History and Civics Question Bank for Class IX – “Delhi Sultanate”

35 Short Questions with Answers on “Delhi Sultanate” for Class IX Students (History and Civics ):

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Q1. Who was the first Turkish ruler to lay the foundation of Muslim rule in India?

Ans: Muizuddin Muhammad Ghor laid the foundation of Muslim rule in India.

Q2. When was the second battle of Tarain fought? Why is it important?

Ans: The second battle of Tarain was fought in AD 1192. Muhammad Ghor defeated Prithviraj Chauhan and Ajmer and Delhi passed into his hands. This resulted in India passing into the hands of the Turkish rulers.

Q3. Who are the two contemporary historians who have written about the Delhi Sultanate? Name their works.

Ans: The two contemporary historians who have written about the Delhi Sultanate are Minhaj-us-Siraj and Ziauddin Barani. Minhaj-us-Siraj wrote ‘Tabaqat-i-Nasiri’ and Ziauddin Barani wrote ‘ Tariq-i-Firuz Shahi’.

Q4. Who were the foreign travellers who came to India during the Delhi Sultanate?

Ans: Marco Polo of Italy, Ibn Batuta of Africa and Abdur Razzak of Persia came to India during the Delhi Sultanate.

Q5. Who laid the foundation of the Slave Dynasty? When was it laid?

Ans: Qutubuddin Aibak laid the foundation of the Slave Dyansty in AD 1206.

Q6. What is the other name for the Sultans of the Slave Dynasty?

Ans: Mameluk is the other word for the Sultans of Slave Dynasty. It is an Arabic word meaning ‘owned’.

Q7. What were the problems faced by Iltutmish on his accession to the throne of Delhi?

Ans: The Rajputs rose against Iltutmish. The Amirs of Delhi opposed him. There were rival claimants to the throne like Taz-ud-din Yaldiz and Nasir-ud-din Qabacha. Ghias- ud-din the new Governor of Bengal rose against him. Then there was a big threat of the Mongol invasion. Iltutmish overcame all the opposition.

Q8. How did Iltutmish save Delhi Sultanate from the Mongol invasion?

Ans: The Mongols under Chenghiz Khan had completely annihilated the Khwarizm Empire and had reached the Indus. They even conquered Punjab and were posing a threat to the Delhi Sultanate. It was then that Iltutmish due to his sheer diplomacy and determination, by politely refusing to give shelter to the Shah of Khwarizm, saved the nascent Delhi Sultanate from the Mongol invasion.

Q9. Why is the year AD 1229 important in the reign of Iltutmish?

Ans: In AD 1229 Iltutmish received a robe of honour and formal recognition from the reigning Caliph of Baghdad. The Caliph confirmed Iltutmish in possession, of ‘all the land and sea which he had conquered’ as Sultan-i-Azam or Great Sultan. This strengthened lltutmish’s authority and gave him a status in the Muslim world.

Q10. Name the only woman to ascend the throne of Delhi. For how many years did she rule?

Ans: Raziya Sultan, the daughter of Iltutmish, was the only woman to ascend the throne of Delhi. She ruled from AD 1236 to AD 1240.

Q11. How did Balban exalt the prestige of kingship? What was sijdah and paiboz?

Ans: Balban exalted the prestige of kingship with a strong hand. He introduced rigorous court discipline such as prostration before the King or sijdah and kissing his feet or paiboz. This was done to reduce the nobles to abject servility.

Q12. Who was the greatest of the Khalji rulers? How did he win over the citizens of Delhi?

Ans: Alauddin Khalji was the greatest of the Khalji rulers. On becoming Sultan, he gave presents of gold to the citizens of Delhi.

Q13. How did Alauddin Khalji organize the army?

Ans: Alauddin Khalji himself maintained a large standing army. Alauddin introduced the practise of recording the descriptive roll of individual soldiers in the army minister’s register. To prevent the defrauding of the government by substituting of a bad horse for a good one, the branding of horses was also introduced.

Q14. Who was the first Delhi Sultan to attempt a conquest of Deccan?

Ans: Alauddin Khalji was the first Delhi Sultan to attempt a conquest of the Deccan.

Q15. How did Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq consolidate his position?

Ans: Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq consolidated his own position by distributing posts and appointments among his family members and adherents.

Q16. Who was the most famous of the Tughlaq rulers? When did he become the Sultan of Delhi?

Ans: Muhammad- bin-Tughlaq was the most famous of the Tughlaq rulers. He became the Sultan in AD 1325.

Q17. State one reason why Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq initiated a transfer of capital to Daulatabad? Why did it fail?

Ans: Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq initiated a transfer of capital from Delhi to Daulatabad because the Sultanate had expanded to the south and it was proving difficult to control the whole of the Sultanate from Delhi. Hence he thought Daulatabad would prove better being equidistant from the north and south. The transfer failed because the people were not able to acclimatize to the difficult weather conditions and expressed their discomfort.

Q18. How did Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq try to clip the power of the ulemas?

Ans: Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq’s policy of non-interference of the ulemas in secular matters such as administrative and political matters, minimized their domination. Hence, the power of the ulemas was clipped.

Q19. Why did the people in Doab revolt against the tax imposed by Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq?

Ans: Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq imposed an increase in taxation in the fertile Doab region. Although according to historians the taxes were not excessive yet the people revolted. This was because Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq had imposed this tax at a time when the region was facing famine.

Q20. What were the taxes imposed by Firoz Shah Tughlaq?

Ans: Firoz Shah Tughlaq imposed four kinds of taxes as sanctioned by the Quran – Kharaj or land tax which was one-tenth of the produce, Zakat or 2.5 per cent tax on property to be spent for religious purpose, Jaziya or tax on non-Muslims and Khams or one-fifth of the booty captured during war. He also levied irrigation tax at 10 per cent of the produce of the field.

Q21. How did Firoz Shah Tughlaq earn the support of his nobles and ulema?

Ans: In order to earn the goodwill of his nobles and the ulema Firoz Shah Tughlaq gave them grants of land. In order to please the ulema and to impress his authority on the Hindus, he destroyed several temples and also imposed a religious tax to be paid by the non-Muslims, called Jaziya on the Hindus. He also appointed ulemas in high posts.

Q22. Name the biography written by Firoz Shah Tughlaq. Who was the scholar patronized by him?

Ans: ‘Futuhat-i-Firoz Shahi’ was Firoz Shah Tughlaq’s biography. He gave patronage to Shams-i-Siraf Afif.

Q23. Who was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty?

Ans: Khizi Khan was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty.

Q24. Who was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty? Who was called to invade Delhi and by whom?

Ans: Ibrahim Lodi was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty. Babur was invited to invade Delhi by Daulat Khan.

Q25. Who was theoretically the head of the Delhi Sultanate?

Ans: According to the Islamic theory of sovereignty, there is only one Muslim King of all the Muslims wherever they might be living. He is the Caliph.

Q26. How many ministers served the kings of the Slave dynasty? Name them.

Ans: Four ministers served the kings of the Slave Dynasty. They were the Wazir, the Ariz- i-Mamalik, the Diwan-i-lnsha and the Diwan-i-Rasalat.

Q27. What were the iqtas? Who introduced them?

Ans: The Sultanate, during the thirteenth century, consisted of military commands known as iqtas. Iltutmish introduced them.

Q28. Who were muqtis? What function did they perform?

Ans: Each iqta was under a governor or a muqti. His main duties were to maintain law and order, and to carry out king’s commands. He had to remit troops and to remit the surplus to the exchequer.

Q29. What was a shiq? Who was the head of the shiq?

Ans: The Sultanate was divided into provinces or iqtas. Due to administrative reasons, iqtas were further subdivided into shiqs. A shiqdar, who was a military officer, headed a shiq and his duty was to maintain law and order.

Q30. Name the department that formed the backbone of the military establishment.

Ans: The cavalry was the most valued organ of the army and formed the backbone of the military establishment.

Q31. How was Diwan-i-Ariz related to the army?

Ans: Diwan-i-Ariz was an army officer who was incharge of recruitment of troops, their organization, discipline and promotion.

Q32. What was the function of Qazi-ul-Qazat?

Ans: Justice was administered by the Qazi-ul-Qazat or the Chief Justice who was aided by muftis.

Q33. Who as a social class became most influential in the medieval society?

Ans: The nobles, for the first time, became considerably influential in the socio-political set up.

Q34. What was a khalsa land?

Ans: Khalsa land meant the land that was directly under the King. Hence, it was also referred to as the crown land.

Q35. With which countries did the merchants in the Sultanate period have flourishing trade relations?

Ans: Malay Peninsula and China were the two countries with which the merchants had flourishing trade relations in the Sultanate period.