Medieval Indian History MCQs

Notes:
The original name of Sultan Alauddin Khalji was Ali Gurshasp. He was born between 1266 and 1267. His uncle, Jalal-ud-din Khilji, raised him and appointed him to important positions in his administration. In 1296, Alauddin took control of the kingdom by force, leading to his uncle’s death. He ruled as Sultan of Delhi from 1296 to 1316. In 1316, the Mongols assassinated him.
Alauddin was the eldest son of Shihabuddin Mas’ud, who was the elder brother of the Khalji dynasty’s founder, Sultan Jalaluddin. He had three brothers: Almas Beg, Qutlugh Tigin, and Muhammad.

Notes:
In Deccan, Malik Kafur, the commander of Allauddin Khilji, defeated the Yadava King Ram Chandra of Devagiri, Pratap Rudradeva ( Kakatiya ruler of Warangal), Vir Ballal III (Hoyasala ruler of Dwarsamudra) and Vir Pandya (Pandya ruler of Madurai).

Notes:
In 1659 AD, Sultan Ali Adil Shah of Bijapur sent Afzal Khan (Governor of Deccan) to crush the growing power of Shivaji. But, Shivaji killed Afzal Khan with his baghnakh (or tiger’s claws).

Notes:
In context of military administration of Marathas, the cavalry was divided into Bargis and Silahdars. Bargis (troops) equipped and maintained by the state. On the other hand, Silahdars had to brought their own horses and equipments and took a stipulated amount from the state for meeting the expenses of services in the field.

Notes:
During the reign of Razia Sultan, Balban was the Amir-i Shikar (or lord of the hunt).

Notes:
Firoz Shah Tughlaq was a great city builder who founded the cities of Feroz Shah Kotla, Jaunpur, Hissar and Fatebabad.

Notes:
Sher Shah Suri’s last expedition was against the Rajput fort of Kalinjar in Bundelkhand in 1545 AD. Due to injuries, he was killed during the siege of Kalinjar fort and was succeeded by his son, Jalal Khan who took the title of Islam Shah Suri.

Notes:
To mark Gulbarga as the capital of the Bahmani Sultanate, Jama Masjid was built by Muhammad Shah I. It was built in 1367 AD,  is regarded as one of the most architectural mosques in its form and structure in South Asia. Muhammad Shah I succeeded his father Alauddin Bahman Shah, the founder of Bahmani Kingdom in 1358 AD and ruled till 1375 AD.

Notes:
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti was the founder of Chishti order of Sufism in India. The Chisti order is a Sufi order within the mystic Sufi tradition of Islam.It is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance and openness.

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.