The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c7.155

c7.155

When the cloud-burst of Tīmūr's invasion had passed away, the Sayyid, Khiḍr Khān, established a new dynasty; but he did not assume the royal title and was content to call himself a lieutenant of the conqueror. Later, he was given permission by Shāh Rukh to include his own name in the *khuṭbah*.⁴ Hitherto only Shāh Rukh's name had been mentioned; he himself had drafted the *khuṭbah* which was to be read from the pulpits of Dehlī.⁵ Khiḍr Khān's son Mubārak Shāh and his successors called themselves *nā'ib-i-amīr-u'l-mu'minīn* on their money; they also used the legend: "In the age of the *imām*, the Commander of the Faithful, may his caliphate endure!" or some slight variation of it.⁶ The same tradition was continued by the Lodīs.⁷ This conventional form of paying homage to the caliph seems to have been adopted by the sultans to save themselves the trouble and expense of asking for letters patent by sending emissaries to distant Cairo; in fact their homage was purely nominal. Besides, the ‘Uthmānlī Turks put the Abbasid caliphate to an end in 1517 A.C.; henceforth the sultan of Turkey claimed to be the caliph. This was also the year of Ibrāhīm Lodī’s accession; his own affairs kept him so engrossed that he could not take much interest in the affairs of the caliphate.