Shah Jahan & Taj Mahal
Why did Shah Jahan build the Taj Mahal?
He built it as a mausoleum in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
What is the main material used for the Taj Mahal’s central tomb?
White marble.
What tax on non-Muslims did Akbar abolish?
The jizya tax.
What major battle did Babur win in 1526 to begin Mughal rule in India?
The First Battle of Panipat.
What important Indian product was widely traded across the Indian Ocean?
Cotton textiles.
In what city was the Taj Mahal built?
Agra, India.
What are the four tall towers around the Taj Mahal called?
Minarets.
What was the Ibadat Khana?
The House of Worship, where Akbar organized religious discussions between people of different faiths.
Who did Babur defeat at the First Battle of Panipat?
Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi.
What were zamindars responsible for?
They collected agricultural taxes from peasants and passed part of the revenue to the Mughal state.
What was the name of Shah Jahan’s wife for whom the Taj Mahal was built?
Mumtaz Mahal / Arjumand Banu Begum.
What Indian architectural feature appears as small domed pavilions on Mughal buildings?
Chhatris.
What was Akbar trying to achieve through greater religious tolerance?
Political stability and unity in his religiously diverse empire.
What military advantages helped Babur defeat larger armies?
Gunpowder artillery and disciplined cavalry.
What was the mansabdari system?
A ranking system for Mughal officials that determined their status, salary, and military responsibilities.
Besides the Taj Mahal, name one way Shah Jahan used architecture to display imperial power.
He built major mosques, forts, palaces, and the imperial capital of Shahjahanabad.
Name two Islamic features and one Indian feature found in the Taj Mahal.
Islamic features include minarets, Qur’anic calligraphy, symmetry, domes, or the paradise-garden design. An Indian feature is the chhatri.
What major religious tax did Aurangzeb restore that Akbar had abolished?
The jizya tax.
What 1527 battle helped Babur secure his rule by defeating a Rajput confederation?
The Battle of Khanwa.
What was a jagir?
The right to collect revenue from a particular area, often given to Mughal officials as payment.
How could the Taj Mahal strengthen Shah Jahan’s political image as well as honor his wife?
Its enormous scale, expensive materials, symmetry, and craftsmanship showed the wealth, resources, and authority of Shah Jahan and the Mughal Empire.
Give three pieces of evidence showing that the Taj Mahal displayed Mughal wealth and power.
Examples include high-quality white marble, precious and semi-precious stone decoration, its huge 17-hectare complex, elaborate craftsmanship, and skilled artisans brought from different regions
Compare Akbar’s and Aurangzeb’s policies toward the jizya.
Akbar abolished the jizya in 1564, while Aurangzeb reimposed it in 1679.
Why were Gujarat and Bengal especially valuable to the Mughal Empire?
They were wealthy regions with productive farmland, major textile industries, and important connections to Indian Ocean trade.
Why did the Mughal government regularly transfer officials between regions?
To stop officials from becoming too powerful locally and to keep them loyal to the emperor.