In the 11th–12th centuries the Turks attacked India again and again. This finally led to the rule of the Sultans of Delhi (1206–1526 C.E.). We will learn about their policies, administration, the life of the people, and their buildings and literature.

From the 8th century, invaders came again and again across the north-western borders. They wanted to loot wealth, win land and spread Islam.

• The Arab invasion: The Arabs were the first. In 712 C.E. the Arab army conquered Sindh and Multan. Islam began to spread there, but Arab rule soon declined.
• Mahmud (Muhammad) Ghazni: About three centuries later, the Turkish Sultan of Ghazni (a small kingdom in Afghanistan) attacked India 17 times (1000–1026 C.E.). Rich cities were destroyed, and temples such as the Sri Krishna temple of Mathura and the Somnath temple of Gujarat were destroyed.
• After Independence, the Somnath temple was rebuilt grandly in 1951 and opened by our first President, Dr. Babu Rajendra Prasad.
• Muhammad Ghori: In the late 12th century, Ghori of Afghanistan took Sindh and Punjab. Prithviraj Chauhan, king of Delhi, defeated him in the first battle of Tarain (1191). The next year Ghori won the second battle of Tarain (1192), killed Prithviraj and took Delhi.
• Ghori handed the conquered lands to his general Qutb-ud-Din Aibak, who began ruling as Sultan of Delhi.

Delhi was ruled by 5 dynasties: Slave, Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi.

• Qutbuddin Aibak was a slave of Muhammad Ghori, so his dynasty is called the ‘Slave Dynasty’. After Ghori died, he ruled Delhi independently (1206–1210).
• He made Turkish rule strong by defeating his enemies. To mark his victory he started building the Qutb Minar at Mehrauli near Delhi. It was completed by Sultan Iltutmish.
• Raziya Sultana (1236–1240) was the only woman ruler of the Sultanate. She gave justice in the royal court, dressed as a man and led the army in battle. The nobles could not accept a woman ruler and killed her.

• Alauddin Khalji (1296–1316) was the strongest of all the Sultans. His rule was based on military power.
• Policies: reforms in administration, army and economy; he fixed the prices of common goods; he banned liquor and gambling; the guilty were punished severely.
• Military expeditions: He conquered North India and sent his slave-general Malik Kafur with a huge army to the South. Malik Kafur attacked four kingdoms and looted their capitals: the Yadavas (Devagiri), Kakatiyas (Warangal), Hoysalas (Dwarasamudra) and Pandyas (Madurai). He went up to Rameshwaram, plundered temples and took huge wealth to Delhi.
• Alauddin supported the Persian poets Amir Khusrau and Amir Hasan. He built the Siri fort and the Alai Darwaza in Delhi.
• His last days were sad: there were revolts in the palace, and Malik Kafur, greedy for power, killed him and became Sultan, but was killed too. Soon Khilji rule ended.

• Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325–1351) was a scholar, but he was hasty, lacked practical sense and had a strange temperament.
• Shifting the capital: He thought Devagiri, in the centre of India, would be a better capital and would make it easy to attack the South. He renamed it Daulatabad (700 miles from Delhi) and ordered the people of Delhi to move there. Many died on the way. Realising his mistake, he ordered them back; only a few survived.
• Token coins: He issued copper token coins with the same value as silver coins, but did not make a rule that only the government could make them. People made copper coins at home. The government could not give silver for all of them, so he took back the old coins. This failure weakened the treasury.
• People revolted. He died of fever while putting down a revolt in Sindh.

After them, the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties ruled for a short time. The last Lodi ruler, Ibrahim Lodi, was defeated by Babur in the battle of Panipat (1526), and the Mughal empire began.

• Administration: Most people were Hindus, but rule followed Turkish rules. Military power was the backbone. The Sultans were despotic (all-powerful). Balban said he was God’s representative, answerable only to God. Local rulers revolted often, and the Sultans always feared losing power.
• Economy: Land tax was a heavy burden on peasants; Muhammad bin Tughlaq raised it and collected it strictly, so peasants revolted. Weaving was a major job. Building work gave jobs in cities. The Sultans mainly imported war horses.
• Slavery: Slaves were sold in open markets; Alauddin even fixed their price. Alauddin had 50,000 slaves and Firuz Shah Tughlaq 1,80,000.
• Architecture: Qutb Minar (71 m tall), Alai Darwaza (a grand entrance), Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the Siri fort.
• Literature: The Urdu language developed. Amir Khusrau and Amir Hasan were great Persian poets. Khusrau was a great musician who designed instruments like the tabla and sitar. Jayasi wrote the Sufi poem ‘Padmavat’. Ramananda, Kabirdas, Raidas and Meerabai were saints of this period.