Lodi dynasty | History | Rulers | UPSC

November 12, 2020June 6, 2021 Editorial Staff

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Lodi dynasty History

The Lodi Dynasty was the first Afghan Dynasty in India which ruled from 1451 to 1526, In the beginning, people of this dynasty used to live in the region of Sulaiman mountain, and they were dependent on animal husbandry and occasionally plundered the wealthy neighborhoods, besides, It was the last dynasty of Delhi sultanate.

During that period, Afghani people were very courageous, and they were able to do rebels in mountainous regions, so the Ilbari rulers of India used Afghani people to strengthen their empire and occupy their hostile mountainous areas.

During the reign of Firoz Tughlaq, the first Afghan was select governor later who also became a Sultan for a few days in Daulatabad, Malik Veer, was chosen as the governor of the Bihar, besides Daulat Khan was the first Afghan who attained supreme power of Delhi.

Lodi dynasty Rulers

Bahlul Khan Lodi	1451 to 1489
Sikandar Lodi	1489 to 1517
Ibrahim Lodi	1517 to 1526

Bahlul Lodi

Bahlul Lodi was born on 1 June 1401 before becoming a ruler of the Lodi dynasty, He has several horses that he sold to the Sayyid dynasty, and instead of cash, Bahlul received the title of “Amir” After that, He started working under the Sayyid regime.

In 1451 he ascended to the throne and became a ruler of Delhi, then he took the title of “GHAZI” and then extended the boundaries of his empire, but before Death, he had declared his successor to his son “Nizam khan or “Sikandar Lodi” and bahlul died in 1489, at the age of 88.

Bahlul Lodi also introduced coins named Bahloli, which remain continue in use till Akbar came to power,

He was not religiously fanatical, and he included many Hindus in the administration like Raikaran Singh, Ray Pratap Singh, Narsingh and Trilokchand

Sikandar Lodi (1489 to 1517)

Sikandar Lodi was the younger son of Bahlul Lodi, he was born on 17 July 1458, and his real name was Nizam khan, Later becoming a ruler, Sikandar ended the tradition of ethnic equality and empire division prevalent among the Afghan people.

He had conquered Jaunpur by defeating his elder brother Barabak and merged jaunpur in the Delhi Sultanate.

By the end of 1494, He had conquered the complete area of Bihar, then he also invaded the Rajputana kingdoms of eastern Rajasthan and won Dholpur, Narwar, Mandrella, Chanderi, Nagaur, and Uttari, and took control over these Rajput states.

In 1504 AD, Sikandar Lodi established Agra City and built a fort of Badalgarh.

In 1506 AD, He declared Agra as his capital.

After that, Sikandar Lodi also attacked Gwalior and start collecting tax from there, but could not be merged Gwalior in the Delhi Sultanate.

Sikandar focused on agriculture and commerce trade, and he removed the zakat tax and started giving protection to all traders through strict law and order in the state.

He introduced Gaj-e-Sikandari ( A 30 inches long scale to measuring the land), besides he also took steps for the development of education and took madrassas under his control, and then he provided non-religious education in all madrassas.

It’s believed that he tried to destroyed temples in Chamberi, Mandrella, and Dholpur during his expedition, Sikandar had also banned Muharram and prevented Muslim women from going to Graveyard.

On his order, the Sanskrit treatise of Ayurveda is translated into Persian as Farhang-e-Sikandari.

During his period, a treatise on music in the Persian language was written as Lajjat-e-Sikandari.

Ibrahim Lodi (1517 to 1526)

He was the son of Sikandar Lodi

Ibrahim defeated Gwalior ruler Vikramjit, and merged Gwalior in Sultanate and included Vikramjit in the administration, and gave him the state of Shamsabad.

During the Ibrahim Lodi period, an Afghan named Darya Khan Lohani becomes an independent ruler of Bihar by the name of Muhammad Shah.

In 1518 AD Ibrahim Lodi was defeated by Rana Sanga In the Battle of Khatoli.

In April 1526 AD, Ibrahim Lodi was killed in the first war of Panipat by the Mughal ruler (Zaheer Uddin Muhammad Babur) also the first Muslim ruler of India to die in war was Ibrahim Lodi.

Lodi dynasty Architecture

Bahlol Lodi Tomb
Sikandar Lodi’s tomb
Moti Mosque
Tomb Bade khan and Chote khan
Yellow Dome
Sheesh Dome
Taj Khan Dome

Bahlol Lodi Tomb

The tomb of bahlul Lodi is constructed with red stones, and it was built by Sikander Lodi, This tomb has three arches and door-pillars

It has five domes and the central dome is the tallest.

Sikandar Lodi tomb

This tomb is built by Ibrahim Lodi, and eight pillars are built around this dome, there are very high bastions around it,

In this tomb an attempt has been made to avoid the defects of octagonal tombs, therefore, it also inspired Mughal.

Moti Mosque

It was built by the minister of Sikander Lodi, According to Sir John Marshall

Tomb Bade khan and Chote khan

This tomb was built by Sikandar Lodi, also in that period Jama Masjid, Bada Dome, Dadi’s Dome, Yellow Dome, Sheesh Dome, Taj Khan’s Dome, etc. Were famous.

Percy Brown referred to this era as the ‘Age of Tomb