Sher Shah Suri and Humayun PDF

# Sher Shah Suri - **Land revenue administration** - All cultivable land was measured and classified into good, average and bad - The king’s share was fixed at one-third of the total produce. It could be paid in cash or kind - Administrative officials were lenient at the time of revenue...

# Sher Shah Suri - **Land revenue administration** - All cultivable land was measured and classified into good, average and bad - The king’s share was fixed at one-third of the total produce. It could be paid in cash or kind - Administrative officials were lenient at the time of revenue assessment, but strict at the time of tax collection - In times of natural disasters such as floods or famines, the peasants did not have to pay any taxes. Sher Shah gave them loans on easy terms in times of emergency. - **Trade** - To facilitate travelling and promote trade and commerce, Sher Shah built an excellent network of roads. The most famous is the Grand Trunk Road - The roads were provided with sarais or rest houses. These sarais became centres of trade - In course of time, towns and cities developed around these sarais - To encourage foreign trade, Sher Shah reduced custom duties. He also introduced a silver coin called the ‘rupia’. It continued to be used for many centuries after his death - **Sher Shah’s administration was based on a policy of religious tolerance** - He respected all religions and looked after the welfare of his subjects - He constructed the Purana Qila in Delhi ## Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545) - Sher Shah was the son of an Afghan jagirdar in Sasaram, Bihar. His real name was Farid Khan. He was given the title of ‘Sher’ after killed a tiger - He was a very ambitious. Within a few years, he raised a large army and became powerful in the region covered by the present-day states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal - He defeated Humayun twice and occupied Delhi - He went on to annex territories in the north and organised the administration of his empire - He ruled for a very brief period. He died in 1545 and was buried at Sasaram - Sher Shah was a good general and an even better administrator. He reformed the civil, military and land revenue administration. He is often regarded as the forerunner of Akbar. Many of the reforms introduced by Sher Shah were continued by Akbar. - **Civil administration** - The king was the most powerful person in the empire. He was assisted by a council of ministers. - The empire was divided into provinces (sarkars) and districts (parganas). The lowest administrative unit was the village. - Sher Shah toured the empire to inspect and ensure administrative efficiency - Sher Shah transferred officials every two to three years to prevent them from becoming powerful in a particular region - **Military administration** - Sher Shah paid regular salaries in cash to his soldiers and officers - He branded all horses (dagh) to prevent inferior quality horses from being included in the cavalry - He maintained an accurate descriptive roll (chehra) of each soldier - He personally supervised all army recruitments and enforced strict discipline among his soldiers ## Humayun (1530-1540 & 1555-1556) - Humayun succeeded Babur in 1530 - The empire was still without a proper system of administration - Humayun's brothers — Kamran, Hindal, and Askari — were dissatisfied with the territories that they had got. They wanted the throne of Delhi for themselves. - The empire was under threat from all sides. The Rajputs, Bahadur Shah, the ruler of Gujarat and the Afghans were preparing to fight Humayun - Sher Khan the Afghan had established a powerful kingdom in eastern India and wanted to expand it towards northern India. - **Battles** - Humayun considered the Afghan threat as the gravest. He decided to deal with it first. In 1532, he defeated the Afghan forces at Dadrah. He then laid siege to the fort of Chunar, which was under the Afghans. Sher Khan was allowed to keep the fort on condition that he would remain loyal to Humayun - Humayun then marched against Bahadur Shah who fled without fighting Humayun. Gujarat and Malwa became part of the Mughal Empire - Meanwhile, Sher Khan strengthened his position in eastern India. Humayun decided to crush him once and for all. The Mughal and the Afghan forces met at Chausa in 1539. The Mughal army was defeated. Humayun barely managed to escape from the battlefield - After the defeat at Chausa, Humayun returned to Agra and raised an army. In 1540 he met Sher Khan at Kanauj. He chased Humayun out of his own kingdom. Sher Khan captured Delhi and Agra. He assumed the title of Sher Shah and established the Sur Dynasty. - **Humayun’s exile and return** - Humayun escaped to Persia and spent the next fifteen years in exile - Sher Shah died in 1545, and was succeeded by a series of weak rulers. Humayun took advantage of this and returned to India. With the help of the ruler of Persia, he defeated the Afghan forces and regained the lost territories. - In 1555, he re-established Mughal rule. Shortly afterwards, Humayun died in an accident. ## Babur (1526-1530) - Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire in India. He was a descendant of Timur and Chenghiz Khan. He belonged to a small kingdom called Farghana in Central Asia. - When he was eleven years old, his father, Umar Sheikh Mirza, passed away. He ascended the throne and tried to conquer Samarkand. He failed and in the process lost Farghana. Babur was thus a king without a kingdom. - After being driven out of Farghana by the Uzbeks, Babur conquered Kabul in 1504. - At this time, Ibrahim Lodi ruled over the Delhi Sultanate. Daulat Khan Lodi, the governor of Punjab, and Rana Sanga, the ruler of Mewar, wanted to depose Ibrahim Lodi. They invited Babur to invade - **The First Battle of Panipat** - In 1526, Babur met Ibrahim Lodi in Panipat, leading to the First Battle of Panipat - The Lodi army was many times bigger than that of Babur’s, but Babur had a battle-hardened cavalry and an efficient artillery - Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi and conquered Delhi and Agra. - **Battle of Khanua** - Babur’s decision to stay on in India angered Rana Sanga. He led a large army against Babur - The forces of Rana Sanga and Babur met at the Battle of Khanua in 1527 - Babur’s superior artillery and military tactics led to the defeat of Rana Sanga - **Battle of Ghaghara** - In 1529, Babur defeated the Afghan chiefs in the Battle of Ghaghara - These three battles secured Babur’s position in northern India. **More to know** - Gulbadan Begum, the sister of Humayun, is the author of *Humayun Nama*, the biography of Humayun. The original title of *Humayun Nama* is *Ahwal Humayun Padshah Jamah Kardom Gulbadan Begum bint Babur Padshah amma Akbar Padshah*. The biography is unique as is it the only surviving work of a royal Mughal woman in the sixteenth century. **Quick Quiz** 1. Daulat Khan Lodi invited ___ to invade India. (Akbar/Babur) 2. When was the Battle of Khanua fought? 3. Babur introduced garden-palaces in India. True or False? 4. ___ re-established the Mughal rule in India. (Humayun)