What were the Public Works Executed by Firuz Tughluq?

The master passion of Firuz was to build. Sir Wolseley Haig rightly points out that passion for building of Firuz equalled, if it did not surpass, that of the Roman Emperor Augustus the important towns of Firuzabad (the present Kolta Firuz Shah in Delhi), Fatehabad, Hissar, Jaunpur and Firuzpur (near Badaun) were founded by him. During his Bengal campaigns, renamed Ikdala as Azadpur and Pandua as Firuzabad.

The Sultan built 4 mosques, 30 pala 200 caravan Sarais, 5 reservoirs, 4 hospitals, a hundred tombs, 10 baths, 10 monumental pillars a hundred bridges, He constructed 150 wells for the use of travelers. He dug 5 cannels irrigation. He lafid out 1,200 gardens in the neighbourhood of Delhi.

The Sultan established at Delhi a hospital described variously as Dar-ul-Shifa, Bimaristan and Shifakhana. Very competent physicians were appointed to take after the patients. Its Darukhara 1 or dispensary contained numerous medicines and preparations which were supplied free.

Orders were given to the staff of the hospital to be very polite of the people. The revenues of certain villages were appropriated for the maintenance of this hospital. Four hospitals of this type set up in other towns.

The chief architect of the state was Malik Ghazi Shahana who was assisted in his work by Abdul Haq. The plan of every building along with its estimates was required to be submitted to the Diwani-i-Wizarat before money was sanctioned for its construction.

About his building activities the Sultan himself observes thus: “Among the gifts which God bestowed upon me. His humble servant was a desire to erect public buildings. So I built many mosques and colleges any monasteries that the learned and the devout and he holy, might worship God in these edifices an< aid the kind builder with their prayers.

According to Dr. V. A. Smith, “Asiatic kings, as a rule, show no interest in buildings erected by their predecessors which usually are allowed to decay uncared for.

Firuz Shah was peculiar devoting much attention to the repair and re-building of the structures of former kings and ancient nobles giving the restoration of those buildings the priority over his own constructions.”

The two pillars of Ashoka were brought to Delhi from Meerut and Topra (in the Ambala district). The pillar from Topra was re-erected at Delhi near the palace and great mosque at Firuzabad. The from Meerut was set up on a mound near the Qushki-i-Shikar or hunting palace near the

Bara Hindu of Rao Hospital at Delhi. Shams-i-Shiraj Afif describes the process of transportation in these words: “A number of large boats had been collected, some of which could carry 5,000 and 7,000 mans of grain and the least of them 2,000 mans.

The column was very ingeniously transferred to these boats and was then conducted to Firuzabad where it was landed and conveyed into Kushk with infinite labour and skill.”