Question

Mention the sources that provide a lot of information about the Delhi Sultans.

Answer 1

Hint:
The five successive Muslim dynasties that ruled in India are referred to as the “Delhi Sultanate”.
In 1206, the rule of the Delhi Sultanate was established by Qutub ud-Din Aibak.

Complete answer:
The series of five successive Muslim dynasties that ruled in India (1210–1526) is referred to as the “Delhi Sultanate”. It was founded after the defeat of Prithvi Raj Chauhan by Mohammad of Ghor, who ultimately captured Delhi in 1192. In 1206, the rule of the Delhi Sultanate was established by Qutub ud-Din Aibak, one of his generals, who proclaimed himself the sultan of Delhi and founded a line of rulers called the Slave dynasty. Iltutmish (1210–35) and Ghiyas-ud-din-Balban (1266–87) were among the dynasty's most illustrious rulers.

Some of the major sources of information about the Delhi Sultanate are:

Inscriptions: They are found on milestones, old coins, historical monuments, and tombstones.

Monuments: Several monuments were built by the Sultans of Delhi that reveal not only the cultural traditions of that period but also the living conditions, beliefs, faiths and the socio-cultural outlook of the rulers. One such monument is the Qutub Minar.

Tawarikh: The most valuable source of information about the Sultanate are “histories”, Tarikh (singular) or Tawarikh (plural), the history written in Persian, the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans. The Tawarikh were written by learned men, who often occupied important posts in the administration like the secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers, who both recounted events and advised rulers on governance.

Note
Keep the following details in mind:

> The authors of tawarikh hardly ever lived in villages. They used to live in cities (mainly Delhi).
> They wrote their histories for Sultans in the hope of getting rewards.
> These authors used to direct the rulers on the necessity to maintain an “ideal” social order based on birthright (Privileges claimed on account of birth) and gender distinctions ( Social and biological differences between men and women). Their ideas were not shared by everybody.