UPSC CORE GEOGRAPHY · NCERT · SATISH CHANDRA VOL I CH 6: TUGHLUQS — PEAK + EXPERIMENTS + DECLINE
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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.
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."
EXPERIMENT 2 — Token currency (1329-30)?
Inspired by Chinese paper money + Mongol token coins. Issued BRONZE/COPPER tokens (~10 g) to be valued at 175 silver tankas — radical idea. Indian counterfeiters minted fakes by the millions; entire economy disrupted; foreign trade collapsed (foreigners refused tokens). Eventually Muhammad EXCHANGED real silver for the tokens (recovered + dumped them at Tughlaqabad — the heap remained for centuries). HUGE financial loss. Borrowed idea + execution failed.
EXPERIMENT 3 — Khurasan + Qarachil expeditions?
KHURASAN (1330s): planned a massive campaign against Persian Iran-Iraq region; gathered 370,000-strong army; never marched (changing political conditions); had to disband at huge cost. QARACHIL (1336): 100,000-strong force sent against the Himalayan kingdom (Kumaon area); captured the entire force was ANNIHILATED by hill tribes + climate; only 10 men returned. Both failed. Reflects Muhammad's grand ambition + poor execution.
EXPERIMENT 4 — Doab tax hike during famine?
In the early 1330s, Muhammad RAISED the Doab land tax (already 50%) to ~75%; introduced NEW taxes (HOUSE-TAX, GRAZING-TAX). Coincided with a 7-YEAR FAMINE in the Doab (1335-42). Peasants ABANDONED villages, fled to forests; mass starvation; Sultan's revenue collapsed. Muhammad belatedly tried RELIEF (took famine relief to peasants himself; opened state grain stores in Delhi); but damage was done. PEASANT REBELLIONS broke out across the empire — beginning of Tughluq decline.
EXPERIMENT 5 — Departments to develop agriculture?
Muhammad created a DIWAN-I-AMIR-KOHI (department for agriculture) + provided LOANS to peasants to dig wells + extend cultivation; planned 5-year cycle of crops + new tax assessments. Earnest attempt at AGRARIAN REFORM. Failed because: (i) the BUREAUCRATS embezzled the loans; (ii) peasants were ALREADY ruined by famine + tax hikes; (iii) departed too quickly. About a CRORE rupees lost.
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, 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.
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