Question 1:
Which ruler first established his or her capital at Delhi?
Answer:
Tomara Rajputs were the first rulers who established their capital at Delhi, but Tomaras were defeated by the Chauhans in the middle of the 12th century.
Question 2:
What was the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans?
Answer:
Persian was the language of administration under the rule of Delhi Sultans.
Question 3:
In whose reign did the Sultanate reach its farthest extent?
Answer:
During the reign of Ala-ud-din Khalji, the Sultanate reached its farthest extent.
Question 4:
From which country did Ibn Battuta travel to India?
Answer:
Ibn Battuta travelled to India from the African country of Morocco.
Question 5:
According to the ‘‘Circle of Justice’’, why was it important for military commanders to keep the interests of the peasantry in mind?
Answer:
According to the “Circle of Justice”, it was important for military commanders to keep the interest of the peasantry in mind. It was because peasantry was the main source through which food and other things were supplied to the fortified areas of kings. It would have been very difficult to live in those fortified areas if peasantry was not looked after. Hence, forests were cleared to make passage for military to go on expeditions and later, these lands were given to the peasants to increase agriculture.
Question 6:
What is meant by the “internal” and “external” frontiers of the Sultanate?
Answer:
The meaning of internal frontiers of the Sultanate was to consolidate the hinterlands of the garrison-towns. It means that the interests of peasantry were protected for getting continued supply of food and other items to their fortified settlements. For this, forests were cleared and the land was given to the peasants for agriculture. The external frontier of the Sultanate included military expeditions into southern India wherein armies of the Sultanate captured elephants, horses and slaves and carried away precious metals with them.
Question 7:
What were the steps taken to ensure that the muqtis performed their duties? Why do you think they may have wanted to defy the orders of the Sultans?
Answer:
Muqtis were the landholders of that land which was given to them by the Sultans. Many steps
were taken for the muqtis to perform their properly:
(i) Their post was not hereditary. They were handed the control of iqta only for a short
duration, before which they were being shifted.
(ii) Accounts were maintained to check the revenue collected by them. The Sultanate ensured
that only the taxes prescribed by the state were collected by them.
(iii) They were paid salaries and were required to keep a prescribed number of
soldiers.Generally, most of the muqtis wanted to defy the orders of the Sultans as every
muqti had ambitions to have an independent state and become rulers.
Question 8:
What was the impact of the Mongol invasions on the Delhi Sultanate?
Answer:
(i) Many a times, the Mongols invaded India. In 1219 C.E., the Mongols invaded Transoxiana in
Iran and later on attacked the Delhi Sultanate.
(ii) During the reign of Ala-ud-din Khalji and early years of Muhammad Tughluq, they
increased their attacks on India. Therefore, both the rulers were forced to keep large
standing armies in Delhi, so that their attacks could be evaded. This became a big
administrative challenge for the Sultanate.
Question 9:
Do you think the authors of tawarikh would provide information about the lives of ordinary men and women?
Answer:
We do not think that the authors of tawarikh had written about the lives of ordinary men and
women because of the following reasons:
(i) All these authors were scholars, administrators and secretaries etc. who were very near
to the Sultans. They only wrote about the rulers, their ways of governance and importance of
rule.
(ii) These people lived near the areas of Delhi or in the cities. They hardly visited the
villages because of which they were unable to give an account of the lives of the ordinary
people.
(iii) Keeping the prospect of rewards in mind, these authors wrote mainly about the lives of
the Sultans.
Question 10:
What are the four stages in the preparation of a manuscript?
Answer:
Four stages in the preparation of a manuscript are given as under:
(i) Preparing the paper,
(ii) Writing the text,
(iii) Melting gold to highlight important words and passages, and,
(iv) Preparing the binding.
Question 11:
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:
(i) Minhaj expressed that women were subordinate to men. Due to Raziyya’s qualities, she
gained power and rose to the throne of Delhi.
(ii) Minhaj-i Siraj was of the opinion that the queen’s rule was against the social order
made by God.
(iii) He stated, “In the register of God’s creation, since her account did not fall under
the column of men, how did she gain from all of her excellent qualities”.
(iv) It was difficult for women to be come a ruler because they were considered the weaker
sex. This was in contrast to Queen Rudramadevi, who changed her name and pretended to be a
man.
Question 12:
Can you think of any reason why a slave would be better than a son?
Answer:
This statement can be supported through the following reasons:
(i) Slaves are more faithful and dedicated in comparison to sons.
(ii) Sons are fed and when they are grown up, some of them begin to defy their parents.
Question 13:
Why do you think Barani criticised the Sultan?
Answer:
Barani criticised the Sultan for his loss of political judgement and his incapacity to rule.
Question 14:
Describe the ways in which the chieftains arranged for their defence.
Answer:
(i) Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveller, explained that many chiefs sometimes built
fortifications in the mountains; rocky, uneven and rugged places; and in bamboo groves.
(ii) In India, bamboo was big and strong with several parts intertwined that could not catch
fire.
(iii) The chiefs lived in such forests that acted as ramparts, inside which they kept their
cattle and grew crops.
(iv) They did not run short of water as they collected rain water. Due to this, they could
only be subdued by powerful armies.