Chapter 2
Timeline of Events
A chronological, event-by-event account of every major documented event, policy decision, and atrocity during Muhammad bin Tughlaq's 26-year reign (1325–1351 CE).
A chronological, event-by-event account of every major documented event, policy decision, and atrocity during Muhammad bin Tughlaq's 26-year reign (1325–1351 CE).
All events are sourced from primary chronicles — primarily Barani's Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, Ibn Batuta's Rihla, and Isami's Futuh-us-Salatin. Where accounts differ, we note the discrepancy. Dates are CE (Common Era).
Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq dies when a wooden pavilion collapses on him shortly after returning from a military campaign. Ibn Batuta explicitly states this was orchestrated by his son Jauna Khan (later Muhammad bin Tughlaq), who had the structure deliberately weakened and paraded elephants nearby to cause its collapse. Barani offers a more ambiguous account. Muhammad bin Tughlaq ascends the throne.
Source: Ibn Batuta, Rihla; Barani, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi
In the early years of his reign, Muhammad bin Tughlaq orders mass executions with alarming frequency. Senior nobles, scholars, and common subjects are executed for minor offences or perceived disobedience. Barani records that bodies piled at the palace gate became a regular sight. Ibn Batuta, who arrived later, was told by survivors about this period of intense violence.
Source: Barani, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi; Ibn Batuta, Rihla
Muhammad bin Tughlaq assembles an army reportedly numbering over 370,000 troops for an ambitious conquest of Khorasan (Central Asia). Vast sums from the treasury are spent on preparations, outfitting, and paying this force. The expedition never departs — it is abandoned after enormous expenditure, leaving the treasury severely depleted. This waste directly worsens the economic conditions that would soon trigger famine.
Source: Barani, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi
Muhammad bin Tughlaq orders the entire population of Delhi — one of the world's largest cities — to relocate to Daulatabad (formerly Devagiri) in the Deccan, approximately 1,100km away. The order is enforced by soldiers. Those who refuse or delay face punishment. Thousands die during the forced march. Ibn Batuta, arriving in Delhi shortly after, describes the city as completely empty and desolate. The experiment proves disastrous economically and administratively.
Source: Ibn Batuta, Rihla; Barani, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi
Facing treasury depletion from the Khorasan expedition cost and the capital transfer, Muhammad bin Tughlaq introduces brass and copper tokens as legal tender equivalent to silver coins. Almost immediately, counterfeiting becomes rampant — Barani writes that "every house became a mint." Silver and gold coins disappear from circulation. Foreign merchants refuse the tokens. Trade collapses. The Sultan eventually reverses the policy, buying back tokens with silver — devastating the treasury further.
Source: Barani, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi; Ibn Batuta, Rihla
A severe drought strikes the Doab (the fertile plain between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers). Muhammad bin Tughlaq's response — maintaining high taxation despite crop failure — devastates the population. Villages are abandoned as peasants flee taxation. Barani records that the famine lasted years and caused mass death. Estimates of deaths range from hundreds of thousands to several million. The Sultan's failure to reduce taxation is documented explicitly by Barani.
Source: Barani, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi; Ibn Batuta, Rihla
Recognizing the administrative failure of ruling from Daulatabad, Muhammad bin Tughlaq reverses the capital transfer and orders the population back to Delhi. This means the same people who survived the march south were now forced to march north again. The physical and human cost of both marches is immense. Delhi never fully recovered its pre-1327 population during his lifetime.
Fakhr-ud-Din Mubarak Shah seizes control of Sonargaon (eastern Bengal) and declares independence. The Bengal Sultanate is effectively lost to Muhammad bin Tughlaq's empire. This marks the beginning of a cascade of provincial rebellions that would progressively strip the Delhi Sultanate of its territories during his reign.
Over twenty documented rebellions break out across the Sultanate during Muhammad bin Tughlaq's reign — in the Doab, in Gujarat, in Bengal, in the Deccan. His suppression of each rebellion is characterized by brutal collective punishment. Ibn Batuta witnessed multiple executions during his years in the Sultanate court. Many rebel leaders and their families are publicly executed.
Source: Ibn Batuta, Rihla; Barani, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi
Alauddin Bahman Shah leads a successful rebellion in the Deccan and establishes the Bahmani Sultanate, permanently severing the Deccan from Delhi's control. This is a catastrophic territorial loss — the Deccan had been the Sultanate's key southern stronghold. The loss is a direct consequence of the economic mismanagement, famine deaths, and administrative chaos of Muhammad bin Tughlaq's reign.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq dies of fever while leading a campaign in Thatta (Sindh), attempting to suppress yet another revolt. Contemporary sources note the irony: the man who had ruled by fear died while chasing down rebels. By his death, the Sultanate had lost Bengal, the Deccan, and several other provinces. Historian Edward Gibbon wrote of him: "The best commentary on his administration is the saying that he freed India of its inhabitants."
Source: Ibn Batuta, Rihla; Barani, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi