Chapter 3: Islam in the Subcontinent

Question/ Answers

Q1 Who was the most famous king of the Pushyabhutis of Kanauj?

Ans: The most famous king of the Pushyabhutis of Kanauj was Harsha.

Q2 How did this king spend the money he collected?

Ans: Only a quarter of the tax Harsha collected was spent on the government. The rest was
spent on (charity caring for the poor, the sick and the travellers), religion, education, art,
literature and music. Harsha was a poet and a playwright and he also built many schools and
monasteries.

Q3 What was Makran like in the 10th Century?

Ans: In the 10th century, Makran was a broad and an extensive region consisting mostly of
deserts and barren and arid (dry plains). Few people lived there but still it was an important
area. The Kij Valley ran through it from the east to west. It was between ten and twenty
metres wide and had large areas of cultivated land producing dates, fruits, food crops, sugar
cane and silk. Sugar and silk were sold for export.

The road running through the Kij Valley was a major trading route which connected India and
Persia and carried much of India’s overland trade to the west. The town of Kij in Makran was
the largest and an important trading centre, and Tiz was an important port.

Q4 How did Muhammad Bin Qasim capture Debal?

Ans: The Iraqi led Muslim Invasion force arrived, probably at Debal Port, with 6000 cavalry,
the same number of armed camel drivers, 6000 more Syrian foot soldiers and a baggage
train of 3000 Bactrian camels. Siege Machines came from Iraq by sea. These included
battering rams and a huge catapult called manjanik, nicknamed ‘the bride’. The first thing
that Muhammad Bin Qasim did was to besiege Debal.

Muhammad Bin Qasim’s forces surrounded the city but his battering rams and manjanik
could not knock down its strong walls. There was a large Hindu temple of Shiva at Debal. On
top of the temple’s dome was a spire with a red silk flag flying from it. A Brahmin Priest told
Muhammad Bin Qasim that if he brought down the spire he would be able to capture Debal.
Muhammad Bin Qasim told his soldiers to fire a catapult at the spire. When it collapsed the
people of Debal believed their luck had gone and surrendered.

Q5 How did 300 years of Arab rules change Sindh and West Punjab?
Ans: Arab rule over Sindh and the lower West Punjab was to last for three centuries. During
this time Islam and Indian culture influenced each other and Muslim traders and religious
scholars wore a local dress. The native language Prakit combined with Arabic and a new
language Sindhi developed. It was the first language of the east into which the Quran was
translated.
Q6 How did Qutb ud Din Aibek conquer Delhi?
Ans: Muhammad Ghuri returned to Ghazni And left northern India under the leadership of
Qutb ud Din Aibek, a slave officer from Turkestan. In 1193 AD Qutb ud Din’s forces
conquered Delhi and pushed into Bengal, Assam and Bihar. As a result of these conquests
the foundations of Islam were firmly laid in India by the beginning of the 13th Century.

In 1206 Qutb ud Din Aibek became Sultan and ruled all the lands conquered by the Ghuris,
which included most of Northern India and Modern day Pakistan. This was the foundation of
the Delhi Sultanate.

Quick Recall

1. When did Islam arrive in the subcontinent?

Islam arrived in the Subcontinent during the 7th Century.

2. How did it arrive?

There were many Arab expedition for trading purposes, e.g. a sea expedition landed at
Port of Thana in Bombay. The expeditions came both from land and sea routes.

3. Who were the Mids?

The Mids were farmers, but some had become sea pirates. They lived in Sindh, in the
Marshes of the Indus Delta.

4. Where were Sindh salt mines at this time?

The Sindh salt mines were located in the valleys of Indus and Jhelum rivers in Punjab and
also in the Khewra salt mine.

5. Which town was called the ‘Garden City’?

Lahore was known as the Garden city.

6. What was the capital of Sindh?

The Capital of Sindh was the lost city of Mansura, 7th century to the 9th century.

7. What did Muhammad Bin Qasim build wherever he went?

Muhammad Bin Qasim built mosques wherever he went.

8. What were Rajputs?

The Rajputs were formed when a large area of Northern India split into small Kingdoms.

9. Which empire did Sabuktigin found?

The Turkish leader Sabuktigin, founded the Ghaznavid Dynasty.

10. What did Sultan Mahmud change Lahore’s name to?

Lahore was renamed to Mahmudpur at Sultan Mahmud’s command.
Getting it Right

1. Al–Biruni supported the caste system.

Al Biruni criticised the caste system.

2. Tin was a major export from Sindh for many centuries.

Sugar and Silk were the major exports from Sindh for many centuries.

3. Pilgrims went to Multan to visit the Buddhist temple.

Pilgrims went to Multan to visit the famous temple of the sun god, Mithra.

4. Debal was destroyed in 893 by a huge flood.

Debal was destroyed by a huge earthquake in 893.

5. Sultan Mahmud was killed at the Battle of Peshawar.

Sultan Mahmud died a natural death.

6. From the 11th century the Ghaznavid capital was Karachi.

From the 11th century the Ghaznavid capital was Lahore.

Fill in the Blanks

1. Harsha strongly supported the Buddhism University at Nalanda, which may have
converted him from Hinduism to Buddhism.

2. The largest town in Makran was Kij, an important trading centre.

3. On the coast of Makran there was an important port known as Tiz.

4. There were two main groups of people in Sindh, Juts and Mids, during the 7th to 11th
century who were known as highway robbers and pirates.

5. Muhammad Bin Qasim stayed in Sindh for three years after getting control over Sindh.

6. Turkish Muslim invaders gained control in the subcontinent in the 10th century. These
invaders are called the Ghaznavids.

7. Sultan Mahmud believed that idols and statues worshipped by non-Muslims should be
destroyed. He led raids against the temple of Hindus.

8. Sultan Mahmud was known as an idol destroyer because of the number of idol statues he
destroyed.

9. The Buddhist university was destroyed under the leadership of Sultan Mahmud.

10. In 1206, Qutb ud Din Aibek became Sultan and ruled all the lands conquered by Ghuris.
Choose the correct Answer

1. Harsha conquered Punjab, Bihar, Malwa and Gujratband set up his capital at
a) Nalanda
b) Kanauj
c) Lahore

2. After the Death of Harsha, the kingdom split into small states ruled by its own
a) Rajah
b) Martha’s
c) Muslims

3. The Most important thing about the kij valley was the road running along it connecting
a) India and Palestine
b) Persia and Europe
c) India and Persia

4. Multan was so wealthy in the 8th century and it was known as

a) House of Gold
b) House of Diamonds
c) None of the above

5. The first Muslim ruler in the subcontinent was

a) Sultan Mahmud
b) Muhammad Bin Qasim
c) Seljuks

6. In second-half of the 10th century northern India split up into small kingdoms known as
a) Ghaznavids
b) Rajputs
c) Marathas

7. Ghaznavid Empire was founded by a Turkish leader called

a) Sultan Mahmud
b) Sabuktigin
c) Muhammad Ghuri

8. Sultan Mahmud changed Lahore’s name to

a) Ghazni
b) Mahmudpur
c) Kanauj

9. A new group Rose to power after Sultan Mahmud, ___________, Afghan tribesmen and
horse breeders .
a) The Ghaznavids
b) The Ghuris
c) Kanauj

10. In ______ Muhammad Ghuri had a large army and defeated the Hindu Rajahs.
a) 1191,
b) 1193,
c) 1192