Alauddin Khilji was a powerful and capable monarch. He established a powerful central government. He believed in the sultan as the state’s greatest authority. Therefore, he believed in divine right theory. The Sultan regarded himself as a divine messenger or “Shadow of God.” As a result, he forbade secret gatherings or parties and matrimonial contacts between nobility or officers. He assigned spies to keep an eye on them and seized their assets. He forbade the consumption of alcohol or gambling. Alauddin Khilji avoided ulemas’ influence in governance. Let’s discuss the reign of Alauddin khilji in Gujarat, Ranthambore, Chittor and many other places in detail.

Alauddin Khilji’s Administrative Policies

Alauddin Khilji was a ruthless ruler who wielded absolute power over his huge realm.

• Suppressed rebellions: Alauddin was a man of efficiency and sternness. With a heavy hand, he put down rebellions
• Various laws were enacted: To avoid such problems, he passed regulations prohibiting the consumption of wine, prohibiting social gatherings among the nobles, and perhaps even prohibiting inter-marriage among them without his consent
• Spies: He had a slew of spies who kept him up to date on his subjects’ actions
• Taxes: As a result, he imposed high levies on his subjects. The wealthiest were, of course, charged the higher taxes
• Army: Sultan Alauddin Khilji recognised the importance of having a well-trained army. Only at great expenditure could it be accomplished. To save money on military expenditures, the Sultan set a price for each item and tried to make things available at low prices
• The fountainhead of the administrative system: The Sultan was the apex of the administrative hierarchy. Earlier Muslim kings administered according to Koranic principles, with the Ulemas, or Muslim divines, having a considerable role in policy development

Alauddin Khilji, on the other hand, was different from his forefathers in this regard. He refused to enable the Ulemas to establish administrative norms. His attitude toward government and its aims is summed up in these lines.

Reign of Alaudin Khilji (1296 – 1316)

Alaudin Khilji established the Sultanate of Delhi and began annexing Indian countries.

The following is a list of his annexed kingdoms:

Gujarat (1299)

• Upon becoming ruler, this was his first expedition
• He was well aware of Gujarat’s poor economic situation well before assuming the throne, and hence he found it incredibly simple to target Gujarat
• Due to the onslaught, the King of Gujarat at the time, ‘Karna,’ fled with his family to Devagiri near Maharashtra
• Moreover, his daughter Deval Devi was apprehended on the way when Alauddin married her to his son Khijr Khan
• Malik Kafur, an enslaved person, met Alauddin here and played a significant part in his reign

Ranthambore (1301)

• The Chauhan dynasty ruled over it. Hammira Dev was the ruler at the time
• The ‘new Muslims’ found refuge with Hammira Dev
• Alauddin did not appreciate it and assaulted Ranthambore as a result
• Alauddin conquered Hammira Dev Chauhan in this battle
• Therefore in the Ranthambore battle, one of his main sardars, ‘Nusrat Khan,’ was killed

Chittor (1303)

• Chittor was invaded because it stood in the path of a trade route to Gujarat
• Alauddin was assisted in this battle by Amir Khusrow, a prominent Sufi poet and philosopher
• After its victory, the fort was renamed Khijrabad
• Khijr Khan, Alauddin’s son, was given the name
• Besides the successes mentioned above, he was also victorious in Malwa, Jalore, and Marwar. After that, he began expanding into South India

Devgiri (1306-07)

• It was ruled by the Yadav dynasty, which king Ramdev commanded during this time
• When Ramdev refused to pay the monthly tax to Alauddin, the kingdom of Devgiri was assaulted
• Ramdev was apprehended and taken to Delhi, where he eventually surrendered

Telangana/Warangal (1308)

• Pratap Rudra Dev, the emperor of the Kakatiya dynasty, ruled here
• His realm was extremely wealthy, which finally lured Alauddin to attack
• He obeyed Alauddin’s command and presented him with the Kohinoor diamond

Dwar Samudra (1310)

• It was situated on the west coast of the Indian state of Karnataka
• Ballala III was the ruler of the Hoysala dynasty

Conclusion

Alauddin Khilji had a large and powerful standing army to protect his realm. To avoid fake musters and unethical activities, he instituted a system of horse branding (dagh) and the keeping of a detailed register of soldiers. Alauddin abolished the Jagir system and replaced it with a cash payment system. He was the first Muslim ruler to defeat and conquer India’s southern regions effectively. In every fight he fought in South India, he overcame the kings. The generals Malik Kafur and Khubrav Khan, in particular, backed him in his attempt to depose the monarchs.

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