Medieval Indian History MCQs

Notes:
Minhas-us-Siraj (1193 CE) was a historian who wrote “Tabaqat-i-Nasiri” in 1260 CE, patronized by Iltutmish, the third ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. His work offers insights into the socio-political conditions, Mongol invasions, and Iltutmish’s administrative reforms, essential for understanding early Delhi Sultanate history.

Notes:
Pratāparudra or Rudradeva II was the last ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty and grandson of great Rudramadevi. He faced first invasion from Alauddin in 1310 and agreed to become tributary of Delhi. After death of Alauddin, he stopped making tributes but then he faced another invasion in 1318, and was forced to pay tribute to Mubarak Shah, son of Alauddin. After end of Khilji dynasty, he again stopped making payments. In 1323, an invasion from Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq ended the Kakatiya dynasty and their territories were annexed into Delhi sultanate.

Notes:
Sikander Lodhi introduced a new measurement yardstick called the Gaz-i- Sikandari. This was an official unit of land measurement which was continued by Sher Shah Suri, Islam Shah Suri as well as Akbar. The unit was equal to 41.5 Sikandari Pieces. Akbar continued using this unit until 1589 when it was replaced by Gaz-i-Ilahi.

Notes:
During the Sultanate period the towns in Gujarat were famous for fine quality fabrics. Cambay in Gujarat was especially famous for textiles and for gold and silver work. Bengal was famous for muslin.

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Firoz Tughlaq (1351-86) is known to have laid one of the biggest network of canals known in India until the nineteenth century. A canal running to Hisar (Haryana) was fed by two canals cut from the Yamuna, the Rajabwah and the Ulughkhani. The Firozshahi was cut from the Sutlej. A canal ran from Kali river to fall into the Yamuna at Delhi, and another was cut from Ghaggar river in eastern Punjab. The area around Hisar is said to have been so well irrigated that the rabi harvest was added to the kharif.

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Under the rule of the Vijayanagar empire, irrigation became prominent. The development of irrigation took place mainly during the rule of Deva Raya I. New tanks were built and dams were constructed across the river Tungabhadra.

Notes:
Agriculture was the chief occupation during the Vijayanagar empire. It was also a major trade center. The chief items exported included cotton and silk clothes, spices, rice, iron, saltpetre, and sugar. Thus, cotton and copper were significant exports, making only 1 and 2 the correct options.

Notes:
Abul Hasan spent majority of his time in the pursuit of music, fine arts and sensuality. Gopanna who was also known as Ramdas swami, constructed the famous Bhadrachalam temple during the reign of Abul Hasan.

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The Sufis are also known as fuqara which means ‘poor’ in Arabic and dervish which means ‘disciple’ in Persian. Sufism originates from the Arabic term for a mystic, sufi, which in turn is derived from suf or wool.

Notes:
Ziyarat refers to the practice of visiting tombs. Ziyarat emerged as an important form of ritual pilgrimage in Sufism. Most of the Sufis also believed in the performance of miracles.