Mughal Empire PDF Exam Questions

CHAPTER 9 THE MUGHAL EMPIRE 1)Name the important sources which provide information about the Mughals. Ans.i) Ain -I Akbari by Abul Fazl ii)The Taj Mahal at Agra iii)The Jama Masjid iv)The Red Fort 2)Explain briefly the significance of the following a)Ain i Abari: i)It wa...

CHAPTER 9 THE MUGHAL EMPIRE 1)Name the important sources which provide information about the Mughals. Ans.i) Ain -I Akbari by Abul Fazl ii)The Taj Mahal at Agra iii)The Jama Masjid iv)The Red Fort 2)Explain briefly the significance of the following a)Ain i Abari: i)It was written by Abul Fazl, one of the Nine jewels at Akbar’s court. ii)It is regarded as a precious source material for knowing the administration and culture during the reign of Akbar. iii)The Ain i Akbari is divided into five books. The first book deals with the imperial household. The second book deals with the servants of the emperor, the military and civil services. The third book deals with the imperial administration. The fourth book contains information about Hindu philosophy, science, social customs and literature. b)The Taj Mahal i)It was built by Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. ii)It is the mausoleum of both Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. iii)It is at Agra on the banks of the river Yamuna, iv)It was designed by Ustad Isha Khan and it is made of pure white marble. c)Mention the architectural features of Taj Mahal Ans.i)The main structure is constructed on a high platform. On each of the four corners of this platform there is a minaret. ii)The interior has an octagonal chamber. The marble dome in the centre looks like an inverted lotus. iii)The entire structure of Taj Mahal is made of marble and the walls are decorated with floral designs made of semi -precious stones. This method of decoration is called pietra dura. d)Who built the Jama Masjid? State its architectural features. It was built by Shah Jahan. i)Its courtyard has the capacity to accommodate thousands of people at a time. ii) It is built on a lofty basement with majestic flights of steps leading to the imposing gateways on three sides of the courtyard. iii)It has three gateways, four towers and two 40m high minarets constructed of red sandstone and white marble. iv)The face of its spacious prayer – hall consists of eleven arches of which the central arch rises far above the roof level. ___________________________________________________ 3)Who built Red fort? Where is it located? State its ceremonial importance in the present. Ans.Red Fort was built by Shah Jahan. It is located in Delhi on the banks of the Yamuna. The Prime Minister of India every year unfurls the national flag from its rampart on Independence Day. 4)Mention three important buildings within the fort. Ans.The three important buildings within the fort were Diwan -i- Aam, Diwan - i -Khas and Moti Masjid. 5)Mention the architectural features of the Red Fort. i)Red sandstone and marble were used in its construction. ii)The fort has massive walls and two gateways. iii)The Western Gateway is known as the Lahori Gate. This gate was used for the emperor’s ceremonial purposes. iv)The three important buildings within the fort were Diwan – i - Aam, Diwan -i – Khas and Moti – Masjid. MUGHAL DYNASTY 1)Between whom was the First Battle of Panipat fought? What was the result? Ans. The First battle of Panipat was fought between Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi in 1526. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi and occupied Delhi and Agra. 2)Name the other battles fought by Babur? Ans. I)Battle of Khanwa in 1527 was fought between Babur and Rana Sanga. ii)Battle of Ghagra in 1529, Babur met the combined forces of the Afghans and Nusrat Shah of Bengal. 3)Between whom was the Battle of Haldighati fought? Who was defeated by Akbar at this Battle? Ans.Battle of Haldighati was fought in 1576 between Maharana Pratap, the ruler of Mewar and the Mughal emperor Akbar’s forces, led by Raja Man Singh. Maharana Pratap had to escape from the battlefield when he was heavily wounded. 4)State briefly a)Akbar’s policy towards the Rajputs Ansi)Akbar entered into marriage alliances with the Rajputs.Bhara Mal, the ruler of Amber, married his younger daughter, Harkha Bai to Akbar. ii) Akbar gave complete religious freedom to his Hindu wives and honoured their parents and relations by giving them high positions in the nobility. iii)Rajputs were made equal partners in the Mughal government and it affected the public policies of the Mughals and greatly helped in the growth of a composite culture. b)Akbar’s policy of religious tolerance. i)Akbar abolished the poll tax or jizyah, which the non – Muslims were required to pay. ii)He also abolished the pilgrim tax on bathing at holy places such as Prayag and Benaras. iii)He abolished the practice of forcibly converting prisoners of war to Islam. iv)To strengthen the liberal principles, Akbar enrolled a number of Hindus into the nobility. v)Akbar promulgated a new faith called Din – i – Illahi. It was based on the principle of oneness of God. vi)Akbar built a hall called Ibadat Khana or the Hall of Prayer at Fatehpur Sikri. At this hall, he used to call selected theologians of all religions to discuss religious and spiritual matters with them. c)Social reforms introduced by Akbar Ans.i) Akbar issued orders to the kotwals to check the forcible practice of sati. ii)Akbar legalized widow remarriage iii)Akbar raised the age of marriage to 14 for girls and 16 for boys. iv)Akbar was against anyone having more than one wife unless the first wife could not bear children __________________________________________________________. 4)What principles did Akbar’s Din – i -Ilahi promote? i)Din- I -Illahi was based on the principle of oneness of God. ii)The new religion stressed on virtues like courage, loyalty and justice. iii)The basic purpose of forming Din – I -Illahi was Sulh -kul or universal harmony which governed all public policies of Akbar. __________________________________________________________ 5)Why did Akbar build the Ibadat Khana? i) In 1575 Akbar built a hall called Ibadat Khana , or the Hall of Prayer at Fatehpur Sikri. ii)At Ibadat Khana, Akbar used to call selected theologians of all religions, mystics and intellectuals and discuss religious and spiritual matters with them. Administrative system of Mughals 1)Explain the position of the monarch. Ans.i)The Emperor was the head of the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary and the army. ii)He was the supreme commander of the armed forces and all other commanders were appointed and removed by him. iii)He made laws and issued administrative ordinances. iii)The royal uzuk was affixed to farmans granting appointments, titles, jagirs, etc. 2)Who were the important ministers? i)Vakil (Prime Minister) was entrusted with large powers in civil and military affairs. ii)The head of the revenue department was the Wazir, known as Diwan or Diwan - i -ala. iii)The head of the military department was called the Mir Bakhshi. iv)The judicial department was headed by the Qazi. c) How was the provincial government organized? i)The empire was divided into twelve provinces or subahs. Each Subah was headed by one governor called the Subahdar. ii)Subahs were further divided into sarkars and each Sarkar into parganas or mahals. iii)Subahdar was usually a mansabdar of high rank, his function included maintenance of law and order, enforcement of imperial decrees, administration of criminal justice and collection of revenue. iv)The provincial diwan was incharge of revenue administration of the province. v) The other important officials in the province were faujdar, kotwal, bakhshi, sadr qazi and muhtasib. Mansabdari system; 1)What was the Mansabdari system? i)The mansabdari system introduced by Akbar was a unique feature of the administrative system of the Mughal empire. ii)The term mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a position or rank iii)The mansabdars formed the ruling group in the Mughal empire. iv)Almost the whole nobility, the bureaucracy as well as the military hierarchy, had mansabs. v)The lowest rank in the system was 10. And the highest was 5000 for nobles. 2)What was meant by zat and sawar rank? Ans.i) Mansab ranks were divided into zat and sawar. Zat fixed the personal status of a person and the salary due to him. ii)The higher the zat, the more prestigious was the noble’s position in court and the larger his salary. iii)The sawar rank indicated the number of cavalrymen or sawar a mansabdar was required to maintain. For every ten cavalrymen, the mansabdar had to maintain twenty horses. 3)Trace the changes in the system from the rule of Jahangir to Aurangazeb. Ans,i)Jahangir reduced the average rate of zat salary from Rs 240 per annum to Rs 200 per annum. ii) Shah Jahan reduced the number of sawars a noble was required to maintain. Thus, a noble was expected to maintain only one- third of his sawar rank and in some cases, one – fourth. iii)During the reign of Aurangzeb, there was a huge increase in the number of mansabdars. This created a shortage in the number of jagirs.