The Delhi Sultanate and those who resisted it

In 1206 the Delhi Sultanate was set up. The book calls it a turning point: power became more centralised (concentrated in Delhi).

One new practice was the iqta system. Instead of paying commanders a salary, the Sultan gave them land (an iqta) to collect revenue from. It became a way to collect land revenue, and it added to the burden on peasants.

During their campaigns, the Sultanate's forces also destroyed places sacred to local communities. So people resisted for two reasons: political (to keep their own rule) and to preserve their culture and faith.

Many kingdoms resisted again and again and helped check the Sultanate's spread:

• the Yadavas of Devagiri (western Deccan);
• several Rajput dynasties of present-day Rajasthan;
• the Kakatiyas of Warangal (eastern Deccan), under whom Queen Rudrama Devi reigned (1262-1289);
• the Hoysalas of present-day Karnataka.

The Sultanate also faced defiance from Gwalior, Mewar, Awadh, Malwa, Ajmer, Etawah, Kalinjar, Jalore and Kannauj.

Some key moments (from the book's timeline):

• 1298: Alauddin Khilji captured Anhilwara and plundered the Somnath temple; 1301 siege of Ranthambore; 1303 siege of Chittor; 1307 his general Malik Kafur marched against the Yadavas of Devagiri.
• c. 1325: the Sisodia ruler Rana Hammir took Mewar back from the Sultanate's tributaries.
• 1433-1468: Maharana Kumbha of Mewar built a strong system of resistance, including forts.
• 1525-1570: Rani Abbakka Chowta of Ullal (in present-day Karnataka) defeated Portuguese naval forces.

Other Rajput rulers who resisted at different times include Kanhada Deva Chauhan (Jalore), Rana Hammira Deva (Ranthambore), Rana Kumbha (Mewar) and Rao Surjan Hada (Bundi).

The Sultanate's long list of dynasties can be held by its first and last: it began in 1206 and ended with its last ruler, Ibrahim Lodi, in 1526.