The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c12.2

c12.2

(THE sultanate of Dehlī was so situated that it could not The need. neglect its army.¹ It started as an armed camp in the midst of a partially subjugated and hostile population, and the establishment of authority as well as the reconciliation of the people took some time.) Besides, from 618 A.H. (1221 A.C.) when it first felt the repercussions of the expansion of the Mongol power, the sultanate had to defend itself against constant invasions from the north-west.² The armies of the sultans managed to keep the barbarians out, but fell before their Muslim descendants. Tīmūr poured in his hordes when anarchy had reduced the House of Tughluq to impotence; Bābur took advantage of the disaffection of the Lodī nobles; and Humāyūn came back to give the final blow when Afghān turbulence had once again plunged the state into civil war; so the worst enemies of the sultanate throughout were the Mongols and their descendants. Still the sultans were not content with standing on their guard; their armies penetrated far into the Deccan, and one of them had the ambition of conquering Khurāsān and ‘Irāq.³ The sultan was generally a capable military leader by training; legally he was the commander-inchief of the forces. His assistant in military affairs was the nā’ib-u’l-mulk.⁴ )