Economy of the Delhi Sultanate (Market Control Policies, Land Revenue System)

At a Glance

• Currency Silver tanka and copper dirham
• Land revenue Measured and cash-based under Alauddin
• Rural elite Khuts and muqaddams
• Trade Textiles, horses, spices; Multanis, Gujaratis, Marwaris
• New technology Spinning wheel, paper, rahat, carder’s bow
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Medieval History: The Delhi Sultanate

Where Does It Fit?

This is the ninth topic of the category on the Delhi Sultanate. The previous topic described the structure of government, and this topic covers the economy that financed it. The next topic covers the towns that grew with trade. Previous topic: Administration of the Delhi Sultanate (Iqta System, Central and Provincial Administration).

How Did Agriculture and Rural Society Work?

In short: peasants made up most of the population and lived at bare subsistence, while a better-off layer of owner-cultivators, headmen and landlords shared power in the village.

Rice and sugarcane were grown in the east and south, and wheat and oilseeds in the north. Ibn Battuta wrote that the soil gave two crops a year, and that rice was sown three times a year. Sesame, indigo and cotton were also grown, and these supported village industries like oil pressing, jaggery making, weaving and dyeing. Famines and wars added to the peasant’s hardships.

The owner cultivators were thought of as the original settlers of a village and dominated the panchayat. The headmen (muqaddams) and smaller landlords (khuts) lived better, held lands at concessional revenue rates and sometimes forced ordinary peasants to pay their share. Alauddin cut their privileges, but they recovered after his death. The Hindu rais, or autonomous rajas, kept their estates and stayed powerful, even in areas under direct rule.

How Did Land Revenue Change?

Alauddin’s measures influenced Sher Shah and Akbar. The state’s main sources of income were land revenue, trade tolls, jizya and plunder.

What Was Alauddin’s Market Control?

Alauddin fixed the prices of everything from foodgrains and cloth to horses, cattle and slaves in three Delhi markets run by officers called shahnas. He did it to support a large cavalry on low salaries against the Mongols. The state bought grain cheap from registered banjaras and kept warehouses to release in famine. A man (about 15 kg) of wheat sold at 7.5 jitals, barley at 4 and rice at 5, with 48 jitals to a silver tanka. Prices rose sharply under Muhammad bin Tughlaq and came almost back to Alauddin’s level under Firoz, probably because cultivation expanded. The control ended with Alauddin’s death, though the full details are in the topic on the Khalji dynasty.

How Did Trade and Currency Grow?

The consolidation of the Sultanate, better communications and a sound currency based on the silver tanka and the copper dirham led to a definite growth of trade and of towns. Bengal and Gujarat towns were famous for fine fabrics, Cambay for textiles and gold and silver work, and Sonargaon for raw silk and fine cotton cloth. India imported high-grade textiles, glassware and horses from West Asia, raw silk and porcelain from China, ivory from Africa and spices from Southeast Asia, and a favourable trade balance brought in gold and silver. Arabs led the Indian Ocean trade, but Tamil, Kalinga and Gujarati traders stayed active, and Marwaris and Gujaratis, often Jains, handled coastal trade, along with Muslim Bohras. Multanis, mostly Hindu but including Muslims such as Khurasanis, Afghans and Iranians, controlled overland trade with Central and West Asia and lent money to nobles.

Which New Crafts and Techniques Spread?

The Turks introduced or popularised the iron stirrup, armour, paper-making, glass-making, the spinning wheel, the carder’s bow (dhunia) and an improved loom. The rahat, miscalled the Persian wheel, was improved so that water could be raised from deeper levels. A superior mortar let builders raise arches and domes. The post was carried by relays of horses or runners posted in towers, and royal roads such as the one from Peshawar to Sonargaon kept goods moving. These changes, together with agricultural growth, made the second half of the fourteenth century a time of relative affluence.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Core topic Market control and land revenue are standard questions
• Continuity Links Alauddin to Sher Shah and Akbar
• Trade and crafts Explains the urban growth of the Sultanate

What Came Next?

The next topic covers towns, their people and town life under the Sultanate. Next topic: Urbanization During the Delhi Sultanate.

Key People and Terms

• Tanka Silver coin
• Dirham Copper coin
• Khut Landowner of a village
• Muqaddam Village headman
• Rahat Improved water-lifting device
• Dhunia Cotton carder’s bow

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions on the Sultanate economy ask about revenue and trade. These points add depth.

• Revenue Cash assessment and direct collection
• Trade Merchant groups and foreign exchange
• Technology Spinning wheel, paper and rahat