The Tughlaq Dynasty: 1320-1414 AD

The Tughlaq Dynasty: 1320-1414 AD

The Tughlaq Dynasty: 1320-1414 AD

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq: 1320-25

• Khusrau Khan, the last king of the Khilji dynasty, was killed by Ghazi Malik. Ghazi Malik ascended the throne, assuming the title Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq.

• He died in an accident, and his son Jauna (Ulugh Khan) succeeded him under the title Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq. Mohammad-bin Tughlaq: 1325-51

• Prince Jauna, son of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, ascended the throne in 1325.

• He tried to introduce many administrative reforms. He had 5 ambitious projects for which he became particularly debatable.

Taxation in the Doab (1326):

• The Sultan made an ill-advised financial experiment in the Doab between the Ganges and Yamuna.

• He not only increased the rate of taxation but also revived and created some additional Abwabs or cesses.

• Although the share of the state remained as in the time of Alauddin, it was fixed arbitrarily, not based on actual production.

• Prices were also fixed artificially to convert the produce into money. It is said that the increase was twentyfold, and to this were added the Chari or house tax and the Charai or pasture tax.

• The Sultan created a new department of Agriculture called Diwan-i-Kohi. The main object of this department was to bring more land under cultivation by giving direct help to peasants.

Transfer of Capital (1327):

• The most controversial step which Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq undertook soon after his accession was the so-called transfer of capital from Delhi to Devagiri.

• Devagiri had been a base for the expansion of Turkish rule in South India.

• It appears that the Sultan wanted to make Devagiri his second capital so that he might be able to control South India better.

• Devagiri was thus named Daulatabad. After a couple of years, Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq decided to abandon Daulatabad largely because he soon found that just as he could not control South India from Delhi, he could not control North India from Daulatabad.

Introduction of Token Currency (1329):

• Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq decided to introduce bronze coins, which were to have the same value as the silver coins.

• Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq might have been successful if he could have prevented people from forging new coins.

• He was not able to do so, and soon the new coins began to be greatly devalued in markets.

• Finally, Y Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq decided to withdraw the token currency. He promised to exchange silver pieces for bronze coins.

Proposed Khurasan Expedition (1329):

• The Sultan had a vision of universal conquest. He decided to conquer Khurasan and Iraq and mobilised a huge army for the purpose.

• He was encouraged to do so by Khurasani nobles who had taken shelter in his court. Moreover, there was instability in Khurasan on account of the unpopular rule of Abu Said. This project was also abandoned.

Qarachil Expedition (1330):

• This expedition was launched in the Kumaon hills in the Himalayas, allegedly to counter Chinese incursions.

• It also appears that the expedition was directed against some refractory tribes in the Kumaon-Garhwal region with the object of bringing them under the Delhi Sultanate.

• The first attack was a success, but when the rainy season set in, the invaders suffered terribly.

• His five projects led to revolts. His last days were spent in checking the revolts (altogether 36 revolts in 25years).

• He died in Fati while campaigning in Sindh against Taghi, a Turkish slave.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq: 1351-88

• He was a cousin of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq. After his death, the nobles and theologians of the court selected Firoz Shah as the next Sultan.

• After his accession, Firoz Tughlaq was faced with the problem of preventing the imminent breakup of the Delhi Sultanate.

• He adopted the policy of trying to appease the nobility, army, and theologians and of asserting his authority over only such areas as would be easily administered from the centre.

• He therefore did not attempt to reassert his authority over South India and the eccan.

• He decreed that whenever a noble died, his son should be allowed to succeed to his position, including his Iqta, and if he had no sons, his son-in-law and, in his absence, his slaveweres to succeed.

• Firoz extended the principle of heredity to the army. Soldiers were allowed to rest in peace and to send in their place their sons.

• The soldiers were not paid in cash but by assignments on the land revenue of villages (Vajeha). This novel technique of payment led to many abuses.

• Firoz tried to win over the theologian, proclaiming that he was a true Muslim king and the state under him was truly Islamic. In order to keep the theologians satisfied, a number of them were appointed to high offices.

• He tried to ban practices which the orthodox theologians considered non-Islamic. Thus, he prohibited the practice of Muslim women going out to worship at the grave of saints.

• It was during the time of Firoz that Jizya became a separate tax. Firoz refused to exempt the Brahmanas from payment of Jizya since this was not provided for in the Shariat.

• The new system of taxation was according to the Quran. Four kinds of taxes sanctioned by the Quran were imposed. These taxes were Kharaj, Zakat, Jizya, and Khums.

• Kharaj was the land tax, which was equal to 1/10 of the produce of the land. Zakat was 2% tax on property. Jizya was levied on non-Muslims, and Khams was 1/5 of the booty captured during war.

• In order to encourage agriculture, the Sultan paid a lot of attention to irrigation. Firoz repaired several canals and imposed Haque-i-Sharb or Hasil-i-Sharb (water tax).

• He was a great builder. The cities of Fatehabad, Hisar, Jaunpur, and Firozabad stand to his credit.

• The city of Jaunpur was founded in the memory of Mohammad bin Tughlaq and named after his nickname 'Jauna Khan'.

• The two pillars of Ashoka, one from Topra (Haryana) and the other from Meerut (U.P.), were brought to Delhi. The Sultan established at Delhi a hospital described as Dar-ul-Shifa.

• A new department of Diwan-i-Khairat was set up to make provisions for the marriage of poor girls.

• Another step that Firoz took was both economic and political.

• He ordered his officials that whenever they attacked a place, they should select handsome and well-born young boys and send them to the Sultan as slaves.

• However, his rule was marked by peace and tranquillity, and the credit for it goes to his Prime Minister Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul. He died in 1388.

After Firoz Shah Tughlaq: 1388-1414

• The Tughlaq dynasty could not survive much after Firoz Shah's death. The Malwa, Gujarat, and Sharqi (Jaunpur) Kingdoms broke away from the Sultanate.

• Timur's Invasio: 1398-99-Timur, the lame, a Turkish Chief and cruel conqueror from Mongolia and descendant of Chengiz Khan, invaded India in 1398 during the reign of Mahmud Shah Tughlaq, the last ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty.

• Timur's army mercilessly sacked and plundered Delhi.

• Timur returned to Central Asia, leaving a nominee named Khizr Khan to rule over Punjab. In 1404, he died while on his way to conquer China.

Final Thoughts

The Tughlaq Dynasty (1320–1414 AD) marked a period of ambitious reforms, territorial struggles, and eventual decline in the history of the Delhi Sultanate.

Founded by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, it reached its height under Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq, whose visionary yet poorly executed policies—such as the transfer of capital, token currency, and taxation reforms—led to widespread unrest and revolts.

His successor, Firoz Shah Tughlaq, adopted a more conservative and stabilizing approach, focusing on public works, Islamic law, and administrative continuity. Despite his efforts, the empire weakened after his death, paving the way for regional independence movements. The devastating Timur invasion (1398) further shattered the dynasty, leading to its final collapse and setting the stage for the rise of the Sayyid Dynasty.