The dagh (branding of horses) and chehra (descriptive roll of soldiers) systems were introduced by which Sultan?
- A.Balban
- B.Iltutmish
- C.Alauddin Khalji
- D.Firoz Shah Tughlaq
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Alauddin Khalji. Alauddin Khalji, who ruled from 1296 to 1316, wanted a standing army paid directly by the state and under his own eye. He therefore had every cavalry horse branded with the state mark, a practice called dagh, and had a written description of each soldier kept, called chehra, so that nobles could not substitute inferior horses or show absent men at the muster. He was also the first Sultan to pay his troops entirely in cash rather than through land assignments. Option A is wrong because Balban created the diwan-i-arz, the army department, but not these two checks. Option B is wrong because Iltutmish organised the iqta system and issued the tanka and jital. Option D is wrong because Firoz Shah Tughlaq moved the other way, making iqtas hereditary and paying nobles in land, which weakened military discipline.
Read the full article: Delhi Sultanate: Dynasties, Rulers and Administration
Practice Questions
View allWhich dynasty of Delhi Sultanate ruled for the shortest time?
- A.Khilji
- B.Tughlaq
- C.Sayyid
- D.Lodi
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The Khalji or Khilji dynasty held the throne of Delhi only from 1290, when Jalaluddin Khalji seized power, to 1320, when Khusrau Khan was overthrown by Ghazi Malik.
Read the full explanation →Which Sultan shifted the capital of the Delhi Sultanate from Lahore to Delhi and completed the Qutb Minar?
- A.Qutbuddin Aibak
- B.Iltutmish
- C.Balban
- D.Jalaluddin Khalji
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Shamsuddin Iltutmish, who ruled from 1211 to 1236, moved the seat of government from Lahore to Delhi, completed the Qutb Minar that his father-in-law had begun, issued the silver tanka and the copper jital, organised the iqta system of land assignments and formed the Turkan-i-Chihalgani, the corps of forty Turkish…
Read the full explanation →Which of the following rulers built the mosque called 'Adhai-din-ka-Jhopra'?
- A.Balban
- B.Abraham Lodi
- C.Iltutmish
- D.Qutub-ud-Din-Aibak
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The Adhai-din-ka-Jhonpra stands at Ajmer in Rajasthan and was raised on the site of an earlier Sanskrit college by Qutbuddin Aibak, the founder of the Slave dynasty and the first Sultan of Delhi.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following type of tax was collected during the Delhi Sultanate?
- A.Ryotwari Tax
- B.Income tax
- C.Mahalwari tax
- D.Kharaj tax
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Kharaj was the land tax on agricultural produce and the single largest source of revenue for the Delhi Sultanate. Alauddin Khalji raised the demand to half the produce in the doab and had land measured for assessment.
Read the full explanation →Which Sultan of Delhi introduced token currency made of bronze and copper?
- A.Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
- B.Muhammad bin Tughlaq
- C.Firoz Shah Tughlaq
- D.Alauddin Khalji
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Muhammad bin Tughlaq, who ruled from 1325 to 1351, issued bronze and copper coins that were to pass at the value of silver.
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