Medieval India (c. 1200–1750 CE)
Medieval India (c. 1200–1750 CE) examines Sultanate and Mughal state formation, regional kingdoms, revenue systems and religious and cultural interaction. Questions often test administrative vocabulary, source criticism and the limits of “decline” narratives.
States and institutions
- Delhi Sultanate: iqta (revenue assignment), muqti/wali, market reforms of Alauddin Khalji, token currency of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Firuz Shah’s canals.
- Vijayanagara and Bahmani: amaram, ayagar, overseas trade; Krishnadevaraya’s Amuktamalyada.
- Mughals: mansab (zat/sawar), jagir, zabt, dahsala, jagirdari crisis; Akbar’s sulh-i kul and Rajput alliances; Nur Jahan junta; Aurangzeb’s Deccan wars.
- Marathas: chauth, sardeshmukhi, Ashta Pradhan; Sikh Khalsa (1699); regional successor states.
Worked example
Explain mansab and jagir. Reasoning: mansab is a rank fixing status and obligation, expressed in zat (personal) and sawar (cavalry); it is not land ownership. Jagir is assignment of revenue rights to support that rank. Transferability and audit distinguish it from hereditary property. So a rise in sawar rank increased military obligation, not necessarily permanent land control.
Traps
Do not equate iqta and jagir mechanically; avoid “Muslim rule versus Hindu resistance” simplification; do not date Mughal decline to one battle; distinguish chronicle rhetoric from administrative practice. Regional sources, including vernacular texts and epigraphy, often correct court chronicles.