{"id":5339,"date":"2026-01-04T23:46:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T18:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/?p=5339"},"modified":"2026-01-05T11:37:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T06:07:50","slug":"emergence-and-administration-of-the-delhi-sultanate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/emergence-and-administration-of-the-delhi-sultanate\/","title":{"rendered":"Emergence and Administration of the Delhi Sultanate"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Emergence of Delhi Sultanate:<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<p>The rulers who ruled substantial parts of North India between\u00a0<strong>1200 AD to 1526 AD<\/strong>\u00a0were termed Sultans, and the period of their rule was the\u00a0<strong>Delhi Sultanate<\/strong><strong>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>These rulers were of\u00a0<strong>Turkish and Afghan origin.\u00a0<\/strong>They established their rule in India after defeating the Indian ruling dynasties, mainly\u00a0<strong>Rajputs<\/strong>\u00a0in northern India.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The main ruler who was overthrown by the invading\u00a0<strong>Turk Muhammad Ghori<\/strong>\u00a0from Delhi was\u00a0<strong>Prithvi Raj Chauhan.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>These Sultans ruled for more than 300 years (from around AD 1200 to 1526).<\/li>\r\n\t<li>During this period of around three hundred years,\u00a0<strong>five dynasties\u00a0<\/strong>ruled Delhi. All these dynasties are collectively referred to as the Delhi Sultanate.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Mamluk Dynasty<\/strong>\u00a0(AD 1206\u2013AD 1290) (popularly known as the slave dynasty),<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Khilji Dynasty<\/strong>\u00a0(AD 1290\u2013AD 1320)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Tughlaq Dynasty<\/strong>\u00a0(AD 1320\u2013AD 1412)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Sayyid Dynasty\u00a0<\/strong>(AD 1412\u2013AD 1451)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Lodi Dynasty<\/strong>\u00a0(AD 1451\u2013 AD 1526)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>Sultans of Delhi<\/p>\r\n<h2><strong>Ulema and the Learned in the Political Realm:<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<p>An institutional feature of the political discourse of the Delhi Sultanate was the presence of the\u00a0<strong>Ulema [theologians]<\/strong>\u00a0both at the court and in the provinces through the offices of the<strong>\u00a0Qazi<\/strong>\u00a0and officials operating the educational institutions.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The\u00a0<strong>Ulema<\/strong>\u00a0is a group consisting of persons who performed the role of the preachers and guardians of<strong>\u00a0the Islamic religion,<\/strong>\u00a0and most of them had come from outside the\u00a0<strong>subcontinent.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Traditionally, they were committed to upholding the Islamic religious order and thus acted as\u00a0<strong>socio-moral censors\u00a0<\/strong>for the Muslim community.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>They held important positions in the\u00a0<strong>administrative system,<\/strong>\u00a0particularly in the judiciary. Prof.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>Administration of Delhi Sultanate:<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<p>The administration of the Delhi Sultanate was divided into<strong>\u00a0three levels:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Central Administration<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Provincial Administration<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Local Administration<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><strong>Central Administration:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>The central administration in the Delhi sultanate during the period of\u00a0<strong>Ilbari Turks (slave dynasty)<\/strong>\u00a0was carried out mainly by trusted slaves who had helped the sultan to acquire the throne; or by the members of the\u00a0<strong>royal household and family.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Loyalty\u00a0<\/strong>was, therefore, a prerequisite for holding the high office and being given the\u00a0<strong>highest rewards.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The\u00a0<strong>Sultan\u00a0<\/strong>was the head of the administration with all\u00a0<strong>military, administrative and legal powers<\/strong>. A number of separate departments were created to look after different aspects of administration.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Wizarat:<\/strong>\u00a0After the seat of the sultan, the most important office in the sultanate was the\u00a0<strong>Diwani-Wizarat,<\/strong>\u00a0headed by the\u00a0<strong>wazir.\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>He had under him a naib wazir.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The wazir [prime minister] was a<strong>\u00a0general supervisor<\/strong>\u00a0of all departments in the royal court.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Primary function:<\/strong>\u00a0He looked after the\u00a0<strong>financial organisation\u00a0<\/strong>of the state, gave advice to the sultan, and on occasion, led military expeditions at the sultan\u2019s behest.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Supervising the payment to the army.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Kept a check on<strong>\u00a0land revenue collections\u00a0<\/strong>and maintained a record of all the income and expenditures incurred by the state.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Charitable donations such as<strong>\u00a0waqfs and inams.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Minor Departments under this office:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Mustaufi-i-Mumalik<\/strong>\u00a0[Auditor General, in charge of expenditure],<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Mushrif-i-Mumalik<\/strong>\u00a0[Accountant General, in charge of income]<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Majmuadar\u00a0<\/strong>[keeper of loans and balances from treasury].<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Diwan-i-Waqoof<\/strong>\u00a0[introduced by Jalaluddin Khalaji to supervise expenditure only, i.e., after separating \u2018income\u2019 records from \u2018expenditure\u2019 records];<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Diwan-i-Mustakhraj<\/strong>\u00a0[set up by Alauddin Khalaji to enquire into and realise arrears of revenue payments from the different parts of the empire]<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Diwan-i-Amir Kohi-\u00a0<\/strong>It was set under Muhammad bin Tughlaq and was responsible for bringing uncultivated land into cultivation through state support.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Diwan-i-Arz:<\/strong>\u00a0The Diwan-i-Arz was instituted especially to look after the\u00a0<strong>military\u00a0<\/strong>organisation of the empire.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Headed by the\u00a0<strong>Ariz-i-Mumalik.\u00a0<\/strong>Ariz, along with his office, maintained the\u00a0<strong>royal contingents,<\/strong>\u00a0recruited the soldiers, and ensured the discipline and fitness of the army.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Alauddin Khilji<\/strong>\u00a0introduced the\u00a0<strong>dagh (branding) and huliyah (description) system<\/strong>\u00a0and cash payment to soldiers. This was meant to strengthen his control over the army.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Firuz Tughlaq<\/strong>\u00a0did away with the system of<strong>\u00a0dagh and huliyah;<\/strong>\u00a0however,\u00a0<strong>Muhammad Tughlaq<\/strong>\u00a0continued the dagh system.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Under\u00a0<strong>Sikandar Lodi\u00a0<\/strong>huliyah was referred to as<strong>\u00a0chehrah.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Naib-Ul-Mulk:<\/strong>\u00a0The Naib was the<strong>\u00a0deputy of Ariz<\/strong>\u00a0and was supposed to assist him in his many\u00a0<strong>administrative chores.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Diwan-i-Insha<\/strong>: Headed by the\u00a0<strong>Dabir-i-Khas,<\/strong>\u00a0looked after the department of royal correspondence.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The\u00a0<strong>Dabir\u00a0<\/strong>was the formal channel of communication between the centre and the other areas of the empire and was also a\u00a0<strong>private secretary to the Sultan.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Diwan-i-Riyasat:<\/strong>\u00a0Important office during the reign of\u00a0<strong>Sultan Alauddin Khilji<\/strong><strong>.\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Function:<\/strong>\u00a0registered all the supplies of commodities and maintained standards in the markets [such as checking weights and measures, etc.].<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Diwan-i-Risalat:<\/strong>\u00a0It was headed by the<strong>\u00a0Sadr-us-Sadr,<\/strong>\u00a0who was also the\u00a0<strong>Qadi-i-mumalik<\/strong>\u00a0and was responsible for the\u00a0<strong>administration of justice<\/strong>\u00a0and looked after the religious matters as sadr-us-sadr.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>In the time of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq, the complaints of the people were registered with the\u00a0<strong>Diwan-i-Risalat.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Diwan-i-Mazalim:<\/strong>\u00a0Headed by the\u00a0<strong>Amir-i-Dad<\/strong>\u00a0in the absence of the<strong>\u00a0Sultan.\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>His role was to supervise the\u00a0<strong>qadis, kotwal<\/strong>\u00a0(police) and\u00a0<strong>muhtasib<\/strong>\u00a0(Executive officer who supervised and enforced public morals and public conveniences).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Small departments:\u00a0<\/strong>Intelligence [like the\u00a0<strong>Barid-i-Mumalik<\/strong>], the royal household [headed by the<strong>\u00a0Wakil-i-Dar<\/strong>], court ceremonies [led by the\u00a0<strong>Amir-i-Hajib<\/strong>], royal bodyguards [under the\u00a0<strong>Sar-i-Jandar<\/strong>].<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><strong>Provincial Administration:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The Governor of the Province was the\u00a0<strong>chief executive officer<\/strong>\u00a0deputed by the<strong>\u00a0centre.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>The Sultanate\u00a0<\/strong>comprised provinces (iqta) placed in charge of<strong>\u00a0governors called wali or muqti<\/strong>; later, provinces were partitioned into<strong>\u00a0shiqs<\/strong>\u00a0(administered by shiqdars) for<strong>\u00a0administrative convenience\u00a0<\/strong>and then shiqs partitioned into Pargana (local administration).<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>The faujdars assisted Shiqdar<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0<strong>maintaining law and order<\/strong>\u00a0during the<strong>\u00a0Tughlaq<\/strong>\u00a0period.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>The function of the Governor:<\/strong>\u00a0collection of revenue, maintaining law and order and keeping the opposition to central authority under control, and maintaining a military unit under his command.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Ariz helped the governor in these military duties<strong>,<\/strong>\u00a0who looked after the\u00a0<strong>military contingents\u00a0<\/strong>under the governor's supervision. Ariz was placed under the\u00a0<strong>Ariz-i-Mumalik.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Sahib-i-Diwan:<\/strong>\u00a0maintained\u00a0<strong>financial accounts\u00a0<\/strong>of the provincial income and expenditure.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>He was assisted in his task by\u00a0<strong>mutassarifs and karkuns.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><strong>Local Administration:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>A number of villages formed a\u00a0<strong>Pargana,<\/strong>\u00a0but village and pargana were independent units of administration and yet<strong>\u00a0inter-related areas<\/strong>\u00a0over which officials commanded administrative powers.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The villages were under the administrative supervision of the 12 Administrative and Institutional Structures following a set of officials:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Muqaddam<\/strong>\u00a0(the village headman)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Patwari\u00a0<\/strong>(village accountant)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Khut\u00a0<\/strong>(village headman)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The important pargana officials were:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Chaudhary<\/strong>\u00a0(highest local rural magnate accountable to the government for land revenue collection),<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Mutasarrif or amil<\/strong>\u00a0(revenue collector)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Karkun\u00a0<\/strong>(accountant)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><strong>Army Organisation:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Barani,<\/strong>\u00a0in his\u00a0<strong>Tarikh-I-Firoz Shahi,<\/strong>\u00a0discusses the army organisation.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The contingents stationed at\u00a0<strong>Delhi\u00a0<\/strong>were called\u00a0<strong>Hasham-i-qalb<\/strong>\u00a0and included, among others, royal slaves and guards.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Provincial contingents<\/strong>\u00a0were called<strong>\u00a0hasham-i-atraf.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Garrisons<\/strong>\u00a0are mentioned in the time of<strong>\u00a0Qutbuddin Aibak,<\/strong>\u00a0which were placed under Kotwals.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The central government directly paid soldiers in cash during the\u00a0<strong>Khiljis and Tughlaqs.<\/strong>\u00a0Sometimes soldiers were also paid through<strong>\u00a0itlaq (drafts).<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Delhi Sultanate refers to dynasties of Turkish &#038; Afghan origin which ruled India between 1200 AD to 1526 AD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[296,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-5339","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-quest-level-3","8":"tag-emergence-and-administration-of-the-delhi-sultanate","9":"tag-quest"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5339"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19589,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5339\/revisions\/19589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}