Muhammad bin Tughlaq transferred his capital from Delhi to:

In 1327, Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq decided to shift his capital from Delhi to Devagiri in the Deccan, in present-day Maharashtra near Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar). He renamed the city Daulatabad, meaning "city of wealth".

The Sultan had several reasons for this decision:

• Daulatabad was more centrally located in his empire, which then extended deep into South India, so it would be easier to control the southern provinces.
• Delhi was exposed to repeated Mongol invasions from the north-west, while Daulatabad was safer.
• The Deccan was rich, and the Sultan wanted to strengthen his hold over it.

According to the historian Ziauddin Barani and the traveller Ibn Battuta, the Sultan ordered not only the officials but a large part of the population of Delhi to move to Daulatabad, a distance of about 1,100-1,500 kilometres. Many people died during the long journey in hot weather, and Delhi was left almost deserted. Some historians think this account is exaggerated and that mainly the elite were moved.

The plan failed. Daulatabad was too far from the north-western frontier to control it, and there were problems of water supply and administration. About two years later, around 1335, the Sultan ordered the people to return to Delhi.

This decision, along with the introduction of token currency in copper and brass (which was widely forged), raising taxes in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab during a famine, and failed military plans for Khurasan and Qarachil, earned him the reputation of a "wise fool" or "mixture of opposites". Daulatabad Fort remains one of the strongest hill forts in India.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Agra was founded as a capital by Sikandar Lodi in 1504.
• ✗Lahore was the capital of Qutbuddin Aibak.
• ✗Jaunpur was the capital of the Sharqi Sultans in the 15th century.