DPPH: 3 March
1.According to Buddhist tradition, who was transformed from a child devourer to a protectress of children?
(a) Marichi (b) Tara
(c) Hariti (d) Pattini
2. Whose court was adorned by Jayadeva, the author of Gita Govind?
(a) Mihir Bhoja (b) Amoghvarsha I
(c) Vijayasena (d) Lakshmanasena
3. Which one of the following did not form a part of the Chola army?
(a) Navy (b) War-elephants
(c) Chariots (d) Infantry
4. Which one of the following titles conferred during the Sultanate period was the highest in official hierarchy?
(a) Sipahsalar (b) Amir
(c) Malik (d) Khan
5. Qismat-i-Khoti in the Delhi Sultanate period was
(a) Cash payment made by the state to the village headman
(b) Village assigned to a khot
(c) Cess collected by the village headman from thepeasants
(d) Revenue assessed on the land cultivated by the khots
6. Consider the following statements about Zia-ud-din Barani:
1. He was born in Golkonda
2. He was a contemporary of Muhammad Tughluq.
3. He was the author of Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1 and 3 only
7. Which of the following Sufi saints belonged to Suhrawardy Silsilah?
(a) Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (b) Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya
(c) Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (d) Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh Dehlavi
8. Ziauddin Barani was the author of which of the following books dealing with political philosophy?
(a) Futuhat-i-Firozshahi (b) Fatawa-i-Jahandari
(c) Fawaid-ul-Fuad (d) Adab-ul-Harb wa Shujaat
9. Who among the following was deputed to the court of Vijayanagar as an ambassador?
(a) Marco Polo (b) Nicolo Conti
(c) Duarte Barbosa (d) Abdur Razzaq
10. Which city was founded by Krishna Deva Raya, the ruler of Vijayanagar?
(a) Chandragiri (b) Udaigiri
(c) Nagalapur (d) Warangal
Mains Questions (For History Optional and Mains)
Q. Why was Firuz Tughluq regarded as an ideal Muslim king of medieval times? (200 words)
Q. Examine the responsibility of Firuz Tughluq for the fall of his dynasty. (200 words)
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Q. Why was Firuz Tughluq regarded as an ideal Muslim king of medieval times?
Throughout his reign the policies and administration of Firuz was for the welfare of the people. This was the reason why the famous historian Ziauddin Barani considers Firuz to be an ideal Muslim king.
Relationship with Nobles: Prior to the reign of Firuz, the relationship between the Sultan and the nobles in Delhi Sultanate was never smooth. Firuz through his policies, started appeasing the nobles and theologians which made them happy. He introduced the system of heredity in Iqta system. Whenever a noble died, his iqta would be transferred to his son. He abolished the practice of torturing the nobles and their officials if a balance was found at the time of auditing their iqtas. The heredity policy was extended to the military also where old soldiers could be replaced by their sons or relatives or slaves. Though these two policies resulted in weakening his administration in the long run it immediately brought stability in the administration.
Policies toward the State: Firuz followed a policy of benevolence during his rule.
He took a number of humanitarian measures by banning punishments such as cutting of hands, feet etc. He setup hospitals for free treatment of the poor and also ordered the Kotwals to make list of all unemployed persons. He set up a large department for public works which repaired and dug a number of canals for the purpose of irrigation. The longest canal being up to 200 km in length. Firuz abolished all the agricultural taxes which are not in accordance with Islamic law of Sharia. However, it was during his time that Jizyah became a separate tax since this was not provided for in Sharia.
Firuz truly believed that the responsibility of the state is not just to collect taxes or merely awarding punishments but was a benevolent institution.
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Hi Sir,
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Q. Examine the responsibility of Firuz Tughluq for the fall of his dynasty. (200 words)
Though Firuz Tughluq was recognized as a true Muslim king by Barani for his concept of benevolent state, the fall of Delhi Sultanate certainly began during his reign.
Responsibility of Firuz Tughluq for the fall:
1. Unlike his predecessors Ghiyasuddin and Muhammad Bin Tughluq, Firuz was not an able military commander. As a result, his military campaigns were not very successful and many provincial kingdoms like Bengal, Malwa and Kandesh declared their independence
2. The rise of Vijayanagara and Bahamani kingdoms made sure he stopped his expeditions to the south
3. By extending the principle of heredity in the army, he allowed the sons and relatives of old soldiers to replace them. The salaries were not made in cash but by assignments on the land revenue of villages. This resulted in the entire military becoming lax
4. In order to appease the nobles and theologians he instituted a series of reforms which weakened the central machinery of administration. Neither he nor his son Nasiruddin Muhammad could control the ambitious nobles
5. He sided with the slaves thereby ousting prince Muhammad. After Firuz’s death, the corps of slaves tried to be kingmaker but failed. A number of princes sat on the throne before Nasiruddin Muhammad which weakened the Sultanate’s stability
6. Finally, the invasion of Timur in 1398 resulted in the complete downfall of Delhi Sultanate
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