Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

Floral Patterns of Dome of Rock
The lack of pictorial imagery is also a striking characteristic of the Dome of the Rock and other early Islamic religious and public buildings. Opposition to the figural representation of human beings and animals is a marked feature of the Muslim religious tradition (as it is in Judaism), but this has not prevented a flourishing tradition of representational art at a popular or private level where the influence of the religious scholars was more remote. There are vigorous and even beautiful representations of human beings and animals, for example, in the lodges and palaces which the Umayyads built for themselves outside the towns.
Postal System
Abdul Malik developed the postal system set up by Mu’awiya. All the provincial capitals of the empire were connected with the imperial capital by regular postal services for which he used relays of horses. The postal officials kept the Caliph informed of all events in their provinces. He founded a number of cities among which the most important was the city of Wasit in lower Iraq. The purpose of the foundation of this city was to keep the turbulent Iraqis in check.

392 Political and Cultural History of Islam
One of the diwans of the Medieval Islamic administration occupied itself with the running of the barid. The barid was a sort of communications system, consisting of routes linking the main centres of the empire along which there were stations with horses at the ready so that messengers could come and go quickly between the provinces and the metropolis. Although theoretically a postal system, in effect it was an instrument for keeping the government informed about developments in the provinces, and the provincial controllers of the barid were local spies on behalf of the central government. Here again Muslim tradition gives to Abdul Malik an possibly Greek or Latin etymology of the word suggests the continuation of a former Byzantine institution, and one often feels that Muslim tradition finds figures like Umar (Rad.A) and Abdul Malik convenient personalities with which to associate institutions or developments which it considers must have a decisive beginning but about which precise details are lacking.7
Hugh says, ”A regular postal service (barid) using relays of horses was developed between Damascus and the provincial towns. The postal authorities were also entrusted with the task of gathering information regarding administration and passing them to the Caliph. This service,” a Persian organization called ’the eyes and ears of the king,’ kept the ruler in touch with the political development everywhere in his realm.”
Fiscal Reforms
According to Kennedy, the Arab Muslims were to pay hitherto only the Zakat and were exempted from other taxes, which made many people volunteer to accept Islam. These new Muslims left their villages where they had worked as agriculturists and came to the towns to join the army as Mawali (new converts). As a result, the revenue of the State was seriously affected. Firstly, taxes were greatly reduced for new converts to Islam. Secondly, the soldiers were entitled to have a share of the special subsidy. In order to avoid this double loss to the treasury Abdul Malik in consultation with alHajjaj took the necessary measures to restore such men to their farms and reimposed on them the high tribute they had paid before conversion, which included the equivalent of Kharaj (land tax) and Jizya (poll-tax). These measures of Abdul Malik were resented to