Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c22.s1: Bahlol Lodi, 1451—1489

The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c22.s1

Language
English

Contents

Bahlol Lodi, 1451—1489

His early life

c22.s1.t1.1

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

c22.s1.t2.1

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*.

c22.s1.t2.2

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.

c22.s1.t2.3

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.

c22.s1.t2.4

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.

c22.s1.t2.5

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.

c22.s1.t2.6

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.

c22.s1.t2.7

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.

c22.s1.t2.8

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.

c22.s1.t2.9

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.

c22.s1.t2.10

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.