Abraham Eraly - The Age of Wrath - A History of the Delhi Sultanate

Then, according to Afif, the chief chronicler of Firuz’s reign, Tatar Khan, a top noble, ‘stood up, and taking the arm of Firuz Shah, forced him to sit on the throne … as heralds and attendants shouted in loud acclaim, and drums were beaten in exultation …’

This was on 23 March 1351, three days after the death of Muhammad. Firuz, 46 years old then, was the closest surviving male relative of Muhammad — who had no sons, but only two daughters — and therefore had a very strong claim for the throne. He had always been close to Muhammad, and had been at times appointed (along with a couple of other senior officers) by the sultan as his regent in Delhi when he went on military campaigns. And there was a general belief that Muhammad had intended Firuz to succeed him; indeed, according to Ferishta, Muhammad ‘proposed making him (Firuz) his successor, and accordingly recommended him as such on his deathbed to his nobles.’

Firuz’s accession was however challenged by Muhammad’s sister, Khudavand-zada, on the ground that her son, as Muhammad’s nephew, had the greater claim to the throne. This claim was however rejected by the nobles on the ground that the prince was too young to rule in those troubled times. [2] That thwarted the princess, but only for a while. Some years later she would make yet another attempt to seize power for her son, this time by plotting to assassinate Firuz, but that conspiracy too failed. She was then imprisoned, her husband banished, and their vast wealth confiscated by the state.

Another problem that Firuz faced on his accession was that when the news of Muhammad’s death reached Delhi, Khvaja Jahan — a long time close associate of Muhammad, and whom he had apparently left in Delhi as his regent when he set out for Gujarat — raised to the throne a child who he claimed was Muhammad’s son. According to Afif, Khvaja did this with good intentions, ‘for public welfare and the safety of the country,’ to prevent the empire from disintegrating into anarchy without a sultan, for he had been told that Firuz was missing or dead. Khvaja was well over eighty years old then, and was presumably not motivated by any personal ambition in his action. Besides, he had excellent rapport with Firuz, and had always treated him like a son. He therefore had no hesitation to submit to Firuz as he approached Delhi. And Firuz in turn received him graciously, and was inclined to pardon him and retain him as the vizier. But his advisers, no doubt motivated by their own ambitions, objected to this on the ground that Khvaja’s offence was too serious to be pardoned. Firuz then left the matter to be decided by the nobles, and they had the old man executed.

FIRUZ’S FATHER, SIPAH-SALAR Rajab, was the younger brother of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq, and they together had migrated to India from Khurasan during the reign of Ala-ud-din Khalji. In India Rajab married a Jat princess, a beautiful and spirited daughter of Rana Mall Bhatti of Dipalpur in Punjab. Firuz was their only child.

Rajab died when Firuz was seven, so the boy was brought up by Ghiyas-ud-din. And when Ghiyas-ud-din ascended the throne of Delhi, Firuz, who was then fourteen, was given a role in government, as an aid to the sultan, a post that enabled him to gain wide experience in governance. Four years later, when Muhammad ascended the throne, Firuz was appointed as deputy of the Lord Chamberlain, and was given the command of a 12,000-strong cavalry force. ‘The sultan was exceedingly kind and generous to him, and keeping him constantly near his person he used to explain to him, with much intelligence, all the affairs of the state that came up for consideration,’ states Afif. Later Muhammad put Firuz in charge of one of the four divisions of the Sultanate, ‘so that he might acquire experience in the art of government … [and] become an adept in all political matters … [The sultan] used to keep Firuz Shah continually at work in various matters … to train him so that he might become thoroughly versed in the duties of royalty.’

Firuz on his accession was thus well-equipped to assume royal responsibilities. As sultan, his first task was to restore order in the army, but this was accomplished without any special effort on his part, as the mere fact that there was now a sultan on the throne immediately calmed the army and restored its discipline. Mongols and the Sind rebels were then driven away, and the army resumed its journey to Delhi in fair order. On the way the sultan received the news that Taghi, the rebel who had sorely tried Muhammad in his last days, was dead. The news was considered an auspicious portent for the success of the reign of Firuz.

As Firuz proceeded to Delhi, his followers swelled in number, and when he neared the capital, most of the chiefs there came out to greet him. On 25 August 1351 Firuz entered the capital in a triumphant procession, when ‘drums of joy were beaten, and the citizens decked themselves out in their jewels and best clothes,’ reports Afif. ‘Pavilions were erected and decorated … and for twenty-one days a continual festival was maintained.’

In every respect the reign of Firuz was unlike the reign of Muhammad; the contrast between them was like that of between a pitch-dark, cyclonic night and a calm and clear dawn. Though Muhammad and Firuz were close to each other, they were entirely unlike each other in character, temperament and policies — Muhammad was an egomaniac, flighty and unpredictable, ever pursuing some chimerical scheme or other; in contrast, Firuz was a stable, dependable ruler, with a good sense of what was viable and necessary. While Muhammad wanted the world to adjust to him, Firuz adjusted himself to the world. And, more than anything else, Firuz was concerned with the stability of the empire and the welfare of its people, rather than with self-fulfilment. He was the right person in the right place at the right time.

‘Sultan Firuz was a very cautious man,’ states Afif. He was also very pious. ‘Whenever he was about to make a journey for a month or two, he used to visit the shrines of holy men and famous kings, to invoke their aid and to cast himself on their protection, not trusting his own power and greatness … The sultan never transacted any business without referring to the Koran for an augury.’ But despite being a devout Muslim, Firuz had a weakness was for wine, in which he indulged secretly. Also, he was a sensualist, and was particularly addicted to sexual pleasures. His harem, according to Afif, was periodically restocked with the ‘beautiful slaves, dressed and ornamented in the most splendid style,’ presented to him by his provincial officers. He was also passionate about hunting, like most Delhi sultans.

IN MANY RESPECTS Firuz was a model ruler, esteemed alike by his officers and his subjects. The main task of Firuz on his accession was to rebuild the foundations of the empire, which had crumbled during the calamitous reign of Muhammad. This task involved, above all, restoring the mutual trust between the ruler and the ruled. Firuz therefore first of all sought the forgiveness of the people — and of god — for the misdeeds of Muhammad. The heirs of those who had been wantonly killed or mutilated on the orders of Muhammad were ‘appeased with gifts, so that they executed deeds declaring their satisfaction, duly attested by witnesses,’ states Firuz in his autobiography, Futuhat-i-Firuz Shahi . ‘These deeds were put in a chest, which was placed … at the head of the tomb of the late sultan, in the hope that god in his great clemency would show mercy to my late friend and patron.’ Similarly, Firuz ordered that the properties which former sultans had unfairly confiscated from people should be restored to their owners. ‘Villages, lands, and ancient patrimonies of every kind had been wrested from the hands of their owners in former reigns, and had been brought under the exchequer. I directed that everyone who had a claim to property should bring it forward in the law court, and, upon establishing his title … the property … should be restored to him.’