Indian History

Ishwar Das Nagar was the most remarkable Hindu historiographer during the reign of the sixth and last most notable Mughal monarch Aurangzeb.  He was the author of the Fatuhat-i-Alamgiri, t he only literary work that was composed under the patronage of Aurangzeb who was otherwise opposed to the encouragement of arts and letters.  The Fatawa-i-Alamgiri has been described as "the greatest digest of Muslim law made in India".

It was during the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud (1394-1413), the last of the Tughluq rulers, in the years 1398-99, that Amir Timur, the terrible Mongol military leader of Central Asia, invaded India creating havoc in the forms of massacres and plunders. Also known as Tamerlane, Timur (April 8, 1336–February 18, 1405) was a ferocious conqueror who is known in history for razing cities to the ground and putting entire populations to the sword.  Amir Timur was born in A.D. 1336 at Kesh (now known as Shahrisabz) in Transoxiana. Son of Amir Turghay, chief of the Gurkan branch of the Barlas Turks, Amir Timur ascended the throne of Samarqand in 1369 and overran the countries of Persia, Afghanistan and Mesopotamia. Amir Timur was emboldened to attack India due to the chaotic condition prevailing during the times of the later Tughluq rulers. However as his nobles and soldiers were not in favour of undertaking military campaign to India, he declared that his main object for invading the country...

Malik Maqbul, more famously known as  Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul, was the prime minister (Na'ib Wazir) of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, the last great ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty. He was given the title of Khan-i-Jahan by the Tughlaq Sultan. Maqbul, though illiterate but a very able administrator, was originally a Brahmin from Telangana in the service of Kakatiya Kingdom  which was annexed to the Delhi Sultanate during the Tughlaq rule. He was brought to Delhi where he became a convert to Islam. As is the case with neo-converts, he tried his best to show his zeal for new faith.  Impressed by his talent, Muhammad bin Tughlaq gave Maqbul the fief of Multan. As mentioned at the outset Maqbul was elevated to the exalted position of the prime minister by Firoz Tughlaq, successor of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. After the death of Maqbul in 1370, his son, Juna Shah, was made the prime minister by Firoz. He was, however, killed by Muhammad Khan, the third son of Firoz Tughlaq, when Juna Shah trie...

Ibrahim Lodi Tomb, Panipat Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Lodi rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, is a famous personality in the Indian history whose defeat by Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire, in the first Battle of Panipat in 1526 led to the foundation of a new dynasty, named the Mughal empire, in India which lasted till 1857. Ibrahim Lodi, the eldest son of Sikandar Lodi, succeeded to the Delhi throne after his father’s death in 1517.  After becoming the Lodi Sultan, he assumed the title of Ibrahim Shah.   Military campaigns of Ibrahim Lodi The greatest military achievement of Ibrahim was the subjugation of Gwalior which was then being ruled by Vikramajit whose father Man Singh had successfully frustrated designs of previous Lodi ruler Sikandar Lodi. Ibrahim sent an army to the principality of Gwalior on the pretext that Vikramajit had offered shelter to Ibrahim‘s younger brother, Jalal Khan, who also eyed the Delhi throne. Jalal Khan was killed on the order of Ibrah...

Dadu was the most important of the religious teachers who taught the ideals of Kabir with great force. He was born to Brahmin parents in 1544 AD in Ahmedabad in Gujarat.  He, however, spent most part of his life in Rajasthan where he died in 1603 in the village of Narana or Narayana which is presently the chief centre of his followers who are called by the name of Dadu-panthis. A contemporary of Mughal emperor Akbar, Dadu taught the brotherhood of all faiths and founded Brhama-sampradaya or Parabrahma- sampradaya to give effect to his doctrine. It is said that it was at the instance of Dadu that the Mughal emperor ordered the ban of cow-slaughter in his empire. A non-believer in the authority of scriptures, Dadu stressed the importance of self-realization. According to him, this realization can be attained by complete surrender to God and making ourselves free from egotism. Sundaradasa (1597-1689) and Rajjab were the famous disciples of Dadu. Famous Quote of Dadu “Be humble and fr...

Rukn-ud-din Firuz was the ruler of the Slave dynasty who was placed on the throne of Delhi Sultanate by the nobles of the court in deference to the wishes of the Slave Sultan Iltutmish who had nominated his daughter Razia as his successor before his death in April, 1236. Iltutmish's eldest son, Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, who was also his favourite child and the ablest among the children , died in April, A.D. 1229. Nasir-ud-din Mahmud was governor of Bengal at that time. Since Rukn-ud-din Firuz, Iltutmish’s eldest surviving son, was incompetent and lazy and indulged in sensual pleasures, the Sultan thought it prudent to nominate Razia as heir-apparent . However, the anointment of a woman was not liked by the nobles and courtiers. So his wish was thrown to the dustbin and Rukn-ud-din Firuz became the next Slave Sultan. Rukn-ud-din Firuz’s reign did not last long as the kingdom plunged into utter chaos and disorder due to the undue influence of his mother Shah Turkhan, an inordinate...

In 1397 Taj-ud-din Firuz Shah, popularly known as Firuz Shah Bahmani, usurped the throne of the Bhamani kingdom which came into existence in 1347 in the Deccan as a revolt against the rule of the Tughlaq Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq of the Delhi Sultanate. The most famous ruler of the Bahmani kingdom, Firuz Shah was a grandson Alauddin Hasan Bahmani, the founder of the dynasty. Sayyid Ali Tabataba, the author of Burhan-i-Ma'asir , describes him as ' a good, just, and generous king, who supported himself by copying the Quran’. According to him, Firuz "was an impetuous and a mighty monarch, and expended all his ability and energy in eradicating and destroying tyranny and heresy, and he took much pleasure in the society of the Shekhs, learned men and hermits". An interesting personality in the history of Deccan, Firuz Shah is counted among the most learned rulers of his time. Endowed with a prodigious memory and keen intellect, he was a linguist and could converse freely ...