Tughlaq Dynasty — Muhammad bin Tughlaq and Firoz Shah

Overview

The Tughlaqs, of Qaraunah Turk origin, ruled for nearly a century. The dynasty produced the most remarkable — and most controversial — Sultan of Delhi, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, whom historians have called “a mixture of opposites.”

Ruler	Period	Key Features
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq	1320–1325	Founder; built Tughlaqabad
Muhammad bin Tughlaq	1325–1351	Brilliant, eccentric; controversial experiments
Firoz Shah Tughlaq	1351–1388	Administrator, builder; orthodox and bigoted
Later Tughlaqs	1388–1414	Decline; Timur’s invasion (1398)

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq (1320–1325)

• Ghazi Malik; governor of Dipalpur under Alauddin Khalji
• Defeated Khusrau Khan and ascended the throne
• Construction: Tughlaqabad Fort (massive fortification near Delhi)
• Reversed Alauddin’s harsh revenue system; moderate taxation
• Constructed canals; extended agriculture
• Bengal expedition: His son Jauna Khan (later Muhammad bin Tughlaq) successfully campaigned
• Death: killed by the collapse of a wooden pavilion arranged by his son (accident or design?) — debated

Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325–1351)

The most learned and brilliant, yet also the most controversial and unsuccessful Sultan of Delhi. He was a scholar: knew Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit; well-versed in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, logic, medicine, and poetry.

His “Five Disastrous Experiments” (Conventional View)

Modern historians like Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi argue that many of his schemes were sound in conception but failed in execution due to implementation flaws, not conceptual errors.

1. Transfer of Capital (1327)

• Moved capital from Delhi to Devagiri (renamed Daulatabad)
• Reason: Daulatabad was centrally located for governing the expanded empire (especially the Deccan)
• Execution: Ordered the entire population of Delhi to migrate
• Result: Disaster — immense suffering; people died on the journey; Delhi became a ghost town
• Eventually abandoned and capital moved back to Delhi
• Ibn Battuta described Delhi as “almost deserted”

2. Token Currency (1329–1330)

• Introduced bronze/copper coins with the same face value as silver tankas
• Reason: Silver was scarce; copper was abundant; inspired by Chinese paper money system
• Failure: The Sultan did not maintain a monopoly on minting; anyone could counterfeit copper coins
• “Every house became a mint” (Barani) — massive forgery
• Foreign merchants refused copper coins; trade collapsed
• Sultan had to withdraw the token currency, exchanging copper coins for silver — treasury drained

3. Khurasan Expedition

• Planned to conquer Khurasan (Persia and Central Asia) — raise an army of 370,000 men
• Paid soldiers for one year; then abandoned the campaign
• Reason: Conditions in Central Asia changed; the expedition became unnecessary
• Result: Huge financial loss; army dispersed

4. Qarachil Expedition

• Sent an army to the Himalayas (Kumaon-Garhwal region; Chinese border)
• Objective unclear; possibly to counter a Chinese threat or secure mountain passes
• The entire army of 10,000 was destroyed by the terrain and local attacks
• Only a few survivors returned

5. Increased Revenue in the Doab

• Raised land revenue in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab (fertile heartland) by 5–10 times
• Timing disaster: This coincided with a severe famine (1334–1335)
• Peasants abandoned lands; fled to forests; rebelled
• Sultan had to rescind the tax; provided relief (sondhar loans for seeds, wells, agriculture)
• But the damage was done — permanent loss of revenue

Rebellions During His Reign

Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign saw constant rebellions that fragmented the empire:

Region	Founder	Outcome
Bengal	Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah	Became independent (1338)
Madurai	Jalal-ud-din Ahsan Shah	Madurai Sultanate (1334)
Vijayanagara	Harihara and Bukka	Hindu empire in the South (1336)
Deccan	Hasan Gangu (Ala-ud-din Bahman Shah)	Bahmani Kingdom (1347)

By the end of his reign, the Sultanate had shrunk to just north India.

Positive Aspects

Despite his failures, Muhammad bin Tughlaq had remarkable achievements:

• Ibn Battuta’s visit: The Moroccan traveler visited his court (1333–1341); served as Qazi of Delhi for 8 years
• Muhammad bin Tughlaq sent Ibn Battuta as ambassador to the Mongol court of China
• Agricultural relief: Introduced sondhar (agricultural loans); created a separate department (Diwan-i-Amir-i-Kohi) for agricultural development
• Brought uncultivated lands under plough
• Justice: Strict administration of justice; punished even high nobles and his own relatives for crimes
• Patron of arts and sciences; maintained intellectual exchanges with the Islamic world
• Maintained the empire mostly intact despite rebellions
• Died in 1351 fighting rebels in Sindh (Thatta)

Assessment

Historians have dramatically revised the traditional view:

• Traditional (Barani, Elphinstone): “Mad king”; “a mixture of opposites”; “half-mad visionary”
• Modern (I.H. Qureshi, K.A. Nizami): An intelligent, well-intentioned ruler whose ideas were ahead of their time; failed due to poor execution and opposition of vested interests (nobility, ulema)
• Key flaw: impatience, lack of foresight about human nature, and failure to build consensus

Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388)

Firoz Shah was the opposite of his cousin Muhammad bin Tughlaq — orthodox, predictable, and a “welfare” administrator rather than an innovator.

Accession

• After Muhammad’s death, the army in Sindh was leaderless; threatened by Mongols
• Nobles persuaded Firoz (Muhammad’s cousin) to accept the throne
• He was reluctant at first; needed the assurance of nobles and ulema

Religious Policy

• Orthodoxy personified: Consulted ulema on all matters; sought Caliph’s recognition twice
• Bigoted against non-Muslims:
  • Jiziya strictly enforced (even Brahmins — previously exempt — had to pay)
  • Destroyed Hindu temples and images; banned construction of new ones
  • Persecuted Shia Muslims and “heretical” Sufis
  • Banned practice of visiting Hindu shrines
  • Banned painting and portrait-making (in line with Islamic orthodoxy)
  • Converted Hindus to Islam by offering tax exemptions
• Made grants (madad-i-maash) to religious scholars and Sufi saints on a massive scale

Administrative Reforms

• Hereditary iqtas: Made iqta assignments hereditary (reversed Alauddin’s system); led to a feudal-like nobility
• Hereditary offices: Military and civil posts became hereditary
• Army paid through assignments of village revenues (no standing cash-paid army)
• Confiscation of private properties limited: Nobles could accumulate wealth without fear
• This weakened the central state permanently

Welfare Measures

Measure	Description
Irrigation canals	Built 5 major canals: Yamuna to Hissar, Sutlej to Ghaggar, Ghaggar to Firozabad, etc.
New cities	Firozabad (Delhi), Jaunpur (in memory of Muhammad bin Tughlaq), Firozpur, Hissar
Public works	Mosques, colleges, hospitals, public baths, bridges, serais (rest houses)
Employment	Created Diwan-i-Khairat (Department of Charity) for unemployed, orphans, widows
Marriage Bureau	Arranged marriages for poor Muslim girls; provided dowries from state treasury
Slave system	Maintained 180,000 slaves; created a separate department (Diwan-i-Bandagan); employed in crafts and services

Legal Reforms

• Abolished torture and mutilation as punishments
• Abolished confiscation of property of deceased persons (except criminals)
• Compiled a legal code (Fatawa-i-Jahandari based on Barani’s advice)

Military Weakness

• Army quality declined (hereditary positions; no cash salaries)
• Bengal became independent (1353 campaign failed), again in 1359 — Firoz could not pacify it permanently
• Failed Deccan campaign: Could not subjugate Bahmanis and Vijayanagara

Architecture

Firoz Shah was a prolific builder. He was fascinated with Ashokan pillars — transported two (from Topra and Meerut) to Delhi and erected them.

Structure	Place	Features
Firoz Shah Kotla	Delhi	Fifth city of Delhi; Ashokan pillar; Jami Masjid
Madrasa at Hauz Khas	Delhi	College around Alauddin’s tank
Kotla Firoz Shah	Hissar	Fort and palaces
Buildings at Jaunpur	UP	Founded the city

Decline After Firoz Shah

• Firoz’s death (1388) unleashed succession wars among his descendants
• Two rival Sultans in Delhi at the same time
• Provinces became independent: Jaunpur (Sharqi), Malwa, Gujarat, Bengal
• Timur’s Invasion (1398): The Mongol conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) invaded India; sacked Delhi; massacred thousands
• Delhi took months to recover; Tughlaq dynasty effectively ended
• Last Tughlaq ruler died in 1414; Khizr Khan founded the Sayyid dynasty as Timur’s deputy

Sources for the Tughlaq Period

Source	Author	Description
Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi	Ziauddin Barani	History up to Firoz Shah; critique of Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Fatawa-i-Jahandari	Barani	Mirror of princes; advice on governance
Futuh-us-Salatin	Isami	Versified history from Ghaznavids to early Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Rehla (Travels)	Ibn Battuta	Detailed account of Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s court and India
Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi	Shams Siraj Afif	Reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq
Autobiography	Firoz Shah Tughlaq	Futuhat-i-Firoz Shahi — Firoz’s own account of his works