The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c14.106

c14.106

A large empire cannot be well-governed without good means of communication. As regards the transmission of news, eloquent tributes have been paid by foreign travellers to the newsservice maintained by the sultans of Dehlī. Ibn Baṭṭūṭah says that the royal post took five days to carry letters from Sind to Dehlī, a distance covered by the ordinary travellers in fifty days. The transmission was of two kinds: one by horsemen, the other by runners.² For the first there were relay stations every four kroh; for the second there was a stage every quarter of a kroh.³ At each station there were three shelters where men waited all ready to take a letter and run hard to the next post. The approach of a runner was heralded by the sound of bells at the end of the stick which he carried.⁴ Ten of these runners, called dhāwahs, were kept at every station.⁵ This runner post was quicker than the ulāgh by which name the horse post was known; it was also used for the conveyance of Khurāsān fruit, and of drinking water from the Ganges which was carried to the sultan even as far as distant Daulatābād.⁶ Sometimes the post was used to transport men who were carried in litters.¹ The sultan's *barīds*, distributed all over the empire, furnished him with news by this means. They reported on the arrival of foreigners in the dominions, on matters of special interest, on the doings of the various officials, even on the gossip of the bazaars and the feelings of the people.² Special lines were established to keep in touch with expeditionary forces.³ In addition to the runner post, Muḥammad bin Tughluq organized a system by which signals could be speedily transmitted. Between the larger towns, chains of kettle-drums were established so that an alarm sounded in a far off frontier town could quickly reach the sultan.⁴ The system of a fast post was maintained with varying degrees of efficiency by all the dynasties; it is described in all the leading chronicles.⁵ It is doubtful if the post carried private letters: it is certain, however, that the soldiers on expeditions were able to communicate with their families.⁶ Closely allied with the post was the system of agents and spies who kept the central government informed of all happenings; this had a salutary effect on local officials who knew that their actions were unlikely to remain hidden from the sultan and his ministers.⁷ The news-writers can be broadly divided into two categories: the *barīds* who resembled modern newspaper reporters and sent regular letters, and the extraordinary agents and spies sent on special missions.