Medieval India: Delhi Sultanate, Vijayanagara and Mughal Empire
This domain surveys the Delhi Sultanate, Vijayanagara and the Mughal Empire, focusing on state formation, revenue, legitimacy and cultural patronage.
Delhi Sultanate
Five dynasties ruled from 1206 to 1526: Slave, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi. The iqta system assigned revenue rights to commanders. Alauddin Khalji's market controls and army reforms; Muhammad bin Tughlaq's token currency and capital shift; Firuz Shah's canals; Timur's invasion (1398) weakened Delhi. The Sultanate was not a single uniform state.
Vijayanagara
Founded in 1336 by Harihara and Bukka, Vijayanagara controlled trade and temple networks in the south. Krishnadevaraya (1509-29) wrote Amuktamalyada and patronised Telugu and Sanskrit letters. The nayaka system and fortified capital at Hampi show military-fiscal organisation. Talikota (1565) ended its imperial dominance.
Mughal empire
Babur won Panipat in 1526. Akbar (1556-1605) built mansabdari rank and jagir revenue, pursued Rajput alliances and sulh-i kul. Shah Jahan's architecture and Aurangzeb's Deccan wars and jizya represent different priorities. The empire's decline involved succession wars, agrarian crisis, regional assertiveness and European penetration.
Worked example
Assess Akbar's religious policy. Reasoning: Abul Fazl presents it as universal justice; Badayuni, a critic, records Orthodox unease. The evidence supports a policy of broad elite accommodation, not a mass conversion or a modern secularism.
Traps
The Sultanate was five dynasties, not one; Vijayanagara was not only a Hindu bulwark; Mughal rule varied by region; do not blame Aurangzeb alone for decline.