64th BPSC (Pre) 2018

Suri Military Administration

Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation

Who divided troops into units of 200, 250 and 500?

Solution & Analysis

Answer: D

Concept Military efficiency in the 16th century relied on breaking down large armies into manageable units. The Suri dynasty, particularly under Sher Shah's successor, refined these decimal groupings.

Explanation Islam Shah (son of Sher Shah Suri) is credited with systematically organizing the Suri army into fixed units. He divided his troops into specific batches of 200, 250, 500, and so on, building on the Mongol decimal system to ensure a clear chain of command and faster battlefield maneuvers.

Logical Breakup
Logic 1: Islam Shah was a stricter administrator than his father and sought to centralize power by strictly regulating the size and pay of military units.
Logic 2: This decimal division allowed for better auditing of the army and prevented local commanders from inflating their troop numbers for higher pay.

Active Recall

Question

Who was Islam Shah?

Answer

He was the son and successor of Sher Shah Suri who ruled from 1545 to 1554 and continued many of his father's administrative reforms.

Core Insight

Islam Shah's reorganization of the army was a direct precursor to the decimal logic Akbar would later use in the Mansabdari system.