Ibn
Battuta , the greatest medieval Muslim traveller and the author of one of the
most famous travel book, the Riḥlah (Travels) , came to Delhi in 1334
during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq . His account is not only a strong historical document of the then
India but also the source of
valuable information regarding political , social , economic and architectural affairs of the medieval time .
His travelogue* is exuberant with many valuable information about Delhi and the
reign of Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq .
Information about
Delhi:
Ibn Batuta has said that the city of Delhi, a
vast and magnificent city, was a
metropolis of India at that time . This beautiful city was fortified by an incomparable wall and this
city, Ibn Batuta said, was the largest city of India , nay, the largest city of the entire Muslim
Orient in fourteenth century. According to him , the city of Delhi was made up of
four neighbouring and contiguous towns : Delhi proper, Siri, Tughlaq Abad, and Jahan
Panah
1) Delhi proper
: This old city was built by infidels ( idolaters ) , which was captured
in the year 1188 .
2) Siri (also known as
the Abode of the Caliphate) : This city was given as gift by Muhammad bin Tughl to Ghiyath ad Din
, the grandson of the Abbasid Caliph Mustansir of Bagdad .
3) Tughlaq Abad
: This city was founded by Ghiasuddin Tughlaq , father of the sultan of
India , Muhammad bin Tughlaq .
4) Jahan Panah :
This city was built by sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq ( Muhammad Shah
) himself .
With the intention of connecting
all these four cities together by one
and the same wall the Sultan started construction but after building some part of it he
abandoned the task because of the enormous expenses of the construction .
The accounts of the
Cathedral:
The cathedral mosque ( Quwat-ul-islam Mosque ) covering
a large area is made of white stone
only, no sign of wood. It has thirteen
domes made of stone and it has four courts . There is an awe-inspiring
column in the centre of the mosque, nobody knows the component of it. From reliable source it is known that the material is called 'haft jush' , which
means 'seven metals' with which the column is constructed. A part of this column is very polished and it
gives out a brilliant gleam. The height
of this column is thirty cubits and its breadth is eight cubits . At the
eastern gate two enormous idols of brass are seen in prostate position on the ground. Strange matter is that everyone entering or leaving the mosque treads
on them . An idol temple was there at this place but that Hindu temple was
converted into a mosque after the
conquest of the city.
Few words about Qutb Minar
Now we are attentive to know Ibn Battuta’s information about Qutb Minar . A minaret , which is unparalleled in the lands of Islam , is situated in the northern court. No, not white, it is built of red stone . It is ornamented with sculptures and famous for great height . There is a ball on the top of this minaret , it is made of shining white marble. The apples, the small surmounting balls on the marble, are made of pure gold . The amazing matter, reported by a trustworthy fellow, is that an elephant was climbing with stone to the top in time of the construction of the minaret . Sultan Qutb ad -Din wished to build another large minaret in the western court but his untimely demise stopped it incomplete. This minaret claims to be a wonder of the world for its size and shape and its vast width can accommodate three elephants mounting abreast .
A large reservoir :
Outside Delhi we find a large reservoir, named after the Sultan Lalmish ( Iltusmish ), which is the main source of drinking water of the inhabitants and the rain water is the only source of this reservoir . This reservoir having two miles length and about one mile breadth looks beautiful with a great stone made pavilion, two stories high, at the centre of it . Boats are used to reach the pavilion when the reservoir is full but in low water people can go on foot . Inside the pavilion there is a mosque which is mostly occupied by the mendicants devoted to the service of God . When the water dries up , the place is cultivated with sugarcanes , cucumbers , green melons , and pumpkins. This reservoir is situated between Delhi and the Abode of Caliphate . There are about forty pavilions along its side and many musicians live surrounding the reservoir. .
The Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq:
Sultan Muhammad bin
Tughlaq is fond of giving gifts and shedding blood . His court is never without
some poor man enriched or some living man executed . Stories of his generosity
and courage and of his cruelty and violence towards criminals are very popular
among the people of his dynasty . According to Ibn Battuta he is a very humble
man and he always shows equity and justice towards his subjects . He is a very
religious person and if any courtier does not attend the prayer , Sultan
punishes that person . Generosity is the chief quality of the Sultan .
The Sultan’s palace at
Delhi is called Dar Sara . It has many doors . There are a number of
guardians at the first door , beside them there are trumpeters and
flute-players . When any Amir or famous person arrives , they sound their
instruments and say ‘So-and-so has come’ . The same thing takes place also at
the second and third door . Outside the first door there are platforms on which
the executioners sit . When the Sultan orders a man to be executed , the
sentence is carried out at the door of the audience hall . The dead body lies
there for three nights . Between the first and the second door there is a place
where the guards sit and the principal naqib who is the keeper of the register
sits between the second and the third door . There is a gold mace in front of
the principal naqib . In his hand he holds that gold mace and in his head he
wears a jewelled tiara of gold , surmounted by peacock feathers .
Transfer of the
capital:
One of the
gravest charges against the Sultan is that he compels the inhabitants of Delhi
to leave the city and go to Dawlat Abad . The whole matter shows Sultan's
whimsical state of mind as well as his cruelty on his subjects .
According to Ibn Battuta , some rebel inhabitants used to write insulting and
abusive language on something , seal those and inscribe on them : " By the
hand of Master of the World , none but he may read this ." Then they threw
them into the audience hall at night . When the Sultan found those , he read
those and became angry . He decided to lay Delhi in ruin and thus wanted to
punish those rebel inhabitants . He wanted the inhabitants should pay the price
of this wrongdoings . Sultan commanded all the inhabitants to move to Dawlat
Abad . At first all the inhabitants refused to go Dawlat Abad . After the
herald of Sultan proclaimed that no person should remain in the city of
Delhi after three night . The majority of the inhabitants obeyed this order but
some of them hid in the houses . The sultan ordered to find all the hidden
persons . His slaves found two men in the street : one was crippled person and
the other one blind . Sultan ordered that the crippled person should be flung
from a mangonel ( a military device of medieval period for throwing stones and
other missiles ) and the blind one should be dragged from Delhi to Dawlat Abad
, a distance of forty days journey of that time . The blind man died in
the road , his body turned into pieces and what reached in Dawlat Abad was only
his leg . Every inhabitant became very afraid of it . They left the town
abandoning furniture and possessions and the city of Delhi became utterly
deserted . Seeing the city in such a deserted state one day Sultan said ,"
Now my mind is tranquil and my wrath appeased " . Afterwards Sultan
ordered the inhabitants of other cities to move to Delhi and repopulate it .
The order of the Sultan left those cities in ruins too. People of different
cities came in Delhi but it was not fully populated because of its vast and
immense area . At that time Delhi was one of the greatest cities in the world .
According to Ibn Battuta , when he came in the city of Delhi , he found the
city was almost empty as it was populated by a few inhabitants .
* A person’s account of a journey to another
country or place.
