The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c7.71

c7.71

The first part of India to come under the sway of Islam was Sind which was conquered in the days of a strong caliphate by the caliph's army acting under the orders of his governor, Ḥajjāj. Of greater importance, from the point of view of Indian history, was the occupation of the major portion of the Panjāb by Maḥmūd of Ghaznah who was legally a lieutenant of the caliph.¹ Thus the Panjāb became a part of the Eastern Caliphate. Maḥmūd’s son, Mas‘ūd, was also recognized by the Abbasids.² Baihaqī has preserved the form of the written oath of allegiance which the sultan had to sign.³ It would be difficult to imagine a more solemn oath; it fully brings out the legal subordination of the sultan as a vassal of the caliph. The rest of the Ghaznavids frankly recognized their vassalage.⁴ Thus the tradition of allegiance to the Abbasids was firmly rooted in the Panjāb when Mu‘izz-u’d-dīn Muḥammad bin Sām conquered it. The caliph is mentioned on the coins struck in his name as joint king of Ghūr with his brother Ghiyāth-u’d-dīn as well as on the pieces struck by him as a full-fledged monarch after the death of his brother in 599 A.H. (1202 A.C.)⁵ Ghiyāth-u’d-dīn had been the recipient of robes of honour on several occasions from al-Mustaḍi-bi-amr-i’llah and a’n-Nāṣir-li-dīn-i’llah; the sultan is styled ‘Helper of the Commander of the Faithful’ by Minhāj-i-Sirāj.⁶