The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c11.155.2

c11.155.2

with the increase of power away from the centre, assignments changed in nature and grew bigger, for every chieftain with some following could carve out a domain for himself.³ When the Sayyids established some sort of order, the Lodīs and other Afghāns gained in power and importance and became holders of large areas. Under their own government the Afghāns divided the whole empire into large assignments. There had occurred a profound change in the nature of assignments. When the earlier sultans gave only partially conquered areas to their nobles, or the nobles, of their own accord, extended their domain and conquered new regions for themselves, it is obvious that these nobles must have possessed practically independent power. Indeed the conquest of Bengal by Muḥammad bin Bakht-yār Khaljī and his previous conquest of Bihār show that the central government had little share in these exploits.⁴ As late as Balban’s time, assignments seemed to be in the possession of the holders. Baranī relates that Balban ordered the resumption of the assignments of certain soldiers who were too old to fight. Fakhr-u’d-dīn, the *kotwāl*, interceded successfully, and these men were left in possession of the villages. These soldiers were members of the central corps, the *qalb*; and the assignments had been given by Īltutmish. The picturesque details recorded by Baranī show that these men were in actual possession and did not merely receive a fixed amount from the local officials;