Firoz Shah Tughlaq

Firoz Shah Tughlaq succeeded the throne after Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s death.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq: (1351-88)

After his accession, Firoz ShahTughlaq was faced with the problem of preventing the imminent break up of the Delhi Sultanate. He adopted the policy of appeasing the nobility, the army, and theologians and asserting his authority over only such areas, which the center could easily administer. He, therefore, did not attempt to re-assert his authority over South India and Deccan.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq decreed that whenever a noble died his son should be allowed to succeed to his position including his lata and if he had no sons, his son-in-law, and in his absence his slave.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq extended the principle of heredity to the army. Soldiers were allowed to rest in peace and to send in their place their sons. The soldiers were not paid in cash but by assignments on land revenue of villages. This novel technique of payment led to many cases of abuse.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq tried to win over the theologians proclaiming that he was a true Muslim king and the state under him was truly Islamic. To keep the theologians satisfied a number of them were appointed to high offices.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq tried to ban practices, which the orthodox theologians considered un-Islamic. Thus he prohibited the practice of Muslim women going out to worship at graves of saints. It was during the time of Firoz that Jizya became a separate tax. Firoz refused to exempt the Brahmanas from payment of Jizya since this was not provided for in Sharia.

The new system of taxation was according to Quran. Four kinds of taxes sanctioned by the Quran were imposed: Kharaj, Zakat, Jizya, and Khams. Kharaj was the land tax, which was equal to 1/10 of the produce of the land, Zakat was 27% tax on property, Jizya was levied on non-Muslims and Khams was 1/6 of the booty captured during the war.

To encourage agriculture, Firoz Shah Tughlaq paid a lot of attention to irrigation. Firoz repaired several canals. The first canal was from Sutlej to Ghaggar. The second canal carried the waters of Jamuna to the city of Hissar. The third canal started from the neighborhood of Mandhavi and Sirmour Hills and connected with Hansi. The fourth canal flowed from the Ghaggar by the fort of Sirsuti up to the village of Hirani – Khera.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq was a great builder, to his credit are the cities of Fatehabad, Hissar, Jaunapur, and Firozabad. During his Bengal campaign, he renamed Ikdala Azadpur and Pandua Firozabad. The two pillars of Asoka, one from Chopra and another from Meerut were brought to Delhi.

The Sultan was established at Delhi, a hospital described variously as Dar-ul-shifa, Bimaristan, and Shira Khana. The chief architect of state was Malik Ghazi Shainan who was assisted in work by Abdul Haq.

A new department of Diwan-i-Khairat was set up to make provision for the marriage of poor girls.

Another step that Firoz Shah Tughlaq took was both economic and political in nature. He ordered his officials that they should select handsome and wellborn young boys and send them to Sultan as slaves whenever they attacked a place. However, his rule is marked by peace and tranquility, and credit for it goes to his Prime Minister Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul.


After Firoz Shah Tughlaq : (1388-1414)

The Tughlaq dynasty could not survive much after Firoz Shah’s death. The Malwa, Gujarat, and Sharqi (Jaunpur) Kingdoms broke away from the Sultanate.

Timur’s Invasion:1398-99- Timur, the lame, a Turkish Chief and cruel conqueror from Mangolia and descendant of Chengiz Khan, invaded India in 1398 during the reign of Muhammad Shah Tughlaq, the last ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty.
Taimur’s army mercilessly sacked and plundered Delhi. Timur returned to Central Asia, leaving a nominee named Khizr Khan to rule Punjab. In 1404 he died while on his way to conquer China.


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