Before the Mughals came to power, India was split up into many different kingdoms. There were both Muslim and Hindu kingdoms. One such power was the Delhi Sultanate, a Muslim administration. Not much can be found on other powers in the area, but it is known that there were Muslim chiefs, the Hindu Rajputs, various Muslim kingdoms in the South (in an area known as the Deccan), and a Hindu empire in the south that controlled the spice trade.