Lodi dynasty
gigatos | May 30, 2022
Summary
The Lodis (Pashtun: لودي) were a powerful family or clan of Pathan notables in northern Pre-India during the 14th to 16th centuries. Originally the family settled in the Punjab, around the city of Multan, where they served as local administrators (muqtis), army chiefs, and governors under the sultan of Delhi. Between 1451 and 1526, members of the clan themselves were sultan of Delhi; they are called the Lodi dynasty. The last Lodisultan was defeated in 1526 by the Moguls, who added Delhi to their empire. However, the Lodis, along with other Afghan clans, continued to offer strong resistance to the Mogul emperors at the beginning of the Mogul period.
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Background and Origin
From the 12th century onward, northern Pre-India was ruled by an originally foreign, Muslim, Afghan-Turkish elite. Although over the ensuing centuries, through marriages and absorption of native notables converted to Islam, this elite was somewhat augmented by Indian blood, most of the “new” administrators and military personnel enlisted by the sultans came in as adventurers from Persia, Afghanistan, or Central Asia. So did the Lodi tribe, which settled in Multan under Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351 – 1388). The leader of the tribe, Malik Bahram, served as the governor of Multan.
The plundering of Delhi by Timoer Lenk in 1398 does not seem to have diminished the Lodis. Malik Bahram”s eldest son, Malik Sultan Shah Lodi, led the army of Khizr Khan, founder of the Sayyid dynasty of Delhi. Thanks to his merits in fighting the sultan”s enemies, he was appointed governor of Sirhind in 1419. His successor, nephew and son-in-law, Bahlul Khan Lodi, was appointed amir (nobleman) by Sultan Mahummad Shah IV. Bahlul Lodi managed to increase his power through military successes against Malwa, the enemy of the sultans of Delhi. Finally, he managed to become sultan himself in 1451.
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Lodi dynasty of Delhi
The Lodi dynasty of Delhi spans the governments of three sultans. Bahlul Lodi (reigned 1451 – 1489) managed to significantly increase the power of the sultanate through military successes against Malwa and the conquest of Jaunpur. He appointed his eldest son Barbak Shah as governor in Jaunpur and appointed another son, Nizam Khan, as his successor. Upon his death in 1489, this led to a struggle between his sons. However, Nizam Khan managed to hold on to power and ruled under the name of Sikandar Lodi (1489 – 1517).
Sikandar Lodi was a gifted diplomat, military officer and administrator. He abolished unpopular taxes and encouraged trade. He founded the city of Agra (1504) and patronized art and science. However, because of his intolerant policies toward religions other than Islam, he is a controversial figure in Indian history. He had temples demolished and mosques built in their place.
His successor and son Ibrahim Lodi (reigned 1517 – 1526) did not possess the statesmanship of his father. His reign is characterized by rebellions of the nobles, led by his brothers and uncles. The Mogul field lord Babur, who ruled Kabul, invaded the Punjab in 1519 at the invitation of Ibrahim”s uncle, Alam Khan. A descendant of Timur, Babur claimed to be the rightful ruler in Delhi. Naturally, Ibrahim Lodi did not wish to acknowledge this claim. There followed a brief, decisive battle at Panipat, where Babur, thanks to superior weapons and tactics (especially the use of muskets and cannons was revolutionary for the time), managed to crush the sultan. Ibrahim Lodi was among those killed.
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Later Lodis
While Babur had installed himself as the first Mogul emperor in Delhi, a brother of Ibrahim Lodi, Mahmud Lodi, claimed to be the rightful sultan. The Afghan nobility, who wanted nothing to do with the Mogul (Turkish) invaders, supported his claim. Mahmud Lodi was also supported by the Rajput rulers of Mewat and Mewar. Maharana Rana Sanga raised a huge army. However, the battle of Khanwa (1529) again demonstrated the military importance of Babur”s new method of warfare. Once again, the Mogul army crushed a numerically much stronger opponent.
Mahmud Lodi then fled to the east, where he led the Afghan resistance against the Moguls in Bihar. This time he was supported by the Sultan of Bengal, Nusrat Shah. However, the combined force of the Afghan nobility and the Bengali monarch was again defeated by a much smaller Mogul army at the Battle of the Ghaghara (1529). This victory allowed Babur to add Bihar to his empire and dealt a severe blow to the rebellious Afghan nobility. Although Mahmud Lodi again escaped, several of his Afghan allies now supported Babur, including the Lodi”s related Jalaluddin Khan Lohani and Sher Shah Suri.
Babur”s unexpected death in 1530 changed the situation, but the Afghan nobility now chose another leader with Sher Shah Suri as the center of the rebellion against the Moguls. The latter succeeded in driving Babur”s son Humayun (temporarily) out of the East Indies. However, the political role of the Lodis was over.
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