why was delhi the biggest market in india during the medieval period
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Trade and Commerce during the Sultanate and Mughal Period ... The coastal trade and trade between the coastal ports and north India was in the ... Many of these merchants had settled down in Delhi.
Medieval Indian History
Early Medieval Period and Sultanate of Delhi
An often tested topic in General Awareness for banking and other competitive exams is the Delhi Sultanate and the history of India during the medieval period. Let us take a brief look at the history of the Sultanate and then look at a few solved questions.
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Centre of Attraction – Delhi
Delhi became an important city only in the 12th century. It first became the capital of a kingdom under the Tomara Rajputs. They were defeated in the middle of the twelfth century by the Chauhans.
Delhi Sultans
By the 13th century, the Sultanates were successful in transforming Delhi into a capital. It controlled vast areas of the subcontinent. “Histories”, Tarikh (singular) / tawarikh (plural), were written in Persian, the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans by learned men: secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers.
Objectives of the Writings
They wrote their histories for the Sultans. The interest behind these was an expectation of rich rewards
They gave their precious advice to the rulers. These were based on the requirement to preserve an “ideal” social order. This order was to be based on birthright and gender distinctions
Not everyone shared their ideas.
In 1236, Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter, Raziyya, was crowned as the Sultan. Nobles did not appreciate her attempts to rule independently. She was thrown off the throne in 1240.
Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate
In the early 13th century, the control of the Delhi Sultans rarely went beyond heavily fortified towns occupied by garrisons. The Sultans were not in the control of the hinterland or the lands that were adjacent to a city or port. These ports were responsible for the supply of goods and services. They were, therefore, dependent upon trade, tribute or plunder for supplies.
It was extremely difficult to control the garrison towns in distant Bengal and Sind from Delhi. The state also faced challenges from the Mongol invasions from Afghanistan. The reigns of Ghiyasuddin Balban, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq witnessed huge expansions.
Administration & Consolidation
The early Delhi Sultans, especially Iltutmish did not approve of appointing aristocrats as governors. instead, they favoured their special slaves purchased for military service, called bandagan. The Khaljis and Tughluqs continued to use bandagan. They also gave special preferences to the people of humble birth to high political positions. They were usually their clients.
Slaves and clients were loyal to their masters and patrons. However, these slaves were not loyal to their heirs. Authors of the Persian tawarikh opposed the Delhi Sultans for appointing the “low and base-born” to high offices. Military commanders were appointed as governors of territories.
This land was iqta and their holder was the iqtadar or muqti. The muqti was responsible for the military campaigns. They also looked after the maintenance of law and order in their iqtas. But still, large parts of the subcontinent remained outside the control of the Delhi Sultans.
The Mongols, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, invaded Transoxiana in north-east Iran in 1219. They also captured the Delhi Sultanate during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq.
Alauddin Khalji’s defensive policy against Genghis
As a defensive measure, Alauddin Khalji raised a large standing army. He constructed a new garrison town named Siri for his soldiers. In order to feed soldiers, produce collected as tax from lands was done and paddy has got fixed tax as 50% of the yield. Alauddin chose to pay his soldiers salaries in cash rather than iqtas. He made sure merchants sell
So here, A.Khalji’s administrative measure was highly praised due to effective intervention in markets to have prices under control. He successfully withstood the threat of Mongol invasions.
Muhammad Tughluq offensive policy against Genghis
The Mongol army was defeated earlier. Muhammad Tughluq still raised a large standing army. Rather than constructing a new garrison town, he emptied the residents of a Delhi city named Delhi-i Kuhna and the soldiers garrisoned there. He collected the produce from the same area as a tax.
He also collected additional taxes to feed the large army. This coincided with famine in the area. Muhammad Tughluq also paid his soldiers cash salaries. But instead of controlling prices, he used a “token” currency. Since it was made of bronze, people could easily counterfeit it.