The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c12.276.1

c12.276.1

the *dīwān-i-riyāsat*, also *‘adl*.¹ Under the Caliphate, the *mu‘dil’s* duty was to register deeds, and to inform the courts of a man’s antecedents when he appeared as a witness.² This function was transferred to the *dād-bek* under the sultans, so the term *‘adl* came to be applied to the functions of the *dīwān-i-riyāsat*. The importance of trade was recognized from the very beginning in the sultanate; Quṭb-u’d-dīn Aibak instructed his governors to encourage commerce.³ The office of *ra’īs* existed from the start, so some kind of price control was always maintained; but probably these officers actively intervened only when guilds of traders or craftsmen exploited their virtual monopoly to the detriment of the people. In view of this knowledge, it is easier to understand ‘Alā-u’d-dīn Khaljī’s success in bringing prices down to a certain level and maintaining them there. The *dīwān-i-riyāsat* was an efficient instrument of economic control. ‘Alā-u’d-dīn’s greatness lies not in forging the instrument but in developing it and increasing its efficiency. He raised the value of the bullion in his treasury by reducing the prices of commodities and stabilizing them at a low level. His choice of a *ra’īs* was fortunate, because he was fully acquainted with the market, was efficient and exceedingly strict. The sultan, however, did not leave the working of the scheme entirely in the hands of Ya‘qūb, the new *ra’īs*, but took pains to keep himself in touch with the work.