Muhammad bin Tughluq: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Sultan of Delhi, India (r. 1325–1351)}}

{{for2|the play by Cho Ramaswamy|[[Muhammad bin Tughluq (play)]]|the 1971 Indian Tamil-language film|[[Muhammad  bin Tughluq (film)]]}}

| name           = Muhammad bin Tughluq

| title           = Fakhr Malik

| image           = File:Muhammad Bin Tughlaq 1.jpg

| image_size     = 250px

| caption         = Silver Coin of Muhammad bin Tughlaq

| succession     = [[Tughluq dynasty|Sultan of Delhi]]

| reign           = 1 February 1325 – 20 March 1351

| predecessor     = [[Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq]]

| successor       = [[Firoz Shah Tughlaq]]

| birth_date     = c. 1290  

| birth_place     = [[Delhi Sultanate]]

| death_date     = 20 March {{death year and age|1351|1290}}

| religion       = [[Islam]]

|dynasty=[[Tughlaq Dynasty]]| father         = [[Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq]]

'''Muhammad bin Tughluq''' (also known as '''Prince Fakhr Malik''' '''Jauna Khan''', '''Ulugh Khan)'''; c. 1290 – 20 March 1351) was the [[Delhi Sultanate|Sultan of Delhi]] from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of [[Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq|Ghiyas -ud -Din -Tughlaq]], the founder of the [[Tughluq dynasty]].<ref name=Doulie>{{cite book|last=Douie|first=James M.

|year=1916|title=The Panjab North-West Frontier Province and Kashmir|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LBBCAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA171| page=171}}</ref>Ghiyas-ud-din sent the young Muhammad to the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] to campaign against king [[Prataparudra]] of the [[Kakatiya dynasty]] whose capital was at [[Warangal]] in 1321 and [[Siege of Warangal, 1323|1323]].<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=91–97}}</ref> Muhammad has been described as an "inhuman eccentric" with bizarre character by the accounts of visitors during his rule.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sewell|first=Robert|title=A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar)|publisher=Swan Sonnenschein & Co|pages=12–15}}</ref> He is also known for wild policy swings.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Muhammad bin Tughlaq: The Sultan of Swing|url=https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/oK5m9vrkAddF0aLNBz0VTI/Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq-The-Sultan-of-Swing.html|last=Venkatesh|first=Karthik|date=18 March 2017|website=Livemint|language=en|access-date=15 May 2020}}</ref> Muhammad ascended to the [[Delhi]] throne upon his father's death in 1325.

He was interested in medicine and was skilled in several languages — [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]] and [[Sanskrit]].<ref name=":0" /> [[Ibn Battuta]], the famous traveler and jurist from Morocco, was a guest at his court and wrote about his suzerainty in his book.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Crowds and Power |last=Canetti |first=Elias |date=1984 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |isbn=0-374-51820-3 |location=New York}}</ref>

Muhammad bin Tughluq was born to [[Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq]], who was in turn the son of a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] [[Mamluk|slave]] father and a [[Jat people|Punjabi Jat]] mother, and was the founder of the [[Tughluq dynasty]] after taking control of the [[Delhi Sultanate]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Haig|first=Wolseley|date=1922-07|title=Five Questions in the History of the Tughluq Dynasty of Dihli|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0035869x00053557|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume=54|issue=3|pages=319–372|doi=10.1017/s0035869x00053557|issn=1356-1863}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Khan|first=A.A|title=History of the Sadarat in Medieval India: Volume I: Pre-Mughal Period.|publisher=Idarah-i-Adabyat-i-Delli.|pages=Chapter 5}}</ref> His mother was known by the title Makhduma-i-Jahan, who was known for being a [[philanthropist]], having founded many [[hospital]]s.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

After the death of his father [[Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq|Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq]], Muhammad bin Tughlaq ascended the throne of [[Tughlaq dynasty]] of [[Delhi]] in February, 1325 A.D. In his reign, he conquered [[Warangal]] (in present-day [[Telangana]], India) Malabar and [[Madurai]] ([[Tamil Nadu]], India), and areas up to the modern day southern tip of the Indian state of [[Karnataka]]. In the conquered territories, Tughluq created a new set of revenue officials to assess the financial aspects of the area. Their accounts helped the audit in the office of the ''[[vizier|wazir]]''.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Medieval India: From Sultanate to the Mughals|last=Chandra|first=Satish|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|year=1997|isbn=978-8124105221|location=New Delhi, India|pages=101–102}}</ref>

Robert Sewell quotes from visitor accounts atrocities during the rule of Muhammad bin Tughluq. He is said to have ordered the massacre of all the inhabitants of the Hindu city of [[Kannauj|Kanauj]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Sewell|first=Robert|title=A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar)|publisher=Swan Sonnenschen & Co|pages=12–15}}</ref> He also decided to transfer his capital from [[Delhi]] to [[Daulatabad Fort|Devagiri]], which are 600 miles apart, then ordered the people to move back to Delhi. Thousands of people including women and children died during the journey.<ref name=":1" /> However, Muhammad bin Tughluq was also known for his tolerance to other religions.  Several historians mention that the Sultan honoured the Jain monk [[Jinaprabha Suri]] during the year 1328.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Majumdar|first=Ramesh Chandra, Majumdar A.K, Achut Dattatrya Pusalker, Dilip Kumar Ghose, Vishvanath Govind Dighe|title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Delhi Sultante.-2d ed|publisher=Bharativa Vidya Bhavan|year=1960|pages=86}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Chandramouli|first=Anuja|title=Muhammad bin Tughlaq: Tale of a Tyrant|publisher=Penguin eBury Press|isbn=0143446649}}</ref> Peter Jackson mentions that Muhammad was the only Sultan who participated in Hindu festivities.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Jackson|first=Peter|title=The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0521404770|pages=293}}</ref>

All facilities were provided for those who were required to migrate to Daulatabad. It is believed that the general public of Delhi was not in favor of shifting the base to Daulatabad.{{cn|date=March 2021}}

A broad road was constructed for convenience. Shady trees were planted on both sides of the road; he set up halting stations at an interval of two miles. Provisions for food and water were also made available at the stations. Tughluq established a [[khanqah]] at each of the stations where at least one [[sufi]] saint was stationed. A regular postal service was established between Delhi and Daulatabad. In 1329, his mother also went to Daulatabad, accompanied by the nobles. By around the same year, Tughluq summoned all the slaves, nobles, servants, [[ulema]], sufis to the new capital.<ref name=":2" /> The new capital was divided into wards called ''mohalla'' with separate quarters for different people like soldiers, poets, judges, nobles. Grants were also given by Tughluq to the immigrants. Even though the citizens migrated, they showed dissent. In the process, many died on the road due to hunger and exhaustion. Moreover, coins minted in Daulatabad around 1333, showed that Daulatabad was "the second capital".{{sfn|Chandra|p=101}}

In 1334 there was a rebellion in Mabar. While on his way to suppress the rebellion, there was an outbreak of [[bubonic plague]] at [[Bidar]] due to which Tughluq himself became ill, and many of his soldiers died. While he retreated back to Daulatabad, Mabar and Dwarsamudra broke away from Tughluq's control. This was followed by a revolt in [[Bengal Sultanate|Bengal]]. Fearing that the sultanate's northern borders were exposed to attacks, in 1335, he decided to shift the capital back to Delhi, allowing the citizens to return to their previous city.<ref name=":2" />

;Impact of the Change of Capital:

While most of the Medieval historians, including Barani and Ibn Battuta, tend to have implied that Delhi was entirely emptied (as is famously mentioned by Barani that not a dog or cat was left), it is generally believed that this is just an exaggeration. Such exaggerated accounts simply imply that [[Delhi Sultanate|Delhi]] suffered a downfall in its stature and trade. Besides, it is believed that only the powerful and nobility suffered hardships if any. Two Sanskrit inscriptions dated 1327 and 1328 A.D. confirm this view and establish the prosperity of the Hindus of Delhi and its vicinity at that time.<ref name=":0" />

Although this decision was unpopular among the Muslim elite, one impact of this decision was that Islamic rule in Deccan lasted centuries longer than the Delhi's own unstable authority over the south. If not for Tughlaq's creation of a Muslim elite at Daulatabad, there would have been no stable Muslim power like the Bahmani empire to check the rising power of the Hindu Vijayanagaris.<ref>{{cite book |author= P.M. Holt, Ann K.S. Lambton, Bernard Lewis |title= The Cambridge History of Islam: Volume 2A |url= https://archive.org/stream/CambridgeHistoryOfIslamVol2B/Cambridge%20History%20of%20Islam%20Vol%202A#page/n31/mode/2up |publisher= Cambridge University Press |date= 22 May 1977 | page= 15}}</ref>

In 1333, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq led the Qarachil expedition to the [[Kullu district|Kullu]]-[[Kangra district|Kangra]] region of modern-day [[Himachal Pradesh]] in India. Historians like [[`Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni|Badauni]] and [[Ferishta]] wrote that Tughluq originally wanted to cross the [[Himalayas]] and invade China. However, he faced local resistance in [[Himachal]]. Prithvi Chand II of the [[Hindu]] [[Katoch]] kingdom of [[Kangra State|Kangra]] defeated the army of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq which was not able to fight in the hills. Nearly all his 100,000 soldiers perished and were forced to retreat.<ref name=":2" />

Muhammad Bin Tughlaq died in 1351 on his way to [[Thatta]],  [[Sindh]], while he was campaigning in [[Sindh]] against Taghi, a Turkic slave tribe. It was during his reign that the Sultanate of Delhi collapsed by twofold resistance. One was from Rajputs led by [[Hammir Singh]] of Mewar,<ref>{{cite book |title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Delhi Sultante |edition=2nd |editor=R. C. Majumdar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XKVFAQAAMAAJ |year=1960 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |page=70}}</ref> and the other from [[Vijaynagar Empire|Harihara]]  and [[Bukka]]  of South India. While [[Rana (title)|Rana]] [[Hammir Singh]] liberated the strategic [[Rajputana]] following the victory in [[Battle of Singoli]] in 1336,<ref>{{cite book |title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Delhi Sultanate |edition=2nd |editor=R. C. Majumdar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XKVFAQAAMAAJ |year=1960 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |page=70}}</ref> [[Vijaynagar Empire|Harihara]] and [[Bukka]] established a new empire called [[Vijayanagara Empire]], by initially defeating and later ending Madurai Sultanate that was ruling a major part of South India on behalf of Delhi Sultanate. Several other south Indian rulers like [[Musunuri Kaapaaneedu]], etc. also contributed to the downfall of the islamic Sultanate of Delhi. To add to Tughluq's woes, his own generals rebelled against him. One of his generals would go on to form the [[Bahmani Sultanate|Bahmani kingdom]] in the Deccan.<ref>Verma, D. C. ''History of Bijapur'' (New Delhi: Kumar Brothers, 1974) p. 1</ref> Though Sultan dynasties that arose after Tughluq campaigned outside Delhi they were defeated by Rajputs.

== Token currency ==

[[File: Muhammad Tughlak orders his brass coins to pass for silver, A.D. 1330.jpg|thumb|left|Muhammad Tughlak orders his brass coins to pass for silver, A.D. 1330]]

Historian [[Ishwari Prasad]] writes that different coins of different shapes and sizes were produced by his mints which lacked the artistic perfection of design and finish. In 1330, after his failed expedition to [[Deogiri]], he issued token currency; that is [[coins]] of [[brass]] and [[copper]] were minted whose value was equal to that of [[gold]] and [[silver]] coins. Historian [[Ziauddin Barani]] felt that this step was taken by Tughluq as he wanted to annex all the inhabited areas of the world for which a treasury was required to pay the army. Barani had also written that the sultan's treasury had been exhausted by his action of giving rewards and gifts in gold. In the rural areas, officials like the ''[[muqaddam]]s'' paid the revenue in brass and copper coins and also used the same coins to purchase arms and horses.{{sfn|Chandra|p=104}} As a result, the value of coins decreased, and, in the words of [[Satish Chandra]], the coins became "''as worthless as stones''". This also disrupted trade and commerce. The token currency had inscriptions in Persian and Arabic marking the use of new coins instead of the royal seal and so the citizens could not distinguish between the official and the forged coins. Records show that the use of token currency had stopped by 1333 as [[Ibn Battuta]] who came to [[Delhi]] in 1334 and wrote a journal made no mention of this currency.{{sfn|Chandra|p=105}}uu

There are conflicting views expressed by historians on his religious tolerance. While visitors Ibn Batuta, Nunez and Firistha mention that Muhammed Bin Tughlaq showed  intolerance to other religions,<ref name=":1" /> on the contrary, Peter Jackson mentions that Muhammed was the only Sultan who participated in Hindu festivities.<ref name=":3" /> Ibn Battuta mentions that the king of China (the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan Emperor]]) had sent an embassy to Muhammad for reconstruction of a sacked temple at [[Sambhal]]. The envoys were however denied with the statement that only those living in a Muslim territory who paid the ''[[jizya]]'' could be permitted to restore a temple. [[Firuz Shah Tughlaq]] had claimed that before his rule, idol-temples had been permitted to be rebuilt contrary to the Sharia.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lt2tqOpVRKgC&pg=PA288|title=The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|author=Peter Jackson|author-link=Peter Jackson (historian)|page= 288}}</ref>

Tughluq was a strict Muslim, maintaining his five prayers during a day, used to fast in Ramadan. According to 19th century CE [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] historian Stanley Lane-Poole, apparently courtesans had hailed Tughluq as a "man of knowledge" and had an interest in subjects like philosophy, medicine, mathematics, religion, Persian and Urdu/Hindustani poetry. In his  "''Medieval India''", "He was perfect in the humanities of his day, a keen student of Persian poetry{{nbsp}}... a master of style, supremely eloquent in an age of rhetoric, a philosopher trained in Logic and Greek metaphysics, with whom scholars feared to argue, a mathematician and lover of science."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Medieval India (Under Mohammadan Rule A.D 712–1764)|last=Lane-Poole|first=Stanley|publisher=Sang-e-Meel Publications|year=2007|isbn=969-35-2052-1|location=Lahore, Pakistan|pages=123–126}}</ref> Barani has written that Tughluq wanted the traditions of the ''[[nubuwwah]]'' to be followed in his kingdom.{{sfn|Chandra|p=98}} Even though he did not believe in mysticism, Chandra states that he respected the [[Sufi]] saints, which is evident from the fact of his building of the mausoleum of the saint [[Nizamuddin Auliya]] at [[Nizamuddin Dargah]].{{additional citation needed|date=December 2016}} Critics have called him hasty in nature, owing to most of his experiments failing due to lack of preparation. [[Ibn Battuta]] has also written that he depended on his own judgment and rarely took advice from others and has also criticized him for his giving of excessive gifts and "harsh punishments".{{sfn|Chandra|p=99}} He was famous because whenever a gift was bestowed upon him, he would give gifts worth three times the value to show his stature.{{cn|date=March 2021}}

* [[Muhammad bin Tughluq (film)|''Muhammad bin Tughluq'']] (1971) is an Indian satirical film in Tamil based on the play by Ramaswamy.<ref name="RajadhyakshaWillemen2014">{{cite book|author1=Ashish Rajadhyaksha|author2=Paul Willemen|title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rF8ABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1994-IA799|date=10 July 2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-135-94325-7|page=1994}}</ref>

* ''[[Thuglak]]'' is an Indian weekly news magazine published in Tamil. It was started by Cho Ramaswamy in 1970 and was named after the emperor (who also serves as its mascot).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2004/06/07/stories/2004060700430300.htm|title= Cho, what's up?|accessdate= 2008-08-25|last= Ramnarayan|first= Gowri|authorlink= |date= 7 June 2004|work= Interview|publisher= Kasturi and Sons Ltd for [[The Hindu]]|pages= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate=}}</ref>

* [[Doordarshan]] presented an episode with Muhammad bin Tughluq as a character in its series, ''[[Upanishad Ganga]]''.{{cn|date=March 2021}}

<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/regal-glorification-for-lord-ranganatha-at-srirangam/article4347622.ece|title=Regal glorification for Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam|first=L.|last=Renganathan|date=26 January 2013|access-date=12 July 2020|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref>

*{{cite book|last=Elliot|first=H. M. (Henry Miers), Sir|author2=John Dowson|title=[[The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period]] (Vol 3.)|chapter=15. Táríkh-i Fíroz Sháhí, of Ziauddin Barani| chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924073036737#page/n107/mode/2up|publisher=London : Trübner & Co.}}

*{{cite book|title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206–1526) – Part One|author-link=Satish Chandra|first=Satish|last=Chandra|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|ISBN=9788124110645|year=2004}}

*{{cite book|title=A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century|first=Farooqui Salma |last=Ahmed|publisher=Pearson Education India|ISBN=9788131732021|year=2011}}

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[[Category:Indian Muslims]]