13th And 14th Centuries

In the 13th and 14th centuries, a period of turmoil known as the Delhi sultanate occurred in Delhi. The Khaljī dynasty had ruled there beginning in 1290; they were displaced by Shaybani sultans around 1320. This period was a time of great cultural and artistic flourishing, especially in architecture. The Khaljī period marked the culmination of the movement, which developed in northern India as an expression of Islam and produced from, among others, the architectural masterpieces of Muhammad Shah (Nasir al-Din) and Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. 

The Sultans ruled from their capital Delhi and later from Daulatabad near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

Delhi sultanate: 

The Delhi Sultanate was a Muslim sultanate based mostly in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). Five dynasties ruled over the 

Delhi Sultanate sequentially: the Mamluk dynasty (1206–90), the Khalji dynasty (1290–1320), and the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1414), the Sayyid dynasty (1414–51) and the Lodi dynasty (1451–1526).

Delhi Sultanate (1414–1537 AD)

The Delhi Sultanate’s control of India began in 1414 and lasted till 1526–1528. The last sultan of the dynasty, Sikandar Lodi (r. 1489–1517), expanded the kingdom to the south of the Narmada River in today’s central India and re-established the Delhi Sultanate a regional power. The area around Agra was under the control of the Hindushahi dynasty from 1526 to 1529, when Babur defeated Ibrahim Shah of Pakistan.

The current structure of Gol Gumbaz was built by his Muslim saint son Muhammad-Bin-Tughluq (r. 1325–1351). It is a huge, domed structure of red sandstone built over the earlier 13th-century tomb of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq (r. 1290–1296).

The Qutb Minar was started in 1192 by Qutb-ud-din Aybak in memory of the Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki. It was completed in 1223 after being enlarged by Iltutmish. Its height is, and with the addition of its platform, it stands tall. The tower has been damaged at various times in history, and today is about 30 ft (10 m) shorter than when it was originally built.

Firoz Shah’s tomb (also known as Humayun’s tomb) was built by Khan-i-Khanan, who completed it around 1462. It is one of the largest tombs in India. Its construction is credited to a Persian architect named Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, who was also responsible for constructing the tomb of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq (r. 1290–1296). Firoz Shah’s tomb is surrounded by a garden with a large tank called “Hauz-i-Alai”. The structure is spread over and stands on an elevated terrace guarded by a set of monumental gateways.

Central Asia in the 13th- 14th Centuries: 

The Chaghatai Ids (1225–1389) in Central Asia, The Timurids (1370–1507) in Afghanistan and Pakistan

The Chaghatai Ids:

The Chagatai Khanate was a Mongol and Turkish khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan, the second son of Genghis Khan, and his descendants and successors. Initially, it was a part of the Mongol Empire, but it became a functionally separate khanate with the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire after 1259. The Chagatai Khanate recognized the nominal supremacy of the Yuan dynasty in 1304 but became split into two parts in the mid-14th century: the Western Chagatai Khanate and the Moghulistan Khanate.

Khaljī dynasty: 

The Khaljī dynasty was the second royal dynasty of Afghanistan, ruling from 1370 to 1501. This dynasty was founded by Mirwais Hotak and lasted until 1501. It ruled the cities of Ghazni, Kandahar and Herat and parts of Persia as far west as Sabzevar (Sistan). Pashtun tribal chiefs formed the Khaljī dynasty in the early years of the 15th century. They ruled until 1789, when the Hotak dynasty succeeded them.

The Timurid Empire:

The Timurid Empire was founded by Timur (also known as Tamerlane), a Turco-Mongol from Noyan’s (warlord’s) family. It became fragmented into two branches, one in Central Asia and one in Persia. One of the Timurid branches that ruled over modern-day Afghanistan was Babur’s line of descendants. Timur’s ancestors had been warlords of Turco-Mongol origin in Transoxiana (now eastern Uzbekistan), and he was a descendant of Genghis Khan and Chagatai Khan. Timur gained control of Transoxiana by conquering Central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia. Through these various conquests, he also confronted the powerful Persian Empire.

The Lodhi dynasty:

The Lodhi dynasty (1451–1526) was a Hindu dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. The dynasty will forever be remembered in the annals of Indian history for being the catalyst that initiated one of the most important revolutions in Indian history, the beginning of a process whose end we are still witnessing: The rise of the middle class and its eventual political dominance. In particular, this is one event that has truly come to pass, as predicted by Ibn Batuta.

Conclusion: 

From the late 13th century until the beginning of the 16th, successive waves of invaders from Central Asia, such as Timur, Tamerlane and Babur, plundered Indian wealth. India’s economy began to change from one based on simple agricultural production to one more sophisticated and based on commercial trade. While these invasions were destructive and had large social consequences, they also stimulated Indian statecraft and localism, resulting in greater political freedom for the population. The Mughal rulers – who had already established a strong foothold in North India by the early 16th century – completed the process of conquest by capturing Delhi in 1526.