8]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp.246.
[9]: (Ahmed 2011, 100) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[10]: (Ahmed 2011, 99-100) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[11]: Qureshi, I. H. (1971). The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (p. 93). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, pp. 197.
[12]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 209-210.
[13]: (Ahmed 2011, 109) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[14]: (Ahmed 2011, 105) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[15]: Kulke, H., & Rothermund, D. (1990). A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition) pp. 161.
e.g. jandars (king bodyguards).
[1]
Under Alauddin Khilji "a regular muster of armed forces was maintained."
[2]
Payment of soldiers in cash was a measure adopted by Alauddin Khilji.
[2]
[1]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 217.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 98) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
e.g. jandars (king bodyguards).
[1]
Under Alauddin Khilji "a regular muster of armed forces was maintained."
[2]
Payment of soldiers in cash was a measure adopted by Alauddin Khilji.
[2]
[1]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 217.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 98) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
e.g. ariz-i-mamalik, the head of the army department (diwan-i-arz).
[1]
Payment of soldiers in cash was a measure adopted by Alauddin Khilji.
[2]
[1]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 197.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 98) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
"Sultans could not afford to estrange the feelings of their Hindu subjects who contributed largely to the material strength and prosperity of the Sultanate. In fact, the sultans soon realized that it was impossible to carry on administration without the assistance of Hindus, therefore appointing them to posts of trust and responsibility." [1] Especially from Muhammad bin Tughlaq. [1] Some became provincial governors. [1]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 105) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
The muhtasib "was primarily a member of the judicial staff and acted as a kind of prosecutor in offences against religious law."
[1]
"Since the sultans were expected to enforce the law of the Shariah, they were also obliged to take the opinion of the ulema."
[2]
[1]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 276.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 97) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
The king was the highest judge, although other judges and magistrates also operated in the state. There were different courts of law (primarily for Muslim and non-Muslim law codes) which needed separate judges. [1] "the sultan appointed judges to dispense justice and also acted as a court of appeal to hear cases against the decisions taken by judges." [2]
[1]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 271-4.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 97) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
Shariah (Islamic law) which was not applied to non-Muslim zimmis and customary law. [1] "The rulers also framed regulations related to criminal law." [2]
[1]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 225.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 99) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
Different courts were used for the different law codes (which included the Muslim tashrii law and non-Muslim ghair tashrii law). Courts did not however extend into the more rural communities where village laws continued to be enforced.
[1]
"Cases involving non-Muslim subjects were decided according to their own particular religious laws by panchayats in the villages."
[2]
[1]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 272-4.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 99) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
e.g. cisterns [1] Firuz Shah Tughlaq "created the biggest network of canals known in pre-modern India" [2]
[1]: Siddiqui, I. H. (1986). Water works and irrigation system in India during pre-Mughal times. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient/Journal de l’histoire economique et sociale de l’Orient, 52-77.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 102) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
There was a good system of roads which were maintained by governors, such as the road between Dhar and Delhi which made a 24 day journey marked by kroh minars all the way. [1] [2] "Apart from the Royal Road from Peshawar to Sonargaon, Muhammad bin Tughlaq also built a highway connecting Delhi to Daulatabad." [3]
[1]: Qureshi, I. H. 1958. The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi. Karachi, Pakistan Historical Society. p213.
[2]: Grewal, J. S. (2006). The state and society in medieval India (Vol. 7). Oxford University Press, USA, pp. 397.
[3]: (Ahmed 2011, 102) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
Canals brought water to north of Delhi. [1] Firuz Shah Tughlaq "created the biggest network of canals known in pre-modern India" [2] -- were these irrigation or transport canals or both?
[1]: Siddiqui, I. H. (1986). Water works and irrigation system in India during pre-Mughal times. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient/Journal de l’histoire economique et sociale de l’Orient, 52-77.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 102) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
During the reign of Sultan Firuz Shah (1351-1388 CE), "contemporary writers have noted with pride and joy that beautiful edifices were put up, including bridges, aqueducts, lakes, cisterns and irrigation channels." [1]
[1]: Siddiqui, I. H. (1986). Water works and irrigation system in India during pre-Mughal times. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient/Journal de l’histoire economique et sociale de l’Orient, 52-77, p58.
Kabir-u’d-din is reported to have written an official history of ’Ala-u’d-din’s reign which has unfortunately not survived. [1] Almost every ruler had court historian. [2]
[1]: Qureshi, I. H. (1971). The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (p. 93). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, pp. 181.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 107) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
Under Firuz Shah Tughlaq Sanskrit epics were translated.
[1]
Amir Khusrau - Persian poet.
[2]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 105) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[2]: (Ahmed 2011, 107) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
"The production of paper gave rise to increased record keeping in government offices, and to the widespread use of bills of exchange called hundis." [1]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 101) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
Coins minted in Delhi at the Mint. [1] It was commercially prosperous, introducing standardised gold, silver and copper coinage. [2]
[1]: Digby, S. (1982). The Currency System in The Cambridge Economic History of India Vol.1 c.1200-c.1750. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.93-96.
[2]: Asher, Catherine B., and Cynthia Talbot, India before Europe (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), pp.39-40.
Habib, "The numismatic evidence ... suggests a considerable increase in coined money." Even peasants were paying the land tax in cash, rather than in kind. Gold coins were in use, although pure silver was rare. Early coins came from plunder and hordes, but there was a state lead remoneterization in the mid-1220s. There was a fixed ratio [10:1] of gold to silver coins. "The coinage of the Delhi sultanate was more efficiently controlled than any Middle Eastern or European currency of the period." p.93 [1]
[1]: Irfan Habib, ‘The Currency System’, in Tapan Raychaudhuri and Irfan Habib (eds), The Cambridge Economic History of India Vol. 1, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), 93-101.
According to Ibn Battutah, it took five days for runners, called dhawahs, (and horsemen) to travel from Sind to Delhi, using relay stations with runners ready to continue the journey. [1]
[1]: Qureshi, I. H. (1971). The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (p. 93). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, pp. 211-212.
There seems to be at least some dry stone working at the fort of Chittogarh. However, it’s not easy to tell just from photographs on the internet whether this is true of any of the defensive walls and this fort was originally built in an earlier era.
"Most Indian castles have a ditch, dry or filled with water, in front of the walls; only mountain castles rarely have a ditch." [1] "In The Arthashastra, Kautilya (Art. II, 3 (21)) recommends surrounding a fortress with three ditches (parikha) filled with water. ... This was an ideal scheme but it was rarely put into practice." [1]
[1]: (Nossov 2006, 14) Konstantin S Nossov. 2006. Indian Castles 1206-1526: The Rise and Fall of the Delhi Sultanate. Osprey Publishing.
Fortified camp outside of a city mentioned in the context of a war against Vijayanagaran king. [1] Don’t have access to previous page but I presume it is the Delhi Sultanate at war since the book is about the Delhi Sultanate.
[1]: Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin Random House.
e.g. Fortifications built by Firuz [1] Reference for use of the mud rampart in ancient India. [2]
[1]: Shah Stein, Burton, A History of India (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1998), p.148.
[2]: (Singh 2008, 336) Upinder Singh. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Longman. Delhi.
Such as on mountains where the outer wall was scarped rock faced with stone. Even in open countryside attempted to maintain an inner wall at a slightly higher elevation than outer wall. [1]
[1]: (Nossov 2006, 16) Konstantin S Nossov. 2006. Indian Castles 1206-1526: The Rise and Fall of the Delhi Sultanate. Osprey Publishing.
The siege engines are not fully described in the historical texts, but they were used in battles to throw large balls, naphtha and fireworks. [1]
[1]: Qureshi, I. H. (1971). The administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (p. 93). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, pp.145-146.
War elephant crews sometimes could use bow and arrow, long spear or throw javelins. [1]
[1]: (Bloom and Blair eds. 2009, 137) Johnathan M Bloom. Sheila S Blair. eds. 2009. Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. Volume I. Abarquh To Dawlat Qatar. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
From second half of 15th century [1] Does the ’From the second half of 15th century’ reference refer to both artillery and handguns, or does it contradict the first use of gunpowder? What did the source say, specifically? "it was only in the mid-fourteenth century that gunpowder ... was introduced into India, presumably by Mongols or Turks. This was then used in various explosive devices by the army." [2]
[1]: Iqtidar Alam Khan, Early Use of Cannon and Musket in India: A.D. 1442-1526, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 24, No. 2, May, 1981: 146-164.
[2]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.
From second half of 15th century [1] Does the ’From the second half of 15th century’ reference refer to both artillery and handguns, or does it contradict the first use of gunpowder? What did the source say, specifically? "it was only in the mid-fourteenth century that gunpowder ... was introduced into India, presumably by Mongols or Turks. This was then used in various explosive devices by the army." [2]
[1]: Iqtidar Alam Khan, Early Use of Cannon and Musket in India: A.D. 1442-1526, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 24, No. 2, May, 1981: 146-164.
[2]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.
From second half of 15th century [1] Does the ’From the second half of 15th century’ reference refer to both artillery and handguns, or does it contradict the first use of gunpowder? What did the source say, specifically? "it was only in the mid-fourteenth century that gunpowder ... was introduced into India, presumably by Mongols or Turks. This was then used in various explosive devices by the army." [2]
[1]: Iqtidar Alam Khan, Early Use of Cannon and Musket in India: A.D. 1442-1526, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 24, No. 2, May, 1981: 146-164.
[2]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.
From second half of 15th century [1] Does the ’From the second half of 15th century’ reference refer to both artillery and handguns, or does it contradict the first use of gunpowder? What did the source say, specifically? "it was only in the mid-fourteenth century that gunpowder ... was introduced into India, presumably by Mongols or Turks. This was then used in various explosive devices by the army." [2]
[1]: Iqtidar Alam Khan, Early Use of Cannon and Musket in India: A.D. 1442-1526, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 24, No. 2, May, 1981: 146-164.
[2]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.
From second half of 15th century [1] Does the ’From the second half of 15th century’ reference refer to both artillery and handguns, or does it contradict the first use of gunpowder? What did the source say, specifically? "it was only in the mid-fourteenth century that gunpowder ... was introduced into India, presumably by Mongols or Turks. This was then used in various explosive devices by the army." [2]
[1]: Iqtidar Alam Khan, Early Use of Cannon and Musket in India: A.D. 1442-1526, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 24, No. 2, May, 1981: 146-164.
[2]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.
From second half of 15th century [1] Does the ’From the second half of 15th century’ reference refer to both artillery and handguns, or does it contradict the first use of gunpowder? What did the source say, specifically? "it was only in the mid-fourteenth century that gunpowder ... was introduced into India, presumably by Mongols or Turks. This was then used in various explosive devices by the army." [2]
[1]: Iqtidar Alam Khan, Early Use of Cannon and Musket in India: A.D. 1442-1526, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 24, No. 2, May, 1981: 146-164.
[2]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.
tufak or tufang [1] "From the Indian chronicles of the Late Medieval period, it could be seen that the Delhi Sultans, probably Iltutmish, adopted the crossbow for military use." [2]
[1]: Khan, Iqtidar Alam, ‘Early Use of Cannon and Musket in India: A.D. 1442-1526’, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 24 (1981), 149.
[2]: (Phillips 2016) Henry Pratap Phillips. 2016. The History and Chronology of Gunpowder and Gunpowder Weapons (c.1000 to 1850). Notion Press.
According to Hasan Nizami’s Taj-ul-Maathir (13th CE) Muslim cavaliers also "used iron maces, battleaxes, daggers, and javelins" whereas the Hindu Rajputs had only spear or lance. [1]
[1]: (? 2013, 162-163) ?. Sirhindi, Abdullah. Daniel Coetzee. Lee W Eysturlid. eds. 2013. Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History’s Greatest Military Thinkers. The Ancient to Pre-Modern World, 3000 BCE - 1815 CE. Praeger. Santa Barbara.
According to the Ibn Battuta (14th century) "in North India mounted soldiers usually carried two swords: one, called the stirrup-sword, was attached to the saddle, while the other was kept in his quiver." [1]
[1]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.
Cavalrymen with spears. [1] According to Ibn Battuta in 1333 Delhi forces employed heavy-armoured cavalry. [2]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 99) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[2]: (Jackson 2003, 17) Peter Jackson. 2003. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
According to Hasan Nizami’s Taj-ul-Maathir (13th CE) Muslim cavaliers also "used iron maces, battleaxes, daggers, and javelins" whereas the Hindu Rajputs had only spear or lance. [1]
[1]: (? 2013, 162-163) ?. Sirhindi, Abdullah. Daniel Coetzee. Lee W Eysturlid. eds. 2013. Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History’s Greatest Military Thinkers. The Ancient to Pre-Modern World, 3000 BCE - 1815 CE. Praeger. Santa Barbara.
According to Hasan Nizami’s Taj-ul-Maathir (13th CE) Muslim cavaliers also "used iron maces, battleaxes, daggers, and javelins" whereas the Hindu Rajputs had only spear or lance. [1]
[1]: (? 2013, 162-163) ?. Sirhindi, Abdullah. Daniel Coetzee. Lee W Eysturlid. eds. 2013. Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History’s Greatest Military Thinkers. The Ancient to Pre-Modern World, 3000 BCE - 1815 CE. Praeger. Santa Barbara.
The sultans armies were "highly skilled in deploying horses in warfare." [1] [2] "The cavalry was in fact the strength of the Sultanate armies, and a lot was spent on keeping it in good shape by procuring premium war horses that were extremely expensive." [3] Horses wore house shoes, horses of their Hindu adversaries did not. [4]
[1]: Kulke, H., Rothermund, D. (1990). A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition), pp. 160
[2]: Catherine B. Asher, India before Europe (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), p.28.
[3]: (Ahmed 2011, 99) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[4]: (? 2013, 163) ?. Sirhindi, Abdullah. Daniel Coetzee. Lee W Eysturlid. eds. 2013. Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History’s Greatest Military Thinkers. The Ancient to Pre-Modern World, 3000 BCE - 1815 CE. Praeger. Santa Barbara.
Elephants were the preferred animal of war in India, partly because of a lack of success in breeding horses. [1] The importance of elephants is shown when, for example, in 1309 the ruler Ala-ud-din went on campaign to Southern India ’in order to seize elephants and treasures from the rulers of the south’ (as written in the chronicle Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi). [2] "But there can be little doubt that war-elephants were not used in the same numbers under the Islamic dynasties of India as they were in the early medieval period and before. We have seen that the Arabic sources described the most important ninth- and tenth-century Hindu dynasties as equipped with tens of thousands or more elephants of various kinds. Although it is unlikely that these numbers indicated war-elephants in a state of readiness - they probably included the guessed number of untamed and half-tamed ones -, and although some of the figures are contradictory, they are larger than those of later times." [3]
[1]: Asher, C.B and Talbot, C. 2006. India before Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p28.
[2]: Kulke, H., & Rothermund, D. (2010). A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition, pp. 120.
[3]: (Wink 1997, 102-103) Andre Wink. 1997. Al-Hind. The Making of the Indo-Islamic World. Volume II. The Slave Kings and the Islamic Conquest 11th-13th Centuries. BRILL. Leiden.
Many passing references to presence of donkeys in medieval India.
Ghaznavids, a Turkish-Islamic dynasty in Central Asia 977-1186 CE, used elephants and camels. [1]
[1]: (Bloom and Blair eds. 2009, 108) Johnathan M Bloom. Sheila S Blair. eds. 2009. Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. Volume I. Abarquh To Dawlat Qatar. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Have a reference for its use in southern India.
According to Ibn Battuta in 1333 Delhi forces employed heavy-armoured cavalry. [1] Elephant armour (bargustawan-i-pil) included plate. [2]
[1]: (Jackson 2003, 17) Peter Jackson. 2003. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
[2]: (Bloom and Blair eds. 2009, 137) Johnathan M Bloom. Sheila S Blair. eds. 2009. Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. Volume I. Abarquh To Dawlat Qatar. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
"Iron stirrups and heavy armour, for both horses and horsemen also became common during this period." [1] According to Ibn Battuta in 1333 Delhi forces employed heavy-armoured cavalry. [2]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 99) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[2]: (Jackson 2003, 17) Peter Jackson. 2003. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
According to Ibn Battuta in 1333 Delhi forces employed heavy-armoured cavalry. [1] Elephant armour (bargustawan-i-pil) included chain mail. [2] According to Hasan Nizami’s Taj-ul-Maathir (13th CE) chain armor was used in battles against the Hindu Rajputs. [3]
[1]: (Jackson 2003, 17) Peter Jackson. 2003. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
[2]: (Bloom and Blair eds. 2009, 137) Johnathan M Bloom. Sheila S Blair. eds. 2009. Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. Volume I. Abarquh To Dawlat Qatar. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (? 2013, 162) ?. Sirhindi, Abdullah.. Daniel Coetzee. Lee W Eysturlid. eds. 2013. Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History’s Greatest Military Thinkers. The Ancient to Pre-Modern World, 3000 BCE - 1815 CE. Praeger. Santa Barbara.
"Iron stirrups and heavy armour, for both horses and horsemen also became common during this period." [1] According to Ibn Battuta in 1333 Delhi forces employed heavy-armoured cavalry. [2] Elephant armour (bargustawan-i-pil) included plate. [3]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 99) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.
[2]: (Jackson 2003, 17) Peter Jackson. 2003. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
[3]: (Bloom and Blair eds. 2009, 137) Johnathan M Bloom. Sheila S Blair. eds. 2009. Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. Volume I. Abarquh To Dawlat Qatar. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
"The Delhi Sultanate had no navy and the Mughal Empire made sporadic attempts to construct a navy. The Mughals maintained a riverine fleet for coastal warfare but lacked a Blue Water Navy." [1]
[1]: (Roy 2015, 9) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London.
"The Delhi Sultanate had no navy and the Mughal Empire made sporadic attempts to construct a navy. The Mughals maintained a riverine fleet for coastal warfare but lacked a Blue Water Navy." [1]
[1]: (Roy 2015, 9) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London.
"The Delhi Sultanate had no navy and the Mughal Empire made sporadic attempts to construct a navy. The Mughals maintained a riverine fleet for coastal warfare but lacked a Blue Water Navy." [1]
[1]: (Roy 2015, 9) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London.