NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION CLASS – 12 | HISTORY | CHAPTER- 9 | KING AND CHRONICLES THE MUGHAL COURT | EDUGROWN |

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 9 KING AND CHRONICLES THE MUGHAL COURT NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS for Class 12 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ON KING AND CHRONICLES THE MUGHAL COURT

Question 1.
“The granting of titles to the men of merit was an important aspect of Mughal polity”. Explain.
The granting of titles to men of merit was an important aspect of Mughal polity as:

• A man’s ascent in the court hierarchy could be traced through the titles he held.
• The title Asaf Khan for one of the highest ministers originated with Asaf, the legendary minister of the prophet king Sulaiman (Solomon).
• The title Mirza Raja was accorded by Aurangzeb to his two highest ranking nobles, Jai singh and Jaswant Singh.
• Titles could be earned or paid for. For e.g. Mir Khan offered ? 1 lakh to Aurangzeb for the letter ‘Alif’ that is ‘A’, to be added to his name to make it Amir Khan.

Question 2.
How do you think that the chronicles
commissioned by the Mughal emperors are an important source for studing Mughal history?
Answer:
Chronicles are an indispensable source for any scholar wishing to write a history of the Mughals. At one level, they were a repository of factual . information about the institutions of the Mugal state, painstakingly collected and classifed by individuals closely connected with the court (especially courtiers). They were written in order to project a vision of an enlightened kingdom to all those who came under its umbrella.

On the other hand, they were meant to convey to those who resisted the rule of the Mughals that all resistance was destired to fail. The rulers wanted to ensure that there was an account of their rule for posterity. The histories that the authors wrote focused on events centred on the ruler, his family, the court and nobles, wars and administrative arrangements.

Their titles such as the Akbar Nama, Shah Jahan Nama, Alamgir Nama i.e. the story of Akbar, Shah Jahan and Alamgir (a title of the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb), suggest that in the eyes of their authors the history of the empire and the court was synonymous with that of the emperor.

Question 3.
How do you think that Qandahar remained a bone of contention between the Mughals and the Safavids? Explain.
Answer:
The following points in this regard are discussed below:

• The political and diplomatic relations between the Mughal kings and the neighbouring countries of Iran and Turan hinged on the control of the frontier defined by the Hindukush mountains that separated Afghanistan from the regions of Iran and Central Asia.
• Qandahar was a bone of contention between the Safavids and the Mughals. The fortress town had initially been in the possession of Humayun, reconquered in 1595 by Akbar. While the Safavid court retained diplomatic relations with the Mughals, it continued to stake claims to Qandahar.
• In 1613 Jahangir sent a diplomatic envoy to the court of Shah Abbas to plead the Mughal case for retaining Qandahar but the mission failed.
• In the winter of 1622 a persian army. besieged Qandahar. The ill-prepared Mughal garrison was defeated and had to surrender the fortress and the city to the safavids.

Question 4.
“Mughal rulers efficiently assimilated heterogeneous populace within an imperial edifice”. Support the statement.
Answer:
Mughal rulers efficiently assimilated heterogeneous populace within an imperial edifice.
This statement can be justified in the following ways:

• Mughal chronicles described that the Mughal empire was comprised of many different ethnic and religious communities i.e. Hindus, Jainas, Zoroastrians and Muslims.
• As the emperor gathered knowledge about all religions and sects, he stood above all religious and ethnic groups, mediated among them and ensured justice and peace for all.
• Akbar accepted the ideal of Sulh-i-kul i.e. all religions and schools of thought had freedom of expression, but they did not undermine the authority of the state.
• Akbar abolished tax on pilgrimage and Jizya. AH Mughal emperors gave grants to support the building and maintenance of the places of worship, when temples were destroyed during war. Later grants were given to repair these at the time of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.

Question 5.
“The keeping of the exact and detailed record was the major concern of Mughal administration”. Support the statement with examples. HOTS
Answer:
The keeping of exact and detailed records was a major concern of the Mughal administration. This can be justified in the following ways:

• The Mir Bakshi supervised the corps of court writers (Waquia navvis), who recorded all applications and documents presented to the court, and all imperial orders i.e. farman.
• Agents (Wakil) of nobles and regional rulers recorded the entire proceedings of the court under the heading ‘News from the Exalted court’ with the date and time of the court session (pahar).
• The akhbarat contained all kinds of information like attendance at the court, grant of offices and titles, diplomatic missions, presents received or the enquiries made by the emperor about the health of an officers.
• All these informations is valuable for writing the history of the public and private lives of kings and nobles.

Question 6.
‘One important pillar of Mughal administration was the nobility’. Justify.
Answer:
One of the most important pillar of the Mughal state was its corps of officers. Historians called them as nobility. The main features of this class were:

• The nobility was recruited from diverse ethnic and religious groups. It ensured that no group was large enough to challenge the authority of the king.
• The nobility was described as a bouquet of flowers (guldasta) held together by loyalty to the emperor.
• In Akbar’s time, Turani and Iranian nobles played a significant role in administration. Many of them accompanied Humayun, some migrated later to join the Mughal Court.
• From 1560 onwards, two ruling groups of Indian origin, viz. the Rajputs and the Indian Muslims (Shaikhzadas) entered the imperial service.

Question 7.
“Abu’l Fazl has described the ideal of Sulh-i-kul of Akbar as the corner-stone of his enlightened rule”. Justify.
Answer:
The ideal of Sulh-i-kul i.e. absolute peace was described by Abu’l Fazl as the corner stone of enlightened rule.
This can be justified in the following ways:

• Mughal empire had many different ethnic and religious communities like, Hindus, Jainas, Zoroastrians and Muslims. Thus, the emperor stood above all religious and ethnic groups to ensure justice and peace for all.
• In Sulh-i-kul, all religions and schools of thought had freedom of expression but on one condition that they did not ignore the authority of the state or fight among themselves to capture power.
• The ideal of Sulh-i-kul was implemented through state policies in which nobilities were comprising Iranis, Turanis, Afghans, Rajputs and Deccanis. All of them were given positions and awards on the basis of their service and loyalty to the emperor.
• In 1563, Akbar abolished the tax on pilgrimage and in 1564 he abolished Jizya. Both of these were based on religious discrimination.
• All Mughal emperors gave grants to support the building and maintenance of places of worship.

Question 8.
Identify the distinctive features of the imperial household of the Mughal Empire.
Answer:
The distinctive features of the imperial household of the Mughal Empire can be explained in the following ways:

• The household of the Mughals consisted of the emperor’s wives and concubines, his mother, step and foster mothers, sisters, daughters, daughter-in-law, aunts, children, etc and female servants and slaves.
• Polygamy was practised widely by Mughal emperor. The term ‘harem’ is used to refer to the domestic world of the Mughals. Persian word ‘haram’ means sacred place. Slave eunuchs (Khwajasara) were appointed as guards or servants in the harem.
• In the Mughal household, a difference was kept between wives come from royal, aristocratic families (begums) and other wives (aghas) who were not so noble by birth. The concubines (aghacha) occupied the lowest position. They all received monthly allowances and gift according to their status. The agha and aghacha could rise to the position of a begum depending on the husband’s will and in case where the husband did not already have four wives. Love and motherhood are considered here in acquiring such position for a legally wedded wives.
• Apart from wives, numerous male and female slaves were there in the Mughal household. They performed various types of works from regular work to specialised work which requires skill, tact and intelligence.
• Many Mughal queens and princess like Nur Jahan, Jahanara, Roshanara enjoyed significant power and financial status. Often elderly women of Mughal household played significant role in resolving tension among princes and kings.

Question 9.
“Historians have provided accounts of diplomatic relationships and conflicts with the neighbouring political powers of the Mughal Empire.” Elaborate.
Answer:
The Mughal emperors took many high-sounding titles like Shahenshah, Jahangir, Shah Jahan to reiterate their claims on territorial and political control. They had diplomatic relationships and conflicts with the neighbouring political powers. This can be explained in the following ways:

• The political and diplomatic relations between the Mughal rulers and the neighbouring countries of Iran and Turan were based on the control of the boundaries marked by the Hindukush mountains that separated Afghanistan from the regions of Iran and Central Asia.
• The conquerors who wanted to make their way into the Indian sub-continent had to cross the Hindukush to have access to North India. The central
  objective off the Mughal policy was to ward off this potential danger. For this purpose outposts like Kabul and Qandahar were strictly regulated.
• Between the Safavids and the Mughals, Qandahar became a bone of contention. First it was under Humayun’s control, later it was captured by Akbar in 1595. But the Safavids continued to stake claims to Qandahar.
• Jahangir sent a diplomatic envoy to the court of Shah Abbas to plead the Mughal case for hiring Qandhar in 1613. However, the Mission failed. A Persian army captured Qandhar in 1622. The Mughal garrison which was ill-prepared was defeated. It had to surrender the fortress and the city to the Safavids.

Question 10.
Describe how the ‘Humayun Nama’ of Gulbadan Begum gives us the glimpses of the Mughal Imperial household.
Answer:
The book ‘Humayun Nama’ was written by Gulbadan Begum, the daughter of Babur. It gives us interesting glimpses of the Mughal Imperial household in the following ways:

• Gtdbadan’s book was not an eulogy of the Mughal emperors. Rather she described in great detail the conflicts and tensions among the princes and kings.
• Gulbadan also wrote about the significant role played by the elderly women of the Mughal household in resolving some of the conflicts of the Mughal empire.
• Gulbadan Begum recorded her memories of earlier times under Babur and Humayun, which was considered as a very important document of Mughal era.