A long horizontal scroll unfurling across time — medieval Indian dates, events, and miniature illustrations of battles and court scenes in Indo-Persian style, representing the chronology of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's reign
Chapter 2

Timeline of Events

A chronological walk through every major documented event during Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's reign — from his rise as Ghazi Malik to his suspicious death in 1325 CE.

Before the Throne

To understand Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's reign, one must first understand his rise. Born Ghazi Malik, he was a frontier warrior of mixed Turkic and Hindu Jat parentage who earned his title through warfare against non-Muslims on the northwestern frontier. His military career was built on the borderlands where the Sultanate waged constant war against Mongol incursions — but also against local Hindu populations.

📅 Year by Year

The Documented Record

Pre-1320
Rise of Ghazi Malik
Ghazi Malik rises through military ranks as Warden of the Western Marches under the Khilji Sultanate. He earns the title "Ghazi" (Slayer of Infidels) through frontier warfare. He successfully repels multiple Mongol invasions, building a loyal military following among Afghan and Turkic nobles.
📖 Tughlaq Nama, Amir Khusrau
1320
Overthrow of Khusrau Khan & Founding of Tughlaq Dynasty
Ghazi Malik marches on Delhi and overthrows Khusrau Khan (Nasir-ud-din Khusrau Shah), the last of the Khilji rulers. He ascends the throne as Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, founding the Tughlaq dynasty that will rule India for 93 years. He appoints his son Ulugh Khan (future Muhammad bin Tughlaq) as heir and key military commander.
📖 Tughlaq Nama, Amir Khusrau; Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, Barani
1320–21
Construction of Tughlaqabad Fort Begins
Ghiyasuddin orders the construction of the massive Tughlaqabad Fort near Delhi — a sprawling stone fortification designed to be impregnable. The fort is built using forced labor and enormous state resources. It becomes the new seat of Sultanate power. Construction diverts labor from other projects, leading to a conflict with the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya.
📖 Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, Barani
1320–21
Discriminatory Tax Policy Implemented
Ghiyasuddin implements a systematic tax policy — lowering rates for Muslims while raising taxes on Hindus. His court historian Barani documents the rationale: Hindus should not become wealthy enough to "become rebellious" but should not be so oppressed as to "abandon cultivation." This institutional religious discrimination affects millions of Hindu subjects across the Sultanate.
📖 Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, Ziauddin Barani
1321
First Warangal Campaign — Failure
Ghiyasuddin sends his son Ulugh Khan with a massive army to conquer the Kakatiya kingdom at Warangal (modern Telangana). The first campaign fails due to logistical challenges and fierce resistance from the Kakatiya ruler Prataparudra II. Ulugh Khan is forced to retreat — but Ghiyasuddin immediately plans reinforcements.
📖 Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, Barani; Wikipedia
1323
Second Warangal Campaign — Destruction of the Kakatiya Kingdom
Ghiyasuddin sends reinforcements and Ulugh Khan returns to Warangal. This time the Kakatiya kingdom falls. The consequences are devastating: the Svayambhu Shiva Temple is desecrated, the Thousand Pillar Temple is plundered, the Ghanpur temple complex is ransacked. The state treasury, plundered wealth, and captives are transferred to Delhi. The Kakatiya kingdom — a flourishing Hindu civilization that had thrived for centuries — is permanently destroyed. Ruler Prataparudra II dies en route to Delhi as a captive.
📖 Tughlaq Nama, Khusrau; Multiple archaeological sources
1323–24
Subjugation of Bengal
Ghiyasuddin personally leads a military campaign to suppress the rebellion in Bengal. He defeats Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Shah, the governor who had declared independence, and reasserts Sultanate control over the region. The campaign involves the movement of massive armies across eastern India, with significant impact on local populations.
📖 Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, Barani
1324
Campaign in Tirhut (Mithila)
Sultanate forces under Ghiyasuddin's command attack the Hindu kingdom of Tirhut (Mithila) in modern Bihar. The region, known for its rich Sanskrit learning traditions, is subjugated and brought under direct Sultanate control. Local rulers are displaced and the region's independence is crushed.
📖 Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, Barani
February 1325
Suspicious Death — The Pavilion Collapse
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq dies when a hastily constructed wooden pavilion collapses on him upon his return from the Bengal campaign. His court historian Barani attributes the death to a lightning strike, but the renowned traveler Ibn Batuta explicitly claims it was a conspiracy orchestrated by Ulugh Khan (Muhammad bin Tughlaq), who had arranged for elephants to be paraded near the weakened structure. Muhammad bin Tughlaq immediately ascends the throne — inheriting the dynasty of destruction his father had founded.
📖 Rihla, Ibn Batuta; Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, Barani

What Followed: 93 Years of the Tughlaq Dynasty

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's five-year reign was just the beginning. The dynasty he founded would go on to devastate India for nearly a century. His son's reign saw the disastrous shift of the capital, the destruction of the Indian economy through token currency experiments, and the systematic desecration of Hindu temples across the Deccan. His successor Firoz Shah Tughlaq would take religious persecution to new heights — destroying temples, imposing Jizya on Brahmins, and personally boasting of his iconoclasm.

The seed was planted in 1320. The harvest of devastation lasted until 1413.

Next Chapter

Military Campaigns →

The Warangal conquest, Bengal subjugation, and the destruction they left behind.