The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History

by Peter Jackson

The Delhi Sultanate was the first Islamic state to be established in India. This book traces its history from 1210 to its demise at the sack of Delhi in 1400. While the focus is on military and political affairs, the book also explores the Sultans' relations with their non-Muslim subjects. As a first comprehensive treatment of the period, the book will make a significant contribution to medieval Indo-Muslim history. Students of Islamic and Indian history, and interested general readers, will find it a valuable resource.

Genres: History, India, War, Nonfiction

388 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

There is more than one author with this name
Professor of Medieval History
Keele University

Reviews

[Kenghis Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, this book is DEFINITELY NOT for the uninitiated. That means you. And me. I consider myself fairly well versed in late medieval Asian politics, but this one was a total kicker. I figure if I was a serious student of medieval India this would be one hell of an excellent book. Jackson definitely knows his shit, and recites at ease numerous nuances of the primary sources, their controversies, and obscure fragments and letters. He weaves in numismatics, epigraphical and archaelogical evidence to abet and analyze the claims made by the Indian chroniclers. This will easily work as an upper-level undergraduate textbook on the period.

Which is why it was such a pity I wasn't ready to undertake this. More a reference book than something you sit down and read, this 325-pg book took me one whole month to finish. Hence the textbook comment. But finish it I did. Part of the reason the going was so slow is that Jackson's "The Delhi Sultanate" comes across as an English translation of Barani and other Persian/Delhian chronicles of the northern Subcontinent during this time. The author is more interested in laying out a sequence of events rather than speculate on causal relationships, though to be sure he does some of that (as in his excellent analysis of the sultanates capitulation to Temur). While at times the discussions may seem bogged down, and the writing deadeningly monotonous, the work is still a terrific piece of scholarship. Just treat it as a reference and don't undertake it for pleasure reading.

[Anil Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

coming soon

[Tsai Wei-chieh · Rating 4 out of 5]

從作者的博士論文改寫而成，利用了大量波斯文材料，為研究印度中古史與蒙古帝國與印度關係史的經典之作。

[Abhishek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of thoughts here.