How did Delhi sultanate maintain its large cavalry?
According to Firishta, Allaudin Khilji maintained a standing cavalry of 475,000 horsemen.
Even though modern historians believe the figure is exaggerated it gives us an idea in to the approximate cavalry size of Allaudin Khilji.
This large cavalry is also corroborated by Allaudin's repeated victories against Mongol invaders (source for victories: Banarsi Prasad Saksena, 1992)
Follow-up Questions:
- What would be an approximate educated guess for the cavalry size of Delhi sultanate in different time periods.
- What would be the approximate cavalry percentage of total army (both standing and levy).
- How did Delhi sultanate's cavalry and cavalry percentage compare to other indian kingdoms like Mughals, Pratiharas, Guptas, Mauryas etc.