The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c16.2

c16.2

Contemporary writers lay great emphasis on the need for maintaining a strong and efficient army, for a state can never function without a coercive instrument¹. Originally, the army was, perhaps, composed of every able-bodied man who immigrated to India, but there soon grew up the idea of a division of labour. As the conquerors gradually assumed the duties of civil government, a functional division of society took place and fighting became more or less a profession. While potentially all Muslims were members of the state's fighting forces, normally, professional soldiers in the state's employ manned the army. These seem to have consisted of four classes: (i) the regular soldiers under the Sultan's direct control and in permanent employment; (ii) the troops permanently maintained by the provincial governors on the same footing as those of the king; (iii) special recruits in times of war and expeditions, and (iv) volunteers, ordinarily Muslims, who were expected to bear their own arms and enrol, for no pay but a share in the booty, for participating in what was called a *jihad*.