Why did the latter half of the reign of the Delhi Sultans witness the rise of regional kingdoms?
Answers
Answer:
The indiscretion of Muhammad bin Tughluq brought into play a process of disintegration which was accelerated by the weakness and the impolitic steps of his immediate successor Firuz Shah Tughluq, such as the revival of the system of jagir, inordinate expansion of the number of the slaves, the imposition of jizya on the non-Muslims and the persecution of heretical Muslim sects.
This process of decline could not be checked by the weak Sayyids and the impolitic Lodis. The Lodis had some military successes to their credit but could not breathe any vitality in the administration nor could stop the policy of official repression of the people. The Delhi Sultanate lacking the force and vitality was tottering to its inevitable fall.
The Delhi Sultanate depended on the personality, ability and military efficiency of the Sultan himself. It is the rule of the sword primarily did not grow up on the habitual allegiance of the subjects on whom the Sultan ruled. Naturally, the foundations of the Sultanate were weak.
Where the Sultan was personally powerful and efficient, for example, under an Iltutmish, a Balban or an Ala-ud-din, the administration was effective and Sultan’s orders were obeyed. But whenever the Sultan was weak and incapable, the nobility of the court, the provincial governors and other nobles became busy in pursuit of self- interest.
The inherent defect of the Sultanate which followed the system of granting jagirs except under Ala-ud-din especially, and which kept the central authority busy in suppressing rebellions, was that whenever the centre was weak the centrifugal tendencies came into play.
The big estate holders, jagirdars, amirs and maliks, provincial governors and nobles who were the pillars of administration held much local influence; and whenever there was any sign of weakness or inefficiency at the centre, they would raise the standard of rebellion.