UPSC CORE · NCERT HISTORY · SATISH CHANDRA VOL I CH 6: TUGHLUQS — PEAK + EXPERIMENTS + DECLINE
📚 NCERT TEXTBOOK ALIGNMENT
Class UPSC History — NCERT Class 11/12 + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar) — Chapter: Satish Chandra Vol I Ch 6: Tughluqs — peak + experiments + decline.
Who was Ghiyasuddin Tughluq + his origin?
GHAZI MALIK / GHIYASUDDIN TUGHLUQ — Turkic-Mongol tribesman of Karauna origin (his mother was a Jat of the Punjab; father a Turkic slave); rose under Balban + Khaljis as governor of DIPALPUR (Punjab); famous Mongol-killer (defeated Mongols 29 times per Barani). After Khusrau Shah's usurpation (1320), Ghiyasuddin marched against him + defeated him at Lahrawat; coronated September 1320.
Ghiyasuddin's policies?
Reverted from Khusrau Shah's leniency to ALAUDDIN-style rigour (but more reasonable). (i) Restored REVENUE to one-third (vs Alauddin's 50%); (ii) Repaired CANALS in Doab; (iii) Strengthened the FRONTIER against Mongols; (iv) Built the new capital TUGHLAQABAD (1321) — south of old Delhi, as fortress against Mongol attack; (v) RECONQUERED Bengal (Sona Khan defeated 1324); (vi) Revived agriculture + trade.
How did Ghiyasuddin die?
1325 — ENGINEERED ACCIDENT. While returning to Delhi from Bengal campaign, his son JAUNA KHAN (later Muhammad bin Tughluq) had a wooden RECEPTION PAVILION constructed at AFGHANPUR (near Tughlaqabad) to welcome the Sultan. The pavilion COLLAPSED on Ghiyasuddin while he was eating; he died (along with his second son Mahmud Khan). Many historians (esp. IBN BATTUTA who arrived in 1334 + heard the story from witnesses) suspect Jauna Khan engineered the collapse — he had been in disgrace for some time + benefited from his father's death.
GHIYASUDDIN TUGHLUQ — early career + accession?
GHAZI MALIK / GHIYASUDDIN TUGHLUQ (r. 1320-25) — son of TURKIC SLAVE + JAT mother (humble origin). Rose under Khaljis as warden of NW frontier — defeated 29 Mongol incursions (legend). KILLED last Khalji ruler KHUSRAU KHAN 1320. Founded TUGHLUQ DYNASTY. Built TUGHLAQABAD FORT (1321 — short-lived capital). Died 1325 when his welcome pavilion COLLAPSED on him at Afghanpur — possibly engineered by his son Muhammad bin Tughluq.
GHIYASUDDIN — ORIGIN + accession?
GHAZI MALIK / GHIYASUDDIN TUGHLUQ (r. 1320-25) — son of TURKIC SLAVE + JAT mother (humble origin). Rose under Khaljis as warden of NW frontier — defeated 29 Mongol incursions (legend). KILLED last Khalji ruler KHUSRAU KHAN 1320. Founded TUGHLUQ DYNASTY. Built TUGHLAQABAD FORT (1321 — short-lived capital). Died 1325 when his welcome pavilion COLLAPSED on him at Afghanpur — possibly engineered by his son MUHAMMAD BIN TUGHLUQ.
TUGHLAQABAD FORT — features?
TUGHLAQABAD (Delhi) built by Ghiyasuddin 1321-1325 — designed as new SULTANATE CAPITAL. Features: massive STONE walls (10-15m thick), 13 GATES, ~52 BASTIONS. Inside: PALACES, mosques, water tanks, residential areas. ABANDONED soon after Ghiyasuddin's death — his son MUHAMMAD BIN TUGHLUQ moved capital elsewhere. Today Tughlaqabad ruins are vast + impressive — one of Delhi's 7 historical cities. ASI-protected.
Tughlaq architecture is characterised by:
Massive, austere appearance — sloping (battered) walls, grey stone, minimal ornamentation; e.g. Tughlaqabad, Adilabad, Firoz Shah Kotla.
Tughluq dynasty was founded by?
Ghiyasuddin Tughluq (1320-25)
Ghiyasuddin died at?
Tughlaqabad (collapse of wooden pavilion built by Muhammad bin Tughluq, suspected to be plot)
Tughlaqabad fort was built by?
Ghiyasuddin Tughluq (third city of Delhi)
Who was Muhammad bin Tughluq?
JAUNA KHAN / MUHAMMAD BIN TUGHLUQ (r. 1325-1351) — Ghiyasuddin's son. ABUL FAZL (Akbar's court historian) called him the "WISEST FOOL" of his time. EXTRAORDINARILY learned (Quran, hadith, Islamic philosophy, Persian astronomy + medicine + math); fluent in PERSIAN + ARABIC + SANSKRIT. ALSO RUTHLESS (executed his uncle, exiled scholars who criticised him). Conducted FIVE famous EXPERIMENTS — most failed.
EXPERIMENT 1 — Capital shift to Daulatabad (1327)?
Wanted a CENTRAL capital to control his vast empire (now stretched into Deccan). 1327 — ordered the ENTIRE POPULATION of Delhi (including poor, sick, scholars, traders) to migrate ~1500 km south to DAULATABAD (renamed from Devagiri). Many died en route. After 8 years (1335) reversed the order — Delhi was REPOPULATED but the trip killed thousands again. IBN BATTUTA witnessed: "Delhi after the migration was as silent as the grave; not a soul remained."
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, specifically the textbook NCERT Class 11/12 + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar), drawn from the chapter Satish Chandra Vol I Ch 6: Tughluqs — peak + experiments + decline. Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar, Satish Chandra for history; G.C. Leong, Savindra Singh for geography; the UPSC Civil Services prelims + mains syllabus).
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