Question

Analyze the reasons for the decline of the Delhi Sultanate.

Answer 1

The rule of the Delhi Sultans lasted for over three centuries-A.D. 1206-1526. The causes that led to the downfall of the Sultans were:

1. The Delhi Sultans came and conquered India by the force of their armies. But they never tried to win the confidence and love of their subjects.

2. Most of the Sultans were religious fanatics. Sultans like Firoz Tughlak and Sikander Lodi re-imposed jazia, the much-heated pilgrimage tax on the Hindus. Consequently the Hindus hated them and became their enemies.

3. The Muslim nobility was also much to be blamed for the downfall of the Sultans. The armies and the nobles were too powerful and could be kept under control only by powerful rulers like Alla-ud-din Khiliji and Balban. Whenever a weak ruler came on the throne they took advantage and rebelled against them.

4. The jagirdari system received by Firoz Tughlak was an important factor responsible for the ruin of the Sultans. The jagirdars became very powerful in their territories and asserted their independence.

5. The empire was too vast to be controlled in those days when means of communication were not so developed.

6. Timur’s invasion gave the final blow to the already disintegrating Sultanate and with Babur’s invasion came the end of the Delhi Sultanate.