The Delhi Sultans 

Q21. Name the ruler who made the state directly responsible for the collection of land revenue.

Ans. Alauddin Khalji made the state directly responsible for the collection of land revenue.

Q22. Name the famous traveler who came from Morocco, Africa in the fourteenth century.

Ans. Ibn Battuta was the famous traveler who came from Morocco, Africa in the fourteenth century.

Q23. Raziyya Sultan was unique in the history of the Delhi Sultanate. Do you think women leaders are accepted more readily today?

Ans. Yes, I think that as today scenario has changed. Due to spread of education, women leaders are accepted more readily today.

Q24. When was Begumpuri mosque built?

Ans. Begumpuri mosque, built in the reign of Muhammad Tughluq, was the main mosque of Jahanpanah, the “Sanctuary of the World”, his new capital in Delhi.

Q25. What do gender distinctions mean? How was it used?

Ans. Gender distinctions mean social and biological differences between women and men. Usually, these differences are used to argue that men are superior to women.

Q26. What were the three types of taxes collected during the sultanate period?

Ans. There were three types of taxes – (1) on cultivation called kharaj and amounting to about 50 per cent of the peasant’s produce, (2) on cattle and (3) on houses.

Q27. What do you mean by birthright?

Ans. Birthright means privileges claimed on account of birth. For example, people believed that nobles inherited their rights to govern, because they were born in certain families.

Q28. Who were the authors of tawarikh?

Ans. The authors of tawarikh were learned men: secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers, who both recounted events and advised rulers on governance, emphasising the importance of just rule.

Q29. Define the term iqta, iqtadar or muqti.

Ans. Like the earlier Sultans, the Khalji and Tughluq monarchs appointed military commanders as governors of territories of varying sizes. These lands were called iqta and their holder was called iqtadar or muqti.

Q30. What are the various sources of information on Delhi Sultans?

Ans. Inscriptions, coins and architecture provide a lot of information, especially valuable are “histories”, tarikh (singular) / tawarikh (plural), written in Persian, the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans.

Q31. What did the Iqtadars or Muqtis do with the revenue they collected from the region?

Ans. In exchange for their military services, the muqtis collected the revenues of their assignments as salary. They also paid their soldiers from these revenues.

Q32. What is meant by the “internal” and “external” frontiers of the Sultanate?

Ans. “Internal frontiers” of the Sultanate mean the hinterlands of the garrison towns. The “external” frontiers of the Sultanate mean unconquered territories such as Southern India.

Q33. Alauddin’s administrative measures were successful. Comment.

Ans.  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.

Q34. Name the ruler of Delhi sultanate after Iltutmish. What Minhaj-i Siraj thought about this ruler?

Ans. In 1236 Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter, Raziyya, became Sultan after Iltutmish. Minhaj-i Siraj thought that the queen’s rule went against the ideal social order created by God, in which women were supposed to be subordinate to men.