Block 6

STATE AND ECONOMY

Structure
19.0 Objectives
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Distribution of Revenue Resources
19.2.1 Iqta and lrhPtlsl
' 19.2.2 The iqta System in Operation
19.2.2 Land Grants
19.3 Land Revenue and its Extraction
19.3.1 Agrarian Measures of Alauddin Khalii
19.3.2 Agrarian Measures of Muhammad Tughluq
19.4 Alauddin Khalji's Market Control
19.5 Currency System
19.6 Slavery and Slave Trade
19.7 Let Us Sum Up
19.8 Key Words
19.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

This Unit discusses how the Ghorian conquest and the establishment of the Delhi
Sultanate affected the Indian ecoriomy. It also attempts to highlight the changes that
occurred during the course of the Sultanate.
After-going through this Unit you will be able to learn about:
the nature of land revenue system and its extraction,
the mechanism of distribution of revenue resources,
price control measures of Alauddin Khalji,
the use of slaves in urban economy and sources of enslavement, and
- thk increasing use of money in economy and the currency system.

19.1 INTRODUCTION
'-
The conquest of,Northern India by the Ghorids and the establishment of the Delhi
Sultanate not only changed tfre existing political structure but also brought, economic
change?. The conquerors came with fairly well-defined concepts and piactices , ,. -
regarding tax collection and distribution, ahd system of coinage, etc. But the existing
systems could'not be changed altogether immediately: in the beginning, these were
superimposed on the older systems, and modifications and changes were introduced
by different Sultans uptb the close of the 15th century.
The new rulers wanted luxuries and comforts according to their taste and habits. The
slave labour was thus a great help to provide these.
In the opinion of Muhammad Habib, the economic changes that occurred as a
consequence of the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate created an organisation
considerably superior to the one that had existed before. He felt that the changes
were drastic enough to deserve the designation of 'Urban Revolution' and 'Rural
Revolution'. D.D. Kdsarnbi recognised that 'hidebound customs in the adoptation
and transmission of new techniques' were broken down by the 'Islamic raiders', but
he regarded the changes no more than intensifying elements already present in Indian
.-
'feudalism'.
In this Unit we will study the economic institutions and changes that the Delhi
Sultanate introduced.
19.2 DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE RESOURCES

During the 13th century, large territories rapidly passed into the hands of the Sultans.
Economy of Delh. ...,-_L,d rhi-c.c.ve$ And their troops by plundering or by~xtracting
tribute from
. .. - the defeated and subjdgated rural aristocracies. Unlike the previous rulers, the
soldiers were paid their salaries in cash.
The regions that refused to pay land-tax or kharaj were known as mawas and were
plundered or forced to pay through military raids. Gradually a mechanism of
simultaneous revenue rcollection and distribution had tohe introduced.
19.2.1 Iqta and Kbalisa

The new rulers brought with them the iqta system that combined the two functions of
revenue collection and distribution without immediately endangering the unity of
political structure. The iqta was a territorial assignment and its holder was called the
muqti or the wali. The classical definition of the iqta system has been given by
Nizam-ul Mulk Tusi, a Seljuq statesinan of the 11th century (see Block 5). ~ c c o r & g
to Tusi's definition, the iqta was a revenue assignment that the muqti held a t the
pleasure of Sultan. m e muqti was entitled to collect in proper manner t& land tax
and other taxes due to the Sultan, he had no further claims on the person, women and
children, land or other possessions of the cultivators. The muqti had certain
obligations to the Sultan the chief being the maintenance of troops and furnishing
them at call to the Sultan. The iqta was a transferable charge and the transfers of
iqta s were frequent.
Khalisa: The territory whose revenues were directly collected for the Sultan's own
treasury was designat d khaIiba. Its size seems to have expanded quite considerably
4
under,Alauddin Khal". But the k h d h did not appear to consist of shifting territories
scattered throughout he country. In all probability, Delhi along with its surrounding
district, including parts of Doab remained in khalisa. In Iltutmish's time, Tabarhinda
(Bhatinda) too was in khalisa. Under Alauddin Khalji, the. khelisP.cdvered the
whole of middle Doab and parts of Rohilkhand. But during the days of Feroz
Tughluq, the khalisa perhaps had reduced considerably in size.
Iltutmish (1210-36) is reported to have assigned in lieu of salaries "small iqtas" in the
Doab to the soldiers bf the Sultan's army (hashm qalb). palban (1266-86) made a
half-hearted attempt tit' their resumption without success. It was Alauddin Khalji
(1296-1316) who established firmly the practice of payment of salaries in cash to the
soldiers. A practice that was again altered by Feroz Tughluq who began to assign
villages to soldiers in lieu of their salaries. These assignments were called wqjh and
the holders wajhdars, These assignments tended to be not only permanent but
hereditary.
19.2.2 The Iqta Spstem in Operation

L _ & & _ - -.=*
-.
>.
You have already read about the Iqta system in Block 5. Here, we are adding a few
more aspects. In the tarly years of the foundation of the Sultanate, neither the
revenue income of these assignments was known nor the size of the contingent of the
assignee was fixed. However, certain modifications and mild attempts at introducing
central control to some-extent were made by Balban (1266-86) when he appointed a
khwaja (accountant) with each muqti: this may imply that the Sultanate now was
trying to find out the actual income of the iqta and muqti s expenditure.
'I'he real interventiorl in the iqta administration came under Alauddin Khalji. The
central finace department (diwan-i wizarat) perhaps prepared some sort of an
estimated revenue inicome from each iqta. The audit was stringent, punishments
severe, transfers frequent and enhancements (taufir) were often made in the
estimated revenue i w m e of theiqta on various pretexts.
Ghiyasuddin ~ u g h l u q(1320-25) introduced some moderation. The enhancements in
the estimated revenup income by the central finance ministry wds not to be more than
1/10 or 1111th annually. The muqtis v:ere allowed to keep 1110th to 1120th in excess of
their sanctioned salqies.
The auempt at centre1 intervention reached its climax during the timi of Muhwmad
Tughluq (1325-51). h several cases. a walk and an Pmir was appointed to the same
temtory. The wali wbs to collect revenue and, after deducting his pay, to send the rest
to the treasury. or commander had nothing to do with revenue realization
anrl thn ealnmr nf h i e t r n n n e in ,-sch nrmcmnmghlv Fmm th..
reign the troops of the iqta holders were paid in cash by the state's treasury. This State and
. Eammv
possibility infuriated the commanders and created political problems for Muhammad
Tughluq. Feroz Tughluq, therefore, decided to make concessions. He enhanced the
cash salahes of the nobles and got new estimates of revenue (mahsul) prepared which
I
was designated jama. ,
There was no attempt to restore central control by the successors of Feroz. Under the
Lodis (1451-1526),'the administrative charges and revenue assignments were
combined together and these were no more called iqta but were simply called sarkars
and parganas. A system of sub-assignments came in vogue particularly under
Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517). The main assignees used to sub-assign portions of their
assignment to their subordinates who in turn made sub-assignments to their soldiers.
19.2.3 Land Grants

As you know already, the religious persons and institutions such as dargahs,
mosques, madraw and other dependents of the ruling class were maintained by
making grants of revenue income. These revenue grants were called milk, idrar, and
in am. These grants were not generally resumed or transferred. But the Sultan had
the right to cancel them. Alauddin Khalji is reputed to have cancelled almost all
grants. Ghiyasuddin Tughluq too cancelled large number of grants. However, Feroz
Tughluq made a departure and not only returned all the previously resumed grants
but also made new grants as well. In spite of this generosity of the Sultan, according
t o the figures recorded by Afif, the total grants by the Sultan accounted only for about
one-twentieth of the total jama (estimated revenue income). Nobles, too, made
revenue grants out of their own iqtas. Noticeably, the Sultans made grants not only in
the khalisa but also in the iqtcrs. These grants covered cultivated as well as cultivable
areas not yet brought under plough.
Check Your Progress 1

1) How will you define iqta?
. , t
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4 .
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, .
2) p a t changes were introduced in the iqta system by Muhammad Tughluq? . ,
3 Mark ( d )against the correct and (x) against the wrong statements given below:
(a) Alauddin Khalji allowed the muqtis to keep the excess income from their
.iqtas. . .
(b) Ghiyasuddin Tughluq handed over iqtas to revenue-farmers.
(c) The jama under Feroz Tughluq meant the estimated revenue income.
19-3 LAND REVENUE AND ITS EXTRACTION

f i e Islamic land tax with which the new rulers of India were familiar was kharaj. The
,kharaj was essentially a share in the produce of the land and not a rent on the land?
During the 13th century, the kharaj took by and large the form of tribute. As
mentioned earlier, this tribute was paid, in lump sum, either by the potentates
Economy of ~elbiSultanate some arrangement. Alternatively, from the recalc~trantareas (mawas) where such
arrangements were hot possible, the tribute was extorted through plundering raids. It,
was thus probably mostly in the form of cattle and slaves.
The sources of ~ e l d Sultanate
i do not suggest that before the reign of Alauddin
Khalji (12961316) any serious attempt was made to systematise the.assessment and '
realization of kharaj.
19.3.1 Agrarian Measures of Alauddin Khalji

You have already rehd (Block 5) .in some detail about the agra;ian measures of
Alauddin Khalji. ~ iattempt
i wa%toincrease the revenue collection by enhancing the
demand, introducing direct collection and cutting down the leakages to the '
intermediaries.
As you know, the demand was thus fixed in kind but realization appears to be mostly
in cash. Barani informs us that the revenue collectors were ordered to demand the
revenue with such rigour that the peasants should be forced to sell their produce
immediately at the side of the fields. At another place, Barani says that Alauddin
Khalji brought the q o a b into khalisa apd the tax (mahsul) from there was spent on
paying the cash salaqies to the soldiers.
Yet there is a rathericontradictory statement by the same author that the Sultan
ordered that the peakant should pay tax in kind and not in cash. According to Itfan
Habib, it seems to hdve reference to only some parts of the khalisa in the Doab. From
there the Sultan wanted to obtain supplies for his granaries. Otherwise the realization
was normally in cash'.
Yet these new measures affected the rural intermediaries which we will discuss in
Unit 20. .
The system of taxation introduced by Alauddin seems to have lasted for long though -
Gh~yasuddinTughluq (1320-25) modified it to.some extent and exempted the khots
aod muqaddamsfrom paying tax on their cultivation and cattle. But he did not permit
them to impose any cesces on the peasants.
19.3.2 Agrarian Measures of Muhammad Tughluq

~ u h a m m i dTughluq, first extended Alauddin Khalji's system of revenue collection
based on measurement to Gujarat. Malwa, Deccan, South India and Bengal. At a
later,stage, the scale of agrarian taxation wgs enhanced considerably. Barani's
statement that the increase amounted to 20 or 10 times is undoubtedly a rhetoric but
it certainly gives the impression of an enormous increase. Barani suggests that
additional new imposts (abwab) were levied. Of the other taxes. kharaj, chard and
ghari were more rigorously collected. According to Yahya, cattle were branded and
cottages counted to avoid any concealments. B U more~ important than these
measures was the fact that for assessment of kharaj, wafa-i-farmani (officially
decreed yields) and drkh-i-farmani (officially decreed prices) were used. The
statement very clearly implies that the yields and prices used for'calculating revenue
were not actual.
One could very well expeCt that the decreed yields and prices were certainly inflated.
Use of inflated yields instead of actual and prices much-higher than what were
prevailing, had the obvious result of overstating the value of produce and thus the
share of the state. This tremendous increase in revenue demaqdresulted in
contraction of area under plough, flight of peasantry, and, as wswill see in Unit 20
in a b ~ gpeaqant revolt in the Doab and around Delhi. This caused failure of grain
supplies to Delhi and a famine that lasted for about seven years, from 1334-5 to 1342.
Faced with these problems, Muhammad Tughluq became the first Sultan to attempt
to formulate an agrichltural policy for promoting agriculture. He introduced the '
practice of giving agrkultural loans named sondliar for increasing the area under
plough and foidigging wells f o irrigation.
~ Barani says that 70 lakhs tenkas (according
to Afif 2 krors t a n k 4 were given till 1346-7 in sondhar but perhaps hardly any
A new ministry designated diwan-i amir-i kohi was established to promote
agriculture. Its two main functions we-re to extend the area under cultivation and to
reclaim the land that went out of cultivation and improving the cropping pattern. It
was recommended that wheat should.be replaced by sugarcane and sugarcane by
grapes and dates.
The Sultan was so determined to introduce his project of agricultural improvement

that when a theologian said that giving loan in cash and receiving the interest in grain
was sin, he executed him.
Barani, however, says that alr these measures were almost a complete failure. Feroz
Tughluq (1351-88) abandoned these projects but abolished agrarian cesses, forbade
levying of ghari and chard. But he is reported to have imposed a separate tax -jiziya
-distinct from kharaj (land-tax) on the peasants. He also introduced an irrigation tax
in Haryana where he d u g canals.
There is little information forthcoming for the intervening period but in all probability
the land tax continued to be collected in cash by whomsoever be the rulers, till the
time of Ibrahim Lodi (1517-26). Owing to the scarcity of currency and cheapening of
the grains, he is reported to have ordered collection of land revenue in kind or in
grain.

1) Discuss the land revenue system introduced by Alauddin Khalji.
2) Indicate the correct and wrong statements given below hy marking ( d )or ( x ) .
(a) The areas which did not pay kharaj without the use of force were called
mawas.
(b) Ghiyasuddin Tughluq imposed tax on the cultivation and cattle of khots and
muqaddams.
(c) Ibrahim Lodi ordered for the collection of revenue in cash.
19.4, ALAWDDIN KHALJI'S MARKET CONTROL

Alauddin Khalji's measures did not remain confined to rural economy but extended
to urban market as well. He is credited for issuing a set of seven regulations which
came to be known as market-control measures. Barani,who is our main source on this
aspectis the only authority who gives these regulations in detail.
The Sultan fixed the prices of all commodities from grain to cloth, slaves, cattle, etc.
(Regulation 1). These prices were really to be enforced since the Sultan carefully
made all arrangements for making the measure a success. A controller of market
(shahna-i mandl), barids (intelligence officers) and munhiyan (secret spies) were
appointed (Reg. 2). The grain merchants were placed under the shahna-i mandi and
sureties were taken from them (Reg. 4). The Sultan himself was to receive dailjl
reports separately from these three sources (Reg. 7). Regrating (ihtikar) was
prohibited (Reg. 5). While ensuring strict control in the market, the Sultan did not
overlook the more essential requirement, namely the regular supply of grains and
</ $, 3
4
1
Economy of Delbi Sultanate 1
No. Commodities Alauddin Muhammad ~eroz

I
, Khalji Tugluq Tughluq
(Prices in Jitals per maund)
.
1. What 7'h 12 8 r
2. Barely 4 8 4
3. Paddy 5 14 ..
4. Pulses 5 .. 4
5. Lentils 3 4 4
6. Sugar (white) 100 80 .- I
7. Sugur (soft) 60 64 120,140 -
8. Sheep (mutto*) 10-12 64 ..
9. Ghi (clarified butter) 16 .. 100
Table of prices is reprodpced from K.M.Ashraf, Life Pod Conditiolloft& people o,-f Delhi.
1970, p. 160. The table copplied from dierent sources shows that the prices of these commodities
went up'under Muhammakl Tughluq but dropped under Feroz Tughluq to the price level of Alauddin
Khalji's relgn.1
A
as mentioned in contemporary .rrounts of the sultanate period.

1. Rlees of some commod~ties
Obviously, the grain merchants could bring supplies to the market only if they could
get the grains and that, too, at sufficiently low prices. It was apparently for this reason
that the Sultan decreed such a rigour in realization of land revenue in the Doab that
the peasants should be forced to sell the grain to the h a n i a n (the grain merchants)
at the side of the field (Reg. 6).
The Sultan established granaries in Delhi and in Chhain in Rajasthan. The land tax
from the khalisa in the Doah was realised in kind. T h e grain went to the state
granaries (Reg. 3). The Multanis who were cloth merchants were given 20 lakhs of
tankas as advance loan to purchase and bring cloth to the market.
The Sultan succeedekl in maintaining low prices and ample supplies in the market as
reported by all our authorities. But there are varying reascns mentioned for why the
Sultan introduced tHe market control and in what region it was enforced. The poet
courtier Amir Khusrau considers the measure to be of immense generosity taken for
the welfare and comfort of all, the elite as well as the public at large. The Chishti di-
vine Nasiruddin Mapmud (Chiragh Delhi) attributes it to the Sultan's effort to do
good to all the people. But the historian ~ a i a n i ' view
s was totally different. He did not
credit it to Sultan's btnevolent intentions but gives a hard financial reason. The Sultan
was anxious to have1 a large army and to take other precautions such as building of
forts at strategic plaues, fortification wall around Delhi, etc. against the Mongol inva-
sions. If numerous additional cavalrymen and troops were to be employed ar&e pre-
vailing salaries, the drain from the state treasury was to exhaust it totally. The salaries
could be reduced only if the prices were kept at a sufficiently low level.
Barani's reasoning abpears of course, more valid. Since the main lmhkargak (army
\
. encampment) was id Delhi and most bf theroyal troops were to be stationed in or
around Delhi, the mpin area of price control was Delhi itself. However, since the
sl~ppliesof cheap grain were to be made available to the grain merchants in the
surroundirlg districm of the oo?h, the low prices ought to be prevalent there as well.:
The market control did not sbrvive its enforcer and we do not hear about it after
Alauddin Khalji's tiMe. A very efficient and alert administration was imperative for
the success of price control. Therefore, one possible reason for its not surviving could
be the lack of sufficiantly competent administration. Irfan Habib, however, offers a
different reason for t@ abandonment of price control by the successors of Alauddin
Khalji. Since the prevalence of low prices implies lower revenues from the low-price
zone, the price contr?l was viable as long as the zone of low prices was restricted and
most of the expenditqre was concentrated there. With the Mongols no more
, remaining a threat, the army and the expenditure was t o b e dispersed Fore widely
and not to be concentrated at and around Delhi alone. The interest of hstate
f r = a s ~ m nnw in AirrnantIinn thn --;- ---+--I
Check Your Progress 3 State and Economy
1) Discuss the measures taken by Alauddin Khalji to introduce 'price control'.
.........................................................................................................
2 ) Explain briefly the reasons for:
.(a) Introduction of price control according to Barani.
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(b) Dismantling of price control under the successors of Alauddin Khalji.
19.. CURRENCY SYSTEM

The establishment of the Delhi Sultanate was marked by a considerable growth of
money economy which accelerated particularly in the first half of the 14th c e n t u j .
Since the growth of money economy in simple words means larger use of currency in
transactions (monetisation is another term for this pbnomenon), a large scale
minting of gold, silver and copper coins that followed'the foundation of the Delhi
Sultanate was an attendant process of the monetization of Indian economy.
The period prior to the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate was marked by the scarcity
of coinage particularly of pure silver. The early Ghorid conquerors found mints
uttering coins of copper with very small silver contents. Except an increase in the
number of coins stamped, no changes were introduced in'the beginning. The coins
continued to bear the image of goddess Lakshmi or bull-and-horseman, etc. Only the
name of the new ruler in a corrupt form got inscribed over it in Nagri script. These
coins were called Dehliwal.
lltutmish (1210-36) is credited for standardizing the coinage of the Delhi Sultanate.
The currency system established by him in its essentials survived the Delhi Sultanate
He introduced gold and silver tankas and a copper jital that was reckoned at 1/48th of
a tanka in North India and 1150th in the Deccan after the conquest of Devagiri.
'A firm ratio of 1:10 between gold and silver appears to have been established.
For studying the currency system we not only have the testimonybf the chronicles but
also the physical evidence available in the form of suniving coins (this is called
numismatic evidence).
The Sultanate mints generally uttered coins in three metals: gold, silver and billon
(copper mixed with very small quantity of silver). The main coins were tanka and jital
but some smaller currencies were also in circulation. Barani mentions dangs and
dirams in use at the capital Delhi. The equation between these currencies in the north
has been worked out as:
1silver tanka = 48 jital = 192 dangs = 480 dirams
The gold and silver remitted from Bengal was the main source of coinage during the
13th century. The seizure of treasure hoards in northern India and later in t b Deccan
was the other major source of silver and gold for coinage.
The Sultanate mints should not only have coined government money but also
stamned hlillion and f o r e i ~ ncoins hrow~hthv the nrivate merchant<
The silver currency remained dominant till the reign of Alauddin Khalji. From
Ghiyasuddin TughluQ's reign, a decline in silver coinage in relation t ~ ' ~ o and
l d billon
. set in. Under Muhammad Tughluq gold coinage overshadowed the silver, and silver
coinage practically disappeared under Feroz Tughluq. In the 15th cenfury, billon
winage dominated (the Lodis (1451-1526) uttered no other coins).
Token Currency of Muhammad Tughluq
The only major innovation in the currency system established by Iltutmish was made
by Muhammad Tughluq. The Sultan introduced a coin of copper and brass alloy and
reckoned it at the value of a silver tanka. This w i n for the first time camed an
inscription in Persian. This new currency w h o ~ eface value was much higher than its
intrinsic value (that is, value of the metal it was made of) is termed as token currency.
The introduction of tdken currency was already attempted in sister Asian empires. In
China, Qublai Khan (1260-94) had introduced a token currency of paper and the
experiment was successful. In Persia, Kaikhatu Khan (!293), too, tried to introduce a
token currency but thre attempt failed.
Muhammad Tughluq's experiment, too, met total failure perhaps owing to the fact
that the new currency could easily be forged. Barani says rhetorically that every
'Hindu' household became a mint. However, the Sultan accepted the failure with
grace and exchanged all the token currency brought to the treasury with pure
currency.
--
1) Discuss the introduction of 'token currency'.
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.........................................................................................................
2) Mark (y)
against the statement if it is true and ( X ) if false.
(a) Alauddin Khalji established the currency system of the Sultanate.
(b) One silver tanha was equal to 48 jitals in North India.
(c) The main sourae of silver for coinage in the Deccan were the treasure hoards 9
of the local rulers.
-
'"t
(d) Silver coins in Feroz Tughluq's reigh outnumbered gold coins.
19.6 SLAVERY AND SLAVE TRADE -

The Ghorians found slavery in existence in India where it had an ancient history.
They certainly had no ethical qualms about it. Slavery was permitted in Islam and it
was prevalent in the Islamic world. According to Irfan Habib, the Ghaznavid and the
Ghorid invasions of Ndrthern India, like Julius Caeser's invasions of Britain, were
partly for acquiring slaves. The success of a campaign was to be measured by the
number of captives acquired along with gold, silver, cattle and horses. Qutbuddin
Aibak captured 20 thousand slaves in his Gujarat campaign of 1195 and 50 th9,usand
slaves in raid on Kalinjar in 1202. Even after the establishment of the Sultanat, the
enslavement continued through campaigns in yet to be wnquerred areas. One of the
main objects of Balbanls raid of Ranthambor and Malik Kafur's campaigns in the
Deccan was to get slaves.
Another source of getting captives was the plunder raids of rebellious villages
(mawas) in the Sultanate that refused to pay the k h a M or tribute. The number of
slaves received from these sources was tnormous. There were 50,000 slaves in
Alauddin Khalji's (12991316) establishment. The number increased to 1,80,000
under Feroz Tughluq (135.1-88). Besides the Sultans, nobles had their private large
retinues of slaves induding large number of concubines. Even the respectabls poor
kept slaves,
!
i: The slwes were of meai use to the new ruling class that needed things fashioned to
their taste. At the beginning, it pight have been somewhat difficult for the traditional .
Indian craftsmen and artisans to adjust themselves to the demands of the new
aristocracy and to new production technology such as spinning wheel, carding bow,
etc. The previously unskilled slpves could be trained in any craft. Feroz Tughlua's
slaves included 12,000 artisaas.
There was a large slave market. The prices of slaves of the twc sexes arid ci srious
ages fixed under Alauiidin Khalji are recorded by Barani. The abundance or slaves
encouraged continuous export of slaves from India to the Islamic World. But Feroz
Tughluq prohibited the export of slaves.
I ' Check Your Progress 5

1) Indicate the correct statement by marking ( d )and wrong by (X).
(a)
(b)
(c)
Slaves were maintained only by the Sultan and his nobles.
Ghorid campaigns were partly invasions of slave raiders.
Feroz Tughluq had a large number of slaveaartisans.
(d) Alauddin Khalji prohibited export of slaves from India.
2) What were the main sources of supply of slaves in the Delhi Sultanate?
19.7 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, you have studied the impact of the Delhi sultanate on Indian economy
w e have traced how gradually the previously existing systems of revenue collection
-and distribution changed, cash nexus grew, and pure silver currency was introduced.
19.8 KEY .WORDS

A coper coin; 48 jitd = 1tanka
Grain Merchants
Land revenue
Estimated revenue
Rebellious aredvillage where land revenue was extracted by the ,
use of force
A Muslim educational institution
Revenue free grants
See Block 5
Iqta-holder/provincial governor
" 19.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

I EXERCISES
1 - Check Your Progress 1
I 1) See Sub -sec. 19.2.'1
I -. - - . -- -
I
Econom) of Delhi Sultanate
Check Your ~ r o ~ r e s s i 2. . .
1) See Sub - r e c 19.p. I
2) (a) d (b) x (c) T
1) See Sec. 19.4
-.
2) See Sec. 19.4

1) See Sec. 19.5
2) (a) x (b) d (c)
1) (a) x (b) d (c) v (dl x.
2. See Sec. 19.6 ,
UNIT 20 AGRARIAN STRUCTURE
Structure
0.0 Ol>jcctivcs
2 .I I~~lrc)tluc-lio~~ .
0 . Agricultu~.;~l I'rotluclio~~
2 . 2 . I (".OIPS;IIII~ 0thr.r Agrict~ltur;tl I'rt~~lttcs
211.2.2 .(*;tt1;11 lrrig:t~ta~t~ ; t t r ~ l11s IIII~P~IC~
20.3 Agr;lri;ln l < c l ; ~ l i o ~ ~ s

3 . 3 I 1'r~~ls:lll~s
20.3.2 l<t~r;~l Itt~~~rtrt~11i;tri~~s
. 4 I.ct 1ISSLII \11>
I . Key Wortls
0 . AIISW~~S( t i ('kc.ck'Yotrr I'rogrcss Iini-c~-i'isc.s
-- -
20.0 OBJECTIVFS
III t l ~ i s\ ! ~ ~ i wc
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~
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4
The control over bits o land was, therefore, not as important as on.persons
cultivating them We 11 discuss the implications of this for agrarian relations at the
prop.tr place. Hc 'ever) the land-man ratio is also cmcial for understanding the
nat of agricul rre. 4 favourable ratio of land to man naturally implies agriculture
to t ,: extensive. .n simple terms, extensive agriculture is that where the increase in
production is attempted by bringing more area under crop. On the other hand,
;~g~iculture is called intdnsive if the production is sought to be increased on the same
tract by using higher agt.icultural inputs: for example, more labour, better ploughiag
'ind irrigation. Owing to abundance of cultivable land in the Delhi Sultanate,
agriculture was extensive in nature. The large area of cultivable waste and fallows
n,i:,-rallyprovided good pasturage facility for cattle. The author of the M d i k d
Ah-.ar records that in Iqdia cattle were innumerable and their prices were low. Afif
I <,portsthat no village in Doab was without a cattle-pen which were called kharaks.
t;,lllocks were so plentiful that the pack-animals and not the bullock-carts were the
>,sin means of carryingigrains and other goods.
20.2.1 Crops and oiher Agricultural Produce

One of the most remarGable feature of the agriculture of the time was the large
number of crops grown by the peasants of the Delhi Sultanate. This has perhaps no
parallel in other parts of the wo_rld except perhaps in South China. Ibn Battuta was
struck by the multiplicity of crops grown and described in sufficient detail the various
crops grown in the two cfropping seasons. He also suggests that in the region around
Delhi double cropping was also practised, that is, on the same soil both the kharif and
the rabi crops were raiqd. Thakkur Pheru, the mint-master at Delhi under Alauddin
Khalji, writing in c. 12% lists some twenty-five crops grown under two harvests and ;
gives also their yields. While the yields cannot be comprehended owing to the
uncertainty of the units used, one gets a fairly good idea of the crops raised. Among
food crops, he mentions, wheat, barley, paddy, millets -juar, moth etc. arid pulses
(mash, mung lentils, etc,). For cash crops, sugarcane, cotton, oil-seeds, sesamurn,
linseed, etc. are referred to.
One may perhaps legitirbately assume that improved facilities of higation w o J d
have hetpcd extend the area under rabi (winter) crops suck as Wheat, sugarcane etc.
With the 'Islamic raiderd' making of wine from sugarcane became widespread and a
new rural industry emer&ed,atleast around Delhi and in the Doab by the 14th century
as is evident from Baraqi's account. Thakkur Pheru surprisingly omits the dye-crop
(indigo) though its prodvction is testified to by the fact that indigo was already an
important item of export t o Persia. It is recorded thar the I1 Khanids tried t o
encourage indigo plantation in Persia to avoid dependence upon India for its supply.
The probable use of lime-mortar in the indigo-vats by providing apknproved surface
should have helped the qnanufacture of dye.
From Ibn Battuta's accohnt, we get information on fruit growing in thk Delhi
Sultanate. It appears thar technique of 'grafting' was not known by peasants. Earlier
grapes were grown only Cn the few places besides Delhi but Muhammad Tughluq's
urging to peasants to improve cropping by shifting from wheat to sugarcane to grapes
and Feroz Tughluq's laying down of 1200 orchards in the vicinity of Delhi t o grow
seven varieties of grapes seems to have made them so abundant that, according to
Afif, the prices of grapes fell.
However, the Indian peqsants did not practise sericulture (rearing of silk-worm) at
that time and no true silq was produced. Only wild and semi-wild silks,namely, tasar,
eri and m u p were knoNn. Ma Huan, the Chinese navigator in 1432, makes the first
reference to sericulture ib Bengal.
20.2.2 Canal irrigation and Its Impact

Agriculture was general]$ dependent upon natural irrigation, that is, rains and floods.
Since cultivation was largely based o,n natural irrigation, the tendency was to grow
/
mostly single, rain-waterpd kharif (autumn) crop and coarse grains more.
Canal irrigation is described in our sources. The Delhi Sultans themselves got the
canals cut for irrigation. /Ghiyasuddin Tughluq (1320-25) is reported t o be the f i ~ s t
f
Sultan to dig canals. But he cutting of canals in a much bigger way was undertaken by
Feroz Tughluq (1351-88),. Feroz Tughluq cut two canals from the river Yamuna
carrying them to Hissar. one from the Kali river in the Doab joining the Yamuna near Agrarian Structure
Delhi; one each from the Sutlej {nd the Ghaggar. Certainly, it was the biggest canal
network in India till the 19th century.
Canal irrigation helped greatly in the extension of cultivation in the eastern Punjab.
Now there was an emphasis on the cultivation of cash crops like sugarcane, etc. that
required more water than other crops. Afif says that a long stretch of land of about 80
krohs (200 miles) vast irrigated by the canal Rajabwah and Ulughkhani. According to
Afif, as a result of abundance water available, peasants in the eastern Punjab raised
two harvests (kharif and rabi) where only one was possible earlier. This led t o new
agticultural settlements along the banks of the canals. In the areas irrigated by the
canals 52 such colonies sprang up. Afif comments enthusiastically, "neither one
village remained desolate nor one cubit of land uncultivated."
Cheek Your Rogress 1

1) What were the implications of the prevailing favourable land to man ratio during
the Delhi Sultanate?
..........................................................................................................
2) Write a note on canal irrigation.
..........................................................................................................
.-
3 ) Which of the following statements are correct or wrong? (Mark or X )
i) Muhammad Tughluq built a number of canals for irrigation.
ii) Double cropping was practised during the Sultanate period in the Doab.
iii) ~ericulturewas practised by Indian pEasants during the 13th-14th centuries.
20.3 AGRARIAN RELATIONS

Crucial to any discussion of agrarian economy is, indeed, the nature and extent of
change that resulted in the agrarian relations since the establishment of the Delhi
Sultanate. This involves. first of all, an assessment of the pre-1200 agrarian structhre.
Without entering into the debate whether the prevailing socio-economic order
deserves the appellation 'feudal' or not, we can perhaps say with some certainty, that
on the eve of the Ghorid conquest, the ruling class.was heavily ruralized like
contemporary feudal aristocracy of Western Europe.
Minhaj Siraj designates the chiefs opposing the Ghorians and the early Delhi Sultans .
as rai and rana and their cavalry commanders as rawaeFrom the epi'graphic evidence
from different parts of Northern India, the earlier feudal hierarchy of raja (rai),
ranaka (rana) and rauta (rawat) is fairly well established.
In the early phase. the Sultans tended to enter into settlement with this defeated and
subjugated rural aristocracy. As discussed earlier, kharaj was largely the tribute
imposed upon them. It seems that e v e ~ a f t ethe
r replacement of this tribute by
vigorously assessed tax imposed on the peasants under Alauddin Khalji, the older
rural aristocracy had some role to play in revenue collection. This can be inferred
'
from an incident of Alauddin Khalji's reign. Ghazi Malik, the governor of Dipalpur
when wanted to pressurise Rana Mal Bhatti. according to Afif, one of the rais (rajas)
lic;~dmcn)and chaudhudis. The incidcnt suggests that though the members of
auhjug;~tedi~risloeracv.rherever present, werc at leilst till the earlv years of the 14th
ccntul.y, held responsit~lcfor collcctinp;~~id paying the land revcnuc. The
administration, t o o . exercised the right to collcct it directly through village headmen
and cbaudhuris.
20.3.1 Peasants !
1!
Cultiv;~tionwas hascd o individu;~lpc;~s;~t~t.
not at ;III c g ~ l i t i ~ r i ;1'
farming. Hut this pc;t.s;lnt economy was
~ nc. sizc of land cultiv;~tcdby 1hc.111prci111y varied in sizc. From
Barani's i~ccountit i ~ p pars tli:~l a1 one cstrcmc werc the khots anti muqaddams
.
'
,
.
1
having large holdings ;II cl enjoyilig superior rights on ordinary pasants; and at tlic
oihcr was the habhar, t c vill;lgc nicnial holding i1 petty plot of land. Hclow tlic
Ixasilnt. thcrc must h;l\.iF hCc~i a tn;iss of landlcss labourers hut their presence col~ltl
only he disccrncil from Ihc Ixtcr sources. since wc did 1101 find any mention in
. ,
.
contcmpcjrar~accourltxj
!
In spite o f tlic ahundan+c 01' ct~l~iv;~lrle Ii~ntl.there was no proprietary right o f the
peasant over the I;lnd Ilk tillccl. 0 1 1 the contrary. .cven on his producc there wmc
claims of the supcrior c[;~sses.71'licpeasant. though recognised n 'free horn' at times
was deprived of the frrcedom t o Ic;~vethc I;~lidat will or t o change the domicile.
. ,
According to Afif. ;I vill;~gcIi;~tl2lY) to 3(H1 nialt' nic~nhcrsand Rariini says that each
villagc hid a patwari tti keep accounts. I-lishnhi (;~ccountregister) was scrutinized to
discover every p;~vnicnti.Icg;~lor illegal. made hy the peasants t o the revenue officials.
Thc patwari was not n hovcrnment officiill hut a vill;lgc official. fle was certainly not
a creation o f thc I)clhi bult;ln;~tc..l'lic prcscnce of ;I village clerk for.njaintaining
accounts may sbppcst thi~ttlic vill;~gcwas an administrative unit outside the
adniinistr;~tivoS!lstc~i~({l'the Sult;~~i;~tc. I t seems th;~ltlic villase was collectively a tax
paying unit othcrwiac $h!. ;I clerk to keep villugc j~ccountswas needed. The presence .
1
of patwnri ; I I I ~the 11:1tu c o f his duties thus indicate cxistcncc of village community. It
sccms that in spite of A itudclin ~1ialji's.cf'orts'toasstsss the tax on individual peasant,
in pri~cticcthe villi~gcc+ntinuccl to rcliiai~ithe unit of land r h e n u e payment: Barani's
complaints qhout the 'ldurdcn of tlic rich fallins on the poor' further indicates that the
uilliigc commu~iit!.w;~slnota n ide;ll i~istitutic~n hut itself a machinery of exploitation.
20.3.2 Rural lnterbediaries

You have ;~lrc;ldyrcsdlin Block 5 aljout tlic rural aristocracy called khaQ,
muqaddrrms and ch.aut(huris. 7'hey helongui to thc highest stratum of the peasantry.
From Harani's i~ccou~il/ it ;~ppc;~rs
that hcforc Alauddin Khalji's agrarian measures :
they held rcvcnuc frcc lands. A> a el;~ss,the village headmen were prosperous. Barani
with malacious plc;lsuri. records thilt Ali~udttinKhalji imposed fuU land revenue upon
tlicm and witlidrcw 1114 cuc~iij~tio~i froni house and grazing tax. He prohibited them
fro111lekyi~lga n \ ~.c.sscbof their ow11;11ic1thus he kvelled them to the ordinary
I
~Ic;ls;lnts. I
llo~vcvcr.\111ccthcac Iural internirdi:~rtcswere necessary for the system of land

revenue r c a l ~ ~ a t i otn .esc stern measures against them were not t o last longer.
Ghiyasuddin l'ughluq ~ntroduccdmoderation. The exemption from grazing as well as
tax on thcir onn c u l t ~ ~ i ~was t ~ ograntcd
n again. But they were not allowed to impme
;my cc\\ upln the peasantry. They received further concessions under Feroz Tughluq
and,intc~cstlnglycnoygh,thcse concessions and a resulting affluence are very
approvingly dcacr~hedihy Harnn~. \
'1
1
Aniong these rural In er~iiediaric~,
the chaudhuri seems to have emerged during the
14th century. Hc is no mcntioncd hy Minhaj br any other source of the 13th century.
It is during the middl c ~ the
f 14th century that he makes hls appearance in Barani's
account. Ibn Battuta efines him as the 'chief of a group of l(H! villages' he c a f l s w . )
However. the usual tdrm from the middle of the 14th century for a group of villagesis
par gana. lrfan Habi suggests thar the chaudhuri was in fact a successor. though
$
much reduced in aut ority, of the head of the c h r u r d (group of eighty four villages)
of Gujara-Pratiharas bnd Chalukyas.
From the time of Ferbz Tughluq. all thcse intermediaries werc given a blanket
Check Your Progress 2 Agrarian Structure
1) Write 50 words o n each of the following:
(a) Village Community
(b) Chaudhuri /
....................................................................................................
(c) Patwari
2) Put ( d )against correct and ( x ) against incorrect statement given below:

(a) During the Delhi Sultanate peasant had proprietory rights over their holding.
(b) The patwari was a village official who maintained an accounts book.
(c) During the Sultanate period cultivable land on laGe scale
was yet to be brought under cultivation.
20.4 LET US SUM UP

To sum up. in the present Unit we have focussed on the agrarian structure -
agricultural production, means of irrigation, peasants and the rural intermediaries
-of the Delhi Sultanate. During this period large scale cultivable land was yet to
be brought under cultivation. Double cropping was prevalent in the Doab. Canals
were the major source of artificial irrigation. At village level differentiation
(hierarchy) existed between the superior right holders (khots, muqaddams and
chaudhuris) and the ordinary peasants (raiyat).
Cash-crops : Crops produced for markets

Distillation : Lit. substance was turned to vapour by heating. then the condensed
yapour was collected
KrohrKuroh : Used for measuring distance. 1 Kuroh = 2.5 miles
Kharif : Autumncrop
Kharaks : Cattle-pens
Rabi : . Winter crop
- - ..
Economy of Delhl Sultanate
20.6 ANSWER8 TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EXERCISBS
Check Your Rognsp 1
1) See Sec. 20.2
2) See Sub-sec. 20.2.2
3) (i) X (ii) V (iii) x
Check Your Prognrs 2
1) See Sub-sec. 20.3.1+20.3.2
2) (4 x (b)V (c) V
UNIT 21 RISE OF URBAN ECONOMY
TRADE & COMMERCE
Structure
21.0 Objectives
21.1 introduction
21.2 Growth of Towns
21.3 Urban ~ a n u f a c t u r e s
21.4 Trade and Commerce
21.4.1 Inland Trade
21.4.2 Foreign Trade: Seaborne and Overland
21.4.3 Commercial Classes
21.4.4 Transport
21.5 Let Us Sum U p
21.6 Key Words
21.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
21.0 OBJECTIVES
In this Unit, you will study the development of urban economy and expansion of
trade during the 13th-14th centuries. After reading this Unit, you should be able to
learn that in the Delhi Sultanate three interrelated developments occurred :
a considerable increase in the size and possibly in the number of towns,
a marked rise in craft production, and
a corresponding expansion in commerce.
21.1 INTRODUCTION
The available evidence suggest that the urban economy on the eve of the Ghorid
conquest waq on a low ebb. The towns were fewer in number and smaller in size in the
centuries preceding the establish'ment of the Delhi Sultanate. D.D.Kosambi shows
that even the capital was a camp city on the move. The higher ruling class wandered
from place to place along with the army while the lower ruling class was almost
completely ruralized. This view of urban decline has been supported by R.S. Sharma
who has cqnvincingly reasserted his theory of urban decay with the help of enormous
archaeological data painstakingly collected.
This theory of decay of towns is further corroborated by the evidence of sluggish
trade: The near complete disappearance of gold and silver currencies and the almost
total absence of foreign coins in the Indian coin-hoards of the period are indicators
that the foreign trade was at a very low scale. Moreover, the fact that not even the
coins of various regional dynasties are found in the coin-hoards of other regions
,suggests that inland commerce was not widespread. All this scenario changed almost
immediately with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. The archaeological and
numismatic evidence corroborate the literary evidence of growth of towns and
- increase in commerce. This led Muhammad Habib to postulate a theory of 'Urban
Revolution' as mentioned earlier in Unit 19.
21.2 GROWTH OF TOWNS

Before discussing the evidence of increase in number and size of towns, we must first
understand what we mean by town. There are two simple definitions of a town : (a)
the usual modern definition of a settlement of 5 0 0 o r above, and (b) a settlement
where an overwhelming majority of population (say above 70%) is engaged in
occupations other than agriculture. The two definitions are not mutually exclusive but
Economy of Delhi Sultanate While the archaeological evidence available for earlier period is not forthcoming from
the 13th-14th centuries owing to the much less attention paid to medieval
archaeology, the literary dvidences testify growth of urbari centres. Some major towns
m e n t i ~ n e d ~ the
i n contemporary sources are Delhi (the capital), Multan, Anhilwara
(Patan), Cambay, Kara, Lakhnauti and DaOlatabad (Deogiri). Lahore was a big town
but decayed after the Motlgol invasion in the 13th century. However, in the 14th .
century it flourished again. While not even a guesstimate of the population of any
town is available in our sOurces there are reliable indications to assume that at least
some of these were cities big enough by contemporary standards. Ibn Battuta, who
visited Delhi in 1330,.deseribes it as of enormous extent and population, the largest
city in the Islamic East in spite of the fact that Muhammad Tughluq had shifted much
of its population to Daulatabad. H e describes the latter too, as large enough to rival
Delhi in size. Some new tDwns were established during the period, such as Jhain
(Chhain) in Eastern Rajasthan that was named 'Shahr Nau' during Alauddin Khalji's
reign (1296-1316).
Factors for Urban Expansion

f i e strength of the invader, of course, lay in combination and not in dispersal in an
unfamiliar land and, thus, in initial stages, it was but natural for the members of the
ruling class to prefer to stay at their iqta headquarters along with their cavalry. These
iqta headquarters having the concentration of cavalry, its hangers - on and the
retinue and household of the rnuqti thus emerged in the early phase as camp cities.
Most of the 13th century towns are infact defined as iqta headquarters in our sources;
for example, Hansi, Kara, Anhilwara, etc. These towns were to be fed and provided
for. In the beginning, theltroops had to go for realising khar&j/mal by plundering the
surrounding villages; but gradually by the 14th century, as pointed out by Moreland,
cash nexus developed. The revenue was realised in cash from the peasants who were
thus forced to sell their ptoduce at the side of the field. The merchants catered to the
needs of towns giving risk to what we will discuss below as-'induced trade'.
The ruling class coming from a different cultural milieu had needs of leisure and
comforts of a different type; they wanted songs in Persian'and dances of a different
style, books, silk to wear and arcuate light architecture (not !he stone edifices). Out
of the resources that were indeed enormous by contemporary standards at its
command, the new rulers naturally.wanted to get luxuries and comforts of their taste
which encouraged immigration from Islamic culture area. These immigrants were not
only soldiers, but craftsman, artisans, singers, musicians, dancers, poets, physicians,
astrologers and servicemen as described by Isami. The immigrant master-craftsman
most probably introduced new techniques and articles of technology (you will read
the details in Unit 22). In due course, Indian artisans must have learnt the new crafts.
*
Check Your Pfogress 1
I ) Enumerate the factors responsible for rise of towns during the 13th-14th centuries.
2) Mark the following stdements true (d) or false (X):

a) The pre-1200 coin-hoards do not usually contain foreign coins.
b) Lahore remained a big town during the Delhi Sultanate.
I
21.3 URBAN MANUFACTURES
I'
It seems that the urban craft droduction received a twofold impetus with the
I establishment of the Delhi sultanate. First, the Sultanate ruling class remained
I town-centered and spent the enormous resources it appropriated in the form of land
revenue mainly in towns, either on buying services or procuring manufacturers. Even
the money spent on the service sector partly went to help the urban craft sector
through multiplier effect. While the nobility created demand for high-priced
skill-intensive luxury items, its hangers-on in all likelihood created a mass market for
I
I ordinary artisanal product.
The second factor that contributed to urban manufacturers was the introduction of a
number of technological devices that reached India with the invaders. (You will learn
, about them in detail in the next Unit). In the luxury sector, silk weaving expanded
and carpet-weaving came from Persia. The other notable urban manufacture was
I
papermaking. Perhaps a major sector of urban employment was building industry.
Barani says that Alauddin Khalji employed 7b,000 craftsmen for his buildings.
t One may well be justified in saying that there was considerably more masonary per
acre of occupied space in the towns of 1400 than in those of 1200.
Organization of Production
It is indeed important to know how production was organized. Whether the town
artisans carried out production under the 'domestic system', that is, they owned their
tools, raw material and the end product and also sold their product themselves; in
other words, whether they were self employed or while tools were their own and they
worked at their homes, raw material was provided to them by the merchants, that is
whether they worked under the 'putting-out system'. The contemporary iources shed
little light on these aspects. One can, however, legitimately assume that since the
tools of production even after the introduction of new devices were still simple and
mainly of wood and little of iron should have remained cheap. The artisan wis thus
master of his own tools, though varied forms of labour organization seem to be
prevalent. Certain artisans hawked or hired out their services such as cotton-card&
who with a bow- string on his shoulder, went door to door selling his services as is
evident from the account given in Khair-ul Majalis. Spinning was done usually by
women staying at their homes. The weavers too usually worked at their own looms at
home weaving'cloth for sale, out of the yam bought or spun by theplselves. They also
worked on wages to weave yarn supplied to them by customers. But if the raw
material was expensive such as silk or gold of silver thread, etc. and the products were
luxury items, the craftsmen were to work in karkhanas under supervision. We have
definite iniormation about the Sultans and high nobles maintaining these karkhanas
where the production.was to cater to their own needs and contrary to D.D.Kosambi's
assumption was not for market. Shahabuddin al Umari records in his Masalik-ul
Absar that in Muhammad Tughluq's karkhanas at Delhi, four thousand silk workers
worked as embroiderers. According to Afif, Feroz Tughluq's karkhanas produced
cloth and carpets in a big way. While there is no suggestion in our sources, we may
only conjecture that perhaps merchants also maintained karkhanas where production
was for salc.
I
'
;.
\
Check Your prog;-ess 2
1 ) Discuss the factors that contributed to the expansion of urban manufactures
during the 13th-14th centuries.
t . . . . . ....................................
.................................................................
..........................................................................................................
2) Briefly d k u s s thelvarious forms of labour organisation in uiban centres. '.
21.4 TRADE AND COMMERCE

We have seen that thkre emerged some considerably big flourishing towns as well as
numerous townships during the 13-14th centuries. These towns naturally needed to be
fed and supplied raw material for craft production. At the same tinye, there was .
growing practice of l a d revenue realization in cash. By the time of Alauddin Khalji,
the cash-nexus came to be well developed and the-ruling class tended to claim almost
the entire peasant suhlus by attempting to reduce the share of rural intermediaries,
as we have seen in the previous Unit. .
Both these factors wehe conducive to the development of inland trade. T o pay the
land revenue in cash, the peasantry was forced to sell its surplus produce while
merchants had a marldet in newly emerged towns for agricultural products. This trade
resulting from the compulsions of land revenue system is termed as 'induced trade'
21.4.1 Inland Trade

...The inland trade devdloped at two levels : (a) the short distance village-town trade in
commodities of bulk,'and (b) long distance inter-town trade in high value goods. The
village-town trade, as hlready explained, was a natural consequence of the emergence
of towns and realizatibn of land revenue in cash. The urban centres were dependent
for supply of food grdns and raw material for manufactures from t h e surrounding
villages whereas the villages had to sell the agricultural prodpcts to receive cash for
meeting the land revepue demand. The peculiar nature of this trade was the one-way
flow of commodities. While the towns received grains and raw material from the
villages in the vicinity! they had no need to send their products in'exchange to the
villages which were by and large self-sufficient. This one-way trade was owing to the
land revenue demand imposed upon villages which naturally led to a continuous drain
on rural sector and mbde the towns dependent on villages. The turnover of this trade
was high in terms of volume but was low in terms of value. The commodities were .
food grains, that is wheat, rice. gram, sugarcane, etc. and raw material like c%{on for
urban manufactures.
I
-
The inter-town trade was mainly in luxury articles and was thus high value trade.
The manufactures of One town were taken to another : for example Barani reports .
that Delhi, the capita] itself, received distilled wines from Kol (Aligarh) and Meerut.
muslin (fine cloth) frdm Devagiri and striped cloth from Lakhnauti (Bengal) while,
according to Ibn Battota, ordinary cloth came from Awadh and betel-leaf from
Malwa (twenty-four d!ays journey from Delhi). Candy sugar was supplied to Multan
from Delhi and Laholie and ghi from Sirsa (in Haryana). ,
The long distance inter-town trade also carried goods coming from other countries
exit-points. Multan was perhaps the great entrepot for overland fore~gntrade and Rise of Urban Econc~:.
served as a centre of re-export, while Gujarat port t o h s such as Broach and Cambay and Trade and Comn...
were exchange centres for overseas trade
21.4.2 Foreign Trade : Seaborne and Overland

During the Sultanate period, overland and overseas trade were in a flourishing state.
Seaborne Trade
The Khalji annexation of Gujarat must have enlarged trade relat~onsbetween the
Delhi Sultanate and the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea Gujarat was connected with
the Persian Gulf as well as the Red Sea. Hormuz and Basra were the chief ports for
the ships passing through the Persian Gulf, while the ports of Aden, Mocha andJedda
along the Red Sea were important for Gujarat. Through these ports, commodities .
moved on to Damascus and Aleppo, on the one hand, and Alexandria on the other.
Aleppo and Alexandria opened upto the Mediterranean Sea with linkages to Europe.
Merchandise of Gujarat were also carried towards the East - the port of Malacca
situated at the Malacca straits and Bantam and Achin in the Indonesian archipelago.
A European traveller Tome Pires, who came to India in the first decade of the 16th
century,comments on the trade of Cambay as follows :
"Cambay chiefly stretches out two arms : with her right arm she reaches out
towards Aden,with the other towards Malacca.. . ."
Pires further says :
"Malacca cannot live without Cambay, nor Cambay without Malacca, if they are to
be very rich and very prosperous. If Cambay were cut-off from trading with
Malacca, it could not live, for it would have no outlet for its merchandise."
The main export from Gujarat to Malacca was the coloured cloths manufactured in
Cambay and other Gujarat towns. These cloths were in demand in these places. In
exchange, the Gujarati merchants came back withspices grown there. This pattern of
"spices for coloured cloths" continued even after the Portuguese advent in the Asian
waters.
Varthema, an Italian traveller, who came to India during the firkt decade of the 16th
century.says that about 300 ships (annually?) of different countries come and go from
Cambay. He adds that about 400 "Turkish" merchants resided at Diu.
The I1 Khanid court historian Wassaf reports that 10,000 horses were annually
exported to ~ a ' b a and
r Cambay from Persia. The Broach coin-hoards (see Unit 19)
containing the coins of the Delhi Sultans along with the gold and silver coins of Egypt,
Syria, Yeman, Persia, Genoa, Armenia and Venice further testifies to largerscale
overseas trade.
The ports of Bengal had trading relations with China, Malacca and Far East. ~extiles,
1 sugar and silk fabrics were the most important commodities exported from Bengal.
, Varthema noted that about fifty ships carried these commodities annually to many
I places, including Persia. Bengal imported salt from Hormuz and sea-shells from the
Maldive islands. The latter were used as coins in Bengal, Orissa and Bihar.
Sindh was yet another region from where seaborne trade was carried on. Its most
well-known port was Daibul. This region had developed close commercial relations
with the Persion Gulf ports more than the Red Sea zone. Sindh exported special
cloths and dairy products. Smoked-fish, too, was its speciality.
I Coastal Trade , .
I .
It was natural for the coastal trade to flourish right from Sindh to Bengal, touching
1 Gujarat, Malabar and Commandel coasts in between. .Thi; provided an opportunity
I
for exchange of regional products along the'coastal line distinct from inland
I inter-regional trade. -
Overland Trade
Multan was the ,major trading 'centre for overland trade. India was connected to th
Central Asia, Afghanistan and Persia through the Multan-Quetta route. But, on
,.---.--& X#----l
-----*-.-I +..---:I i- Pa-+--I A -:-- - A De--:-+hic ..,-.-
1-00
C H I N A
THE MAJOR SEAPORTS

13th-15th Centuries ,
Imports and Exports R i of Urban Economy
and Trade and Commerce
The two principal items of import were : (a) horses - that were always in demand for
cavalry since superior horses were not bredi? I@ia and Indian climate was not well-
suited to Arabian and Central Asian horses. They were primarily imported from
Zofar (Yemen), Kis, Hormuz, Aden and Persia; (b) precious metals viz. gold and.
silver, especially silver that was not at all mined in India but for which there was a
high demand not only for metallic currency but also for fashioning luxury items.
Brocade and silk stuffs were imported from Alexandria, Iraq and China. Gujarat was
the major centre from where the luxury articles from Europe used to enter.
The Sultanate India mainly exported grain and textiles. Some of the Persian Gulf
regions totally depended on India for their food supply. Besides, slaves were exported
to Central Asia and indigo to Persia along with numerous other commodities.
Precious stones like agates were exported from Cambay.
The Portuguese Advent
In spite of brisk trading activities, Indian merchants' share in the overseas trade was
negligible. Only a small section of Gujarati Banias, Chettis of the South and domicile
Indian Muslims used to take part in this large trading activity. Trade was mainly in the
hands of the Arab Merchants. With the landing of the Portuguese at Calicut in A.D.
1498 after the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope, a new dimension was added to the
Indian seaborne trade, that is, the 'element of force'. On account of better ships
armed with cannons, the Portuguese soon imposed their commercial hegemony over
the trading world of Asia, includiq the Indian seas, especially in Western part. This
curtailed the Arabs' share of the Indian trade, though they survived in the Eastern
part, especially at Malacca along with the Indian merchaffts.
The Portuguese took Goa in 1510 which became their headquarters, Malacca fell in
them hands in 1511. Hormuz in 1515; and Bassem and Diu In 1534 and 1537
respectively. Goa, under their patronage, soon developed as a major centre for
import and export. The Portuguese well understood the strategic importance of Goa,
which in their opinion, was essential to the maintenance of their position in India.. But
the Portuguese possession of Goa was unfavourable to other Western Indian ports.
Tome P ~ r e shad rightly observed that the Muslim rulers of the Deccan and Gujarat
had "a bad neighbour in Goa". Many ports on the west coast fell into decay during the
hundred years of the Portuguese domination In the Indian waters. This happened as
a result of the aggressive policies of the Portuguese :
i) they controlled the sea-routes,
ii) controlled the type and volume of cargo carried by other merchants, and
iii) they introduced the system of issuing cartaz (from Persian qirta = paper sheet)
which was a kind of permit to ply ships in the Asian waters without which the .
ships were liable to be confiscated and the cargo plundered. A fee was charged for
issuing a cartaz. No wonder, then, all these policies adversely affected the
seaborne carrying trade of the Indians as well as of the Arabs.
21.4.3 Commercial Classes

Two types of merchants are mentioned in the sources of the Delhi Sultanate : the
karwanis or nayaks and Multanis. The merchants specialising in carrying grains were
designated by Barani as karwanis (a Persian word meaning those who moved together
in large numbers). The contemporary mystic, Nasiruddin (Chiragh Delhi) calls them
nayaks and describes them as those "who bring food grains from different parts to the
city (Delhi) - some with ten thousand laden bullocks, some with twenty thousand"
It can be said with a degree of certainty that these karwanis were the banjaras of
succeeding centuries. As is clear from the Mughal sources, these were organised in
groups and their headman called nayak.
The other important group of merchants mentioned in our sources was that of the
Multanis. Barani says that the long distance trade was in the hands of these
merchants. They were engr)ged in usury and commerce (sud o sauda). It appears that
the sahas and Multanis were rich enough to give ioans even to nobles, who,
according to Barani, were generally in need of cash. The sahas and Multanis were
generally Hindu, but at least some Muslims also were among the Multani merchants:
merchant). Besides these well defined merchant groups, others who had p chosen
could take to trade : thus a s*fi (mystic) from Bihar became a slave-merchant trading
between Delhi and Ghazni, and a number of pious men from Central Asia came to
Delhi and became merchant$.
Another important commerc{al class that emerged during the Sultanate period was
that of the dallals (brokers). h e y worked as a )ink between the buyer and the seller
and took commission from bdth the parties. Barani says that they were the 'masters of
market' (hakimnn bsenr) : they were instrumental in raising prices in ihe market.
Alauddin Khalji used to condult them about the cost of production of every article in
the market in order to fix priaes. The reference to 'Chief brokers4 mihtrm-i d d b h )
by Barani also suggests a somewhat well established guild of brokers, though the
details are lacking. ~ o w e v e r during
l Alauddin Khalji's reign these 'Chief brokers
were severely dealt with. But by Feroz Tughluq's reign, they seem to have regained
1
their position. Feroz Tughlu had abolished rlslnlrt-i bezPrh. (a tax on broker's
licence; a cess on brokers). esides, even if a deal between the buyer and t'he seller
4
failed to materialize, the bro ers were not supposed to retwn the commission money.
This also shows that during t e Tughluqs 'brokerage' became a fairly well-cstablished
institution.
i
S a d s were yet another m e b n t i l e group whose economic role was no less
important than the brokers. b s money changers, they were most sought after by the
merchants, especially the foreign ones who came to India with their native coins. The
sarrPfs tested the metallic pabty of the coins (indigenous and foreign) and established
the exchange-ratio. They alsq issued bills of exchange (Hindi: huadi: Persian: sldbj.)
or letters of credit, thereby qcting as "bankers". The introduction of paper by the
Turks into India accelerated the institution of bill of exchange. For all these troubles,
the sarraf naturally charged his commission.
Thus, both the brokers and the sarrafs occupied pivotal position in the commercial
world of their period; they were the custodians of several basic economic institutions.
Indeed, no merchant could have dispensed with their services.
21.4.4 Transport
It appears that the goods weae transported both by pack animals and on bullock-carts.
Perhaps the share of the pack animals was more than the latter. Ibn Battuta mentions
30,000 mans of grains being transported on the backs of 3,000 bullocks from Amroha
to Delhi. Bullock-carts were also used, according to Afif, for carrying passengers on
payment. The pack-oxen were of course a cheap mode of transport travelling slowly,
grazing as they went and mdving in large herds, thus reducing the cost of transport
specially along the desert routes. Ibn Battuta describes that highways ran through the
empire marked by minarets spaced at set distances. On the testimony of Shahabuddin
a1 Umari, the author of the kasalik ul Abser, we may infer that efforts were made to
create conditions conducive ko trade. Inns were built at each stage (mruudl). In
Bengal, Iwaz Khalji built long embankments to safeguard from floods. Boats were
employed for riverine routes to carry bulk goods, while large ships used for seabrone
trade.
Check Y w r Progress 3
1) Write notes on:
a) Banjaras
. .
..........................................................................................................
b) Multank ,
Rise of U r b m Ecoaomy
and Trade and Commerce
......................................................................................................
c) Goods of import and export
........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
d) 'Induced Trade'
..........................................................................................................
e) Brokers and sarrafs
...........................................................................................................
.
2) DiscuSs the factors responsible for the expansion of trade.
..........................................................................................................
. .
3) Describe the means of transport.
..........................................................................................................
4) List major inland and overseas trade'-routes of the 13th-14th centuries.
..........................................................................................................
21.5 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit you have studied that with the coming of the Turks trade and commerce
increased. We see increase in the number of coin-hoards after A.D. 1200, and the
emergence of large number of new towns. You have also read how manufacturing
activities were organised at urban level, the main trading routes - born overland and
. -. .* . - - --- , z
<-
Economy of Delhi Sultanate and functions of the existing commercial classes - the karwanians, Multanis, brokers
and sarrafs. You have also read, in spite of the brisk trading activitiesIndian
merchants' participation was negligible and the overseas trade was almost
monopoli d by the Arab merchants. During the closing years of our period of study,a
new factor the 'Portuguese was also introduced with the discovery of new route via
Cape of Good Hope that gradually transformed India's trading relations with the
world in the coming year.
21.6 KEY WORDS
Domestic Production : Production in which tools as well as raw materials were owned
by the artisans
Entrepot :Trading centrelport for import and exports
Mal : Land revenue
Putting-out system : Production in which the tools were owned by the artisans but
,. c<?\h \\.a\ \upplicd - I,,.
,hct Incrctl.int.
21.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCfSES
Check Your Progress . I
1 ) See Sub-sec. 21.2. I
2) (a) d (b) x (c)

1 ) See Sec. 21.3

1 ) See Sec. 21.4
7) See Sub-see. 2 1.3.1
3) See Sub-sec. 21.4.4.
4) See Sub-sec. 21.4.1, 21.4.2.
UNIT TECHNOLOGY AND CRAFTS
\
. Structure
22.0 'Objectives ,
22.1 Introduction
22.2 Agricultural Technology
22.2.1 Plough
22.2.2 Sowing
22.2.3 Harvesting, Threshing and Winnowing
22.2.4 Irrigationat devices
'22.3 Textile Technology
22.3.1 Ginning, Carding and Spinning
22.3.2 Weaving
I 22.3.3 Dyeing and Printing
22.4 Building Construction
22.4.1 Lime Mortar
I 22.4.2 Arch and DomeNautted Roofing
22.5 Papermaking and Bookbinding
22.6 Military Technology
22.6.1 Stirrup
22.6.2 Horseshoe
22.6.3 Gunpowder and Fire-arms
22.7 Tincoating
22.8 Glass Manufacture '
22.9 Shipbuilding
22.10 Distillation
22.11 Let Us Sum U p
22.12 Key Words
22.13 Answers t o Check Your Progress Exercises
This unit introduces you to major crafts and technology that existed during the Delhi
Sultanate. Afterxeading this Unit, you would learn about the following:
Agricultural technolbgy,
Textile technology,
Building Construction,
Papermaking and Bookbinding.
. Military technology,
Tincoating,
Gl;l\\ manufacture,
r \ l ~ \ l ~ l ~ t ~ i l dand
ing.
*-l '
l l l i 0 1 1 i
There has never been any human settlement which did not use some kind of technique
- or craft for its survival. In fact, the history of technology is no less important than
political o r economic studies. Technology is an inseparable part of the material culture
of a society.
In this Unit, we are offering you a few glimpses of the state of Technology in India
during the Delhi Sultanate.
The most remarkable aspect is the introduction of new articles of technology and new
,-.-nKte h., t h o ;--in---+ h , f ~ , c l ~ - ~ -t h ~ ~t Q oAi t h ~ -r 4 ~ ~ , o l c . ~A-
~ Ao x r n l . , o A tho I c l * m ; ~
Economy of Delhi Sultanate Therefore, our methodology is t o juxtapose the indigenous crafts and techndogy
along with the new importations.
One thing that will strike p u is that by and large the tools, devices and implements
were made of wood and earth, while iron was employed only when most necessary.
Ropes, leather and bamboo, too, were used when the need arose. That is why they
were inexpensive.
We have not gone into the'details of tools and implements used by different
craftsmen. For example: hhmmer, saws, basola (adze), randa (plane), awl, axe,
barma (bow-drill), pick-axt, shovel, chisel (tesha) and anvil, etc. I
We have also left out mining and metallurgy. For the latter, it may be pointed out that -
smelting of ore was carried out by using wood and charcoal. There was no "blast"
furnace, but bellows served this need. Salt and diamond mining were very important '
industries. Salt was also procured by the natural evaporation of the saline sea-water
collected systematically. I
22.2 AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY

In this section we \kill discuss the main technological devices related to agriculture. .
22.2.1 Plough
The use of hoe o r hoeing was replaced by plough centuries back. Archaeological
evidence from Kalibangan (Rajasthan) - an Indus valley culture site -for the use of
'ironless' plough is well-known, although the doubt remains whether it drawn by. '
men or oxen. Plough-cultivation employing oxen during the Vedic Age is, however,
an established fact. The Iron Age, identified with the Aryan settlement in the
Gangetic plain, contributed to the development of the plough in the sense that while
the entire frame earlier wa6 of timber, the ploughshare/courter now was of iron. This
metallic piece immensely k l p e d in the tillage of comparatively hatder soil. An
illustration in the M i M - u l Fuzala - a Persian lexicon compiled in about A.D. 1460 in
Malwa - clearly shows the plough with an ironshare drawn by two yoked oxen. Unlike
Europe, India could not develop horse-drawn wheeled-plough for the reason that our
plough was light in weight suited for the soft soil.
22.2.2 Sowing Technology end Crafts
For sowing, the method of broadcasting was known. The practice was to scatter seeds
manually by taking them out from a cloth-bag slung over shoulders. The time-scale of
seed-drill in India is controversial :some would trace it back to the Vedic Age. At any
rate, the only positive evidence for its use along the western coast of India comes from
one Portuguese -Barbosa (c. 1510) -in connection with the wet-cultivation of rice.
22.2.3 Harvesting, Threshing and Winnowing

Harvesting was performed with a sickle, and threshing by using oxen who walked
round and round over the ears put on the threshing floor. "Wind power" was
exploited in winnowing in order to separate the chaff from the grain.
22.2.4 Irrigational Devices

There were many sources of water for the purpose of imgating fields. Rain water was
the natural source. Ponds and tanks received this water which was used for irrigation.
Water channels formed by inundation, too, served the same purpose. But the most
important controlled source was the water of the wells, especially in North India.
Almost all the imgational devices were oriented towards drawing water from wells.
The latter were more often than not masonry ones with raised walls and enclosures1
platfroms. Kuchcha wells also existed, but these could not have been durable or
strong enough for extensive water-lifting.
Broadly, there were five devices or techniques to raise water from wells:
i) The most simple technique was to draw water with rope and bucket by using
hands without any mechanical aid. Obviously, then, the bucket was small in size
and, thus, this operation would not have adequately served to water large fields.
But we cannot deny the use of rope-bucket technique for irrigating small fields for
crops, most probably vegetables that did not require much water.
ii) The second method was the employment of pulleys (charkhi) combined to the
rope-bucket contraption which was, once again, activated manually.
Undoubtedly, the pulleys needed lesser amount of human energy and, therefore,
comparatively larger bags or buckets could have been attached to the rope. It was
also used for domestic purpose, especially by women.
Economy of Delhi Sultanate
iii) An improved method of the rope-bucket-pulley contraption was the employment
-
of a pair of oxen to replace human-power. At this stage, it had become a
specialized device for drawing water intended specifically for irrigation. In some
areas of North India it 'is still in operation known as charasa. The latter is a huge
bag that gives an idea of the immense quantity of water raised from the well in
one eingle haul-up. Moreover, the bullock track was like a ramp or sloping path-
the length of the path corresponding to the depth of the well. The water of the *
well (mounted with this device) could not have been used for drinking, cleansing
utensils or for washing cloths. Of all the five methods, charasa was not a
multi-purpose one, it was solely de,vised for irrigation - a fact which has not been
realized till now.
iv)1 The fourth technique was what is considered to be semi-mechanical as it worked

on the First Class Lever .principle. A long rope is lashed to the fork of an upright
beam or trunk of a tree (especially meant for this purpose) to put it in a swinging
position. The bucket is fastened to a rope whose other end is tied to thepne of-the
the swinging pole hovering over the well. The pole's other end carries a
'counterweight', a little heavier than the bucket when filled with water. Thus, the
fulcrum forms at the centre of the pole, with weight and 'counteryeight' (Effort)
at its two ends. This contraption requires only a little effort on the part of the
person operating it. The device is known as shaduf in Egypt. It is called tula *
(balance) in Sanskrit, but in Bihar and Bengal it's known as dhenkli or lathatha.
.--..- The fifth water-lifting method is called saqiya or 'Persian Wheel'. None of the fou;
mechanism described above required wheels as their basic component. This -
5. Dhenkli
water-wheel could well claim to be called a water machine because of the
employment of the g a r system. With gears we enter upon a very advanced stage
in the technological $ense: it has been surpassed only now by electric tube-wells.
Much controversy has ctopped up about the origins of saqiya: did it exist in India
prior to the advent of the Muslims, or was it a foreign importation through the agency
of the Turks? In India, Its earliest form was one wheel with pitchers or pots of clay
attached around the rim of t h e wheel It wnc r n l l e d slrnohatta n r nrnhntts in CancGAt
'Technology and Crans
6. (a) First stage of noria

(b) Second stage of noria: an
imagery model
(c). Saqya: third stage of noria. !ke
thrcc wheels with gear mechanism;
w
Economy of Ddhl Wtolutt by human power only. Its form itseif forced,tt to bk set up over shallow water or open
surfaces-stream, reservoir 9 r even rivers where water wbuld level up to its banks.
Thus, its use over wells was absolutely out of question.
The second stage wad to exploit it over wells. This was done by releasing the earthen
pots fitted around the rim of the wheel and, in its place, a chain or garland
(Hindi: mala) of pots1was provided which was long enough to reach the water level of
the well. The mala or chain was made of double ropes without open ends between
which the pots were secured with timber strips. It is important to note that there is no
separate term for thi$ contrivance in Arabic or Persian. In Sanskrit, however, it was
called ghatiyantra (pot-machine), although the words ar&ghstta and rwluttr
continued to be used for both the types of noria. This, too, was operated by
human-power.
At the third and final stage, we find three deve~o~mentsto
have taken place:
a) addition of two mbre wheels;
b) gear mechanism; and
c) the use of animal power.
The lantern-wheel provided with vertical pegs at regular intervals, was set trp on an
upright axle to be moved by animal power round and round horizontally. The
pin-wheel was arrane~edvertically with a shaft or axle cmnected to the third wheel
over the well that cartied the pot-garland. This was, then, the gear system in order to
exploit animal power. Essentially, the point was to convert the originai horizontal
inotion of the lantern-wheel into a vertical one for the wheel set up over the well.
The confusion of sortie modern scholars in this controversy is to identify the two first
stages of noria with sbqiya. But now you know that the latter was radically different
not only in its conception but also in its components. A semantic blunder was
committed when the same terms-araghatta and arahatta (modern r-)-were used
for the saqiya when the Muslims brought it in early medieval period. In fact, there is
no evidence of water,wheels being operated by animals in Ancient India.
The five devices to rdise water from wells described above can be put into two broad
categories:
a) Intermittent or Dikcontinuous water-supply device, 'and
b) Continuous suppl system.
7
. The greater partdf t h e Hindustan country,ls situated on level land. Many though its
1 .
towns and cultivate lands are, it nowhere has running waters. Rivers and, in some
places, standing-wu er are ~ t "running-waters"
s (dqar-sillat). Even where, as for some
1
towns. it is practica le to convey water by digging channels (driq). this is not done. For
not doing it there m y be several reasons, one being that water is not at all a necessit*
cultivating crops an@orchards. Autumn crops grow by the downpour of the rains
themselves; and strbnge it is that spring crops grow even when no rain falls. T o young
trees water is made t o flow by means of buckets o r a wheel. They are given water
constantly during two o r three years; after which they need no more. Some vegetables
are watered constahtly.
In Lfthor, DibBlpGr and those parts, people water by means of a wheel. They make two
circles of ropes long enough t o suit the depth of the well, fix strips of wood between -
them. and on thesefasten pitchers. T h e ropes with the wood and attached pitchers are
put over the well-wheel. At one end of the wheel-axle a sacond wheel is fixed, and close
( q b h ) t o it anothev on an upright axle. This last wheel the bullock turns; its teeth catch
I in the teeth of the skcond. and thus the wheel with the pitchers is turned. A trough is set.
wherc thc water empties from the pitchers and from this the water is conveyed
evfrywhcrc.
In Agra. Chandwiit. Bilna and those parts, again, people water with a bucket; this is a
laborious and filthy way. At the. well-edge they set up a fork of wood. having a roller
adjusted between tfie forks, tie a rope t o a large bucket, put the rope over the roller, and
tle its other end to the bullock. One person must drive the bullock, another empty tlie
bucket. Every timelthe bullock turns after having drawn the bucket out of the well, that
. rope lies on the bulllock-track, in pollution of urine and dung, before it descends again
into the well. T o same crops needing water. men and women carry it by repeated cfforts
in pitchers.
Technology and Crrns
The first fou;belong to the former and the fifth to the latter category. Again, .
depending the nature of the operative source, that is, human power and animal
power, the. first and the fourth fall in the human power category and the others were
driven by animal power. Since the water had to be lifted from wells, all the devices
except the fifth, shared two things amongst them: rope and buckethags, the latter
varying in size commensurate to the 'power' used.
[There were many implements like shovel, pick-axe and scraper (khurpi), etc. that
were used not only in agricultural processes but in gardening, too.

1)Mention various techniques used during the 13th-15th centuries to lift the water
from wells.
2) Discuss t h e technique used in 'saqiya' to lift water from the wells.

'
..........................................................................................................
,.
3) Mark (d) against the right and ( x ) against the wrong statements given below:
i) Kuchcha wells were durable for extensive water-lifting.
ii) Dhenkti worked oq th'e First Class Lever principle.
iii) In saqiya gear rnecbanism and animal power was used.
iv) Charasa was mainit used for domestic purposes. ,
I \
22.3 TEXTILE TECHNOLOGY

During the sultanate various ncu techn~queswere introduced by the turks rn
the field of textile.
i
22.3.1 Ginning, Callcling and Spinning

Cotton cultivation belongs to agricultural technology. After picking up cotton balls.
there were three basic sthges before cotton could be used for weaving:
i) ginning or seed extraption:
ii) carding or fibre loosqning; and
iii) spinning or making yarn.
The first was done in twd ways:
a) roller and board methbd. and
b) worm-press or worm-rk~ller(charkhi).
Cotton thus separated frdm seeds was "beaten" with sticks or carded with bow-string
in order to separate and lbosen the fibers (naddafi in Persian; dhunna in Hindi).
Spinning was traditionally done with the spindle (duk in Persian; takla in Hindi) to
which il whorl (phirki in uindi) was attached to stabilize it.
1 The most important techrwlopical revolution in the textile sector was the introduction
of the spinning-wheel (chbrkha) through the agency of the Muslims during the
13th-14th centuries. Charkha did not exist in Ancient India. The first literarv
reference to charkha conits from Isilmi'sFutuh-us Salatin (A.D. 1350). This new
contribution. however. did not displace the spindle: it only accelerated the latter's
rotation. The spindle was,attiiched to the wooden frame of the charkha at its one end
to be set in motion'by the "belt" which wils wrapped over the wheel at the other end
of the frame. connecting iti to the spindle. Thus. the charkha combined within itself
the element of power-tranbrnission (through belt-drive) and the principle of flywheel
resulting in differentla1 spqeds of rotation. There is a controversy about the date as to
when a handle or crank-hdndle \vas attached to the device. But this controversy can
he llow settled with the hqlp of a pictorial evidence (c. A.D. 1530) in the Mittah-ul
Fuzala where il spinning-\\heel has heen shown being operated wi.th a handle attached
to the frame.
According to one estimate. a spinning-wheel could produce yarn six-fold more than
the spindle during the sam4 unit of time. This must have resulted in greater output of
yarn and. constantly. morq cloths. It must be pointed out that the yarn from spindle
was of il very fine quality whereas the charkha produced coarse yarn for coarse cloths.
I
22.3.2 Weaving
Horizontal loon1 of thron-shuttle type was used for simple or tabby weave. It is
difficnlt to determine uhether the pit-loom (treadle loom) was in use In Ancient
Indin.'but \\e get the first egidcnce of this loom in the Miftah-ul Fuzala (c. A.D. 1469)
illustrated in c, 1530. This Ihom allowed the weaver to employ his hitherto idle feet to
lift and depress the sets of +arp threads. while his hands worked mainly upon the
shuttle iind the shed. This speeded up the pace of weaving. For.patterned weave (of
different colours ~imultane~usly). one scholar suggests that draw-loom for this ,
purpose r~lighthave ex~stediin South India around A D. 1001. But this view has been
questioned by arguing that Ferhaps it \vas brought to Indla by the Muslims late in the
17.1. ....
r.....
' I ' C C ~ M I O ~ ~ slid ('rafts
9. dt-loom, a 16th century Mughal painting (Kablr)
22.3.3 Dyeing and Printing

Various colours derived from vegetable and mineral sources were used for dyeing.
Indigo, madder and lakli, etc. were widely employed. Indigo was used for both
bleaching and dyeing. F Ofast
~ colours, many articles like alum were added. The
Indian dyer (rangrez) employed many techniques like immersion, tie-and-dye
ibandhana), etc. But blotk-printing (chhapa) was perhaps unknown in Ancienf India.
cm- , scholars credit theiMuslims with its diffusion in India.
,
1) State the methods usdd for ginning during the 13th-15th centuries.
...........................................................................................................
2) Write a note on spinning-wheel.
Technology and Crafts
..........................................................................................................
3) Discuss the techniques used by the weavers during the 13th- 15th centuries.
22.4 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

/aw
In this section o u r focus would be on major building construction devices introduced

by the Turks in India.
22.4.1 bime Mortar

T h e traditional basic units of construction in Ancient India consisted of clay, stones,
I
wood and occasionally bricks. The simplest cementing material o r mortar was plain
earth mixed with water. An improved kind was straw (bhus) added t o a mixture of
clay and water which was used for plastering also. But lime mortar was definitely
I
brought by the immigrant Muslims during the Delhi Sultanate.
T h e basic ingredients in lime-mortar were lime (chuna) and surkhi (pounded bricks). .
Lime was of various kinds, according t o the material from which it was extracted. T h e
two major sources of lime were gypsum and gravel (kankar). The latLer were first
burnt in kilns yielding quicklime. This quicklime was then treated with water t o turn
it into slake lime. Surkhi was added t o this mix. Afterwards, a number of gelatinous.
glutinous and resinous cementing agents like gum, pulses. jaggery, etc. were added t o
make the q o r t a r more sticky.
22.4.2 Arch and DomeIVaulted roofing

O n e result of lime mortar was the extensive use of bricks as ~t made the brick
buildings more durable. Another important consequence was that lime mortar paved
the way for the construction of true arch (mihrab). Actually,, the very arrangement of
bricks o r stones in making a true arch demands a strong cementing material t o hold
the voussairs together. Lime mortar fulfilled this need. This t xplains the almost total
absence of true arch in lndian buildings prior t o the Turkish advent. T h e only
:. exception, however, was the Kus'hana period: excavations at Kausambi (near
Allahabad) have revcalcd the exis~cnceat'some arches - over s n ~ a l windows
l (not
gates). A s you know, the Kushanas had come from Central Asia and, therefore they
knew arch making. Afterwards, there is nut a single evidence of truesarches in,India
till the coming of the Muslims. Another form of arch was the corbelled o n e ; in fact, it
was a variant of trabeate construction, that is thc pillar-and-beam technique which ,-
was the most distinguishing feature of prc-Muslim Indian architecture. .

..
,
From mihrab t o gumbad (vaulted roofing or dome) was a natural development s i d e

vaulting o r d o m e was not possible without a k n o w l e d ~ eof how t o make a true arch.
That is why it is observed that a d o m e is a true arch turned 360 degrees. In other
words, a d o m e was constructed o n the principle of intersecting true arches ( A note o f
A. > ..---
L- 1 2 - - I L- ---r --A ...: r L rL- D.. I . I L . . + ..Am.--. \
*
n Linttl (beam)
- ' -
Corbelling
(9
Arch and its parts

A : v ~ u s s a i r s vorsseirs C : spinging lines
B : kdystone D : abutment
E : crown
I 10. ( a ) IDilIar-and-Iwam
(1)) ( ' o r M k u l
(c) Arch a ~ ni l s ~ w r ( \( a ) V t n n d r c (h) h r y \hm.
- - - -- -- - -- --
22.5 PAPERMAKING AND BOOKBINDING

- -- - - -- - --
t s d i t ' l a s i o ~L)r
Now yoa k ~ r ) wl l o b tllc inlrnipr;~ntM u s l i n ~ silrtccl ;a ; ~ g c ~ l (;I ~ Ilamcaws
tcch~iiclucsi ~ ~ lilr./iclcs
cl 01 tccllnology th;~t hircl clcvcl(~pccl01. cvolvcd i n the lslrlnlic
culture ;Irc;l. l?lldrIn;lking w;~syet i ~ n o l l l c cr o l l l r i h ~ t i ~ ~ .
j
'I'hc writing ~ n i ~ t c r t i i ~n l A
s ~ l c i c ~Ilnt d i i ~wcrc Inirny: stones. coppcr p l i ~ t ~silk
s . iulcl
'
cotton c l o l h ~ ,ancl spccii~llyprepared p i l l m - l c i ~ v c(talptrtl)~ and birch-bi~rk
(burjapatrtl). 'l'hd latter two were cmployccl li)r writing htn,ks.
Paper was f i n t n i ~ ~ n u l i ~ c t u ricnc('liina

l arouncl lhc first ccntury A.1). I t was minlc
from bamboo pulp. 'l'hc Muslim A r i ~ b slearnt p l p c r m i ~ k i n gfrom somc C'hincsc who
wc.rc tirkcn pri.u)~lcrsi n i r I ~ i l l l l ci n A.1). 751. Vcry won the Arabs ck.vclcwd this
craft by r n i ~ k ~ n
flapcr
g from rags i l n d o l d lincn.
The Indiilns pcrhi;tps knew ahout papcr i n r h c 7 t h century A.D.. but thcy Rcvcr w c d
i t as writing matqriill. Whcn thc Chincsc trirvellcr LC'lultt:visited Indi:t, Iw c o t ~ l d1101
find papcr t o ccqy thc Silnskrit manuscripts I'or k i n g taken t o Chimir. Since he had
exhausted his o d n sttxk, he sent a rncssigc t o his f r i c d s in ('hinit t o send P p c r to
-;.I
\
Technology and Crafts

During the Delhi Sultanate, paper was used for many purposes, especially for books.
farmans and numerous commercial and administrative documents. Paper was
available on a large scale so much so that sweetmeat-sellers of Delhi delivered sweets
to the buyers in paper packets called p r y . which is still the practice in India. But it
seems that papermaking centres were few and far between. We know from the 14th
century Chinese navigator, Ma Huan, that Bengal produced paper. However, the
bulk of paper needed was imported from Islamic countries. specially Samarqand and
Syria.
The practice of writing b o o b on paper was accompanied by the craft of bookbinding

which was an innovation in India, because the technique was different from that
followed in India, for putting sheets of writing material together (palm-leaves and
birch-bark).
Check Your Progress 3 . .

1) Discuss thc contrihut.ion ol' thc Turks in the field ol' building consrructio~i
technology.
3 ) Writc fivc lines on papermaking in India.
22.6 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY

In this section, we will deal with three things only:
i) stirrup,
ii) horseshoe, and
iii) gunpowder.*
22.6.1 Stirrup
It is now'an established fact that iron-stirrup (rikab) was unknown in India. For that
matter, there is no Sanskrit word for stirrup. Perhaps surcingle, 'big toe stirrup' and
'suspension hooks' were used in India, but stirrup proper was the contribution of the
Muslims. This stirrup was first used in China around 6th century A.D., and later it
diffused into Persia and other Islamic countries during the next century. A Persian
... r--- :1-A J..2-- .La --:--- C 11. ..*-l..L ---I -... .L- r--- 2,--L
Fxonomy of Delhi Sultanate
(For the military advantages of stirrup, see the passage in the box)
Thc history of thc usc d thc horse in battle is divided into three periods: first, that of the
chariotcer; second. that of the mounted warrior who clings to his steed by pressure of the
knces: and third, that ~f the rider equipped with stirrups. The horse has always given its
master an advantage over the footman in battle, and each improvement in its military use
has been rclatcd to fartrcaching social and cultural changes.
Before the introductioo of the stirrup, the seat of the rider was precarious. Bit and spur
might help him to control his mount; the simple saddle might confirm his seat:
ncvcrthclcss. hc was still much restricted in his methods oifighting. He was primarily a
rapidly mobile bowmad and hurler of javelins. Swordplay was limited becauserwithout
stirrups your slashing hbrseman, taking a good broadhandedswipe at his foe, had only to
miss to find himself on the ground'. As for the spear, before the invention of the stirrup
it was wielded at the end of the arm and the blow was delivered with the strength of
shoulder and biceps. The stirrup made possible -although it did not demand -a vastly
more effective mode of attack: now the rider could lay his lance at rest. held between the
upper arm and the body, and make at his foe, delivering the blow hot with his muscles
but with the combined weight of himself and his charging stallion.
The stirrup, by giving lateral support in addition to the front and back support offered by
pommel and cantle, effectively welded horse and rider into a single fighting unit capable
of a violence without precedent. The fighter's hand no longer delivered the blow: it
merely guided it. The stirrup thus replaced human energy with animal power, and
irnmensely increased the warrior's ability to damage his enemy. Immediately, without
preparatory steps, it made possible mounted shock combat, a revolutionary new way of
doing battlc.
22.6.2 Horseshoe
While.some scholars 04 Medieval India look at the stirrup as a contributory
factor to the series of hilitary successes that the Turks achieved in India--at
least in the initial stage# of their invasions-horseshoe (d) has been treated as
its poor cousin.
Domestication of h o r s ~was not enough. With the view of controlling the horse
for riding, some equipments were called-forth: viz., simple'bridle, bitted bridle,
saddle with pommel and cantle and, of course, the stirrup.
Nailed horseshoe was a late come;. It is interesting o note that horseshoe is the
k
only equestrian accoutrement which does not have irect bearing on controlling
the animal like other autfits. If so, then, why shoeing was needed? The answer
lies in the hoof, the mhst vulnerable part of the equine anatomy: The horse's
hoof is a constantly grdwing horny structure like the human nails, susceptible to
breaking, splitting and shelling. In their original natural habitat horses keep
their feet worn down And, hence, trimming is unnecessary. But tamed and
domesticated horses when in use, require shoeing, specially in moist latitudes.
A horse with footsore will limp and, hence, of little use to the rider. Shoeing
offeq two advantages: first, it gives a better grip on soft ground; and secondly,
the hooves get protection on rough ground. It is in this context that we can
appreciate the worldwide axiom of horsemen: "No foot, no horse". A lame
cavalry horse may oftkn be worse than no horse at all.
Horseshoes have not been reported from any archaeological site excavated in India.
It is now an incontroertible fact that horseshoes were foreign importations, brought
by the Turks when they came to India. The ArabicJPersian word for the shoe is na'l
(the farrier or s h o e s ~ t his na'lband and shoeing is nn'lbandi). Sanskrit literature on
horses (Mihotra) do not mention shoeing(a case similar to stirrup and
spinning-wheel). It is p o accident, then, that shoeing in the past was largely
monopolized by MusHm artisans. At any rate, our sourds yield imformation for
cold-shoeing only - not hot-shoeing as it was practised in Europe.
22.6.3 Gunpowder and Fire-Arms Technology and Crafts
Many decades ago, some scholars, both European and Indian, were keen to prove
that gunpowder and fire-arms were used in Ancient India. Among the Sanskrit
sources; the Sukraniti became the focal point from which support was drawn.
However, sobriety and maturity prevailed when other scholars dismissed their
inferences, especially after careful examination of the Sukraniti. Again, untenable
' attempts were also made to show that the Muskims who came to India following the
invasions of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna used fire-arms.

, *
Gunpowder consists of saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal, and it was first invented in
China. Later, it spread to the Islamic society. The immigrant T,urks brought
gunpowder to India perhaps in late 13th o r early 14th century. But it must be pointed
out that even by the reign of Sultan Feroz Shah Tughluq its only use was for
pyrotechny or fireworks (atashbazi), not for fire-arms o r for propelling cannon-balls.
Fire-arms were used for the first time during the second half of the 15th century in
some regions of India like Gujarat, Malwa and the Deccan. At any rate, the use of
fire-arms on a regular basis was introduced by the Portuguese when they
came to Calicut in A.D. 1498, and by Babur in North India in the early 16th century.
22.7 TINCOATING
Domestic utensils of copper (and brass) are prone to acid poisoning from sour food
k e p t h them. A coating of tin is given t o them frequently, specially inside, to protect
thent-from the chemical action of acid food. This craft came to India along with the
Turks. ~ h e r e ' i sno reference to this technique in Ancient India. Apart from literaiy
sources, the archaeological evidence comes from an excavation site in the South (near
Kolhapur) where a copper container with tincoating both on its interior and exterior
was discovered. Since, this vessel was found in association with the coins of the
Bahmani dynasty (A.D. 1347-1538), it must belong t o that period.
The craftsman who does tincoating is called @a6igar (qalai=tin). Tin (ranga) is a
highly malleable and ductile metal, and its coating over metallic vessels protects the
latter from corrosion and chemical poisoning. The craftsman first cleanse? the utensils
to remove dirt, etc. After-this, the vessels are mildly heated over a small furnace with
charcoal. Small bellows are used to maintain the required degree of heat. The next
process is to apply a mixture of pure tin and salammoniac (nosadar) with a cotton
pad. The salammoniac vapourizes leaving a metallically clean surface. Meanwhile the
tin melts and by constant rubbing of the pad it is evenly distributed over the whole
vessel - outside and inside.
Abul Fazl refers to tincoating in the Ain-i Akbari. He says that copper utensils of the
royal kitchen are tinned twice a month, but those of the princes, etc. once.
22.8 GLASS MANUFACTURE

The earliest use of glass in India has been set somewhere during the first millennium
B.C. But the presence of an object in a society may reveal its possible use but does not
necessarily imply a knowledge of technology also. However, glass was not scarce in
India: perhaps long familiarity with imported glassware must have led to indigenous
manufacture. But Indian glass objects "did not range or go beyond the manufacture
of tit-bits like beads and bangles". With the Muslim advent, pharmaceutical phials,
jars and vessels started coming to India from the Islamic countries. It is not possible to
determine whether the above glassware actually fabricated during the Delhi Sultanate
In imitation of these importations. However, during the period of study, we draw
blank when we look for the manufacture of articles of glass like glass lenses for
Spectacles or lookingglasses (mirrors were made of copper or bronze with polished
ut~rfare)
Eronomy of Dclhi
- GeltPnate
-
22.9 SHIPBUILDING
The entire frame of b ~ a t and
s ships were#madeof timber like everywhere in the
world. The planks wefie first joined by the rabbeting or tongue-and-groove method.
d
Then they were sewn ith ropes made from the coconut husk. Sometimes wooden
nails were also used. ut iron nails and clamps to j o i n ~ h eplanks was a later
development under th4 influence of European shipbuilding after A.D. 1498. Anchors
were made of stones: k e r , Europeans introduced iron anchors.
12. Rabetting and the use of iron;%ails to join the planks
For navigation, magnetit compass was a great contribution which the Muslims
diffused in India.
22.10 DISTILLATION
i
There has never been any society that did not produce intoxicating drinking
substances. Soma in the )/edit Age was one such intoxicants. There are two ways to
get wine: fermentation and distillation. The first was widely known in the world.
Wine was procured by fehnenting rice, sugarcane juice, mahuwa flowers, etc.
Distillation was a late comer. Some think that it was first discovered in Italy in the
12th century A.D. For India, there is an opinion that distillation was a contribution of
the Turks.
This view is not acce'ptable. Excavations at Sirkap (Taxila) and Shaikhan Dheri, now
in Pakistan, have yieldedldistillation apparaius like t&e condensers and parts of
still, many of which are nbw lodged in the Taxila Museum. This apparatus belong to
the period from 2nd century B.C. to 2nd century A.D., much before the Turks came
to India. However, we may give credit to the Turks for its eastward diffusion.
Technology and C r q h
- IT. Reconstruction of distilling apparstus(aRer Marshall, 1953)

I 1) Define the following:
Stirrup
I
I Horseshoe
I
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
2) Fill in the blanks:
a) Gunpowder was invented in ..........
b) Fire-arms were first used in India during the ..........
c) Technique of tincoating in India was introduced by the ..........
I
d) To join the planks .......... method was used.
e) Distillation technique was known in India during
II
22.11 LET US SUM UP
You must have learnt from this Unit something about the techniques or methods by
which the people during the Delhi Sultanate fabricated o r produced articles of daily
use. Concerning agriculture now you know about ploughs with iron share, methods of
sowing, irrigational devices, harvesting, threshing and winnowing. In the section on
textile crafts, you have read about ginning, carding, spinning, weaving, dyeing and
printing. As regards building construction, lime mortar, true arches and
doheslvaulted roofings are most important. Papermaking and bookbinding were new
crafts. Similar is the case of military technology with reference to stirrup, horseshoe
and Tincoating, too, was a new technique. Glass te'chno~og~ was on a low
- .-. ....... .-
level in this period. Now you know that iron was not used in shipbuilding prior to the
. .
Economy of k l h i Sul(ainate At the end, let us sum up the new techniques o r crafts brought by the Muslims to
India: saqiya, spinning-wheel, pit-loom, lime mortar, true arches, dome, paper and
bookbinding, stirrup, hdrseshoe, gunpowder, tincoating and mariner's colnposs. The
Indians accepted all these without hesitation or opposition.
22.12 KEY *WORDS

,
Accoutrement : Soldier's equipment othcr than weapons and clothes ,
Alum : W h i s mineral salt usedin dyeing . .
Arch : curved Structure

Axiom : Statemeni that is accepted without argument
Bridle : Part of a horse's harness
Contraption : Devicelapparatus
Equine : Like a horse
Farman : Order of the Sultan - .
Gear .. -set
: Set elf toothed wheels which fit into another . to transmit power
Immersion : Put under the surface of a liquid
Loom : Instrument for weaving cloth
Gelatinous : Like jelly
Glutinous : Sticky protein substance
Pit-loom : Loom worked by the foot
(treadle loom)
Pommel : Rounded part of a saddle
Planks ,: Long flat piece of sawn timber
Pyrotechny : Fire Works
Pulley : Wheel with grooves for ropes
Ramp : Slope
I
Reslnous : Sticky substance specially from fir and pine tree
Slake-lime : Calcium Hydroxide (C,, (OH),: Its formed by the action
of water on Calcium Oxide
Tabby : Cat with grey or brownish fur and dark stripes
Quick I' me - : Calcium Oxide (C,,O)made by heating Calcium Carbonade
(limestone)
Shovel . Tool like a spade with curved edges
Vaulted roof : Archled roof - b
Voussairs : Stones used in making an arch (other than the key stone) '
!
22.m &lWWEWS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

f L ~ ~ R ~ H S ~ ~
- - ,----.
. . - --
--t-- -
1
/ ('heck
\'isst:. I '
1) Set S,,;;->..c.. 2.2.2 4
2) See Sub-sec 71.2.3 ,
, , 3) (I) X (11) V (iii) \'' (iv) x
Check Y w r Progress 2
1\ C,.- Q..L .--- ?? 1 1
1) See Sub-sec. 22.4.1, 22.4.2
2) See Sec. 22.5
t Check Your Progress 4
1) See Sub-sec. 22.6.1, 22.6.2
2) (a) China (b) Second half of the 15th Century
(c) Turks (d) rabbeting (e) 2nd century B.C. to 2nd century A.D.
Economy of DeUli Sultanate APPENDIX*
SOME FOURTEENTH-CENTWRY PASSAGES
Some of the most important passages bearing o n t h e agrarian system of the fourteenth
century are difficult to follow, and extant translations. where any exist, a r e not always
exact. T h e renderings of these passages offered below a r e meant t o be strictly literal,
any departure from the driginal being indicated by brackets; t h e technical expressions
a r e discussed in the not& which follow t h e translations. T h e clauses are set o u t , '
punctuated, and numbered for convenience of reference; the texts a r e continuous,
and as a rule are not punctuated.
1. ALAUDDIN'S REVENUE DECREE
(Text, Barni, 287, Tranglations, Elliot, iii. 182, and J.A.S.B. vol. xxxix. p. 382, the
last with Blochmann!~notes).
1 . Sultan Alauddin deinanded from learned men rules and regulations, s o that the
Hindu(1) should b e g r o u n d down,
2. and property a n d p ~ s s e s s i o n s which
, are the cause of disaffection a n d rebellion,
should not remain in his house;
3. and in the payment of the Demand o n e rule should be made for all alike from
Chief to sweeper(2);
4. and the Demand o n the strong should not fall o n the weak;
5. and s o much should not remain to the Hindu(1) that thby should ride on
horseback, and carry weapons, a n d wear fine cloths, and enjoy themselves;
6. and t p make two regulations(3) in pursuance of the aforesaid object, which is t h e
chief of all objects of government.
7. T h e first [regulation],-that thbse w h o cultivate whether small o r g r e a t , shall ,
cultivate according t o the rule of measurement and the biswa-yield(4),
8. and shall pay half without any deduction;
9. and in this paying tbere should be n o distinction between Chiefs a n d sweepers(2);
10. and not a jot should be left to t h e Chiefs by way of chiefs' perquisites(5).
.J
(The text goes on t o the second regulation, imposing a tax on grazing.)
APPENDIX
NOTES . \ .
1) "Hindu." Barni uses this word in a narrow sense, to denote the-classes above the ordinary
peasants, so that in fact it is almost a synonym for Chiefs and headmen in this context.
2) "From Chief to sweeper." Az khuta wa balahar. Balahar is not a Persian word, and it is
quite safe rh$)~!ow Blochmann In identifying it with the common Hindi name for a
low-caste men&& employed in the village as a general drudge. In the Upper Doab, which
was Barni's '*&try, the balahar is almost always a sweeper by caste, and, since the word is
obviously used to deqote the lowest rank of the rural population, the rendering :'sweeperv
piobably gives what *as in the writer's mind; there is no actual English equivalent.
The word transliterated provisidna~~y as khuta has not been found elsewhere in the
literature, and has to be ~nterpretedfrom the parallel passages, which are fairly numerous
in Barni. It appears indifferently as khut and khuta, and these cannot be distinguished. The
antithesis to balahar ihdicates that the khut must be looked for among the rural aristocracy,
and all the passages wnfirm this. Khut is commonly coupled with the headman or
muqaddam (e.g. 288,291,324,430,479,554),while in two passages (288) he is linked with
the chaudhari, or parlgana headman, as well as with the muqaddam; and his perquisites
were on the same f d t i n g (430) as those of the muqaddam.
Barni does not use thp. word zamindar for a Chief (subject to the King) until nearly the end.
of his book (539, 5890, and it never appears in his discussions of agrarlan policy; we find
khut wherever we should expect to find zamindar, and the only reasonable interpretation is:
that the latter word was coming into use during his lifetime, and gradually superseding
khut, so that the twa are in fact synonymous. If we read zamindar in every passage where
khut pccurs, we get perfectly good sense; if they are not synonyms, then we must hold that ,
the important class af khuts as known to Barni, had become absolutely extinct when the
next chronicler wrotq, and that the equally important class of zamindars had mysteriously
come into existence, a hypothesis as unreasonable as unnecessary. !
The identity of the dord khut is doubtful. Blochmann took it as the rare Arabic word, .
' rendered by Steingas as "a limber twig; a corpulent man, yet handsome and active," but '
did not indicats . .such a word could come to denote a Chief. The MSS. I have seen d~
not show th, ,uzls, and it is possible that the pronunciation was different, and that we are -
dealing with a word formed indepenhently in India; but, whatever be the origin of the Appendix
word, its meaning in Barni is clearly that of Chief. Blochmann arrived by analysis a t the
correct result, that the phrase indicates the extremes of rural society, but the rendering
"landowners and tenants" which he endorsed involves both a logical non-sequitur and an
historical anachronism. .
The suggestion has been made that the word under discussion is really Indian in origin,
being identical with the Marathi word khot, which is familiar in the Konkan; but the fact
that Barni wrote the word with two Arabic letters (u
and t) makes its derivation from any
L
sanskritic language highly improbable. T h e word khot has not been traced further back
than the sixteenth century kingdom of Bijapur, and a possible explanation of it is that the
, Arabic khM passed into the Deccan at the time of Alauddin's conquest, and became
naturalised there as khot. That there were khots in Gujarat also, before the Mogul
conquest, appears from a document published by Professor Hodivala (Studies in Parsi
History, p. 204), but their position is not explained; it is possible that the Arabic word,
which quickly became obsolete in the North, survived in Gujarat, as in the Konkan, in an
Indianised form, but more documentary evidence is necessary on this point.
3) This clause is ungrammatical as it stands. It would easy t o read awardand for awardan,
putting a fun stop at the end of clause 5. The translation would then be: "And two
regulations were made in pursuance of the aforesaid object," which makes grammar and
, sense. Barni's grammar, however, is not immaculate, and the text may show what he
actually wrote.
4) "The rule of Measurement and the biswa-yield," hukm-i madhat wa wafa-i biswa.
Barni mentions two "hukms" o r rules for assessment, Masahat and HBsil, i.e.
"measurement" and "produce"; he does not describe the methods, but the passage which
follows will make it clear that Masahat involved allowances for crop-fa~lure,which were, ..
not required in Hasil Unless we take these two terms to denote methods which have
become entirely forgotten, we must identify them with the two which I have called
Measurement and Sharing, which, as we have seen, were equally familiar to Hindus and
Moslems at this period, which reappear, though with different names, in the sixteenth
century, and which persisted into the nineteenth. The word Masahat gives place t o jam% or
paimaish in the official records of the Mogul period, but it seems t o have survived in local
use, for as late as 1832 the "native measuring s t a f f was known as the "masahut .
establishment" (Rev. Sel., ii 378). Hasil can be read quite naturally as denoting the process
of sharing the produce,_and, s o far as I can see, it can carry n o other suggestion.
The phrase "wafa-i biswa" does not occur except in Barni, and can be read here merely as
a repetition or duplication of what precedes it, "reliance on the unit of area," "biswa"
denoting the smaller unit, 1120th of the bigha. Passages in the next two chronicles,
however, indicate that the word wafa had acquired the technical meaning of "yield of
crops," and this is probably the meanlng here; "biswa-yield" would then indicate the
standard outtuin per unit of area, which was a necessary datum .for the method of
Measurement. The decisive passage is in T. Mubarak- shahi (Or. 5318, f. 34r.), where, In a
description of the oppression in the River Country under Muhammad Tughlaq, we read
kisht-hi mi-paimudand wa waffi-hfi farmsni mi-bastand; "they used to measure the fields
and fix the yields by ordinance." Here it does not seem possible t o take wafaha in any other
sense. The same sense is required in Afif, 180, where the word occurs twice; and taking
these examples into account, it is permissible to infer that Barni also was familiar with this
technical use of the word. I have not found this use in the Mogul period, and presumably it
became obsolete.
5) "Chiefs' perquisites"; huqiiq-i khiitrln. Ir can be inferred from the passage which follows
that these perquisites consisted of exemption from revenue of a proportion of land, allowed
to the Chiefs in return for the services they rendered; Ghiyasuddin considered that they
should be satisfied with this allowance, so its amount must have been substantial, but there
is no record of the extent of land allowed. The same passage shows that the Chiefs w'ere
suspected of levying revenue for themselves from the peasants: th!s is probably the
implication of Clause 4, that the peasants were in fact paying revenue which ought to fall on
the Chiefs or headmen.
G H I Y A S U D D I N ' S A G R A R I A N POLICY
, a t , B a r n i , 429, c h e c k e d by Or. 2039. Translation, J.A.S.B., vol. XI. p. 229. T h e
vanslation i n Elliot, iii. 230, is very incomplete.)
. applied t o M r . R. P a g e t D e w h u r s t f o r h e l p with this exceedingly c r a b b e d passage,
a n d h e generously furnished m e with t h e following translation. T h e n o t e s m a r k e d [Dl
are also his; t h e o t h e r s are mine.
1. He fixed t h e r e v e n u e o f t h e territories of t h e k i n g d o m e q u ~ t a b l yaccording t o t h e
"rule of t h e produce"(l),
2. a n d relieved t h e ~ e a s a n t s o tf h e territbries a n d t h e kingdom f r d m innovations
Economy of Delhi sdtanato 3. and with regard to the provinces and country of the kingdom he did not listen t o
the tales of spies and the speeches of enhancement-mongers(3) and the bids
(literally, acceptdnces) of revenue-farmers.
4. He also ordered that spies and enhancement-mongers and revenue-farmers and
land-wreckers should not be allowed to hang (literally, wander) round theoffice
of the Ministry,
5. and he instructed~theoffice of the Ministry not to make an increase of more than
one-tenth or oneteleventh on the provinces and country on surmise and
guess-work o r on the reports of spies and the representations of
enhancement-mohgers,
6. and that efforts should be made that cultivation should increase every year and
the revenue be enhanced very gradually,
7. and not in such a way that the country should be ruined all at once by heavy
pressure and the bath of increase closed.
8. Sultan Tughlaq Shah frequently remarked that the revenue should be taken
from the country,in such a way that the peasants of the country should extend
cultivation,
9. and the established cultivation become settled, and every year a small increase
should take place.
10. He used to say that you ought not to take all at once so much that neither the
established cultivation should be maintained nor any extension be made in the
future.
11. When kingdoms bre obviously ruined (literally, are ruined and show themselves
ruined) it is due m the oppressiveness of the revenue and the exces'sive royal
demand,
12. and ruin proceeds from destructive Muqtis and officials.
13. Also with regard to the exaction of revenue from the peasants Sultan Tughlaq
Shah used to give instructions to all the Muqtis and governors of the territories
of the kingdom,
14. that the Hindu should be kept in such a condition that he should not become
blinded and rebellious and refractory from excessive affluence,
15. and that he should not be compelled by poverty and destitution.to abandon
cultivation and tillage.
+ 16. The observing of the standards and principles mentioned in collecting the
revenue can be carried out by typically eminent statesmen and.experts,
17. and the essence af the art of statesmanship in regard to Hindus(4) is the
fulfilment of the aforesaid instruction.
18. Further in regard to the collection of revenue it is related of Sultan Ghiyasuddin
Tughlaq Shah, who was a very experienced, far-sighted, and prudent sovereign,
19, that he urged on the Muqtis and governors investigation and consistency in the
collection of revemue,
20. so that Chiefs and headmen should not impose a separate assessment on the
peasants apart fr4m the king's revenue;
21. and if their own cultivation and pasturage be not brought under assessment,
perhaps their er uisites as Chiefs and headmen, on the supposition that they
P
pay nothing on this, may suffice them and they may make no additional demand.
22. It cannot be denied that abundant responsibilities rest on the neck of Chiefs and
headmen, so that,if they too contribute a share in the same way as the peasants,
the advantage of being Chief or headman would disappear.
23. And as for those among the amirs and maliks (5) whom Sultan Ghiyasuddin
advanced, and t o whom he gave iqtas and provinces,
24. he used not to hald it permissible that they should be brought before the
Ministry just like (ordinary) officials(6)and that the revenue should be
demanded from them as from officials with rudeness and sevetity,
25. but he used to give instructions to them saying,
26. "If you wish to be exempt from the burden of being summoned before the office
of the Ministry aod that you should not be exposed t o pressure and discourtsey,
27.1 and that your c r d i t as an nmir or malik should not be changed to humiliation
f! and discredit,
28. make slender demands on your iqtas,
29. and reserve out df that slender demand something for your own agents,
30. and do not covet the smallest fraction of the pay of the troops.
'21 \lRatLn- .,,-...
&
.,a ,-.- A,-. -,t .r:.ra'n I:ttI, ,-.E ..,-...-,-...,-
+,-. + L a +-,-.,re wart- ..Ark .,.
32. But if you expect a small portion of what is deducted in the name of the troops,
then the name of amir and malik ought not to be employed by the tongue in
respect of you,
and the amir who devours a portion of the pay of servants had better consume
dust.
But if maliks and amirs expect from their own country and provinces a half-tenth
or half-eleventh and the one-tenth o r one-fifteenth of the revenue,
and take the perquisites of iqta-holding and governors,
no occasion has arisen t o forbid this to them, and t o demand it back and t o exact
It by pressure on the amirs would be altogether deplorable.
Similarly if the agents and deputies(7) of the country and provinces should
appropriate a half or one per cent, in addition to their salary,
they ought not to be disgraced for this amount, and it ought not t o be recovered
from them by beating and torture and imprisonment and fetters.
But if they appropriate considerable sums(8) and write off deductions from the
revenue demand, and carry off large sums by way of mutual sharing from the
provinces and country,
such treacherous persons and thieves should be given disgrace and humiliation
with beating and torture and imprisonment and fetters, and what they have
abstracted should be taken from them together with their family stock."
TEXT-NOTES
CI 3. "Bids." Paz raftanihi in text is clearly a blunder for paziruftanihs [Dl.
4. "Land-wreckers." reading mufiarribin for muhazzibsn. Or. 2039 can be so read.
7. "not in such a way." reading na for tB, as Or. 2039.
26. "If you wish." reading e w i h e d for bwihad, as Or. 2039.
"not to be exposed," reading nayuftad for biyuftad, as Or. 2039.
38. "should appropriate," reading isiibat for isayat, as Or. 2039.
NOTES
1) "Rule of the produce," hukm-i hhil. See note 3 to the preceding passage.
2) "Crop-failure." bud wa nabud-hl. The technical force of this phrase, literally "existence
and non-existences," is fixed by Akbar's assessment rules (Ain, i. 288), in which the clerk
1s d~rectedto deduct the nabud and record the bud, that is, to exclude from the measured
area the area on which the crop had failed. Presumably the word apportionments, qismlt,
refers to the process of classifying the area of failure. The word "nabood" surv~vedinto the
nineteenth century in the wider sense of a deduction from the gross assessment (Rev. Sel.,
i. 305).
3) "Enhaocement-mongers." muwaffiriin. This word, which is not in the dictionaries, may '
safely be referred to the technical sense of taufir as any secret profit derived from land. In
a later passage (574). Barn1 uses the equivalent taufir- ntimiyln, i.e. discloser of secret
profit. It is clearly a bit of office jargon, and Mr. Dewhurst adopted the expression
"enhancement-monger." which I coined as a rough equivalent,
4) "Hindu" in this passage has obviously the same restricted meaning as in that which
precedes it.
5 ) "Amirs and maliks." At this time there were three recognised titles of nobility, Khan,
Amir. and Malik; here the words are best read loosely as denoting "nobles."
6 ) "Officials," %milin,'umm81. The word '%milhad not yet been specialised to denote a
definite post, but meant any executive official.
7) "Agents and deputies." krirkunin wa mutasarrifsn. Karkun is etymologically an agent. I
am not clear whether by this time it had become spec~alisedas "clerk," the meaning it
usually bcars in the sixteenth century; some passages can be read in this way, but others are
doubtful, and perhapsspecialisation was in progress, but was not complete. I have found
no passage to indicate whether or not mutasarrif denoted a particular post; the word occurs
in connection with the local bureaucracy. and may mean either subordinates in general, or
a particular class of subordinates.
8 ) "Considerable sums." mu'tadd-ha. I take this to mean "a considerable sum." literally "a
thing counted," and henceUathing worth counting." [Dl
The words iqta and Muqti, which are prcscrvcd in the translatipn: h ~ been c discussed in
Appcndix B. Thcir preservation is intcndcd to bring out thc fbr'k; of thc rccuraingduplications.
I I I. 1.1 KUZ S I l A t i ' S SLC'OND KEGULA'I'ION
l i .
(Text, Barni. 574; no published translation has come ttr my notice. The chapter
containing this Rqulation. along with several others, is highly fulogistic and
rllctorical, ,and too great weight must not be given to all:thc i\sk&rtic>ns which it
(*ontainc hilt there ic nn rpncnn tn r i i r t r . n n c t tha . I n r f i . . n r .h 1h- ..--..-..I ,-I:-.. ..A--.-A
I ) Second regulation. It was ordered that the revenue-Demand and the poll-tax(1)
shall be collected a+cording t o the "rule of the produce";
2) and "apportionmedts." and "increase o f demands,"and "crop-failures," and
"large demands b a v d o n surmise," were entirely removed from among t h e
peasants(2); I
3) and revenue-farmets and land-wreckers and enhancement-mongers(3) were not

allowed t o infest thk provinces and the kingdom.
4 ) A n d a reduction wds made in the d u l - i mubmahti(4), so that the peasants may
pay willingly withoht difficulty o r severity;
5 ) and n o roughness g r violence was used towards the cultivators, who are t h e
keepers of the trea$ury(5) of Moslems.
I NOTES
1) Thc rcfcrence to the 4011-tax. jiziya, is puzzling. According to Afif (383), this tax in Delhi
was a fixed sum per hflad payable in cash. It is possible that, in the case of peasants, it may
havc been assessed aldng with the revenue, and varied with it; but it is equally possible that
, the phrase is loosc."r~vcnueand poll-tax" being used to describe the liabilities of
non-Moslem subjects in general terms.
2) This clquse must be wad as enumerating the familiar exactions on the peasants.
Apportionments. qisqmat, and crop-failures, nabfidk, occur in the preceding passage.
Mu6tndd& is there taken as exactions of considerable amount, and the addition here of
tasawwuri must mean1 that these exactions were arbitrary,"based on surmise."
3) This clause also is an echo of part of the previous passage, referring to the various pests
that appeared naturally in connection with the revenue-assessment.
4) Mahsul-i mu'amalati. 11 havc not found any parallel passage to indicate the meaning of this
phrase. From the cont/cxt. it appears to denote some impost on the peasants, different from
thc kharaj or revenue, but its nature is a matter for conjecture.
5) .Treasury. bait I
kharaj and other "4
This 1s a precise phrase of Islamic law, d e n ~ t i n gthe wceptacle for
-" sou es of income which were in theory for the benefit of Moslems in
general. though by th/s time in India they were in fact part of the revenue of the State.
IV. F ~ R U Z SHAH'S ~SSESSMENT
(Text. Afif, 94. 1 have k u n d n o translation; only o n e sentence is given in Elliot, ui,
288.) .
1. T h e king. .. settled t h e Demand(1) of the kingdom afresh. A n d for the settlement
of that Demand KNwaja qisamuddin Junid was appointed.
4
2. T h e excellent Khw ja. having spent six years in the kingdom.
3'. (and] having settle the Demand according t o the "rule of inspection,"(2)
4. determined the "a4gregatew(3) of t h e kingdom a t 675 lakhs of tankas in
n
o accordance with the principle of sovereignty.
5. During forty years fluring t h e reign of Firuz Shah t h e "aggregate" o f Delhi was
t h e same.
I
NOTES
I) "Demand," mehsul. Afifoccasiona~~~ uses this word in the sense of revenue Demand, that
is. as a synonym for k e a j , never. so far as I can find. in the other sense of "produce of the
soil." which occurs inlsome later writers.
2) "Rule of inspection."l hukm-i mushahada, occurs. so far as I know. nowhere else in the
literature. Barni tells Cs in the preceding passage that Firuz. at his accession, adopted the
"rule of the produce." Afif s account refers to the same period. for this appointment was
made very soon after the King's first arrival at Delhi; either then one of the writersmade a
mistake, or the two ekpressions mean the same thing. A mistake is improbable. for old
bureaucrats like the Writers do not misuse technical terms: on the other hand. Afif's
.
vocabulary differs froh that of Barni in several cases. such as "khut" or "pargana." so that
verbal divergence neqd not suggest error. The general idea conveyed by mushahsdp 15
"witnessing," "observing"; and in order to reconcile the two statements, all that is
necessary is to take this word as denoting Sharlng-by- estimation, the reference being to
the persons who obsefve or inspect the condition of the growing crop in order to estima~e
the yield. We may sayithen that. while Barni telts us that Sharing wasprescribed, Afif tells
I
us that it was Sharing by Estimation. not actual Division. On :.)is interprctittion thc
disappearance of the erm mushahada can be rcadlly undcrstood. because the official
literature of the MoNI period employs the Hind1 name kankiit I*) denote thc proccss in
question.,
The rcvcnue-~cmandundcr this systcm v;iric?fr(&n season to season with thc itre:; sown,
and the produce reapkd, so that the phrase "to settle." bastan, must not bc rcad in thc
scnsc of fixing beforehand the number of tankas to I,c pitid; I take the mcanirlp to hc ,II;II
the ;Irr:lnormPntr for hrrpcrmcnt r 0 , \ r , . . , ~ ; ~ , ~..$I;.-
U)..~.-S ,4 1h.. ..
,nC..;.- ...I-:..%.I.... I
Appendix
Tapan Rnychaudhri : The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol. I .

and lrfan Habib
Prof. Muhammild Habib : An lntroduction to Elliot and Dowson's History of
India as Told by Its O w Historians, Vol. I I .
A.J .Qaisur : Indian Response To European Technology and Culture.

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STATE AND ECONOMY

19.2 DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE RESOURCES

19.2.1 Iqta and Kbalisa

19.2.2 The Iqta Spstem in Operation

19.2.3 Land Grants

Check Your Progress 1

2) p a t changes were introduced in the iqta system by Muhammad Tughluq? . ,

19-3 LAND REVENUE AND ITS EXTRACTION

19.3.1 Agrarian Measures of Alauddin Khalji

19.3.2 Agrarian Measures of Muhammad Tughluq

The Sultan was so determined to introduce his project of agricultural improvement

Check Your Progress 2

19.4, ALAWDDIN KHALJI'S MARKET CONTROL

No. Commodities Alauddin Muhammad ~eroz

as mentioned in contemporary .rrounts of the sultanate period.

(b) Dismantling of price control under the successors of Alauddin Khalji.

19.. CURRENCY SYSTEM

19.6 SLAVERY AND SLAVE TRADE -

I ' Check Your Progress 5

19.7 LET US SUM UP

19.8 KEY .WORDS

" 19.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress 14

20.3 Agr;lri;ln l < c l ; ~ l i o ~ ~ s

I 1 will of c.oursc. I>c. IIIII'~.;IS~II;I~>~C l o c*xpcc.l'~l~il tllc cst;~l>lisll~~lcnl of III~. I)c.llli

20.2.1 Crops and oiher Agricultural Produce

20.2.2 Canal irrigation and Its Impact

Cheek Your Rogress 1

20.3 AGRARIAN RELATIONS

20.3.2 Rural lnterbediaries

llo~vcvcr.\111ccthcac Iural internirdi:~rtcswere necessary for the system of land

2) Put ( d )against correct and ( x ) against incorrect statement given below:

20.4 LET US SUM UP

Cash-crops : Crops produced for markets

21.2 GROWTH OF TOWNS

Factors for Urban Expansion

2) Mark the following stdements true (d) or false (X):

21.4 TRADE AND COMMERCE

21.4.1 Inland Trade

were exchange centres for overseas trade

21.4.2 Foreign Trade : Seaborne and Overland

THE MAJOR SEAPORTS

21.4.3 Commercial Classes

2) DiscuSs the factors responsible for the expansion of trade.

21.5 LET US SUM UP

21.6 KEY WORDS

21.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress 2

Check Your Progress 3

22.2 AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY

22.2.3 Harvesting, Threshing and Winnowing

22.2.4 Irrigational Devices

iv)1 The fourth technique was what is considered to be semi-mechanical as it worked

6. (a) First stage of noria

Check Your Progress 1

2) Discuss t h e technique used in 'saqiya' to lift water from the wells.

22.3 TEXTILE TECHNOLOGY

22.3.1 Ginning, Callcling and Spinning

22.3.3 Dyeing and Printing