The Delhi Sultanate during the fifteenth and sixteenth century.
(i) After the Tughluqs, the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties ruled from Delhi and Agra until 1526.
(ii) Bythen, [aunpur, Bengal, Malwa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the entire South India had independent rulers. They had established flourishing states and prosperous capitals.
(iii)This was also the period which saw the emergence of new ruling groups like the Afghans and the Rajputs.
(iv) Some of the states established in this period were small but very powerful and extremely well administered.

In a brief, Sultan Iltutmish's daughter, Raziyya, became the Sultan in 1236. The chronicler of the age named Minhaj-i Siraj said that she was more able and qualified than all her brothers.
(i) Her brothers were not comfortable having her as ruler.
(ii) The nobles were also not happy at her attempts to rule independently.
(iii) She was removed from the throne in 1240.

(i) Delhi Sultans brought the hinterland of the cities under their control.
(ii) They forced the landed chieftains, the Samantas and rich landlords to accept their authority.
(iii) Under Alauddin Khalji the state brought the assessment and collection of land revenue under its own control.
- The rights of the local chieftains to levy taxes were cancelled.
- They were also forced to pay taxes.
-The Sultan's administrators measured the land and maintained careful accounts.
- Several of the old chieftains and landlords served the Sultanate as revenue collectors and assessors.

Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545) started his career as the Manager of a small territory for his uncle in Bihar and eventually challenged and defeated the Mughal emperor Humayun (1530-1540,1555,1556).
(i)Sher Shah Suri captured Delhi and established his own dynasty.
(ii) The Suri dynasty ruled for only fifteen years (1540- 1555)but it introduced an administration that had borrowed elements from Alauddin Khalji and made them more efficient.
(iii) Sher Shah's administration became the model for Akbar to some extent.

Delhi Sultans built various mosques in different cities. They wanted to project themselves as protectors of Islam and Muslims. Mosques helped in creating a sense of community sharing, common belief and code of conduct. It was important as the Muslims came from variety of backgrounds.

(i) The Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded Transoxiana in north-east Iran in 1291.
(ii) Delhi Sultan faced their onslaught soon after.
(iii) Mongol attacks on the Delhi Sultanate increased significantly during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and during the initial years of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq's rule.
(iv) This forced the two rulers to mobilise a large standing army in Delhi which posed a huge administrative challenge

'Circle of Justice' is an appropriate term to describe the relationship between the king and his subjects, because they were dependent on each other for their requirements.

The chieftains arranged multiple forms of defense system against the attacking enemies. A chieftain when attacked used to fortified in mountains, in rocky valleys, uneven and rugged places and in bamboo groves also.
In India the bamboo is strong, even fire cannot affect them as they are intertwined. The chieftains live in these forests which served them as ramparts, inside which there were cattle and crops. They cannot be subdued except by powerful armies. Only specially prepared instruments could cut down the bamboos where the chieftains took shelter.

The Khaljis and the Tughluq's raised people of humble birth who were often their clients, to high political positions. They were appointed as generals and governors. However, the slaves and clients were loyal to their masters and patrons but not to their heirs. Heirs were the new rulers, they neglected such appointed man of high posts. This led to conflict between old and new nobility.

Tomara Rajputs were the first rulers who established their capital at Delhi.

Muhammad bin Tughluq was a learned man, a philosopher and student of science and math. His ideas about "token currency" and "central capital" were good but failed miserably as administrative measures:
After he defeated Mongol Army, he planned to raise large army to attack on Transoxiana. But his campaign into Kashmir was a disaster. He had to disband his large army as well as his plans to conquer Mongols.
He asked residents of Dehli-i-Kuhna to vacate the city for his soldiers and move to new capital Daulatabad in the south. It resulted in another failure and resentment among the citizens.
To feed his army, he levied additional taxes which coincided with famine in the area. It led to widespread rebellion in Ganga-Yamuna belt.
To control prices, he introduced a 'token currency'. People did not trust these new coins but they outsmarted the king and paid the taxes in new currency. This cheap currency could also be counterfeited easily. Finally, the 'token currency' had to be recalled.

Alauddin Khalji executed the following administrative measures:
(i) He constructed a new garrison town known as Siri for his soldiers.
(ii) He fixed 50 per cent of the peasant's yield for the Ganga Yamuna lands.
(iii)The soldiers were paid salaries instead of iqtas. The soldiers would buy their supplies from merchants in Delhi.
(iv) The prices of the goods in Delhi were regulated. Merchants were asked to sell at prescribed rates.
(v) Prices were carefully surveyed by officers, and merchants who did not sell at the prescribed rates were punished.

The mosques in Fig. 2, 3 and 4 show an evolution in the architectural tradition that culminates in Shah Jahan's mosque in Delhi. In Fig. 1 the earlier mosque is shown which is plain and rough. Only a centre hall mosque is there. Thereafter, in fig. 2, the mosque had many supporting masjids in the left and right side of the main hall.
Fig. 3 Moth ki Masjid, showed many soft skills, craftwork carved on the pillars, walls, Arabic calligraphy. The facade was decorated with Arabic calligraphy and vegetal motifs in the fig. 3 and 4. Craftsmen used corbelled arches, a technique commonly used in India. Different types of red sandstone marble were used to create such monuments. These all spoke highly about the art and culture that flourished during the Delhi Sultanate.

A mosque is called a masjid in Arabic, literally, it is a place where a Muslim prostrates in reverence to Allah. In a congregational mosque, Muslim read their prayers. Members of the congregation choose the most respected, learned male as their leader or Imam for the rituals of prayer-Imam delivers the sermon (Khutba) during Friday prayer.
The Delhi Sultans build several mosques in cities all over the subcontinent.
They wanted to claim themselves as protectors of Islam and Muslims. Mosques also helped to create the senses of a community of believers who shared a common code of conduct and belief.
Quwwat al-islam was built by Qutbuddin Aybak and IItutmish. Muhammad Tughluq constructed Begumpuri mosque. Moth ki Masjid built by a minister of Sikandar Lodi, Mosque of Jamali Kamali was also built in the late 1520s.