The Administrative System of the Delhi Sultanate

The system of administration of the Delhi Sultanate evolved a process that ran parallel to its
political progress. There is no single source from where this process of dev elopement can be
traced. Much of the information is gleaned from Ziauddin Baranis Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi and
Fatawa-i-Jahandari. The latter book is in fact a valuable source dealing with the royal fatawas or
orders that were passed by successive sultans bringing about important changes in the
administration. Barani made a collection of these fatawas and arranged them with his own
comments and critique. He was a contemporary to most of these sultans; hence his
commentaries are extremely valuable, although there is the propensity of these comments
being one-sided.

Sultanate administration was actually the creation of Iltutmish, effectively the first sultan of
Delhi. He made Delhi the seat of government, built up an army, arranged a makeshift effort at
revenue collection (iqta system), and considered the distant annexed territories as integral parts
of the growing empire, organizing administration of these under the supervision of the sultan.
He also gave the Sultanate a political agenda and an ideology based upon Jahandari and Zawabit.
Jahandari was good government founded on the wisdom, prudence and experience of the ruler
and Zawabit was the collective body of Zabita or ordinances through which the Jahandari should
work. It is to be noted that Iltutmish ignored the shariat in matters of government and was
indifferent towards the ulema class, who were the proponents of this body of Islamic law.
Iltutmish scrupulously separated the state from religion. The later sultans like Balban, Alauddin
Khalji and Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq followed the same policy. The Sultanate therefore was in no
way a theocracy though some historians like R.P Tripathi and Srivastava would claim so.
Historians like Muhammad Habib, Khaliq.Ahmad Nizami firmly believed that the Sultanate as a
body politic and its governance were far removed from any religious notion. Nizami is of the
opinion that the Turkish sultans of Delhi carried with them the profound impact of Persian
culture and tried to recreate as much of Persian culture and tradition as possible. Therefore,
every detail of the Turkish administration from theories of kingship to names and nomenclature
of institutions, of institutions and officers and to army organizations breathed of Persian
atmosphere. The official language of the Sultanate was also Persian though the sultans were
Turks while the Lodis were Afghans.

In such a situation, the Sultanate could never strictly be confined within the definitive structure
of religion. Nizami further wrote so far as the administrative institutions of Delhi were
concerned, most of them had evolved and developed in Persian lands and consequently the
Persian stamp was very deep upon them. Even the army was modelled on the armies of
medieval Persia. This according to Nizami is proved by a careful reading of the contemporary
account, Adab-ul Harb wa Shujaat of Fakhre Mudabbir.
- (Nizami K.A, Religion and Politics in India in the Thirteenth Century, Oxford).

Neither was the Sultanate of military nature. Here again Nizami tells us that frequent and regular
military operations did not necessarily indicate the fact that the Sultanate depended on the
army. There are ample examples of popular support to the government even from among the
Hindus.

-(Nizami K.A., Religion and Politics in India in the Thirteenth Century, Oxford).

The Sultan

The sultan was at the head of the sultanate government though nominal acknowledgement to
the suzerainty of the Khaliph was prudently made by most sultans. The exception was
Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah, son of Alauddin Khaji. Otherwise a insignificant sultan, Qutubuddin
Mubarak Shah proclaimed the independent power of the sultan claiming that the Khaliph had no
authority over the sultanate whatsoever. The sultans power and position had no mention in the
Shariat. Yet the Sultanate was both a reality and an enforcing political entity. Thus we find
medieval theorists like Ghazzali and historians Fakhre Mudabbir and Amir Khusrau and even
Barani talked in earnest about the necessity of such a political authority.

I.H Qureshi gives an excellent summary of the duties and responsibilities of the sultan from such
medieval works like Suluk-i-Muluk,.Nuh Siphir and Fatawa-i-Jahandari which included defence of
the faith but also maintenance of law and order and protection of the subjects. Collection of
taxes, to patronise and look after the poor and the needy and the learned and devoted religious
men, to keep in regular and watchful touch the affairs of the state and the conditions of the
people were other responsibilities. Though waging holy war against the non-Muslims was
considered a duty, no sultan actually undertook it; at least not in that capacity. Wars against
Hindu states were undertaken for territorial expansion and acquisition of wealth. And in reality
all sultans with the exception of Firuz Shah Tughlaq made it a policy to keep the ulema at a
distance from the affairs of the state. In meting out criminal justice, Shariat had to be followed
and only in that respect the qazis were chosen from the ulema.

The sultans position was not hereditary. They could nominate their successors though. There are
at least two instances of nomination. Sultan Razia was nominated by her father Iltutmish to the
throne and Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq nominated his cousin Firuz Shah to succeed him after his
death. But the sword was the deciding factor and successive amirs used their military power and
skill in getting to the throne. Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji and later his nephew Alauddin, Ghiyasuddin
Tughlaq, Buhlal Lodi, all forced their way to the throne in this manner.

The sultans were makers of policies, passed ordinances which had effectiveness of law, like the
market regulations of Alauddin and the ambitious projects of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. The
sultans never allowed religion to take the centre stage and always ruled by Jahandari. Barani
succinctly described the nature of the Sultanate as duniyadari for as he said dindari or rule of
religion was not possible. The sultans had ministers to help them.

The Ministers: Majlis-i-Khas

The sultans had to depend on the co-operation, collaboration and advice of a body of ministers
known as the Majlis-i-Khas. According to K.A Nizami there were four major departments in the
Sultanate government under four major ministers who together were clubbed under that name .
1) the Diwan-i-Wazirat,2) the Diwan-i-Risalat.3) the Diwan-i-Arz,4) the Diwan-i-Insha.

The Diwan-i-Wazirat dealt with the policy making and general affairs of the government. The
diwan wazir who headed this department was the sultans closest officer. We get the names of
wazirs like Nizamuddin Junaid in Iltutmishs time and Khwaja Hisamuddin Junaid belonging to
Firuz Shah Tughlaqs ministry.

Diwan-i-Arz was the chief of the military department. This department became very important in
the time of Alauddin Khalji who introduced many an important innovation in the army like
branding (dagh) of the horses brought in by the soldiers and also maintaining of descriptive rolls
(chehera) of the soldiers. Ziauddin Barani had made a very valuable collection of the advice
(wasaya) of sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban to his son Bughra Khan in his Fatawa-i-Jahandari.. Special
attention should be paid towards the recruitment and maintenance of the armythe affairs of
the army should be reported to the king everyday. The Diwan-i-Arz should be dignified in dealing
with the old army men and liberal in the recruitment of the new. (Nizami., chap III, page 109).
Alauddin Khalji also took care to see that his soldiers were happy in their situations. One of the
reasons of his introduction of the price control system was to alleviate the economic woes and
problems of the soldiers.

The Diwan-i-Risalat dealt with foreign and diplomatic correspondence.(Habibullah, Foundations

Diwan-i-Insha was the department of correspondence, records and documents dealing with
state matters. Though I.H Qureshi thinks that this department dealt with religious affairs,
historians like Nizami and Srivastava think otherwise and consider it mainly as the records
department. According to Nizami these departments were all under secular control and thus
formed the pivot of the government.

Other Departments and Officers

There were officers from the amir and malik class like the kotwals,wakil-i-dars, sarjandars,
akhurbegs, dabirs,and maustaffis who implemented the Sultanates policies in various fields.
Lesser officers like the barids kept the sultans constantly informed about the state of affairs. The
chief of the department of the barids was Barid-i-Mamalik. The person in charge of accounts
was Mushrif-i-Mamalik and the one looking into the audits was Maustafi-i-Mamlik. These two
officers were under the Diwan-i-Wazirat.

An important department was Madad-i-Maash. This department dealt with grants and
endowments to religious men, scholars and literary persons and scholars. Madad-i-Maash had
always been an integral part of theTurkish administration since the days of the Ummayid
Khaliphate. The Sultans of Delhi adopted it into their government. The department was placed
under a member of the ulema class, essentially a religious man himself. The post was called
Sadar-us-Sudur. Two new posts were created in the reigns of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad-
bin-Tughlaq respectively. One was the Diwan-i-Riyasatthe superintendent of the supermarket
Sarai-i-Adl and the other was the Diwan-i-Koh the officer in charge of the department of
agriculture.

Provincial Administration

Ghiyasuddin Balban in his wasaya( precepts or advices) to his son described Wilayatdari as
governorship and Iqlamdari as kingship. The distinction was very clear. However muqti or wali
was a particular post in relation to territorial assignments given to amirs and maliks. These
assignments were known as iqtas. The wali, muqti or iqtadar as he was variously called was the
holder of iqta, having had the right to collect revenue from specific land grants in the Doab
region. This was introduced during Iltutmishs time. The assignment also entitled responsibilities
of maintaining law and order and protection of that particular iqta. As such these assignments
had the validity of provinces and gave the iqtadars or the walis, the claim to provincial
governorship. The system was quite complicated. Iltutmish made the system transferable with
an additional duty of sending troops to the Sultans army. During the intervening period between
Iltutmishs death and Balbans acquiring of power, the walis turned their assignments into
hereditary possessions. Alauddin tried to abolish the system and since then the post continued
but perhaps with different implications. It may be assumed that the iqtadar or the muqti or the
wali now became various names of the provincial governor. The custom perhaps had an earlier
beginning as is known from Balbans wasaya.

It is very difficult to define provincial administration in the Sultanate period. For example,
Lukhnauti or Bangala as it came to be known since Firuz Shah Tughlaqs time would often
become independent. In Firuzs time Bangala became completely detached and till the time of
Sher Shah remained an independent principality. Gujarat conquered by Alauddin in 1299
however remained under control despite isolated incidents of revolts. Awadh, Kara, Multan,
Sindh, Badaun, Dipalpur in Punjab seemed to have remained within the imperial boundaries.
Devagiri in the south was annexed in the time of Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah and Dwarasamudra
and Warangal during Muhammad-bin-Tughlaqs reign. But the inclusion of these areas was short
lived. It is therefore very difficult to ascertain a definite account of the provincial administration
of the Sultanate period. It would not be perhaps wrong to assume thus that there was a certain
link between the central government and the distant regions and that link was in the nature of
collecting and sending a fixed amount of revenue or tribute to the central treasury. For all other
practical purposes the distant conquered regions were more or else ruled in an internal
autonomous manner by the so called governors.

Local Administration

Very little is known about the local administration in the Sultanate time. The village or the deh
was the lowest unit. The village had its own system of management. The village headman was
known as patwari and the village police man was the chowkidar. Later in the time of the Lodis
we come across a new administrative division called the pargana. We also hear about such terms
as mouza and mahal in relation to revenue collection. But these divisions became more known
in the 16th century in Sher Shahs time. In Alauddins time Hindu local officers were regularised
as khut, muquddam and chaudhuri. They were essentially petty revenue officers. It is not known
whether they performed administrative duties as well. The link with the villages was maintained
by a central officer called amil.

Finances

The Delhi Sultans did perhaps collect the taxes as ensured in the Shariat. These were ushar, a
land tax, khiraj an additional land tax, zakat a religious tax collected from the Muslim subjects
and jizya a non-agricultural tax collected from the non- Muslims. The sultans often made
exemptions with regard to this tax. For example most often the Brahmans enjoyed immunity
where as exceptions were made for the poor at times or they paid at a reduced rate. khams was
a share of the plunder which the individual soldier had to deposit to the state. Toll taxes
collected on highways and river banks and bridges, customs duties on trade and commerce were
other resources of the Sultanate treasury.

Land Revenue

Land revenue was an essential part of the administration. The system was set up by Iltutmish by
introducing the iqtadari system. The lands around Delhi and some parts of the Doab region were
considered as khalisa or royal lands managed directly by the amil with the help of the khut,
muquddam and the chaudhuris. While the iqtadars were responsible for collecting revenue from
their assigned iqtas keeping their fixed shares and sending the required amount to the central
treasury. Alauddin abolished the iqtadars right to collect revenue. It is not known however how
the revenue was collected thereafter. Perhaps the system of extending the khuts, muqaddams
and the chaudhuris in these areas was undertaken. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq undertook to
introduce innovative measures, like co-operative farming and extending loans and other facilities
to the ryots by establishing a separate agricultural department called the Diwani-i-Koh. Because
of the corruption and negligence of duties on the part of the amirs and also due to his sudden
death, the project did not work out. Firuz Shah Tughlaq made elaborate plans for measurement
and classification of lands and settling the annual estimate known as asal jumma tomar. His plans
did not work out because he was too lenient towards negligent and corrupt officers in charge.
The corruption in Firuzs time had been elaborately written by Barani. Firuz however made
technological improvements in irrigation by digging canals. Punjab particularly was benefited by
his irrigational schemes.

-(Muhammad Habib, K.A Nizami, The Delhi Sultanate)

Public Works

Most Sultans were concerned with public works. Iltutmish dug talaos or tanks for the availability
of drinking water in and around Delhi. The project of cleaning the existing tanks and digging new
ones continued. Alauddins famous Haus Khas still exists. Firuz Shah undertook irrigational
schemes. At least one canal dug by him exists today. He also undertook to restoration of old
buildings, minars and mausoleums. He set up a department for the employment of youths and a
marriage bureau to provide help to the needy in getting their daughters married. All the sultans
encouraged karkhanas or workshops to be set up for various crafts and industries. Firuz Shah
Tughlaq set up a central committee called Ghair-i-Ratibi to look after the different karkhanas.
Road building was yet another regular feature of the public works. Iltutmish built the three main
trade routes from Delhi to Multan, Delhi to Awadh and Delhi to Ujjain. These were further
improved by Balban. As part of his setting up of a second capital at Devagiri, Muhammad-bin-
Tughlaq set up sarais at frequent intervals on the road .to Daulatabad (Devagiri). Trees were
planted to provide shade. (Habib Muhammad and Nizami K.A, The Delhi Sultanate, Peoples
Publishing House, Delhi)

Judicial Administration

Theoretically the Sultan was the head of the judiciary. Sultans usually dealt with administrative
and political offences. Most sultans saw to it that justice was fairly meted out. Balban
particularly publicly tried negligent and oppressive amirs and took extra care to listen to the
grievances of the people. Religious and social offences were dealt by the Qazi-ul-Quzat.in
accordance with the Shariat. Actually the sultans who otherwise took care to separate the ulema
from administrative matters had to concede in this matter. Peace and justice and law and order
were maintained by officers like fouzdar, kotwal, thanadar and above all by the espionage system
carried out by barids.

Army

A large army was maintained by the sultans. The army was the creation of Iltutmish but further
improved and reorganized by Alauddin Khalji. The latter paid his soldiers in cash. The salary was
234 tankas annually and 78 tankas more for an extra horse. The horse (aspa) was the most
important war animal. K. A Nizami remarked this was the age of the horse. One reason why
Alauddin conquered Gujarat was to get control over the supply of horses which came through
the ports of Gujarat. His establishment of the separate horse market at the Sarai-i-Adl and
regulating market prices were also motivated by this. Judicious use of the elephant was another
feature of the Sultanate army. Elephants were not only used as baggage animals but also
strategically placed in the battlefields. Balban considered a single elephant to be as effective in
battle as five hundred horsemen. (Barani, Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, quoted by Nizami, Religion and
Politics in the Thirteenth Century, Oxford). Amir Khusrau was an eye witness to many a battle
fought by the Alai army and had spoken highly of an elephant army in his Qiran-us-Sadain.

The strategies were planned by sultans themselves. But they also had superior, talented
generals. Iltutmish was a fine commander in Qutubuddin Aibaks army. Alauddin had four very
talented generalsAlp Khan, Nusrat Khan, Ulugh khan and Zafar Khan. Later he had Malik Kafur,
the protagonist of his southern campaigns.

Slavehood and the special category of slaves called the mameluks were given special military
training. Most often they were manumitted and raised to the ranks of amir and malik. Iltutmish
and Ghiyasuddin Balban began their careers as slaves to become sultans later by dint of their
genius. Malik Kafur was also a slave but rose to take the highest command of the Alai army.