Firuz Shah

Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388), also known as Firuz III, was Sultan of Delhi following the latter's death at Thatta, Sindh. His father was Sipahsalar Malik Rajab, the brother of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, the founder of the dynasty, whilst his mother was a princess a princess originating from Abohar, Punjab of the Indian subcontinent.

Firuz Shah has been accredited with the construction of numerous cities and irrigation projects and has been regarded as a great builder with the creation of Firozpur, Hisar and Fatehabad in the Punjab and Haryana regions. Firuz Shah's reign was met with numerous conquests such as the Raja's of Bengal, Sindh and Kangra later in his reign, whilst upon receiving the throne, it has been noted that he successfully repelled a Mongol attack.

Background

The Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi is one of the main sources of information regarding the Sultan's background, early life and the origins of his parents. It was narrated that Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq longed for his brother, Sipahsalar Rajab, to marry the daughter of one of the Rai's of Dipalpur in Punjab and was later informed of the beauty of one Rana Mall Bhatti's daughter called Bibi Naila. Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq sent a proposal of marriage to the Rai, however he declined, leading the Sultan to demand the payment of revenue for a year from them and causing hardship to the people for three days. Bibi Naila’s mother was written to have been distraught by the severity caused by Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, and Bibi Naila accepted his proposal to alleviate the situation. Upon marrying Sipahsalar Rajab, her name was changed to Sultan Bibi Kadbanu. When Firuz Shah was seven years old, his father Sipahsalar Rajab had died and was then raised by Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. The addition of 'Tughlaq' to his name has been reported to have been a modern alteration out of convenience, that Persian and contemporary sources only used the name 'Firuz Shah' when referring to him.

Firuz Shah was mentored by Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq and Muhammad bin Tughluq in the handling of affairs of the state and the duties and functions held by the royalty. When he was fourteen years of age, Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq succeeded the throne of Delhi and he travelled with the Sultan, learning the arts of public affairs. Upon Muhammad bin Tughluq's succession to the throne, Firuz Shah, now around sixteen years of age, had assumed the rank of 'deputy of the lord chamberlain' (Naib-i Amir Hajib) with the title of Naib Barbak, commanding twelve thousand horses.

Reign

Upon Muhammad bin Tughluq's death, Firuz Shah succeeded the throne on 23 March 1351, on the banks of Sindh. According to the Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, a group of Mongols had plundered a baggage train and were advancing to Firuz's camp leading to a battle wherein the latter was victorious and the captives secured by the Mongols set free. The defeated Mongols fled their camps back to their own countries, securing Firuz Shah's first victory as emperor. During this time it was thought by the Khwaja-i-Jahan of the empire through misinformed intelligence that Firuz Shah was missing and presumed dead, causing him to place an imposter son of Muhammad bin Tughluq on the throne but upon finding out that Firuz was alive he gathered an army of twenty thousand at Delhi until peace was made. Firuz hearing of this unanimously agreed with his nobles that Muhammad bin Tughluq had only one daughter and thence marched through Multan, Dipalpur and Ajodhan, gathering a large army of soldiers, nobles, and commoners from these cities for his march to Delhi, including thirty six Rajas of this region, he also completed a pilgrimage to the tomb of Baba Farid. According to this same tradition, whilst marching to Delhi, Firuz received a son, naming him Fateh Khan and founded the town of Fatehabad after him at the place of his birth. The Khawaja-i-Jahan had set to Fatehabad and sued for peace pleading with Firuz for his mistake, securing Firuz's rule.

Attempted regicide

A daughter of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, Khudawand-zada, alongside her husband, conspired to murder Firuz, out of jealousy, when he came to visit her next. It was a custom of Firuz Shah to visit Khudawand-zada after Friday prayers but seeing hidden signals being made on his visit, he left her palace and took the sword from a Rai Chirhu Bhatti, one of his nobles, confronting her soon after and demanding her immediate retirement in addition to the exile of her husband.

Conquests

Invasions of Bengal

In 1353, Firuz Shah set to invade the region of Bengal ruled by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah and camped on the banks of the Kosi River with over seventy thousand men. During this time the ruler of Gorakhpur submitted to Firuz and payed a tribute of over twenty thousand Tankas. Firuz Shah's army crossed the Kosi River causing Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah to flee with his army to Ekdala, West Bengal. He soon after besieged the city but feigned a retreat leading to Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah to leave the city with his army to harass the Sultans retreat. The sultans army was secretly split into three divisions led by Tatar Khan, Malik Dillan and Malik Hisam Nawa and an assault was led on the Bengal army causing one hundred and eighty thousand casualties to Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah and his eventual retreat. Tatar Khan attempted to persuade Firuz to annex Bengal however he declined, stating that previous Delhi sultans had annexed it however it was not prudent due to the marshy lands of the region. Two years after the invasion of Bengal, Firuz built the city of Hisar and before his second invasion constructed the city of Firozabad on the banks of the Yamuna river.

Preceding Firuz's second invasion, the king of Sonargaon was slain by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah and his son-in-law Zafar Khan had fled to the court of Firuz in Hisar with preparations soon made in Delhi to avenge Zafar Khan's claims. Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah upon hearing of Firuz Shah's preparations for war, had fled from Ekdala to Sonargaon, deeper in Bengal for a securer position. Like the first invasion Firuz had amassed an army of seventy thousand men and marched towards Bengal in 1358, creating the city of Jaunpur named after the second sultan of the Tughlaq dynasty, Muhammad bin Tughluq during his expedition. Simultaneously, Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah had died and was succeeded by his son Sikandar Shah who was then to be besieged at Ekdala by the Delhi army. The outcome of the war led to the creation of a peace treaty with Sikandar Shah under the condition that Zafar Khan was to regain his dominion in Sonargaon which was accepted, both Firuz Shah and Sikandar Shah would send gifts including elephants and horses to commemorate the treaty.

On the return from Bengal, Firuz Shah was met with conflict from the Rai of Jajpur, modern day Odisha and in 1360 had invaded the region taking prisoners and spoils of war, such as horses and cattle, meanwhile the Rai of Odisha had surrendered and sued for peace promising an annual tribute of 20 elephants.

Conquest of Kangra

Firuz had received reports that the Rai of Kangra had raided his kingdom and plundered some of his districts, causing his march to Nagarkot. Whilst passing through the city of Sirhind, he built a canal connecting the Sarasvati River with the Markanda River and constructed a fort named Firuzpur. The Rai of Kangra secured himself in a fort at Nagarkot and taking advantage, the Sultan's army had plundered the country of Kangra and besieged the fort of the Rai for six months until he surrendered himself, but was permitted to retain his kingdom under the Fiefdom of Firuz.

The Nurpur kingdom centred in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh under Kailas Pal (1353–1397), who ruled alongside Firuz Shah, had been noted as a great ally of the Tughlaq dynasty. It had been written that Tatar Khan, a Khorasanian governor, had been defeated with his face slashed by Kailas Pal and was killed by the Gakhars upon his invasion of the Punjab, 5000 Mansabdar was gifted to him as a reward for this victory. Kailas Pal is also stated to have constructed an irrigation channel from the Ravi River to Pathankot. The Nurpur kingdom supposedly converted to Islam during the reign of Firuz Shah according to records and Firuz had also converted the Chauhan Rajputs from Hinduism to Islam.

Conquest of Thatta

In 1362, Firuz Shah set for Thatta, modern day Sindh, with ninety thousand horses and 480 elephants whilst collecting a large fleet of boats to accompany the army down the Indus River for his conquest. Firuz's horses suffered a great disease which wiped out three quarters of them and he decided to retreat to Gujarat to regain his strength and gather more horses. During the retreat, his army lacked food and his soldiers began to starve, the situation further worsened after 'treacherous guides' had led them to where there was no fresh water, causing some of their executions which induced the rest of the guides to lead the army to the fertile plains of Gujarat. In 1363, Firuz, after re-strengthening his forces, continued his expedition launching a surprise assault on Thatta, which inclined the people who were tilling their lands to apply a scorched earth policy, destroying their fields and taking shelter in mud forts west of the Indus River. Firuz dispatched two of his garrisons to cross the river and besiege the town but without much luck they were forced to retreat and gather more forces from Delhi. During this time the Delhi army reaped the crops from the conquered lands, replenishing food supplies whilst starving out the forces of Thatta causing the rulers to submit to Firuz with an annual tribute of four hundred thousand Tankas to be sent to Delhi.

Death

Due to his senile state, Firuz Shah had abdicated the throne to his son Muhammad Shah III in 1387 but after devoting his rule to pleasure and abstaining from royal duties, the Delhi nobles had set out against Muhammed causing Firuz to confer the royal titles upon his grandson, Tughluq Khan, the son of his deceased son Fateh Khan, who died in 1374. A year later in 1388, Firuz had died at the age of 78 or 79 after a rule of thirty seven years. His tomb is located in Hauz Khas, Delhi, close to the tank built by Alauddin Khalji and attached to the tomb is a madrasa built by Firuz in 1352–53.

Legend of Firuz Shah

According to legends the Gujari Mahal situated in Hisar, Haryana is where the story between Firoz Shah and his lover, a lady of the Gurjar tribe, took place.

According to the story, when one day Firuz went out for hunting he felt thirsty in the dense forest, but there was a great shortage of water there as the land there was sandy and uneven. Firoz was so thirsty that he fell down from the horse and fainted. During this time, a girl of the Gurjar tribe was passing from there who used to work as a milkmaid. When she saw him lying unconscious, she fed some milk to Sultan. Due to which Firuz regained consciousness.

After this, he started visiting this place often. Whenever the Sultan went for hunting, he would visit the Gurjar colony. Soon, Emperor Firoz Shah Tughlaq and Gujari became good friends. Later when Firoz ascended the throne, he went to her village and proposed to Gujari and asked her to accompany him to the throne of Delhi but Gujari refused to leave Hisar as she thought she would not be treated rightly by the other queens of Sultan. It is said that Emperor shifted his court from Delhi to Hisar to marry Gujari and there he built this special palace for his lover Gujari after their marriage. She became the favourite wife of Firuz.

Administrative policies

Firuz was a Sufi Muslim who tried to uphold the laws of Islam and adopted Sharia policies. He made a number of important concessions to theologians. He tried to ban practices that the orthodox theologians considered un-Islamic, an example being his prohibition of the practice of Muslim women going out to worship at the graves of saints. He persecuted a number of sects that were considered heretical by the Muslim theologians. Firuz took to heart the mistakes made during his cousin Muhammad's rule. He recognised the Deccan's independence and was indiscriminately benevolent and lenient as a sultan.

Rather than awarding position based on merit, Firuz allowed a noble's son to succeed to his father's position and jagir after his death. The same was done in the army, where an old soldier could send his son, son-in-law or even his slave in his place. He increased the salary of the nobles. He stopped all kinds of harsh punishments such as cutting off hands. He also lowered the land taxes that Muhammad had raised. Firuz's reign has been described as the greatest age of corruption in medieval India: He once gave a golden tanka to a distraught soldier so that he could bribe the clerk to pass his sub-standard horse.

Firoz Shah's reign was marked by both administrative reforms and aggressive religious policies aimed at consolidating Islamic rule in India. A devout Muslim, he is known for his efforts to enforce Sharia law, which included widespread persecution of Hindus and destruction of their religious institutions. Firuz renovated Surya kund in the Dakshinaarka sun temple of Gaya and acknowledged its greatness. It has an inscription mentioning his name twice.

Infrastructure and education

Firuz instituted economic policies to increase the material welfare of his people. Many rest houses (''sarai''), gardens and tombs (Tughluq tombs) were built. He commissioned many public buildings in Delhi. He built the Firoz Shah Palace Complex at Hisar in 1354, over 300 villages and dug five major canals, including the renovation of the Prithviraj Chauhan era Western Yamuna Canal, for irrigation bringing more land under cultivation for growing grain and fruit. Firoz Shah founded several cities around Delhi, including Jaunpur, Firozpur, Hissar, Hansi, Firozabad, Fatehabad. Most of Firozabad was destroyed as subsequent rulers dismantled its buildings and reused the spolia as building materials, and the rest was subsumed as New Delhi grew. When the Qutb Minar was struck by lightning in 1368, knocking off its top storey, he replaced them with the existing two floors, faced with red sandstone and white marble. One of his hunting lodges, Shikargah, also known as Kushak Mahal, is situated within the Teen Murti Bhavan complex, Delhi. The nearby Kushak Road is named after it, as is the Tughlaq Road further on. He brought two Ashokan Pillars from Meerut, and a Topra near Radaur in Yamunanagar district of Haryana, carefully cut and wrapped in silk, to Delhi in bullock cart trains. He re-erected one of them on the roof of his palace at Firuz Shah Kotla.

Hindu religious works were translated from Sanskrit to Persian and Arabic. He had a large personal library of manuscripts in Persian, Arabic and other languages. A number of madrasas (Islamic religious schools) were opened to encourage the religious education of Muslims. He set up hospitals for the free treatment of the poor and encouraged physicians in the development of Unani medicine.Tibb Firoz Shahi (1990) by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, Department of History of Medicine and Science, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, 79pp He provided money for the marriage of girls belonging to poor families under the department of Diwan-i-Khairat.

Coin gallery

File:Gold Tanka of Firoz Shah Tughlaq.jpg, Gold tanka of Firuz Shah
File:Firoz Shah (1).jpg, Jital of 40 Rati
File:Firoz Shah (2).jpg, Billon Tanka of Hazrat Dehli Dated AH 771
File:Firoz Shah (3).jpg, Coin of 32 Rati
File:Firoz Shah (4).jpg, Jital of 40 Rati
File:Firoz sh.jpg, Jital of 40 Rati
File:Firoz Tughlaq.jpg, Jital of Firoz Shah

Notes

References

External links

The Dargah Qadam Sharif or Shrine of the Holy Foot, Delhi

{{Authority control

Tughluq sultans
Turkic peoples
1309 births
1388 deaths
14th-century Indian Muslims
14th-century Indian monarchs