10.4 The Tughlaq Dynasty · Part 4

a prolonged and severe famine in the Doab. The peasants who rebelled were harshly dealt with. The famine was linked to the oppressive and arbitrary collection of land revenue. The Sultan established a separate department ( Diwan-i-Amir Kohi ) to take care of agriculture. Loans were advanced to farmers for purchase of cattle, seeds and digging of wells but to no avail. Officers appointed to monitor the crops were not efficient; the nobility and important officials were of diverse background. Besides, the Sultan’s temperament had also earned him a lot of enemies. Ala-ud-din Khalji had not annexed distant territories knowing full well that they could not be effectively governed. He preferred to establish his suzerainty over them. But Muhammad annexed all the lands he conquered. Therefore, at the end of his reign, while he faced a series of rebellions, his repressive measures further alienated his subjects. Distant regions like Bengal, Madurai, Warangal, Awadh, Gujarat and Sind hoisted the flags of rebellion and the Sultan spent his last days fighting rebels. While he was frantically engaged in pursuing a rebel leader in Gujarat, he fell ill, and died at the end of his th regnal year ( ). Firuz Shah Tughlaq ( – ) Firuz’s father, Rajab, was the younger brother of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq. Both had come from Khurasan during the reign of Ala- ud-din Khalji. Rajab who had married a Jat princess had died when Firuz was seven years old. When Ghiyas-ud-din ascended the throne, he gave Firuz command of a , strong cavalry force. Later Firuz was made in charge of one of the four divisions of the Sultanate. XI History - Lesson - - Advent of Arabs and Turks Firuz Tughlaq’s Tomb Timur’s Invasion The last Tughlaq ruler was Nasir-ud- din Muhammad Shah ( – ), whose reign witnessed the invasion of Timur from Central Asia. Turkish Timur, who could claim a blood relationship with the th century great Mongol Chengiz Khan, ransacked Delhi virtually without any opposition. On hearing the news of arrival of Timur, Sultan Nasir-ud-din fled Delhi. Timur also took Indian artisans such as masons,