Chapter 4: THE CREATION OF AN EMPIRE:

The Mughal Dynasty

1 The Mughals were descendants of which rulers?
a. From their mother’s side they were descendants of Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol tribes,
China and Central Asia.
b. From their father’s side they were the successors of Timur, the ruler of Iran, Iraq and modern-
day Turkey

2 Why did the Mughals not liked to be called “Mughals?

a. This was because Genghis Khan’s memory was associated with the massacre of innumerable
people.
b. It was also linked with the Uzbegs, their Mongol competitors.

3 Why were they proud of their Timurid ancestry?

The Mughals were proud of their Timurid ancestry, because their great ancestor had captured
Delhi in 1398.

4 When and between whom was the First Battle of Panipat fought? What was its result?
a. The First Battle of Panipat took place in 1526 between Babur and Ibrahim Lodi.
b. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, and captured Delhi and Agra.

5 Explain the two traditions of successions. Which one was followed by the Mughals?
The Mughals did not believe in the rule of primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited his father’s
estate. Instead they followed the Mughal and Timurid custom of coparcenary inheritance, or a
division of the inheritance amongst all the sons.

6 How did the Rajputs join the Mughals voluntarily?

Many of them married their daughters into Mughal families and received high positions.

7 Name the Rajputs who refused to accept the Mughal authority for a long time. How were they treated
once they were defeated by the Mughals?
a. The Sisodiya Rajputs refused to accept Mughal authority for a long time.
b. Once defeated, however, they were honourably treated by the Mughals, given their lands
back as assignments.
c. The careful balance between defeating but not humiliating their opponents enabled the
Mughals to extend their influence over many kings and chieftains.
8 What does the term Mansabdar mean? Explain
a. The term mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a position or rank.
b. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix (1) rank, (2) salary and (3) military
responsibilities.
c. Rank and salary were determined by a numerical value called zat.
d. The higher the zat, the more prestigious was the noble’s position in court and the larger his
salary.

9 What were a mansabdar’s military responsibilities? How did he receive his salary?
a. The mansabdar’s military responsibilities required him to maintain a specified number of
sawar or cavalrymen.
b. The mansabdar brought his cavalrymen for review, got them registered, their horses branded
and then received money to pay them as salary.
c. Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs.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.
10 Discuss the working of the Mansabdari system during the time of Akbar and Aurangzeb.
 a. In Akbar’s reign jagirs were carefully assessed so that their revenues were roughly equal to
the salary of the mansadar.
b. By Aurangzeb’s reign this was no longer the case and the actual revenue collected was often
less than the granted sum.
c. There was also a huge increase in the number of mansabdars which meant a long wait before
they received a jagir. These and other factors created a shortage in the number of jagirs. As a
result, many jagirdars tried to extract as much revenue as possible while they had a jagir.

11 What was the main source of income for the Mughals?

The main source of income available to Mughal rulers was tax on the produce of the peasantry.

12 What was the term used by the Mughals to describe all intermediaries in tax collection process?
The Mughals used one term – zamindars – to describe all intermediaries in the tax collection process.

13 Who was Akbar’s revenue minister? Explain the Zabt System introduced by him.
a. Akbar’s revenue minister was Todar Mal.
b. He carried out a careful survey of crop yields, prices and areas cultivated for a ten-year
period, 1570-1580.
c. On the basis of this data, tax was fixed on each crop in cash.
d. Each province was divided into revenue circles with its own schedule of revenue rates for
individual crops.
e. This revenue system was known as zabt.

14 Where was the Zabt System prevalent? Where was it not possible to introduce this system?
a. It was prevalent in those areas where Mughal administrators could survey the land and keep
very careful accounts.
b. This was not possible in provinces such as Gujarat and Bengal.

15 Who was Abul Fazl? Name the book written by him

a. Abul Fazl was one of Akbar’s close friends and courtiers.
b. Akbar ordered him to write the history of his rule.
c. Abul Fazl wrote a three volume history of Akbar’s reign titled, Akbar Nama.

16 What was the third volume of the book written by Abul Fazl called? What did it deal with? What is
its most interesting aspect?
a. The third volume is the Ain-I Akbari.
b. It deals with Akbar’s administration, household, army, the revenues and geography of his
empire.
c. It also provides rich details about the traditions and culture of the people living in India.
d. The most interesting aspect about the Ain-i Akbari is its rich statistical details about things as
diverse as crops, yields, prices, wages and revenues.

17 Discussed the division of Akbar’s empire as explained by Abul Fazl in his book Akbar Nama.
a. Abul Fazl explained that the empire was divided into provinces called subas, governed by a subadar
who carried out both political and military functions.
b. Each province also had a financial officer or diwan.
c. For the maintenance of peace and order in his province, the subadar was supported by other officers
such as
i. the military paymaster (bakhshi),
ii. the minister in charge of religious and charitable patronage (sadr),
iii. military commanders (faujdars) and
iv. the town police commander (kotwal).

18 What was Nurjahan’s real name. When did she get married to Jahangir?
 Nurjahan’s real name was Mehrunnisa. She married the Emperor Jahangir in 1611 and received the
title Nur Jahan.

19 What was the Ibadat Khana? What did Akbar realise after his discussions?
a. While Akbar was at Fatehpur Sikri during the 1570s he started discussions on religion with
the ulama, Brahmanas, Jesuit priests who were Roman Catholics, and Zoroastrians.
b. These discussions took place in the ibadat khana. made him realise that religious scholars
who emphasised ritual were often intollerent.
c. Their teachings created divisions and disharmony amongst his subjects.

20 What was the Sulh-i-kul? Who helped Akbar in framing the idea of Sulh-i-Kul? Which rulers
followed the idea of Sulh-i-Kul afterAkbar?
a. Sulh-i-Kul means “universal peace”.
b. This idea of tolerance did not discriminate between people of different religions in his
empire.
c. Instead it focused on a system of ethics – honesty, justice, peace – that was universally
applicable.
d. Abul Fazl helped Akbar in framing the idea of sulh-i kul.
e. This principle of governance was followed by Jahangir and Shah Jahan as well.