Historical Role of Trade Routes in Shaping Civilizations of South Asia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71465/pjhc59Keywords:
Delhi Sultanate, sharīʿa, Sufism, jizya, caliphal investiture, market regulation, legitimationAbstract
This article examines how the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) braided religious authority with political power across five dynasties—Mamluk, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, and Lodi. Drawing on chronicles (Baranī, Ibn Battuta), Sufi malfūẓāt, epigraphy, and modern historiography, we analyze four intersecting arenas: (1) juristic authority and statecraft (sharīʿa vs. zawābit), (2) Sufi patronage and autonomy, (3) ritual–fiscal regimes (jizya, endowments, market regulation), and (4) symbolic legitimacy (caliphal investiture, public architecture, and courtly literature). We argue that the Sultanate’s political durability relied less on a monolithic theocracy than on a dynamic negotiation among sultans, ʿulamāʾ, and Sufi lineages, producing a pragmatic, sometimes fraught, governance repertoire whose legacies extended into early modern South Asia.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Helena Sørensen, Prof. Karim El-Masry, Aisha Rahman (Author)
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