Ruler

Important Points to Remember

Alexander(Greek Invasion)

•  The first account of major invasion of India came from Alexander of Macedonia.
•  By 326 B.C, he had conquered Asia Minor and the Middle East and had reached the northwest frontiers of the Indian subcontinent.
• There he defeated King Porus in the Battle of the Hydaspes (Hydaspes being the Greek name of the Jhelum) and conquered much of the Punjab. 
• Alexander marched east to confront the Nanda Empire of Magadha and the Gangaridai of Bengal. His army, exhausted and frightened by the prospect of facing larger Indian armies at the Ganges River, mutinied at the Hyphasis (modern Beas River) and refused to march further East.
• Alexander, after the meeting with his officer, Coenus, and learning about the might of Nanda Empire, was convinced that it was better to return. 

Muhammad bin Qâsim ( Arab Invasion )

• The first attempted invasion of India by Muslims occurred in 636 CE – under Caliph Umar.
• The first 16 invasion attempts of invasions failed miserably., but the 17th attempt to invade India by Muhammad bin Qâsim (his third attempt) was successful.
• Muhammad bin Qâsim marched to Sindh where at Debal, a port city near the modern Karachi, he took the town. This was followed by his conquest of Alor, located north of Hyderabad and Multan.

Mahmud of Ghazni (Turkish Invasion)

• He is said to have made 17 raids into India: against the Hindushahi rulers of Punjab: Jayapala (1001), Anandapala (Waihind 1008-09), the Muslim rulers of Multan and the famous raids against Kannauj (1018) and Somnath (1025).
•  He died in Ghazni in 1030 AD.

Muhammad of Ghur

•  The second Turkish attack was led by Muhammad Ghuri who conquered Sindh and Lahore in 1182.
• Soon after, he started attacking the Rajput kingdoms.
•  Prithviraj Chauhan fought against Ghuri at the first battle of Tarain in 1191 AD and defeated Ghuri.
• However, at the second battle of Tarain in 1192 AD, Prithviraj was defeated and Muhammad Ghuri  annexed the kingdom of Delhi.

Qutab-ud-Din (Slave Dynasty)

• On the death of Muhammad Ghuri, Aibak founded the Slave Dynasty.
• Qutb-ud-din Aibak started the construction of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the Qutub Minar during his reign but could not finish it.

Iltutmish (1210 AD – 1236 AD)

• He was son-in-law of Aibak who became the sultan by defeating Aibak’s son.
• He introduced Iqta – land granted to army officials for limited periods in lieu of a regular wage.
• He also introduced coins of Tanka (silver) and Jital (copper).
• The Qutub Minar was completed during his reign.

Raziya Sultan(1236 AD – 1239 AD)

•  Iltutmish nominated his daughter Raziya to the throne. Raziya was the First and only Muslim lady to sit on Delhi Throne.
• Muizuddin Qaiqabad who was the last sultan of the Slave Dynasty was killed by Jalal-ud-din Khilji.

Jalal-ud-din Khilji
 (Khilji Dynasty )
(1290 AD – 1320 AD)

• Jalal-ud-din Khilji established the Khilji Dynasty.

Alauddin Khilji (1296 AD – 1316 AD)

•  Jalal-ud-din was murdered by Alauddin Khilji , who was nephew and son-in-law of Jalal-ud-din.
•  Malik Kafur, Allauddin lieutenant captured Warangal, overthrew the Hoysala Empire south of the Krishna River and raided Madura in Tamil Nadu. Among these loots was the Warangal loot that included one of the largest known diamond in human history, the Koh-i-noor.

Rulers in Khilji Dynasty
• 1290–1296 Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji
• 1296–1316 Alauddin Khilji
• 1316 Shihab ad-Din Umar
• 1316–1320 Qutb ad-Din Mubarak

Ghyasuddin Tughlaq 

(Tughlaq Dynasty )
(1320-1413)

• Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq  put an end to the Khilji dynasty.
•  He built the city Tughlaqabad near Delhi.

Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq (1325 AD – 1351 AD)

• Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq succeeded his father.
• He moved his capital from Delhi to Deogir (Daulatabad), in order to control the Deccan.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351 AD – 1388 AD)

• He founded four important towns during his reign. They were Firozabad, Fatehabad, Jaunpur and Hissar Firoza (modern day Hisar).
• Two pillars of Ashoka were brought to Delhi(one from Meerut and the other from Topra) and erected in Delhi.
•  He wrote Fatuhat-i-Firozshah (autobiography).

Rulers in Tughlaq Dynasty

• Ghyasuddin Tughlaq (1321–1325 )
• Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325–1351)
• Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388)
• Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq II / Abu Bakr Shah / Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Shah III/ Sultan Nasir-u Din Mahmud (These rulers sat on thr throne form 1388 to 1413 )
• During Sultan Nasir-u Din Mahmud, India faced invasion by Timur.(1398 AD)

Khizr Khan
(Sayyid Dynasty)
(1414 AD-1451 AD)

• Khizr Khan was the founder of Sayyid Dynasty.
• He was succeeded by his son Mubarak Khan in 1421.
• After Mubarak,  a grandson of Khizr Khan ascended the throne with the title of Muhammad Shah.
• Muhammad Shah’s son Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah succeeded him.
• Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Delhi sultanate to  Bahlul Khan Lodi in 1451

Rulers in Tughlaq Dynasty

• Khizr Khan (1414-21)
• Mubarak Shah (1421-33)
• Muhammad Shah (1434-45 A.D.)
• Ala ud-Din Alam Shah (1445-51 A.D.)

 Behlol Lodhi
(Lodhi Dynasty)
(1451-1526)

• Behlol Lodhi, an Afgan, was the founder of this dynasty who was also in service during the rule of Khizr Khan.

Sikander Lodhi (1489 – 1517)

• His son Sikandar Lodhi became the king .
• He founded the modern city of Agra on the site known as Sikandarabad.

Ibrahim Lodhi (1517–1526)

• After Sikandar Lodhi, Ibrahim Lodi came to throne.
•  He fought against Babur in First Battle of Panipat in 1526 and lost the battle.
• With the death of Ibrahim Lodhi in the battle, not only the Lodhi Dynasty, but the Delhi Sultanate also came to an end.

Babur
(Mughal Dynasty)

(1526–1540 AD 
1555–1857 AD)

• Babar founder of the Mughal dynasty, was the king of Kabul.
• He wrote Tuzuk-i-Babari (autobiography).

Humayun (1530 AD -1540 and 1555–1556 AD)

• Sher Shah defeated Humayun in Kannauj (1540 AD) and Humayun passed the next twelve years in exile.
•  In 1555, after Sher Shah’s death, Humayun regained the throne from his weak successor.

Akbar (1556 AD – 1605 AD)

• Akbar, his son, succeed him in 1556 AD.
• His first conflict was with Hemu, a general of Adil Shah, when he was just 13 years old.
• King Hemu was the only Hindu King who ever ruled Delhi in Indian History.
• At the second battle of Panipat (1556 AD), Hemu was defeated and Akbar reoccupied Delhi and Agra.
• Akbar annexed Malwa and brought a major part of Rajasthan under his control, except Mewar, which continued to resist under Rana Pratap and his son Amar Singh.
• He built the Buland Darwaza, after his successful campaign in dominating Gujarat.

Jahangir (1605 AD – 1627 AD)

• Akbar’s son, Salim succeeded him after his death.

Shah Jahan (1628 AD – 1658 AD)

• The Famous peacock throne and the Red Fort were completed by him.
• Moti Masjid, Agra, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, Delhi, and the Lahore Fort were built by him.

Aurangzeb (1658 AD – 1707 AD)

• He became the emperor in 1658 after killing his three brothers and imprisoning his father.

• Foreign invasion of Nadir Shah Abdali in 1729 AD and Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1747-61 AD weakened the empire further.
• The last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was imprisoned by the Britishers after the 1857 mutiny.

The British East India Company

• The British East India Company was established under a Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I for 15 years for spice trading primarily.
• After the battle of Plassey, in 1757, they secured permission from the Mughals to collect land revenue from these provinces in return for an annual tribute and maintaining of order and peace.
•  The Company took control of Mysore by defeating Tipu Sultan in 1792 and the Marathas were finally defeated in 1817 AD – 1819 AD. Further the company expanded its rule by defeating various provinces.