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For much of the Middle Ages, India was divided into rival kingdoms ruled by rajas (princes). Islam had made some initial incursions into India as far back as the 8th century, but strong Indian kingdoms fended off Muslim attacks. However, the general fragmentation of the Abbasid Caliphate and the fragmented nature of India helped pave the way for a new series of invasions from Afghanistan, where a new Turkic mamluk dynasty had emerged. In 1206, Muhammad of Ghor, leader of the Muslim Turks in Afghanistan, marched his army of mamluks into northern India and established the Delhi Sultanate. India became part of the Muslim world.
Between 1206 and 1236, the Muslim invaders extended their rule over the Hindu princes and chiefs in much of northern India. Based out of the city of Delhi, these Muslim rulers also took the title of sultan. The Abbasid Caliphate (soon to be eradicated by the Mongols) officially recognized the Delhi Sultanate as a Muslim realm. Hinduism had been the dominant religion in India prior to Muslim arrival, and it would continue to be the major religion; but now a minority Muslim state ruled over a majority Hindu population. The Muslim Turks who arrived in India in the twelfth century recognized the Hindus as a protected people, allowing them to practice their own religious traditions and govern individual territories so long as they paid taxes and tribute. Buddhists, however, were largely forced to convert or flee. This development would hasten the decline of Buddhism in India
Government
Government
The Delhi sultans ruled over a fairly centralized government that incorporated elite Turks, Afghans, and Hindus, with the sultan at the head of the administration and military. To prevent inner turmoil and rebellion, the sultans ruled with fairly authoritarian policies, including secret police and state control of most land. Governors ran the provinces with considerable powers that were still limited by the central government, which was run by ministers who answered to the sultan. Because there was no official law for succession, all the sultan's sons had equal claim to the throne (often leading to struggles for the throne that were usually decided by military strength).
The sultan was assisted by a body of ministers who managed their respective departments under orders from the sultan, and the key figure was the vizier (high official, sort of like a prime minister), who oversaw all departments and was the most trusted official. Governors performed the duties such as tax collection, maintaining law and order, and controlling the army in their respective provinces. In addition, the Sultanate employed the iqta system: in lieu of salary, an assignment of land, or iqta, was granted to state employees, who then collected revenue from that land. Unlike in Europe's feudal system, the holder of an iqta had no right to the subjects on the land as long as taxes were paid. The money was used to pay for an army, which could be called by the Sultan at any time, making up for a relatively quick mobilisation and highly professional soldiers. Officers called amirs oversaw the administration of the bureaucracy, improving food production, promoting trade, coining currency, and supervising provincial governors.
The fact that a minority Muslim dynasty ruled over a kingdom that was majority Hindu likely shaped certain policies. The Sultanate granted Hindus freedom from persecution in return for paying the jizya, a tax required of non-Muslims. Hindu kingdoms that submitted to Muslim rule were considered protected peoples (dhimmis), but significant destruction of Hindu temples did occur in areas. Some sultans did incorporate a few Hindus into their administrations, and some members of the Muslim elite married women from prominent Hindu families, though the brides had to convert to Islam.
Personal and religious rivalries within the Muslim elite and battles over succession, along with Hindu discontent, threatened the Delhi Sultanate whenever it showed weakness and ultimately contributed to its end. Hindu states of south India united to form the Vijayanagar Empire, controlling rich trade ports. By 1351, when all of south India had cast off Delhi’s rule, much of north India rose in rebellion, and provinces like Bengal and Gujarat broke away from the Sultanate. It was at this time (1398) that the Turko-Mongol leader Timur (or Tamerlane) captured Delhi. But Islam had acquired a permanent, but always minority, place in South Asia.
The Qutb Minar Complex in Delhi
The Tomb of Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq
Culture & Society
Culture & Society
Social and cultural interaction contributed to change at the local level. For example, the use of spices for seasoning food became common, transforming standard Muslim dishes. The newcomers also adopted Indian religious ceremonies, especially those related to marriage and death. The popularity of music, as well as its forms, reflected the local atmosphere. Many Muslims who lived in the Sultanate were in fact Indians who had converted to Islam. And the Delhi court had an immense influx of diverse cultures, religiosity, and literature from Persia and Central Asia, especially as scholars, students, artisans from the Islamic world settled in India. As for the Hindus, their social life was relatively unchanged, and the non-Muslim population was left to their own laws and customs after paying the jizya.
Agricultural taxes largely supported the army, and sultans also used agricultural surpluses to store food in case of famine. Urbanization increased the diversity of India's economy, especially in cotton fabrics, silken stuffs, carpets, woollens, ironware, leatherware and sugar-making. The development of the more advanced spinning wheel increased the textile trade, and India became known for its fine cotton cloth. Muslim merchants known as Multani became incredibly connected to internal and foreign trade, and they were also granted a monopoly on trade within special markets. The Multani soon provided banking services like money lending which greatly facilitated commercial transactions; and when the Sultanate gained control of the port city of Gujarat, merchants also gained access to lucrative Indian Ocean trade links.
One of the most lasting impacts of Muslim rule on India was in architecture. Sultans commissioned the building of mosques, mausolea, tombs, and minarets (a type of tower). Domes and arches, seldom used in Hindu architecture, became central features in these buildings. The most famous example is the Qutb Minar, a victory tower over 240 feet tall with elaborate inscriptions and geometric patterns characteristic of Islamic art. The architecture also became syncretic and distinct from Islamic architecture elsewhere by incorporating Indian styles.
Finally, it was during the Delhi Sultanate that Sufism (a mystic form of Sunni Islam that stresses ritual and a spiritual closeness with God) spread in India through missionary activity and trade. The Sufi teachings of divine spirituality, cosmic harmony, love, and humanity resonated with the common people and low caste Hindus.
Razia Sultana
Legacy
Legacy
The establishment of the Sultanate drew the Indian subcontinent more closely into international and multicultural Islamic social and economic networks. It was also one of the few powers to repel attacks of the Mongols and enthrone one of the few female rulers in Islamic history, Razia Sultana, who was chosen by her father over her brothers, her father explaining his decision by stating "no one of them is qualified to be king. . . . There is no one more competent to guide the State than my daughter." The Delhi Sultanate triggered the development of centralized political authority in India and despite conflicts, Islam acquired a permanent (although minority) place in South Asia. At the same time, one cannot overlook that the army of the Delhi Sultanate also often completely destroyed cities (and Hindu temples) in their military expeditions.
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