The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c10.78

c10.78

The royal commands issuing from the dīwān-i-inshā were classified according to their nature and importance. It appears that all grants of land were sealed with the royal ṭughrā, the sovereign's name and titles elaborated in a highly ornamental form.³ Such a document was called farmān-i-ṭughrā and was registered in the wazīr's office.⁴ All administrative orders were sealed with the royal motto, called tauqī‘; these included appointment orders, new ordinances and directions to officers, and were known as aḥkām-i-tauqī‘.⁵ Minor orders were issued by the departments concerned under their own seal. If the sovereign wanted to show special favour to a noble or attach urgent importance to a matter, he would add a few words in his own handwriting.⁶ The farmāns were dispatched by the kharīṭahdār; his dīwān, which was a branch of the dīwān-i-inshā, was given by Muḥammad bin Tughluq the name of dīwān-i-ṭalab-i-aḥkām-i-tauqī‘.⁷ The kharīṭahdār was only a subordinate officer and does not seem to have had direct access to the sultan. Two members of the dīwān-i-inshā acted as the sultan's private secretaries and dealt with his private correspondence.⁸ Each of them was styled kātib-i-khāṣ.