TODAY I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE TUGHLAQS
The Tughlaq Dynasty (Persian: )‫سلسلة تغلق‬of north India started in 1321
in Delhi when Ghazi Tughlaq assumed the throne under the title of
Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. The Tughluqs were a Muslim family of Turkic
origin. Their rule relied on their alliances with Turkic, Afghan, and
other Muslim warriors from outside South Asia.
The empire grew under his son and successor Muhammad bin Tughlaq,
but the latter became notorious for ill-advised policy experiments such
as shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and introducing
copper coins without effective regulation against forgery. Tughluqi has
as a result become synonym for brilliant if stubborn eccentricity in the
Urdu language.
After Muhammad bin Tughlaq his cousin Feroz Shah Tughlaq assumed
the throne. He was somewhat weak militarily mainly because of inept
army. After Feroz died in 1388, the Tughlaq dynasty started to fade out
and there were no able leaders; the dynasty was almost over within 10
years.
The Tughlaqs were basically of Turkish origin and the family was essentially
Muslim. Around the year 1321, Ghazi Tughlaq ascended the throne and was given the
title Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq. The Tughlaq dynasty was able to withhold its rule due
to their strong allies like the Turks, Afghans and the Muslim warriors of south Asia.
In the following lines, you shall find information about the history of Tughlaq
dynasty and the major rulers of this dynasty. So read about the Tughluq Empire.
The Tughlaq Dynasty which ruled a large part of India, from the throne in Delhi,
was founded by Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq. This dynasty stayed in power between 1320
and 1412. The Tughlaq Dynasty had three prominent rulers; Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq,
his son Muhammad bin Tughlaq and his nephew Firoz Shah Tughlaq. The first two
ruled over an empire which comprised almost the entire country, but the empire of
Firoz Shah was much smaller. After his death, the Tughlaq Empire disintegrated
and north India was divided into a series of small states. Although the Tughlaqs
continued to rule till 1412, the invasion of Delhi by Timur in 1398 marked the end of
the Tughlaq Empire. The Tughlaqs built a number of magnificent monuments.
Among these, the most notable ones are Tughlaqabad and Feroz Shah Kotla.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1300-1351), originally named Fakhr-ud-din Muhammad Junna
Khan, was one of the most remarkable rulers of the Tughlaq dynasty. He became king
after his father, Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq - the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty - died in an
accident. Muhammad bin Tughlaq was fluent in Persian, Arabic, Turkish and Sanskrit.
He also had sound knowledge of philosophy, logic, mathematics and medicine. During
his reign, a number of hospitals were established in Delhi. However, in Indian history,
Muhammad bin Tughlaq will be known for controversies and eccentricity. He took the
controversial step of transferring the capital from Delhi to Devagiri near modern
Aurangabad, which was base for expansion of the Turkish rule in South India. The
purpose of making Devagiri - which he renamed as Daulatabad - a second capital was
to control South India better. Though the attempt to have a second capital failed, it
helped in bringing North and South India closer together by improving communications.
Another step taken by Muhammad Tughlaq was the introduction of token currency. A
bronze coin was introduced as token currency. But this experiment failed because the
government was not able to prevent people from forging coins. The token currency was
subsequently withdrawn. The failures of these two experiments affected the prestige of
the sovereign, and also led to wastage of money. Muhammad bin Tughlaq increased
taxes in the fertile land of the Doab to increase the revenue of the empire, which in turn
led to discontent among the subjects. Muhhamad bin Tughlaq passed away on March
20, 1351 at Thatta.
Mohammad Bin Tughlaq was the second Tughlaq ruler of Delhi. He ruled Delhi from
1325 to 1351. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq was the eldest son of the founder of Tughlaq
dynasty in India, Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughluq. According to many historians, Mohammad
Bin Tughlaq is supposed to have killed his father to gain authority to the throne.
Muhammed Bin Tughluq is one of the most interesting rulers in the history of India. All
through his rule, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq introduced many reforms and measures but
all flopped. His biography states that he had a penchant for coins and is said to have
introduced a huge number of gold coins with fine calligraphy work.
The greatest mistake committed by Mohammad Bin Tughlaq was to shift his capital
from Delhi to Daulatabad, located in the Deccan region of India. He did this in order to
administer the provinces located in the south. Not only did he move his entire
government, he forcibly moved the entire population of Delhi to Daulatabad. However,
things did not work out as he had planned them and due to adequate amenities, the
capital was shifted back to Delhi after two years. The population was greatly affected
by this step and many of the people died on the way due to pathetic travel
arrangements.

Mohammed Bin Tughlaq introduced token currency in India after being inspired
by the Chinese. Most of the coins were made of brass and copper, while gold and
silver coins were kept for the royal treasury. However, the copper coins were
easy to forge and this led to massive losses in the royal office. His unsuccessful
experiments made him quite unpopular with the people and his contemporaries.
Poor administration in his empire led to internal aggression and revolts. This
weakened his empire and led to irreversible damages. He finally died while on a
campaign at Sindh.
Regarded as the most controversial figure in Indian history, because of his five
ambitious projects.
A. Increase in the land revenue in the Doab, between Ganga and Yamuna in north
India. The measure proved to be ill-timed, as Doab was passing through famine
which was followed by plague.
B. He was committed to maintaining the Sultanate's expansion into the newlyconquered provinces of peninsular India. To have better administration of these
southern parts of the Empire, Muhammad moved the capital from Delhi to Devagiri
in the Deccan, renaming that city Devagiri as Daulatabad.
Instead of moving just his government offices there, he forcibly moved the entire
population of Delhi to the new capital. The plan failed due to inadequate water
supply arrangements in Devagiri; the capital had to be shifted back again to Delhi
after two years.
A vast amount of the population died during the moves due to the inadequate travel
arrangements. It was said that Delhi was a ghost town for years after the move
back.
C. He also had the idea of introducing token currency for the first time in
India, modelled after the Chinese example, using copper coins, backed by
silver and gold kept in the treasury.
However, very few people exchanged their gold/silver coins for the new
copper ones and the tokens were easy to forge, which led to heavy losses.
Later, the Sultan repealed his verdict and all the copper coins were redeemed
in silver or gold from the treasury, making it empty.
D. Muhammad Tughlaq planned an expedition for the conquest of Khurasan
and Iraq. But the scheme was abandoned as conditions in Iraq improved (paid
the extra army for one full year).
E. The plan for the conquest of Karajal (Kumaon hills) also met with a
disastrous end
> During his last days, the whole of S.India became independent and three major
independent states - The Empire of Vijaynagar, The Bahmani kingdom and
Sultanate of Madura were founded.
> A new department for agriculture Dewan-i-Kohi was setup.
> He knew Arabic and Persian languages. He was also an expert in philosophy,
astronomy, logic and mathematics. He was also a good calligrapher.
> He built the fortress of Adilabad and the city of Jahanpanah.
> The famous traveller, Ibn Batuta came to Delhi during 1334. He acted as the
Quazi of the capital for 8 years. He has recorded the contemporary Indian scene in
his 'Safarnamah'. (called Rehla).
Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq
Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq was the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty in India. His
real name was Ghazi Malik and he ruled from 1320 - 1325. He was the one
who founded the city of Tughlaqabad outside Delhi. He waged a gruesome
battle against Khusrao Khan, who killed the last Khilji ruler. His successful
defense against the Mongols made him an able ruler and the founder of a
dynasty in India. He conquered many areas including eastern portion of
Bengal, a huge territory.
Feroz Shah Tughlaq
Feroz Shah Tughlaq was the successor of Mohammed Bin Tughlaq. Feroz
Shah was a caring ruler unlike Mohammed bin Tughlaq. He made sure that
people in his kingdom were happy and heard out their problems patiently.
However, he was not militarily strong and could not sustain any sort of
external attacks or aggression. Feroz Shah breathed his last in the year 1388
and after that the Tughlaq dynasty faded away in no time
The Later Tughlaqs History:
> Firoz Tughlaq was succeeded by his grand son who took up the title of
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah II. He was a pleasure-loving king who tried to
strengthen his position by merely disposing of all possible rivals.
> Ghiyasuddin was replaced by Abu Bakr Shah in 1389.
> Abu Bakr was replaced by Nasiruddin Muhammad in 1390, who ruled till
1394. His son Alauddin Sikandar Shah ascended the throne briefly in 1394. But
he fell sick almost immediately after his accession and died in 1394 only.
> The vacant throne now fell to Nasiruddin Mahmud Tughlaq. In his reign,
Timur invaded India.
MADE BY MUSTAFA SHABBIR
YELLOWRANGER_99@HOTMAIL.COM