MARCH 4 MEDIEVAL INDIA KHILJI DYNASTY
QTS1. Which Sultan of Delhi assumed the title of Alexander the Great?
(A) Baiban
(B) Alauddin Khilji
(C) Muhammad Bin Tughlaq
(D) Sikandar Lodi
Ans. (B)
Exp:-
Alauddin Khilji was the second Sultan of the Khilji dynasty of Delhi Sultanate.
Alauddin Khilji was born in 1250 in Birbhum district of West Bengal.
In 1296, he became Sultan at the age of 46 and died in 1316 after ruling for nearly 20 years.
He had won a large part of India during his rule.
Alauddin Khilji started expanding the boundaries of his state as he sat on Delhi's throne Alauddin Khilji was a very ambitious king and he used to call himself as second Alexander.
He also assumed the title of 'Sikandar-e-Sani.
QTS 2. Which Sultan of Delhi was the first to charge 'Ghari' or House-tax?
(A) Balban
(B) Alauddin Khilji
(C) Muhammad Bin Tughlaq
(D) Firoz Shah Tughlaq
Ans. (B)
Exp:-
There is no uniformity in imposing taxes all over the medieval period.
In many cases taxes were collected through tax farmers.
The first references to imposition of taxes were provided by Barani (1357)
He described that Alauddin Khilji imposed three types of taxes.
They were land tax, ghari and charai. Ghari was a tax of house.
In western Rajasthan a tax commonly known as jhumpis was levied on pastoral communities. The Levi was 1/40 th of a rupee per jhumpi. In Maharashtra it was known as ghartaka.
QTS 3. Whose army was defeated by the army of Kakatiya rulers in 1303 at Warangal?
(A) Of Iltutmish
(B) Of Balban
(C) Of Alauddin Khilji
(D) Of Muhammad Tughlaq
Ans. (C)
Exp: The political condition in the South was favorable to Alauddin's expansionist policies.
There were four kingdoms in that region at that time.
The first was the Yadava kingdom of Devagiri under Ram Chandra Deva (1271-1309).
Telangana with its capital at Warangal was under Pratap Rudra Deval of the Kakatiya dynasty.
In 1303, he made a first attempt to invade Warangal but his army was defeated by the army of Kakatiya rulers.
Again, in 1308, he sent his lieutenant, Malik Kafur, to attack Warangal, which saw a fierce battle, after which the Warangal Fort was captured.
All its treasure including one of the largest known diamonds in the world, Koh-i-noor, was looted.
QTS 4. Which Sultan wanted to launch a new religion but ulemas opposed the move?
(A) Balban
(B) Alauddin
(C) Muhammad Tughlaq
(D) Iltutmish
Ans. (B)
Exp: Alauddin maintained that the Sultan was God's representative on earth.
Alauddin wanted to set up a new religion.
However, again on the advice of Qazi Ala-ul-Mulk who was also the Kotwal of Delhi, he gave up this idea.
Nevertheless he decided to work independently in matters of religion and freed himself from the religious scholars (Ulemas).
Ala-ud-Din was opposed to the interference of the 'Ulemas' in matters of state and in this respect he departed from the previous position of the Sultans of Delhi.
QTS 5. The Sultan who is said to have raised the land revenue to one-half of the produce was-
(A) Balban
(B) Alauddin Khilji
(C) Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq
(D) Firoz Tughlaq
Ans. (B)
Exp:-
Ala-ud-din attacked the privileged position of hereditary revenue officers like Khuts, Chaudhris and Muqaddams who were all Hindus.
He abolished their privileges and snatched away their right to collect revenues.
They were asked to pay revenue and all other taxes.
He further raised the revenue demand to one- half of the gross produce.
The land revenue was to be assessed by the technique of measurement on the basis of standard yields.
Ala-ud-din was the first Muslim ruler who introduced this system which certainly marked
a progress upon the customary sharing system.
The Sultan preferred to collect the revenue in kind instead of cash
Ala-ud-din also imposed two new taxes The one was grazing tax on all milch cattle and the other was the house-tax.
QTS 6. Which of the following Sultans introduced *Market Reforms"?
(A) Jalaluddin Khilji
(B) Alauddin Khilji
(C) Muhammad Tughlaq
(D) Balban
Ans. (B)
Exp:-
Alauddin Khilji introduced the market reforms to help soldiers and to make ends meet.
Prices of all articles of common use were fixed
Separate department and special officers were appointed to regulate the market
Alauddin fixed the prices of food grains, cloth and other commodities, and had them enforced rigorously
Everything was set down in tariff, vegetables, fruits, sugar, old horses, caps, shoes, combs, and needles.
No one was permitted to purchase grain from the cultivators directly. Only the authorized traders could do so.
All merchants in Delhi were required to register themselves. "To the merchants he gave wealth, and placed before them goods in abundance
In return they had to sell all commodities at the fixed rates. All types of speculation and black marketing were stopped.
QTS 7. Who of the following Muslim rulers enforced a strict price control system during his time?
(A) Alauddin Khilji
(B) Iltutmish
(C) Muhammad Tughlaq
(D) Shershah Suri
Ans. (A)
Exp:-
Alauddin Khilji introduced price control system. The chief motive of such move was to subsidize the cost of employing soldiers.
Owing to the security exigencies, due to the eminent Mongol threat, Alauddin had to maintain huge standing army.
Main features of the price control system included:
The price of commodities was fixed by the state.
Four separate markets were established for various commodities-Central grain market, market for manufactured goods, market for general items and market for horses, cattle and slaves.
The Sultan received daily reports of these from independent sources (spies).
Strict punishment was given for cheating and underweight sales.
QTS 8. What was the boundary between the Delhi Sultanate and Mongol during the period of Alauddin Khilji after 1306 A.D?
(A) Beas
(B) Ravi
(C) Indus
(D) Satluj
Ans. (C)
Exp:-
Alauddin had to face more than a dozen Mongol invasions. These invasions started from the end of 1296 and continued up to 1308 CE.
The First Mongol Invasion:- took place at the end of 1296. Zafar Khan was dispatched against them. He defeated the Mongols near Jullundur and a large number of them were killed.
The Second Mongol Invasion took place in 1297. Zafar Khan who was responsible for the defense of the north-western frontier defeated the Mongols and recaptured the fort of Siri.
The Third Mongol Invasion:- took place in 1299 under their leader Qutlugh Khwaja. However this ended in a stalemate and Mongols withdrew
The Fourth Mongol Invasion took place in 1303 when Ala-ud-Din was busy with the siege of Chittor. Minor skirmishes were fought on two or three occasions but neither party was able to gain any decisive advantage.
The Mongols appeared once again in 1306. They crossed the Indus near Multan and proceeded towards the Himalayas. Ghazi Malik who had been appointed the Governor of the Punjab in 1305, intercepted the Mongols and a large number of them were killed whereas 50,000 Mongols were made prisoners including Kubak, their leader. They were put to death and the children and wives were sold as slaves. Following this Indus became boundary between the Mongols and the Delhi Sultanate.
The last Mongol invasion took place in 1307- 08 under their leader Iqbalmand. It is true that he crossed the Indus but he could not make any headway after that. He was defeated along with his followers
Indus became boundary between the Mongols and the Delhi Sultanate.
The last Mongol invasion took place in 1307- 08 under their leader Iqbalmand. It is true that he crossed the Indus but he could not make any headway after that. He was defeated along with his followers
The last Mongol invasion took place in 1307- 08 under their leader Iqbalmand. It is true that he crossed the Indus but he could not make any headway after that. He was defeated along with his followers
QTS 9. Under the reign of which Sultan was the large- scale 'Khalsa Land' developed?
(A) Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
(B) Alauddin Khilji
(C) Md. Bin Tughlaq
(D) Ferozshah Tughlaq
Ans. (B)
Exp:
Under Alauddin Khilji, comes the foundational step of the sultanate's land revenue system imposed on a vast area of land stretching from Lahore to Uttar Pradesh to Gujarat, based on the Islamic taxation model where the Kharaj was the primary tax collected from the agrarian sector.
While the Kharaj was set at 50%, under Khilji, the Khalsa or crown land was also expanded considerably.
The revenue of the state especially in the Khalsa lands in Doab, began to be collected in kind rather than in cash.
He turned many profitable iqtas into khalsa land, especially in the fertile doab area, in the Ganga-Yamuna region.
QTS 10. "When he attained kingship, he was fully independent of rules and orders of Shariat for which Sultan did Barani make this statement?
(A) Iltutmish
(B) Balban
(C) Alauddin Khilji
(D) Muhammad Tughlaq
Ans. (C)
Exp:-
Ziauddin Barani made the above statement regarding Alauddin Khilji. Khilji was the second and the most powerful ruler of the Khilji dynasty of Delhi Sultanate.
In this statement; he explaining his policy don't know what is correct or incorrect by law? I only give a command which I understand suitable for the welfare of the state or special occasion, I don't know what will happen on the final day of justice".
He did not use to take the permission of Khalifa about expanding his powers.
This's why he had never made a solicitation in front of Khalifa for recognition of his position.
Alauddin made the politics away from the religion, he was free from the category of Ulemas.
Alauddin had made alive the thought of Balban, he used to believe in the university of the king
who is only a representative of God on earth.
QTS 10. Who was the ruler of Devagiri at the time of 'Alauddin Khilji's' invasion?
(A) Ramchandra Dev
(B) Prataprudra Dev
(C) Malik Kafur
(D) Rana Ratan Singh
Ans.(A)
Exp:-
Devagiri was conquered by Alauddin Khilji in 1294 while he was the governor of Kara. The Yadava king Ramchandra had ceded the annual revenue of Ilichpur province.
It happened that for three successive years the king did not send the annual revenue and hence in order to punish the king, a second invasion was made to Devagiri in the year 1306.
O Malik Kafur defeated Ramachandradeva. He was also captured and sent to Delhi where he acknowledged the sovereignty of Alauddin Khilji and paid huge ransom for his release.
A third campaign against Devagiri was made during the reign of Shankardeva, the son of Ramchandra during 1313.
Malik Kafur was again the leader of the campaign. This time Shankardeva was defeated and killed.
QTS 11 . Consider the following statements connected with Alauddin Khilji:
1. He collected revenue by measuring the cultivated land.
II. He enforced revenue measures in his entries empire.
III. He abolished the powers of provincial Governors.
Select the correct answer from the coding scheme given below:
Codes:-
(A) I and II
(B) II and III
(C) I and III
(D) I, II and III
Ans. (C)
Exp:-The Lagaan system of Alauddin Khilji was not applicable across the state.
The system of measuring the lands of peasants and charging taxes (Lagan) on them by government employees was limited up to Delhi and the nearby parts.
He was the first ruler who started charging taxes by measuring the land.
He made separate department "Diwan-i- Mustakhraj" to implement this system.
Alauddin had taken away the right to charge taxes from traditional officers and also abolished their privileges.
He started charging tax on them also. As a result of which there was no difference between Khut (Landlord) and Balanar (ordinary farmer).
QTS 12. Given below are two statements one labelled as Assertion [A] and the other as Reason [R]. Assertion (A): Alauddin Khalji introduced price control in Delhi
Reason [R]: He wanted to pay lower wages to the
artisans building his palaces in Delhi. Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Codes:-
(A) Both [A] and [R] are true, and [R] is the correct explanation of [A].
(B) Both [A] and [R] are true, but [R] is not the correct explanation of [A]
(C) [A] is true, but [R] is false.
(D) [A] is false, but [R] is true.
Ans. (C)
Exp:-
Alauddin Khilji introduced the price control policy, he was the first person to give concept of "planned economy" in the medieval period.
He had appointed the skilled employees for the success of his market control.
Alauddin had established a price control department named "Diwane Riyasat" whose head was Malik Ulugh Khan and the head of markets was Yogoob Khan.
Alauddin had eliminated dalali system to ensure the smooth flow of commodities in the market. The main reasons to make such a policy were-
(1) Alauddin had to maintain a large army due to two reasons:
(i) Threat of Mongols
(ii) To increase his royal grandeu
(2) To achieve the economic stability.
(3) To get rid of social injustice.
Alauddin had nothing to do with paying low wages to the artisans. Hence, assertion [A] is true while reason [R] is false.