Medieval Indian History MCQs

Notes:
In the Maratha Land revenue system, assessment of land revenue was based on measurement. The Kathi of Malik Ambar was adopted as the unit of measurement. The length of this kathi was five cubits and five closed fists and was later called Shivkathi. (Malik Ambar was the regent of the Nizamshahi dynasty of Ahmednagar from 1607 to 1626 and pioneer in guerilla warfare). Other common land measurement units in West India states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa include Bigha, Biswa, and Biswansi.

Notes:
Mirza Muhammad Qazim was the author of book “Alamgir-Nama”. The book gives the chronicle of the contemporary events covering the first decaded of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s reign.

Notes:
Due to growing influence of Turkan-i-Chahalgani or Chalisa (a group of 40 powerful Turkish nobles) in the administartion, Balban abolished Turkan-i-Chahalgani when he came in power in 1266 AD.

Notes:
Amir Khusrau (1253–1325 AD) was a Sufi musician, poet and scholar during the reign of Balban.

Notes:
Balban got the tiltle of Ulagh Khan for defeating the Mongols.

Notes:
Tulsidas completed the writing of his epic text, Ramcharitmanas, during the reign of Akbar. Akbar was known for his policy of religious tolerance and interest in literature, having many religious books translated into Persian under his rule. Tulsidas was a revered poet and remains an important figure in Indian literature, with Ramcharitmanas considered one of the greatest works of Indian literature.

Notes:
The famous Sufi saint of Chisti order, Shaikh Nasiruddin Mahmud who was known as Chiragh-i-Delhi (the Lamp of Delhi). He was a disciple of noted Sufi saint, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.

Notes:
A Moroccan traveller, Ibn Butula (1333-1347 AD) visited India during the reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. His book Rehla (the Travelogue) throws a lot of light on the reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq and the geographical, economic and social conditions in India.

Notes:
The emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, Devaraya II (also called Praudh Devraya) assumed the title of ‘Gajabetegara’ that literally means “Hunter of elephants”, an honorific that explained his addiction to hunting elephants or a metaphor referring to his victories against enemies who were “as strong as elephants.

Notes:
The literal meaning of word Mansab is “official appointment of rank and emoluments”. Every important officer of Akbar held a Mansab or a rank in the imperial cadre and his rank was measured on how many horsemen he commanded. Thus, it was a military rank also. These Mansabdars were paid in Zat and Sawar. Zat was a fixed personal salary while sawar was paid as per their rank or number of horsemen to be controlled by them.
Akbar classified the office holders into total 33 grades ranging from mansabs of 10 to 10 thousand. However, these all were broadly categorized into three types as follows:

• Those who commanded 10 to 400 horsemen were commonly called mansabdars(officers).
• Those who commanded 500 to 2500 horsemen were amirs (nobles)
• Those in higher ranks belonged to the category of umara-i-kabiror umara-i-azim (grandees).

The highest amir in the third category was honored with the title of amir-ul-umara.