• Alauddin sought to fix the cost of all commodities from food grains, sugar and cooking oil to a needle, and from costly imported cloth to horses, cattle, and slave boys and girls. For this purpose, he set up three markets at Delhi—one market for food grains, the second for costly cloth, and the third for horses, slaves and cattle.

• Each market was under the control of a high officer, called Shahna, who maintained a register of the merchants and strictly controlled the shopkeepers and the prices.

• Regulation of prices, especially foodgrains, was a constant concern of medieval rulers, because without the supply of cheap foodgrains to the towns, they could not hope to enjoy the support of the citizens and the army stationed there.

• But Alauddin had some additional reasons for controlling the market. The Mongol invasions of Delhi had pin-pointed the need to raise a large army to check them. But such an army would soon exhaust his treasures, unless he could lower the prices and hence lower their salaries. To realize his objectives, Alauddin proceeded in a characteristically thorough way.

• Control of the prices of horses was important for the Sultan, because without the supply of good horses at reasonable prices to the army, the efficiency of the army could not be maintained.

• The prices of cattle, as well as of slaves were strictly regulated and Barani gives us their prices in detail. The prices of cattle and slaves are mentioned side by side by Barani. This shows that slavery was accepted in medieval India as a normal feature.

• Control of the prices of other goods, especially of costly cloth, perfumes, etc., was not vital for the Sultan. However, their prices were also fixed, probably because it was felt that high prices in this sector would affect prices in general. Or, it might have been done in order to please the nobility.