Twilight of the Sultanate c19.s3.59

c19.s3.59

Saiyyad Khizr Khan, because of his unpopularity as Tīmūr's nominee in India, always needed outside help for maintaining his position and power, and during his administration many Afghans rose to the rank of nobles of high position. One such was Sultan Shāh Lodī. During the time of Khizr Khan and his successors a large number of iqt'ās were held by the Afghans. Malik Allahadād Lodī was the governor of Sambhal,⁴⁵ Qutb Khan Afghan of Rapri and the Auhadīs of Bayana. In fact during this period and after, the history of the Afghans lay in India and not in their homeland,⁴⁶ and they constantly used to "exchange visits between Roh and Hindustan".⁴⁷ The Sultanate of Delhi was thus already dominated by the Afghans when Bahlūl Lodī finally seized power, so much so that, according to Erskine, Bahlūl Lodī “was raised to the throne by a confederacy of six or seven great Afghan chiefs”.⁴⁸