Why were agricultural tracts incorporated within the fortified area of the Vijayanagara Empire?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → To protect the agricultural belt itself.
The aim of medieval sieges was often to starve the defenders into submission, and such sieges could last for months or even years. Most rulers prepared for them by building large granaries inside their forts, but the rulers of Vijayanagara chose a more expensive and elaborate strategy: protecting the agricultural belt itself within the fortified area.
Option (1) To protect the agricultural belt itself. — Correct. With the fields inside the walls, the city could keep growing food during a siege.
Option (2) To beautify the capital with greenery. — Incorrect. The reason was defence against sieges, not the look of the city.
Option (3) To provide fresh fruits and vegetables to the royal family. — Incorrect. The tract fed the city when it was besieged; it was not a garden for the royal household.
Option (4) To use agricultural fields as line of defense. — Incorrect. The fields were protected by the fortification walls; they were not themselves a line of defence.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.2 Fortifications and roads … Why do you think agricultural tracts were incorporated within the fortified area? Often, the objective of medieval sieges was to starve the defenders into submission. These sieges could last for several months and sometimes even years. Normally rulers tried to be prepared for such situations by building large granaries within fortified areas. The rulers of Vijayanagara adopted a more expensive and elaborate strategy of protecting the agricultural belt itself.…” |