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| Firuz Shah | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firuz Shah ibn Malik Rajjab | |||||
.jpg) Firuz Shah Tughlaq makingDua | |||||
| 19thSultan of Delhi | |||||
| Reign | 23 March 1351 – 20 September 1388 | ||||
| Predecessor | Muhammad bin Tughluq | ||||
| Successor | Tughluq Khan | ||||
| Born | 1309 | ||||
| Died | 20 September 1388(1388-09-20) (aged 78–79) | ||||
| Burial | 20 September 1388 | ||||
| Consort | Gurjari Begum | ||||
| Issue |
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| House | Ghazi Malik | ||||
| Dynasty | Tughlaq | ||||
| Father | Malik Rajab | ||||
| Mother | Bibi Naila | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam (Hanafi) | ||||
Firuz Shah Tughlaq[a] (1309 – 20 September 1388), also known asFiruz III, wasSultan of Delhi from 1351 until his death in 1388.[1] He succeeded his cousinMuhammad bin Tughlaq following the latter's death atThatta,Sindh. His father wasSipahsalar Rajab, the brother ofGhiyath al-Din Tughluq, the founder of the dynasty, whilst his mother was a princess taking origin fromAbohar,Punjab of theIndian subcontinent.[2]
Firuz Shah has been accredited with the construction of numerous cities and irrigation projects and has been regarded as a great builder with the creation ofFirozpur,Hisar andFatehabad in thePunjab andHaryana regions.[3] Firuz Shah's reign was met with numerous conquests such as theRaja's ofBengal,Sindh andKangra later in his reign, whilst upon receiving the throne, it has been noted that he successfully repelled aMongol attack.[4]
TheTarikh-i-Firuz Shahi is one of the main sources of information regarding theSultan's background, early life and the origins of his parents. It was narrated thatGhiyath al-Din Tughluq longed for his brother,Sipahsalar Rajab, to marry the daughter of one of theRai's ofDipalpur inPunjab and was later informed of the beauty of one Rana MallBhatti's daughter called Bibi Naila.[5]Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq sent a proposal of marriage to theRai, however he declined, leading theSultan to demand the payment of revenue for a year from them and causing hardship to the people for three days. Bibi Naila’s mother was written to have been distraught by the severity caused byGhiyath al-Din Tughluq, and Bibi Naila accepted his proposal to alleviate the situation.[6] Upon marryingSipahsalar Rajab, her name was changed to Sultan Bibi Kadbanu.[7] When Firuz Shah was seven years old, his fatherSipahsalar Rajab had died and was then raised byGhiyath al-Din Tughluq.[8] The addition of 'Tughlaq' to his name has been reported to have been a modern alteration out of convenience, thatPersian and contemporary sources only used the name 'Firuz Shah' when referring to him.[9][10]
Firuz Shah was mentored byGhiyath al-Din Tughluq andMuhammad bin Tughluq in the handling of affairs of the state and the duties and functions held by the royalty. When he was fourteen years of age,Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq succeeded the throne ofDelhi and he travelled with the Sultan, learning the arts of public affairs. UponMuhammad bin Tughluq's succession to the throne, Firuz Shah, now around sixteen years of age, had assumed the rank of 'deputy of the lord chamberlain' (Naib-i Amir Hajib) with the title of Naib Barbak, commanding twelve thousand horses.[11]
UponMuhammad bin Tughluq's death, Firuz Shah succeeded the throne on 23 March 1351, on the banks ofSindh. According to theTarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, a group ofMongols had plundered a baggage train and were advancing to Firuz's camp leading to a battle wherein the latter was victorious and the captives secured by the Mongols set free. The defeatedMongols fled their camps back to their own countries, securing Firuz Shah's first victory as emperor.[12] During this time it was thought by the Khwaja-i-Jahan of the empire through misinformed intelligence that Firuz Shah was missing and presumed dead, causing him to place an imposter son ofMuhammad bin Tughluq on the throne but upon finding out that Firuz was alive he gathered an army of twenty thousand atDelhi until peace was made. Firuz hearing of this unanimously agreed with his nobles thatMuhammad bin Tughluq had only one daughter and thence marched throughMultan,Dipalpur andAjodhan, gathering a large army of soldiers, nobles, and commoners from these cities for his march toDelhi, including thirty sixRajas of this region, he also completed a pilgrimage to the tomb ofBaba Farid.[13] According to this same tradition, whilst marching toDelhi, Firuz received a son, naming him Fath Khan and founded the town ofFatehabad after him at the place of his birth.[14] The Khawaja-i-Jahan had set toFatehabad and sued for peace pleading with Firuz for his mistake, securing Firuz's rule.[15]
A daughter ofGhiyath al-Din Tughluq, Khudawand-zada, alongside her husband, conspired to murder Firuz, out of jealousy, when he came to visit her next. It was a custom of Firuz Shah to visit Khudawand-zada after Friday prayers but seeing hidden signals being made on his visit, he left her palace and took the sword from aRai Chirhu Bhatti, one of his nobles, confronting her soon after and demanding her immediate retirement in addition to the exile of her husband.[16]
In 1353, Firuz Shah set to invade the region ofBengal ruled byShamsuddin Ilyas Shah and camped on the banks of theKosi River with over seventy thousand men. During this time the ruler ofGorakhpur submitted to Firuz and payed a tribute of over twenty thousand Tankas.[17] Firuz Shah's army crossed theKosi River causingShamsuddin Ilyas Shah to flee with his army to Ekdala,West Bengal. He soon after besieged the city but feigned a retreat leading toShamsuddin Ilyas Shah to leave the city with his army to harass the Sultans retreat. The sultans army was secretly split into three divisions led by Tatar Khan, Malik Dillan and Malik Hisam Nawa and an assault was led on theBengal army causing one hundred and eighty thousand casualties toShamsuddin Ilyas Shah and his eventual retreat. Tatar Khan attempted to persuade Firuz to annexBengal however he declined, stating that previousDelhi sultans had annexed it however it was not prudent due to the marshy lands of the region.[18][19] Two years after the invasion ofBengal, Firuz built the city ofHisar and before his second invasion constructed the city ofFirozabad on the banks of theYamuna river.[20]
Preceding Firuz's second invasion, the king ofSonargaon was slain byShamsuddin Ilyas Shah and his son-in-law Zafar Khan had fled to the court of Firuz inHisar with preparations soon made inDelhi to avenge Zafar Khan's claims.Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah upon hearing of Firuz Shah's preparations for war, had fled from Ekdala toSonargaon, deeper inBengal for a securer position. Like the first invasion Firuz had amassed an army of seventy thousand men and marched towards Bengal in 1358, creating the city ofJaunpur named after the second sultan of theTughlaq dynasty,Muhammad bin Tughluq during his expedition. Simultaneously,Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah had died and was succeeded by his sonSikandar Shah who was then to be besieged at Ekdala by theDelhi army. The outcome of the war led to the creation of a peace treaty withSikandar Shah under the condition that Zafar Khan was to regain his dominion inSonargaon which was accepted, both Firuz Shah andSikandar Shah would send gifts including elephants and horses to commemorate the treaty.[21][22]
On the return fromBengal, Firuz Shah was met with conflict from the Rai ofJajpur, modern dayOdisha and in 1360 had invaded the region taking prisoners and spoils of war, such as horses and cattle, meanwhile theRai of Odisha had surrendered and sued for peace promising an annual tribute of 20 elephants.[23][24]
Firuz had received reports that theRai ofKangra had raided his kingdom and plundered some of his districts, causing his march toNagarkot. Whilst passing through the city ofSirhind, he built a canal connecting theSarasvati River with theMarkanda River and constructed a fort named Firuzpur.[25] TheRai ofKangra secured himself in a fort atNagarkot and taking advantage, the Sultan's army had plundered the country ofKangra and besieged the fort of the Rai for six months until he surrendered himself, but was permitted to retain his kingdom under theFiefdom of Firuz.[26][27]
TheNurpur kingdom centred inPunjab andHimachal Pradesh underKailas Pal (1353–1397), who ruled alongside Firuz Shah, had been noted as a great ally of theTughlaq dynasty. It had been written that Tatar Khan, aKhorasanian governor, had been defeated with his face slashed by Kailas Pal and was killed by theGakhars upon his invasion of thePunjab, 5000Mansabdar was gifted to him as a reward for this victory.[28]Kailas Pal is also stated to have constructed an irrigation channel from theRavi River toPathankot.[29] TheNurpur kingdom supposedly converted to Islam during the reign of Firuz Shah according to records[30] and Firuz had also converted the Chauhan Rajputs from Hinduism to Islam.[31][32]
In 1362, Firuz Shah set forThatta, modern daySindh, with ninety thousand horses and 480 elephants whilst collecting a large fleet of boats to accompany the army down theIndus River for his conquest. Firuz's horses suffered a great disease which wiped out three quarters of them and he decided to retreat toGujarat to regain his strength and gather more horses. During the retreat, his army lacked food and his soldiers began to starve, the situation further worsened after 'treacherous guides' had led them to where there was no fresh water, causing some of their executions which induced the rest of the guides to lead the army to the fertile plains of Gujarat.[33] In 1363, Firuz, after re-strengthening his forces, continued his expedition launching a surprise assault onThatta, which inclined the people who were tilling their lands to apply a scorched earth policy, destroying their fields and taking shelter in mud forts west of theIndus River. Firuz dispatched two of his garrisons to cross the river and besiege the town but without much luck they were forced to retreat and gather more forces fromDelhi. During this time the Delhi army reaped the crops from the conquered lands, replenishing food supplies whilst starving out the forces ofThatta causing the rulers to submit to Firuz with an annual tribute of four hundred thousand Tankas to be sent toDelhi.[34]
Due to his senile state, Firuz Shah had abdicated the throne to his sonMuhammad Shah III in 1387 but after devoting his rule to pleasure and abstaining from royal duties, theDelhi nobles had set out against Muhammed causing Firuz to confer the royal titles upon his grandson,Tughluq Khan, the son of his deceased son Fath Khan, who died in 1374. A year later in 1388, Firuz had died at the age of 78 or 79 after a rule of thirty seven years.[35] Histomb is located in Hauz Khas,Delhi, close to the tank built byAlauddin Khalji and attached to the tomb is amadrasa built by Firuz in 1352–53.
According to legends theGujari Mahal situated inHisar, Haryana is where the story between Firoz Shah and his lover, a lady of theGurjar tribe, took place.[36][37][38]
According to the story, when one day Firuz went out for hunting he felt thirsty in the dense forest, but there was a great shortage of water there as the land there was sandy and uneven. Firoz was so thirsty that he fell down from the horse and fainted.[39] During this time, a girl of the Gurjar tribe was passing from there who used to work as a milkmaid. When she saw him lying unconscious, she fed some milk to Sultan. Due to which Firuz regained consciousness.[40][41]
After this, he started visiting this place often. Whenever the Sultan went for hunting, he would visit the Gurjar colony. Soon, Emperor Firoz Shah Tughlaq and Gujari became good friends.[42] Later when Firoz ascended the throne, he went to her village and proposed to Gujari and asked her to accompany him to the throne of Delhi but Gujari refused to leave Hisar as she thought she would not be treated rightly by the other queens of Sultan.[43] It is said that Emperor shifted his court from Delhi to Hisar to marry Gujari and there he built this special palace for his lover Gujari after their marriage. She became the favourite wife of Firuz.[44][45][46]
Firuz was aSufiMuslim who tried to uphold the laws of Islam and adoptedSharia policies. He made a number of important concessions to theologians.[citation needed] He tried to ban practices that the orthodox theologians considered un-Islamic, an example being his prohibition of the practice of Muslim women going out to worship at thegraves of saints. He persecuted a number of sects that were considered heretical by the Muslim theologians. Firuz took to heart the mistakes made during his cousin Muhammad's rule. He recognised theDeccan's independence and was indiscriminately benevolent and lenient as a sultan.[47]
Rather than awarding position based on merit, Firuz allowed a noble's son to succeed to his father's position andjagir after his death.[48] The same was done in the army, where an old soldier could send his son, son-in-law or even his slave in his place. He increased the salary of the nobles. He stopped all kinds of harsh punishments such as cutting off hands. He also lowered the land taxes that Muhammad had raised. Firuz's reign has been described as the greatest age of corruption in medieval India: He once gave a golden tanka to a distraught soldier so that he could bribe the clerk to pass his sub-standardhorse.[49]
Firoz Shah's reign was marked by both administrative reforms and aggressive religious policies aimed at consolidating Islamic rule in India. A devout Muslim, he is known for his efforts to enforce Sharia law, which included widespread persecution of Hindus and destruction of their religious institutions.[50] Firuz renovatedSurya kund in the Dakshinaarka sun temple of Gaya and acknowledged its greatness. It has an inscription mentioning his name twice.[51]
Firuz instituted economic policies to increase the material welfare of his people. Many rest houses (sarai), gardens and tombs (Tughluq tombs) were built. He commissioned many public buildings inDelhi. He built theFiroz Shah Palace Complex atHisar in 1354, over 300 villages and dug five major canals, including the renovation of thePrithviraj Chauhan eraWestern Yamuna Canal, for irrigation bringing more land under cultivation for growing grain and fruit. Firoz Shah founded several cities around Delhi, includingJaunpur,Firozpur,Hissar,Firozabad,Fatehabad.[52] Most of Firozabad was destroyed as subsequent rulers dismantled its buildings and reused thespolia as building materials,[53] and the rest was subsumed asNew Delhi grew. When theQutb Minar was struck by lightning in 1368, knocking off its top storey, he replaced them with the existing two floors, faced with red sandstone and white marble. One of his hunting lodges,Shikargah, also known as Kushak Mahal, is situated within theTeen Murti Bhavan complex, Delhi. The nearby Kushak Road is named after it, as is the Tughlaq Road further on.[54][55] He brought twoAshokan Pillars fromMeerut, and aTopra near Radaur inYamunanagar district ofHaryana, carefully cut and wrapped in silk, to Delhi in bullock cart trains. He re-erected one of them on the roof of his palace atFiruz Shah Kotla.[56]
Hindu religious works were translated fromSanskrit toPersian andArabic.[56] He had a large personal library ofmanuscripts inPersian,Arabic and other languages. A number ofmadrasas (Islamic religious schools) were opened to encourage the religious education of Muslims. He set up hospitals for the free treatment of the poor and encouraged physicians in the development ofUnani medicine.[57] He provided money for the marriage of girls belonging to poor families under the department of Diwan-i-Khairat.
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On the 23rd Muharram of the above year (752 H. Tuesday 22nd March, 1351 AD) he (Firoz Shah) ascended the throne on the bank of the Sindh.
Little is known of Shams-i Siraj beyond what is gleaned from his own work. He was descended from a family which dwelt at Abuhar, the country of Firoz Shah's Bhatti mother...It is recorded that his father was named Sipah-salar Rajab, and was the brother of Sultan Ghiyas ud din Tughlik Ghazi.
Before her marriage she was called Bibi Naila, but on entering the house of Sipah-salar Rajab, she was styled Sultan Bibi Kadbanu.
When Firoz Shah was seven years old his father, Sipah-salar Rajab, died, and Tughluk Shah made great mourning for him. The widowed mother was in great distress as to the education and. training of her son, but Tughluk Shah consoled her, and told her that he would look upon the child as his own, and treat him with every kindness so long as he lived.
Another pleasure which the Sultan received on the same day at this place was the birth of a son, who was named Fath Khan. The Sultan founded a town there, to which he gave the name of Fath-abad (Futtehabad).
After returning victorious from Bengal, Sultan Firoz passed several successive years riding about Dehli. The author was told by his father that, in the second year after the Bengal campaign, the Sultan was in the neighborhood of Hisar Firozah, and exerted himself actively and liberally in endeavoring to provide for the needs, of the country. It was at this time that Hisar Firozah was founded
Rumours of an intended pursuit reached the raja, who sent envoys to sue for peace, which he obtained by the surrender of twenty elephants and a promise to send the same number annually to Delhi, and Firuz began his retreat.
...but his progress was arrested by reports that the raja of Kangra had ventured to invade his kingdom and plunder some of the districts lying at the foot of the mountains, and he marched to Sirhind with the object of attacking Kangra. On his way to Sirhind he observed that a canal might be cut to connect tlie waters of the Saraswatl with those of another river, probably the Markanda, which rises near Nahan and flows past Shahabad, to the south of Ambala
The raja of Kangra surrendered after standing a very short siege, and I was courteously received and permitted to retain his territory as a fief of Delhi.
This Raja is said to have constructed the Ranki Kuhl or irrigation channel from the Ravi to Pathankot, which is still in existence.
Jahangir in his Memoirs states that the family became Muhammadan in the time of Firoz-Shah Tughlak (a.d. 1356-88)
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| Preceded by | Sultan of Delhi 1351–1388 | Succeeded by |
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