Firoz Shah Tughlaq – An Ideal King and Decline of Tughlaq Dynasty

After the death of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq in c. 1351 AD, Firoz Shah Tughlaq (FST), cousin of MBT, succeeded him. His long reign of 37 years enjoyed a significant place in Turko-Afghan rule in India. He sat on throne when Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq died suddenly after falling his horse at Thatta in c. 1351 AD. Because there was no male heir to Muhmmad Bin Tughlaq, the crown was offered to Firoz Shah Tughlaq. But after ascending the throne, he faced number of challenges but he responded them smartly.

Also Read : Firoz Shah Tughlaq – Reforms and Religious Outlook, Firoz Shah Tughlaq – Revenue, Agrarian and Welfare Measures

Firoz Shah Tughlaq – Challenges and Response of New Sultan

Firoz Shah Tughlaq – An Ideal Muslim King?

In the book, Tariq-i-Firozshahi of Sirajafif, Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq was represented as an ideal Muslim king. An ideal Muslim king as per Tariq-i-Firozshahi is basically who:

1. The laws as per of Shariat
2. Accorded high status to peoples involved in religious activities like Ulemas
3. Took steps for the welfare of Muslims
4. Undertook steps to promote Islam
5. Avoid killing of Muslims
6. Took steps to suppress the anti-Muslim elements.

Thus, Firoz Shah Tughlaq was termed as an ideal Muslim king because he followed the laws of Shariat. He gave high status to Ulemas and never took decision without consulting to them. He took number of welfare measures for the Muslim subjects. Firoz Shah Tughlaq provided incentives for the promotion of Islam. He avoided war and battles and accepted status quo at external boundaries which eventually stopped killing of Muslims. He also took step for suppressing the anti-Islam activities.

The critical examination of the theory of ideal king of Sirajafif, historians and scholars founded that this is not completely true because Firoz Shah Tughlaq never followed Shariat rigidly. He married four times which was not permitted as per Islamic law. He was addicted to drinking and gambling which was prohibited by Islamic laws. Thus, considering Firoz Shah Tughlaq an ideal Muslim king is wrong in the absolute terms.

Decline of Tughlaq Dynasty

After flourishing for more than 70 years, the Tughlaq dynasty was started to decline. There were number of factors behind the decline of Tughlaq dynasty. It was actually the reign of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq during which the dynasty was seeing the signs of declining. The steps like transfer of capital, token currency, military expeditions etc., took by MBT severely impacted the Delhi Sultanate and number of regional states started to emerged during the reign of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq was not an efficient ruler and military leader, hence he accepted the status quo at external fronts and started the policy of appeasement to strengthened his political position. Although, FST was successful in his policy of appeasement but Delhi Sultanate was become weak and the successors of Firoz Shah Tughlaq were not that efficient to tackle these challenges, hence, Tughlaq dynasty started to decline. As within five years of Firoz Shah’s death, five different rulers sat on the throne of Delhi.

The final blow was in the face of Timur’s invasion blow away Tughlaqs. During c. 1398 AD, Timur, a blend of Mongols and Turks, attacked Sultanate and Sultan Nasir-ud-din Tughlaq was of no match to him. Hence, Sultan Nasir-ud-din fled from Delhi to save his life and the rule of Tughlaqs at Delhi came to an end.

Thus, Tughlaqs played significant role in the history of Turko-Afghan rule in India. They contributed in development of various files like economy, administration, agriculture and art & culture.