My Science School

           Bahlul Khan, who once served as the Subedar (Governor) of Lahore and Sirhind during the reign of Muhammad Shah succeeded to the throne after the Sayyids. When he founded the Lodi dynasty, he was establishing the first Afghan Pashtun dynasty in India. It also happened to be the last dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate that ruled from AD 1451 to 1526.

           Bahlul Khan Lodi’s efforts were directed in restoring the greatness of the Delhi Sultanate. He conquered territories surrounding Delhi and took necessary steps to stop rebellions and uprisings in his territories. His most successful war was against Mahmud Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur. During his reign, the Delhi Sultanate expanded territorially to include Gwalior, Mewat, Suket, Manipur and Bhongaon, and upper Uttar Pradesh, but his capital remained in Delhi.

           Bahlul Khan’s legacy continued through his son Nizam Khan. Nizam Khan ascended the throne in AD 1489.

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           By the time Firuz Shah, cousin of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq came to power in 1351, the empire had become too large. There were hardly any loyal nobles because of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq’s notorious policies. Many provinces had asserted independence as well.

           Firuz wanted to keep his army, nobles and priests happy. He gave back their hereditary rights and land to the nobles and the army. He gave the ulamas - religious scholars- high offices. He also persecuted those whom they did not like.

           Firuz abstained from administering harsh punishments and focussed on building hospitals, canals, rest-houses and towns. He also worked to improve farming. As a result of all these, trade flourished. Though his reign was marked by peace and prosperity, his authority and control reduced significantly. No strong kings emerged from the Tughlaq dynasty after his death.

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           Ghazi Malik established a new dynasty that came to be known as Tughlaq and took the titular name, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.

           History repeated itself when Ghazi Malik ascended the throne in 1320. The nobles revolted and the provinces began asserting their independence again. But, he slowly gained the support of the nobles as he let them retain their privileges.

           When it came to military matters, he continued Alauddin’s policies. In order to keep the Mongol invasions in check, he fortified the North-Western border. His son Ulugh Khan was sent on an expedition to the Kakatiya capital Warangal which resulted in the annexation of the city.

           The manner of the death of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq is quite suspicious; he died due to the collapse of a wooden pavilion while he was returning from Bengal after putting down a revolt there.

           Though his death seemed natural, some historians believe that he died because of a conspiracy hatched by his son Ulugh Khan.

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           Alauddin’s was the largest empire since Ashoka, but things were not so smooth when he ascended the throne. Many provinces had gained independence, frequent revolts disturbed peace and his nobles started plotting against him. In an attempt to reduce the power enjoyed by the nobles, he cancelled their land grants and took away their extra wealth. He spied on them; they were not allowed to mingle with each other, have parties, or arrange marriage alliances.

          Alauddin’s conquests were nothing less than other great emperors; the kings of the south used to pay tributes to him in gold. He conquered Gujarat, Ranthambore, Siwana, Malwa, Chittor, Jalor and Bengal. He is said to have had a large army consisting of 300,000 soldiers. His horses were branded so that it was easy to identify them.

           Alauddin controlled the markets and fixed prices for all goods. He also made notable changes in tax collection. His reign of terror came to an end in 1316 with the death of the ruthless ruler. Four years later, Ghazi Malik, a noble who proclaimed himself Sultan ascended the throne.

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           Ghiyas-ud-din Balban was once a slave of Iltutmish who later became a minister because of his hard work and intelligence. Balban later took over the throne in 1266 to became the tenth sultan from the Slave dynasty. Though he defended his territory from the Mongols, he had to put down many rebellions to retain power.

           Balban tried to tighten the grip of his authority: his nobles had to wear special dress into the court, and bow down before him. He had a powerful army that silenced any voices of dissent by killing all males of a particular area!

           However, he ruled his empire ably with the help of a balanced administrative system. He reorganized the army, built new forts, cleared dense forests and made the roads safe for travel. Unlike Balban, his successors were weak and the Slave Dynasty eventually declined with the rise of the Khaljis.

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           The Khaljis, who took over from the Slave kings became the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate. Jalaluddin Khalji, the first Khalji Sultan was seventy years old when he took over the throne in 1290.

           The Khaljis were of Afghan origin unlike the Slave kings who were Ilbari Turks. After ascending the throne, Jalaluddin was kind enough to allow the Turkish nobles to retain their posts and pardoned most of his enemies who had been fighting for the throne.

           Alauddin, Jalaluddin’s son-in-law and nephew, helped him to put down the unrest that prevailed in the kingdom and defended the area from the Mongols. But, Alauddin was not as naive as he seemed; he wanted the throne for himself. So, he killed Jalaluddin and had his head carried through the provinces!

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          Razia Sultana, Iltutmish’s daughter created history as she was the first woman to rule from Delhi. She is also famous for taking control by replacing Iltutmish’s son. Her brother was unpopular among the nobles.

          Razia wore men’s clothes and knew how to fight. She was also good at hunting and rode horses. Many historians viewed her reign as spirited and dynamic. At the zenith of her power, her empire included large parts of modern Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

           Razia Sultana was believed to be devoted to the cause of her empire and to her subjects. She preferred to mingle with her subjects and they liked her. But, it seems her nobles were not quite fond of her; some of them plotted against her and captured her. She found refuge in Malik Altunia, one of her nobles who eventually married her. Though both of them decided to go to Delhi to defeat the other nobles, they were abandoned by their soldiers on the way and were eventually killed.

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           The Slave kings had a line of prominent rulers like Qutub-ud-din Aibak and Iltutmish. Qutub-ud-din Aibak, the founder of the dynasty was actually a slave of Muhammed Ghori who helped him to conquer India by defeating many Rajput kings. After his death in 1206, Aibak rose to power. However, his reign as the Sultan of Delhi did not last long.

           Aibak’s short-lived rule came to an end with his death in 1210. His son Aram Shah rose to power. Iltutmish, who was once Aibak’s slave defeated Aram Shah in 1211 and went on to become the next Sultan. He also married Aibak’s daughter and is responsible for shifting the capital from Lahore to Delhi.

           Iltutmish is remembered for organizing the administration of the Sultanate and laying the foundation for its dominance over northern India until the Mughal invasion. Iltutmish expanded his domain by defeating the rulers of Ghazni, Multan and Bengal. These kingdoms had previously annexed some of the territories and threatened his domain. He also conquered Ranthambore and Siwalik from their rulers.

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           Their passion for Tamil literature and zeal for building marvellous temples resulted in the production of some of the finest pieces in literature and architecture. These works stood the test of time, bearing the true stamp of the Chola legacy.

           The Chola kings were avid builders. For them, temples were not places of worship alone, but also centre of economic activity.

           Among the temples they built, the Shiva temple at Tanjavur and the temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram are the most famous. The temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram has a vimana, 100 feet square at the base and 186 feet high.

           The Cholas also commissioned great many sculptures; Chola sculptures and bronze images include Nataraja, the divine dancer Shiva, dancing the dance of death and destruction. They also pioneered a centralized form of government, thereby establishing a disciplined bureaucracy.

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           In the 9th century, the Cholas emerged as a strong presence in the south when Vijayalaya captured Tanjavur from the Pandyas. He was a Pallava feudatory who managed to establish the Chola Empire. It was later inherited by Aditya Chola who took over the Pallava Empire.

           Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra I were the greatest Chola rulers under whom, the dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia. They expanded the borders of the Chola Empire by taking over the territories ruled by the Pandyas and the Cheras. Their conquests reached as far as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Sumatra and other places in the Malay Peninsula.

           They also fought against the western Gangas and Chalukyas. Rajendra Chola I even went north up to Bengal and on his return, he built Gangaikondacholapuram (city of the Chola conquerer of the Ganga), a new capital.

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However, the Chola Empire declined at the beginning of the thirteenth century AD.

           With his capital as Mahodayapuram in present day Kodungallur, Kulashekhara Alwar established the second Chera dynasty. Kulashekhara is also credited with writing Perumal Thirumozhi, one of the most celebrated devotional works of the Tamil Bhakti cult.

           Rama Varma Kulashekhara was the last Chera King of the second Chera dynasty who ruled from AD 1090 to 1102. He fought a war with his contemporary Chola ruler Kulothunga Choladeva, but the prolonged wars weakened the Chera power. Some Naduvazhis (chiefs) took advantage of this chaotic situation to assert their power.

           The Chera kingdom was known for its foreign trade relations; many Arab travellers described the economic boom achieved by the state from its foreign trade. Mahodayapuram fell into the hands of the kingdom of Perumpadappu after the Chera rule.

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