Reign of Alauddin Khalji
Alauddin Khalji was the first Sultan to occupy a large part of this country. His imperialistic approach was pragmatic. Because of which he got extensive success in his expeditions. The military of Alauddin Khalji was very powerful and opted for a very well defined plan for the expansion.
- Conquest and consolidated North-Western Frontier.
- Entered in Gujarat via Malwa route, without intriguing with Rajpoots.
Expeditions of Alauddin Khalji
Gujarat Expedition
Malik Kafur, a eunuch led the Gujarat expedition. Gujarat was the area of wealth and prosperity. So, in 1299, Alauddin Khalji’s army marched in the Gujarat region via Malwa. During this march, the ruler of Gujarat was Rai Karan Baghela. The war was fought between the two armies. But, in the end, Alauddin Khalji captured Gujarat.
After the Gujarat expedition, Alauddin was in trouble because he reversed the law of Khums. He decided to have 4/5th of war booty for himself and 1/5th reserved for the army. So, this was against the original law. So, this led to the revolt in his army by new Musalmans.
The two rebels escaped and took shelter with Rana Hamir Deo, ruler of Ranthambore. So, this was the cause of the Ranthambore expedition of Alauddin.
Ranthambore Expedition
Rana Hamir Deo was the ruler of Ranthambore. Alauddin attacked Ranthambore to take out two rebels. So, in 1301, the Ranthambore fort fell to the Alauddin. This was the first event when Turks had seen the tradition of Jauhar in Rajput culture by Rajput women. Amir Khusrao mentioned the event of Jauhar in his book.
Chittor Expedition, 1303
Alauddin Attacked Chittor fort because he had his evil eye on the beautiful Queen Padmini, Queen of Rana Ratan Singh. Malik Muhammad Jayasi mentions it in his book Padmavat. According to Amir Khusrao, Sultan ordered a general massacre of the civil population. He renamed Chittor as Khizrabad. Khizra was the name of the son of Alauddin.
Jalore Expedition, 1311
Rana Mahak Deo was the ruler of Jalore at that time. Rana Mahak Deo was defeated by a female servant of the Alauddin Khalji. He did not have the courage to face this insult. So, Rana Mahak Deo self-immolate.
After this Alauddin started his southern expedition.
Southern Expedition of Alauddin Khalji
In south India, Alauddin Khalji was very much attentive. His first important step was marriage alliance with Ram Chandra. Ram Chandra was the king of Yadavas. Alauddin gave Ram Chandra, a title of Rai Rayan, one Lakh Tankas in cash and a Jagir of Navsari (Gujarat) as a gift.
The alliance with the Ram Chandra proved very beneficial to the Alauddin Khalji. Because Ram Chandra acted as the guide of Alauddin’s army in the Deccan region.
Hoysala King Ballal Sen and Kakatiya King Pratap Rudra Deo surrendered to the Turkish army. In Tamilnadu (Madurai), Turks took advantage of the rivalry between two brothers Vir Pandya and Sundar Pandya. Here, the Turkish army plundered Chidambaram temple.
So, in this way, Alauddin Khalji became the first Sultan of Delhi, who occupied a large part of the Indian Subcontinent. However, he also turned Sultanate into an Empire. Lastly, he suffered from paralysis and died in 1316 CE.
Afterwards of Alauddin Khalji
Mubarak Khalji was the successor of Alauddin Khalji. The young man was successful in holding the throne for sometimes. But then he collapsed and moved on the indecent path. He took the title of Caliph. He violated the rules of nobility. So, he started losing the support of people and nobles. His associate Hasan killed him. Nasiruddin Mahmud came on the throne with the help of nobility.
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq took the revolt against the Nasiruddin Mahmud. So, Nasiruddin Mahmud was beheaded by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, who was commander-in-chief during the Khalji Dynasty. So, this Turkish commander established the most powerful dynasty of the Sultanate period ie the Tughlaq Dynasty.
We will discuss Tughlaq Dynasty in upcoming post.
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