Question

"The greatest king of the Khalji dynasty was Ala-ud-din who was a great military commander and able administrator."- Show with examples how Ala-ud-din proved himself to be so.

Answer 1

Instructions:

There should be at least 3 points here.

• As a military commander, talk about his frontier policy and how he handled the Mongols.
• As an able administrator, talk about Taxation-land revenue, Market regulation and Measures against nobility.

Solution:

• Ala-ud-din Khalji fixed the prices of food and other commodities. He accepted the payment of land revenues in cash or kind. Granaries were built to store revenue collected in kind. Taxes were hiked in the rich fertile lands of the Doab.
• Land revenue was fixed based on the measurement of the land. Full records of all lands and revenue were maintained. To control corruption, high salaries were paid to lower revenue officials.
• Nobles were not allowed to form groups or create alliances through marriage without the permission of the Sultan. Gambling was also prohibited. A spy system was created which kept an eye on the nobles.
• Khilji built a strong army who were paid wages. This way he controlled the North-West Frontier. He was able to defeat the Mongols who attacked several times.