Medieval India History:
Medieval period in Indian history is most dynamic period, there was chaos of different sultans attacking each other and establishing their dynasties.
From exam point of view Medieval India History is quite important, asppirants find it difficult to remember different different aspects of it. so we have designed after an extensive research on the basis of previous year papers and the eminent faculties in History.
Click here we have covered different dynasties during 8 to 10th century, travelers and invasions during Medieval India [maxbutton id=”18″ ]
Delhi Sultanate
- 1206-1527
You can also see- History MCQ for practice
Slave Dynasty
- After death of Muhammad Ghori
- Yalduz succeeded him at Ghori
- Qutubbdin Aibek succeeded him at Ghazni (1206-1210)
- Aibak
- died after falling from his horse while playing polo
- two slaves: Iltutmish (son-in-law) and Qubacha
- Iltutmish (1210-36)
- Real consolidator of Turkish conquests in India
- Aibak’s slave Qubacha declared independence of Multan
- Ousted Qubacha from Multan and Uchch
- Razia (1236-39)
- Defeated her wazir Nizam ul Mulk Junaidi
- Salve: Yakut Khan
Balban (1265-86)
- Aka Ulugh Khan
- Father in law of the sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud (1246-1266)
- Authoritarian and despot.
- Administered justice with impartiality
- Started sijada and paibos (prostration and kissing monarch’s feet)
- Bughra Khan was his son who preferred to rule over Bengal
You can also see- Art & Culture notes for quick revision
Khalji Dyansty (1290-1320)
- Jalaluddin Khalji (1290-96)
- Mitigated the harsh aspects of Balban’s rule
- Said that state should be based on the support of the ruled. Hence cannot be an Islamic state.
- Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316)
- Revered the liberal policies of Jalaluddin towards Hindus
- Malik Kafur – general, led campaigns in South India
- Conquered Gujarat, Rajasthan and Deccan
- Amir Khusrau was his contemporary
- Alauddin carried out numerous market reforms
- Fixed the prices of all commodities
- Setup three markets in Delhi: for foodgrains, costly cloth, horses
- Each market controlled by an officer called shahna
- Revenue from Doab region to be paid directly to the state
- First sultan to pay soldiers in cash
- Military reforms of Alauddin
- Regular muster of the armed forces
- Branding of horses (dagh)
- Descriptive role of soldiers
See Classical dances of India here
Tughlaq Dynasty (1320 – 1412)
- Mohammad Bin T (1324-51)
- Secular
- Giasuddin T died after the wooden platform broke
- Transfer of capital: Delhi to Deogir (Daulatabad)
- Token currency
- Khurasan project – to invade Af-Iran
- Qarachil expedition – Kumaon hills to counter Chinese incursion
- Famine – he left Delhi and lived in a camp called Swargadwari on banks of Ganges near Kanauj
- Diwan-i-amir-ikohi department <agriculture?>
- Rebellions during the later part
- Built road from Peshawar to Sonargaon and also to Daulatabad
- Firuz Tughlaq (1351-88) <longest ruling Delhi sultan>
- MBT’s rule had left the army and nobles discontented
- FT adopted policies to appease them
- Offices and iqta were made hereditary
- Period of peace
- Extended the principle of heredity to army as well
- Imposed jizyah: first ruler to do so
- Took steps to translate Hindu religious works to Persian
- Humanitarian measures
- Set up Public Works department. Canals
- Built towns: Hissar and Firuzabad
- Set up a separate department of slaves.
- After Firuz’s death, the empire shrunk to just Delhi (a popular wit reference)
- 1398: Timur’s invasion
Sayyid Dyansty (1414-1451)
Lodi Dynasty (1451-1526)
- Bahlol Lodi – Sikandar Lodi – Ibrahim Lodi
Vijayanagar
- Harihara and Bukka – 1336
- Italian traveller Nicolo Conti visited Vijayanagar in 1420
- After this dynasty ended, Krishna Deva Raya founded the Tuvalu dynasty
- 1565: Battle of Talikota (at Banihatta) aka Battle of Rakshasa Tangadi
- Vijayanagar vs Deccan Sultans
- Ended the Vijayanagar empire.
Bahami
- Alauddin Hasan – 1347 (aka Hasan Gangu)
- Bahmani ruler Firuz Shah married the daughter of Vijaynagar king Deva Rai I
- Firuz Shah Bahmani
- Wanted to make Deccan a cultural centre
- Inducted Hindus on a large scale
- Built an observatory near Daulatabad
- Mahmud Gawan was an important prime minister
Gujarat
- Ahmed Shah
- Imposed jizyah
- Mahmud Begarha
Mughals – Babur & Humayun
- Ibrahim Lodi succeeded Sikandar Lodi in 1517
- Daulat Khan Lodi and Rana Sanga invited Babur to displace Ibrahim Lodi in India
- 1526: Battle of Panipat
- Gunpowder was used in this battle
- 1527: Battle of Khanwa between Rana Sanga and Babur
- Humayun succeeded Babur in 1530
- He built a new city at Delhi: Dinpanah
- Built Purana Qila
- 1539: Battle of Chausa – Sher Shah def Humayun
- 1540: Battle of Kanauj – Sher Shah def Humayun
- 1555: Humayun recovered Delhi
- Died after falling from the first floor of his library
Sher Shah
- 1540: defeated Humayun at Kanauj
- 1544: Sher Shah vs Rajputs at the battle of Samel
- Abbas Khan Sarwani – historian of Sher Shah
- GT Road from Indus to Sonargaon in Bengal
- Built a road from Agra to Jodhpur and Chittor; from Lahore to Multan
- Built sarais
- Dictum of Shaikh Nazami: “If a merchant should die in your country it is a perfidy to lay hands on his property”. Local village headmen and zamindars were made responsible for any loss that the merchant suffered on the roads.
- Currency reforms; weights and measures
- Chehra and dagh system
- Tomb at Sasaram
- Malik Md Jaisi during his time
- Jizyah continued to be implemented.
- Sher Shah was succeeded by his son Islam Shah in 1545
Mughals
Akbar
- Born at Amarkot in 1542
- 1556: Second Battle of Panipat – vs Hemu
- Zabti system of land revenue assessment aka Todar Mal’s bandobast
- Other land revenue systems: dahsala, batai, ghalla-bakhshi, nasaq
- Land
- Polaj – in cultivation every year
- Parati (fallow) – uncultivated polaj
- Chachar – fallow for two to three years
- Banjar – fallow for more than three years
- Mansabdari system – 1577
- 1576: Battle of Haldighati with Rana Pratap
- Birbal was killed in a battle with Afghans
Jahangir (1605-27)
- Clash between Sikhs and Mughals began with the imprisonment and death of Guru Arjun by Jahangir on a charge of helping rebel prince, Khusrau
Aurganzeb
- Issued Zawabit: secular decrees
- Discontinued the Parsi festival Nauroz
- Discontinued Jharokha Darshan
- Reimposed Jizyah in 1679; suspended it in 1705
with the Death of Aurangzeb Mughal empire in India started cramping You can see here- India in eighteenth century
with the decline of Mughal there was rise of succession states You can read them here- Succession states after Mughals
Also see Marathas and Sikhs in medieval India History-click here
Thank you and all the best to all Aspirants for UPSC, SSC and Bank
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