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The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c22: 16. The Lodi Dynasty

The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c22

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16. The Lodi Dynasty

Bahlol Lodi, 1451—1489

His early life

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Bahlol Lodi, the founder of the first Pathan state of Delhi, belonged to the Sahu Khail section of the Lodi clan, an important sub-division of the Ghilzai tribe of Afghanistan. His grandfather, Malik Bahram, had migrated to Multan during the time of Firoz Tughluq and taken service under Malik Mardan Daulat, governor of that province. He had five sons, two of whom, namely, Malik Sultan Shah and Malik Kala, attained some fame. Bahlol was the son of Malik Kala who had vanquished Jasrath Khokhar and set himself up as an independent chief. Bahlol’s uncle, Sultan Shah, was appointed governor of Sarhind by Khizr Khan in 1419 and was given the title of Islam Khan. He succeeded in uniting the Afghans of the Panjab under his leadership. Before his death he nominated Bahlol as his successor in preference to his own son, Qutub Khan. On his death Bahlol became the governor of Sarhind. He was allowed to add Lahore to his charge. Being a clever and ambitious officer, he increased the number of his troops and soon became one of the front-rank governors in the Sayyid kingdom. He hastened to the assistance of his master, Muhammad Shah, who was threatened by Mahmud Khalji of Malwa. In reward for this service Bahlol was given the title of Khan-i-Khana. But the Afghan leader was not content with the position of a mere provincial governor. His ambition was to seize the throne of Delhi. His opportunity came when Ala-ud-din Alam Shah quarrelled with his minister, Hamid Khan, and attempted to take his life. The infuriated minister invited Bahlol to Delhi to take charge of the royal army. The king had already betaken himself to Badaun. The power at the court now passed into the hands of the Lodi chief.

His accession

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Being an aspirant to full-fledged sovereignty, Bahlol would not share power with the wazir, Hamid Khan. But the direction of affairs was in the hands of the old minister and it was dangerous to pick an open quarrel with him. The cunning Afghan had, therefore, recourse to stratagem to satisfy his lust for power. He advised his followers, who were cent percent Afghans, to behave like simpletons in the presence of Hamid Khan. Bahlol, too, showed studied courtesy and obsequious servility to the Khan. He made him believe that he had no ambition and was satisfied with the command of the army. These professions and the simpleton-like conduct of the Afghan troops duped Hamid Khan who permitted Bahlol and his followers daily access to the audience hall. One day Bahlol, accompanied by his men, went to pay his respects to the wazir. In the course of the audience, Bahlol’s cousin, Qutub Khan, took out chains and putting them round the prime minister’s hands said that it was necessary in the interests of the State that he should take rest for some time. Hamid Khan was shocked and asked the reason for such treacherous behaviour. Qutub Khan replied that the Afghans had no faith in him, as he had been disloyal to his former master. After having imprisoned the wazir, Bahlol wrote to Ala-ud-din Alam Shah to return to Delhi. But the timid Sayyid monarch, who was afraid of jeopardising his life at Delhi, declined the offer by replying that his father had called Bahlol ‘son’ and he was, therefore, like his elder brother. Bahlol liked nothing better. In fact, the offer to Ala-ud-din was not sincere. He now carried out his enthronement on April 19, 1451 and had his name proclaimed in the *khutba*.

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Bahlol was a shrewd politician who clearly realised his limitations. As his power almost exclusively depended upon his Afghan followers, he took steps to keep them satisfied. He behaved as if he were one of the Afghan peers. He did not take his seat on the throne, but sat on the carpet in front of it which he allowed to be shared by his nobles. In order further to strengthen his position, he tried to win the confidence of the army by generous gifts and rewards. He invited the Afghans from his original homeland and allotted large tracts of land in Jagir to them. He held out promise of promotion to the leading members of his tribe.

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Anxious to set his house in order and reduce to submission those of the nobles and governors who did not recognise his authority, Bahlol decided to follow a strict policy of militarism. He undertook a series of expeditions to the neighbouring districts in order to overawe the rebel governors into submission. First, he proceeded against Ahmad Khan Mewati who ruled over the huge territory known as Mewat, consisting of the modern Gurgaon district, the present district of Alwar and part of Bharatpur and Agra districts. Ahmad Khan was frightened and submitted. The Sultan deprived him of seven of his parganas which were annexed to Delhi. The next expedition was directed against Dariya Khan of Sambhal. To him, too, the Sultan showed indulgence inspite of his past conduct. Dariya Khan submitted and was deprived of seven of his parganas. Next, Bahlol settled his scores with Isa Khan of Koil (modern Aligarh) who was allowed to retain his possessions. Mubarak Khan, the governor of Sakit, and Raja Pratap Singh of Mainpuri and Bhogaon, were similarly confirmed in their possessions. His next expedition was directed against Qutub Khan, son of Husain Khan Afghan, who offered resistance. He was, however, compelled to acknowledge the suzerainty of Delhi and pay his obeisance to the Sultan. Accordingly, he was allowed to remain in possession of Rewari. Bahlol had to face some difficulty in the collection of revenue from the Doab, but eventually he succeeded in settling Etawah, Chandawar and other districts of that region. There was some trouble in Multan and Sarhind which, too, was overcome. Thus, by his policy of firmness, the Sultan succeeded in restoring order and discipline in the small kingdom of Delhi.

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Ahmad Yadgar, the author of the *Tarikh-i-Salatin-i-Afghana*, maintains that Bahlol undertook the conquest of Chittor and reduced the Rana to submisson. This seems to be improbable, for in between Mewar and Delhi lay the territory of some independent chiefs who were not subdued by the Lodi monarch. Moreover, Ahmad Yadgar is not supported by other reliable authorities. Being a practical politician, Bahlol had realised the impossibility of recovering the lost provinces of the old Sultanate of Delhi. He had, therefore, refrained from undertaking aggressive expeditions against his powerful neighbours who were once vassals of Firoz Tughluq.

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He was, however, anxious to reduce the kingdom of Jaunpur to submission and to annex it to Delhi. For this policy of Bahlol the ruler of Jaunpur was primarily to blame. Mahmud Shah of the Sharqi dynasty had married a daughter of Sultan Ala-ud-din, the last king of the Sayyid dynasty. This proud lady, anxious to avenge her father, urged her husband to attack Delhi and drive Bahlol out of the imperial city. Moreover, Mahmud was invited by some disaffected nobles of Bahlol's court. In view of these reasons Sultan Mahmud Sharqi invaded Delhi at the head of a powerful force consisting of one lakh and seventy thousand horses and one thousand four hundred elephants. Bahlol, who was absent on an expedition to Sarhind, quickly returned to his capital on the news of the invader's approach. On the way, he was opposed by a detachment of the Sharqi army under Fateh Khan. As the armies came face to face, Bahlol's cousin, Qutub Khan Lodi, persuaded Dariya Khan Lodi, who was a commander of the Sharqi army, to desert Mahmud and not fight against his own kinsmen. Dariya Khan acted according to this advice which considerably reduced Fateh Khan's strength. Fateh Khan was defeated and killed. Mahmud Sharqi was obliged to abandon his project and to withdraw to Jaunpur. This was only the first of a series of wars between Delhi and Jaunpur. A little later, Mahmud Sharqi was again goaded by his queen to seize Delhi. So he proceeded towards Etawah. Bahlol sent an army to obstruct his progress. Eventually, a peace was made by which the parties agreed that both the rulers should retain possession of the territories that had belonged to their predecessors and that Bahlol should restore the Jaunpur elephants captured during the last war. Mahmud promised to dismiss Jauna Shah from his service. The treaty was not respected by the contracting parties. The ruler of Jaunpur resisted Bahlol's attempt to take possession of Shamsabad which was given to him according to the treaty. Hence a fresh clash became inevitable. In the course of the war Qutub Khan Lodi was taken prisoner. But, as Mahmud Shah died the next day, a peace was again made with Jaunpur. The restoration of Qutub Khan was not included in the articles of the treaty. So it became necessary for Bahlol to undertake a fresh expedition against Jaunpur during the course of which he captured Jalal Khan, a member of the Sharqi ruling family. Meanwhile, there occurred a revolution at Jaunpur which gave the throne of that kingdom to Husain Shah. There was now a four years' peace between the parties, and Qutub Khan and Jalal Khan were released. Soon after, however, the peace was broken, as Husain Shah invaded Delhi and defeated the Afghan army at Chandawar. He annexed Etawah and was joined by Ahmad Khan Mewati and Isa Khan of Bayana who were vassals of Bahlol. At this time Bahlol was away on an expedition to Multan. The disquieting news from Delhi compelled him to return quickly to his capital and make a peace with Husain Shah. Very soon after this, Husain Shah again invaded Delhi and captured some territory near Badaun. He gained some initial success; but in view of the resistance by the Delhi army, he was obliged to agree to a peace. The river Ganga was fixed as the boundary between the two states. While the Jaunpur army was retreating after the agreement, Bahlol treacherously attacked it and captured its baggage and treasure. Husain’s queen, Malka-i-Jahan, fell into his hands. He was chivalrous enough to treat her with respect, and sent her back to Jaunpur. There was, again, an agreement which was this time violated by Husain. But he was defeated and compelled to take shelter with the raja of Gwalior. With reinforcements from Gwalior he again proceeded towards Delhi, but Bahlol inflicted upon him a series of defeats.

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These successes emboldened Bahlol to march upon Jaunpur. Husain opposed him and a prolonged conflict, lasting for several years, followed. Eventually, Husain was beaten and Bahlol annexed his kingdom and placed his son, Barbak Shah, on its throne. This was Bahlol’s greatest achievement. The success against Husain Shah brought great prestige to him and enabled him to compel the chiefs of Kalpi, Dholpur, Bari and Alipur to acknowledge his suzerainty.

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Bahlol’s next undertaking was an expedition to Gwalior. Raja Man Singh of Gwalior was obliged to make him a present of eighty lakhs of tankas. While he was returning from Gwalior, he fell ill and died near Jalali in the middle of July 1489.

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Bahlol Lodi was a brave and intrepid soldier and a successful general. Possessed of sturdy commonsense, realism and sagacity, he realised the possibilities of the time and set before him a task that was commensurate with his ability and resources. He did not entertain the ambition of reconquering provinces of the Sultanate of Delhi, like the Dakhin or Bangal or even Rajasthan and Malwa. His most important objective was to re-establish Delhi’s control over the Doab and the surrounding districts, and also over Jaunpur. He had no time to re-organise the civil administration. But, both as a military leader and as an administrator, he was superior to his immediate predecessors, from the death of Firoz to that of Ala-ud-din Alam Shah. He knew full well that his Afghan nobles and followers, who were accustomed to tribal and individual independence, would not tolerate the revival of the Turkish theory of sovereignty. Bahlol, therefore, never gave himself airs and declared publicly that he considered himself to be the noble of his nobles. He did not take his seat upon the throne and never insisted on his nobles standing in his court. He allowed his chief nobles to share his carpet. If any of his top-ranking nobles was offended, Bahlol would go to his residence and try hard to pacify him. He would, sometimes, remove his sword from his waist and place it before the offended party. He would even go to the extent of taking off his turban and saying that if his nobles thought him unworthy, they might choose anyone else as their king. Such a policy worked very well, throughout his reign, which was fairly long. Bahlol had hardly any trouble from his powerful Afghan followers.

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This Lodi Sultan was a kind-hearted man. It is said that he never turned away a beggar or a poor man from his gate. He was also chivalrous to the fair sex. When queen Malika-i-Jahan of Sultan Husain Shah of Jaunpur fell into his hands, he treated her with great courtesy and consideration and sent her back to her husband under a powerful escort. He would administer justice evenly, according to his lights. He was not unnecessarily fond of wealth. Though himself not well-educated, Bahlol is said to have patronised scholars and men of learning. He was devoted to his religion, but was not fanatical like his son and successor, Sikandar.

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Bahlol has two main achievements to his credit. The first was the restoration of the credit and prestige of the Delhi kingdom which had fallen considerably low under the later Tughluqs and their successors, the Sayyids. His second achievement was the conquest and annexation of the kingdom of Jaunpur. Inspite of these achievements, Bahlol's place in the history of the Sultanate of Delhi is not very high. He was a moderately successful king.

Sikandar Lodi, 1489—1517

His accession

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On Bahlol's death his chief nobles became divided on the question of succession to the throne. One group favoured the succession of his third son, Nizam Khan, who was popularly known as Sikandar Shah; but the other and the more powerful party objected to Nizam’s succession on the ground that his mother was the daughter of a goldsmith and urged the claim of Barbak Shah, the eldest son of the deceased and at that time the ruler of Jaunpur. This party had persuaded Bahlol, on his death-bed, to send for Nizam from Delhi lest he should seize the throne in the event of his father’s death. But on one pretext or another Nizam had refused to proceed. Meanwhile, Bahlol died. Nizam’s mother, who was in the camp with her husband, asserted her son’s claim. But she was abused by Isa Khan, Bahlol’s cousin, who bluntly told her that a goldsmith mother’s son was not eligible for the throne of Delhi. Some of the nobles of the majority party now sympathised with the widow for the discourtesy shown to her. The result was that the Khan-i-Khana manoeuvred things in such a manner as to get the support of the majority of the Pathan nobles for Nizam Khan who was proclaimed king under the title of Sikandar Shah on July 17, 1489.

Suppression of rebellions

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Sikandar had to justify his selection. By his policy, character and firm adminstration he showed within a short time that he was the right choice and fittest of all the sons of Bahlol to fill the throne of Delhi. His first task was to set his own house in order by reducing his rivals to submission and increasing the strength of his followers. His uncle, Alam Khan, was one of the candidates for the throne and was preparing to assert his independence in Rapari and Chandawar. Sikandar besieged him at Rapari, defeated him and drove him away from there. Alam Khan took shelter with Isa Khan who was one of the front-rank men who had opposed Sikandar’s accession. By a conciliatory policy, Sikandar won over Alam Khan, separated him from Isa Khan and appointed him to the fief of Etawah. He then defeated Isa at Patiali, the latter dying after a few days of the battle. Next, Sikandar defeated his cousin, Azam Humayun, who, too, was a candidate for the throne, took away Kalpi from him and bestowed it upon Muhammad Khan Lodi. Then he defeated Tatar Khan Lodi, another opponent, but generously allowed him to remain in possession of Jhatra. Thus, within a year of his accession, Sikandar succeeded in either subduing or pacifying his opponents and consolidating his power.

Subduing of Barbak Shah

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Sikandar was alive to the danger of a divided monarchy. Accordingly, he was anxious to persuade his elder brother, Barbak Shah of Jaunpur, to live in subordinate alliance with him. He sent a mission of peace to Jaunpur which, however, did not meet with success. Sikandar probably felt that, having deprived him of his birth-right, he should make amends to Barbak Shah. But being instigated by Husain Shah, the ex-king of Jaunpur, who had taken shelter in Bihar and felt that a quarrel between the two brothers might open a way for him to recover his lost kingdom, Barbak refused to come to terms with his brother. Sikandar, therefore, prepared to fight. He defeated Barbak who had advanced at the head of an army as far as Kanauj. After this discomfiture, Barbak fled to Badaun, but he was besieged there and compelled to surrender. Sikandar was generous enough to restore him to Jaunpur as a titular king; but he divided that kingdom into fiefs which he distributed among his own followers and placed spies even at Barbak's court and household. A little after, a great rebellion of zamindars residing in the kingdom of Jaunpur occurred. It was instigated by Husain Shah. Barbak could not cope with the situation and had to abandon Jaunpur and flee to Driyabad near Lucknow. Sikandar took prompt action, crushed the rebellion and reinstated Barbak Shah a second time in his kingdom as his vassal. But Barbak proved an utterly incompetent administrator and was, therefore, removed and placed in confinement. Sikandar then appointed his own governor at Jaunpur.

Abasement of the nobility

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Having established his absolute authority over his paternal kingdom by reducing Jaunpur to submission, Sikandar turned to the task of bringing his Afghan nobles under proper discipline and control. Without making a fundamental change in the system of government, the Sultan, who was aware of the fissiparous tendencies of his chiefs, wanted to put a curb on their individualistic tendency and tribal independence and to make them contribute to the common good of the entire Pathan community in India. He insisted on proper audit of the accounts of income and expenditure of his governors and other officers. He severely punished defalcation and embezzlement. Mubarak Khan Lodi, one of the chief nobles who had been entrusted with the collection of revenues of Jaunpur, was punished and compelled to pay into the treasury the state revenues which he had embezzled. Moreover, Sikandar compelled his nobles to show formal respect to the king in the *darbar* and outside. He would not tolerate any discourtesy or disrespect on their part. While playing polo at Jaunpur some of the nobles indulged in a free fight in the presence of the king. Sikandar was highly enraged and ordered one of the offending nobles to be flogged in his presence and he dealt harshly with others. The nobles, in their turn, conspired to depose Sikandar and place his younger brother, Fateh Khan, on the throne. But the conspiracy was divulged and the Sultan banished twenty-two of his nobles from the court. By his strict policy Sikandar, thus, succeeded in bringing the Afghan peers under proper discipline. Not only was he respected as an embodiment of authority, but even his orders were received with a formal ceremony by governors and fief-holders. When Sikandar issued a *farman* to a noble, the latter had to receive it six miles in advance and with due ceremony. When the *farman* was read aloud, all had to listen to it standing.

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Much of Sikandar’s success as an administrator was due to the excellent espionage system which he borrowed from Ala-ud-din Khalji. The Sultan appointed trustworthy spies and news-writers and posted them everywhere, including even in the houses of his nobles. He was so well posted with up-to-date information that people credited him with supernatural powers. It was widely believed that the Sultan was supplied with news by *genii*. Sikandar was not only a strict disciplinarian but he even tried to administer justice evenly according to the Islamic standard. That was another reason why he succeeded in restoring respect for law and order. Sikandar’s reign was marked by material prosperity for which the Sultan was to some extent responsible. He abolished duties on corn and removed the galling restrictions on trade. Grain and cloth and other necessities of life became cheap.

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Sikandar’s religious policy was that of a fanatical Muslim. Even as a prince he had given evidence of bigotry. He wanted to prohibit the Hindus from bathing in the sacred tank at Thaneshwar. When he became king, he indulged in the policy of destroying temples and images, and building mosques in their places. He broke the sacred image of the *Jwalamukhi* temple at Nagarkot and gave its pieces to butchers to use them as weights to weigh meat with. He destroyed many a temple at Mathura, Mandrail, Utagir, Narwar, Chanderi and other places. He ordered a Hindu, named Bodhan, to be put to death for no other offence than saying that "Hinduism is as true a religion as Islam." Sikandar did not permit Hindus to bathe in the Yamuna at bathing ghats and he prohibited barbers from shaving their beards. Like Firoz, he made an attempt to seduce Hindus and convert them to Islam. Such a policy was bound to alienate a large section of his subjects.

Conquest of Bihar

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Unlike his father, Sikandar was a man of lofty ambitions and had formed the design of conquering as many of the lost provinces of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi as possible. His subjugation of his brother, Barbak Shah, and annexation of Jaunpur to his kingdom brought him into conflict with Bihar which was then considered a part of Bangal. Some of the zamindars of the Jaunpur province had intimate relations with the ex-king, Husain Shah Sharqi, who now lived in exile in Bihar. Sikandar was anxious to reduce these zamindars to complete submission. He, therefore, led an expedition against Phaphamau (near Allahabad) whose ruler, Raja Bhil, was a leader of the disaffected barons. Inspite of the Sultan's exertion, the raja could not be effectively subdued. On the other hand, in the expedition of 1494 the Sultan's army suffered greatly and a considerable number of his horses died in the campaign. The rebel rajas, who were in league with Husain Shah, invited him to invade Jaunpur and fight Sikandar, writing to him that nine-tenths of the horses of the Sultan's army had perished and that he was not in a position to offer resistance. Husain Shah, in response to this invitation, arrived from Bihar with a huge force. Sikandar proceeded to obstruct his passage and a severe battle was fought near Banaras which resulted in the defeat and flight of Husain. Sikandar pursued the retreating enemy and occupied Bihar which, thus, became a part of the Sultanate of Delhi. He stayed in Bihar for some time and raided Tirhut whose raja was obliged to submit and agreed to pay a tribute.

Treaty with Bangal

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This invasion of Bihar was resented by Ala-ud-din Husain Shah, king of Bangal, who had treated Sultan Husain of Jaunpur The scanned page appears to be completely blank.

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INDIA IN 1517 A.D. Sikandar Lodi.

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as his protege and Bihar as a part of his kingdom. He sent his son, Daniyal, to oppose the progress of the Delhi army and the latter, under Mahmud Khan Lodi and Mubarak Khan Lohani, got ready to fight. But both, Sikandar and Ala-ud-din Husain, agreed to conclude a treaty without fighting. Each party bound itself not to invade the territory of the other. The king of Bangal promised, in addition, not to give shelter to Sikandar's enemies. Thus the eastern boundary of Sikandar's dominion was pushed to the western frontier of Bangal.

Conquest of Dholpur and other places

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Sikandar was fired with the ambition of conquering Gwalior and Dholpur. After a stubborn fighting, which lasted for a considerable time, the Sultan succeeded in capturing Dholpur from its chroniclers bestow lavish praise on him, and maintain that he was an extremely able, just, benevolent and God-fearing ruler. Their opinion has generally been endorsed by modern writers. A critical examination of the important events of his reign and the details of his administration and policy will, however, show that there were two facets of Sikandar's personality and character. He was, without doubt, a competent ruler; but his policy of religious persecution was calculated to alienate the sympathy of the vast majority of his subjects and neutralise the effect of his otherwise good administration.

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Sikandar Lodi was gifted with kingly looks. He was tall, handsome and well built. Abdullah, the author of *Tarikh-i-Daudi*, says that Sikandar was so handsome in his boyhood that Shaikh Hasan, a well known Muslim divine, fell in love with him and the prince, who did not like the Shaikh's visits, one day singed his beard by holding his face forcibly near the fire. He was also very impressive in his bearing and daily conduct. Very highly educated, he was fond of literature and poetry and wrote verses in Persian under the *nom de plume* of 'Gul Rukh'. Born of a Hindu mother, he was anxious to show to his co-religionists that he was a *pakka* Muslim, not inferior in any way to those who belonged to pure Afghan lineage. He was thoroughly devoted to his religion, though he was not punctillious about saying the five daily prayers. Unlike his predecessors and against the common Islamic practice, he shaved his beard. He was fond of wine, though he did not drink it openly. Sikandar was very energetic, smart and full of activity. His whole reign was spent in incessant warfare. Of course, he was a good soldier and a successful commander.

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In conformity with oriental practice, Sikandar dispensed a lot of charity. Cooked and uncooked food was distributed and large sums of money were spent in charity on Muslim festivals, such as, the anniversary of Muhammad's birth and death, Muharram, Shab-i-Barat and the two 'Ids. Stipends and subsistence allowances were granted to the *ulema* and to Muslim scholars and poor people. Like Firoz Tughluq, he used to arrange for dowry for the daughters of Muslim widows on the occasion of their marriage.

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As a ruler, Sikandar attained more than ordinary success. While his father had been content with the position of *primus inter pares*, Sikandar's ideal of kingship was more akin to the Turkish and Hindu conception of sovereignty than to that of the Afghans. He rightly believed that the Afghan conception of kingship could not be applicable to India, as India was not Afghanistan. In view of this, Sikandar attempted to undo the effects of divided sovereignty and brought his brother, Barbak Shah of Jaunpur, under his complete control. He curbed the individualistic tendencies of his Afghan nobles and compelled them to submit their accounts to the State audit. The highest of the Afghan peers were obliged to show formal respect to the king and to obey his orders. Not only did it become impossible for any noble, however highly placed he might be, to defy the Sultan’s orders but none even dared to show disrespect to his *farmans* which had to be received with ceremony. Sikandar was, thus, able to infuse vigour and discipline in the administration. The prestige of the Sultanate as well as of the crown, which had fallen low during the days of the later Tughluqs, was restored.

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The main achievement of the Sultan was the conquest and annexation of Bihar. Besides he conquered and annexed Dholpur, Narwar, Chanderi and a part of the kingdom of Gwalior.

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Sikandar was a patron of learning. He was surrounded by scholars. By his orders a Sanskrit treatise on medicine was translated into Persian and given the name of *Farhang-i-Sikandari*. He patronised music and built many mosques. He made Agra his capital and beautified it with buildings, mosques and caravan-sarais. He built his father’s tomb at Delhi.

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The greatest blot on Sikandar’s character as a ruler was his relentless bigotry. He had made it a rule to destroy Hindu temples during the course of his expeditions and to build mosques on their sites. He tried to repress Hinduism and exalt Islam in every possible way. Under him the Sultanate became as active a proselytising agency as in the time of Firoz Tughluq. His religious policy was, therefore, unwise and calculated to alienate the sympathy of his Hindu subjects and undermine his own authority.

Ibrahim Lodi, 1517—1526

His accession

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After Sikandar’s death his eldest son, Ibrahim, was elevated to the throne with the unanimous consent of the Afghan peers on November 21, 1517. He assumed the title of Ibrahim Shah.

The subjugation of Gwalior

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Ibrahim’s foreign policy aimed at completing the work of conquest begun by his father. He decided to pursue Sikandar’s designs of conquering and annexing Gwalior which had more than once defied the late Sultan’s might. A convenient pretext was furnished by the ruler of that principality who gave shelter to Ibrahim’s brother, Jalal Khan. Moreover, the valiant Man Singh, who had successfully resisted Sikandar, had died and was succeeded by his son, Vikramajit, who was much inferior to his father in ability and poetical wisdom. Ibrahim despatched Azam Humayun Sarwani at the head of an army of thirty thousand horse and three hundred elephants to besiege Gwalior. Another army was sent from Agra to co-operate with him in this difficult task. Azam Humayun threw himself with zeal into the work of besieging the giant fortress. As a result of the operations an important outwork was captured. The siege progressed satisfactorily and, eventually, the fortress surrendered. Vikramajit became a vassal of the Sultan of Delhi. This was Ibrahim’s greatest achievement.

Defeat at the hands of Rana Sanga

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Anxious to push his father’s policy of aggressive conquest to its logical conclusion, Ibrahim undertook an expedition against Mewar, then the most notable State in Rajasthan. Its ruler was the valiant Rana Sangram Singh, popularly known as Sanga, without whose subjugation the Sultan could not hope to establish his supremacy in central Hindustan. So he despatched a powerful army under the command of Mian Makhan with whom were associated such well known Afghan officers as Husain Khan Zarbakhsh, Mian Khan-i-Khana Qarmali and Mian Maruf. The army of invasion numbered thirty thousand horse and three hundred elephants. But it suffered from dissension and disaffection among its chief officers. As it reached the frontier of Mewar, it was encountered and defeated by the Rana with great slaughter near Bakarol in the present Asind district of Mewar. Mian Makhan and his men fled in panic. But they were attacked by the Rajputs near Ghatoli (on the border of Bundi) and a considerable number of them was annihilated.²

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² Babur mentions the defeat of Ibrahim in his Memoirs.

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INDIA IN 1526 A.D. Ibrahim Lodi.

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Suppression of Jalal Khan’s rebellion

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Ibrahim’s reign was distracted by party rivalry. Soon after his accession, a party of selfish nobles advocated partition of the kingdom and managed to secure the elevation of Ibrahim’s younger brother, Jalal Khan, to the throne of Jaunpur. The Sultan was compelled under pressure to agree to the partition. Even before Jalal could establish himself at Jaunpur, Ibrahim repented and one of his important nobles, Khan-i-Jahan Lohani, strongly condemned the foolish policy of dividing the kingdom and pressed for Jalal Khan’s recall. Ibrahim entrusted the task to Haibat Khan. Having failed in the policy of persuading Jalal to return to Delhi, Haibat Khan had recourse to diplomacy. By a clever policy he seduced most of Jalal Khan’s followers which compelled the latter to abandon Jaunpur and establish himself at Kalpi where he asserted his independence and assumed the title of king. He won over Azam Humayun Sarwani who was at the time besieging Kalinjar on behalf of his master, Sultan Ibrahim. Having united their forces, Jalal and Azam Humayun Sarwani attacked Awadh. Ibrahim was obliged to march against the rebels. But, fortunately Azam Humayun abandoned Jalal and returned to the side of Ibrahim. Jalal Khan, having thus been abandoned, returned towards Agra and attacked the garrison there. Ibrahim deputed Malik Adam to reinforce the garrison at Agra. This officer was able to persuade Jalal to give up his pretensions to sovereignty on the promise that he would be allowed to retain possession of Kalpi. Ibrahim, however, refused to ratify the terms and decided to bring about complete submission of his brother. Jalal had, therefore, to flee to take refuge with the raja of Gwalior. Ibrahim thought it necessary to attack that fortress with the double object of securing the person of his brother and occupying the fortress. As he approached near, Jalal Khan fled from Gwalior to Malwa. While the siege was in progress, Jalal, tired of the ill-treatment of the Sultan of Malwa, fled from there to the Gond principality of Garha Katanga. But the Gonds arrested him and sent him a prisoner to Ibrahim. The Sultan ordered him to be imprisoned in Hansi; but the prince was murdered on the way to that place. Ibrahim now became the undisputed ruler of the kingdom without any rival to intrigue against him.

Suppression of the nobles

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Ibrahim’s success in crushing Jalal Khan’s rebellion and establishing his undisputed sway over the kingdom seems to have turned his head. He began to behave and act like an absolute despot. Imbued with the Turkish ideal of sovereignty, he made the impolitic declaration that ‘kingship’ knows no kingship : all the people were either the king’s subjects or vassals. He discarded the Afghan tradition and compelled his nobles to stand in his court in an humble posture with their hands folded across their breasts. He imposed a rigid court ceremonial on the Afghan nobles who, being accustomed to treat the Sultan as one of themselves and to share the royal carpet with Bahlol and sometimes, even with Sikandar, would not brook this humiliation. They strongly resented the king’s behaviour whose insolence and arrogance drove a few principal Afghan chiefs into rebellion. Mention has been made of Azam Humayun Sarwani’s joining Jalal Khan and then abandoning him and making his peace with the Sultan. Ibrahim does not seem to have forgotten this temporary defection. Consequently, he summoned Azam Humayun and his son, Fateh Khan, from before the walls of Gwalior and threw him into prison. He had already imprisoned Main Bhova, a leading noble of Sikandar’s time. This high-handed action incited Islam Khan, another son of Azam Humayun, to rebellion. He assumed the command of his father’s army and attacked Ahmad Khan, governor of Agra. The Sultan obliged to collect his army in order to suppress this rebellion. At this very time two other important nobles, namely, Azam Humayun Lodi and Sayeed Khan Lodi, deserted the Sultan, marched away to their fief in Lucknow and prepared to join Islam Khan. An army sent by the Sultan against these two rebels was defeated and driven back with heavy losses. The Sultan became suspicious of other nobles and foolishly warned them that if they failed to crush the rebellion, they would be treated as rebels. He then took the field at the head of fifty thousand horse. The rebel nobles, too, gathered a huge army which swelled to forty thousand cavalry, a large body of infantry and five hundred elephants. A holy man, named Shaikh Raju Bukhari, tried to intervene and settle the dispute by negotiations, but without success. The rebels demanded the release of Azam Humayun Sarwani, which the Sultan refused to agree to. The result was a deadly contested battle. Ahmad Yadgar, the author of the *Makhzan-i-Afghana*, describes the battle in these words :

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“Dead bodies, heap upon heap, covered the field; and the number of heads lying upon the ground was beyond the reach of recollection. Streams of blood ran over the plain and whenever, for a length of time, a fierce battle took place in Hindustan, the old men always observed that with this battle no other one was comparable; brothers fighting against brothers; fathers against sons; bows and arrows were laid aside, and the carnage carried on with daggers, swords, knives and javelines.” At the end Ibrahim won. He defeated the rebels. Islam Khan was killed and Sayeed Khan was captured. The Sultan rewarded those who had remained loyal by conferring upon them the fiefs that had been in the possession of the rebels.

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This success served to make Ibrahim more insolent than before and to encourage him to punish other disloyal barons. Unfortunately Azam Humayun Sarwani and some other nobles died in prison, causing an outburst of indignation and disaffection. Dariya Khan Lohani, governor of Bihar, Khan-i-Jahan Lodi, Mian Husain Qarmali and others rose into rebellion. The Sultan committed another act of folly by ordering the assassination of Shaikh Hasan Qarmali in Chanderi. This convinced the rebels that their lives and honour were not safe as long as Ibrahim remained on the throne. So they took steps to bring about the Sultan’s deposition. Dariya Khan Lodi, the leader of the rebels, died at this time. But his son, Bahadur Khan, who held the fief of Bihar, proclaimed himself king under the title of Muhammad Shah. Many rebels now flocked to his standard and his army swelled to one lakh horse. He occupied the whole of the country from Bihar to Sambhal and was joined by Nasir Khan Lohani, the governor of Ghazipur.

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The Panjab, too, revolted under its governor Daulat Khan Lodi. His son, Ghazi Khan, escaped from Delhi and reported to his father that if Ibrahim succeeded in putting down the rebellion in Bihar he would deprive him of Lahore. In view of this fear Daulat Khan assumed virtual independence and opened negotiations with Babur, the king of Kabul, whom he invited to invade India and overthrow Ibrahim. This proposal was accepted by Babur who was himself desirous of conquering Hindustan. Daulat Khan Lodi seems to have believed that Babur would come, plunder the country and go back and thus enable him (Daulat Khan Lodi) to establish his power in the Panjab. He was, however, mistaken. At this very time another ambitious Lodi chief, named Alam Khan, an uncle of Ibrahim, also appeared on the scene. He was ambitious of becoming king of Delhi and he opened negotiations with Babur. The result was the famous battle of Panipat on April 21, 1526, in which Ibrahim Lodi was defeated and killed. With his death came the end of the Sultanate of Delhi.

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Though not devoid of ability and intelligence, Ibrahim Lodi proved a sad failure. He was a brave and fearless soldier and a fairly successful commander. He seems to have been honest and laborious. From the meagre account of the medieval chronicles it is clear that his private life was good and that he applied himself to the business of the State with zest. He administered justice as well as any of his predecessors. But, though himself an Afghan, he was ignorant of the character and sentiment of his race. He foolishly abandoned the sagacious policy of his father and grandfather and tried to impose a rigorous discipline and strict court ceremonial on his peers who were fierce democrats and treated the king as nothing more than the noble among the nobles. By his policy of playing the king and insolently punishing those who disregarded his orders, he drove them into rebellion. He thus dug the very foundation of the State and lost his throne and life.

The Lodi Dynasty

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Bahram Lodi

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Islam Khan Malik Firoz Muhammad Malik Malik Sultan Shah Kala Shahin Khan Khwaja

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Qutub Daughter m. Bahlol m. a Goldsmith's daughter Khan | . . . . .

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Khwaja Bayazid Barbak Shah (Jaunpur) . . . . .

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(2) Nizam Mubarak Alam Yaqub Fateh Musa Jalal Khan Sikandar Khan Khan Khan Khan Khan

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(3) Ibrahim Ismail Husain Mahmud [Defeated by Babur]

Cites (13)