Chapter 3 - The Delhi Sultans Extra Questions
Multiple Choice Questions1. Which of the following was NOT the king of the Rajput dynasty?
a) Tomaras
b) Ananga Pala
c) Prithviraj Chauhan
d) Khizr Khan
Answer: d) Khizr Khan
2. Which one of the following is NOT the ruler of Early Turkish dynasty?
a) Raziyya
b) Bahlul Lodi
c) Qutbuddin Aybak
d) Ghiyasuddin Balban
Answer: b) Bahlul Lodi
3. Which of these is one of the early Turkish rulers known to India?
a) Qutbuddin Aybak
b) Prithviraj Chauhan
c) Khirz Khan
d) Jalaluddin Khalji
Answer: a) Qutbuddin Aybak
4. Which ruler first established his capital at Delhi?
a) Khalji dynasty
b) Tomara Rajput ruler
c) Chauhans ruler
d) Turkish ruler
Answer: b) Tomara Rajput ruler
5. Who was the first slave king of Delhi Sultanate?
a) Qutbuddin Aybak
b) Firuz Shah Tughluq
c) Raziyya Sultan
d) Alauddin Khalji
Answer: a) Qutbuddin Aybak
6. Who was successor of Muhammad-bin Tughluq?
a) Firuz Shah Tughluq
b) Ghiyasuddin Tughluq
c) Babur
d) Ibn Battuta
Answer: a) Firuz Shah Tughluq
7. What was the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans?
a) Hindi
b) Persian
c) Telugu
d) English
Answer: b) Persian
8. Who wrote the following paragraph
“A king cannot survive without soldiers. And soldiers cannot live without salaries. Salaries come from the revenue collected from peasants. But peasants can pay revenue only when they are prosperous and happy. This happens when the king promotes justice and honest governance.”
a) Ibn Battuta
b) Fakhr-i Mudabbir
c) Minhaj-i Siraj
d) Sultan Muhammad Tughluq
Answer: b) Fakhr-i Mudabbir
9. Where did tawarikh mainly live?
a) Ajmer
b) Hyderabad
c) Delhi
d) None of these
Answer: c) Delhi
10. _____________ are the privileges claimed on account of birth.
a) Laws
b) Gender Distinctions
c) Decided by ruler
d) Birthright
Answer: d) Birthright
11. _______________ are the social and biological differences between women and men.
a) Decided by ruler
b) Birthright
c) Laws
d) Gender Distinctions
Answer: d) Gender Distinctions
12. Raziyya was the daughter of
a) Sultan Iltutmish
b) Babur
c) Minhaj-i-Siraj
d) None of these
Answer: a) Sultan Iltutmish
13. Rudramadevi was the ruler of
a) Sayyid Dynasty
b) Rajput Dynasty
c) Kakatiya Dynasty of Warangal
d) Khalji Dynasty
Answer: c) Kakatiya Dynasty of Warangal
14. Which ruler ruled Kashmir from 980-1003?
a) Emperor Shah Jahan
b) Didda
c) King Shivaji
d) None of these
Answer: b) Didda
15. _________ are the lands adjacent to a city or port that supply it with goods and services.
a) Factory
b) Military tower
c) Garrison town
d) Hinterland
Answer: d) Hinterland
16. __________ is a fortified settlement, with soldiers.
a) Factory
b) Military tower
c) Garrison town
d) Farm
Answer: c) Garrison town
17. A mosque is called a __________ in Arabic.
a) gurdwara
b) church
c) temple
d) masjid
Answer: d) masjid
18. The position of standing facing Mecca during namaj is known as
a) Khutba
b) Qibla
c) Sijdah
d) Kharaj
Answer: b) Qibla
19. Moth ki Masjid was built in the reign of _______ by his minister.
a) Sikandar Lodi
b) Akbar
c) Option a) and b)
d) None of these
Answer: a) Sikandar Lodi
20. The Mosque of Jamali Kamali was built in the year
a) 1560s
b) 1530s
c) 1520s
d) 1510s
Answer: c) 1520s
21. In whose reign did the Sultanate reach its farthest extent?
a) Tomara Rajput
b) Raziyya
c) Alauddin Khalji
d) Muhammad-bin Tughluq
Answer: d) Muhammad-bin Tughluq
22. Who were the special slaves that were purchased for military purpose?
a) Bandagan
b) Ulema
c) All of the above
d) None of these
Answer: a) Bandagan
23. Who was Ulema?
a) An army
b) A ruler
c) A scholar of Islamic learning
d) An invader
Answer: c) A scholar of Islamic learning
24. Which was NOT the kind of taxes during Delhi Sultanate?
a) Kharaj
b) Tax on cattles
c) Tax on houses
d) Bandagans
Answer: d) Bandagans
25. Kharaj was a type of tax on
a) Houses
b) Cattle
c) Trade
d) Cultivation
Answer: d) Cultivation
26. Ibn Battuta was from which country?
a) India
b) Pakistan
c) Mongolia
d) Morocco
Answer: d) Morocco
27. Who invaded Transoxiana during 1219?
a) Mongols
b) Mughals
c) Adil Shah Dynasty
d) None of these
Answer: a) Mongols
28. Which Mughal emperor followed Sher Shah Suri’s idea of administration?
a) Humayun
b) Akbar
c) Babur
d) Aurangzeb
Answer: b) Akbar
Match the following:
Answer the following questions:
29. Under which dynasty did Delhi become the capital? When did it become an important commercial centre?
Answer:
• Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the Tomara Rajputs.
• They were defeated in the middle of the twelfth century by the Chauhans of Ajmer.
• It was under the Tomaras and Chauhans, Delhi became an important commercial centre.
• Many rich Jaina merchants lived in the city and constructed several temples.
• Coins minted here known as Dehliwal, had a wide circulation.
30. Name the five dynasties that together made the Delhi Sultanate.
Answer: The five dynasties that together made Delhi Sultanate are
• Mamluk dynasty (1206 - 1290)
• Khalji dynasty (1290 - 1320)
• Tughluq dynasty (1320 - 1414)
• Sayyid dynasty (1414 - 1451)
• Lodi dynasty (1451 - 1489)
31. Name the Rajput dynasties that ruled during 12th century.
Answer: Ananga Pala of Tomara dynasty and Prithiviraj Chauhan of Chauhan dynasty were important Rajput rulers during the 12th century.
32. Name the rulers of slave dynasty.
Answer:
• Qutbuddin Aybak 1206 - 1210
• Shamsuddin Iltutmish 1210 - 1236
• Raziyya 1236 - 1240
• Ghiyasuddin Balban 1266 - 1287
33. Mention the sources that provide a lot of information about the Delhi Sultans.
Answer: Inscriptions, coins, architecture and history written in Persian by learned authors are some of the most important sources that provide a lot of information about the Delhi Sultans.
34. Who were the authors of Tawarikh? Write a brief about them.
Answer:
• The authors of tawarikh were learned men.
• They were secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers who recounted events as well as advised rulers on governance, emphasising the importance of just rule.
• The authors of tawarikh lived in cities mainly in Delhi and therefore they were cut off from the village.
• They used to write histories in praise of rich rewards.
• These authors advised rulers that they should follow an ideal social order based on birthright and gender distinction.
• Common masses had nothing to do with their ideas.
35. Give an account of Raziyya.
Answer:
• In 1236 Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter, Raziyya, became Sultan. The chronicler of the age called Minhaj-i Siraj said that she was more able and qualified than all her brothers.
• He was not comfortable having her as ruler.
• The nobles were also not happy at her attempts to rule independently.
• She was removed from the throne in 1240.
36. Were there any other women rulers?
Answer:
• Another woman ruler Rudramadevi of Warangal (1262-1289) changed her name on the inscriptions and pretended to be a man.
• Another queen was Didda of Kashmir (980-1003). Her title was an affectionate term coming from didi, given by her subjects.
37. Why did the Delhi Sultans not expand their frontiers in the earlier phase of their rule?
Answer:
• In the early thirteenth century the control of the Delhi Sultans did not go beyond heavily fortified towns occupied by garrisons.
• The Sultans seldom controlled the hinterland of the cities.
• They were solely dependent upon tribute or plunder for supplies.
• Controlling garrison towns in distant Bengal and Sind from Delhi was extremely difficult.
• Rebellion, war and bad weather could snap fragile communication routes.
• The state was also challenged by Mongol invasions from Afghanistan.
• The governors rebelled frequently at any sign of the Sultan’s weakness.
• The Sultanate barely survived these challenges.
38. What is birthright?
Answer: Privileges claimed on account of birth. Example: People believed that nobles inherited their rights to govern, because they were born in certain families.
39. What is gender distinctions
Answer: Social and biological differences between women and men. Usually, these differences are used to argue that men are superior to women.
40. Define the following
a) Hinterlands
b) Garrison town
Answer:
a) The lands adjacent to a city or port that supply it with goods and services.
b) A fortified settlement, with soldiers.
41. Give a short on Masjid.
Answer:
• A mosque is called a masjid in Arabic, literally a place where a Muslim prostrates in reverence to Allah.
• In a “congregational mosque” (masjid-i-jami or jama masjid) Muslims read their prayers (namaz) together.
• Members of the congregation choose the most respected, learned male as their leader (imam) for the rituals of prayer.
• He also delivers the sermon (khutba) during the Friday prayer.
• During prayer, Muslims stand facing Mecca. In India this is to the west. This is called the qibla.
• The Delhi Sultans built several mosques in cities all over the subcontinent.
• These demonstrated their claims to be protectors of Islam and Muslims.
• Mosques also helped to create the sense of a community of believers who shared a belief system and a code of conduct.
• It was necessary to reinforce this idea of a community because Muslims came from a variety of backgrounds.
42. How was the administration consolidated under Delhi Sultanate?
Answer:
• Delhi Sultans required reliable governors and administrators. Rulers especially, Iltutmish favoured special slaves called ‘bandagan’ for this purpose. They did not appoint aristocrats or landed chiefs as governors.
• Bandagans were trained for important political offices. They depended totally on their masters therefore, the Sultan could trust them.
• The Khaljis and Tughluqs continued this tradition and raised people from humble birth to high positions. They were appointed as generals and governors. All this led to an element of political instability.
43. What advice was given to the Delhi Sultans about the slaves?
Answer: A slave, whom one has brought up and promoted, must be looked after. The kingdom needed a whole lifetime and good luck to find a worthy and experienced slave. Wise men have said that a worthy and experienced slave is better than a son.
44. What are the three types of taxes?
Answer: There were three types of taxes:
• On cultivation called kharaj and amounting to about 50 per cent of the peasant’s produce
• On cattle
• On houses.
45. Give a short note on officials of Sultan Muhammad Tughluq.
Answer: Sultan Muhammad Tughluq appointed Aziz Khummar, a wine distiller, Firuz Hajjam, a barber, Manka Tabbakh, a cook, and two gardeners, Ladha and Pira, to high administrative posts.
46. Why did Barani criticised Sultan Muhammad Tughluq?
Answer: Ziyauddin Barani criticised Sultan for his loss of political judgement and incapacity to rule. He was not in favour of certain administrative appointments made by Sultan Muhammad Tughluq.
47. What were the steps taken to ensure that muqtis performed their duties?
Answer:
• Their office was not inheritable.
• They were assigned iqtas for a short period of time before being shifted.
• Accountants were appointed by the plate to check the amount of revenue collected by the muqtis.
48. How did the Mongols force the Delhi Sultans to mobilise a big army?
Answer:
• The Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded Transoxiana in north-east Iran in 1219.
• Delhi Sultanate faced their onslaught soon after.
• Mongol attacks on the Delhi Sultanate increased during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and in the early years of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq’s rule.
• This forced the two rulers to mobilise a large standing army in Delhi which posed a huge administrative challenge.
49. Who was Ibn Battuta? When did he come to India?
Answer: Ibn Battuta was an African traveller. He came to India during the reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq. He came to India from Morocco which is located in Africa.
50. Describe how the chieftains arranged for their defence.
Answer:
• Chieftains sometimes fortified themselves in mountains, in rocky, uneven and rugged places as well as in bamboo groves.
• In India the bamboo is not hollow; it is big. Its several parts are so intertwined that even fire cannot affect them, and they are on the whole very strong.
• The chieftains live in these forests which serve them as ramparts, inside which are their cattle and their crops.
• There is also water for them within, that is, rain water which collects there.
• Hence they cannot be subdued except by powerful armies, who entering these forests, cut down the bamboos with specially prepared instruments.
51. What was the impact of the Mongol invasions on the Delhi Sultanate?
Answer:
• Mongol invasions during Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq’s forced the two rulers to mobilise a large standing army. This posed a great administrative challenge.
• Delhi was attacked twice during Alauddin Khalji’s rule.
→ Delhi was attacked twice, in 1299/1300 and 1302-1303. As a defensive measure, Alauddin Khalji raised a large standing army.
→ Alauddin constructed a new garrison town named Siri for his soldiers.
→ The soldiers had to be fed. This was done through the produce collected as tax from lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. Tax was fixed at 50 per cent of the peasant’s yield.
→ The soldiers had to be paid. Alauddin chose to pay his soldiers salaries in cash rather than iqtas. The soldiers would buy their supplies from merchants in Delhi and it was thus feared that merchants would raise their prices. To stop this, Alauddin controlled the prices of goods in Delhi. Prices were carefully surveyed by officers, and merchants who did not sell at the prescribed rates were punished.
→ Alauddin’s administrative measures were quite successful and chroniclers praised his reign for its cheap prices and efficient supplies of goods in the market. He successfully withstood the threat of Mongol invasions.
• The Sultanate was attacked in the early years of Muhammad Tughluq’s reign. The Mongol army was defeated. Muhammad Tughluq was confident about the strength of his army and his resources to plan an attack on Transoxiana. He therefore raised a large standing army.
→ Rather than constructing a new garrison town, the oldest of the four cities of Delhi (Dehli-i Kuhna) was emptied of its residents and the soldiers garrisoned there. The residents of the old city were sent to the new capital of Daulatabad in the south.
→ Produce from the same area was collected as tax to feed the army. But to meet the expense of maintaining such a large number of soldiers the Sultan levied additional taxes. This coincided with famine in the area.
→ Muhammad Tughluq also paid his soldiers cash salaries. But instead of controlling prices, he used a “token” currency, somewhat like present-day paper currency, but made out of cheap metals, not gold and silver. People in the fourteenth century did not trust these coins. They were very smart: they saved their gold and silver coins and paid all their taxes to the state with this token currency. This cheap currency could also be counterfeited easily.
→ Muhammad Tughluq’s administrative measures were a failure. His campaign into Kashmir was a disaster. He then gave up his plans to invade Transoxiana and disbanded his large army. Meanwhile, his administrative measures created complications. The shifting of people to Daulatabad was resented. The raising of taxes and famine in the Ganga-Yamuna belt led to widespread rebellion. And finally, the “token” currency had to be recalled.
52. Describe the Delhi Sultanate in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Answer:
• After the Tughlaqs, the Saiyad, the Lodi, and the Suri dynasties ruled Delhi and Agra.
• The states developed under the rule of Sher Shah Suri were small but powerful, and he established a system of administration which became a model for future rulers.
• New kingdoms such as Jaunpur, Bengal, Malwa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and all of South India, and new ruling groups such as the Afghans and the Rajputs came up during the final years of the Delhi Sultanate.
53. Who was Sher Shah Suri? What do you know about his administration?
Answer:
• Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545) established a powerful state.
• He started his career as the manager of a small territory for his uncle in Bihar and eventually challenged and defeated the Mughal Emperor Humayun, Sher Shah captured Delhi and established his own dynasty known as the Suri dynasty.
• Although the Suri dynasty ruled for only a short period i.e. 15 years, it introduced an administration that borrowed elements from Alauddin Khilji and made them more efficient.
• The great emperor Akbar followed the techniques of Sher Shah's administration while consolidating the Mughal Empire.
54. What are the four stages of making a manuscript paper?
Answer: Four stages in the making of a manuscript:
• Preparing the paper.
• Writing the text.
• Melting gold to highlight important words and passages.
• Preparing the binding.
Fill in the blanks:
55. Khalji dynasty ruled Delhi before the Tughluqs.
56. Prithviraj Chauhan ruled from 1175 to 1192.
57. Tarikh or Tawarikh were written in Persian.
58. Qutb Minar was built by two rulers Qutbuddin Aybak and Iltutmish.
59. Khutba is a sermon during Friday prayer in the Mosque.
60. Leader of the Namaz is Imam.
61. Raziyya Sultan ruled from 1236 to 1240.
62. Raziyya was removed from throne in 1240.
63. The tawarikh authors advised rulers on the need to preserve an “ideal” social order based on birthright and gender distinctions.
64. The Queen Rudramadevi belonged to Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal.
65. Begumpuri mosque was built in the reign of Muhammad Tughluq.
66. Iqtadars or muqti were the land holders of iqta.
67. The Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded Transoxiana in north-east Iran in 1219.
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