Mohammad Bin Tughlaq

Mohammad Bin Tughlaq was the second Tughlaq ruler of Delhi. He ruled Delhi from 1325 to 1351. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq was the eldest son of the founder of Tughlaq dynasty in India, Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughluq. According to many historians, Mohammad Bin Tughlaq is supposed to have killed his father to gain authority to the throne. Muhammed Bin Tughluq is one of the most interesting rulers in the history of India. All through his rule, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq introduced many reforms and measures but all flopped. His biography states that he had a penchant for coins and is said to have introduced a huge number of gold coins with fine calligraphy work.

The greatest mistake committed by Mohammad Bin Tughlaq was to shift his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, located in the Deccan region of India. He did this in order to administer the provinces located in the south. Not only did he move his entire government, he forcibly moved the entire population of Delhi to Daulatabad. However, things did not work out as he had planned them and due to adequate amenities, the capital was shifted back to Delhi after two years. The population was greatly affected by this step and many of the people died on the way due to pathetic travel arrangements.

Mohammed Bin Tughlaq introduced token currency in India after being inspired by the Chinese. Most of the coins were made of brass and copper, while gold and silver coins were kept for the royal treasury. However, the copper coins were easy to forge and this led to massive losses in the royal office. His unsuccessful experiments made him quite unpopular with the people and his contemporaries. Poor administration in his empire led to internal aggression and revolts. This weakened his empire and led to irreversible damages. He finally died while on a campaign at Sindh.