Selina Textbook Solutions: Foundation of Mughal Empire | History Class 7 ICSE PDF Download

 Page 1


Foundation of Mughal Empire 
Important Words 
? Sarkars were the provinces in Sher Shah’s empire. His empire was divided into 
47 sarkars and each sarkar was divided into parganas. 
? Shiqdars were the officers responsible for law and order and the general 
administration of the parganas. 
? Mu ns if s were the officers who looked after the collection of revenue and civil 
cases. 
? Patwaris were responsible for the collection of land revenue in the villages. 
? Muqaddams were responsible for maintaining peace in the village. 
? Sarais were rest houses built by Sher Shah. 
? Dak chaukis were mail posts where two horsemen were kept ready to carry mail 
to the next post. The rest houses or sarais were used as dak chaukis. 
? Rupia was the standard silver coin introduced by Sher Shah. 
? Patta meant the title deed of land. 
? Qubuliat was the agreement of the land. 
Time To Learn 
I. Fill in the blanks: 
1. Babur’s eldest son assumed the title Humayun which means fortunate. 
2.  Humayun reconquered the throne of Delhi in 1555 AD. 
3. Humayun was in Persia after 1540. 
4. Sher Shah ruled Delhi for five years. 
II. Match  Column A  with Column B 
 
 
Page 2


Foundation of Mughal Empire 
Important Words 
? Sarkars were the provinces in Sher Shah’s empire. His empire was divided into 
47 sarkars and each sarkar was divided into parganas. 
? Shiqdars were the officers responsible for law and order and the general 
administration of the parganas. 
? Mu ns if s were the officers who looked after the collection of revenue and civil 
cases. 
? Patwaris were responsible for the collection of land revenue in the villages. 
? Muqaddams were responsible for maintaining peace in the village. 
? Sarais were rest houses built by Sher Shah. 
? Dak chaukis were mail posts where two horsemen were kept ready to carry mail 
to the next post. The rest houses or sarais were used as dak chaukis. 
? Rupia was the standard silver coin introduced by Sher Shah. 
? Patta meant the title deed of land. 
? Qubuliat was the agreement of the land. 
Time To Learn 
I. Fill in the blanks: 
1. Babur’s eldest son assumed the title Humayun which means fortunate. 
2.  Humayun reconquered the throne of Delhi in 1555 AD. 
3. Humayun was in Persia after 1540. 
4. Sher Shah ruled Delhi for five years. 
II. Match  Column A  with Column B 
 
 
Answer: 
 
 
III. State whether the following statements are True or False: 
1. The First Battle of Panipat decided once for all the fate of the Lodi dynasty. 
True. 
2. The Battle of Khanwa was fought between Rana Sanga and Babur. 
True. 
3. Babur introduced many new reforms for the administration of his new empire in 
India. 
False.Sher Shah introduced many new reforms for the administration of his new 
empire in India.| 
4. Humayun died in 1550 AD. 
 False.Humayun died in 1556 AD. 
5. Sher Shah built the Grand Trunk Road. 
True. 
IV. Answer the following questions briefly: 
Question 1. 
Why was the First Battle of Panipat fought? What were its results? 
Answer: 
The First Battle of Panipat was fought: 
1. The first battle of panipat was fought in 1526, between babur and Ibrahim lodi. 
2. The battle was the result of policies of Ibrahim Lodhi which resulted in nobility 
turning against him and rebelling. 
3. Ibrahim Lodhi’s attitude towards his officials and nobility was resented. 
4. He also crushed and put to death nobility who rebelled against him. 
5. Thus, Daulat Khan Lodi, and Alma Khan invited babur to fight against him. Hence, 
the first battle of panipat fought.It results in the babur declaring him as “Emperor of 
Hindustan” on April 27th, 1526. 
Page 3


Foundation of Mughal Empire 
Important Words 
? Sarkars were the provinces in Sher Shah’s empire. His empire was divided into 
47 sarkars and each sarkar was divided into parganas. 
? Shiqdars were the officers responsible for law and order and the general 
administration of the parganas. 
? Mu ns if s were the officers who looked after the collection of revenue and civil 
cases. 
? Patwaris were responsible for the collection of land revenue in the villages. 
? Muqaddams were responsible for maintaining peace in the village. 
? Sarais were rest houses built by Sher Shah. 
? Dak chaukis were mail posts where two horsemen were kept ready to carry mail 
to the next post. The rest houses or sarais were used as dak chaukis. 
? Rupia was the standard silver coin introduced by Sher Shah. 
? Patta meant the title deed of land. 
? Qubuliat was the agreement of the land. 
Time To Learn 
I. Fill in the blanks: 
1. Babur’s eldest son assumed the title Humayun which means fortunate. 
2.  Humayun reconquered the throne of Delhi in 1555 AD. 
3. Humayun was in Persia after 1540. 
4. Sher Shah ruled Delhi for five years. 
II. Match  Column A  with Column B 
 
 
Answer: 
 
 
III. State whether the following statements are True or False: 
1. The First Battle of Panipat decided once for all the fate of the Lodi dynasty. 
True. 
2. The Battle of Khanwa was fought between Rana Sanga and Babur. 
True. 
3. Babur introduced many new reforms for the administration of his new empire in 
India. 
False.Sher Shah introduced many new reforms for the administration of his new 
empire in India.| 
4. Humayun died in 1550 AD. 
 False.Humayun died in 1556 AD. 
5. Sher Shah built the Grand Trunk Road. 
True. 
IV. Answer the following questions briefly: 
Question 1. 
Why was the First Battle of Panipat fought? What were its results? 
Answer: 
The First Battle of Panipat was fought: 
1. The first battle of panipat was fought in 1526, between babur and Ibrahim lodi. 
2. The battle was the result of policies of Ibrahim Lodhi which resulted in nobility 
turning against him and rebelling. 
3. Ibrahim Lodhi’s attitude towards his officials and nobility was resented. 
4. He also crushed and put to death nobility who rebelled against him. 
5. Thus, Daulat Khan Lodi, and Alma Khan invited babur to fight against him. Hence, 
the first battle of panipat fought.It results in the babur declaring him as “Emperor of 
Hindustan” on April 27th, 1526. 
Question 2. 
What were the reasons for Babur’s victory in the First Battle of Panipat? 
Answer: 
There were several reasons for Babur’s victory at Panipat. 
1. Babur had used artillery which was unknown to the Indians. 
2. His army was better trained than the Sultan’s army and his cavalry was far 
superior to the Indian cavalry. 
3. He also took over Agra, which was made the capital. On April 27th, 1526 he 
declared himself “Emperor of Hindustan”. 
Question 3. 
What difficulties did Humayun face in the beginning?When and how did Humayun 
reconquer India? 
Answer: 
When Humayun ascended the throne in 1530 A.D., he inherited many difficulties from 
his father Babur. They were: 
1. He had to face political instability because the vast empire was not consolidated. 
2. Empty treasure: The treasury was empty because collection of land revenue was 
not done in a systematic manner. 
3. Troublesome relatives: Humayuns ambitious brothers rebelled against him. 
1. Division of empire into jagirs was another difficulty he had to face. 
2. The government was not well organised. So Humayun had to difficult task of 
strengthening his position when he ascended the throne. 
4. Sher Shah died in AD 1545. Shershah’s successors were weak and inefficient. In 
1555 AD, Humayun recovered Delhi and became emperor again. 
Question 4. 
Why is Sher Shah known as a-good administrator? 
Answer: 
Sher Shah known as a good administrator because of following reasons: 
1. Sher Shah divided his empire into provinces (sarkars). 
2. Each province had a governor with his team of officials to carry out the 
administrative duties. 
3. A province was divided into a number of districts called parganas. Each pargana 
was made up of a number of villages. The village was the lowest administrative 
unit. 
4. The two top officials in a pargana were shiqdar-i-shiqdaran and munsif-i-munsifan. 
The shiqdar handled law and order. The munsif took care of the revenue collection 
and other civil matters. 
5. The panchayat looked after village administration. 
6. The two main officials in a village were patwari (revenue collector) and muqaddam 
in charge of law and order. 
Page 4


Foundation of Mughal Empire 
Important Words 
? Sarkars were the provinces in Sher Shah’s empire. His empire was divided into 
47 sarkars and each sarkar was divided into parganas. 
? Shiqdars were the officers responsible for law and order and the general 
administration of the parganas. 
? Mu ns if s were the officers who looked after the collection of revenue and civil 
cases. 
? Patwaris were responsible for the collection of land revenue in the villages. 
? Muqaddams were responsible for maintaining peace in the village. 
? Sarais were rest houses built by Sher Shah. 
? Dak chaukis were mail posts where two horsemen were kept ready to carry mail 
to the next post. The rest houses or sarais were used as dak chaukis. 
? Rupia was the standard silver coin introduced by Sher Shah. 
? Patta meant the title deed of land. 
? Qubuliat was the agreement of the land. 
Time To Learn 
I. Fill in the blanks: 
1. Babur’s eldest son assumed the title Humayun which means fortunate. 
2.  Humayun reconquered the throne of Delhi in 1555 AD. 
3. Humayun was in Persia after 1540. 
4. Sher Shah ruled Delhi for five years. 
II. Match  Column A  with Column B 
 
 
Answer: 
 
 
III. State whether the following statements are True or False: 
1. The First Battle of Panipat decided once for all the fate of the Lodi dynasty. 
True. 
2. The Battle of Khanwa was fought between Rana Sanga and Babur. 
True. 
3. Babur introduced many new reforms for the administration of his new empire in 
India. 
False.Sher Shah introduced many new reforms for the administration of his new 
empire in India.| 
4. Humayun died in 1550 AD. 
 False.Humayun died in 1556 AD. 
5. Sher Shah built the Grand Trunk Road. 
True. 
IV. Answer the following questions briefly: 
Question 1. 
Why was the First Battle of Panipat fought? What were its results? 
Answer: 
The First Battle of Panipat was fought: 
1. The first battle of panipat was fought in 1526, between babur and Ibrahim lodi. 
2. The battle was the result of policies of Ibrahim Lodhi which resulted in nobility 
turning against him and rebelling. 
3. Ibrahim Lodhi’s attitude towards his officials and nobility was resented. 
4. He also crushed and put to death nobility who rebelled against him. 
5. Thus, Daulat Khan Lodi, and Alma Khan invited babur to fight against him. Hence, 
the first battle of panipat fought.It results in the babur declaring him as “Emperor of 
Hindustan” on April 27th, 1526. 
Question 2. 
What were the reasons for Babur’s victory in the First Battle of Panipat? 
Answer: 
There were several reasons for Babur’s victory at Panipat. 
1. Babur had used artillery which was unknown to the Indians. 
2. His army was better trained than the Sultan’s army and his cavalry was far 
superior to the Indian cavalry. 
3. He also took over Agra, which was made the capital. On April 27th, 1526 he 
declared himself “Emperor of Hindustan”. 
Question 3. 
What difficulties did Humayun face in the beginning?When and how did Humayun 
reconquer India? 
Answer: 
When Humayun ascended the throne in 1530 A.D., he inherited many difficulties from 
his father Babur. They were: 
1. He had to face political instability because the vast empire was not consolidated. 
2. Empty treasure: The treasury was empty because collection of land revenue was 
not done in a systematic manner. 
3. Troublesome relatives: Humayuns ambitious brothers rebelled against him. 
1. Division of empire into jagirs was another difficulty he had to face. 
2. The government was not well organised. So Humayun had to difficult task of 
strengthening his position when he ascended the throne. 
4. Sher Shah died in AD 1545. Shershah’s successors were weak and inefficient. In 
1555 AD, Humayun recovered Delhi and became emperor again. 
Question 4. 
Why is Sher Shah known as a-good administrator? 
Answer: 
Sher Shah known as a good administrator because of following reasons: 
1. Sher Shah divided his empire into provinces (sarkars). 
2. Each province had a governor with his team of officials to carry out the 
administrative duties. 
3. A province was divided into a number of districts called parganas. Each pargana 
was made up of a number of villages. The village was the lowest administrative 
unit. 
4. The two top officials in a pargana were shiqdar-i-shiqdaran and munsif-i-munsifan. 
The shiqdar handled law and order. The munsif took care of the revenue collection 
and other civil matters. 
5. The panchayat looked after village administration. 
6. The two main officials in a village were patwari (revenue collector) and muqaddam 
in charge of law and order. 
V. Give reasons. 
Question 1. 
Sher Khan was able to strengthen his position in Bengal and Bihar. 
Answer: 
Sher Khan was able to strengthen his position in Bengal and Bihar because of 
following reasons: 
1. Sher Shah personally supervised the recruitment and training of his soldiers who 
had to maintain strict discipline. 
2. He revived Sultan Alauddin’s measures of branding horses (dagh) and 
maintaining descriptive rolls of soldiers (chehra). 
3. He paid regular salary based on their skills. 
4. He set up forts and garrisons in different parts of the empire for speedy 
deployment of soldiers. 
5. Sher Shah kept a close watch over all his officials. He set up a spy system to 
know about the happenings in all parts of the empire.The officials were transferred 
every 2-3 years to prevent them from becoming corrupt or powerful. 
Question 2. 
Sher Shah was named so. 
Answer: 
Sher Shah was the son of a jagirdar of Sasaram (in Bihar). His actual name was Farid 
Khan. During his employment under the ruler of Bihar, he killed a tiger single-handedly, 
and came to be known as Sher Khan. Then he conquered many states and become 
Sher Shah. 
Question 3. 
We say that Sher Shah looked after the welfare of his people. 
Answer: 
1. Sher Shah constructed an excellent network of roads, mainly the Grand Trunk 
Road from Peshawar to Sonargaon (Bengal). He also built roads from Agra to 
Jodhpur and Chittor. He built another road from Lahore to Multan. 
2. To make travel comfortable Sher Shah built sarais and wells at regular intervals. 
3. Trees were also planted on both sides of the roads. In all, 1700 sarais (inns) were 
constructed for the travellers. These sarais gradually gained in importance and 
became the centres of trade. 
4. Special officers known as Muqaddams were appointed to ensure the safety of 
travellers. 
5. Roads helped Sher Shah to establish a good postal system and promoted inland 
trade. 
6. His roads and sarais have been called ‘the arteries of the empire’. 
7. Sher Shah divided his empire into 47 provinces (sarkars). Each sarkar was them 
divided into many districts (parganas). A pargana comprised several villages. 
Page 5


Foundation of Mughal Empire 
Important Words 
? Sarkars were the provinces in Sher Shah’s empire. His empire was divided into 
47 sarkars and each sarkar was divided into parganas. 
? Shiqdars were the officers responsible for law and order and the general 
administration of the parganas. 
? Mu ns if s were the officers who looked after the collection of revenue and civil 
cases. 
? Patwaris were responsible for the collection of land revenue in the villages. 
? Muqaddams were responsible for maintaining peace in the village. 
? Sarais were rest houses built by Sher Shah. 
? Dak chaukis were mail posts where two horsemen were kept ready to carry mail 
to the next post. The rest houses or sarais were used as dak chaukis. 
? Rupia was the standard silver coin introduced by Sher Shah. 
? Patta meant the title deed of land. 
? Qubuliat was the agreement of the land. 
Time To Learn 
I. Fill in the blanks: 
1. Babur’s eldest son assumed the title Humayun which means fortunate. 
2.  Humayun reconquered the throne of Delhi in 1555 AD. 
3. Humayun was in Persia after 1540. 
4. Sher Shah ruled Delhi for five years. 
II. Match  Column A  with Column B 
 
 
Answer: 
 
 
III. State whether the following statements are True or False: 
1. The First Battle of Panipat decided once for all the fate of the Lodi dynasty. 
True. 
2. The Battle of Khanwa was fought between Rana Sanga and Babur. 
True. 
3. Babur introduced many new reforms for the administration of his new empire in 
India. 
False.Sher Shah introduced many new reforms for the administration of his new 
empire in India.| 
4. Humayun died in 1550 AD. 
 False.Humayun died in 1556 AD. 
5. Sher Shah built the Grand Trunk Road. 
True. 
IV. Answer the following questions briefly: 
Question 1. 
Why was the First Battle of Panipat fought? What were its results? 
Answer: 
The First Battle of Panipat was fought: 
1. The first battle of panipat was fought in 1526, between babur and Ibrahim lodi. 
2. The battle was the result of policies of Ibrahim Lodhi which resulted in nobility 
turning against him and rebelling. 
3. Ibrahim Lodhi’s attitude towards his officials and nobility was resented. 
4. He also crushed and put to death nobility who rebelled against him. 
5. Thus, Daulat Khan Lodi, and Alma Khan invited babur to fight against him. Hence, 
the first battle of panipat fought.It results in the babur declaring him as “Emperor of 
Hindustan” on April 27th, 1526. 
Question 2. 
What were the reasons for Babur’s victory in the First Battle of Panipat? 
Answer: 
There were several reasons for Babur’s victory at Panipat. 
1. Babur had used artillery which was unknown to the Indians. 
2. His army was better trained than the Sultan’s army and his cavalry was far 
superior to the Indian cavalry. 
3. He also took over Agra, which was made the capital. On April 27th, 1526 he 
declared himself “Emperor of Hindustan”. 
Question 3. 
What difficulties did Humayun face in the beginning?When and how did Humayun 
reconquer India? 
Answer: 
When Humayun ascended the throne in 1530 A.D., he inherited many difficulties from 
his father Babur. They were: 
1. He had to face political instability because the vast empire was not consolidated. 
2. Empty treasure: The treasury was empty because collection of land revenue was 
not done in a systematic manner. 
3. Troublesome relatives: Humayuns ambitious brothers rebelled against him. 
1. Division of empire into jagirs was another difficulty he had to face. 
2. The government was not well organised. So Humayun had to difficult task of 
strengthening his position when he ascended the throne. 
4. Sher Shah died in AD 1545. Shershah’s successors were weak and inefficient. In 
1555 AD, Humayun recovered Delhi and became emperor again. 
Question 4. 
Why is Sher Shah known as a-good administrator? 
Answer: 
Sher Shah known as a good administrator because of following reasons: 
1. Sher Shah divided his empire into provinces (sarkars). 
2. Each province had a governor with his team of officials to carry out the 
administrative duties. 
3. A province was divided into a number of districts called parganas. Each pargana 
was made up of a number of villages. The village was the lowest administrative 
unit. 
4. The two top officials in a pargana were shiqdar-i-shiqdaran and munsif-i-munsifan. 
The shiqdar handled law and order. The munsif took care of the revenue collection 
and other civil matters. 
5. The panchayat looked after village administration. 
6. The two main officials in a village were patwari (revenue collector) and muqaddam 
in charge of law and order. 
V. Give reasons. 
Question 1. 
Sher Khan was able to strengthen his position in Bengal and Bihar. 
Answer: 
Sher Khan was able to strengthen his position in Bengal and Bihar because of 
following reasons: 
1. Sher Shah personally supervised the recruitment and training of his soldiers who 
had to maintain strict discipline. 
2. He revived Sultan Alauddin’s measures of branding horses (dagh) and 
maintaining descriptive rolls of soldiers (chehra). 
3. He paid regular salary based on their skills. 
4. He set up forts and garrisons in different parts of the empire for speedy 
deployment of soldiers. 
5. Sher Shah kept a close watch over all his officials. He set up a spy system to 
know about the happenings in all parts of the empire.The officials were transferred 
every 2-3 years to prevent them from becoming corrupt or powerful. 
Question 2. 
Sher Shah was named so. 
Answer: 
Sher Shah was the son of a jagirdar of Sasaram (in Bihar). His actual name was Farid 
Khan. During his employment under the ruler of Bihar, he killed a tiger single-handedly, 
and came to be known as Sher Khan. Then he conquered many states and become 
Sher Shah. 
Question 3. 
We say that Sher Shah looked after the welfare of his people. 
Answer: 
1. Sher Shah constructed an excellent network of roads, mainly the Grand Trunk 
Road from Peshawar to Sonargaon (Bengal). He also built roads from Agra to 
Jodhpur and Chittor. He built another road from Lahore to Multan. 
2. To make travel comfortable Sher Shah built sarais and wells at regular intervals. 
3. Trees were also planted on both sides of the roads. In all, 1700 sarais (inns) were 
constructed for the travellers. These sarais gradually gained in importance and 
became the centres of trade. 
4. Special officers known as Muqaddams were appointed to ensure the safety of 
travellers. 
5. Roads helped Sher Shah to establish a good postal system and promoted inland 
trade. 
6. His roads and sarais have been called ‘the arteries of the empire’. 
7. Sher Shah divided his empire into 47 provinces (sarkars). Each sarkar was them 
divided into many districts (parganas). A pargana comprised several villages. 
Additional Questions 
(Foundation of The Mughal Empire) 
A. Fill in the blanks: 
1. Babur lost both Farghana and Samarkand and became a homeless wanderer. In 
1504 ce, he became the ruler of Kabul. 
2. Humayun lacked the qualities necessary to consolidate the vast empire he had 
inherited. 
3. Sher Shah based his administration on the principle of a welfare state. 
Sher Shah went on regular tours of inspection and set up an efficient spy system. 
4. Sher Shah established a large standing army and introduced several reforms to 
make it disciplined, efficient and strong. 
B. Match the following: 
 
 
Answer: