Delhi Sultanate Flashcards

1
Q

When did the medieval period in India begin?

A

the medieval period in India began when the Turks invaded

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2
Q

What happened after the gupta empire declined?

A

After the Gupta empire declined India’s next notable ruler was Harshavardana. After his death, his territories disintegrated to form multiple small states and empires.

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3
Q

Why did Mahmud of Ghazni want to invade and loot India?

A

He wanted to do this as he was attracted by the riches of the temples in north India. With the loot from the temples, he could build a powerful army and expand his kingdom to central Asia.

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4
Q

How did Ghazni take advantage of no significant rule in India?

A

He did this as India had small kingdoms fighting against each other for power. He took advantage of this and invaded India

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5
Q

How many times did Mahmud of Ghazni invade India and in a span of how many years did he do it?

A

He invaded India 17 times in a span of 25 years from 1000 CE to 1025 CE.

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6
Q

When did the battle of Waihind I take place

A

The battle of Waihind I took place in 1001 CE

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7
Q

Why did king Jaipal immolate himself after the battle of Waihind I?

A

Kind Jaipal immolated himself as he had lost the battle and was forced to pay tribute. This was considered as humiliation and he immolated himself.

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8
Q

When did the battle of Waihind II take place and briefly describe it?

A

The battle of Waihind II took place in 1008 CE. After Jaipal immolated himself his son Anandpal succeded him. Anandpal tried to defend his kingdom even with the help of powerful rulers of western India he was unable to win the battle.

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9
Q

Why did Muhammad Ghori attack India?

A

Muhammad Ghori attacked India as he wanted to expand his reign into the country

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10
Q

Who did Muhammad Ghori come to conflict with when he tried to expand his empire into India?

A

Prithviraj Chauhan

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11
Q

When did the Battle of Tarain take place and who won?

A

The battle of Tarain took place in 1191 CE and Prithviraj Chauhan won

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12
Q

When did The battle of Tarain II take place and briefly describe the failed alliances

A

The battle of Tarain II took place in 1192 CE and Prithviraj Chauhan tried to form an alliance with Rajput king Raja Jaichandra but he refused to support. Muhammad Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan and laid the foundation of the reign in India

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13
Q

When did the battle of Chandwar take place and who won

A

The battle of Chandwar took place in 1194 CE between Ghori and Raja Jaichandra. Ghori won and had most of northern India to his empire

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14
Q

How was the Delhi Sultanate established?

A

After a while, Muhammad Ghori returned to Ghor. When he was gone he left his territories to his military general and slave Qutubuddin Aibek. After Ghori died Qutubuddin Aibek took charge of Ghori’s territories and found the slave/mamluk dynasty the first of 5 dynasties. This period from 1206 to 1256 is known as the period of the Delhi sultanate and the rulers were called Sultan.

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15
Q

Who was Qutubbudin Aibek, What was he known for, what advancements did he make to the Delhi sultanate and how did he die?

A

Qutubuddin Aibek was an able ruler known for his generosity and kind-heartedness. He was given the name Laksh-Bhaksh. He built two mosques the Quwwat-ul-Islam in Delhi and Dhai di ha Jhopra in Ajmer. He also started the construction of the Qutub Minar but couldn’t complete it. He died in 1210, falling off a horse while playing polo

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16
Q

Who was Iltutmish, how did he expand the empire? What new did he introduce and what did he complete?

A

Shamsuddin Iltutmish was an able ruler who was the son in law of Qutubuddin Aibek and is considered the real founder of the Turkish rule in India. He was recognised as the sovereign Sultan of India by the Caliph in Bhagat. He also conquered the region of the Rajput. He introduced a coin system different from the Rajputs and completed the construction of the Qutub Minar. He also built his own tomb in red sandstone in Delhi

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17
Q

What Administrative advancements did Iltutmish bring?

A

He divided his empire into several provinces known as iqta’s, administrated by iquadars. He created a class of elite ruling known as the Chalisa (the group of forty)

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18
Q

Who was Iltutmish succeeded by?

A

He was succeeded by his son Ruknuddin Firoze but his sister Razia eventually claimed the throne.

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19
Q

What troubles did Razia face when she got the throne? What attire did she wear? How did she die?

A

She didn’t have the support of the officers. Eventually, she had won most of them over. She wore a tunic and a headdress of a man’s attire day today. She appointed a non-Muslim slave Malik Yakut. This made the nobles angry. The Chalisa conspired and killed her in 1239 CE.

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20
Q

What happened after the death of Razia

A

For almost six years after Razia’s death, The Delhi Sultanate faced a lot of inner chaos until Iltutmishes youngest son Nasiruddin Mahmud was crowned the next sultan

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21
Q

Who was Nasiruddin Mahmud and why was he called a puppet ruler?

A

Nasiruddin Mahmud was a kind man but a weak ruler. The responsibility of administration fell into the hands of Ghiyasuddin Balban the leader of the Chalisa, who ruled the sultanate for 20 years under the shadows of Nasiruddin. This is why he was called a puppet ruler.

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22
Q

Who was Balaban and what did he bring to the empire?

A

Balban ascended the throne after Nasiruddin and ruled for another 20 years. He marked the era of Centralized governance. He reorganized the political structure of the sultanate and gave the Sultan absolute power. He believed that sultans were representatives of God on Earth. He introduces the Persian customs of Sidjah and Paribas. Anyone in his presence had to bow down and touch his feet (sajdah) and kiss the feet of the sultan (paibos). He died in 1286 CE

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23
Q

Who was Jalaluddin Khilji? How and why did the Mongols withdraw their fight?

A

He was the first sultan of the Khilji dynasty. He was compassionate and had a kind nature. He wasn’t supported by the officers of the Balban government, Jalaluddin tried to establish peace. The Mongols tried to invade India in 1292 CE but withdrew without a fight as Jalaluddin negotiated peace with them

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24
Q

How did Jalaluddin Khilji get the throne?

A

He got the throne by killing Balban’s Grandson, the last ruler of the slave dynasty

25
Q

How did Jalaluddin Khilji die and how did Alauddin Khilji ascend the throne?

A

Jalaluddin Khilji died after his 6-year throne when he was murdered by his nephew Alauddin Khilji

26
Q

How did Alauddin Khilji get the support of the nobles

A

He got the support of the nobles by bribing them

27
Q

Who was Alauddin Khilji? When did he come in power? How did he administer and what did he bring back?

A

Alauddin Khilji was a great Administrator and is regarded as the greatest Delhi Sultanate monarch. He ascended the throne in 1296 CE. He unified the country and brought it under the control of a powerful central government. He administrated through evoking fear and revived the system of spies.

28
Q

Describe Alauddin’s Military campaign

A

He started expanding by first conquering Gujrat in 1299 CE. After Gujrat, he turned his attention towards territories in Rajasthan. He attacked the fort of Ranthambore and went on to conquest Chittor. Territories such as Mandu, Dhara, Marwar, Chanderi, Jalore and Malwa were also taken. After the northern states, he focused more on the south and was the first Turkish ruler to attack the south. His Military leader Malik Kafur also helped him capture many states. With this conquest, almost the whole of India was under the Khilji rule

29
Q

What were the military reforms made during Alauddin Khilji’s reign?

A

The military reforms made were:

  1. There was a register for soldiers records (huliya)
  2. The Dagh system was created for horse branding
  3. Soldiers were paid in money instead of land (stopped jagir)
  4. Fixed soldiers salary
  5. Jazia was a tax imposed on non-muslims & they had to pay extra.
30
Q

What were the Agricultural reforms made during Alauddin Khilji’s reign?

A

The agricultural reforms made were:

  1. Imposed heavy taxes on the Jagidars, Sardars and the Ulemas
  2. There was a Scientific measurement for land
  3. Fertile land was under the state
  4. Mustakharaj collected land revenue and tax
31
Q

What were the Market reforms made during Alauddin Khilji’s reign?

A

The Market reforms were:

  1. Separate markets were known as Shahana-i-Mandis
  2. Markets were under surveillance with superintendents known as Chauhan
  3. Separate markets for each type of good
  4. Wealth and balances were regularly checked
32
Q

What were the tax reforms made during Alauddin Khilji’s reign?

A

The tax reforms made were:

  1. Jazia was imposed on non-muslims
  2. It was paid along with more taxes
33
Q

What are the four ordinances of Alauddin Khilji

A

The 4 ordinances were:

  1. Consuming wine was Ban
  2. A spy system was created to keep a check on officials
  3. Officials were not allowed to marry into different castes
  4. Land that was given as grants were confiscated.
34
Q

How did Alauddin Khili reorganise the army?

A

He reorganised the army by putting it on systematic lines. He introduced the concept of Huliya or having a descriptive register for each soldier and Dagh or horse branding. He fixed the salaries of the soldiers. He also had a spy system within the army.

35
Q

What were the market reforms made by Alauddin Khilji?

A

The marked reforms made by Alauddin Khilji were the making of separate markets or Shahana - I - mandis and supervised by Chauhan. He had people check the merchant’s goods and weigh them.

36
Q

What happened after Alauddin Khilji’s death in 1316 CE

A

After the death of Alauddin Khilji, there was political instability in the empire. Malik Kafur, the military general was the head of the military and the ruler now was Khizir Khan. Khizir khan was overthrown by the nobles in a month’s time. The last ruler of the Khilji dynasty was Mukburak Shah Khilji who was killed by Khusro khan. Khusro Khan was overthrown by Giyasuddin Tughlaq.

37
Q

What was Giyasuddin Tughlaq also called? Was he Indian?

A

Giyasuddin Tughlaq was also known as Ghazi Malik. He was half Turkish and half Indian

38
Q

How did Giyasuddin Tughlaq gain the support of the nobles?

A

Giyasuddin Tughlaq gained the support of the nobles by lifting Alauddin Khilji’s 4 ordinances.

39
Q

Which fort did Giyasuddin Tughlaq build?

A

Giyasuddin Tughlaq built the Tughlabad fort

40
Q

How did Giyasuddin Tughlaq die?

A

Giyasuddin Tughlaq died when his son’s pavilion meant to celebrate the coming back of the sultan from a military campaign collapsed on him.

41
Q

What was Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s name before the ascended the throne?

A

Jauna Khan

42
Q

Why was Muhammad bin Tughlaq known as a ‘wise fool’? Why were the citizens unhappy?

A

Muhammud bin Tughlaq was one of the most educated rulers of the sultanate. He had big plans for the empire and wanted to expand. His plans were ill-executed and ill-planned making the citizens unhappy and bringing home the title ‘wise fool’.

43
Q

How did his ill-planned military expansions cost Muhammud Bin Tughlaq?

A

Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s ill-planned expansion cost him as they made him lose territory in the south and gave the Rajputs back some territory. In the south two new empires, Vijayanagara and Bahmani Kingdoms formed.

44
Q

When did Muhammad Bin Tughlaq die?

A

1351 CE

45
Q

Name 3 projects of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq that failed and the reason for their failure

A

The 3 projects of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq that failed are:
The moving of the capital to Devagiri - This failed because they were moving in the hot summers and he wasn’t able to control the northern part of the empire from Devanagari, resulting in Mongol attacks.

Increasing tax in the Yamuna-Ganga Doab - Him increasing the tax here led to famine and a loss of food. Citizens were unhappy.

Token currency - Instead of silver coins, he introduces token currency in brass and copper. This led to the making of many counterfeit coins and Traders also didn’t accept this currency as it didn’t benefit them.

46
Q

Who succeeded Muhammad Bin Tughlaq?

A

Firoze Shah Tughlaq

47
Q

What were the economic reforms made by Firoze Shah Tughlaq?

A
The economic reforms made by him are:
1. Reducing land tax
2. 4 taxes were imposed:
     Zakal - Religious tax for Muslims
     Kharaj - Land tax
     Khum - Tax for soldiers
      Jizya - Tax for non-muslims
3. He built new towns like Firozabad and Hissar
48
Q

What were other reforms made by Firoze shah?

A

He made a betterment for slaves. Knew the importance of education and built many schools. He didn’t neglect poor people and made sure that they got facilities. He made many public utilities. He made a department to arrange the marriage of poor girls and orphans.

49
Q

Describe Firoze shah’s Military Campaign

A

His military campaign was weak as he wasn’t a ferocious ruler. He wasn’t able to expand the empire and bring back the territory lost. He ruled till 1388 but his successes were weak.

50
Q

Explain Timurs invasion

A

Amir Timur from the Mongol empire knew that the Tughlaq dynasty had made the empire weak and knew that they wouldn’t be able to handle his invasions. He invaded India from 1398 to 1399.

51
Q

Who established the Sayyid Dynasty?

A

Khizr Khan

52
Q

How many years did the Sayyid Dynasty rule for?

A

38 years

53
Q

Who was the last ruler of the Sayyid dynasty?

A

Alauddin Alam shah

54
Q

Who established the Lodi dynasty?

A

Bahlul Lodi

55
Q

Explain a little about Sikander Lodi

A

Sikandar Lodi succeded Bahlul Lodi and created the city of Sikandarabad now located in Agra.

56
Q

Who was the last ruler of the Lodi Dynasty?

A

Ibrahim Lodi

57
Q

Talk about the Battle of Panipat and how it started

A

Ibrahim Lodi didn’t pay respect to Afgan nobles. Because of this, the nobles invited Babur the ruler of Kabul to invade. In the first battle of Panipat Ibrahim Lodi lost to Babur later leading to the establishment of the Mughal empire.

58
Q

How did the Delhi Sultanate Decline?

A

The decline of the Delhi sultanate was because of nobles having links with strong clans. And Military generals posting as Governerners of Distant places. Because the rulers weren’t tolerant of non-muslims, they forced Islam on everyone causing instability. Frequent Mongol invasions in provinces also disintegrated the empire.