The Mughal Empire - Solutions

CBSE Class –VII Social Science

NCERT Solutions
History Chapter 4
The Mughal Empire

Q1: Match the following:

Mansab	Marwar
Mongol	governor
Sisodiya Rajput	Uzbeg
Rathor Rajput	Mewar
Nur Jahan	Jahangir
subedar	rank

Ans:

Mansab	rank
Mongol	Uzbeg
Sisodiya Rajput	Mewar
Rathor Rajput	Marwar
Nur Jahan	Jahangir
subedar	governor

Q2: Fill in the blanks:

The capital of Mirza Hakim, Akbar’s half-brother, was _______.
The five Deccan Sultanates were Berar, Khandesh, Ahmadnagar, _____ and _____.
If zat determined a mansabdar’s rank and salary, sawar indicated his _______.
Abul Fazl, Akbar’s friend and counsellor, helped him frame the idea of _______ so that he could govern a society composed of many religions, cultures and castes.

Ans: (a) The capital of Mirza Hakim, Akbar’s half-brother, was Kabul.
(b) The five Deccan Sultanates were Berar, Khandesh, Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golconda.
(c) If zat determined a mansabdar’s rank and salary, sawar indicated his number of cavalrymen.
(d) Abul Fazl, Akbar’s friend and counsellor, helped him frame the idea of sulh-i kul so that he could govern a society composed of many religions, cultures and castes.

Q3: What were the central provinces under the control of the Mughals?
Ans: The central provinces under the control of the Mughals were Panipat, Lahore, Delhi, Agra, Mathura, Amber, Ajmer, Fatehpur Sikri, Ranthambore, Allahabad, Sindh, Kabul, Mewar, Marwar, Gujarat, Bihar, Bengal, Chittor, Orissa and Deccan . Important officers in these provinces were Subedar, Diwan, Bakshi, Waqa-i-Newis, Qazi and Kotwal. The number of provinces rose to 15 during Akbar's reign, 17 during Jahangir's time and 22 under Shah jahan. The provinces were divided into sarkars, parganas and villages.The provincial administration was organised on the model of central administration.

Q4: What was the relationship between the mansabdar and the jagir?
Ans: Mansabdars were the patrons who joined the Mughal service. The term mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, which means a position or rank. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix the rank, salary and military responsibilities. Each mansabdar had to maintain a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen. A jagir was a revenue assignment for the mansabdars. The mansabdars had the right to collect revenue from a jagir but they could not reside in or administer the jagir. They only had rights to the revenue of their assignments which was collected for them by their servants while the mansabdars served in some other part of the country.
In Akbar’s reign, these jagirs were carefully assessed so that their revenues were roughly equal to the salary of the mansabdar.
By Aurangzeb’s reign, the actual revenue collected was often less than the granted sum. Moreover, a huge increase in the number of mansabdars 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.
These factors during Aurangzeb's reign led to the peasantry's suffering and loss.

Q5: What was the role of the zamindar in Mughal administration?
Ans:

The term Zamindars was used by the Mughals for all intermediaries - whether they were local headmen of villages or powerful chieftains. The zamindars collected revenue from the peasants. They acted as intermediaries between the rulers and the peasants.
They collected tax on the produce of the peasantry which was a source of income for the Mughal rulers.
In some areas, the zamindars exercised a great deal of power and sometimes zamindars and peasants of the same caste allied in rebelling against Mughal authority.
These peasant revolts in fact challenged the stability of the Mughal empire from the end of the seventeenth century.

Q6: How were the debates with religious scholars important in the formation of Akbar’s ideas on governance?
Ans:

While Akbar was at Fatehpur Sikri during the 1570s he started discussions in the Ibadat khana on religion with the ulemas, Brahmanas, Jesuit priests and Zoroastrians.
Akbar was interested in the religious and social customs of different people. It made him realize that religious scholars who emphasized on ritual and dogma were often bigots. Their teachings created divisions and disharmony amongst his subjects.
This led Akbar to the creation of the idea of "sulh-i-kul" or "universal peace". This system focused on ethics and the values of honesty, justice, peace that were universally applicable.
Abul Fazl helped Akbar in framing a vision of governance around this idea of "sulh-i-kul" and later, Jahangir and Shah Jahan followed this principle of governance as well.

Q7: Why did the Mughals emphasise their Timurid and not their Mongol descent?
Ans: The Mughals were descendants of two great lineages of rulers. From their mother's side they were descendants of Gengis Khan, ruler of the Mongol tribes, China and Central Asia. From their father's side they were successors of Timur, the ruler of Iran, Iraq and modern Turkey. The Mughals emphasized on their Timurid and not their Mongol descent because Ghengiz Khan’s memory was associated with the massacre of innumerable people. They took pride in the fact that Timur had captured Delhi in 1398. Each ruler got a picture made of Timur and himself.

Q8: How important was the income from land revenue to the stability of the Mughal Empire?
Ans:

The income from land revenue was the main source of income for the Mughal rulers and hence it was very important.
The salaries of soldiers were paid and the welfare for the general public was conducted using the income from land revenue.
In order to run the administration and law and order, the income from land revenue was required.
But the amount collected as revenue was so high that it left the peasants with very little for investing on tools and supplies to increase productivity.

Q9: Why was it important for the Mughals to recruit mansabdars from diverse backgrounds and not just Turanis and Iranis?
Ans: It was important for the Mughals to recruit mansabdars from diverse backgrounds and not just Turanis and Iranis because the empire had expanded to encompass different regions and provinces. By recruiting mansabdars from diverse backgrounds, the Mughals were able to win the trust of the common people and created a balanced administration.