Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c5.s1.56

c5.s1.56

For practical and administrative reasons, the monarch had to follow a definite course of policy. In the beginning he did not go very far beyond paying his soldiers and his nobles handsome emoluments and showing a general indulgence and benevolence to the people under his rule. In course of time, however, when the militant fury of the invader cooled down, and the warrior learned to turn his sword into a ploughshare, the Sultanate added other normal functions of peaceful administration. The Sultan now began to be looked upon as a public protector and undertook to guard the security of high-ways, to provide facilities for trade and commerce, to give his subjects relief in famines and other calamities and to give even-handed justice and redress for every wrong committed against anyone. These paternal features of the Sultanate come into prominence as we proceed towards the close of the period.³