Firuz Shah Tughluq
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Firuz Shah Tughlaq (also known as Firoz Shah Tughluq) was a Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty (1351 - 1388). He succeeded his cousin Muhammad bin Tughluq following the later's death from a fatal illness, but due to widespread unrest Firuz's realm was much smaller than Muhammed's. Firuz was forced by rebellions to concede virtual independence to Bengal and other provinces. He was known as an iconoclast.
Firoz probably learnt many lessons from his cousin Muhammad's rule. He decided not to reconquer areas that had broken away. He decided to keep nobles and the Ulema happy so that they would allow him to rule his kigdom peacefully. In fact, there were hardly any rebellions during his rule. We come to know about him from a 32-page brochure he wrote. Firoz allowed a noble's son to succeed to his father;s position and jagir after his death. The same was done in the army, where an old soldier could send his son, son-in-law or even his slave in his place. He won over the Ulemas by giving them grants of revenue, which gave him political power. He increased the salary of the nobles. He stopped all kinds of harsh punishments such as cutting off hands. Firoz also lowered the land taxes that Muhammad had raised.
He was the first Muslim ruler to think of the material welfare of his people. Many rest houses, gardens and tombs were built. A number of madrasas (schools) were opened to encourage education. He set up hospitals for the free treatment of the poor. He provided money for marriage of girls belonging to poor families.He also commissioned many public buildings in Delhi. He built over 300 villages and dug 5 major canals for irrigation. More land came under cultivation. Plenty of grains and fruits were grown.
Hindu religious works were translated form Sanskrit to Persian. He had a large personal library full of manuscripts in Persian, Arabic and other languages. He brought 2 Ashokan Pillars from Meerut and Topara, carefully wrapped in silk cloth, to Delhi. He re-erected one of them in his palace at Firoz Shah Kotla.
He had about 1,80,000 or 180,000 slaves, who had been brought from all over the country, trained in various arts and crafts. They however turned out to be undependable.
Firoz Shah's death led to many rebellions. His lenient attitude had weakened the sultan's position. His successor Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughluq II could not control the slaves and the nobles. The army had become weak. Slowly the empire shrank in size. After 10 years of his death, Timur's invasion devastated Delhi.
References
- Romila Thapar. 1966. A History of India, Volume I. Penguin Books.
- Time, Sapce & People :-- VIIth standard Social Science book. Published by OXFORD India.ja:フィーローズ＝シャー＝トゥグルク