Central administration in the Delhi sultanate during the period of Ilbari Turks (slave dynasty) was carried out mostly by trusted slaves [appointed to administrative positions
by the sultan] who had helped the sultan to acquire the throne; or by the members of the
royal household and family. Loyalty was therefore a prerequisite for holding the high
office and was given the highest rewards. The Sultan was the head of the administration
with all military, administrative and legal powers. A number of separate departments
were created to look after different aspects of administration. We will discuss these
separately under this section.

Wizarat

After the seat of the sultan, the most important office in the sultanate was the Diwan-
i-Wizarat, headed by the wazir. He had under him a naib wazir. Derived from the
Persian and Abbasid traditions, the wazir [prime minister] was the most important person
in the royal court, and his role was of a general supervisor over all departments. He was
the primary advisor to the sultan, and often gave advice which, in retrospect it is possible
to say, may have shaped the course of history. For instance, Nizam ul-Mulk Junaidi, the
wazir of Sultan Iltutmish is credited with the famous warning to the sultan that Muslims
in India were like ‘salt in a dish’, i.e., a minority who could easily be overturned. The
wisdom reflected in such a statement reveals both the strength required to occupy the
position, as also the importance given to the office by the sultan. Theoretically, the wazir
was supposed to take the sultan’s permission prior to every decision he made; however,
in practice it may not have been so as is evident from the cases when wazirs would
actually become more powerful than the sultans. The case of the wazir Khwaja Muhazzab
[in the reign of Sultan Alauddin Masud Shah] is one such example.
Sai’d Fakhr-I-Mudabbir’s, Adabul Harb Was’h Shujaa’t (Rules of war and bravery)
Indo-Muslim Polity, Yusuf Husain, Appendix, Status of the Wazir, pp.229. “… The
wazir is responsible for the prosperity of the kingdom, the collection of revenues,
recruitment of the army, the appointment of tax collectors, the checking of accounts,
the inspection of workshop – wards, the reckoning of horses, camels and other
cattle, the payment of salary to the army, the retinue and other working people. He
is responsible for the contentment of his subjects, the welfare of the well-wishers
of the state, the payment of remuneration to scholars, the caring for the widows
and orphans, the patronizing of the `ulama,’ the maintenance of order in the country,
the organization of administration and for looking after the affairs of the people.”
The main function of the wazir was to look after the financial organisation of the state,
give advice to the sultan, and on occasions to lead military expeditions at the sultan’s
behest. Another important function included supervising the payment to the army, the
largest “non-producing” class of royal retainers. His office also kept a check on land
revenue collections from different parts of the empire. The Wizarat maintained a record
of all the income and expenditure incurred by the state. therefore, the salaries of all
royal servants in different parts of the empire were controlled and/or recorded by this
office. Charitable donations such as waqfs, inams, etc were also handled by this
department.
18th
Centu Further, the mints, the royal buildings, intelligence departments and other sundry affiliations
of the royal court like the karkhanas, were all supervised by the Wizarat. They also
had a number of minor departments working under their supervision with more specific
functions. These included, for instance, the Mustaufi-i-Mumalik [Auditor General,
incharge of expenditure], Mushrif-i-Mumalik [Accountant General, incharge of income]
and the Majmuadar [keeper of loans and balances from treasury]. With the passage of
time, however, the complexities of the greatly enlarged geographical territory saw further
streamlining and introduction of new offices which were monitored by the wazir and
wizarat. These included the Diwan-i-Waqoof [introduced by Jalaluddin Khalaji to
supervise expenditure only; i.e, after separating ‘income’ records from ‘expenditure’
records]; Diwan-i-Mustakhraj [set up by Alauddin Khalaji to enquire into and realise
arrears of revenue payments from the different parts of the empire]; and the Diwan-i-
Amir Kohi [under Muhammad bin Tughlaq, this department was responsible for bringing
uncultivated land into cultivation through state support].
The wazir and the Diwan-i-Wizarat were thus the most important and trusted offices
of the empire. This was also evident from the fact that the wazir was one of the very
few persons who had direct access to the ruler and, according to Ibn Battuta, stood
closest to the sultan at court. It was on the wazir’s wisdom, sagacity, sincerity and
loyalty that the position and success of the sultan was greatly dependent.

Diwan-i-Arz

But the sultan and the wazir together could do little without the help of the army, the
most important component of political rule in pre-modern times. It was the army which
helped the sultan to conquer new areas, protect his own kingdom, and maintain order
within the empire. The Diwan-i-Arz was instituted especially to look after the military
organisation of the empire. It was headed by the Ariz-i-Mumalik. With the Delhi
Sultanate always having a large military entourage, this ministry was very important in
the empire. The Ariz, along with his office, maintained the royal contingents, recruited
the soldiers, ensured the discipline and fitness of the army, examined the horses and
branded them with the royal insignia. During times of war, the Ariz arranged the military
provisions, transportation and administered the army at war, provided constant supplies,
and was the custodian of war booty. The importance of his position, and that of the
army, is evident from the fact that in later times the Ariz could actually reward individual
soldiers by increasing their salaries. Alauddin Khilji introduced the system of dagh
(branding) and huliyah (description) and cash payment to soldiers. This was meant to
strengthen his control over the army.
Firuz Tughlaq did away with the system of dagh and huliyah however Muhammad
Tughlaq continued the system of dagh. Under Sikandar Lodi huliyah was referred to
as chehrah.

Naib-Ul-Mulk

Next in line, and in part attached to the earlier office, was that of the Naib. Theoretically,
the Naib was the deputy of the Ariz, and was supposed to assist him in his many
administrative chores; however, as the example of Ghiyasuddin Balban [naib of Sultan
Nasiruddin Mahmud, and later to become sultan] shows, sometimes the Naib could
become more important than the wazir. But these were exceptions rather than the rule,
dependent more on individual personalities and circumstances. It does however indicate
the possibility of ambitious individuals to use the exceptional practice to their advantage.

Diwan-i-Insha

Royal authority was conducted to a fair degree through declarations, announcements,
farmans, and the like. The Diwan-i-Insha, headed by the Dabir-i-Khas, looked after
the department of royal correspondence. He drafted and despatched royal orders, andreceived reports from officers in various parts of the empire. This reflected the diplomatic
perspective which conveyed in carefully chosen language the commands of the ruler.
The Dabir was the formal channel of communication between the centre and the other
areas of the empire, and at a time when transport and communication was
underdeveloped, the job was made more difficult. The Dabir was also the private
secretary of the sultan, responsible for writing the farmans [except in the reign of
Sultan Firoz Shah Tughluq when the office lost its importance].

Diwan-i-Riyasat

During the reign of Sultan Alauddin Khalaji, the Diwan-i-Riyasat became very prominent.
Alauddin’s market regulations required constant surveillance; this ministry registered all
the supplies of commodities, and maintained standards in the markets [such as checking
weights and measures, etc]. With the collapse of the market regulations after Alauddin’s
death, this department also faded out of prominence.
Diwan-i-Risalat and Diwan-I-Qada
It was headed by the Sadr-us-Sadr who was also the Qadi-i-mumalik and was
responsible for administration of justice and also looked after the religious matters as
sadr-us-sadr. Diwan-i-Qada was placed under a Qadi-i-mumalik. He was incharge
of religious and legal matters. Local qadis (judges) were chosen by him. In the time of
Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq the complaints of the people were registered with the Diwan-
i-Risalat.
Diwan-i-Mazalim
It was headed by the Amir-i-Dad in the absence of the Sultan. His role was to supervise
the qadis, kotwal (police) and muhtasib (Executive officer who supervised and enforced
the public morals and public conveniences).
Smaller Departments
Apart from these, there were a number of smaller ‘departments’ at the centre which
helped in the every day administration of the empire. They were usually supervised
directly by the sultan. Important amongst them were those dealing with intelligence [like
the Barid-i-Mumalik], the royal household [headed by the Wakil-i-Dar], court
ceremonies [led by the Amir-i-Hajib], royal bodyguards [under the Sar-i-Jandar].
Other important departments looked after slaves, royal workshops [karkhanas]; and
important royal slaves also performed various functions such as bearing the royal parasol,
serving wine, etc.

PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL ADMINISTRATION

Administration in areas, which were outside the core political area, was conducted in a
number of ways, depending on the degree of political control which was exercised over
the area. In the initial years of the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, especially after
the accession of Shamsuddin Iltutmish, many other slave-governors [Bahauddin Tughril
in Bayana, Nasiruddin Qabacha in Multan] asserted their independence. The political
turmoil that followed [and which continued for the better part of the next 30 years after
the death of Iltutmish] meant that the sultan’s attentions were concentrated on stabilising
the political base of the sultanate, especially when tensions were both from within [other
slave-governors; recalcitrant notables] as well as from outside [other indigenous rulers;
Mongols]. As the empire expanded, newly annexed areas became loosely affiliated to
the politico-administrative structure, often through nominal recognition of the political
supremacy of the sultan/centre. A few officials were appointed by the centre to these18 Cen areas as a symbol of imperial presence, but every day administration most often remained
in local hands. The interest of the centre in these areas was mostly economic, i.e.,
collection of revenue to sustain the larger imperial edifice.
Position of Governor of the Province
Sultanate comprised of provinces placed in charge of governors called wali or muqti. In
the 14th
century with the consolidation of the sultanate the provinces became unmanageable
and were therefore, partitioned into shiqs for administrative convenience. They were
administrated by the shiqdars. Subsequently the shiqs got transformed into sarkars in the
Afghan period. The sarkar as a territorial unit comprised of a number of paraganas.
Inspite of the complicated web of authority and power the administration of the outer
areas was often nebulous. Usually, the sultan appointed a governor as his deputy, who
was responsible for the overall administration of the area. This involved ensuring the
collection of revenue, maintaining law and order, and keeping opposition to central authority
under control. He was the chief executive officer deputed by the centre, and embodied
the sultans’s administrative power in the provinces of the kingdom. Since the official
was a newcomer to the region, he was usually dependent on the local officials [whose
offices had been in existence prior to the establishment of the Sultanate] to execute his
duties, along with his own military retinue. Often, a part of the revenue collected went
towards the governor’s own salary [which included the maintenance of his army]; so it
was in the interest of the governor to ensure the proper and timely collection of revenue.
A part of it was sent to the central treasury. In such cases, land was allotted to the
governor as his ‘iqta, and the governor was variously called malik, amir, muqti or
iqtadar’.
A significant component of the ‘iqtadar’s duties was the maintenance of a military unit
under his command. This was important because he could be called upon to muster his
army at any point to help the sultan in battles. Thus, the armies of these governors acted
as reserve platoons of the central army. The same was expected from the local rajas as
well, since they had accepted the suzerainty of the sultan. The governor was helped in
these military duties by the Ariz who looked after the millitary contingents under the
supervision of the governor. The Ariz was placed under the Ariz-i-Mumalik.
Thus, the governor and the local power-blocs worked in close association with each
other, which, consequently, generated other problems for the sultan at the centre. Being
at a distance from the centre gave these governors the opportunity to liaise with the
local power groups and rise in rebellion against the sultan at the centre. This was a
frequent occurrence, and on such occasions the sultan himself or some trusted official
from the centre was sent to suppress the rebellion.
The office of the governor could therefore be used for political gain. Even if the sultan
was helpless in containing the attempts by the governors to usurp power in the provinces,
he would [very rarely] accept the use of the title of ‘sultan’ by the governor: the example
of Bughra Khan in Bengal during the reign of Sultan Balban is a case in point. Conversely,
if a particular notable was very powerful in a particular area [or at the court in the
capital] then the sultan could appoint him as governor of a distant province to remove
him from his position of popularity and power. The historian Ziya Barani informs us that
when Zafar Khan became very renowned as the governor of Samana, Sultan Alauddin
Khalaji began to think of transferring him to Lakhnauti [Bengal] to uproot him from his
power base and thereby weaken his growing strength.
Local Administration: Role of Khots, Zamindars, Rais,
Ranas, etc.
A number of villages formed a pargana (this term becomes common in the 14th century and is Indian in origin)

The villages were under the administrative supervision of thefollowing set of officials: muquddam (the village head man); patwari (village accountant);
khut (village headman). It is important to note that the village and pargana were
independent units of administration, and yet inter-related areas over which officials
commanded administrative powers. The important pargana officials were chaudhary
(highest local rural magnate accountable to the government for land revenue collection),
mutasarrif or amil (revenue collector) and karkun (accountant).
Khot, Muqaddam, Patwari and Choudhary were the local officials who worked in
conjunction with the governor in the collection of revenue and maintaining law and
order, etc. Before the Bengal Expedition in 1353 Firuz Tughlaq in his proclamation
suggested that zamindars constituted the muqaddams, mafrozis and maliks (Insha-i-
mahru, letters of the early years of Firuz Tughlaq’s reign). Thus the word zamindar
encompassed the entire superior rural class. In certain cases the province also had a
local ruler [rai, rana, rawat, raja] who supported the governor in his duties. In such
instances, the local rulers were usually recognised by the sultan at the centre as being
his subordinate, albeit the local rulers were allowed to act as sovereign powers in conducting
the administrative affairs of the region. This practice was adopted in the Delhi sultanate
because it allowed the sultanate to expand geographically on the basis of nominal
sovereignty, coupled with an assured financial contribution to the central treasury.

Other Officers: Shiqdar, Faujdar, Amil, etc.

The other important officers in the provinces — those who had direct access to the
sultan — were the barids [intelligence officers and reporters]. They played a very
significant role in the reporting of local developments to the sultan, and were usually
appointed directly by the sultan. These officers were the sultan’s ‘eyes and ears’ in the
outer realms, and acted as an important check on the governors.
Ziya Barani mentions two other officers — the shiqdar and the faujdar — at the
provincial level. Shiqdar is mentioned during Alauddin Khalji’s period. Barni also refers
to shiqdar and faujdar during Mohammad Tughlaq’s reign. Their duties are not very
clearly articulated, and often the role of the two seems to overlap. The shiqdar was in
charge of a shiq, and assisted the governor in the maintenance of law and order
[particularly criminal justice] and provided military assistance, especially if it was required
in the collection of land revenue, or the suppression of local rebellions. His salary seems
to have been derived from the revenue collections of the area [though we have no
direct evidence to prove it] and it was a fairly stable office since we find mention of it
even during the Lodi period and onwards. The shiqdar’s duties also included supervising
the functioning of the smaller administrative units such as the pargana. The duties of
the faujdar were much similar to that of the shiqdar, yet they seem to have existed
simultaneously. In most cases, the shiqdar was superior to the faujdar though this
seems to have been reversed in the period of the Saiyyids. In the Tughlaq period in the
deccan, shiq was bigger than a district. Smaller shiqs are also mentioned under the
Tughlaqs. Shiqdar was assisted by the faujdars in maintaining law and order during
the Tughlaq period. The kotwal was placed under the faujdar. Under the Lodis the
shiqdar was the pargana or city officer who were responsible for both civil and military
administration.
The shiqdar and faujdar were helped in carrying out their duties by a host of other
local officials including the Qazi [dealt mostly with civil cases and acted as a jurisconsult
since he was educated in the Quran], Amil [primarily responsible for the collection of
revenue], Amin [carried out measurement of land in the reign of Sikandar Lodi as
mentioned in the sources (Waq’at-i-Mushtaqi, late 16th
century) and Kotwal [an office
of varying importance, he was under the shiqdar/faujdar, and helped in the maintenance
of law and order].
The financial accounts of the provincial income and expenditure were maintained by
the Sahib-i-Diwan, who was appointed by the sultan on the recommendation of thewazir. He was the book-keeper of provincial revenue, and was assisted in his task by
mutassarifs and karkuns. The nazir and waquf were officers who looked after the
collection of the revenue and expenditure respectively.
We also find mention of the office of the Khwaja (probably same as Sahib-i-Diwan),
who kept a record of the income of the iqta, on the basis of which the sultan was able
to make his revenue demands. The Khwaja was also appointed by the sultan on the
recommendation of the wazir. This office was important because the agricultural produce
of the entire sultanate was never uniform, and so the taxation system and demand were
different for different parts of the sultanate depending on the yield of different areas.

describe the position,duties and functions of sultan under delhi sultanate..?