What was the status of the Nobles & Ministers during the Sultanate Period?

What was the status of the Nobles & Ministers during the Sultanate Period?

The Nobles

A very effective check was put on the power of the king by the nobles. No Sultan could afford to offend the powerful nobles without endangering his own position. Some of these nobles were the heads of clans and consequently had a permanent following. It was not easy to impose the royal will on them. They considered themselves to be the equals of the Sultan and capable of founding royal dynasties themselves.

Their relationship with the Sultan varied according to the character and capability of the Sultan. The only ideal that held the nobles together was the service of Islam. It was realised that a faith without a state was futile and a state without a faith was without any guidance.

It is these feelings which kept the nobles together and they obeyed the Sultan so long as they felt that he was performing his duties. If he was found to be incapable, the nobles did not hesitate to revolt against him. It must not be forgotten that the nobles very often did what was advantageous to them.

The Ministers

There is an Arab adage that “The bravest of men require arms and the wisest of kings need ministers” and the same was true of the Delhi Sultans. During the rule of the so-called Slave dynasty, there were four ministers, viz, the Wazir, the Ariz-i-Mamalik, the Dewan-i-Insha and the Diwan-i-Rasalat. Sometimes, the Naib or Naib-i-Mamalik was also appointed. He exercised great authority particularly when the Sultan was weak.

Ordinarily, he was inferior to Wazir. It was later on that the offices of the Sadr-us-Sudur and Diwan-i-Qaza were raised to the status of ministers. Thus, there were 6 ministers under the Delhi Sultanate. The Comptroller of the Royal household was not technically a minister but he exercised greater powers than a minister did.

The Delhi Sultans were surrounded by the wisest and most experienced men in the realm. They had wonderful opportunities of seeking advice and counsel and keeping in touch with public opinion. The ministers were just the servants of the Sultan and responsible to him alone. However, this does not mean that a minister had no real authority. The position and powers of a minister were well-defined by law and sanctified by tradition.

Wazir

The chief minister was called the Wazir and great importance was attached to this post. The Wazir stood mid-way between the sovereign and his subjects. He was considered to be a partaker in sovereignty. It was recognised that no empire could be stable or prosperous without a Wazir. “Sovereignty and dominion could not be the pinnacle of their height without the help and co-operation of a Wazir, whose wise deliberations would result in promoting the welfare of the country and the prosperity of the people.”

In the Sultanate of Delhi, there were two types of Wazirs. Most of them possessed special and limited powers. A few of them enjoyed unlimited authority and ruled the empire in the naira of the Sultan. Some Sultans were too much under the control of the Wazir who practically usurped all power.

The functions of the Wazir have been given in the following passage: “The kings know well how to lead expeditions, conquer countries, give rewards and shine in the assembly or the battlefield; but it is in the domain of the Wazir to make a country prosperous, to accumulate treasure, to appoint officials, to ask for accounts and to arrange the stock-taking of the commodities in the Karkhanahs and the census of the horses, camels, mules and other animals, to assemble and pay the troops and artisans.

To keep the people satisfied, to look after the men of piety and fame and to give them stipends, to take care of the widows and the orphans, to provide for the learned, to administer the affairs of the people, to organise the offices and look after their efficiency; in short, to transact the business of the state.” The Wazir was the head of the entire machinery of the government.

Although his immediate concern was the central finance office, he was also responsible for other offices at the headquarters. He appointed and superintended the civil servants. He organised the agency for the collection of revenue. He exercised complete control over the various channels of expenditure. His assistants examined the accounts submitted by the various departments of the Government. The various statements were compared, checked and passed in his office.

It was his duty to recover the money illegally spent by the local officials. All the requirements of the military department were referred to him for his final approval. It was his office which kept accounts, disbursed salaries and allotted assignments. It was his department which paid stipends to scholars and men of learning and also gave doles to the poor and needy. Every subject from the Governor to the peasant had dealing with him or his assistants.

The Sultans always supported their Wazirs in enforcing discipline. There was always co-operation between the Sultan and the Wazir. There was always the possibility of the interested parties poisoning the mind of the Sultan against the Wazir and wise Wazirs always guarded against that possibility. The Wazir was to conduct himself in such a way that he did not create too many enemies. Most of the Wazirs were men of culture and refined taste. The only exception was Khan Jahan Maqbul.