Administration, Society and Culture under the Delhi Sultanate

Urdu

Step 1: During the Sultanate period, people of different cultures — Persians, Turks, and Indians — lived and interacted together in cities and markets. Step 2: Persian was the language of the administration and the nobility, while Hindi was spoken widely by the common people of India. Step 3: As these two languages mixed and blended over time, a new language called Urdu was born. Step 4: Arabic was used mainly by traders from Western Asia, and Sanskrit was the language of high learning among Hindus — neither was a blend of Persian and Hindi. Pali was an even older ancient language. Step 5: Urd

Diwan-i-Arz

Step 1: The Delhi Sultanate had four main departments, each with a specific function. Step 2: The Diwan-i-Arz was the military department — its responsibilities included recruiting soldiers, equipping them with weapons and supplies, and paying their salaries. Step 3: It was headed by the Ariz-i-Mamalik. Step 4: The other options are wrong — Diwan-i-Wazarat dealt with revenue (money matters), Diwan-i-Risalat handled religious matters and correspondence with scholars, and Diwan-i-Insha dealt with domestic and foreign correspondence (letters). Step 5: So, any question about army management points

Tanka

Step 1: A strong economy needs a reliable currency for trade and transactions. Step 2: During the Sultanate period, Iltutmish introduced a silver coin called the 'Tanka' which became the standard currency widely used in markets across the empire. Step 3: This coin helped encourage trade by providing a common medium of exchange. Step 4: The other options are wrong — Rupiya became common in a later period (during the Mughals and British era), Dinar was a coin used in Arab regions, and Paisa is a modern Indian currency unit. Step 5: The Tanka was an important contribution of Iltutmish to the econ

Ibn Batuta

Step 1: Several foreign travellers visited India during the medieval period and wrote about what they observed. Step 2: Ibn Batuta was a traveller from Morocco (a country in North Africa) who visited India during the Sultanate period. Step 3: He specifically described the horrifying practice of sati — a woman burning herself on the funeral pyre of her dead husband — in his writings. Step 4: Marco Polo was an Italian traveller who visited India but is more famous for his travels to China. Hiuen Tsang was a Chinese monk who visited India during the Gupta period, much earlier. Al-Biruni was a sch