The Delhi Sultanate
A Political and Military History

The book represents the first comprehensive history of the Delhi Sultanate from 1210–1400.

Peter Jackson (Author)

9780521543293, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 16 October 2003

388 pages, 6 maps
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.6 cm, 0.709 kg

'… a worthy political and military history of the first major independent Muslim state in South Asia: the Delhi Sultanate.' Contemporary South Asia

The Delhi Sultanate was the first Islamic state to be established in India. In a broad-ranging, accessible narrative, Peter Jackson traces the history of the Sultanate from its foundation in 1210 to its demise in 1400 at the sack of Delhi by the Central Asian conqueror, Tamerlane. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Sultanate was the principal bastion of Islam in the subcontinent. While the book focuses on military and political affairs, tracing the Sultanate's resistance to formidable Mongol invasions from the north-west and the administrative developments that underpinned these exploits, it also explores the Sultans' relations with their non-Muslim subjects. As a comprehensive treatment of the period, the book will make a significant contribution to the literature on medieval Indo-Muslim history. Students of Islamic and Indian history, and those with a general interest in the region, will find it a valuable resource.

1. The background
Part I. The Thirteenth Century: 2. From Ghurid Province to Delhi Sultanate
3. Sultans and sources
4. Turks, Tajiks and Khalaj
5. The centre and the provinces
6. The Mongol threat
7. Raid, conquest and settlement
Part II. The Zenith of the Sultanate: 8. Sultans, saints and sources
9. The Khalji and Tughluqid nobility
10. An age of conquest
11. The Chaghadayid invasions
12. The military, the economy and administrative reform
13. Stupor mundi: the reign of Muhammad b. Tughluq
14. The Sultans and their Hindu subjects
15. Stasis and decline: Firuz Shah and his successors
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], Asian history [HBJF]