The Delhi Sultanate was a late medieval Islamic empire that served as the principal Muslim sultanate in North India, lasting for over three centuries. It is a historical concept representing a period of rule from 1206 to 1526. The Sultanate originated from the fragmented territories of the Ghurid dynasty after its founder, Muhammad Ghori, routed the Rajput Confederacy at the Battle of Tarain in 1192. It was formally established in 1206 by Qutb ud-Din Aibak, a Turkic slave-general of Ghori, consolidating the Ghurid conquests into a centralized state based in Delhi.
The Sultanate was ruled by five sequential dynasties: the Mamluk (1206–1290), Khalji (1290–1320), Tughlaq (1320–1414), Sayyid (1414–1451), and Lodi (1451–1526). Its administrative mechanism was a centralized monarchy with the Sultan as the supreme authority in political, military, and legal matters, with governance based on Sharia (Islamic laws). A core feature was the Iqta system, where the empire was divided into administrative regions (Iqtas) assigned to officials (Muqtis or Iqtadars) responsible for collecting revenue and maintaining troops. Central administration was managed through key departments like the Diwan-i-Wizarat (Finance) and Diwan-i-Ariz (Military). The Sultanate reached its peak territorial extent under the Tughlaq dynasty. It was succeeded by the Mughal Empire after Babur defeated the last Sultan, Ibrahim Lodi, at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.