Composite Culture Under the Sultanate of Delhi (Revised and Enlarged Edition)

Book excerpt: This work explores the cultural orientation of the sultanate of Delhi, a subject on which little work has been done so far. The architects of the sultanate introduced a new system of governance with novel social and cultural institutions, and Persian as an official language. These were significant moves as they served as catalysts for social change. Alongside, the emergence of new urban centres as well as setting up of colonies of foreign immigrants from lands of more advanced culture in the old towns led to the transfiguration of culture in the sultanate. Structurally, it is divided into three parts. The first explores the role played by the metropolis of Delhi as an integrating nucleus, and examines the cultural and social relationship between Hindus and Muslims, and the intellectual and diplomatic atmosphere of the times. The second part focuses on the nature of the relationship between the sultans of Delhi and the Mongol rulers of Central Asia. The third part examines the life and position of women and the attitude of different classes of society towards their women folk during the sultanate period. As in his earlier works, the author marshals an impressive array of sources to underline his argument and offers a paradigm shift from conventional historiography, and in doing so opens up vistas for further research in the history and culture of the sultanate period.