Skip to content
Civil Services Notes Civil Services Notes Civil Services Notes

Consolidation - Rule of Iltutmish and Balban

Consolidation - Rule of Iltutmish and Balban

Section titled “Consolidation - Rule of Iltutmish and Balban”

2020-04-27 12 :17: 42

Iqta System

Section titled “Iqta System”
  • to consolidate, rulers made rev assignments (iqta), in lieu of cash.
  • & assignees called muqti, wali who maintained troops, paid troops, sent surplus (fawazil) to centre
  • made them head of provincial administration
  • was used during the caliphate administration
  • ! did not imply the right to land nor was it hereditary
  • Fiefs of Europe were non-transferable and hereditary
  • @ for greater centralization new officers appointed called amir - was incharge of army and adm and wali-ul-kharaj in-charge of rev collection

Iltutmish(1210 -1236)

Section titled “Iltutmish(1210 -1236)”
  • Made DS well knit and compact state - real establisher

Challenges

Section titled “Challenges”
  • Aram Shah’s claim on Delhi defeated at Tarain
  • Some Nobles did not accept his accension
  • $ Minhas Siraj : Hostilities b/w him, army and Turks at several occasion
  • Turkish rule divided into 4 portions - struggle b/w Qubacha in Multan, Yalduz in Lahore and Khalji’s in Bengal.

Punjab, Sindh

Section titled “Punjab, Sindh”
  • $ Yalduz was ousted from Ghazni by Khwarizm shah, He defated Qubacha occupied Lahore, Qub went to Multan, Yalduz later defeated by Iltutmish.
  • 1221 J Mangbarni came had alliance w/ Khokars, Il refused alliance against Mongols, J M defeated Qub occupied Ucch.
  • 1228 Il defeated Qub captured Multan + Sindh.

Lakhnauti and Bihar

Section titled “Lakhnauti and Bihar”
  • $ Mihanz Siraj : Bhatiar Khalji was a man of impetus, enterprising, intrepid, bold, expert in warfare
  • BK devastated Nalanda, Vikramshila univs. Minhaz’s account is the source - BK decieved as horse trader defeated Laskhman Sena.
  • BK defeated in Assam killed by Ali Mardan 1205
  • Ghiyasuddin Khalji was contemporary of Il
  • Il defeated Iwaz, captured Lakh in 1230
  • Also captured Ranthambore, Bayana, Gwalior and later Ujjain

Estimate as Ruler

Section titled “Estimate as Ruler”
  • Re-established territorial integrity of DS made it truly indep
  • Showed tact, patience, farsightedness
  • Steady consolidation instead of rapid expansion
  • Made Delhi political, adm, cultural centre
  • Made Qutb Minar, Hauz Shamsi, gave honours to sufi saints ex Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki
  • Estd 1st hereditary sovereignty
  • Not able to create compact state
  • More - < https://www.gktoday.in/gk/iltutmish/>

Age of Balban (1246-87 Aka Ulugh Khan)

Section titled “Age of Balban (1246-87 Aka Ulugh Khan)”
  • One of Chihalghani, fough against Mongols, raided against rebellious Rajas Zamindars
  • Opposed by certain nobles est Qutlugh Khan Gov of Bihar
  • Killed Raihan his chief competitor, poisoned Sutan Nasiruddin Mahmud

Balban(1266-87) As Ruler/ Balban’s Theory of Kingship

Section titled “Balban(1266-87) As Ruler/ Balban’s Theory of Kingship”
  • Beginning of strong, centralised govt.
  • Adopted Iranian theory of Kingship - king was divine/semi divine answerable only to God.
    • Fundamental diff b/w Nobles and King
    • Claimed descendance from Afraisyab
  • % His theory reconciled w/ Islamic theory of Kingship
  • % Sultan the Shadow of God/ Zil-I-Allah
  • % Everyone present in court perform Paibos, Sijda
  • ! Maintained splendid court under a Mir Hajib, decorated w/ Horses Elephants etc, held parties - for political purpose
  • $ Barani : People came from 100 200 kos to see his procession, if people are not impressed sovereignty and governance cannot be upheld.
  • No sharing of power, poisoned family members
  • @ Looked down upon lower born, did not give them imp posts, racial exclusivism, dismissed ignobles from lower adm.
    • $ Barani : mandate given to him by God to not appoint ignobles, body trembled w/ rage on seeing them
  • $ Barani : Great emphasis on Justice made him popular among subjects, Flogged Gov of Badaun to death, Flogged Superintendent of Arms.
  • No favour to close ones, appointed Barids.
    • Compassionate -> asked son be moderate in levying taxes, helped poor, special care to them while army passed

Blood and Iron

Section titled “Blood and Iron”
  • 1st 2 yrs of reign Harsh against Rebellions ex Meos around Delhi, built fort, estd tax free villages.
  • similarly in Doab disobedient iqdars entire villages was destroyed, women, children seized as slaves.
  • Roads freed from dacoits robbers -> prices good slaves dec.
  • Similarly steps for Rebels in Katihar
  • Wrong to apply for all of his policies
  • Reorganised, expanded army directly under his control w/ experienced soldiers, inc remuneration, frequent hunting expedition to keep them alert.
Critical Examination of Balban’s Policy of Blood and Iron
Section titled “Critical Examination of Balban’s Policy of Blood and Iron”

![[#Assessment of Balban]]

  • More content needed
  • #todo

Problems Faced by Balban during His Rule

Section titled “Problems Faced by Balban during His Rule”
  • https://www.historyforexam.com/2018/12/problems-faced-by-balban.html
  • Internal dissensions from Nobles -> more serious threat, attempt by Rajputs, Rajas, Big Zamindars to expel them ex from Gwalior, Ranthambore
  • Lakhnauti rulers tried to assert their independence ex Yuzbek, Thughril were appt by Balban.
  • Mongol Threat -> Rulers of Ghuz, Ghazni ousted by M captured cis Indus region.

Assessment of Balban

Section titled “Assessment of Balban”
  • Stern enforcement of law -> basis for growth, future expansion of Sultanat
  • Revenues previously appropriated by Chihalgani now went to Gov
  • No large scale building activity, emphasis more on army
  • Kept Mongols at bay, but not able to push them beyond Lahore
  • ! Failed to control Tughril’s rebellion
  • ! Resorted to policy of poison, secret assassination of nobles to break Chihalghani’s power; Exaggeration of family, ancestry. Both proved counter productive
  • Built a polity not capable of sustaining itself, but had capacity of expansion.

PYQs

Section titled “PYQs”
  1. What were the problems Balban faced? How far did he succeed in solving them? Was he a trendsetter in his theory of kingship? [1985, 60m]
  1. Write a short note on: “Main sources of information for the history of the 13th century.” [1987, 20m]
  1. Discuss the salient features of Indian society on the eve of the campaigns of Mahmud of Ghazni, with particular reference to the observations made by Al-Biruni. [1989, 60m]
  • [1. Discuss the salient features of Indian society on the](onenote:…. Ancient%20HistoryPart%20IIRegional%20States%20during%20Gupta%20Era. one #PYQs %20and%20Answers&section-id={762B0AE5-2A23-4D1F-9D30-89664CBE1143}&page-id={5E93C217-B8A5-4096-BBBD-899DAAE068C7}&object-id={2809722D-6D66-485E-BF89-BC05CE47F02B}&12&base-path= https://d.docs.live.net/bbc8be5bd337910c/Documents/History%20Optional )
  1. Comment on “Balban’s theory of kingship.” [1995, 20m]
  1. Give an estimate of Ghiasuddin Balban. [1996, 60m]
  1. Write a short essay on: “The ‘Corps of Forty’ and its relations with the Sultans.” [2004, 20m]
  1. Bring out the main features of the administration system under Delhi Sultanate during Turko-Afghan Period. [2006, 60m]
  1. Write a short essay on: “The ‘Corps of Forty’ and its relations with the Sultan.” [2008, 20m]
  1. Assess the contribution of Iltutmish for the expansion and consolidation of the Delhi Sultanate. [2011, 20m]
  1. How did the Mongol invasions affect the Delhi Sultanate and the north-western frontier policy of the Delhi Sultans? [2012, 30m]
  1. Analyze the steps taken by Razia Sultan to strengthen her position as an independent ruler despite various obstacles. [2013, 10m]
  1. What measures did Balban adopt to combat the Mongol menace? [2015, 10m]
  1. Critically examine the ‘blood and iron’ policy of Balban. [2017, 10 Marks]
  1. What measures were initiated by the Sultans for the consolidation of the Delhi Sultanate? Discuss. [2016, 20 Marks]
  1. To what extent was the Caliphate the source and sanction to the legal authority of the Sultans of Delhi? [2017, 15 Marks]
  1. “The battles of Tarain and Chandawar laid the foundations of Turkish rule in India”. Elaborate. [2018, 10 Marks]