Why were the Delhi Sultans interested in cutting down the forests? Does deforestation occur for the same reasons today?

Transcription

1 Delhi Sultans Why were the Delhi Sultans interested in cutting down the forests? Does deforestation occur for the same reasons today? Answer: The clearing of forests were done when the Delhi Sultans were consolidating the hinterlands of the garrison towns. It was intended to encourage agriculture. Deforestation in the present times is done for a completely different reason. It is mainly done for setting up industries and also residential townships for the ever increasing population of the country. Which ruler first established his or her capital at Delhi? Answer: Tomara Rajputs What was the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans? Answer: Persian In whose reign did the Sultanate reach its farthest extent? Answer: Muhammad Tughluq From which country did Ibn Battuta travel to India? Answer: Morocco

2 A ordi g to the ir le of justi e h as it i porta t for ilitar o a ders to keep the interests of the peasantry in mind? Answer: Because revenue was collected from farmers and salaries for soldiers could not be possible without proper revenue collection. What is ea t i ter al a d e ter al fro tiers of the Sulta ate? Answer: Internal frontiers included garrison towns and hinterland and the Ganga-Yamuna doab. External frontiers included areas from southern part of India. 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: The performance of duties by muqti was ensured by keeping the post as inheritable and assigning the iqtas for a short period before being shifted. The stringent a d harsh o ditio s of ser i e ould e a reaso for pro oki g the to def the Sulta s orders. What was the impact of the Mongol invasions on the Delhi Sultanate? Answer: The result of Mongol attacks was that the Delhi Sultans were forced to mobilize a large standing army in Delhi, which posed great administrative challenge. Do you think the authors of tawarikh would provide information about the lives of ordinary men and women? Answer: No. The authors of tawarikh were learned and elite men who lived in cities and hardly in villages. They served the Sultans and wrote histories for them, expecting rich rewards.

3 Raziya Sultan was unique in the history of the Delhi Sultanate? Do you think women leaders are accepted more readily today? Answer: Definitely yes. Women are increasingly gaining acceptance as leaders. We have a lot of women leaders today. For example; Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister of country and the 1960s. Many women have held top political posts in the country, e.g. Pratibha Patil, Sushma Swaraj, Meira Kumar, Mayawati, Jayalalita, etc. Write briefly about the attack by Mongols. Answer: The north-eastern part of Iran, Transoxiana was invaded by the Mongols in the year Soon after, they attacked the Delhi Sultanate. During the reign of Alauddin Khalji and the early reigning period of Muhammad Tughluq, there was an increase in the attack on the Delhi Sultanate. Consequently, they had to mobilize a large standing army in Delhi which posed a huge administrative challenge. Write in brief about the accountants under the reign of Khaljis and Tughluqs. Answer: They were appointed by the state to check the amount of revenue collected by the muqtis. There was proper control regarding the muqti collecting only the taxes prescribed by the state and that he kept the required number of soldiers.

4 Write a note on the campaigns along the internal frontier. Answer: These were aimed at consolidating the garrison towns of hinterlands. These included clearing of forests in the Ganga-Yamuna doab and expulsion of hunter-gatherers and pastoralists from their habitats. These lands were given to peasants, to encourage agriculture. The trade routes were protected and regional trade was promoted by establishing new fortresses and towns. Who were the authors of tawarikh? Answer: They were learned men- secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers. They recounted events and advised rulers on governance, emphasizing the significance of just rule. They lived in cities (mainly in Delhi) and hardly lived in villages, wrote histories for the Sultans expecting rich rewards in return and advised rulers on the need to preserve an ideal so ial order based on birthright and gender distinctions.

5 How did Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq deal with the Mongol attacks? Answer: Particulars Alauddin Khalji Muhammad Tughluq Period attack of Twice in 1299/1300 and He raised a long standing army In the early years of his reign. He defeated the Mongols. He raised a long standing army. He was confident about the strength of his army and his resources to plan an attack on Transoxiana. How they dealt with it He constructed a new garrison town named Siri for his soldiers. Soldiers garrisoned in the oldest of the four cities of Delhi named Dehli-I Kuhna after emptying it of its residents. The residents were sent to the new capital of Daulatabad in the south. Food Money Administration Soldiers were fed using the produce collected as tax from lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. Tax was fixed at 50 per e t of the peasa t s ield. He paid the soldiers in cash rather than iqtas. He controlled the prices of goods in Delhi to prevent the merchants from inflating them due to the dependence of the soldiers on them for supplies. He had a successful administration and gained praise from chroniclers for cheap prices and efficient supplies of goods in the market. He withstood the threat of Mongol invasions. Produce from the same area was collected as tax for feeding the army. Additional taxes were also levied to meet the expenses of maintaining such a large number of soldiers. This coincided with famine in the area. He also paid the soldiers in cash. He used a toke urre ade out of heap metals. But these coins were not trusted by the people of the fourteenth century. It could be counterfeited easily and also people saved their gold and silver coins and paid their taxes using token currency. His administrative methods were a failure. His campaign into Kashmir was a disaster after which he decided not to invade Transoxiana and disbanded his large army.

6 Write a note on the expansion of the Delhi Sultanate. Answer: The control of regions by the Delhi Sultans rarely went beyond garrison towns, in the thirteenth century. A garrison town is a fortified settlement with soldiers. The Sultans seldom controlled the hinterland of the cities and hence were dependent on trade, tribute and plunder for supplies. Rebellion, war and bad weather would snap the fragile communication routes. Consequently, it was very difficult to control garrison towns in Bengal and Sindh from Delhi. The attacks by Mongols of Afghanistan and the governors who rebelled at the slightest sign of weakness of the Sultan were a challenge for the sultans. The Sultanate hardly survived these challenges. The main expansion took place during the reigns of Ghiyasuddin Balban, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq. The expansion took place along the internal frontier (targetting the hinterlands of the garrison towns) and the external frontier (targetting the southern part of India).

7 Describe the consolidation and administration by the Tughluqs and Khaljis. Answer: Reliable governors and administrators were needed for the vast kingdom of the Delhi Sultanate. The early Delhi Sultans chose to employ special slaves (whom they had purchased for military service) as governors, instead of employing aristocrats and landed chieftains. Especially, Iltutmish employed the slaves as mentioned above. These slaves were called bandagan in Persian. They were trained well to man some of the important political offices of the kingdom and their total dependence on the master ensured their reliability and dependability. People of humble birth were also raised to high political positions by the Tughluqs and Khaljis. These people ere ofte their lie ts (i.e. so eo e ho is u der a other perso s protection or is dependent on another person). These people were appointed as governors and generals. But this also led to some political instability creeping in. The slaves and clients were very loyal to their masters and patron. But they were not loyal to their heirs. New Sultans had their own servants and hence often there was conflict between the old and new nobility whenever there was an accession. Military commanders were appointed as governors of different-sized territories by the Khalji and Tughluq monarchs. These territories were called iqta and their holder was called iqtadar or muqti. The muqtis performed the duty of leading military campaigns and maintaining law and order in their iqta. They collected revenues of their assignments as salary. The accountants were appointed by the state to check the amount of revenue collected by the muqtis. There was proper control regarding the muqti collecting only the taxes prescribed by the state and that he kept the required number of soldiers.