The Mughal Empire 

Q22. Who was Babur?

Ans. Babur, the first Mughal emperor (1526- 1530), succeeded to the throne of Ferghana in 1494 when he was only 12 years old.

Q23. What was known as zabt?

Ans. Each province was divided into revenue circles with its own schedule of revenue rates for individual crops. This revenue system was known as zabt.

Q24. What was the name that Prince Khurram assumed after he ascended the throne?

Ans. After the death of Jahangir, Prince Khurram ascended to the throne in 1627 and was named Shah Jahan.

Q25. Who was victorious in the conflict over succession amongst the Shah Jahan’s sons?

Ans. Aurangzeb was victorious and his three brothers, including Dara Shukoh, were killed.

Q26. What were the central provinces under the control of the Mughals?

Ans. The central provinces under the control of the Mughals were-Lahore, Panipat, Delhi, Mathura, Agra, Amber, Ajmer, Fatehpur Sikri, Chittor, Ranthambhor and Allahabad.

Q27. What was zat?

Ans. Rank and salary were determined by a numerical value called zat. The higher the zat, the more prestigious was the noble’s position in court and the larger his salary.

Q28. What was the role of the zamindar in Mughal administration?

Ans.  Zamindar in Mughal administration collected tax from peasants. They acted as intermediaries between peasants and the ruler. In some areas the zamindars exercised a great deal of power.

Q29. Explain the term Dogma and Bigot.

Ans. Dogma - A statement or an interpretation declared as authoritative with the expectation that it would be followed without question.

Bigot - An individual who is intolerant of another person’s religious beliefs or culture.

Q30. Aurangzeb insulted Shivaji when he came to accept Mughal authority. What was the consequence of this insult?

Ans. As a result of this, Shivaji escaped from Agra, declared himself an independent king and resumed his campaigns against the Mughals.

Q31. Why was it a difficult task for rulers of Middle Ages to rule the Indian subcontinent?

Ans. Ruling as large a territory as the Indian subcontinent with such a diversity of people and cultures was an extremely difficult task for any ruler to accomplish in the Middle Ages.

Q32. What helped the Mughals to extend their influence over many kings and chieftains?

Ans. The careful balance between defeating but not humiliating their opponents enabled the Mughals to extend their influence over many kings and chieftains.

Q33. What do you mean by the term mansabdar?
Or
What do you know about Mansabdari System?

Ans. The term mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a position or rank. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix (1) rank, (2) salary and (3) military responsibilities.

Q34. What were the military responsibilities of mansabdars?

Ans. The mansabdar’s military responsibilities required him to maintain a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen. The mansabdar brought his cavalrymen for review, got them registered, their horses branded and then received money to pay them as salary.

Q35. What power did the nobles exercise during Akbar reign?

Ans. Akbar’s nobles commanded large armies and had access to large amounts of revenue. While they were loyal the empire functioned efficiently but by the end of the seventeenth century many nobles had built independent networks of their own. Their loyalties to the empire were weakened by their own self-interest.

Q36. What was the relationship between the mansabdar and the jagir?

Ans. Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs. Most mansabdars did not actually reside in or administer their jagirs. They only had rights to the revenue of their assignments which was collected for them by their servants while the mansabdars themselves served in some other part of the country.