Allaudin Khilji

Milatary Regulations of Alauddin Khalji

In the earlier period of Ala-ud-Din reign several of his nobles broke out in open revolt. After deliberate thinking he came to the conclusion that excess of money with the Amirs, habit of drinking wine, inter-mixing of nobles and Sultan’s own negligence were the root causes of these rebellions. Therefore he took several to curb seditions and revolts:
a. Confiscation of Wealth. Ala-ud-Din confiscated the Jagirs of the Amirs and the nobles. He also confiscated their wealth on one pretext or the other. He reduced them to such a state of poverty that most of the time they were worried about a square meal a day. In such circumstance they could hardly think of any revolt.
b. Ban on inter-mixing among Nobles. The Amirs and the nobles were prohibited from entertaining one another at feasts and parties of contracting matrimonial alliances, without the Sultan’s permission. It was done so that they
might not form a group or hatch a conspiracy or sedition against the Sultan. Now the Amirs kept themselves shut in their homes.
c. The Spy-System. Ala-ud-Din had spread a strong spy-system throughout his realm. It helped him in keeping close vigilance on all happenings in his kingdom as well as on the activities of his Amirs and nobles and to defeat and
curb their seditious designs before they were hatched. The Amirs were so scared of these spies that they were afraid even of expressing their personal views openly.


Market Regulations of Alauddin Khalji


Alauddin’s measures to control the markets were one of the most important policy initiative. Since Alauddin wanted to maintain a large army, he therefore, lowered and fixed the price of the commodities of daily use. To control the prices, Alauddin set up three different markets for different commodities in Delhi. These markets were the grain market (Mandi), cloth market (Sarai Adl) and the market for horses, slaves, cattles, etc. To ensure implementation, Alauddin appointed a superintendent (Shahna-i-Mandi) who was assisted by an intelligence officer. Apart
from Shahna-i-Mandi, Alauddin received daily reports of the market from two other independent sources, barid (intelligence officer) and munhiyans (secret spies). Any violation of Sultan’s orders resulted in harsh punishment, including expulsion from the capital, imposition of fine, imprisonment and mutilation.
Control of prices of horses was very important for the Sultan because without the supply of good horses at reasonable price to army, the efficiency of the army could not be ensured. Low price in the horse market were ensured by putting a stop to the purchase of horses by horse dealers and brokers (dalals) in Delhi market.


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