Balban’s death (1286) was followed by a few years of anarchy. In 1290, a group of Khilji nobles led by Jalal-ud-Din Khalji, who had fought successfully against the Mongols in the earlier period, overthrew the Turks. The Khilji rebellion ended the Turkish monopoly over high offices.

Jalal-ud-Din was the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate who put forward the view that the State should be based on the willing support of the governed, and that since a large majority of the people in India were Hindus, the State in India could not be truly Islamic.

The next ruler in the line, Ala-ud-Din Khilji (1296-1314), came to the throne by treacherously murdering his father-in-law, Jalal-ud-Din. He put down rebellions with a heavy hand and framed a series of regulations to prevent nobles from conspiring against him. They were forbidden to hold banquets or festivities, or enter into marriage alliances without the permission of the Sultan.

He also banned the use of wines and intoxicants. He further instituted a spy service to keep himself informed on all matters. All this resulted in the breakdown of the old nobility. The new nobility learnt to accept anyone who was powerful enough to ascend the throne. Thus, after his death, Malik Kafur raised a minor to the throne and he was followed by Khusrau, an incompetent Hindu convert.

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Ala-ud-Din Khilji is well-known for conquests of Gujarat and large Parts of Rajasthan including Chittor. Under Malik Kafur, his forces went south into the Deccan-as far as Chidambaram. Ala-ud-Din is also known ‘or his internal reforms and experiments. His most important experiment was market control.

The rationale behind this was to maintain a continuous and cheap supply of goods to the towns in order to gain the loyalty of the people. Besides, he paid his soldiers in cash, and he wanted them to be able to buy within their means.

Ala-ud-Din was also the first monarch to establish direct relations with the peasants. He did away with the iqta system, by which a noble was assigned villages in an area in lieu of his pay. Ala-ud-Din stipulated that land revenue should be paid in kind and not cash and the land revenue was raised to half the produce.