Exercise - Question:
Que: Which ruler first established his or her capital at Delhi?
Ans: Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the Tomar Rajput.
Que: What was the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans?
Ans: The language of administration under the Delhi Sultans was Perisan.
Que: In whose reign did the Sultanate reach its farthest extent?
Ans: Under the regions of Alaudin Khalji and Muhammad Tughlaq the Sultanate reached its farthest extent.
Que: From which country did Ibn Battuta travel to India?
Ans: Ibn Battuta travelled to India from the Morcoo, Africa.
Que: According to the “circle of justice”, why was it important for military commanders to keep the interests of the peasantry in mind?
Ans: Military commanders provided protection and secure the peasants who could pay taxes only only if they were prosperous and happy and taxes resulted in sallaries of military commanders. This shows that both peasants and commanders were interdependent on each other.
Que: What is meant by the “internal” and “external” frontiers of the Sultanate?
Ans:
(i) The "internal" frontiers meant the himterlands and the garrison towns. Often these places lied in closes neighboorhood of the capital ciry of delhi.
(ii) The "external" frontiers meant the areas that lied far away from Delhi, i.e., South India.
Que: What were the steps taken to ensure that muqtis performed their duties? Why do you think they may have wanted to defy the orders of the Sultans?
Ans:
(i) Their office was not made hereditary.
(ii) They were assigned iqtas for a short period of time before being transferred.
(iii) Accountants were appointed tocheck the amount of revenue collected by the muqtis.
(iv) It was chacked that muqti collected only those taxes which was presccribed by the state.
Because they controlled money and military resources and were capale of rebelling against Sultans.
Que: What was the impact of the Mongol invasions on the Delhi Sultanate?
Ans:
(i) It led to military and market reforms under Alaudin Khalji.
(ii) A vast standing army was established under Alaudin Khalji and Muhamad Tuglaq to confort Mongol forces.
(iii) The areas laying in north-west frontier from where Mongols invaled saw building of garrison towns and numerous strategic forts.
(iv) The revenue was increased upto 50% of the produce.
(v) Soldiers were paid cash salaries instead of iqatas or land rants as salary.
(vi) The administrative system was made more efficient due to Mongol invasions.
(vii) Muhamad Tuglaq built Daulated, a new capital city and introduced the "token" currency in order to mobilise resource to fight Mongol army.
(viii) He also planned to invade Mongol capital in Transoxiana, but plan was aborted.
Que: Do you think the authors of tawarikh would provide information about the lives of ordinary men and women?
Ans: No, I don't think the authors of tawarikh would provide information about the lives of ordinary men and women because they were appointed by the Sultans to write about their political careers.
Que: Raziyya Sultan was unique in the history of the Delhi Sultanate. Do you think women leaders are accepted more readily today?
Ans: Yes, today, women leaders are accepted more readily. For Example, Indira Gandhi became a succesful and loved Prime Minister of India.
Que: Why were the Delhi Sultans interested in cutting down forests? Does deforestation occur for the same reasons today?
Ans: The Sultans of Delhi wanted to extent cultivation so that they could collect more land revenue. Hence, they orderd the cutting of forests are cut for the extension of agriculture and establishment of industrial units.
Que: Find out whether there are many buildings built by the Delhi Sultans in your area. Are there any other buildings in your area that were built between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries? Describe some of these buildings, and draw sketches of them.
Ans:
Yes, there are several. Some of them are Buildings built between 12th and 15th century
- Jamali-Kamali Mosque.
- Sirifort.
- Begumpuri Mosque.
- Moth Ki Masjid.
- Raziyya’s Tomb.
- Qutb Minar.
- Tugalakabad Fort
- Firuz Shah Kotla
- Purana Quila.
