The Delhi Sultanate — Practice Quiz

Market control, price regulation, and the Daag-Chehra system for the army

Step 1: Alauddin Khilji was the most powerful ruler of the Khilji Dynasty (1290–1320 A.D.). Step 2: He introduced the 'Daag' (mark on horses) and 'Chehra' (face/description of soldiers) system to identify army horses and soldiers and prevent fraud. Step 3: He also introduced a market control system — fixing prices of goods to prevent hoarding and profiteering. Step 4: Shifting the capital to Daulatabad was done by Mohammad-Bin-Tughlaq of the Tughlaq Dynasty — not Alauddin. Step 5: The division into Iqtas was an earlier system, and the Chahalgani was created by Iltutmish.

Ibn Batuta

Step 1: Mohammad-Bin-Tughlaq was one of the most talented but controversial rulers of the Tughlaq Dynasty (1320–1414 A.D.). Step 2: Ibn Batuta was a famous African traveller who visited India during his reign and wrote detailed accounts of his experiences. Step 3: His writings give us valuable historical information about India during the Tughlaq period. Step 4: Marco Polo was a European traveller who visited India earlier during the time of the Mongol Empire. Step 5: Hiuen Tsang and Fa Hien were Chinese travellers who visited India during the ancient period (Gupta age) — not during the Delhi

They were good ideas but failed due to lack of practicality and poor implementation

Step 1: Mohammad-Bin-Tughlaq introduced bold schemes like shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and introducing token/symbolic currency. Step 2: These were not necessarily bad ideas in theory — shifting to Daulatabad could centralise power, and token currency is used in modern economies. Step 3: However, they failed because they were not practically planned — people suffered greatly during the forced mass migration to Daulatabad. Step 4: The token currency scheme also failed because fake coins flooded the market, causing economic chaos. Step 5: Because these schemes seemed intelligent

The Sultan was supreme; his chief minister was called Vazir

Step 1: The administrative system of the Delhi Sultanate had the Sultan at the very center. Step 2: The Sultan held supreme power — he was the supreme commander of the army, the head of the executive, and the chief judge. Step 3: To help him run the administration, there was a cabinet, and the head of this cabinet (the chief minister) was called the 'Vazir.' Step 4: The Iqtadar (or Mukti) was the head of a province (Iqta), not the chief minister at the centre. Step 5: The Mukhi or Mukadam was the head of village administration at the local level — not the central minister.