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History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c12.s1: The Court

History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c12.s1

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English

Contents

The Court

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Like other oriental monarchs Muhammad maintained a splendid court which was an inevitable necessity in the middle ages. The author of the Masālik observes with pardonable exaggeration that no country in the world could be compared with India in respect of the pomp and splendour displayed by the sovereign in his progress and habitations and the power of his empire. At the court of Muhammad Tughluq there were twelve hundred philosophers, ten thousand falconers who rode on their horses and carried birds trained for hawking, three thousand beaters,¹²³ five hundred table companions, twelve hundred musicians who did not include the slaves and maids well up in music, one thousand slaves charged with the duty of teaching music, and one thousand poets proficient in the Arabic, Persian and Indian languages.¹²⁴ These figures of the Masālik are in most cases uncorroborated, but although they are exaggerated they indicate the Sultan's magnificence. All these men were excellent in their branches and received handsome salaries and presents from the Sultan. Some of them received grants of land, yielding an income of twenty thousand to forty thousand tankahs, in addition to the rewards and gifts which the Sultan conferred upon those who attended his court. The companions of the table and musicians did not all come together at once, but according to their turn on the roll, and so did the Dabirs, lawyers and other minor officials of the state. The poets were presented before the Sultan several times in the year at stated intervals such as the two fêtes and the first day of Ramzan. Sometimes they waited upon him to present him with odes to felicitate him on the acquisition of victory in battle.¹²⁵ Ibn Batūtah also speaks of the grandeur of the Sultan and in the odes of Badr-i-Chāch we obtain a glimpse of the might and majesty of his court.

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¹²³ The Arabic Text of the Masālik has beaters and not a dealer as Elliot translates it. Quatremère gives a correct translation. Quatremère, XIII, p. 185.

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¹²⁴ Elliot, III, p. 579. The figures given by Elliot in his translation are different . . . much smaller than those given in the text. I have followed the Bibliothèque Impériale text. I do not know why Elliot alters the figures. Quatremère follows the text with greater correctness. Uncorroborated as these figures are I am inclined to think that they are in some cases exaggerated.

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¹²⁵ Masālik, Paris MS. Quatremère, XIII, p. 186.

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The Sultan held two durbārs—the Durbār-i-ʿām and the Durbār-i-Khas which were characterised by great magnificence and liberality. The author of the Masālik relying upon the information supplied to him by Muhammad Khojandi, who had been in the service of the Sultan of Dihli, writes that the Sultan held a special session of the Durbār-i-ʿām on Tuesday in an open plain

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The Durbār-i-ʿām or the Public Audience Hall.

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where he received petitions and complaints from the general public, and adds that the ordinary sessions of the Durbār were held every day in the morning and evening.¹²⁶ Ibn Batūṭah who attended these Durbārs does not mention the special session alluded to by the author of the Masālik, though he mentions a small durbār of justice, attended by a few leading officers, but he gives a detailed account of the Durbār-i-‘ām which was held in the thousand-pillared palace with great pomp and splendour both in the morning and evening. The special session of the Durbari-‘ām mentioned by Shihāb-al-Din and the Durbār-i-Inṣāf (of justice) of Ibn Batūṭah do not seem to be identical, for there is much divergence between the accounts of the two authorities, although the functions of both are similar. The Durbār-i-Inṣāf was something like a supreme court of justice, which was attended by a few high officials of the crown. The other was a public levee where the Sultan summoned all his leading officers and secretaries and it was much grander in appearance than the somewhat solemn Durbār of justice.

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¹²⁶ Masālik, Paris MS. Ibn Batutah says that the Durbār-i-‘ām was generally held after the prayer of ‘asar (evening), but sometimes it was held at chasht time . . . . the middle hour between the sunrise and the meridian.

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The Durbār on Tuesday was not such an imposing ceremony as the durbār on other days. All the officers of the king stood around him with the exception of the Khans, the Sadr-i-Jahan and two dabirs, who alone were allowed to sit in front of the Sultan. The durbār was attended by Ḥājibs, maliks, amirs and other officers of note. The palace in which the durbār was held had seven gates one after another. Nobody was allowed to enter the durbār with arms of any kind and a careful search of the persons of the intending visitors was held at the gates.¹²⁷ At the first gate were posted a number of sentinels who blew a bugle as soon as a Khan, Malik or amir of distinction approached the palace. The bugle was sounded to inform the king of the visitor's arrival. Every one who wished to enter the palace had to walk on foot after passing the third gate and the sound of the bugle was continued until he had reached the seventh gate. The same thing was done in the case of those who were privileged to ride up to the sixth gate. When all the dignitaries were assembled, a general permission was given to the members of the public to make petitions to the king if they chose to do so. The people presented their petitions to the Hājibs who handed them over to their chief, who in turn submitted them to the Sultan for orders. The Qazis, Wazirs and Dabīrs who sat in a secluded part of the room, where the Sultan's eye could not reach them, signed the farmans and recorded all information of a confidential nature. When the Durbār was over, and the king had left, the chief Hājib took the petitions to the Dabīrs and then the final orders were issued.¹²⁸

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¹²⁷ The author of the Masālik corroborates this statement. He writes that he was informed by Khwajah Ahmad bin Khawajah Omar bin Musāfir that nobody was allowed to go armed in the Durbār. Not even a knife was permitted. It was the king's Mir-Munshi who was allowed to carry arms on his person. The Sultan was carefully guarded.

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¹²⁸ Masālik, Paris MS.

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The king sat on a raised dais in the Hall of Audience. When he had taken his seat the Hājibs and Naqībs uttered the word Bismillah (بسم الله). In front of the king stood the Wazir and behind him stood in order his secretaries, the chief Hājibs, the deputy chief Hājibs, the Khās-Hājib, the deputy Khas-Hājib, the Vakīl-al-Dar and his deputy, the Sharaf-al-Hujjāb, the Sayyid-al-Hujjāb and the naqībs who were a hundred in number. Behind the king stood Malik Qabūlah described by the Moor as a wealthy and influential official whose duty was to ward off the flies from the royal person.¹²⁹ To the right and left of the Sultan were posted two hundred young men well-equipped with arms, swords, shields and bows in their hands to guard the person of their sovereign. Besides these, there were in the Audience Hall :—

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¹²⁹ Ibn Batūtah, III, p. 231.

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1. The chief Qazi.
2. The chief Khatīb.
3. Other Qazis.
4. The famous lawyers.
5. Sayyids.
6. Shaikhs.
7. Brothers and son-in-law of the Sultan.
8. The big amirs.
9. Foreigners.
10. Envoys.
11. Officers of the army.

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When the officers and leading men had assembled, sixty horses with saddles and bridles of white and black colour all decked with gold were brought, half of whom were made to stand to the right and the other half to the left in such a manner that the king may be able to see them. Then fifty well-trained elephants covered with embroidered silk, with their tusks encased in iron, were presented. When the Hājib repeated the word *Bismillah*, they bowed their heads before the Sultan. Behind all these stood the royal slaves in a compact body equipped with swords and shields.

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The Durbār had an ecclesiastical atmosphere about it. Probably even the liberal-minded Muhammad could not wholly set aside the time-honoured observances of the orthodox school, for when a Hindu appeared before the Sultan to make obeisance, the Hājibs and *naqībs* uttered the phrase *Hadāk allah* (may God bring you to the right path) instead of *Bismillah* obviously to emphasise the distinction between a believer and an unbeliever.

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Presents were offered to the Sultan in the Durbār. The visitor, who offered presents, bowed thrice before approaching the royal throne and then bowed again, when he reached the place occupied by the Hājibs. If he was a man of position, he was allowed to stand in a line with the Mir Hājib, otherwise behind him. The Sultan talked to him with great gentleness, embraced him affectionately and to gratify him he sent for some of the things presented, if he deemed him worthy of such honour. Sometimes he carefully examined the articles presented and admired them. To signify royal pleasure, a robe of honour was presented to the visitor and an allowance called *sarshoi* was granted to him in accordance with his rank and status. When an officer of the state made a present, or the governor of a province brought his tribute, he offered it in the shape of gold vessels or bricks which were called *Khasht*. The slaves and servants of the Sultan took these things in their hands one by one and stood before him. Elephants and horses were presented to the Sultan decked with all their trappings and equipage, and these were followed by mules and camels, all laden with abundant gold and precious goods. Most of these presents were given away by the generous Sultan to his guests and on one occasion he gave a large portion of the presents of Khwajah Jahan to Haji Gāon, cousin of Abu Sa‘id of Persia, who happened to be present at the time.¹³⁰

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¹³⁰ Ibn Batūṭah, III, p. 227.

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Muhammad Tughluq had a large number of slaves in his household, each of whom received a monthly allowance of two *mans* of wheat and rice and a daily allowance of 3 seers of meat with all the other necessary articles of common use. In addition to his provisions he was given by the state a stipend of ten *tankahs* per mensem and four suits of clothes every year. There was a corps of slaves and the author of the *Masālik* writes that when the king marched in state, he was accompanied by two hundred thousand slaves which seems to be an exaggerated number in view of the fact that when the number of slaves rose to the high figure of one lakh eighteen thousand in the time of Firuz Tughluq, it was looked upon as something abnormal, and after the Sultan's death as one of the causes of the disintegration of the empire. The conquests of the Sultan brought a large number of prisoners who were all offered for sale and did not cost more than eight *tankahs*. Women were also captured in War and were distributed among the officers of the state. There was an abundance of slave-girls.¹³¹ Slaves were employed as domestic servants and also as spies who were sent among the officers and reported to the Sultan what happened in their homes. The lot of slaves under Muhammad Tughluq was not unhappy. The practice of manumission was prevalent, and on an appointed day during the ‘Id festival the Sultan granted freedom to his slaves. Female slaves were also set free and married. Some of the slaves showed great proficiency in music and other social accomplishments and rose to high positions in the state. Malik Maqbūl and Taghi were raised to high dignity notwithstanding their low origin. But ordinary slaves were treated like articles of merchandise, and were included in royal gifts and rewards. These facts enable us to understand the disproportionate growth of the slave department and the undue predominance acquired by the slave fief-holders.

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¹³¹ Ibn Batūṭah, III, p. 388.

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The royal kitchen was an elaborate establishment and the Sultan's dinners were attended by distinguished men of all classes. The author of the *Masālik* was informed by Shaik Abu Bakr bin Khallāl Bazzi that 2,500 cows and 2,000 sheep besides fat horses and birds of all kinds were daily slaughtered in the royal kitchen. Learning, rank and wealth were all represented at his table, and the guests were sumptuously entertained. Both Ibn Batūṭah and the author of the *Masālik* speak of two kinds of dinners—the private and public. At his private meals were present his cousin Malik Fīruz and distinguished amirs like ‘Imad-al-Mulk Sartez, the *amir majlis* and those foreigners towards whom the Sultan was especially well-disposed. To these were added 2,000 learned lawyers with whom the Sultan discussed points of theology and jurisprudence. The royal dinners had their peculiar etiquette. When the Sultan wished to show special favour to any person present, he himself offered him a cake which he gratefully accepted and saluted the royal host with his right hand.

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The public dinner which, according to the *Masālik*, was attended by 20,000 persons, was a more complicated affair. The invitees assembled in the Hall of Audience where food was brought by the royal servants. The latter were preceded by the *naqīb-al-nuqbah* with a gold staff in his hand and he was followed by his deputy and other *naqībs* who shouted *Bismillah* as they entered the Hall of Audience. As soon as the voice of the *naqībs* was heard, all rose from their places except the Sultan. When the food was placed upon the floor, the *naqībs* stood in rows and their chief began to pronounce eulogies upon the Sultan. Then he kissed the ground and so did the other *naqībs* as well as the guests present. Nobody was allowed to move or speak until the chief *naqib* had finished his eulogy of the Sultan. The names of the guests were recorded by clerks (*mutsaddis*) and the list was taken by a scion of the royal family to the Sultan who appointed one of the nobles present to take charge of the dinner. The guests were seated in the prescribed manner. In the centre sat the Qazis, Khatibs, Shaikhs, Sayyids and other learned men and then the king’s relatives and the principal nobles. Every guest occupied his allotted seat to avoid confusion. The keepers of drinks (*Sharabdārs*) entered first with cups of gold, silver and copper full of syrup. When the drinks had been disposed of, the *Hājibs* cried out *Bismillah* and the whole party fell to the viands, served in the plates before them. When the dinner was over, betel leaves and nuts were offered, and every one present got a handful of nuts and fifteen betel leaves tied together by a thread of red silk. This was followed by the usual ejaculation of the *Hājib* when all stood up. The *amir* in charge of the dinner kissed the ground and the guests did likewise.

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The state worked through these institutions to maintain itself in the midst of hostile peoples. The Sultan himself supervised the activity of the various departments and his liberal education and practical experience fitted him eminently for the task. The machinery of the administration improved considerably in his hands and the crude and half-formed polity of ‘Ala-al-Din reached a definite stage of development under him. The Mughal raids were over, and the peace and order, made possible by the cessation of these nomadic hordes, helped the evolution of the institutions of government. The fame of the court of Muhammad reached distant lands, and foreigners from Asiatic countries came to India to witness the splendour of the ruler of Hind. Most of them entered his service, but instead of serving him with fidelity and devotion abused the confidence he reposed in them, and stirred up strife and insurrection. The native nobility, paralysed by the exclusive policy of the Sultan, lost its former virility and vigour. Parties began to form; and the mediocre nobles, deprived of the honours which they considered as their due, banded themselves together to oppose the Sultan and checkmate his designs. The monarchy which needed for its strength the united devotion of all the chiefs and officers thus weakened the foundation of its own power and created difficulties against which it contended in vain for a little less than two decades.

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A résumé.

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But a careful examination of the working of the administration reveals to us the fact that the Muslim state had acquired a settled form and that Muslim armies were no longer “fanaticism on the march,” as they had been under the previous rulers of Dihli. Military rigour was lessened, and the orderly conditions of life had facilitated the growth of progressive ideals of political duty. The Hindus were better treated, and the awakened sense of responsibility in a section of the governing class had begun to suggest, however dimly it may be, the need for toleration and a better social understanding. The problems of a growing empire forced upon its ruler a policy of live and let live, and that is why Muhammad Tughluq abstained from the systematic persecution of the Hindus, whom he not only treated well but admitted some of them in his service. Restrictions were imposed on Sati, an unprecedented step, which speaks volumes for his enlightenment and liberal spirit. The wealth and riches of the empire were great; but the capital alone was the centre of life and culture. To the court flocked the nobles and dignitaries of the empire, vying with one another in displaying their magnificence, wits and literary men like Badr-i-Chāch and Amir Hasan Dihlvi, singing the praises of their royal benefactor, and opulent merchants from the far-off countries of Asia, bringing their valuable presents to the Sultan.

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But in the interior of the country, there was little splendour, and Ibn Batūṭah mentions desolate villages and waste lands stretching for miles without a human habitation. The hardships of the rural folk were aggravated by the severe famine that raged in the country and though the administration devised benevolent measures to afford relief, the people suffered and died in large numbers. There was no complete order in the empire, and disturbances and riots were frequent, and sometimes they occurred not far from the capital. To facilitate communication between the various provinces there was a well-regulated post, but outside the capital the police arrangements were not satisfactory, and travellers were exposed to great risk for the highways were not safe. Ibn Batūṭah relates the story of a severe fight between the Hindus and the Muslims of Jalali, a village near Kol, not far from modern Aligarh in which the traveller himself took part.¹³² The Hindus with a force of one thousand horse and 3,000 foot attacked the Muslims, and in the mêlée that ensued, Ibn Batūṭah’s party lost 33 horse and 50 foot. The Sultan was informed of this outbreak of lawlessness and the death of Kafur, the keeper of drinks, but no reinforcement seems to have been sent. The Hindus renewed their attacks and inflicted heavy losses upon the Musalman governor of Jalali. Ibn Batūṭah himself was captured by the rebels and was able to effect his deliverance after much difficulty.

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He speaks of another disturbance at ‘Alāpūr near Gwalior, where the Hindus hoisted the flag of revolt and slew the local governor Badr Habshi or Abyssinian who was a valiant soldier but an oppressive ruler.¹³³ The local governors often did as they pleased and freely oppressed the people under their charge as long as they successfully ingratiated themselves with the court. Frequently he was furnished with a *carte blanche* by the central power, as is illustrated by the dealings of ‘Imad-al-Mulk Sartez, the governor of Multan with the grandson of Rukn-al-Din.¹³⁴ It is true, the Sultan severely punished the contumacious conduct of governors and subjects alike; but where his eyes could not reach, matters were usually managed to suit the convenience of the local despot. It is unnecessary to refer to the brutalities of the legal system, for in the middle ages the laws were cruel and laid down drastic penalties for the most trivial offences. The idea of punishment as a means of reforming the wrongdoer has been a slow conquest of civilised jurisprudence, and in the middle ages men attached no importance to the value of human life and freely practised mutilation and torture. Imprisonment was seldom resorted to. Possibly it was considered a waste of money to feed criminals at the expense of the state. Muhammad was sternly just, but he was terribly cruel in his punishments, and as long as he lived, he enforced his commands with the utmost severity.

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But in spite of his vigilance corruption existed in the administration. The officers were venal and, perhaps, bureaucratic opinion did not concern itself with fostering public probity, for Ibn Batūṭah himself a judicial officer, personally known to the Sultan, was asked to pay a bribe by a fellow officer who was afterwards severely punished when the Sultan came to know of his dishonest intentions.¹³⁵ The Sultan constituted himself into the Supreme Court of Appeal, and was ever ready to give prompt redress to the aggrieved persons, and provided every facility to the suitors, who wished to lay their cases before him. No class was sacrosanct in his eyes, and the privileged orders received no indulgence from him. Notwithstanding the shortcomings that have been pointed out before, the ceaseless activity of the administration was in a large measure due to the energy and intrepidity of the Sultan. He undertook works of public utility; hospitals, schools and monasteries were established for the relief of the poor. The monasteries had a regular staff of officers to carry on their manage-

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¹³² Ibn Batūṭah, IV, pp. 8-9. Jalali is a village 7 miles from Kol in the Aligarh district in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Ibn Batūṭah has given a detailed account of this fight between the Hindus and Muhammadans of Kol.

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¹³³ Ibn Batūṭah, IV, p. 31. Alāpūr is Jaurā ‘Alāpūr. It is situated to the W. N. W. of Gwalior, where Sir Robert Napier gained a victory over the Gwalior insurgents in 1858. Cathay and the Way Thither, II, p. 414. The town is mentioned by Ibn Batūṭah. From Ibn Batūṭah’s account it is clear that the town is ‘Alāpūr in the Gwalior territory now. He writes: A day’s

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¹³⁴ Ibn Batūṭah, III, pp. 305-6.

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¹³⁵ Ibn Batūṭah, III, pp. 413-14.

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journey from this place is the territory of a Hindu prince, Kasham by name, whose capital was Jambil (or Jambal in another text). This prince laid siege to Gwalior, but he was killed after the siege. Ibn Batūṭah, IV, p. 29.

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ment under state supervision. The founder of a private monastery was allowed to appoint his heir *Mutwalli* or manager. If there were no heirs the duties of a *mutwalli* were entrusted to the Qazi. An industrial department was maintained by the state, and the author of the *Masālik* writes that the Sultan had a manufactory in which 4,000 silk weavers were employed, who manufactured cloth for all kinds of dresses for the amirs and officers of the court. Besides these there were 4,000 manufacturers of golden tissues who prepared gold brocades for the use of the royal ladies and the wives of the nobles.¹³⁶ Education was not neglected and though the state did nothing beyond making grants of land to learned men there were a thousand schools in Dihli, only one of which belonged to the Shafis and all the rest to the Hanafis.¹³⁷ The Sultan took great interest in medicine and *Dāru-s-Shafās* (hospitals) were established at Dihli, where medicines were freely distributed to the poor. The piratical gangs of Gogo¹³⁸ were put down effectively, and commerce was secured by establishing a firm hold on the coast of Kathiawar. The commercial cities of Broach and Cambay carried a busy trade and received full protection from the state. A separate officer called the *Malik-al-tajjār* was appointed to look after these harbours. The Hindus were not wantonly persecuted and in certain cases they were admitted to offices in the state.

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¹³⁶ The Paris MS. of the *Masālik* has 4,000 while Elliot (III, p. 578) has only 400. Quatremère follows the text, XIII, p. 183.

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¹³⁷ *Masālik*, Paris MS.

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¹³⁸ Gogo is situated in north lat. 21° 39' east 72° 15'. Bombay Gazetteer, IV, p. 339. Gogha first appears as the port of Gundigad a place of importance in the Vallabhi kingdom. It was captured by Muhammad Tughluq in 1347. The chief of Gogha was killed and his possessions were entrusted to his son Dunkarji. *Rāsmālā*, 289.

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