CDS History · Medieval India
The Delhi Sultanate: Sultans, Sieges and Regional Courts
The Delhi Sultans from Iltutmish to Firuz Shah, the Mongol threat, the books written at their courts, the siege engine and the stirrup, and the 15th century courts of Mewar, Gwalior and Kashmir.
Why this matters
Eleven CDS questions, eight of them HARD and none before 2020. Siege engines and the stirrup have each come twice, in 2022 (II) and 2025 (I). The rest name a work and ask who wrote it or who was its patron.
Concept 1 of 3: Sultans, the Mongols and the court writers
The early Sultans had two problems: their own nobles and the Mongols beyond the Indus. Iltutmish built a group of forty loyal Turkish nobles; a later Sultan, Balban, found them too strong and broke them. Poets and historians at these courts left the books CDS asks about.
Definition
- Iltutmish (1211 to 1236) created the Turkan-i-Chihalgani, 'the Forty', a group of Turkish nobles.
- Balban (1266 to 1287) raised the Sultan's dignity and finally broke the power of the Forty.
- Chenghiz Khan reached the Indus in 1221, chasing the Khwarazmian prince Jalaluddin Mangbarni, but did not cross into India. Later Mongol commanders such as Tair Bahadur and Qutlugh Khwaja (who attacked Delhi in 1299, under Alauddin Khalji) did.
- Amir Khusrau (1253 to 1325) wrote the Khazain-ul-Futuh on Alauddin's conquests and, in 1318, the Nuh Sipihr, which praises India's climate, its languages (Sanskrit above all), its music and even its animals.
- Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351 to 1388) moved an Ashokan pillar from Topra to Delhi. A painting of the moving survives in the Sirat-i-Firuz Shahi.
| Time | Person | Fact asked |
|---|---|---|
| 1221 | Chenghiz Khan | Reached the Indus but did not cross itQ CDS 2020 (I): the one Mongol leader in the list who did not cross the Indus. |
| 1211 to 1236 | Iltutmish | Created the Forty (Turkan-i-Chihalgani) |
| 1266 to 1287 | Balban | Broke the power of the FortyQ CDS 2020 (I): Balban, not Iltutmish or Alauddin. |
| 1318 | Amir Khusrau | Nuh Sipihr: praise of India, its languages, music and animalsQ CDS 2025 (I): the work is the Nuh Sipihr. |
| 1351 to 1388 | Firuz Shah Tughlaq | Moved the Topra pillar; painting in the Sirat-i-Firuz ShahiQ CDS 2021 (II): the illustration is in the Sirat-i-Firuz Shahi. |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2020 · CDS (I) 2020 — General Knowledge · Q35Moderate
Example 1 · Medieval India · The Delhi Sultanate
Who among the following Sultans succeeded in finally breaking and destroying the power of Turkan-i-Chihalgani?
Iltutmish made the Forty, Balban broke them
The Turkan-i-Chihalgani was created by Iltutmish. It was Balban who finally destroyed its power. Alauddin Khalji came later and did not deal with the Forty.
Sirat, not Tarikh
The painting of the Topra pillar is in the Sirat-i-Firuz Shahi. The Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi is a different book, Barani's history, and it is the usual wrong option.
Concept 2 of 3: Siege engines and the stirrup
Before guns, a fort wall was broken by hurling heavy stones at it. And a rider in armour stayed on his horse only if he could brace his feet. The Turkish armies brought both tools to north India, and CDS asks about each of them by name.
Definition
- A manjaniq (also spelt munjaniq) was a stone-throwing siege engine, a mangonel or catapult, used to batter fort walls. It was not a gun: gunpowder artillery came much later.
- The stirrup in Indian evidence: a broad, probably wooden stirrup in Khajuraho sculpture (about the 10th century); a ring-stirrup on the Konark horse (about 1250); the iron stirrup in the Delhi Sultans' armies from the 13th century, brought by Turkish cavalry.
- The iron stirrup let an armoured rider sit firmly on his horse, and let him charge with a lance held tight to his body without being thrown off by the shock.
| Device | When and where | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden stirrup | Khajuraho sculpture, about the 10th century | A broad foot-rest for the rider |
| Ring-stirrup | Konark horse, about 1250 | A ring for the foot |
| Iron stirrup | Delhi Sultans' armies, from the 13th century | Firm seat; a lance charge without being unhorsedQ Asked twice: CDS 2022 (II) and 2025 (I). Every statement offered was true both times. |
| Manjaniq (munjaniq) | Sultanate sieges | Hurled stones at fort walls: a mangonel or catapultQ Asked twice: CDS 2022 (II) and 2025 (I). |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2025 · CDS (I) 2025 — General Knowledge · Q39Hard
Example 2 · Medieval India · The Delhi Sultanate
What is the military-device referred to by the term manjaniq ?
A manjaniq is not a cannon
The manjaniq threw stones. Options such as cannon, gun carriage or a device for loading field guns are wrong, because it belongs to the age before gunpowder.
Concept 3 of 3: Courts of the 15th century: Mewar, Gwalior and Kashmir
As the Sultanate weakened, regional kings built courts full of poets, musicians and scholars. Three of them are asked: a scholar king of Mewar, a music-loving king of Gwalior, and a tolerant Sultan of Kashmir.
Definition
- Rana Kumbha of Mewar (1433 to 1468) was a scholar king. He wrote the Rasikapriya, a commentary on Jayadeva's Gitagovinda, and is said to have written four dramas using provincial languages. He raised a great victory tower at Chittor.
- Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior (1486 to 1516) had the Man Kautuhal, a work on music, prepared at his court. Gwalior became the home of the dhrupad style.
- Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir (1420 to 1470), remembered as Budshah, was tolerant and patronised Sanskrit learning. Jonaraja and then Shrivara carried Kalhana's Rajatarangini forward, and Bhattavatara wrote the Zainavilas, a history of Kashmir's rulers.
| Ruler | Kingdom and reign | Work at the court |
|---|---|---|
| Zain-ul-Abidin | Kashmir, 1420 to 1470 | Rajatarangini continued by Jonaraja and Shrivara; Zainavilas by BhattavataraQ |
| Rana Kumbha | Mewar, 1433 to 1468 | Rasikapriya, a commentary on the Gitagovinda; four dramasQ |
| Raja Man Singh Tomar | Gwalior, 1486 to 1516 | Man Kautuhal, a work on musicQ CDS 2024 (I): prepared under Raja Man Singh of Gwalior, not Tansen. |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2024 · CDS (I) 2024 — General Knowledge · Q4Moderate
Example 3 · Medieval India · The Delhi Sultanate
Man Kautuhal, a work on music, was prepared under the aegis of
The patron, not the singer
The Man Kautuhal was prepared under Raja Man Singh Tomar. Tansen learnt music in the Gwalior tradition but lived later, at Akbar's court; he did not prepare this work.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
Sultans, the Mongols and the court writers5 rows
| Time | Person | Fact asked |
|---|---|---|
| 1221 | Chenghiz Khan | Reached the Indus but did not cross itQ CDS 2020 (I): the one Mongol leader in the list who did not cross the Indus. |
| 1211 to 1236 | Iltutmish | Created the Forty (Turkan-i-Chihalgani) |
| 1266 to 1287 | Balban | Broke the power of the FortyQ CDS 2020 (I): Balban, not Iltutmish or Alauddin. |
| 1318 | Amir Khusrau | Nuh Sipihr: praise of India, its languages, music and animalsQ CDS 2025 (I): the work is the Nuh Sipihr. |
| 1351 to 1388 | Firuz Shah Tughlaq | Moved the Topra pillar; painting in the Sirat-i-Firuz ShahiQ CDS 2021 (II): the illustration is in the Sirat-i-Firuz Shahi. |
Siege engines and the stirrup4 rows
| Device | When and where | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden stirrup | Khajuraho sculpture, about the 10th century | A broad foot-rest for the rider |
| Ring-stirrup | Konark horse, about 1250 | A ring for the foot |
| Iron stirrup | Delhi Sultans' armies, from the 13th century | Firm seat; a lance charge without being unhorsedQ Asked twice: CDS 2022 (II) and 2025 (I). Every statement offered was true both times. |
| Manjaniq (munjaniq) | Sultanate sieges | Hurled stones at fort walls: a mangonel or catapultQ Asked twice: CDS 2022 (II) and 2025 (I). |
Courts of the 15th century: Mewar, Gwalior and Kashmir3 rows
| Ruler | Kingdom and reign | Work at the court |
|---|---|---|
| Zain-ul-Abidin | Kashmir, 1420 to 1470 | Rajatarangini continued by Jonaraja and Shrivara; Zainavilas by BhattavataraQ |
| Rana Kumbha | Mewar, 1433 to 1468 | Rasikapriya, a commentary on the Gitagovinda; four dramasQ |
| Raja Man Singh Tomar | Gwalior, 1486 to 1516 | Man Kautuhal, a work on musicQ CDS 2024 (I): prepared under Raja Man Singh of Gwalior, not Tansen. |
Watch out for (4)
- Iltutmish made the Forty, Balban broke them→ Sultans, the Mongols and the court writers
- Sirat, not Tarikh→ Sultans, the Mongols and the court writers
- A manjaniq is not a cannon→ Siege engines and the stirrup
- The patron, not the singer→ Courts of the 15th century: Mewar, Gwalior and Kashmir
Test yourself on Medieval India
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.