The Early Mughals
A. Fill in the blanks:
1. In his early years, Babur became the ruler of a small principality of Farghana.
2. The Battle of Panipath established the Mughal rule in India.
3. The Battle of Khanwa was fought between Rana Sanga and Babur.
4. The Battle of Kannauj was fought between Sher Shah Suri and Humayun.
5. Sher Shah Suri introduced a silver coin called rupiya.
B. Match the columns:
1. Humayun a. Born as Farid Khan. [3]
2. Babur b. Ruler of Mewar. [5]
3. Sher Shah Suri c. Lost Kingdom to Sher Shah. [2]
4. Bahadur Shah d. Founder of Mughal dynasty. [4]
5. Rana Sanga e. Ruler of Gujrat. [1]
c. Choose the correct answer:
1. __________ invited Babur to invade India.
i) Daulat Khan Lodi. [✓]
ii) Ibrahim Lodi. [ ]
iii) Rana Sanga. [ ]
iv) Sher Shah. [ ]
2. The First Battle of Panipat was fought in _____
i) 1604. [ ]
b. 1544. [ ]
iii) 1526. [✓]
d. 1644. [ ]
3. On being evicted by Sher Shah, Humayun sough refuge in ________
i) Persia. [✓]
ii) Kabul. [ ]
iii) Deccan. [ ]
iv) Bengal. [ ]
4. The Battle of ________ was fought in 1539 CE.
i) Ghagra. [ ]
ii) Kannauj. [ ]
iii) Chausa. [✓]
iv) Chanderi. [ ]
5. Sher Shah Suri built the ________ .
a. Majestic Trunk Road. [ ]
b. Grand Trunk Road. [✓]
c. Mighty Trunk Road. [ ]
d. Monumental Trunk Road. [ ]
D. Answer the following questions in brief:
1. Who were the ancestors of Babur?
= Babur was a direct descendant of Mongol conqueror Chenghiz Khan from his mother's side and Turkish conqueror Amir Timur from his father's side.
2. Name the battles fought by Babur in his quest to establish the Mughal Empire.
= The battles fought by Babur in his quest to establish the Mughal Empire are - The First Battle of Panipat(1526), The Battle of Khanwa(1527), The Battle of Chanderi(1528) and The Battle of Ghagra
(1529).
3. What is the name of Babur's autobiography?
= The name of Babur's autobiography is - Tuzuk-i-Baburi or Baburnama in Persian.
4. What are the challenges that Humayun faced after ascending the throne?
= After ascending the Mangal throne, Humayun faced the constant threat from the Afghans and the Rajputs. The most frightening among them was Sher Shah Suri, are powerful Afghan.
5. Where was the origin of Sher Shah Suri?
= Sher Shah Suri or Sher Khan was born as Farid Khan. He was an Afghan ruler. He was given the title of 'Sher Khan' when he killed a tiger single-handedly. His father was a Jagirdar of Sasaram in Bihar. He defeated the Mughal ruler Humayun in the Battles of Chausa and Kannauj, and occupied the Throne of Delhi in 1540 CE.
E. Long answer type questions:
1. Write a note on the early life of Babur and the conditions that led him to invade India.
= Babur was a direct descendant of Mongol conqueror Chenghiz Khan from his mother's side and Turkish Conqueror Amir Timur from his father's side.
Babur became the ruler of a small principality called Farghana in Central Asia at the young age of eleven. He later acquired Samarkand. Then he lost both Smarkand and Farghana and became a landless rural for a brief period.
He became the ruler of Kabul in Afghanistan in 1504 CE. In 1522 CE, Daulat Khan Lodi invited him to invade India. Foreseeing a golden opportunity, Babar accepted his invitation. In 1524 CE, he invaded India for the first time. In 1526 CE, he became fully successful to establish Mughal empire in India.
2. Give a brief account of any two battles fought by Babur in India.
= Any two battles fought by Babur in India are -
i) The First Battle of Panipat:- This battle was fought between Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi in 1526 CE at Panipat. Even though Ibrahim Lodhi had a larger Army than Babur, he was defeated by Babur's keen military sense, excellent war tactics and fine artillery.
ii) The Battle of Khanwa:- The battle of Khanwa was fought between the Rajput forces under Rana Sanga and Babur in 1527 at Khandwa near Agra. Babur won the battle because of his artillery which comprised muskets and cannons. By defeating the Rajputs, Babur eradicated the greatest threat to the rule of the Mughals.
3. Describe the military expeditions undertaken by Humayun.
= The military expeditions undertaken by Humayun are -
i) Attack on Fort Chunar:- Humayun attacked the Fort of Chunar, which was under the control of Sher Khan Suri. He seized the fort for four months and then abandoned it. He signed a treaty with Sher Khan which stated that Sher Khan could keep the forth as long as he would remain loyal to the Mughals.
ii) Gujarat and Malwa:- Bahadur Shah was the ruler of Gujarat, who controlled the Malwa when Humayun marched against Bahadur Shah, he escaped and went in hiding. Humayun captured Malwa and whole Gujarat.
4. How was administration under Sher Shah Suri organised?
= Sher Shah was an excellent administrator who developed and implemented several great reforms.
i) Central Administration:- The government was divided into several departments which looked after the different matters of state. Each department was headed by a Minister who was assisted by several officials.
ii) Provincial Administration:- He divided his empire into 47 provinces are Sarkars. The provinces were headed by Shiqdaran.
The province was further divided into districts called Parganas, headed by Shiqdars, who were answerable to the Shiqdar-i-Shiqdaram.
Each district had several small villages. The villages were placed under the muqaddam.
iii) Military Administration:- He established an enormous standing army, which was disciplined, capable and strong. His armed forces included highly trained cavalry and infantry and well-equipped armoury. He continued the practice of maintaining descriptive roles of soldiers(Chehra) and the the branding of horses(Dagh) introduced by Alauddin Khilji.
5. Describe Sher Shah's revenue system.
= Sher Shah is most remembered for the reforms of his revenue system -
i) Land was assessed regularly for measurement and fertility. Land was divided into three types - good, middling and bad.
ii) Revenue was fixed at one-fourth or one-third of the total produce, payable in cash or kind.
iii) Officials such as the patwari, qanungo, muqaddam and Shiqdar were responsible for collection of land revenue.
iv) The system of Patta and Kabuliyat were introduced. Patta involved signing of the title deed and Kabuliyat meant agreement papers.