A History of Agriculture in India v2.c63.s3: Afghan Rule: Lodi Dynasty

A History of Agriculture in India v2.c63.s3

Language: English

Afghan Rule: Lodi Dynasty

Buhlol Lodi

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In A.D. 1451 Buhlol Khan, an Afghan of the Lodi tribe, who was governor of the Punjab, seized the throne. He restored the old frontiers of the Delhi kingdom as far as Bihar.

Sikander Lodi

Sikander Lodi was a bigot who destroyed Hindu temples recklessly. Abdulla states, ‘He was so zealous a Musulman that he utterly destroyed diverse places of worship of the infidels, and left not a vestige remaining of them.’² His reign was marked by exceptionally low prices of foodgrains. He generally resided at Agra, which became a city in his time. Before that it was merely a large village. Sikandra, the suburb of Agra, is named after him. Under his orders, the Argar-maha-bedak, on the science of medicine and the treatment of disease, was translated, and received the name of *Tibb-i Sikandari*. The book is the foundation of the practice of the physicians of Hind, and was thus brought into general use.

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² Abdulla, *Tarikh-i Daudi*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India* ..., Vol. IV, p. 447

Ibrahim Lodi

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Ibrahim Lodi was the last Lodi emperor. His tactless treatment of Afghan nobles antagonized them, and ultimately led to treachery on a large scale. It was Daulat Khan Lodi who invited Babur, who defeated Ibrahim at Panipat on 21 April 1526.

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Low Prices of Foodgrains

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Due to a series of abundant harvests on account of good rainfall over a number of years, the price of foodgrains slumped to a low level. Another reason for this slump was shortage of metal like gold and silver for coinage. It seems most of gold and silver was siphoned off by Timur from India. At the same time the seaports of Gujarat and Bengal were cut off from Delhi, both these provinces had become independent (Fig. 17). Adequate supplies of gold and silver on account of foreign trade and revenue thus failed to reach Delhi. Abdulla thus provides details of this phenomenon of low prices. 'One of the most extraordinary phenomena of Sultan Ibrahim's time was that corn, clothes, and every kind of merchandise were cheaper than they had ever been known to be in any other reign, except perhaps in the time of Sultan Ala-ud-din Khalji; but even that is doubtful. Moreover, in the time of the latter, the cheapness was occasioned by every kind of disgusting interference and oppression, and by a hundred thousand enforcements and punishments; whereas the cheapness of this reign was occasioned by abundant harvests. In the time of Sikander, also, the markets were very cheap, but still not so much so as in the time of Ibrahim. Ten mans of corn could be purchased for one bahloli; five sirs of clarified butter, and ten yards of cloth, could be purchased for the same coin. Everything else was in the same exuberance; the reason of all which was that rain fell in the exact quantity which was needed, and the crops were consequently luxuriant, and produce increased ten-fold beyond the usual proportion. The Sultan had likewise issued an edict that his chiefs and nobles of every degree should take nothing but corn in payment of rent, and no money was to be taken from the cultivators on any account. The consequence was that countless quantities of grain accumulated in the several jagirs, and as ready money only was necessary for maintaining the personal expenses of the nobles, they were eager to sell their grain at any price which was procurable. The abundance of God's blessings reached such a height, that ten mans of corn would sell for a bahloli. Gold and silver were only procurable with the greatest difficulty. A respectable man with a family dependent on him might obtain wages at the rate of five tankas a month. A horseman received from twenty to thirty as his monthly pay. If a traveller wished to proceed from Delhi to Agra, one bahloli would, with the greatest ease, suffice for the expenses of himself, his horse, and escort.'³

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³ Abdulla, Tarikh-i Daudi, in Elliot and Dowson, The History of India. . ., Vol. IV, p. 476

A History of Agriculture in India v2.c63.s3: Afghan Rule: Lodi Dynasty

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