1. What were the central provinces under the control of the Mughals?
Delhi, Agra, Awash, Allahabad, Bihar, Bengal, Gujarat, Ajmer, Lahore, Multan and Kabul.
2. What were the Mughal traditions of succession?
The Mughals did not believe in the rule of primogeniture, where the eldest son-inherited his father’s estate. Instead they followed the Mughal and Timurid custom of coparcenary inheritance, or a division of the inheritance amongst all the sons.
3. Who all constituted the nobility of the Mughals?
From a small nucles of Turanis, they expanded to include Iranians, Indian Musilms, Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas and other groups.
4. Who was a Mansabdar?
The term mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a position or a rank. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix ranks, salary and military responsibilities.
5. What was zat?
Tank and salary were determined by a numerical value called zat. The higher the zat, the more prestigious was the noble’s position in court and the larger his salary.
6. How was zat ranking done?
Nobles with a zat of 5,000 were ranked higher than those of 1,000. In Akbar’s reign there were 29 mansabdars with a rank of 5,000 zat, but by Aurangzeb’s rule the number of mansabdars had increased to 79.
7. How do we know about the influence of Nur Jahan in Jahangir’s court?
Mehrunnissa married emperor Jahangir in 1611 and got the title Nur Jahan. She remained extremely loyal to the monarch. As a result, Jahangir struck silver coins bearing his name on one side and on the other the inscription struck in the name of elevated majesty Nur Jahan Padshah Begum.