Medieval Indian History MCQs

Notes:
The Mughal Emperor Humayun died after a sudden fall from the stairs of his library in his fort at Delhi in 1556 AD. The tomb of Humayun was situated at Delhi on the bank of river Yamuna near the shrine of the Nizamuddin Auliya Chisti, a sufi saint.

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:
The Nizam Shahi dynasty was founded by Malik Ahmad Bahri in 1490 AD with its capital at Ahmadnagar on the bank of the river  Sina. The dynasty ruled over the sultanate of Ahmadnagar till Mughal emperor Shahjahan annexed it in 1633 AD.

Notes:
The Sangama dynasty (1336 AD to 1485 AD) was the first dynasty to rule over Vijaynagar kingdom. When Tughlaqs lost their power in Deccan, Harihara- I and his brother Bukka I laid the foundation Vijaynagar empire in 1336 AD and named the first dynasty after their father Bhavana Sangama as Sangama dynasty .

Notes:
Nathpanthis, Siddhacharas, and Yogis believed that the path to salvation was through meditation. They advocated renunciation of the world and intensive training of the mind and body through practices like yogasanas, breathing exercises, and meditation. They believed that meditation on the formless Ultimate Reality and the realization of oneness with it was the path to salvation.
The Nathpanthis, Siddhacharas, and Yogis criticized the ritualistic practices of conventional religion. They believed that the external rituals and elaborate ceremonies had become detached from their original purpose of spiritual growth and self-realization. Their criticism of conventional religion created the ground for devotional religion to become a popular force in Northern India.

Notes:
Red fort was constructed in 1639 by the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the palace of his fortified capital Shahjahanabad and is named for its massive enclosing walls of red sandstone.

Notes:
• After completing his studies Acquaviva was chosen by his superiors for the prestigious and challenging Indian missions.He travelled to Lisbon, starting point for the voyage east. There he was ordained a priest and sailed for India in 1578.
• In January 1615, Sir Thomas Roe presented his credentials to the emperor Jahangir as the Ambassador of the King of England. The objective of Thomas Roe was to finish what was left unfinished by Captain Hawkins.
• Jean-Baptiste Tavernier was a 17th-century French gem merchant and traveler. Tavernier, a private individual and merchant traveling at his own expense, covered, by his own account, 60,000 leagues in making six voyages to Persia and India between the years 1630 and 1668.

Notes:
After consolidating his power, Balban assumed the grand title of Zil-i-Ilahi. Ghiyas ud din Balban was the ninth sultan of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi. Ghiyas ud Din was the wazir of the last Shamsi sultan, Nasir ud-Din. He reduced the power of the treacherous nobility and heightened the stature of the sultan.

Notes:
The correct chronological order is Qutub Minar, Tughlaqabad Fort, Lodhi Garden, Fatehpur Sikri. Qutub Minar in red and buff sandstone is the highest tower in India, built by Qutbu’d-Din Aibak in AD 1199. Tughlaqabad Fort was built by Ghiyasud- din Tughlaq, the founder of Tughlaq dynasty, of the Delhi Sultanate in 1321. Lodhi Garden was set up in between the 15th and 16th centuries by the Sayyid and Lodhi rulers. Fatehpur Sikri was founded in 1569 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar.

Notes:
The word Mamluk means “owned”. Mamluk were slave soldier. In practice, a Mamluk could not pass his property or title to his son and hence the group had to be constantly replenished from outside sources. Mamluk sultans or slave dynasty ruled Delhi from 1206AD to 1290 AD and the founder of this dynasty was Qutubuddin Aibak.