Medieval Indian History MCQs

Notes:
Silhara dynasty ruled the region around present-day Mumbai between 9th and 13th century. They were vassals of Rastrakutas. Kapardin is considered to be the founder of this dynasty and the princes of this dynasty held the title Tagara-puradhishvara. Tagara was an ancient place near Osmanabad.

Notes:
Sher Shah issued a coin of silver which was termed ‘Rupaya’. This weighed 178 grains and was the precursor of the modern rupee. It remained largely unchanged till the early 20th Century. Together with the silver Rupaya were issued gold coins called the Mohur weighing 169 grains and copper coins called Dam.

Notes:
Mongol invasions were repulsed by Zafar Khan who was military general in the reign of Allauddin Khilji. In 1298, as per order of Sultan Allauddin Khilji , about 30,0000 New Muslims were slaughtered in a day, as he suspected them of being involved in a conspiracy against him and of being a threat to his power. (Mongolians who settled near Delhi and accepted Islam were called “New Muslims”).

Notes:
Qutub-ud-din Aibak, the commander of Muhammad Ghori marked the beginning of the Mamluk (Slave dynasty) rule and laid the foundation of Delhi Sultanate period in 1206 AD.

Notes:
Firoz Shah Tughlaq introduced new coins Adha (50% Jital) and Bikh (25% Jital). The other coins prevalent during that period were Shashgani (6 jitals) and Hastgani (48 jitals).

Notes:
Timur, a Turco-Mongol conqueror, invaded India in 1398, during the rule of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud of the Tughlaq dynasty. The invasion was aimed at looting the wealth of Delhi and asserting dominance rather than territorial conquest. Timur entered India through the Khyber Pass, a historically significant pathway for invaders due to its strategic location between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Notes:
Abbas Khan Sarwani wrote Tarikh-i-Shershahi for Sher Shah Suri (or History of Sher Shah) and Tarikh-i-Akabarshahi for Akbar that covers the history of both the empires from 1539 AD to 1555 AD. He was a waqia-navis under Mughal Emperor Akbar. In the Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi, he provides a detailed documentation about Sher Shah’s administration.

Notes:
In 1203 AD, the Muslim ruler Qutb-ud-din Aibak conquered the great part of Bundelkhand by defeating the Chandella ruler Paramdideva.

Notes:
In 1336 AD, the Vijayanagar empire (also called Karnataka Empire) was founded by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of Sangama dynasty.

Notes:
Raja TodarMal was the Finance Minister of the Mughal empire during Akbar’s reign. He was one of the Navaratnas in Akbar’s darbar.