Faruqi Dynasty of Khandesh

                                                                    Fort Asirgarh

Situated in the Tapti valley, Khandesh was a province in the empire of Muhammad bin Tughluq, the second ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty. After the death of his successor Firoz Shah Tughluq (1309 –1388), Malik Raja Faruqi, then governor of Khandesh, declared his independence from Delhi Sultanate and founded the Faruqi (also spelt Farooqui) dynasty of Khandesh Sultanate. 

Malik Raja Faruqi strengthened his position by a matrimonial alliance under which he married his daughter to Hushang Shah, the Malwa ruler. He was succeeded by his son Nasir Khan (reigned 1399-1437) who succeeded in capturing the impregnable fort of Asirgarh from a Hindu chieftain by subterfuge.   

He built a new town which was named Burhanpur after Chishti Sufi saint Burhanuddin Gharib. In 1417, his invasion was repulsed by the Gujarat sultan Ahmad Shah whose suzerainty was acknowledged by him. The Gujarat Sultan, in turn, recognised Nasir’s right to rule over Khandesh.

Nasir’s successors, Adil Khan and Mubarak Khan, accepted suzerainty of Gujarat Sultanate. Adil Khan II (1457-1503) was more enterprising and established his overlordship on the Hindu rulers of the Garha –mandala and Gondwana. The later Faruqi rulers were weaklings. Dynastic rivalries offered the Sultans of Gujarat and Ahmadnagar opportunities to interfere in the affairs of Khandesh sultanate which was ultimately annexed into the Mughal Empire in 1601 during the reign of Akbar.  

 

Bahlul Khan Lodi: Founder of Lodi Dynasty

Bahlul (also written as Buhlol, Bahlol and Buhlul) Khan Lodi was the founder of the Lodi dynasty, the last of the five dynasties, the combination of which is known as Delhi sultanate. The Lodis, who were Afghan by race, ruled for seventy five years from 1451-1526 till their last ruler Ibrahim Lodi was defeated and killed by Babur in the First battle of Panipat in 1526 resulting in the establishment of Mughal empire in India.

Buhlul Lodi ruled for long thirty-nine years (1451-89). He was the governor of Lahore and Sirhind during the rule of Muhammad Shah of Sayyid dynasty. In 1451, Buhlul was given the throne of Delhi on a platter by Muhammad’s son Ala-ud-din Alam Shah, the last of the Sayyids. 

During Buhlul’s reign, Mahmud Shah of the Sharqi kingdom of Jaunpur tried to capture Delhi. He, however, failed in his attempt. Buhul compelled Ahmad Khan of Mewat, lsa Khan of Koil, Dariya Khan of Sambhal, Raja Pratap Singh of Mainpuri and Bhongaon, Mubarak Khan of Suket, Qutb Khan of Rewari, and the chiefs of Etawah, Chandwar and other districts of the Doab, to owe their allegiance to him. These chieftains were, however, not treated with iron hand by Buhul. As a result they readily submitted to the rule of Delhi Sultanate.

Buhlul’s biggest achievement was the conquest of the Sharqi kingdom of Jaunpur which was annexed into the Delhi Sultanate. His eldest surviving son Barbak Shah, was appointed governor of Jaunpur in 1486.

Buhlul Lodi died in l489, near the town of Jalali. His tomb is located adjacent to the shrine of the famous Sufi saint, Nasiruddin Chirag-e-Delhi, in Chirag Delhi area of South Delhi.

Ranthambhore Expedition of Ala-ud-din Khilji

Ala-ud-din was the second ruler of the Khilji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate (the combined period of five dynasties from 1206 to 1526). He succeeded to the throne in 1296 by killing his uncle and father-in-law Jalal-ud-din Firuz, who founded the Khilji Dynasty in 1290 by murdering Kaiquabad, the last ruler of the Ilabari Dynasty, known more popularly as the Slave Dynasty. 

Ala-ud-din was an imperialist. With his accession begins, as Sir Wolseley Haig says, “the imperial period of the Sultanate”. During the time of Ala-ud-din, Ranthambhore was ruled by the chivalrous Rajput chief Hamir Deva. An expedition sent by the Sultan in 1299 met with only limited success. The Rajputs could not be subdued completely. So Ala-ud-din himself marched to Ranthambhore and captured it in 1301. Hamir Deva was put to death. Ranmal, the minster who betrayed his master Hamir, was also killed by Ala-ud-din’s order. 

However, according to Hammir Mahakakavya, written by the Jaina poet Nayachandra Suri, Hamir Deva cut off his head with his own sword when he realized that he had been betrayed by his two generals Ratipala and Krishnapala, and his end was near.