Lodi لودی | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1451–1526 | |||||||||||
![Map showing the territory under the Lodi dynasty.[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMap_of_the_Lodis.png) Map showing the territory under the Lodi dynasty.[1] | |||||||||||
| Capital | Delhi | ||||||||||
| Official languages | Hindavi[2] Persian(court, revenue records)[2][3] | ||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
| Sultan | |||||||||||
• 1451–1489 | Bahlul Lodi(first) | ||||||||||
• 1489–1517 | Sikandar Lodi(2nd) | ||||||||||
• 1517–1526 | Ibrahim Lodi(last) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established | 19 April[4] 1451 | ||||||||||
| 21 April[5] 1526 | |||||||||||
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TheLodi dynasty was anAfghanroyal family that ruled theSultanate of Delhi from 1451 to 1526.[6][a] It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded byBahlul Lodi when he replaced theSayyid dynasty.[4]
Following the reign of the Sayyids, theAfghan[6] orTurco-Afghan[b][8][9] Lodi dynasty gained the sultanate. Bahlul Khan Lodi (r. 1451–1489) was the nephew and son-in-law of Malik Sultan Shah Lodi, the governor ofSirhind in (Punjab), India and succeeded him as the governor of Sirhind during the reign of Sayyid dynasty rulerMuhammad Shah. Muhammad Shah raised him to the status of a Tarun-Bin-Sultan. He was the most powerful of the Punjab chiefs and a vigorous leader, holding together a loose confederacy of Afghan and Turkish chiefs with his strong personality. He reduced the turbulent chiefs of the provinces to submission and infused some vigour into the government.He was founder of sultanpur lodi which was a hindu- buddhist site renamed by him in 1443 after becoming governor of Punjab.A prosperous city it was trade centre between Delhi and Lahore.
After the last Sayyid ruler ofDelhi,Alauddin Alam Shah voluntarily abdicated in favour of him, Bahlul Khan Lodi ascended the throne of the Delhi sultanate on 19 April 1451.[10] The most important event of his reign was the conquest of theJaunpur Sultanate. Bahlul spent most of his time in fighting against theSharqi dynasty of the Jaunpur Sultanate and ultimately annexed it. He placed his eldest surviving son Barbak on the throne ofJaunpur in 1486. The Sharqis remained in control of Bihar, from which they re-occupied Jaunpur, but were again repulsed to Bihar.[11]
Sikandar Khan Lodi (r. 1489–1517) (born Nizam Khan), the second son of Bahlul, succeeded him after his death on 17 July 1489 and took up the titleSikandar Shah.His father nominated him as his successor and he was crowned sultan on 15 July 1489. He re-foundedAgra as a Muslim city in 1504 and built mosques. He shifted the capital from Delhi to Agra.[12] He patronized trade and commerce. He was a reputed poet, composing under the pen name 'Gulrukhi'- persian poetry.[clarification needed] He was also a patron of learning and ordered translations ofSanskrit works in medicine into Persian.[13] He curbed the individualistic tendencies of his Pashtun nobles and compelled them to submit their accounts to a state audit. He was thus able to infuse vigour and discipline in the administration. His greatest achievement was the conquest and annexation ofBihar from the Sharqis.[14]
Sikandar Lodi was a staunch Muslim, destroying many temples all across North India.[15] He also forbade the yearly procession of the famed Muslim martyr Masud Salar's spear,[15] while forbidding Muslim women from venerating mausoleums of Muslim saints.[15] Sikander allowed the execution of aBrahman, who had held the equal accuracy of his faith compared to Islam.[15]
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Ibrahim Khan Lodi (r. 1517–1526), the eldest son of Sikandar, was the last Lodi Sultan of Delhi.[16] He had the qualities of an excellent warrior, but he was rash and impolitic in his decisions and actions. His attempt at royal absolutism was premature and his policy of sheer repression unaccompanied by measures to strengthen the administration and increase the military resources was sure to prove a failure.[citation needed]
Ibrahim faced numerous rebellions and kept out the opposition for almost a decade. He was engaged in warfare with the Afghans and theTimurid Empire for most of his reign and died trying to keep the Lodi dynasty from annihilation. Ibrahim was defeated in 1526 at theBattle of Panipat.[16] This marked the end of the Lodi dynasty and the rise of the Mughal Empire in India led byBabur (r. 1526–1530).[17]
By the time Ibrahim ascended the throne, the political structure in the Lodi dynasty had dissolved due to abandoned trade routes and the depleted treasury. TheDeccan was a coastal trade route, but in the late fifteenth century the supply lines had collapsed. The decline and eventual failure of this specific trade route resulted in cutting off supplies from the coast to the interior, where the Lodi empire resided. The Lodi dynasty was not able to protect itself if warfare were to break out on the trade route roads; therefore, they didn't use those trade routes, thus their trade declined and so did their treasury leaving them vulnerable to internal political problems.[19]
In order to take revenge of the insults done by Ibrahim, the governor of Lahore,Daulat Khan Lodi asked theTimurid ruler ofKabul,Babur to invade his kingdom.[20] Ibrahim Lodi was thereafter killed in a battle with Babur, at theBattle of Panipat (1526). With the death of Ibrahim Lodi, the Lodi dynasty also came to an end, leading to the establishment of theMughal Empire in the subcontinent.[20]
Another problem Ibrahim faced when he ascended the throne in 1517 were thePashtun nobles, some of whom supported Ibrahim's older brother, Jalaluddin Lodi, in taking up arms against his brother in the area in the east atJaunpur. Ibrahim gathered military support and defeated his brother by the end of the year. After this incident, he arrested those Pashtun nobles who opposed him and appointed his own men as the new administrators. Other Pashtun nobles supported the governor ofBihar, Dariya Khan, against Ibrahim.[19]
Another factor that caused uprisings against Ibrahim was his lack of an apparent successor. His own uncle, Alam Khan, betrayed Ibrahim by supporting the Mughal invader Babur.[16]
Rana Sanga, theRajput leader ofMewar (r. 1509–1526), extended his kingdom, and fought the Lodi king of Delhi in multiple battles.Daulat Khan, the governor of Punjab region asked Babur to invade the Lodi kingdom, with the thought of taking revenge from Ibrahim Lodi. Babar also accused Sanga of sending an invitation however, this claim has been rejected and is not widely accepted by scholars.[21][22][23]
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After being assured of the cooperation of Alam Khan andDaulat Khan, Governor of the Punjab, Babur gathered his army. Upon entering the Punjab plains, Babur's chief allies, namely Langar Khan Niazi advised Babur to engage the powerful Janjua Rajputs to join his conquest. The tribe's rebellious stance to the throne of Delhi was well known. Upon meeting their chiefs, Malik Hast (Asad) and Raja Sanghar Khan, Babur made mention of the Janjua's popularity as traditional rulers of their kingdom and their ancestral support for his patriarch Emir Timur during his conquest of Hind. Babur aided them in defeating their enemies, the Gakhars in 1521, thus cementing their alliance. Babur employed them as generals in his campaign for Delhi, the conquest of Rana Sanga and the conquest of India.[citation needed]
The new usage of guns allowed small armies to make large gains on enemy territory. Small parties of skirmishers who had been dispatched simply to test enemy positions and tactics, were making inroads into India. Babur, however, had survived two revolts, one inKandahar and another inKabul, and was careful to pacify the local population after victories, following local traditions and aiding widows and orphans.[citation needed]
Despite both beingSunni Muslims, Babur wanted Ibrahim's power and territory.[17] Babur and his army of 24,000 men marched to the battlefield at Panipat armed with muskets and artillery. Ibrahim prepared for battle by gathering 100,000 men (well-armed but with no guns) and 1,000 elephants. Ibrahim was at a disadvantage because of his outmoded infantry and internecine rivalries. Even though he had more men, he had never fought in a war against gunpowder weapons and he did not know what to do strategically. Babur pressed his advantage from the start and Ibrahim perished on the battlefield in April 1526, along with 20,000 of his men.[16]
After Ibrahim's death, Babur named himself emperor over Ibrahim's territory, instead of placing Alam Khan (Ibrahim's uncle) on the throne. Ibrahim's death marked the end of the Lodi dynasty and led to the establishment of the Mughal Empire in India. The remaining Lodi territories were absorbed into the new Mughal Empire. Babur continued to engage in military campaigns.[24]
Ibrahim Lodi's brother, Mahmud Lodi, declared himself Sultan and continued to resist Mughal forces. He provided around 4,000 Afghan soldiers toRana Sanga in theBattle of Khanwa in 1527.[25] After that defeat, Mahmud Lodi fled eastwards and again posed a challenge to Babur two years later at theBattle of Ghaghra in 1529.
Like their predecessors, the Lodi sultans stylized themselves as the deputies of theAbbasid Caliphs, and thus acknowledged the authority of a united Caliphate over theMuslim world. They provided cash stipends and granted revenue-free lands (including entire villages) to the Muslimulama, theSufishaikhs, the claimed descendants ofMuhammad, and to the members of hisQuraysh tribe.[26]
The Muslim subjects of the Lodis were required to pay thezakat tax for religious merit, and the non-Muslims were required to pay thejizya tax for receiving state protection. In some parts of the Sultanate, the Hindus were required to pay an additional pilgrimage tax. Nevertheless, several Hindu officers formed a part of the Sultanate's revenue administration.[26]
Sikandar Khan Lodi, whose mother was a Hindu, resorted to strongSunni orthodoxy to prove his Islamic credentials as a political expediency. He destroyed Hindu temples, and under the pressure from theulama, allowed the execution of aBrahman who declared Hinduism to be as veracious as Islam. He also banned women from visiting themazars (mausoleums) of Muslim saints, and banned the annual procession of the spear of the legendary Muslim martyrSalar Masud. He also establishedsharia courts in several towns with significant Muslim population, enabling theqazis to administer the Islamic law to Muslim as well as non-Muslim subjects.[26]
![The Shish Gumbad, a tomb from the Lodi dynasty built between 1489 and 1517 CE.[27]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aShish_Gumbad%2c_Lodhi_Gardens%2c_Delhi.JPG)
![The Rajon ki Baoli stepwell was built by Sikandar Lodi in 1516.[28]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRajon_ki_Baoli%2527s_baoli.jpg)
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While in Kabul, he had despatched emissaries at Chittor to obtain his help in creating a diversion on Ibrahim's southern frontier.
In contrast, the traditional Rajput version holds that it was not Sanga — already powerful enough and mainly successful against various enemy states — who had sent an envoy to Babur at Kabul, proposing an alliance against their common foe, Ibrahim Lodi, but rather, it was Babur who sought an ally of undoubted ability and strength for his proposed expedition against the Lodi sultan! Thus, some hold that Rana Sanga agreed to Babur's proposal, and, using Silhadi, the Tomar (Tanwar) chief of Raesen, as the medium of communication, sent a letter to that effect to Babur. However, Sanga subsequently changed his mind upon the advice of his nobles — which advice — given the nature of the state, and the relation of the ruler as primus inter pares with his clansmen and nobles — could not be lightly ignored by any Rajput ruler or chief. Looking back, it is possible that Sanga had believed that the forces of Babur and Ibrahim Lodi would have indulged in a long and protracted struggle, thereby providing an opportunity to Mewar to take advantage of the situation and expand its own power and territorial sway across northern India. Sanga may also have believed that, if victorious against the Lodis, Babur would eventually return to his estates in Afghanistan, thereby leaving a weakened — or even defunct — Delhi Sultanate, and a clear held for Sanga to establish his own hegemony. Such a state of affairs seemed to be furthest from Babur's mind, though.
Rajon ki baoli ( 1516 ) is one of the major public welfare projects of Sikandar Lodi .
Persian became, ipso facto, the language of his [Babur's] administration, if for no other reason than that the Lodi Afghans had used it – and definitely not Pushtu – for their revenue records.
In the case of the Lodi dynasty that preceded the Mughals, the semi-official language was called Hindavi, an early form of today's Hindi. Persian too was in many ways an elite idiom in its Indian embodiment. Despite pervading much of everyday language in north India at the level of vocabulary (by a process still unclear to scholars; the penetration of the bureaucracy has been suggested), its use was essentially literary, as a code of courtiers and religious professionals; Persian was hardly more of an everyday language than Sanskrit.
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