Who was Bahlul Lodi?
Bahlul Lodi or Bahlul Khan was a grandson of Malik Bahram, a Pashtun native to Multan working for the Governor of Multan. Bahlul was the son of Bahram’s younger son Malik Kala. Bahlul was also the son-in-law of Bahram’s eldest son Malik Sultan Shah Lodi.
Sultan Shah Lodi worked under the Sayyid dynasty of Delhi and was appointed the Governor of Sirhind in Punjab. Bahlul Lodi married twice – Shams Khatun, Bibi Ambha.
Lodi dynasty is an important dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate and an important chapter in medieval Indian history for the UPSC 2022 exam. In this article, you will read about the founder of the Lodi dynasty, Bahlul Khan, for the IAS exam.
Bahlul Lodi Reign
- Bahlul had a horse-trading enterprise and once sold finely bred horses to the Sayyid ruler Sultan Muhammad Shah. He received a pargana and the status of ‘amir’ as his payment. Bahlul also got an opportunity to help the Sultan when his territory was invaded by the Malwa Sultan. After this successful military engagement, the Sultan conferred on Bahlul the title Khan-i-Khanan. Bahlul also received a good part of Punjab for himself.
- Bahlul attacked Delhi in 1443 but was not successful. Another attempt was made in 1447, but this was also met with failure.
- Finally, the Sayyid ruler of Delhi Alam Shah retired in 1448 to Badaun in Uttar Pradesh. Alam Shah’s minister Hamid Khan invited Bahlul to occupy the throne, which he did.
- On 19th April 1451, Bahlul Khan ascended to the throne of Delhi as the first Lodi ruler, ending the Sayyid dynasty’s reign.
- On becoming the king of Delhi, he took on the title, Bahlul Shah Ghazi.
- One of the first things he did after ascending the Delhi throne was to imprison Hamid Khan, as he might have proved dangerous for his position.
- Bahlul was busy quelling rebellions and uprisings in his territories. He extended his territory to Jaunpur (1479), Gwalior and upper Uttar Pradesh. He retained Delhi as his capital.
- He was known to treat his Afghan nobles and tribesmen with respect and thus won their approval and acceptance.
- He appointed his son Babrak Shah as Jaunpur’s Viceroy in 1486. His second son Nizam Khan was named his heir apparent.
- Bahlul Khan Lodi, the founder of the Lodi dynasty which ruled over Delhi for 75 years, died on 12th July 1489.
- Bahlul’s death in 1489 was followed by a power struggle between his two sons. Nizam Khan succeeded him as the ruler of Delhi and assumed the name, Sikandar Lodi.
- Bahlul ruled over Delhi for 38 years. His tomb is located at Chirag Dilli in Delhi.
Also on this day
1917: Birth of independence activist Satyendra Narayan Sinha.
See previous ‘This Day in History’ here.
|Sayyid and Lodi dynasties||Administration under the Delhi Sultanate|
|First Battle of Panipat||Tughluq Dynasty|
|Medieval Indian History Timeline|