Upon Muhammad bin Tughluq's death, Firuz Shah succeeded the throne on 23 March 1351, on the banks of
Sindh. According to the
Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, a group of
Mongols had plundered a baggage train and were advancing to Firuz's camp leading to a battle wherein the latter was victorious and the captives secured by the Mongols set free. The defeated
Mongols fled their camps back to their own countries, securing Firuz Shah's first victory as emperor. During this time it was thought by the Khwaja-i-Jahan of the empire through misinformed intelligence that Firuz Shah was missing and presumed dead, causing him to place Mahmud, an allegedly imposter son of Muhammad bin Tughluq on the throne but upon finding out that Firuz was alive he gathered an army of twenty thousand at
Delhi until peace was made. Firuz hearing of this unanimously agreed with his nobles that Muhammad bin Tughluq had only one daughter and thence marched through
Multan,
Dipalpur and
Ajodhan, gathering a large army of soldiers, nobles, and commoners from these cities for his march to
Delhi, including thirty six
Rajas of this region, he also completed a pilgrimage to the tomb of
Baba Farid. According to this same tradition, whilst marching to
Delhi, Firuz received a son, naming him Fateh Khan and founded the town of
Fatehabad after him at the place of his birth. The Khawaja-i-Jahan had set to
Fatehabad and sued for peace pleading with Firuz for his mistake, securing Firuz's rule.
Attempted regicide A daughter of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, Khudawand-zada, alongside her husband, conspired to murder Firuz when he came to visit her next. It was a custom of Firuz Shah to visit Khudawand-zada after Friday prayers. However, after seeing hidden signals being made on his visit, he left her palace and took the sword from a
Rai Chirhu Bhatti, one of his nobles. He then confronted her and demanded her immediate retirement and exiled her husband.
Conquests Invasions of Bengal In 1353, Firuz Shah set to invade the region of
Bengal ruled by
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah and camped on the banks of the
Kosi River with over 70,000 men. During this time the ruler of
Gorakhpur submitted to Firuz and paid a tribute of over 20,000 Tankas. Firuz Shah's army crossed the
Kosi River causing
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah to flee with his army to Ekdala,
West Bengal. He soon after besieged the city but feigned a retreat leading to Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah to leave the city with his army to harass the Sultans retreat. The sultans army was secretly split into three divisions led by Tatar Khan, Malik Dillan and Malik Hisam Nawa and an assault was led on the Bengal army causing 180,000 casualties to
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah and his eventual retreat. Tatar Khan attempted to persuade Firuz to annex Bengal however he declined, stating that previous
Delhi sultans had annexed it however it was not prudent due to the marshy lands of the region. Two years after the invasion of
Bengal, Firuz built the city of
Hisar and before his second invasion constructed the city of
Firozabad on the banks of the
Yamuna river. Preceding Firuz's second invasion, the king of
Sonargaon was killed by
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah and his son-in-law Zafar Khan had fled to the court of Firuz in
Hisar with preparations soon made in
Delhi to avenge Zafar Khan's claims.
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah upon hearing of Firuz Shah's preparations for war, had fled from Ekdala to Sonargaon, deeper in
Bengal for a securer position. Firuz had amassed an army of 70,000 men and marched towards Bengal in 1358, creating the city of
Jaunpur named after the second sultan of the
Tughlaq dynasty, Muhammad bin Tughluq during his expedition. Simultaneously, Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah had died and was succeeded by his son
Sikandar Shah who was then to be besieged at Ekdala by the Delhi army. The outcome of the war led to the creation of a peace treaty with Sikandar Shah under the condition that Zafar Khan was to regain his dominion in Sonargaon which was accepted, both Firuz Shah and Sikandar Shah would send gifts including elephants and horses to commemorate the treaty.
Conquest of Kangra . Firuz had received reports that the Rai of Kangra had raided his kingdom and plundered some of his districts, causing his march to
Nagarkot. Whilst passing through the city of
Sirhind, he built a canal connecting the
Sarasvati River with the
Markanda River and constructed a fort named Firuzpur. The Rai of
Kangra secured himself in a fort at Nagarkot and taking advantage, the Sultan's army had plundered the country of Kangra and besieged the fort of the Rai for 6 months until he surrendered himself, but was permitted to retain his kingdom under the
Fiefdom of Firuz. The
Nurpur kingdom centred in
Punjab and
Himachal Pradesh under
Kailas Pal (1353–1397), who ruled alongside Firuz Shah, had been noted as a great ally of the
Tughlaq dynasty. It had been written that Tatar Khan, a
Khorasani governor, had been defeated with his face slashed by Kailas Pal and was killed by the
Gakhars upon his invasion of the Punjab, 5000
Mansabdar was gifted to him as a reward for this victory.
Kailas Pal is also stated to have constructed an irrigation channel from the
Ravi River to
Pathankot. The
Nurpur kingdom supposedly converted to Islam during the reign of Firuz Shah according to records and Firuz had also converted the Chauhan Rajputs from Hinduism to Islam.
Conquest of Thatta In 1362, Firuz Shah set for
Thatta, modern day
Sindh, with 90,000 horses and 480 elephants whilst collecting a large fleet of boats to accompany the army down the
Indus River for his conquest. Firuz's horses suffered a great disease which wiped out three quarters of them and he decided to retreat to
Gujarat to regain his strength and gather more horses. During the retreat, his army lacked food and his soldiers began to starve, the situation further worsened after 'treacherous guides' had led them to where there was no fresh water, causing some of their executions which induced the rest of the guides to lead the army to the fertile plains of Gujarat. In 1363, Firuz, after re-strengthening his forces, continued his expedition launching a surprise assault on
Thatta, which inclined the people who were tilling their lands to apply a scorched earth policy, destroying their fields and taking shelter in mud forts west of the
Indus River. Firuz dispatched two of his garrisons to cross the river and besiege the town but without much luck they were forced to retreat and gather more forces from
Delhi. During this time the Delhi army reaped the crops from the conquered lands, replenishing food supplies whilst starving out the forces of
Thatta causing the rulers to submit to Firuz with an annual tribute of 400,000 Tankas to be sent to Delhi.
Death Firuz Shah had abdicated the throne to his son
Muhammad Shah III in 1387 but after devoting his rule to pleasure and abstaining from royal duties, the Delhi nobles had set out against Muhammed causing Firuz to confer the royal titles upon his great-grandson,
Tughluq Khan, the son of his deceased grandson and previously presumed heir, Fateh Khan, who died in 1376. However, in 1388, Firuz died at the age of 78 or 79 after a rule of 37 years. His
tomb is located in Hauz Khas, Delhi, close to the tank built by
Alauddin Khalji and attached to the tomb is a
madrasa built by Firuz in 1352–53. ==Administrative policies==