Daulat Khan Lodi ( Persian: دولت خان لودی) was the governor of

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

during the reign of Sikandar Khan and

Ibrahim Lodi Ibrahim Khan Lodi (; 1480 – 21 April 1526) was the last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, who became Sultan in 1517 after the death of his father Sikandar Khan. He was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, reigning for nine years until 1526, whe ...

, the last rulers of the

Lodi dynasty The Lodi dynasty was an Afghan royal family that ruled Sultanate of Delhi from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Lodi when he replaced the Sayyid dynasty. Bahlul Lodi Followin ...

. Due to disaffection with Ibrahim, Daulat invited

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

to invade the empire. He was initially governor of the Jalandhar Doab before being promoted to the governorship of Lahore between 1500 and 1504, and remained so until Babur's invasion in 1524. He was the son of Tatar Khan, the previous Nizam of Lahore, who had asserted his independence from Lodi dynasty under Bahlul Khan Lodi, father of Sikandar Khan Lodi. Daulat Khan was loyal to the dynasty but betrayed Ibrahim Lodhi due to his rigid, proud and suspicious nature.

Aid of Babur

In 1523,

, Daulat Khan's sovereign, was locked in a power struggle with his relatives and ministers. Daulat Khan was one of Ibrahim's chief opponents, along with the ruler's own uncle, Alam Khan (also known as Ala-ud-din), who at that time was living under the protection of Sultan Muzaffar II of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. There was rebellion throughout the empire. Aware of his own precarious position, Daulat Khan sent his son, Ghazi Khan Lodi, to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

to learn more about the state of affairs in the government. On his return, Ghazi Khan warned his father that Ibrahim Lodi was planning to remove his governorship. In response, Daulat Khan sent messengers to

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, offering his allegiance in exchange for assistance against the emperor. Babur agreed. Babur's army quickly captured

and Dipalpur. Daulat Khan and his sons, Ghazi and Dilawar Khan Lodi, joined Babur at Dipalpur only to be disappointed when Babur presented Daulat with

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

and Sultanpur instead of Lahore. Rather than accepting these assignments, Daulat Khan and Ghazi went into hiding while Dilawar Khan betrayed his father and accepted Sultanpur and the title of Khan Khanan.

Daulat Khan's Fate

Daulat Khan eventually emerged a short while later, when Babur left India to fight the Uzbeks at

Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...

while leaving some forces in

to assist Alam Khan in laying siege to

. Daulat offered his assistance to Alam Khan, hoping to recover Lahore. However, since he was no longer on friendly terms with Babur, Daulat Khan's assistance was declined. Instead, he was left in charge of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

with his son Ghazi, while his other sons, Dilawar and Hajji, went to Delhi with Alam Khan. This attack was unsuccessful due to treachery on both sides. Babur heard of Alam Khan's failure in

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

, on his way back to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Meanwhile, Daulat Khan and Ghazi, hearing of Babur's return, fled to the fortress of Milwat, to the north of

. Babur laid siege to Milwat and Daulat Khan surrendered. He died on the way to

Bhera Bhera (; ) is a city and a tehsil of Sargodha District, Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is known for wood-carved items, textiles (such as quilts and khussas), and certain desserts (such as pheonian and pateesa). The city is made up ...

, where he was to have been imprisoned. The events that Daulat Khan had started in motion by inviting Babur to India finally culminated in the battle of Panipat in 1526, where Ibrahim Khan Lodi lost his life. Babur was now ruler of India, going on to found the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

Significance in Sikhism

One of his officials, Jai Ram, was married to

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also known as ('Father Nanak'), was an Indian spiritual teacher, mystic and poet, who is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and is t ...

's sister, Nanaki. Jai Ram found Guru Nanak employment at Daulat Khan Lodi's store and granaries as a keeper. Complaints were often made against Nanak wasting the stocks to Daulat Khan but two audits found the store fully stocked with correct accounts. They also complained about Guru Nanak's teachings to the

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

, at one point a Qazi called upon Nanak to report to court based on these accusations where Daulat Khan defended Nanak.

References

Sources

* Haig, Wolseley et al., ''The Cambridge History of India Vol. III: Turks and Afghans'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1928, 10-12

Aid of Babur

Daulat Khan's Fate

Significance in Sikhism

See also

References

Sources

Further reading