The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c26.s3.5

c26.s3.5

But our wealth was unevenly distributed. In fact, it was concentrated in the hands of a small minority. The Sultans and their nobility and the high official class were enormously wealthy and so also were the Hindu rajas and chiefs and top-ranking Hindu merchants and bankers. We have seen that the salaries of important civil and military officers in the Sultanate period were very high. The officials and nobles lived in big mansions, were attended by a large array of servants and rolled in wealth and luxury. The middle class, which consisted of the professional men and important clerks and merchants, was also fairly well-to-do. But the masses, who, of course, formed the bulk of the population, were poor and did not have enough to satisfy their needs. It has been shown in the last chapter that the tiller of the soil was left with about one-third of his produce. The incidence of taxation fell heavily on him; but, it seems, that in normal times he did not starve. His wants were few, in fact, fewer than he has in our day and things of everyday use were much cheaper. But, when there was famine, whether due to failure of rains or some other natural calamity or due to destruction of crops owing to military expeditions, common people died in hundreds and, sometimes, in thousands. Famines did occur during the period—for example, one in the time of Jalal-ud-din Firoz Khalji when hundreds of people drowned themselves into the Yamuna, and another in the Doab in the time of Muhammad bin Tughluq which, too, was very severe and caused a considerable loss of life.