Chapter

8
The Delhi Sultanate

EXERCISES

A. Answer the following questions briefly.

1. Mahmud of Ghazni was the first Muslim invader to come to the Indian subcontinent.
2. Muhammad Ghori was the first to establish Muslim rule in India.
3. The Mamluk dynasty is also known as the Slave dynasty because all the rulers of this dynasty (except Razia
Sultan) were slaves of Muhammad Ghori.
4. Razia Sultan of the Slave dynasty was the only woman ruler in the medieval India.
5. Alauddin Khalji murdered his uncle and father-in-law Jalal-ud-din Khalji to take over the throne.
6. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq has been one of the most controversial rulers in medieval history. He is referred to as
a mixture of opposites or sometimes as a ‘Wise Foolish King’.
7. The three major mistakes made by Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq were the disastrous administrative policies which
are as follows:
• Raising taxes in the Doab region • Issuing token coins • Shifting the capital to Daulatabad
8. After Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq’s death in 1351 CE, his nephew Firoz Shah was elected by the nobles to take
over the empire. Firoz Shah was not a great military strategist. Therefore, many territories were lost during his
reign. One of the reasons for the nobles to choose him as the Sultan was his kind and generous nature.
9. Ibrahim Lodi was the last of the Sultanate rulers.
10. Babur defeated and killed Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.
11. It is in medieval architecture that the complete blending of Hindu and Islamic ideas can be seen. Culturally,
the medieval period was an exciting age. The Islamic culture brought in by the Turks and the Afghans was
intrinsically different from the local Hindu lifestyle. So, while the sultans and kings administered and controlled
the empire, the common people began to actually live and mix with one another, sharing their experiences,
and discovering things about each other.
12. Jaziya was the tax that non-Muslims had to pay for pilgrimage. The other main sources of revenue were:
• Land tax: 1/10th of produce • Zakat: religious tax on the Muslims
• Booty captured in wars and conquests • Tax on import
• Grazing tax • House tax
B. Answer the following structured questions in detail.
1. a. Historians believe that Mahmud Ghazni attacked and plundered India seventeen times between 1001 CE
and 1027 CE and looted the temples of India, which were (in those days) the greatest storehouses of
wealth in India. The most prominent of the devastations by Mahmud and his associates were the Holy city

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 of Mathura and the Somnath Temple in Gujarat. His invasions of India paved the way for the Turks and
Afghans for further conquests of India. This also resulted in the beginning of a new era in Indian History—
Era of Delhi Sultanate. The Delhi Sultanate lasted in India from 1206 CE to 1526 CE. This period saw a new
political, social and administrative set up in India.
b. In the Second Battle of Tarain, Muhammad Ghori defeated and killed Prithviraj. Thereafter, Muhammad
Ghori took over Delhi and Ajmer, and established the Turkish rule in India. The bitter rivalry and constant
friction between the local rulers made the Indian subcontinent an easy prey to foreign conquerors. Ghori’s
success heralded the beginning of the medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. However, Muhammad
Ghori did not directly rule the areas he conquered in India; instead he left them to his very trusted general,
Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who was also his slave. He established the Slave dynasty.
2. a. Razia Sultan was the fifth Mamluk Sultan who ruled from 1236 to 1240 CE. She was the only woman ruler
of the Sultanate. She preferred being called a Sultan because ‘Sultana’ meant ‘wife of a Sultan’. In her
brief reign of four years, she proved to be a very competent ruler. She led her army in war. She took action
against corrupt nobles. However, she was killed by her own Turkish nobles, and her brother Nasir-ud-in
Mahmud was put on the throne. He was completely ineffective as a ruler. But he survived because of a
cunning and powerful noble called Ghiyas-ud-din Balban. The entire administration was left in the hands of
Balban who was his Prime Minister and also his father-in-law. Balban was the head of the Chalisa or ‘Forty’,
a group of forty Turkish nobles, who had become very influential since the time of Iltutmish.
b. Jalal-ud-din Khalji, the first Khalji ruler, was over 60 when he ascended the throne of Delhi. He was not an
effective ruler. His lenient policy towards the criminals affected the safety of citizens, as well as trade and
commerce. He was unable to control his own power-hungry relatives, most of all his nephew and son-in-
law, Alauddin Khalji.
Alauddin Khalji murdered him and made himself the Sultan of Delhi. Alauddin Khalji was an extremely
effective and ambitious ruler. Alauddin introduced many regulations for making his reign free from
rebellions. He confiscated the property of the nobles, reorganised the spy system. The public sale of
liquor and drugs was banned. Nobles and common people were forbidden to have social gatherings and
festivities. He became unpopular with the citizens because of his rigid control of the market and profits.
He conquered Gujarat, Malwa, Chittor, Ranthambhore and extended his control up to southern India. Also
successfully resisted the Mongol attacks. The Sultanate of Delhi under Alauddin Khalji, was the largest and
strongest empire at that time. Since the empire was held together with fear and ruthlessness, it collapsed
soon after his death. Intrigue, plotting and murder resurfaced, leaving the empire in chaos.
3. a. Three Disastrous Policies:
• Raising the taxes in the Doab region: The rate of land revenue was increased in the fertile region
between the Yamuna and the Ganga. It was a good idea to create a differential tax system based on
earnings. However, there was a drought in the region for the next two years, making it impossible for
the farmers to pay. This made the scheme and the Sultan very unpopular since no relief or concessions
were given.
• Issuing token coins: To overcome the shortage of money in the treasury, the Sultan introduced copper
coins which had the same value as the silver coins. This provided the much needed medium for trade.
However, the scheme was a disaster as a huge amount of counterfeit coins were minted. The exchequer
incurred great losses as people exchanged copper coins for silver coins. Finally, the Sultan withdrew all
the copper coins.
• Shifting the capital to Daulatabad: Muhammad had a huge empire to rule. So, he decided to shift
his capital from Delhi to Devagiri (Daulatabad). It was a wise plan as Daulatabad was more central to
the empire and further away from the constant raids of the Mongols. But the Sultan did not merely
shift his court. He demanded that the entire population shift from Delhi. This caused confusion and
resentment. Many people died during the journey. Finally, the Sultan realised the flaw of the scheme
and abandoned the plan. These schemes failed because they were not executed properly. So, historians
call Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq the ‘Wise Fool’.
b. After Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq’s death in 1351 CE, his nephew Firoz Shah was elected by the nobles to
take over the empire. Firoz Shah was not a great military strategist. Therefore, many territories where lost
during his reign. One of the reasons for the nobles to choose him as the Sultan was his kind and generous
nature. Firoz Shah proved to be a rather lenient man who treated even the corrupt officials with kindness.

48
 It was his good nature that sowed the seeds of the disintegration of the empire. He made offices of the
state and jagirs hereditary, which created loyalty towards him, but gave rise to many incompetent and
corrupt officials.
4. a. Alauddin consolidated his power by murdering most of his relatives, who he felt might challenge his rise to
the throne. Alauddin Khalji murdered his father-in-law, Jalal-ud-din and made himself the Sultan of Delhi.
He conquered Gujarat, Malwa, Chittor, Ranthambhore and extended his control up to southern India. His
general Malik Kafur assisted him in his conquests. He also successfully resisted the Mongol attacks. The
Sultanate of Delhi under Alauddin Khalji, was the largest and strongest empire at that time.
b. Alauddin exerted complete control over his nobles through an effective spy system. He even dictated
matrimonial alliances. His entire policy was to keep a very skilled and well-trained army at the cheapest
possible price. He made goods available to the soldiers but paid them rather poorly. He also increased
the land tax to 50 percent of the produce. He effectively reorganised the army by dismissing old and
incompetent soldiers, replacing them with welltrained men. He also established a system of chehra, a kind
of descriptive role for soldiers, and dagh or branding of horses to make sure the right man and animal
went to war. He became unpopular with the citizens because of his rigid control of the market and profits.
One of the most notable features of Alauddin’s reign was his market policy. He set fixed prices for essential
commodities such as sugar, cloth, grain, bread, horses and cattle. The traders had to register themselves
with the market superintendent, Shahana-imandi. He prescribed strict punishment for those who cheated
the customers in weight and price. He also stopped free land grants and recalled most ‘jagirs’ that were
given earlier. This obviously made him a very unpopular ruler.
5. a. The Muslim State in medieval India was a theocracy, where the Sultan ruled in the name of God and
Islam was the State religion. The Sultan was the head of the administration. He was a despot. The Delhi
Sultans could make civil and political regulations for public welfare. Khutba and sikka were recognised
as important attributes of sovereignty. The khutba was the formal sermon following the congregational
prayer on Fridays, wherein the name of the Sultan was mentioned as the head of the community with the
Caliph. Coinage was the ruler’s prerogative. His name was inscribed on the coins (sikka). There was no way
to remove a Sultan. He could only be removed by a successful revolt or a coup.
b. Different Administrative Divisions ans ministers are:
Diwan-i-wizarat: It was the finance department headed by the wazir.
Diwan-i-ariz: It was the military department headed by Ariz-mumalik: He was responsible for recruiting
the soldiers and administering the military department. The Sultan himself was the commander in chief of
the army.
Qazi: Headed the judicial department and acted as chief judge.
c. The Turkish rulers gave revenue assignments (iqtas), in lieu of cash to their nobles. The assignees (known
as muqtis and walis) collected revenue from these areas, defrayed their own expenses, paid the troops
maintained by them and sent the surplus to the centre. It was used in the Caliphate administration as a way
of financing operations and paying civil and military officers. The grant of iqta did not imply a right to own
the land nor was it hereditary, though the holders of iqtas tended to acquire hereditary rights (as in Feroz
Tughlaq’s reign). These revenue assignments were transferable, and the holder being transferred from one
region to another every three or four years.
C. Photo study questions.
1. Qutb Minar, QUtb-ud-din started the construction of the Qutb Minar in 1210 CE and Iltutmish completed
its construction.
2. It is in medieval architecture that the complete blending of Hindu and Islamic ideas can be seen. The Sultanate
rulers built a number of buildings such as mosques and other places of worship, personal palaces for comfort
and stylish living, forts for defence, and beautiful tombs for the burial of their dead. They used architectural
ideas that were typically from their countries of origin but they used Hindu workers to execute those ideas,
so there was a great mingling of architectural forms. The Muslims brought with them the concept of minars,
arches and domes.
3. Tughlaqabad Fort and tomb of Sikander Lodi are two of the other important structures built during the
Sultanate period.

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 Chapter

9
The Mughal Empire

EXERCISES

A. Answer the following questions briefly.

1. Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire in India.
2. The Akbarnama is a primary source that informs us about Akbar's life, the royal household and the royal court.
The archaeological sources of the Mughal Empire are plenty. However, like any other period, coins play an
important role to determine about the chronology, and socio-economic conditions of the period under study.
Monuments like the Agra Fort, Taj Mahal and the Red Fort are important as they throw light on the history of
those times.
3. Babur defeated the Afghans at the Battle of Ghaghra in 1529 CE and established a stronghold in northern India
and occupied the throne in Delhi.
4. Sher Shah Suri, the Afghan noble defeated Humayun in the Battle of Chausa in 1539 CE and again in the Battle
of Kanauj in 1540 CE.
5. Bairam Khan was Akbar’s regent when he ascended the throne at the age of 13. Akbar was guided by Bairam
Khan on the matters of the court in his initial days of kingship.
6. Jahangir’s was referred to as Prince Salim before he assumed the title Jahangir meaning ‘The Conqueror of
the world’.
7. Jahangir’s Bell of Justice: The emperor had hung a bell from his palace, and stated that any citizen, who felt he
was being unfairly treated, could ring the bell and seek justice from the Emperor directly.
8. Jahangir was married to Nur Jahan, daughter of Itmad-ud-daulah, a noble in the court of Akbar. Nur Jahan was
a clever and competent woman. She was intelligent and had creative abilities. Jahangir often consulted her
on administrative and state matters. He was not always the best judge of some situations, which he himself
realised, and left the running of the kingdom to his wife Nur Jahan, whom he doted upon.
9. Abul Fazl and Faizi were the two great scholars of Akbar’s court.
10. Akbar was a follower of the Sufi Saint Salim Chishti, in whose honour he built the town of Fatehpur Sikri.
11. Two extremely talented painters in the court of Akbar were Jaswant and Basawan. The Mughal miniature
paintings contribute greatly to our understanding of the Mughal period. They depict court life, the emperors’
outings (such as hunting) and battle scenes.
12. Akbar’s court had high-ranking officers and talented men. The nine most outstanding ones among them were
the Navratanas or the 'Nine Jewels'. They were—Abul Fazl, Raja Todar Mal, Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, Birbal,
Mulla Do-Piyaza, Faizi, Fakir Aziao-Din, Tansen, Raja Man Singh I.

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B. Answer the following structured questions in detail.
1.
a. Though later historians labelled the empire ‘Mughal’, derived from the word 'Mongol', in truth, Babur was
a Chagatai Turk, who had been rendered homeless after being chased out of his kingdom in Farghana in
Central Asia. He referred to himself and the dynasty he established as Timurid (descendents of Timur).
He defeated the Rajputs in 1527 CE. Babur defeated the Afghans at the Battle of Ghaghra in 1529 CE and
established a stronghold in northern India. He occupied the throne in Delhi. Unfortunately, he reigned for a
short period. It was left to Humayun to consolidate the empire. Babur was a scholar and a poet. He noticed
and wrote in his memoirs (the Baburnama) in great detail all that he felt and saw while he lived in India.
b. Akbar established a policy of great tolerance towards all religions. Akbar understood that the nation could
be truly united if it had a common cultural point. Therefore, he tried to start a new state religion called the
Din-i-ilahi which was an amalgamation of Sufism and Hinduism. However, propagation of this faith was not
very successful.
The administrative system of the Mughal Empire was largely the work of Akbar. The central and most
important authority (whether judicial, administrative or military) was the king. He was beyond all offices
of law and religion. As the empire was very large, it was divided into central administration and provincial
administration. The diwan was like the prime minister and the head of the revenue department. Mir Bakshi
headed the intelligence department and ran the military affairs of the empire; he was also the pay master.
Qazi headed the judicial department, while khan-i-saman was responsible for the imperial household.
Daroga-i-dak was incharge of the mail and daroga-i-taksal supervised the royal mint. The entire empire
was divided into subahs controlled by subedars or a governors. These subahs were further divided into
sarkars or districts which were further divided into parganas or block of villages. The villages formed the
lowest level in the administrative structure of the empire. The subedar was assisted by the diwan, mir
bakshi and qazi. The kotwal or the police department maintained law and order, and was in-charge of all
the grievances of the ordinary citizens.
c. Following administrative policies were implemented during Mughal rule:
A new system was established which had three aspects as mentioned below:
• A survey to measure land.
• The classification of the various types of land, degree of fertility, etc.
• An annual survey to determine the rate of taxation.
The system was essentially fair, as the land would be only assessed for the portion where cultivation was
done. The monetary value of the crops varied depending on the type of crop and the prevailing market
conditions. To assist in the purposes of administration and revenue collection, the Mughal Empire was
divided into a hierarchical system of areas, as mentioned earlier, into subahs and parganas.
The mansabdari system was of Central Asian origin. According to one view, Babur brought it to North
India. But it was implemented by Akbar. He made it the basis of Mughal military organisation and civil
administration. Akbar’s army was organised by grading of officers by rank, beginning with a commander of
10 horsemen going up to a commander of 7,000 horsemen. The officers were called mansabdars. These
mansabdars had to maintain a fixed number of camels, elephants, carts, mules, etc. They were paid through
jagirs and upon their death, the jagir was taken away by the king and given to someone else. All officers
had civil as well as military duties.
2. a. The Mughal Empire is remembered more for the life of grandeur that they built and sustained than
anything else. Their tolerance and their ability to adapt to a new environment is best reflected in the art
and literature that they have left behind. They planned well-laid out palaces with beautiful gardens and
comfortable buildings, fusing the Persian style with traditional Hindu architectural style. The arches, domes
and cupola roofs that were brought by the Turko-Afghan conquerors existed but they added the intricate
jali work of leafy motifs done in sandstone that allowed fresh air to flow but restricted the sun’s glare. The
use of channels of water and fountains to cool the hot summer months was also pleasing. Adhering to the
tenets of Islam, the jali work does not represent any person or animal form; it is in fact abstract swirls that
give a hint of leaves and branches. The Mughal miniature paintings contribute greatly to our understanding
of the Mughal period. They depict court life, the emperors’ outings (such as hunting) and battle scenes.
Miniaturising the human form and giving similar expressions to all faces seems to be an attempt by the
artists to convert people into a pattern in order to adhere to the Islamic belief that no human figure should
be depicted.
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 b. The Mughal emperors were extremely fond of poetry and literature; they wrote a considerable amount
themselves. Babur, despite being a man of war, was not indifferent to penmanship. His autobiography,
Tuzuk-i-Baburi is a remarkable piece of literature that reveals a very sensitive and observant side of the
brilliant general. It was probably this quality of his personality that gave him that competitive edge over
his contemporaries. Akbar’s court was illuminated by many men of letters, the most well-known among
them being Akbar’s biographer Abul Fazl. He not only wrote the details of the emperor’s life but also
created a rich body of work on Sufism and its philosophy. It was in Akbar’s court that a great number of
Sanskrit works were translated into Persian so that the level of communication between the Hindus and
the Muslims increased. This was when Tulsidas composed his Ramayana and Surdas composed his epic on
divine love, Sur Sagar.
3. Akbar established a policy of great tolerance towards all religions. This was followed by his descendants, with
the exception of Aurangzeb. Akbar understood that the nation could be truly united if it had a common cultural
point. Therefore, he tried to start a new state religion called the Din-i-ilahi which was an amalgamation of
Sufism and Hinduism. However, propagation of this faith was not very successful.
The principles of this religion were as follows:
• God is one and Akbar is his representative.
• The members were required to be vegetarians and abstain from drinking, and lead a virtuous life.
• They had to worship the Sun.
• The emperor had to be recognised as the temporal and spiritual head.
4. Akbar consolidated his empire through the policy of annexation, religious tolerance and marriage alliances. He
gave high posts to the Rajput chiefs and waged war against those who refused to submit to him. His father-in-
law (Maharaja Bharmal of Jaipur), brother-in-law, (Bhagwan Das) and grandson-in-law (Man Singh) were given
high positions in Akbar’s army.
5. a. The Mughals did not follow the 'Law of Primogeniture'. Therefore, with the death of each ruler, there was
a war of succession. These conflicts weakened the central authority. Repeated invasions by Nadir Shah and
Ahmad Shah Abdali further weakened the empire. British and French advancement ultimately led to the
fall of the Mughal Empire.
b. The mansabdari system collapsed as the number of mansabdars had increased. They were paid in jagirs.
When there were not enough jagirs left, royal land was distributed which adversely affected the revenue
of the empire. As the mansabdars increased, it became difficult to keep a check on them. They failed
to maintain the required number of troops. They did not adopt new technology, and the weapons and
artillery used were outdated. They could not stand upto the Europeans as they made no efforts to develop
a navy.
c. The Mughal Empire gradually declined during the reign of Aurangzeb. The continuous revolts and campaigns
along with the pomp, glory and lavish lifestyle drained the Mughal treasury which shook their foundation.
A combination of factors led to the decline of the Mughal Empire. The campaigns by Aurangzeb for a period
of twelve years to conquer the Deccan regions depleted the treasury of the Mughal Empire and weakened
the administration of the Empire.
d. The successive rulers after Aurangzeb were weak and spent their time in leisure activities. They could not
control the nobles. The Mughals did not follow the 'Law of Primogeniture'. Therefore, with the death of
each ruler, there was a war of succession. These conflicts weakened the central authority.
C. Photo study questions.
1. Miniature painting, They depict court life, the emperors’ outings (such as hunting) and battle scenes.
2. Two extremely talented painters in the court of Akbar were Jaswant and Basawan.

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