Foundation, Mamluks and Khaljis (1192–1320)
Tarain to the Khaljis for CGPSC: Aibak, Iltutmish, Raziya, Balban's kingship, Alauddin's conquests, Malik Kafur's southern raids and the Mongol threat.
Prerequisites
- Early Medieval India: the Rajput kingdoms (Chauhans, Gahadavalas, Paramaras) that the Ghurids defeated
- Kalachuris of Ratanpur and Raipur: what Chhattisgarh looked like while Delhi changed hands
The Hook: Same Century, Two Very Different Capitals
In 1114 CE a Kalachuri king of Ratanpur recorded his grants on a stone inscription, and his family went on ruling the Chhattisgarh plains for centuries. Less than eighty years later, in 1192, a Turkish army from Ghor in Afghanistan defeated Prithviraj Chauhan at Tarain, and within fifteen years a former slave named Qutbuddin Aibak was ruling north India from Lahore and Delhi.
Chhattisgarh never became a lasting Sultanate province, yet the Sultanate is a core chapter of your GS-I syllabus. How did a slave-general’s regime become a 320-year state, and which rulers and dates does the exam expect you to know?
Why it matters: Prelims asks chronological order, “who did what first” and matching rulers with their measures. Mains asks you to evaluate Iltutmish as the real founder, Balban’s theory of kingship and Alauddin’s reforms.
The Five Dynasties at a Glance
The Delhi Sultanate (दिल्ली सल्तनत) lasted from 1206 to 1526 under five dynasties:
| # | Dynasty | Years | Founder | Last ruler |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mamluk / “Slave” (ग़ुलाम वंश) | 1206–1290 | Qutbuddin Aibak | Kayumars |
| 2 | Khalji (ख़िलजी) | 1290–1320 | Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji | Khusrau Khan (usurper) |
| 3 | Tughlaq (तुग़लक़) | 1320–1414 | Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq | Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah Tughlaq |
| 4 | Sayyid (सैयद) | 1414–1451 | Khizr Khan | Alauddin Alam Shah |
| 5 | Lodi (लोदी) | 1451–1526 | Bahlul Lodi | Ibrahim Lodi |
This page covers the first two dynasties. The Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodis are on the next page.
Background: The Ghurid Conquest
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1191 | First Battle of Tarain (near Thanesar, Haryana): Prithviraj Chauhan III defeats Muhammad Ghori (Muizzuddin Muhammad bin Sam) |
| 1192 | Second Battle of Tarain: Ghori defeats and captures Prithviraj. Usually treated as the opening of Turkish rule in north India |
| 1194 | Battle of Chandawar (near Etawah): Ghori defeats Jaichand, the Gahadavala king of Kannauj |
| 1190s–c. 1205 | Ghori’s general Bakhtiyar Khalji raids Bihar and Bengal |
| 1206 | Ghori is assassinated. His Indian possessions pass to his slave-commanders, and Aibak takes charge at Lahore |
Only some of its rulers had ever been slaves, and the throne passed between three different families:
- Qutbi: Aibak and his son Aram Shah
- Shamsi: Iltutmish (Shamsuddin) and his descendants
- Balbani: Balban and his descendants
Historians prefer Mamluk (Arabic for “owned”, i.e. a slave soldier) or “early Turkish Sultans”. Iltutmish and Balban were Ilbari Turks, so the line is also called the Ilbari dynasty.
The Mamluk Sultans (1206–1290)
Qutbuddin Aibak (क़ुतुबुद्दीन ऐबक), 1206–1210
- A Turkish slave of Muhammad Ghori, he rose to command Ghori’s Indian conquests.
- Ruled from Lahore, not Delhi.
- Famed for generosity, hence the title Lakh Bakhsh (“giver of lakhs”).
- Began the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the Qutb Minar in Delhi, and the Adhai Din ka Jhonpra in Ajmer (see Art and Architecture).
- Died in 1210 after a fall from his horse while playing chaugan (polo) at Lahore.
Iltutmish (इल्तुतमिश), 1211–1236: the real consolidator
- Aibak’s slave and son-in-law, earlier governor (iqtadar) of Badaun. He displaced Aibak’s son Aram Shah.
- Made Delhi the capital.
- Defeated rival Ghurid commanders Tajuddin Yildiz and Nasiruddin Qubacha.
- Mongol danger (1221): Chengiz Khan reached the Indus while chasing the Khwarizmian prince Jalaluddin Mangbarni. Iltutmish refused Mangbarni shelter, and the Mongols turned back.
- 1229: received a letter of investiture (manshur) and robe from the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustansir of Baghdad, giving the Sultanate legal standing in the Islamic world.
- Coinage: introduced the silver tanka (about 175 grains) and the copper jital, the standard Sultanate currency.
- Organised the iqta system of revenue assignments (see Administration).
- Created the Turkan-i-Chahalgani (तुर्कान-ए-चहलगानी), “the Forty”, a corps of Turkish slave-nobles loyal to him.
- Completed the Qutb Minar. Nominated his daughter Raziya as successor.
Raziya (रज़िया), 1236–1240
- The first and only woman to rule the Delhi Sultanate.
- Discarded purdah, held open court, and rode out at the head of her troops.
- Promoted the Abyssinian Jamaluddin Yaqut as Amir-i-Akhur (master of the royal stables), which angered the Turkish nobles.
- Rebellion by Altunia, governor of Bathinda (Tabarhind). Raziya was captured, married Altunia and marched on Delhi, but both were defeated and killed in 1240.
The weak interval and Nasiruddin Mahmud (1246–1266)
After Raziya, the Forty made and unmade Sultans (Bahram Shah, Masud Shah). Nasiruddin Mahmud reigned for twenty years while real power lay with his naib (deputy), Ulugh Khan, later Sultan Balban. The chronicler Minhaj-us-Siraj dedicated his Tabaqat-i-Nasiri to this Sultan.
Ghiyasuddin Balban (बलबन), 1266–1287
| Area | What Balban did |
|---|---|
| Theory of kingship | The Sultan is Zil-i-Ilahi (shadow of God on earth) and holds Niyabat-i-Khudai (deputyship of God). Kingship is above the nobles |
| Court ceremonial | Persian customs: sijda (prostration) and paibos (kissing the Sultan’s feet); the Persian new-year festival Nauroz |
| The Forty | Broke the power of the Chahalgani, though he had been one of them |
| Army | Reorganised the military department, the Diwan-i-Arz, under the Ariz-i-Mamalik |
| Intelligence | Spies (barids) posted in every department and province |
| Policy | “Blood and iron”: ruthless suppression of the Mewatis near Delhi and of Tughril Khan’s revolt in Bengal |
| Mongols | Strengthened forts on the north-west frontier. His eldest son Prince Muhammad was killed fighting the Mongols in the mid-1280s |
His weak successors, Kaiqubad and the infant Kayumars, were swept aside in 1290 by Jalaluddin Khalji, a change called the Khalji Revolution.
The Khalji Dynasty (1290–1320)
Why a “revolution”?
The Khaljis were Turks long settled in Afghanistan and regarded as outsiders by the old Turkish nobility. Their seizure of power ended the monopoly of the Turkish slave-nobility and opened high office to Indian Muslims and other groups. It showed that ability and the army, not birth, decided who ruled.
Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji, 1290–1296
- Became Sultan at about seventy. Mild and conciliatory towards nobles and rebels.
- His nephew and son-in-law Alauddin, governor of Kara, raided Devagiri (the Yadava capital) in 1296, the first Sultanate raid across the Vindhyas, and used the loot to murder Jalaluddin at Kara the same year.
Alauddin Khalji (अलाउद्दीन ख़िलजी), 1296–1316
Conquests in the north
| Year | Conquest | Ruler defeated |
|---|---|---|
| 1299 | Gujarat (Somnath sacked; the slave Malik Kafur acquired) | Karna (Vaghela) |
| 1301 | Ranthambore | Hammir Dev (Chauhan) |
| 1303 | Chittor | Ratan Singh (Guhila) |
| 1305 | Malwa | Mahlak Dev |
Campaigns in the south (under Malik Kafur)
| Year (approx.) | Target | Ruler |
|---|---|---|
| 1307–08 | Devagiri (Yadavas) | Ramachandra |
| 1309–10 | Warangal (Kakatiyas) | Prataparudra II |
| 1311 | Dwarasamudra (Hoysalas) | Ballala III |
| 1311 | Madurai (Pandyas) | Pandya princes |
Mongol defence: Alauddin faced repeated Mongol invasions. He defeated them at Kili (1299), survived a siege of Delhi in 1303, and won further victories by 1306. He built the new fortified city of Siri and strengthened frontier garrisons.
Measures against rebellion: Alauddin identified four causes of revolt: the Sultan’s ignorance of affairs, drinking parties of nobles, nobles’ marriage alliances, and excess wealth. He responded with a spy network, a ban on drinking, a rule that nobles needed permission to marry into each other’s families, and confiscation of grants.
Reforms (detailed on the Administration page): a large standing army paid in cash; dagh (branding of horses) and huliya (descriptive roll of soldiers); land revenue at half the produce based on measurement; and market control in Delhi.
He styled himself Sikandar-i-Sani (“the second Alexander”) on his coins. In a conversation reported by Barani, he declared that he would govern by what the needs of the state required, not only by the opinions of the ulema.
The end of the Khaljis
After Alauddin’s death (1316), Malik Kafur briefly held power and was killed. Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah (1316–1320) was murdered by his favourite Khusrau Khan, who took the throne in 1320. The frontier governor Ghazi Malik marched on Delhi, killed Khusrau Khan and became Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq.
Memory Tricks
Mamluk → Khalji → Tughlaq → Sayyid → Lodi
Anchor years: 1206 · 1290 · 1320 · 1414 · 1451 · 1526. Say them aloud as “twelve-oh-six to fifteen-twenty-six”.
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| First Tarain (1191): Prithviraj won | vs | Second Tarain (1192): Ghori won |
| Chandawar (1194): Jaichand of Kannauj | vs | Tarain: Prithviraj Chauhan |
| Iltutmish created the Forty | vs | Balban crushed the Forty |
| Balban: consolidation, no expansion | vs | Alauddin: expansion and consolidation |
| Jamaluddin Yaqut: Raziya’s Amir-i-Akhur | vs | Altunia: governor of Bathinda who rebelled, then married her |
| Alauddin: southern kingdoms made tributary | vs | Tughlaqs: Deccan annexed (Warangal 1323) |
| Nasiruddin Mahmud (Mamluk, 1246–66) | vs | Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah Tughlaq (last Tughlaq) and Nasiruddin Mahmud (Iltutmish’s son, buried in Sultan Garhi) |
Common Mistakes
- “Aibak ruled from Delhi.” His seat was Lahore. Iltutmish made Delhi the capital.
- “Aibak received investiture from the Caliph.” It was Iltutmish (1229).
- “Balban created the Turkan-i-Chahalgani.” He destroyed it. Iltutmish created it.
- “Alauddin annexed the southern kingdoms.” He took tribute and acknowledgement; annexation came later.
- “The Slave dynasty was one family.” It was three: Qutbi, Shamsi and Balbani.
- Sijda and paibos belong to Balban, not Alauddin.
Practice
All questions below are original practice questions in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.
Level 1: Foundation
- The Second Battle of Tarain was fought in the year ______.
- The Sultan who received a letter of investiture from the Abbasid Caliph in 1229 was ______.
- Balban described the Sultan as Zil-i-Ilahi, meaning ______.
Answers
- 1192.
- Iltutmish.
- “The shadow of God (on earth)”.
Level 2: Prelims MCQs
Q1. Consider the following statements:
- Qutbuddin Aibak ruled from Lahore and died after a fall while playing chaugan.
- Iltutmish introduced the silver tanka and the copper jital.
- Balban created the group of forty Turkish nobles known as the Turkan-i-Chahalgani.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 2 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
Q2. Match List I (Ruler) with List II (Associated measure):
| List I | List II |
|---|---|
| A. Iltutmish | 1. Sijda and paibos at court |
| B. Balban | 2. Investiture from the Abbasid Caliph |
| C. Alauddin Khalji | 3. Price control in the markets of Delhi |
| D. Raziya | 4. Appointment of an Abyssinian as Amir-i-Akhur |
- (a) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
- (b) A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4
- (c) A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4
- (d) A-4, B-1, C-3, D-2
Answer and explanation
Q3. Arrange the following campaigns of Alauddin Khalji’s reign in chronological order:
- Ranthambore
- Warangal
- Gujarat
- Madurai
- (a) 3-1-2-4
- (b) 1-3-2-4
- (c) 3-2-1-4
- (d) 1-3-4-2
Answer and explanation
Q4. The term “Khalji Revolution” (1290) refers mainly to:
- (a) The abolition of the iqta system
- (b) The end of the monopoly of the Turkish slave-nobility over high office
- (c) The transfer of the capital from Lahore to Delhi
- (d) The Sultanate’s break with the Abbasid Caliphate
Answer and explanation
Q5. Which ruler of the Delhi Sultanate was the first to send an army south of the Vindhyas, by raiding Devagiri?
- (a) Iltutmish
- (b) Balban
- (c) Alauddin Khalji, as governor of Kara
- (d) Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Answer and explanation
Level 3: Mains Answer Writing
Q1. (60 words) Why is Iltutmish regarded as the real founder of the Delhi Sultanate?
Model answer outline
- Aibak ruled briefly from Lahore as a Ghurid commander. Iltutmish turned a conquest into a state.
- Points: Delhi as capital; caliphal investiture (1229) gave legitimacy; tanka and jital gave a currency; iqta system linked revenue to the army; the Forty gave a loyal nobility; avoided the Mongol storm of 1221.
- Conclusion: hence “real founder”.
Q2. (150–200 words) Examine Balban’s theory of kingship. How far did it strengthen the Sultanate?
Model answer outline
- Intro: After 1236 the Forty made and unmade Sultans. Balban (1266–87) set out to restore the Crown’s prestige.
- Theory: Sultan as Zil-i-Ilahi and Niyabat-i-Khudai; kingship as divinely sanctioned and above the nobility; insistence on noble birth for office.
- Practice: sijda and paibos, Nauroz; crushing the Chahalgani; Diwan-i-Arz reorganised; spies in every department; “blood and iron” against the Mewatis and Tughril Khan.
- Strengths: restored order around Delhi; defended the frontier against the Mongols; made the Sultan supreme over the nobles.
- Limits: no territorial expansion; the system depended on his personality and collapsed within three years of his death (Khalji Revolution, 1290); the exclusive racial basis of office narrowed the ruling class.
- Conclusion: Balban prepared the centralised monarchy on which Alauddin later built.
Quick Revision Table
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tarain I / II | 1191 Prithviraj won / 1192 Ghori won |
| Chandawar | 1194; Jaichand of Kannauj |
| Aibak | 1206–1210; Lahore; Lakh Bakhsh; died playing chaugan |
| Iltutmish | 1211–1236; Delhi capital; manshur 1229 (al-Mustansir); tanka and jital; iqta; the Forty |
| Raziya | 1236–1240; only woman Sultan; Yaqut; Altunia of Bathinda |
| Nasiruddin Mahmud | 1246–1266; Balban as naib; Tabaqat-i-Nasiri |
| Balban | 1266–1287; Zil-i-Ilahi; sijda, paibos; Diwan-i-Arz; blood and iron |
| Khalji Revolution | 1290; Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji |
| Alauddin | 1296–1316; Gujarat 1299, Ranthambore 1301, Chittor 1303, Malwa 1305; south via Malik Kafur 1307–1311 |
| Alauddin’s titles | Sikandar-i-Sani |
| End of Khaljis | Khusrau Khan killed by Ghazi Malik, 1320 |
Key Takeaways
- The Sultanate grew out of the Ghurid victory at Tarain (1192); Aibak took charge in 1206.
- Iltutmish built the state: Delhi, the Caliph’s recognition, coins, iqta and the Forty.
- Balban restored royal authority through a divine theory of kingship and harsh discipline, without expanding.
- The Khalji Revolution widened the ruling class; Alauddin combined conquest, Mongol defence and sweeping internal reforms.
- Alauddin’s southern policy was tribute, not annexation.
What’s Next
- Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodis (1320–1526): the experiments of Muhammad bin Tughlaq and the road to Panipat
- Administration, Revenue and Military: iqta, taxes and Alauddin’s market control
- Art, Architecture and Literature: the Qutb complex and Amir Khusrau
- Bhakti and Sufi Movements: the religious world of the Sultanate period