Alauddin Khalji (AD 1296 - 1316)

Alauddin Khalji was Jalaluddin’s ambitious nephew and son-in-law. He had helped his uncle in his struggle for power and was appointed as Amir-i-Tuzuk (Master of Ceremonies). Alauddin had two victorious expeditions during the reign of Jalaluddin.

After the first expedition of Bhilsa (Vidisa) in AD 1292, he was given the iqta of Awadh, in addition to that of Kara. He was also appointed Arizi-i-Mumalik (Minister of War). In AD 1294, he led the first Turkish expedition to southern India and plundered Devagiri.

The successful expedition proved that Alauddin was an able military commander and efficient organiser. In July AD 1296, he murdered his uncle and father-in-law Jalaluddin Khalji and crowned himself as the Sultan.

Alauddin decided to revive Balban’s policies of ruthless governance. He decided to curb the powers of the nobles and interference of Ulema in the matters of the state.

He also faced, a few rebellions in succession during the early years of his rule. According to Barani, the author of Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, Alauddin felt that there were four reasons for these rebellions:

  1. The inefficiency of the spy system,
  2. The general practice of the use of wine
  3. Social intercourse among the nobles and inter marriage between them
  4. The excess of wealth in the possession of certain nobles

In order to prevent the re-occurrence of these rebellions, Alauddin formulated certain regulations and implemented them.

  1. Families that had been enjoying free land to support themselves should pay land tax for their holdings. This curbed the excess of wealth owned by some people.
  2. The Sultan reorganized the spy system and took measure to make it more effective.
  3. The use of liquor and intoxicants was prohibited.
  4. The nobles were ordered not to have social gatherings or inter-marriages without his permission.

Alauddin established a huge permanent, standing army to satisfy his ambition of conquest and to protect the country from Mongol invasion.

Market Regulations of Alauddin Khalji

Alauddin’s measures to control the markets were one of the most important policy initiative. Since Alauddin wanted to maintain a large army, he therefore, lowered and fixed the price of the commodities of daily use. To control the prices, Alauddin set up three different markets for different commodities in Delhi. These markets were the grain market (Mandi), cloth market (Sarai Adl) and the market for horses, slaves, cattles, etc.

To ensure implementation, Alauddin appointed a superintendent (Shahna-i-Mandi) who was assisted by an intelligence officer. Apart from Shahna-i-Mandi, Alauddin received daily reports of the market from two other independent sources, barid (intelligence officer) and munhiyans (secret spies). Any violation of Sultan’s orders resulted in harsh punishment, including expulsion from the capital, imposition of fine, imprisonment and mutilation.

Control of prices of horses was very important for the Sultan because without the supply of good horses at reasonable price to army, the efficiency of the army could not be ensured. Low price in the horse market were ensured by putting a stop to the purchase of horses by horse dealers and brokers (dalals) in Delhi market.