Medieval Indian History and the Delhi Sultanate
What this domain tests
The Delhi Sultanate from 1206 to 1526, its five dynasties, administrative and revenue institutions, regional kingdoms such as Vijayanagar and the Bahamanis, and the Bhakti-Sufi movements. Questions often ask you to evaluate a ruler's policy rather than merely list events.
Core concepts
- Five dynasties: Slave (Qutb al-Din Aibak to Balban), Khalji, Tughluq, Sayyid and Lodi.
- Institutions: iqta (revenue assignment), kharaj and jizya, the sultan's court, standing armies and market regulation. Alauddin Khalji's price controls and Muhammad bin Tughluq's experiments are standard examples.
- Sources: Persian chronicles (Minhaj-us-Siraj's Tabqat-i-Nasiri, Ziauddin Barani's Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi), Ibn Battuta's travels, inscriptions and regional literature.
- Regional powers: Vijayanagar and Bahamani rivalry; Marathi Sant literature from Dnyaneshwar to Tukaram as a source for social history.
Worked example
Question: Why did Muhammad bin Tughluq's token currency fail? Reasoning: he issued copper and brass coins as legal tender, which was innovative but depended on state monopoly and public trust. Counterfeiters flooded the market, the treasury could not redeem coins, and trade suffered. The failure reflects institutional weakness, not simply the sultan's personal eccentricity. A good answer separates intent, design and enforcement.
Traps that cost marks
Describing the Sultanate as ruling all India; treating Persian chronicles as neutral court records; confusing Timur's 1398 invasion with Babur's 1526 victory; reducing Bhakti-Sufi movements to 'religious reform' without social context; mixing the five dynasties' order.