ABSTRACT
A review of the poetry and patronage of the Sultāns naturally leads us to the survey of the literary and cultural services of their ministers. The role of a Wakīlu’s-Saltanat in Medieval Muslim polity of India was unique. Though constitutionally a minister held a subordinate position next to that of the king in the state hierarchy, in practice all political power was delegated to and enjoyed by him, sometimes even in superession of the sovereign. It was seldom that an autocratic or self-willed monarch centralized all power in himself and aspired to dictate the policy or direct the administration in his personal capacity. Even the most despotic rulers of the Deccan in the Medieval Period preferred to be guided by their councellors.
