The Delhi Sultanate

Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) for UPSC — dynasties, iqta and revenue, Alauddin's and Tughlaq reforms, Indo-Islamic architecture, Vijayanagara and Bahmanis.

SyllabusGS I · History of India (Prelims); Indian culture — salient aspects of art forms, literature and architecture from ancient to modern times (Mains GS I)

This chapter covers 1206 to 1526 — from Qutbuddin Aibak to Ibrahim Lodi’s defeat at Panipat — and the great Deccan states that rose in the Sultanate’s shadow, Vijayanagara and the Bahmani kingdom.

What UPSC asks

Prelims: the sequence of dynasties and sultans; who created which department or reform (iqta, dagh, market control, token currency, Diwan-i-Amir-Kohi); monuments and their builders (Qutb Minar, Alai Darwaza, Tughlaqabad, Lodi tombs, Gol Gumbaz, Charminar, Hampi); historians and travellers (Barani, Minhaj, Ibn Battuta, Abdur Razzaq, Paes).
Mains GS I: Indo-Islamic architecture as a synthesis; the cultural meeting of Persian and Indian traditions (Amir Khusrau, Hindavi, music); Vijayanagara art and architecture.

Key sub-topics

Sub-topic	Focus
Dynasties	Mamluk, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi
Administration	Sultan and ministries, iqta, revenue, army
Reforms and experiments	Alauddin’s market control; Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s projects; Firoz Shah’s welfare
Culture	Indo-Islamic architecture, Persian historians, Amir Khusrau
The Deccan	Vijayanagara, the Bahmanis and the five Deccan sultanates

Topic pages