In what ways would the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor?
The daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court observed the following:
(i)By representing the status of the court.
(ii)In form of salutation of emperor.
(iii)Jharokha Darshan.
(iv)Meeting held by sultan in Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas.
(v)By honouring the mansabdar on special occasion with special gifts and jagir.
What were the distinctive features of the Mughal nobility? How was their relationship with the emperor shaped?
Discuss, with examples, the distinctive features of Mughal chronicles.
What were the concerns that shaped Mughal policies and attitudes towards regions outside the subcontinent?
Discuss the major features of Mughal provincial administration. How did the centre control the provinces?
Identify the elements that went into the making of the Mughal ideal of kingship.
Describe the process of manuscript production in the Mughal court.
Assess the role played by women of the imperial household in the Mughal Empire.
To what extent do you think the visual material presented in this chapter corresponds with Abu’l Fazl’s description of the taswir (Source 1)?
Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.
What have been the methods used to study the ruins of Hampi over the last two centuries? In what way do you think they would have complemented the information provided by the priests of the Virupaksha temple?
What are the problems in using the Ain as a source for reconstructing agrarian history? How do historians deal with this situation?
Explain with examples what historians mean by the integration of cults.
Compare and contrast the perspectives from which Ibn Battuta and Bernier wrote their accounts of their travels in India.
How were the water requirements of Vijayanagara met?
To what extent is it possible to characterise agricultural production in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries as subsistence agriculture? Give reasons for your answer.
To what extent do you think the architecture of mosques in the subcontinent reflects a combination of universal ideals and local traditions?
Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier’s account.
What do you think were the advantages and disadvantages of enclosing agricultural land within the fortified area of the city?
What does the architecture of buildings like the Lotus Mahal and elephant stables tell us about the rulers who commissioned them?
Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.
Fig. 7.33 is an illustration of another pillar from the Virupaksha temple. Do you notice any floral motifs? What are the animals shown? Why do you think they are depicted? Describe the human figures shown.
Analyse the evidence for slavery provided by Ibn Battuta.
What were the similarities and differences between the be-shari‘a and ba-shari‘a sufi traditions?
Describe the role played by women in agricultural production.
Discuss, with examples, the significance of monetary transactions during the period under consideration.
Analyse, with illustrations, why bhakti and sufi thinkers adopted a variety of languages in which to express their opinions.
Examine the evidence that suggests that land revenue was important for the Mughal fiscal system.
Examine the role played by zamindars in Mughal India.