Abstract
Despite frequent emphasis on this issue in recent paleoclimatology studies, the influence of climate on the formation of the Delhi Sultanate, which began with the conquests of the Ghūrids in Northern India, has not been sufficiently investigated. Furthermore, the hypothesis that the disparity in rainfall patterns between Central Asia and North India may have facilitated the establishment of the state is largely unsubstantiated by evidence derived from primary sour ces. The present study therefore sets out and examines written evidence indicating the impact of extraordinary climatic conditions on military, commercial and human mobility between the core territories of the Ghūrids (Ghor, Ghazna, Kabul) and North India from the second half of the 12th century onwards. The compiled records of famine and drought do not indicate a positive climatic effect that would have created a centre of attraction for Central Asian tribes, including the Turks who established the Delhi Sultanate in North India during this period. Despite the harshness and infertility of the Ghūrid lands, it is understood that the subsistence of the urban population was not interrupted due to recurring extraordinary weather events. Moreover, the written sources emphasise that the fundamental rationale for the short-term abandonment of urban settlements pertained to the political discord between Ghūrids and the Khwārezm-Shāhs. In fact, the impact of climatic conditions on agricultural production during the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate requires reliable proxy data and archaeological evi dence from continuous settlements.
Keywords: Delhi Sultanlığı, Gûrlular, Kuzey Hindistan, Ortaçağ İklim Anomalisi, Küçük Buzul Çağı
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