The Delhi Sultans Class 7 Extra Questions Social Science History Chapter 3
NCERT Extra Questions for Class 7 Social Science History Chapter 3 The Delhi Sultans
Prelude
- 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 (‘Chahamanas) 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, called Dehliuial, had a wide circulation.
- Early Turkish Slaves or Ilbari Rulers – 1206-1290
- Khalji Dynasty – 1290-1320
- Tughluq Dynasty – 1320-1414
- Sayyid Dynasty – 1414-1451
- Lodi Dynasty – 1451-1526
Finding Out about the Delhi Sultans
- Inscriptions, coins and architecture provide a lot of information.
- Tarikh (singular) / Tawarikh (plural) or histories written in Persian, the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans provide valuable information about them.
- They included secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers.
- They recounted events and advised rulers on governance.
- They emphasised the importance of just rule.
Major features of writers of history
- The authors of tawarikh 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.
- 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.
- Mirihaj expressed that women were subordinate to men. But due to her qualities she (Rajiyya) gained and rose to the throne of Delhi.
- Minhaj-i Siraj thought that the Queen’s rule went against the ideal social order created by God.
- Raziyya did not share these ideas and on her inscriptions and coins Raziyya mentioned that she was the daughter of Sultan Iltutmish.
- It was difficult for women to be a ruler because women were considered the weaker sex. This was in contrast to Queen Rudramadzir who changed her name (from Rudramadevi) and pretended to be a man.
- 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.
From Garrison Town to Empire: The Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate
- 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/ ‘
- The hunter-gatherers and pastoralists were expelled from their habitat.
- These lands were given to peasants and agriculture was encouraged.
- New fortresses and towns were set up to protect trade routes and to promote regional trade.
- Military expeditions into southern India started during the reign of Alauddin Khalji.
- It culminated with Muhammad-bin-Tughluq.
- In their campaigns, Sultanate armies captured elephants, horses and slaves and carried away precious metals.
- They had defeated rival armies and seized cities.
- The Sultanate collected taxes from the peasantry and dispensed justice in itsrealm. But their control was not complete and effective over this vast territory.
- A mosque is called a masjid in Arabic.
- Literally it is 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.
A Closer look: Administration and Consolidation Under the Khaljis and Tughluqs
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.
- 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.
- Slaves and clients were loyal to their masters and patrons.
- They were not so to their heirs.
- New Sultans had their own servants.
- The result was that the accession of a new monarch often saw conflict between the old and the new nobility.
- The patronage of these slaves by the Delhi Sultans also shocked many elites.
- The authors of Persian tawarikh criticised the Delhi Sultans for appointing the “Low and base-born” to high offices.
These lands were called iqta and their holder was called iqtadar or muqti.
- Muqtis led military campaigns and maintained law and order in their iqtas.
- In exchange for their military services; the muqtis collected the revenues of their assignments as salary.
- They also paid their soldiers from these revenues.
Control over muqtis was most effective if their office was not inheritable and if they were assigned iqtas for a short period of time before being shifted.
- These harsh conditions of service were rigorously imposed during the reigns of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad-bin-Tughluq.
- Accountants were appointed by the state to check the amount of revenue collected by the muqtis.
- Care was taken that the muqti collected only the taxes prescribed by the state.
- They could not keep soldiers beyond the required number.
- Delhi Sultans brought the hinterland of the cities under their control.
- They forced the landed chieftains, the Samantas and rich landlords to accept their authority.
Under Alauddin Khalji the state brought the assessment and collection of land revenue under its own control.
- The rights of the local chieftains to levy taxes were cancelled.
- They were also forced to pay taxes.
- The Sultan’s administrators measured the land and kept careful accounts.
- Some of the old chieftains and landlords served the Sultanate as revenue collectors and assessors.
- Kharaj: It was a tax on cultivation. It was about 50 per cent of total produce of the land of a peasant.
- Tax on the cattles and
- Tax on houses.
- Large parts of the subcontinent remained outside the control of the Delhi Sultans.
- It was difficult to control distant provinces like Bengal from Delhi.
- Soon after annexing southern India, the entire region became independent.
- Gangetic plain had forested areas.
- Sultanate forces could not penetrate them.
- Local chieftains established their rule in these regions.
- Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad-bin-Tughluq could force their control in these areas but only for a short time.
- 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.
- In Battuta, a fourteenth-century traveller from Morocco, Africa, explained that chieftains sometimes
- Fortified themselves in mountains, in rocky, uneven and rugged places as well as in bamboo groves.
- In India the bamboo was not hollow; it was big. Its several parts were so intertwined that even fire could not affect them, and they were on the whole very strong.
- The chieftains lived in these forests which served them as ramparts.
- Inside them were their cattle and their crops.
- There was also water for them within, except rain water which collected there. Hence they could not be subdued except by powerful armies.
- He raised a large standing army and new garrison town named Siri.
- To feed the soldiers produce was collected as tax from lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. The tax was fixed at 50% of the yield.
- Soldiers were paid in cash. They further purchased their supplies from merchants.
- Prices were controlled. To do this market was surveyed. Merchant who did not sell at prescribed price were punished.
Sultanate under Muhammad Tughluq’s was in the early years. Mongol army was defeated and Md. Tughluq was confident of his armed strength, resources and planned to attack Transoxiana.
- He raised a large army and emptied Delhi-i-Kuhna, oldest of four cities of Delhi for soldiers. ,
- Residents were sent to Daulatabad. „
- Produce was collected as tax to feed the soldiers. This coincided with famine
- Additional taxes’ were levied for maintaining the army.
- Soldiers were paid in cash. He used ‘token’ currency made of cheap metal not gold or silver.
- People saved their gold and silver and paid taxes with this ‘token’ currency. This could be counterfeited easily.
- His Kashmir campaign was a disaster. He disbanded his troops and gave up the idea of invading Transoxiana.
- People resented shifting to Daulatabad.
- Increased taxes and famine in Ganga-Yamuna belt led to rebellion.
- Token currency was called off.
The important thing to remember is that Md. Tughluq was the first ruler who planned to capture Mongol territory. His measures were offensive unlike Alauddin’s defensive measures.
The Sultanate in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries
- After the Tughluqs, the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties ruled from Delhi and Agra until 1526.
- By then, Jaunpur, Bengal, Malwa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the entire south India had independent rulers. They had established flourishing states and prosperous capitals.
- This was also the period which saw the emergence of new ruling groups like the Afghans and the Rajputs.
- Some of the states established in this period were small but powerful and extremely well administered.
- Sher Shah captured Delhi and established his own dynasty.
- The Suri dynasty ruled for only fifteen years (1540-1555) but it introduced an administration that borrowed elements irom Alauddin Khalji and made them more efficient.
- Sher Shah’s administration became the model for Akbar up-to-some extent.
Multiple Choice Questions
Prelude
Finding Out about the Delhi Sultans
From garrison town to empire: the expansion of the delhi sultanate
A Closer look: Administration and Consolidation under the Khaljis and Tughluqs
The Sultanate in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries
Objective Type Questions