Barani nor Ibn Battutah took pains to examine all aspects of the Sultan’s
personality in the correct perspective. It is a fact that Muhammad bin
Tughluq was the only Delhi Sultan who had received a comprehensive
literary, religious and philosophical education, as well as military training.
     Disappointed with the continuous rebellions by trusted officers such as
Sayyids, Afghans and Turkish governors, he promoted to high positions
intelligent administrators whose ancestors had very humble backgrounds. He
also invited foreigners from all over the world to his court. However, the
offended old nobles and grandees refused to cooperate with him.
     Immediately after coming to the throne, Muhammad faced a Mongol
invasion. But it was repulsed and there were no more Mongol invasions
during his reign. In 1326–7 his cousin, Gurshasp, governor of Sagar (near
Gulbarga), rebelled. He was captured and mercilessly executed.
Transfer of Capital Muhammad wanted to make the centrally located
Devagiri his second capital. In 1327 he made extensive preparations for the
transfer of the royal household and the ulema and Sufis from Delhi to
Devagiri, which he renamed Daulatabad. In 1328–9 the Muslim upper classes
and the ulema and Sufis were ordered to move to Daulatabad. When they
resisted, the Sultan enforced his orders relentlessly, causing great hardship to
the Delhi populace. The cultural and social life of the capital’s elite received
a setback, but no mass exodus ever took place. In fact, the two capitals
flourished simultaneously.
Qarachil Expedition On being informed that the Chinese were making
incursions into the Himalayan kingdoms, Muhammad dispatched an army to
the Kangra region in order to annex it to his empire and thus secure his
northern frontiers. The contemporary historians refer to it as the Qarachil
expedition. It seems to have taken place during 1329–30. After some initial
victories in Kangra, the imperial army pressed on to Tibet, where the local
hillmen annihilated it. This was a major catastrophe, for which the
commander who had exceeded the Sultan’s orders to confine the invasion to
Kangra was responsible.
             INTRODUCTION OF TOKEN CURRENCY
  In 1329–30 Muhammad introduced          a token currency, which remained in