Delhi under the Sultanate

Type:

Book Chapter

Author:

K. A. Nizami

Published:

2020

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

From Indraprastha to New Delhi, the city has undergone many transformations and incarnations. It was during the Sultanate period, from 1206–1526, however, that it assumed importance as the capital city of the Mamluk, Khilji, Tughlaq and Lodhi dynasties. With occasional interludes, Delhi has since remained the capital. However, not only every dynasty but virtually every sultan chose to build his fortifications in a different area and around it came up a new city. Thus Delhi grew as a conglomerate of several urban habitats. This chapter deals with the rich social, cultural, economic, and spiritual life of the city in all these different avatars, with particular emphasis on life in the Sufi <italic>khaneqah</italic>s and their contribution towards forging a composite cultural and civilizational ethos. Amir Khusrau and his poetry are a celebrated chapter of the period and are accorded expansive treatment.

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