what measures
did balban take to restore the prestige of the Sultan
Answers
Besides, Balban gave shelter to all foreign scholars and nobles and named their residences in the name of their country or family because of which he was regarded as the protector of Muslim culture. This gave him a respectable position even in foreign countries of the Muslim world.
Achievement # 2. The Destruction of ‘The Forty’: Answer:
The following points highlight the top six achievements of Balban. They are: 1. Balban’s Theory of Kingship and Restoration of the Prestige of the Sultan 2. The Destruction of ‘The Forty’
Achievement # 1. Balban’s Theory of Kingship and Restoration of the Prestige of the Sultan:
Balban was the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate who expressed clear and firm opinion regarding the powers of the Sultan. Professor K.A. Nizami has expressed that it was necessary for restoring not only the dignity of the Sultan and eradicating the possibility of conflict with the nobility but also the result of an inferiority complex and guilty conscience.
Balban wanted to impress upon his nobles that he got the throne because of Divine will and not by the poisoned cup or the assassin’s dagger. Balban, primarily, emphasized two points regarding the theory of kingship. Firstly, that the monarchy was divinely ordained and, secondly, that it was necessary for the Sultan to be a despot.
He expressed that Kingship was the vice-regency of God on earth (niyabat-i-khudai) and it was next only to prophethood and therefore, his actions could not be judged by nobles or the people. He said to his son Bughra Khan that Kingship was the embodiment of despotism. On another occasion he declared that it was the King’s super-human awe and status which could ensure the people’s obedience.
Balban brought these ideas in practice. He claimed descent from the mythical Turkish hero, Afrasiyab of Turan, gave up drinking wine and pleasure-parties, kept himself aloof, maintained dignified reserve and stopped meeting not only the people but also the nobles. He never expressed unusual joy or sorrow in public.
Even when the news of the death of his eldest son, Muhammad was conveyed to him, he remained unmoved and carried on the routine administration though in his private apartment he wept bitterly. He never came to the court without complete regal dress and never laughed or gave a smile.
He framed certain rules for court-behaviour and enforced them strictly. He adopted many ceremonies of the Persian court. He introduced the practices of Zaminbos and Paibos (prostrating before and kissing the king’s feet on the throne), appointed tall and fearsome guards who were to stand round the king’s person with naked swords and, except high nobles, ordered the rest to remain standing in the court.
The court-dress was fixed up for the nobles also and drinking of wine was prohibited for them. Nobody could smile or laugh in the court. The yearly festival of Naurauj was celebrated in his court with great pomp and show. The foreigners were simply stunned by the glamour of his court.
Whenever Balban used to go outside the palace, his fierce bodyguards marched with him with naked swords and shouting ‘Bismillah-Bismillah’. All these measures, certainly, helped in restoring the prestige of the Sultan and added glamour to his personality.
Even when Balban worked as the Naib of Sultan Nasir-ud-din, he tried to break up the power of the group of ‘the forty’ (Turkan-i-Chihalgani) as he regarded it necessary to restore the powers of the Sultan. When he himself became the Sultan, he used every means to achieve this aim. A cup of poison and the dagger of an assassin were equally good for him.
By the time Balban ascended the throne, most of these nobles had either died by themselves or were destroyed by Balban. The rest who remained were now killed or deprived of power. The governor of Badaun, Malik Baqbaq, who had beaten one of his slaves to death, was flogged publicly. Another influential noble and the governor of Avadh, Haibat Khan was flogged with 500 stripes and then delivered to the widow of the slave whom he had murdered while he was drunk.