The golden period of medieval history began with the Turkish conquests led by Mahmud of Ghazni. Following his footsteps, Muhammad Ghori carried on the invasions in the soils of Indian Territory. At the battle of Tarain, he overpowered Prithviraj Chauhan, the Tomar ruler of Delhi, in the year 1192. After victory in the war, he left India and his deputy, Qutubudin reigned from 1206 A.D to 1210 A.D. As he belonged to a family of slaves the dynasty that he built is popular as the Slave Dynasty. It is he who built the towering Qutub Minar in Delhi. His successor Iltutmish carried forward the legacy during his rule starting from 1210 to1236.

The lineage of Indian kings after Razziya, namely, Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodis valiantly adopted the footsteps of the Slave rulers. This period is known as the Delhi Sultanate. They were popular in the medieval history for their valor and statesmanship. Allauddin Khilji ruled from 1296 to1316.

Eminent ruler of medieval history of India is Muhammad Tughlaq. His tenure began from 1324 and ended on 1351. He was a visionary and has been endowed with a keen intellect, proficient in various branches of learning like logic, philosophy and mathematics. Feroz Shah tughlaq too was an important ruler of the medieval history.

Lodhi Dynasty
The next Indian dynasty that illuminated the medieval history of India is the rulers of Sayyids and Lodi dynasties. Khizr Khan founded the Saiyyid Empire. The Sayyids reigned from about 1414 AD to 1450 AD. In 1412 AD, he conquered Gujarat, Gwalior and Jaunpur. In 1416, he defeated Bayana and in 1421AD he attacked Mewat. After his death few rulers reigned for quite some time. The empire came to an end in 1451 AD with the death of the last ruler Muhammad-bin-Farid.

Behlol Lodhi founded the Lodhi dynasty and thus started a new era of the medieval history of India. After coming to the throne in 1451 A D he appeased the rebelling nobles and Jagirdars. He gave jagirs to the Afghan nobles to win their cooperation, and brought Mewar, Sambal and Gwalior under his rule. Bahlul Lodhi nominated his son Nizam Khan as his successor. But the nobles placed Barbak Shah on the throne. Barbak Shah was appointed the governor of Jaunpur. He brought Gwalior and Bihar under his rule. Though he was a religious fanatic yet he brought changes in some of the practices of the Muslims. He encouraged education and trade. His military skill helped him in bringing the Afghan nobles under his control.

Sikandar Lodi defeated Barbak Shah who in co-operation with Hussain Shah of Jaunpur fought against him. Ibrahim Lodi who is said to have been the last great ruler of the Lodi dynasty succeeded Sikandar Lodi. He came to the power in 1517 AD. His relations with the Afghan nobles became worse and this led to several conflicts with him. The discontented Afghan chiefs sent Daulal Khan Lodi to invite Babur the king of Kabul to India. In the year 1525 and1526 Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the battle of Panipat. With this defeat the Delhi Sultanate was laid to rest.

Coming of Mughals
The Medieval History of India got a new shape and dynamism with the coming of Babur. This was the beginning of the new era of Mughal rulers. Babur who reigned from1526-30 was the founder of the Mughal Empire in India There was a brief interruption to Mughal rule when Babur`s son Humayun (reign - 1530-40) was ousted from Delhi, by Sher Shah, an Afghan chieftain.

The credit goes to the grandson of Babur for extending the Mughal rule by leaps and bounds. In the Medieval history of India he was the most significant ruler for his achievements as well as his good administration.

Jahangir (reign - 1605-27) who succeeded Akbar was a pleasure loving man of refined taste. Shah Jahan (1628-58) his son ascended the throne next. Shah Jahan`s fame rests on the majestic buildings he has left behind - the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid. His successor, Aurangzeb (reign - 1658-1707) was a brave general and an able administrator. However his staunch policies of expanding the empire brought about the fall of the Mughal Empire.

Medieval history of India is marked by the heritage of efficient rulers, thereby contributing to the country`s richness of heritage and ethnicity.