CBSE Class 7 - History - CH3 - THE DELHI SULTANS (#eduvictors)(#cbseClass7SocialScience)

OUR PASTS II - THE DELHI SULTANS

NCERT Chapter and other Q & A

Qutub Minar -
The minar was built by three Sultans.
Can you name them?

Q1(NCERT): Which ruler first established his or her capital in Delhi?

Answer: Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the Tomara Rajputs. Anangpal of Tomar dynasty built a fort called Lal Kot (the present area around Suraj Kund and Mehrauli). Later Chauhans defeated Tomars and established their rule. Chauhans renamed Lal Kot as Kila Rai Pitthora.


Q2: Name any famous king of Tomar Dynasty and Chauhan Dynasty

Answer: Angpal (Tomar) and Prithviraj Chauhan

Agarsen Ki Baoli (near Connaught place)
was built by Delhi Merchants during Tomar Dynasty
credits:wikipedia

Q3: Who were the rulers of Delhi when it became an important commercial hub?  What was the coinage called?

Answer: Tomar Rajputs and later Chauhan dynasty ruled over Delhi when it became an important commercial centre. Many rich Jaina merchants lived in the city and constructed several temples. Coins minted here, called dehliwal, had a wide circulation.


Q4: Was Delhi a single city during the Delhi Sultanate period?

Answer: During this period many cities were developed in Delhi. A few were:

• Dehli-i Kuhna 
• Siri
• Tughluqabad 
• Jahapanah
• Firozabad
• Dinpanah and Shergarh (Purana Quila)

Q5: Who defeated Chauhan rulers and established his rule over Delhi?

Answer: Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated by Mohammad Ghori. Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the commander of Muhammad of Ghori marked the beginning of the Mamluk (Slave Dynasty) rule and the establishment of the Sultanate period in India.

Q6: Delhi Sultanate refers to what period of rule over Delhi? List the dynasties come under this Sultanate?

Answer: Delhi Sultanate collectively refers to the period of 320 years (from 1206 AD to 1526 AD). during this period, five dynasties ruled over Delhi. The list of dynasties ruled this period were:

1. Slave/Mamluk dynasty
2. Khalji Dynasty
3. Tughluq Dynasty
4. Sayyid Dynasty
5. Lodi Dynasty

Q7: Who was the founder of the Turkish dominion in India?

Answer: Qutb-ud-din Aibak who was the first ruler of slave dynasty was the founder of  Turkish dominion in India.

Q8: Why do we call the Qutb-ud-din Aibak' dynasty as Mamluk or Slave dynasty?

Answer: Mamluk or (Bandagan in Persian) refers to Turkish ‘ slave ’ soldier who was bought as children and given military training. They were carefully trained to man some of the most important political offices in the kingdom. The first few Delhi Sultans (Qutbuddin Aybak, Iltumish, Balban)  were mamluks. Therefore this dynasty was also referred to as slave dynasty. Most of them ruled under the name of the Turkish empire.


Q9: What do you mean by the term Tawarikh? Who were the authors of Tawarikh?

Answer: Tawarikh is a Persian term refers to 'histories'. The authors of tawarikh were learned, men:
secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers, who both recounted events and advised rulers on
governance, emphasizing the importance of the just rule.

Q10: Were the authors of Tawarikh true accountants of history? What did they advise to rulers?
or
Q(NCERT): Do you think the authors of tawarikh would provide information about the lives of ordinary men and women?

Answer: No, Although the authors were learned men they lived in cities (mainly Delhi) and
hardly ever in villages. They often wrote their histories for Sultans in the hope of rich rewards. These authors advised rulers on the need to preserve an “ideal” social order based on birthright and gender distinctions. Their ideas were not shared by everybody.

Q11: Who started the construction of Qutb Minar at Delhi?

Answer: Qutbuddin Aybak. Later Iltutmish and Firuz Shah Tughluq completed and extended it.

Q12(NCERT): What was the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans? 

Answer: Persian Language


Q13: Name the Delhi Sultan popularly called as 'Lakh Baksh'.

Answer: Qutb-ud-din Aibak was called as Lakh Baksh or Giver of Lakhs for his generosity.

Q14(MCQ): Which phrase from the following defined the relationship between the king and his subjects?
(a) Circle of Administration
(b) Circle of Justice
(c) Circle of Confidence
(d) Circle of Loyalty

Answer: (b) Circle of Justice

Q15(NCERT): In whose reign did the Sultanate reach its farthest extent? 

Answer: Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.
Military expeditions into southern India started during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and culminated (reached highest) with Muhammad Tughluq.

Delhi Sultanate Kingdom
credits: Wikipedia

Q16(NCERT): From which country did Ibn Battuta travel to India?

Answer: Morroco


Q18(NCERT): According to the “Circle of Justice”, why was it important for military commanders to keep the interests of the peasantry in mind?

Answer:  Salaries of the soldiers and the king come from the revenue collected from peasants. But peasants can pay revenue only when they are prosperous and happy. Therefore it was important for military commanders to keep the interests of the peasantry in mind and would promote justice and honest governance.

Q19(NCERT): What is meant by the “internal” and “external” frontiers of the Sultanate?

Answer: Internal frontiers refers to the hinterlands i.e. lands adjacent to a city that supply it with goods and services. Here it refers to Ganga-Yamuna doab.

External frontiers refer to unconquered territories i.e. southern parts of the subcontinent, Bengal and Gujarat.

Q20: What were Garrison towns?

Answer: Garrison towns were fortified settlements, with soldiers. The beginning Sultans of Delhi rarely went beyond heavily fortified towns occupied by garrisons. e.g. Bengal and Sind were garrison towns.

Q21(MCQ): Bandagon is a Persian word for 
(a) Client
(b) Slave
(c) Administrator
(d) Soldier

Answer: (b) Slave

Q22(NCERT): 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?

Answer: Following steps were taken by Delhi Sultans to ensure that muqtis performed their duties:

1. Land grants or iqtas were not inheritable.
2. They were assigned iqtas for a short period of time.
3. Accountants were appointed by the state to check the amount of revenue collected by the muqtis.
4. Care was taken that the muqti collected only the taxes prescribed by the state and that he kept the required number of soldiers.

The revenue collection from iqtas was in the hand of Muqtis, who deducted his share (his salary + his army expenses) and paid the surplus to the Sultanate. There were high chances they might misuse the revenue for their own good or to revolt against the Sultanate.

Muqtis might want to defy the orders of the Sultan because too much restrictions were put on them.

Q23: What were the three type of taxes collected by the Delhi Sultans?

Answer: The three main types of taxes were:

1. on cultivation called kharaj and amounting to about 50 per cent of the peasant’s produce,
2. on cattle
3. on houses

Q24(NCERT): What was the impact of the Mongol invasions on the Delhi Sultanate?

Answer:

1. Delhi Sultanate was under constant threat from Mongols. Genghis Khan invaded
   Delhi in 1219 and Sultanate faced their onslaught (destructive attack) soon after.
2. The Sultans had to mobilise a large standing army in Delhi which posed a huge administrative challenge.
3. They had to take various administrative measures to check prices and efficient supplies of goods to feed their armies. Alauddin Khalji was successful in controlling these challenges while Muhammad Tughluq's measures were an utter failure.

Q25: Raziyya Sultan was unique in the history of the Delhi Sultanate. Do you think women leaders are accepted more readily today?

Answer: Raziya Sultan, though a capable ruler, was not accepted by Turkish nobles. They were not comfortable having a queen as ruler. Her regime ended within four years.
Today women leaders are accepted more readily. They have become President and Prime minister of our nation. Still, there are challenges they have to face due to gender bias.

Q26(From Compptt. View): Name the king who died in Lahore after falling down from his horse during a polo match.

Answer: Qutbuddin Aybak

Q27: Express Minhaj’s ideas in your own words. Do you think Raziyya shared these ideas? Why do you think it was so difficult for a woman to be a ruler?

Answer: Minhaj agreed that Raziya was more able and qualified than her brothers. Being a woman, she did not have the rights to be a ruler like men. Razia did not share his ideas. On her inscriptions and coins, Raziyya mentioned that she was the daughter of Sultan Iltutmish.

It was very difficult for a woman to be a ruler because society believed that social order was based on birthright and gender distinctions.

Q27: What did Ibn Battuta explain about the reasons for Delhi Sultanate failure to control forest areas of Doab?

OR

Q: Describe the ways in which the chieftains arranged for their defence.

Answer:  Delhi Sultanate failed to penetrate forested areas of Gangetic plain and Local Chieftains ruled that area. Ibn Batuta mentioned the following factors in his travelogues:

1. Chieftains fortified themselves in mountains, in rocky, uneven and rugged places as well as in bamboo groves.
2. In India, the bamboo grooves are big but not hollow. They do not catch fire easily. chieftains lived in these bamboo forests which serves them as ramparts along with their cattle, crops and collected rainwater.
3. These tick forests could not be easily penetrated unless attacked by a powerful army with special equipment to cut down the bamboos.

Q28: How many times Delhi was attacked during Alauddin Khalji regime?

Answer: Twice. 1299/1300 and 1302-03

Q29: Name the garrison town built by Alauddin Khalji for his army.

Answer: Siri

Q30: What were the administrative measures taken by Alauddin Khalji to check the prices and supply of goods for his large standing army?

Answer: Alauddin Khalji executed the following administrative measures:

1. He fixed at 50 per cent of the peasant’s yield for the Ganga Yamuna lands.
2. The soldiers were paid salaries instead of iqtas. The soldiers would buy their supplies from
   merchants in Delhi.
3. The prices of the goods in Delhi were regulated. Merchants were asked to sell at prescribed rates.
4. Prices were carefully surveyed by officers, and merchants who did not sell at the prescribed rates were punished.

Q31: What forced the two rulers Allauddin Khilji and Muhammed Tughluq to mobilise a large standing army in Delhi?

Answer: Mongol attacks on the Delhi Sultanate increased during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and in the early years of Muhammad Tughluq’s rule. This forced the two rulers to mobilise a large standing army in Delhi. It also posed a huge administrative challenge to both rulers.

Q32: Why do you think Barani criticised the Sultan Muhammad Tughluq?

Answer: Muhammad Tughluq appointed a wine distiller, a barber, a cook and two gardeners, Ladha and Pira, to high administrative posts. Ziauddin Barani criticised Tuglaq decision as it was against the "social order". He reported their appointments as a sign of the Sultan’s loss of political judgement and his incapacity to rule.

Q33: Who built the Begumpuri Mosque?

Answer: It was built in the reign of Muhammad Tughluq.


Q34: What is a congregational mosque?

Answer: A “congregational mosque” (masjid-i Jami or Jama masjid) is a mosque where Muslims read their prayers (namaz) together.


Q35: Why did the Delhi Sultans build several mosques in different cities?

Answer:  The Delhi Sultans built several mosques in cities all over the subcontinent for the following reasons:

1. They wanted themselves to be depicted as protectors of Islam and Muslims.
2. Muslims came from a variety of backgrounds, they thought Mosques would create the sense of a community of believers who shared a belief system and a code of conduct.

Q36: Name the Mongol ruler who attacked Delhi during Sultanate regime.

Answer: Genghis Khan

Q37: What were the duties of Muqtis?

Answer: The military commanders who were given land grants were called Iqtadars or Muqtis. Their duties were:

• to lead military campaigns
• to maintain law and order in their Iqtas.
• to collect revenue
• to pay salaries to the soldiers.

Q38: Why was Muhammad Tughlaq known as "Man of Ideas" but a failure as an administrator?

Answer:  Muhammad Tughlaq, was a learned man, a philosopher, student of science and maths. His ideas about "token currency" and "central capital" were good but failed miserably as administrative measures:

1. After he defeated the Mongol Army, he planned to raise a large army to attack Transoxiana. But his campaign into Kashmir was a disaster. He had to disband his large army as well as his plans to conquer Mongols.
2. He asked residents of Dehli-i Kuhna to vacate the city for his soldiers and move to new capital Daulatabad in the south. It resulted in another failure and resentment among the citizens.
3. To feed his army, he levied additional taxes which coincided with famine in the area. It led to widespread rebellion in the Ganga-Yamuna belt.
4. To control prices, he introduced a token currency, People did not trust these new coins but they outsmarted the king and paid the taxes in the new currency. This cheap currency could also be counterfeited easily. Finally, the “token” currency had to be recalled

Q39(MCQ): Ala-ud-din built the Siri Fort in Delhi due to the following reason

(a) Provide accommodation to a growing population
(b) Defend the city from Mongol invasions
(c) Protect people from Rajput invasions
(d) None of these

Answer:  (b) Defend the city  from Mongol invasions

 .