The Khaljis
Jalaluddin Khalji (1290-96) was a Turk who settled in Afghanistan and won many battles, including successfully halting the Mongol hordes' entry into India in 1292 even in old age. He gave his daughter to Mongol leader Ulugh Khan in marriage and his nephew and son-in-law, Alauddin Khalji, was governor of Kara. Alauddin invaded the Devagiri kingdom, the first south Indian state to receive Islamic invasion, and acquired a lot of wealth. However, he later murdered his uncle Jalaluddin and ascended the throne.
Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316) was the most imperialistic sultan, with military expeditions to Devagiri (1296, 1307, 1314), Gujarat (1299–1300), Ranthambhor (1301), Chittor (1303), and Malwa (1305). He defeated Waghela Karnadeva of Gujarat and married his wife Kamaladevi. He attacked Chittore for the sake of Rani Padmini, captured the city, but Padmini committed Jauhar. Alauddin’s Chittore campaign was described in the book Padmavath written by Malik Muhammed Jayasi. He framed regulations to control the nobles and made Malik Kafur, an eunuch, his chief commander. Malik Kafur led the South Indian campaign, defeating Ramachandradeva of Devagiri, Prathaprudradeva of Kakatiya, Veera
Bhallala 3 of Hoysala, and Veera and Sundara of Pandya. Alauddin inscribed the title sikandar-e-saini on his coins (sikandar means Alexander) and nominated his eldest son Khizr Khan as his successor, but Malik Kafur assumed authority of the government. After Kafur's assassination, Alauddin's son Qutbuddin Mubarak came to power, and during his reign, the Devagiri Yadava kingdom was annexed into the Delhi sultanate. Qutbuddin was murdered by his prime minister Nasiruddin Khushru Shah, who became the last sultan in Khalji dynasty. Later, Khushru Shah was dethroned by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq in 1320.
Alauddin implemented several administrative reforms, including setting up a strong central government, separating religion from politics, and taking measures to prevent rebellions. He also introduced market reforms such as paying soldiers in cash and monitoring and controlling prices of essential commodities. Military reforms included branding horses and maintaining detailed soldier registers, paying salaries in cash, and appointing Ariz-i-Mumalik to oversee soldiers' appointments. Alauddin created a separate revenue department, Diwan-i-Mustkharaj, and imposed Jaziya on non-Muslims while heavily taxing sardars, jagirdars, and ulemas. He also constructed the Siri city and Alai Darwaja.
