Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India c9.s3.2

c9.s3.2

Skilful engineers in karkhanas manufactured *minjiniqs* and *arradas* and other engines of war and swords and other arms of every kind for the army. When Balban marched against the rebel Tughril Beg of Bengal, the karkhanas overworked to equip the army till the day of the expedition.⁷⁷ When Muhammad Tughlaq was in Gujarat preparing for leading an effective expedition to Sindh, arms and other articles were despatched to the king from Delhi . "Weapons alone cost seven lakh *tankahs*," writes Shams Siraj Afif and adds that "on this basis the cost of other items from other *karkhanas* can be calculated".⁷⁸ Ibn Battutah gives a list of the presents which he carried on behalf of Muhammad Tughlaq to Toghan Timur or Shunti, the Mogol emperor of Cathay. These were all stored or manufactured in the karkhanas. Besides men and women slaves, the gifts included 100 pieces of cotton fabric called *bairami* priced at 100 *dinars* per piece, 100 pieces of silk called *juzz* of variegated tints, 104 pieces of *salahiya*, 100 pieces of *shirinbaf*, 100 pieces of *shanbaf*, 500 pieces of *muraz*, a kind of woollen fabric of various colours, 100 pieces of *katan-i-Rumi*, 100 gowns without sleeves, a tent with six pavilions, four golden candlesticks and four embroidered with silver, four gold basins and six silver. There were ten dresses of honour, ten caps one of which was embroidered with jewels, ten quivers one of which was studded with pearls, 10 swords the scabbard of one of which was inlaid with pearls and jewels, 10 gloves embroidered with pearls.⁷⁹ All these were prepared in the royal karkhanas. Thus all kinds of civil and military goods were produced in the karkhanas. According to Shahabuddin al-Umri "every year the Sultan (Muhammad Tughlaq) distributes 200,000 complete dresses: 100,000 in spring and 100,000 in autumn (among nobles)... Dresses are also distributed to the monasteries and hermitages (*khanqahs* and *dargahs*). The Sultan keeps in his service 500 manufacturers of golden tissues, who weave the gold brocades worn by the wives of the Sultan, and given away as presents to the amirs and their wives." Shams Siraj Afif writes that there were thirty-six karkhanas in the reign of Firoz Tughlaq and the expenditure on one karkhana was not less than the expense on the city of Multan.⁸⁰ The recurring and non-recurring (*rabti wa ghair rabti*) expenditure on one karkhana in a month came to one lakh sixty thousand and six lakh *tankahs* each respectively.⁸¹ Each karkhana was placed under the supervision of an important noble. Khwaja Abul Hasan was the overall administrator and superintendent of all these karkhanas. There were karkhanas of gold, silver and brass and other metals. There was a manufactory each of wines, perfumes armours. Weapons were all prepared in the karkhanas. There were *paigahs* of horses, camels and dogs. There was pil khana, shukra khana, salah khana and tashdar khana. Some figures of expenditure on karkhanas were like this: alam khana, 80,000 *tankahs* per year, farrash khana 2 lakhs. In jamdar khana six lakh *tankahs* per year were expended on obtaining raw materials per year. 12000 slaves worked in the karkhanas of Firoz Tughlaq and were given a salary of from 100 to 10 *tankahs* according to each one's competence. these workers formed some sort of guilds and produced excellent articles. There was no occupation in which the slaves trained as artisans, handicraftsmen and mechanics did not work. Despite some repetition and confusion in the figures mentioned by Afif, the expenditure on the karkhanas was enormous.