Firoz Shah Tughlaq-ugc

Firoz Shah Tughlaq-ugc

1-After his accession Firoz Tughlaq was faced with the problem of preventing the imminent break up of Delhi

Sultunate. He adopted the police of trying to appease the nobility, the army and theologians and of asserting his authority over only such areas, which could be easily administered from the centre. He therefore made no attempt to re-assert his authority over South India and Deccan.

2-He decreed that whenever a noble died his son should be allowed to succeed to his position including his Iqta and if he had no sons, his son-in-law and in his absence his slave.

3-Firoz extended the principle of heredity to the army. Soldiers were allowed to rest in peace and to send in their place their sons. The soldiers were not paid in cash but by assignments on land revenue of villages. This novel technique of payment led to many abuses.

4-Firoz tried to win over the theologians proclaiming that he was a true Muslim king and the state under him was truly Islamic. In order to keep the theologians satisfied a number of them were appointed to high offices.

5-He tried to ban practices, which the orthodox theologians considered un-Islamic. Thus he prohibited the practice of Muslim women going out to worship at graves of saints. It was during the time of Firoz that Jizya became a separate tax. Firoz refused to exempt the Brahamanas from payment of Jizya since this was not provided for in Shariat.

6-The new system of taxation was according to Quran. Four kinds of taxes sanctioned by the Quran were imposed and those were Kharaj, Zakat. Jizya and Khams. Kharaj was the land tax, which was equal to 1 /10 of the produce of the land. Zakat was 2Wk

tax on property. Jizya was levied on non-Muslims and Khams was 1/6 of the booty captured during war.

7-In order to encourage agriculture, the Sultan paid a lot of attention to irrigation. Firoz repaired a number of canals. The first canal was from Sutlej to Ghaggar. The second canal carried the waters of Jamuna to the city of Hissar. The third canal started from neighbourhood of Mandhavi and Sirmour Hills and connected with Hansi. The fourth canal flowed from the Ghaggar by the fort of Sirsuti up to village of Hiram - Khera.

8-He was a great builder, to his credit are cities of Fathabad, Hissar. Jaunapur and Firozabad. During his Bengal campaign he renamed Ikdala as Azadpur and Pandua as Firozabad. The two pillars of Asoka, one from Topra and another from Meerut were brought to Delhi.

9-The Sultan established at Delhi, a hospital described variously as Dar-ul-shifa, Bimaristan and Shifa Khana. The chief architect of slate was Malik Ghazi Shainan who was assisted in work by Abdul Haq.

10-A new department of Diwan-i-Khairat was set up to make provision for marriage of poor girls.

11-Another step which Firoz took was both economic and political in nature. He ordered his officials that

whenever they attacked a place they should select handsome and wellborn young boys and send them to Sultan as slaves

12-However his rule is marked by peace and tranquility and credit for it goes to his Prime Minister Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul.