The rich and powerful construct large houses today. In what ways were the constructions of kings and their courtiers different in the past?
The construction of kings were done over a large area grounds with especial raw materials like red stone, marble, diamonds etc.
- On the other hand, buildings hand plans for the water system, tanks and gardens.
- The directions were of special considerations. For example, placing of throne in diwan-I khas in the west direction.
- The new innovations were always welcomed in the constructions by kings. For example pietra-dura
- Buildings made by kings often had fusion of regional architecture such as gujrati, rajasthani and bangle domes.
- It can be assumed the building of nobles must not have had such features.
What role did the Yamuna play in the layout of the new Mughal city at Shahjahanabad?
What is a shikhara?
An inscription in Shah Jahan’s diwan-i khas in Delhi stated: “If there is Paradise on Earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.” How was this image created?
How is the “trabeate” principle of architecture different from the “arcuate”?
What is pietra-dura?
How did a temple communicate the importance of a king?
What are the elements of a Mughal chahar bagh garden?
Look at Figure 4. How could that building be constructed faster today?
How did the Mughal court suggest that everyone – the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak – received justice equally from the emperor?
Who was considered a “foreigner” in the past?
Match the following:
Gurjara-Pratiharas Western Deccan
Rashtrakutas Bengal
Palas Gujarat and Rajasthan
Cholas Tamil Nadu
Which ruler first established his or her capital at Delhi?
Match the following:
mansab Marwar
Mongol governor
Sisodiya Rajput Uzbeg
Rathor Rajput Mewar
Nur Jahan rank
subadar Jahangir
Fill in the blanks:
(a) The Rajarajeshvara temple was built in ———.
(b) Ajmer is associated with the Sufi saint ————.
(c) Hampi was the capital of the ———— Empire.
(d) The Dutch established a settlement at ———— in Andhra Pradesh.
Match the following:
garh khel
tanda chaurasi
labourer caravan
clan Garha Katanga
Sib Singh Ahom state
Durgawati paik
The Buddha namghar
Shankaradeva worship of Vishnu
Nizamuddin Auliya questioned social differences
Nayanars Sufi saint
Alvars worship of Shiva
Anantavarman Kerala
Jagannatha Bengal
Mahodayapuram Orissa
Lilatilakam Kangra
Mangalakavya Puri
Miniature Kerala
Match the following:
subadar a revenue farmer
faujdar a high noble
ijaradar provincial governor
misl Maratha peasant warriors
chauth a Mughal military commander
kunbis a band of Sikh warriors
umara tax levied by the Marathas
State whether true or false:
(a) We do not find inscriptions for the period after 700.
(b) The Marathas asserted their political importance during this period.
(c) Forest-dwellers were sometimes pushed out of their lands with the spread of agricultural settlements.
(d) Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban controlled Assam, Manipur and Kashmir.
How do historians divide the past into periods? Do they face any problems in doing so?
Fill in the blanks:
(a) The capital of Mirza Hakim, Akbar’s half-brother, was ____________.
(b) The five Deccan Sultanates were Berar, Khandesh, Ahmadnagar, ____________ and _________________.
(c) If zat determined a mansabdar’s rank and salary, sawar indicated his ____________ .
(d) Abul Fazl, Akbar’s friend and counsellor, helped him frame the idea of ____________ so that he could govern a society composed of many religions, cultures and castes.
Why do we know much more about the cultural practices of rulers than about those of ordinary people?
What is Manipravalam? Name a book written in that language.
State whether true or false:
(a) Tribal societies had rich oral traditions.
(b) There were no tribal communities in the north- western part of the subcontinent.
(c) The chaurasi in Gond states contained several cities.
(d) The Bhils lived in the north-eastern part of the subcontinent.
Describe the beliefs and practices of the Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis.
Why did the Nawabs of Awadh and Bengal try to do away with the jagirdari system?
What changes took place in varna-based society?
What was the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans?
Fill in the blanks:
(a) Shankara was an advocate of ————-.
(b) Ramanuja was influenced by the —————.
(c) ————, ———— and ———— were advocates of Virashaivism.
(d) ———————— was an important centre of the Bhakti tradition in Maharashtra.