Cause of the
Downfall of the Slave Dynasty
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Slave Dynasty
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The sultan of the
so-called Slave dynasty ruled over Delhi from A.D. 1206 to 1290. Thus within a
century, this dynasty came to an end and a new dynasty called Khaljis flourished. The following circumstances contributed to the downfall of the
slave dynasty.
Sultans Being Foreigners
The people of
India did not cooperate with the Sultans of slave dynasty as they considered
them as foreigners. The feeling of harmony between the Hindus and Muslims had
not yet emerged and the Hindus revolted against the Muslim rulers off and on.
It created chaos and confusion in the Sultanate. As the Muslim rule was based
on the Quran and its principles were brought from Ghazni, Ghor and Baghdad,
they could not be applicable in India and gave rise to revolts.
Autocratic Military Rule
The chief reason
of the downfall of the so-called slave dynasty was autocratic military rule of the
Sultans in which the greatest significance was given to the centre. The
provincial governors had no rights. They had to act according to the directions
of the Sultan failing which their promotions were affected or they could be removed
from their office. As divine right theory was recognized, the kings were
considered to be the representatives of God on earth. This theory was not
accepted by all, hence a tension prevailed which ultimately led to the downfall
of the so-called slave dynasty.
Absence of Law of succession
There was no
definite law of succession governing Muslim sultan. Any powerful prince or
governor could be a sultan, provided he wished and had resources to become the
Sultan. It caused rapid dynastic changes in the Sultanate period; hence no
system could be executed completely. Sword remained the decisive factor to
attain the throne and might was right. Out of ten Sultans, seven had to
sacrifice their lives in the attempt at getting the throne. Hence the
eighty-four year history of the so-called slave dynasty remained bloody and it
harmed the power of the slave Sultans.
Lack of Organized Central Power
Military power
was the fundamental basis of the newly establish Turkish sultanate and strong
central power but it could not be permanent. During this period, the sword was
considered to be the fundamental basis of the Sultanate and only those Sultans
succeeded who could establish their sway over the army. Dr. Ishwari Prasad
remarks, “Personal factors counted much in medieval politics, whenever weak and
pleasure loving Sultans ascended the throne they not only failed to control the
affairs of the Sultanate but also lost their supremacy and led the empire on
the downslide”
Sultan like
Iltutmish and Balban terrified the provincial governors and kept them under the
control of Delhi Sultanate. They were awarded severe punishments in case of
revolt but during the regime of unsuccessful sultans, the centre became weak
and the power of provincial governors increased. It also resulted in the
downfall of the slave dynasty.
Lack of Public Sympathy and Internal Revolts
Undoubtedly, the
rulers of the slave dynasty reigned for about a century but they failed to
acquire the sympathy of the people of Delhi sultanate which was necessary for
the establishment of a permanent kingdom. Although Balban adopted the ‘Blood
and Iron’ policy and crushed the opposition of the Indian public, the
nationalistic feelings of the people of India continued to prevail and they
continued to oppose the Sultans of Delhi in spite of their repeated defeats. At
that time India was divided into many small principalities. No proper attention
was being paid to the defense of the country and the Hindu chiefs always
remained on the lookout for any opportunity to cast away the yoke of slavery.
They often raised the standard of revolt against weak Sultans; hence the
problem of internal revolts remained acute before every successor. Some of the
historians have named this period an ‘Age of Resistance’. During this period
the public did not obey the orders of the Sultans according to their sweet will.
Thus owing to lack of homogeneous atmosphere it was not possible for the slave
sultans to be strong enough to save their kingdom.
Rise of the Power of Amirs
The Sultan being
the foreigners in India mostly depended on their beloved Muslim Amirs. They were
awarded high posts by the Sultans and they expected from them financial and
military help at the time of need. They were given big fiefs and had great
power. The organization of ‘The Forty’ enhanced the power of the Amirs very
much. These Amirs exercised their power and acted as kingmakers whenever a weak
person had been enthroned. They neglected the will of Iltutmish and made
Ruknuddin sit on the throne in place of Raziya. In the same way, Kaiqubad was
enthroned and the claims of kai Khusrau were neglected at the death of Balban.
The Khalji nobles and Airs murdered the last slave ruler and established their
own supremacy. It proves that the increasing power of the Amirs was also an
important reason of the downfall of the slave dynasty.
Weak successors
Out of the eleven
Sultans of Delhi only three, viz, Qutbuddin, Iltutmish and Balban were worthy
rulers. Their successors proved unworthy, weak, lazy and luxury-loving.
Although Raziya was a worthy daughter of a worthy father, her only weakness was
her sex that bedimmed her future. The thirteenth century was a period of
military disturbances and political upheavals and only a person of
extraordinary military caliber could be a Sultan under such circumstances. As
the successors of these reputed sultans were unworthy and weak, the downfall of
the Slave dynasty was inevitable.
Mongol Invasion
The invasion of
the Mongols also proved harmful to the slave rulers. It began in A.D. 1221 when
Chengiz Khan appeared on the bank of Indus, chasing Prince Jalaluddin Mangbarni
of Central Asia. The successors of Iltutmish had also to face their raids.
Although enough lives and wealth were sacrificed to save the country from this
danger, no success could be achieved against these invaders. The personal
bravery of the Sultans was all the more necessary to stem these invasions. The
sultans had to strengthen the Governors of Punjab in order to check the attack
of Mongols and it often proved dangerous when the governors themselves revolted
against the Sultans. After the death of Balban neither of his successors could
face the Mongols boldly. The Khaljis took advantage of the weakness of the
successors of Balban and established their own reign.
Slave system
Lane-poole opines
that the slave system was also a contributing factor for the downfall of the
slave dynasty. The slaves who were purchased and trained by their masters often
tried to degrade their owners. They always started a tug of war with the
princes for power. The enthronement of the slaves of Ghori, one by one, proves
that they not only harmed the claims of the princes but also imposed their
superiority over them. This tussle between the slaves and the princes adversely
affected the administration of Delhi weakened the Sultanate.
Weakness of Frontier Policy
Negligence of the
frontier is said to be an important factor for the downfall of the so-called
slave dynasty. The Mongols and the Khokhars were launching constant attacks
during this period and the Sultans like Iltutmish and Balban had to face the
brunt of their attacks but the rulers before Balban did not care to secure
their frontier against these foreign invaders. Their invasions shook up the
roots of the infants Muslim empire. Balban was the only ruler of the slave
dynasty who took steps in this direction and erected forts and appointed
powerful soldiers to check the invasion of the foreigners. His son Muhammad was
killed in a battle against the Mongols. Thus we see that the weak frontier
policy of the slave sultans proved harmful for both the Sultans and the
Sultanate.
Lack of National
Feeling and Mix-up of various Tribes
During the region
of slave dynasty people of various castes had chances to participate in the
administration. Afghans, Pathans, Turks, Khaljis etc. worked on different posts
in the administration of the Sultanate. The different tribes were having a
competitive spirit against one another. Hence the place of national feeling was
blocked by racial feelings and it weakened the Sultanate and made the downfall
of the slave rulers inevitable.
Lack Feeling for People’s Welfare
As the Sultans of
Delhi remained busy in checking the invasions of the foreigners, in expending
their territory and in eliminating the mutual disputes, they could not pay
attention to the welfare of the people. They did not do anything which could be
beneficial to the people of the Delhi Sultanate nor could the people develop
affinity with the Sultanate. It ultimately resulted in the downfall of the
salve dynasty.
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