Firuz Tughluq (1351-88)

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Feroz Shah

abolished 23 cesses including charai and gharai, took water tax called haqq-i sharb
practice of revenue-farming given to contractors

Concept of Kingship

Watershed moment, revived tradition based on benevolence estd by J Khalji.
Policy of conciliation towards all, gave up warfare.
Later part of reign became religiously narrow minded, bigot, undertook oppression.
$ Explains Benevolence in Futuhat I Firoz Shahi.
- Basic concept was based on acceptance of people, abrogating drastic punishments brought people to the Gov.
- Tore loan papers of MBT, asked those punished by MBT to write letters for his dead body, no punishments for rebels.
Led expedition against Bengal, Orissa, Nagarkot in Kangra and Thatta.
@ Tried to give the nobility hereditary character, Jauna Khan son of Wazir Khan I Jahan Maqbul, Zafar Khan governor of Gujarat.
- Was not done for other senior posts
@ Central army was paid in Wajh/Iqta not by cash; Soldiery to be hereditary.
Downgraded branding or horses, even paid a soldier 1 tankha to bribe clerk and pass his sub standard horse
! First ruler to take jiziya as separate from land tax

Agrarian Measure

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Publicly destroyed the documents of advance of 2 crore tankas made by MBT to dec burden on cultivators but most of it was misappropriated
$ Shams Siraj Afif mentions general cheapness of food grains during his reign without much of an effort from his side; all round prosperity that poor men could marry off daughters at a young age.
- Silks, brocades etc for royal purposes were procured in market prices
- He says homes were replete with grains, property, horses and furniture
- Abolished all taxes not sanctioned by Sharia
- @ New valuation/jama was based on produce and not measurement
Khwaja Hisamuddin Junaid was appointed to settle revenue afresh, made a new jama.
- 6 crores and 75 lakh tanka was fixed as a rough estimation
- @ benefit of any growth or decline was to be shared between Peasant and the state
- The bulk of land was appropriated to the nobles as iqtas who benefited from this.
To improve cropping pattern wheat and sugar cane began to be cultivated in place of inferior crops.
area around capital benefited the most, distant place like Sindh grain prices were unstable.
Later in his reign he tried to bring agricultural taxation in line with Shara. Abolishing 21 taxes including Gharai and Charai.

Achievements in Civil Engineering and Public Works

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Canals

! Ghiyasuddin Tughluq (1320-25) first Sultan to dig canals.
@ FST took to different level, built 2 canals from river Yamuna carrying it to Hissar, other from the Kali river in Doab joining the Yamuna near Delhi.
led to an emphasis on cash crops. Peasants from Punjab, started raising both Kharif and Rabi crops.
Canal was later repaired by Akbar, Shah Jahan and became the basis of Western Jamuna Canal.

Cities and other Civil Projects

@ Founded city Hissar-Firuza and Ferozpur near Delhi. Fatehabad renovated Jaunpur in east UP
Ferozpur has the famous Ferz Shah Kotla fort
extracted haqq I sharb (irrigation tax) from Khalisa areas
Built many dams and Bunds for irrigation
@ Fond of planting Orchards, had planted 1200 gardens around Delhi. Grapes were grown here and sultans income was 180, 000 tankas
& Set up a public works department to repair old buildings and mausoleums
- Mir I Imarat under Malik Ghazi for reparation etc of buildings
- Repaired Qutub Minar.
- Restored tombs of Iltutmish and Alauddin Khalji.
- & Diwan I Khairat help of poor needy, made arrangement for marriage of poor Muslim girls
- Endowments of lands etc, old age pensions, employment bureau, Charitable Kitchens.
- Offered civil and military services to persons for life, higher offices made hereditary -> Misplaced generosity.
Shamsi tank south of Qutd Minar and Hauz I Alai (Hauz Khas) built
& Transported Ashokan pillars from Meerut and Topra to Kotla and Ferozabad
Built inns for travellers, sufi khanqahs and rehabilitated them with villagers.
Hospital (dar-us-shafa) was estd at Delhi for free treatment for all
36 state owned factories for manufacture of various accessories of life and luxurious goods.
! Expansion of slavery or bonded labour, encouraged enslavement, forcibly converted to Islam.

Steps towards a Welfare State

Explains benevolence in Futuhat I Firoz Shahi, Muslim blood not be shed w/o cause, no human being be mutilated
Restored rent free lands to theologians
$ Shams Siraj Afif - all round cheapness in FST’s reign,
Rehabilitating Mosques, Madrassas, grants/idrar to teachers inc.
Unemployment beaurau, state help for marriage of girls of respectable family.

Decline of the Sultanate

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Reasons for the Decline of the Sultanate

& no clear, well defined law of succession dev in Sultanate, no primogeniture
Afghan rule of dividing the empire among kins led to decentralisation and weakening of the empire.
Conflict b/w Sultan and the Nobles. Ex the Chihalghani vs Raziya, Balbani etc.
Revenue assignments slowly became hereditary and permanent and the iqtas started to be sub assigned → increased regional ties and corruption
& Rise of Regional states viz Bahmani kingdom was estd in 1347 AD. Timurid invasion 1398 exsposed this weakness. Bengal, Malwa and Jaunpur soon followed suit
mongol threat led to inc in expenditure in army, constant vigilance but it did NOT significantly weaken the kingdom.
Struggle b/w Price Muhammad and Khan I Jahan II (lost), Corp of slaves also a major party - defeated and dispersed, Nasirudding Mahmud only stable last of Tughlaq dynasty.
Provincial govs asserted independence ex Gujarat, Khokhars, Malwas, Khandesh.
Difficult to control powerful, ambitious nobles methods to check them failed.
Recruitment of army was a problem : Sultan cut off from West, Central asia could not recruit Turkish soldiers, recruitment from Afghans, Rajputs, Mongols etc settled in IN difficult they had their own dissents.

Foreign Contacts and Ibn Batuta’s Account

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Ibn Batuta’s Account

Arabic socio-cultural life of 14th.
~ Set off IN in 1332 - 33 travelled extensively in Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman
Sultan appt him - Qazi or Judge w/ 5000 dinars as salary assigned villages equal to the amount
out of favour put to prison misunderstanding cleared sent to China as envoy of MBT
Malabar - Maldives - Sri Lanka - Malabar - Maldives - resumed mission to China Bengal - Assam - Sumatra - Quanzhou
Decided to return in 1347 compared to Marco polo
Account
- ~ Mentions being attacked by robbers, so he preferred travelling in a caravan along with robbers, wounded while moving from Multan to Delhi
Accused MBT of giving excessive rewards and punishments, appt low borns to high offices.
Token coins not mentioned by IB.
Talks about the recruitment process in the army, food grains, crops fruits etc produced in the country.
@ Soil was so fertile that it produced 2 crops a year, Rice sown thrice a year, some crops were basis of village industries like oil processing, making jaggery, indigo, spinning weaving, etc.
Foreign blood, descent from well-known foreign family was looked w/ considerable social value and esteem.
Mentions ships owned by Sultan of Delhi.
~ All foreign traders were called Khurasanis.
Delhi was the largest city in eastern part of Islamic world.
Sati was prevalent, done w/ great beating of drums but permission from Sultan was needed.

Slavery, Female Slavery as Accounted by Ibn Batuta

In Southern Arabia female slaves make large bucket attach to ropes tied around waste for irrigation.
& S from steppe sold in Cairo, sugar plantation of Cyprus or Sold in ITL
MBT gave Chinese emissaries 200 Hindi slaves, songstresses, dancers, 15 boy servants including textiles, dishware, swords as gifts.
Had received gifts of slave, a male Greek in Anatolia, Turkish slave boy in Astrakhan.
& Found a Muslim man in China who owned 50 white slaves, many slave girls, he was gifted 2 each.
& Fathered children with at least 2 slave girls
Chittagong had cheap slave, where he bought a female slave
Approves of concubinage, critical of prostitution mentions many Greek slaves girls being sold to prostitution in Turkey.
Punishments given for running away.
& Purchased slaves to offer MBT as gifts, Multan he received raisins, almonds, slaves and a horse.
Female slaves of MBT expert in music, dance, enjoyed their performance at wedding of Sultans sister.
MBT employed female slaves to keep watch on nobles.
Domestic work, palanquin bearers.
@ FST asked large iqtadars to capture slaves whenever at war and send them to centre.
- A separate muster master, treasury, diwan set up for them.
- Some did religious studies, some became artisans, armed guards, some dispersed to parganas.
- Created duality of adminsistration - Conflict b/w them and hereditary soldiers erupted.

PYQs

Firuz Tughluq: Agrarian measures, achievements in civil engineering and public works, decline of the Sultanate

Why was Firuz Tughluq regarded as an ideal Muslim king of medieval times? [1983, 20m]

Examine the responsibility of Firuz Tughluq for the fall of his dynasty. [1985, 20m]

“Firuz Tughluq has been overshadowed by Muhammad Tughluq.” In the light of this statement evaluate the significance of the policies and actions of Firuz Tughluq. [1990, 60m]

Form an estimate of the personality of Firoz Shah Tughlaq with special reference to his religious policy and public works. [2000, 60m]

Evaluating the theory of kingship of the Sultanate, discuss the deviations seen in the reigns of different Sultans. [2014, 20m]

Foreign contacts and Ibn Battuta’s account

What is your assessment of Ibn Batutah’s Rehla as an important source of Indian history. [2011, 20m]

Discuss evidence of slavery provided by Ibn Batuta with special reference to female slaves. [2018, 10 Marks]

Firoz Shah Tughlaq levied 4 types of major taxes Kharaj 1/10th of the land produce, Zakat 2.5% of property tax from Muslims, Kham 1/5th of booty captured, Jiziya from non-muslims