Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq and rise of Tughluq dynasty
From 1320 until 1325, Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq—also known as Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq or Ghazi Malik—ruled Delhi. He was the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate's Tughluq dynasty. Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq established Tughlaqabad during his rule. When a pavilion erected in his memory fell in 1325, his reign came to an end. Ibn Battuta, a historian who lived in the 14th century, asserted that a conspiracy was to blame for the sultan's demise.
Muhammad bin Tughluq, the oldest son of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, succeeded him.
Before Ala-ud-din appointed him the governor of Dipalpur and the guard of the north-western border in 1305 A.D., Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq served the Delhi Sultans in the same capacity as his father and advanced to higher posts in the State. In addition to successfully defending the border, he waged war on the Mongols and assaulted the areas around Ghazni, Kabul, and Kandahar. He was left standing by Khusrau. However, he later rose in rebellion against Khusrau, killed him in combat, and was crowned Sultan in 1320 A.D.
Early Life and Background
The early career of Tughluq is described in a variety of ways by various sources. According to Tughluq's courtier Amir Khusrau, he was already in Delhi during the reign of Alauddin's forebear Jalaluddin. The Tughluq Nama does not refer to Tughluq's migration to India from another country, suggesting that Tughluq was born there.
Before joining the Khilji service, Tughlaq worked as a humble servant as a horse keeper in the service of a merchant.
Before he joined Jalaluddin Khilji's imperial guard, Tughluq spent a long time looking for work in Delhi.
Tughluq gained recognition under the reign of Alauddin. He joined the Khilji army as Alauddin’s brother, Ulugh Khan’s personal attendant. Tughluq was one of the top lieutenants of the Khilji leader Malik Nayak in the Battle of Amroha (1305), where the Khilji army beat a Mongol force from the Chagatai Khanate. Tughluq led the Khilji army under the command of commander Malik Kafur during the Mongol invasion in 1306 and routed the invaders.
Tughluq was first appointed by Alauddin as governor of Multan and afterward as governor of Dipalpur. These provinces, which were along the paths taken by the Mongol invaders, were situated in the Delhi Sultanate's boundary zone. Alauddin must have developed a reputation for Tughluq's fighting prowess by this point if he trusted him with such difficult tasks.
After seizing control of the government, Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah, the oldest son of Alauddin, despatched Tughluq to Chittor with a letter requesting that Multani continue his march towards Gujarat. Tughluq was greeted by Multani in Chittor, but he hesitated to continue the march since his men had not yet seen the new Sultan.
The rise of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq
Khusrau Khan, Mubarak Shah's general of Hindu descent and future ruler of Delhi, plotted Mubarak Shah's murder in 1320. One of the governors who resisted recognising Khusrau Khan as the new Sultan was Tughluq. He refrained from taking action against Khusrau Khan. However, the force he was in charge of at Dipalpur was insufficient to confront the imperial army at Delhi.
Khusrau Khan was overthrown by Fakhruddin Jauna, a senior official in Delhi and the son of Tughluq (who ultimately succeeded his father as Muhammad bin Tughluq).
After discussing the predicament with his son in Dipalpur, Tughluq decided to confront Khusrau Khan. Khusrau Khan was devoted to Alauddin's family, Tughluq said, and he wished to punish Delhi's criminals in addition to serving "the glory of Islam" by overthrowing him.
A letter was written to Ayn al-Mulk Multani, who was now the wazir. Multani brought the letter to the Sultan and pledged his fealty despite being surrounded by Khusrau Khan's troops when he got it.
He did, however, express support for Tughluq's cause in response to a follow-up communication from Tughluq. Multani said that he would not choose a side in the forthcoming conflict because Khusrau's supporters were around him. When Tughluq's forces approached Delhi, he informed Tughluq that he would leave and that, after becoming Sultan, Tughluq could decide whether to keep him or kill him. The armies of Khusrau Khan were routed by Tughluq's army at the Battle of Saraswati and the Battle of Lahrawat. Khusrau Khan left the battleground, but he was soon apprehended and slain. On September 6th, 1320, Tughluq was declared the new emperor.
The reign of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq
Ghiyath-ud-din had administrative expertise. He showed himself to be a knowledgeable and forceful leader. He put down the rebelling rulers and restored the Delhi Sultanate's military strength. Not only was the Bengali uprising put down, but the kingdoms of Warangal and Madura were also annexed, and Ghiyath-ud-din also conquered Tirhut on the borders of Nepal and the majority of South Asia. He also annexed the lands of all the kings he had defeated, becoming the ruler of a larger empire than Ala-ud-din Khilji.
He made an effort to strengthen the state's finances and did so by establishing the tax system. According to Barani, the monarch thought that taxes should be levied to prevent people from being "blinded with wealth and becoming discontented and rebellious" or, on the other hand, from becoming "so reduced to poverty and destitution as to be unable to pursue their daily bread." He made communication channels and the state of the roads, bridges, and canals better.
Tughluq dispatched his son Fakhruddin Jauna (later Muhammad bin Tughluq) on an expedition to Warangal, the seat of the Kakatiya empire, in 1323. Following the Siege of Warangal, Warangal was annexed, and the Kakatiya dynasty was overthrown.
He sought a formal commitment or approval to the arrangement from the ministers and nobles of the realm before appointing his son Muhammad bin Tughluq as his heir and successor in 1323.
Challenges faced by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq
Problems both internal and external plagued Ghiyas-ud-din. Ala-ud-din's successors dismantled the administrative structure he had built up while not attempting to create a replacement. The lords and courtiers had abandoned their duties and were now just interested in their gratification. The Sultan had lost favour with both the aristocracy and the common people.
Mubarak Shah and Khusrau Shah both lavishly gifted their nobility and peasants, depleting Sultan's coffers in the process. Above all else, there was the challenge of subduing feudatory chiefs and provincial governors who were willing to challenge the Sultan's authority at any given opportunity. Ghiyas-ud-din, however, overcame all of these challenges and was successful
Domestic Policy of Ghiyas-Ud-Din Tughluq Shah
Ghiyas-ud-din's first goal was to solidify his hold on the throne and to do so, he made an effort to appease both the nobility and the populace. He adopted a harsh but also conciliatory stance towards the aristocrats. However, he made an effort to win over the nobles who had sided with Khusrau against him.
He let them continue to enjoy their prior positions while he ignored their history. He also orchestrated the unions of the Khilji family's female members. However, those nobles who were discovered to be loyalists of the previous government lost their official positions, and their jagirs were taken from them. He did, however, restore the jagirs of those who were devoid of them during the regime of Ala- ud-din.
By using these tactics, Ghiyas-ud-din was able to win the respect and allegiance of his nobles and peasants.
Ghiyas-ud-din made an effort to increase the state's financial stability by pursuing a strategy of supporting agriculture and safeguarding cultivators. His dual goals were to expand the area under cultivation and enhance the farmers' economic standing. Between 1/5 and 1/3 of the output was set as the state's fixed revenue requirement. He stipulated that the revenue would only be increased progressively, never exceeding 1/11 to 1/10 from a province in a year.
The peasants were spared from paying the revenue in the event of famine. In addition, the peasants were only expected to pay taxes on their cultivated land.
Alauddin's reign saw the abandonment of the measurement and surveying of land practices. Instead, Batai and Nasq, the previous produce-sharing systems, were brought back. Lands that were exempt from taxation were assigned to the revenue collectors. They received neither a commission nor a wage.
The Government officials were urged to care for the well-being of the peasants rather than treat them harshly. Any officer who made too much money was disciplined. Minor officer misconduct, however, went unpunished. Ghiyas-ud-din urged, however, that his officers act honourably. He enhanced communication tools. The condition of the roads was upgraded. Additionally, canals and bridges were built. He made the mail service better. To make the post-move quickly, runners or horsemen were deployed at a distance of 0.3 miles. He enhanced the legal system as well.
The Suppression of the Revolts and the Expansion of the Empire
Ghiyas-ud-din demonstrated that he was an aggressive imperialist even more than Ala-ud-din. Ghiyas-ud-din openly advocated an annexationist stance. All of the monarchs he overthrew had their lands captured by him.
He turned his focus first to Telangana. The annual tribute had not been given since Prataprudra Deva had reclaimed his freedom. In 1321 A.D., Ghiyas-ud-din dispatched his son Jauna Khan, also known as Ulugh Khan, to conquer him. Swiftly approaching Warangal without encountering any resistance, Jauna Khan assaulted the fort.
Prataprudra Deva surrendered and promised to pay the yearly payment after six months. But there was no way to reach a compromise because Jauna Khan demanded that he submit without any conditions.
According to Ibn Batuta, Jauna Khan wanted the troops and commanders to support him in his rebellion against his father, so he instructed his friend Ubaid to propagate this untrue allegation. However, the outcome was the exact opposite.
When Jauna Khan arrived in Delhi, he begged the Sultan for forgiveness. Ghiyas-ud-din pardoned him and put an end to all of the rebellious nobles. Then he sent Jauna Khan and another army to attack Warangal. In 1323 A.D., Jauna Khan invaded Warangal. He overcame Bidar and a few other forts along the road to protect his communication route with Delhi. Five months of siege ended with the capture of the Warangal Fort.
In 1323 A.D., Jauna Khan likely also attacked the far-south state of Malabar before capturing and annexing Madura.
Ghiyas-ud-din was given the chance to meddle in Bengal's affairs, which had been autonomous ever since Sultan Balban's passing. Ghiyas-ud-din, Shihab-ud-din, and Nasir-ud-din, the three brothers, had fought among themselves for the Bengali throne. In 1319 AD, Ghiyas-ud-din had vanquished Shihab-ud-din and taken control of Lakhanauti, the Bengali capital.
Death of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq
Ghiyath-ud-din perished in 1325 due to the collapse of a pavilion that his son had hurriedly built at Afghanpur (near Delhi) to welcome him before his ceremonial entry into the city on his return from his victorious battle in Bengal. It's unclear from the different versions whether this occurred accidentally or as the result of a plot by his son to seize control. Following his passing, Muhammad bin Tughlaq declared himself to be the Sultan.
