Development of regional states from 13th century to 18th century in India:

(i) Those states that were annexed to the Sultanate formed various provinces and were placed under the administration of the provincial governors.

(ii) Though these regions were now a part of the Delhi Sultanate, the regional characteristics of language, art, literature and religion remained.

(iii) Though there was hardly any regional ruling dynasty, the provincial governors of the Sultanate allied with the local rajas and zamindars and asserted their independence.

(iv) Most of the regional states that came up after the fourteenth century when the Delhi Sultanate was declining were a result of the rebellions of the governors.

(v) The establishment of Vijaynagara and the Bahamani was a result of the assertion of power by the provincial officers like Harihara and Bukka and Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah respectively.

(vi) In East Bengal and in West Multan and Sind also became independent.

(vii) With the death of Feroz Shah Tughlaq in 1338, the decline of the Sultanate began. The relationship between the Sultan and the nobles worsened. The conflict with the local rulers and zamindars as well as regional and geographical tensions weakened the Sultanate further.

(viii) The invasion of Timur in 1398 further aggravated the decline of the Delhi Sultanate. He entered Delhi and mercilessly killed both the Hindus and Muslims and massacred women and children as well.

(ix) Fifteen years after Timur's raid in Delhi, the Delhi Sultanate declined. The Sultanates in Gujarat, Malwa and Jaunpur emerged as powerful regional kingdoms.

(x) New regional states independent of the Delhi Sultanate arose in central and South India too. The prominent ones were the Gajapatis of Orissa, the Bahamanis and the Vijayanagara empire.

(xi) During the rule of Ibrahim Lodi (1517- 1526), Bihar declared its independence.

(xii) Daulat Khan, the governor of Punjab rebelled and invited Babur to invade India in 1526.

(xiii) During the rule of the Mughal Empire from 1526 onwards, the ruling dynasties in the regional states gradually lost their power and these states over a period of time became the part of the Mughal Empire. But the regional features of language, art, literature, and religion continued with changes.

(xiv) With the decline of the Mughals in the 18th century there were rebellions of the provincial governors and a few annexed states declared their independence. As a result new regional kingdoms arose. For example, Punjab, Bengal, Awadh, Hyderabad, Mysore and Marathas.