Medieval Indian History MCQs
Multiple choice questions on Medieval Indian History for General Studies and GK preparation of SSC, NDA, CDS, UPSC, UPPSC and State PSC Examinations.
1. Which among the following was the work of Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq?
[A] Fautuhat-i-Ferozshahi
[B] Fatawa-i-Jahandari
[C] Tarikh-i-Ferozshahi
[D] Tughlaqnama
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Fautuhat-i-Ferozshahi]
Notes:
Fautuhat-i-Ferozshahi was authored by Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq himself. He was a Turkic Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388 A.D.
2. Who founded the Bijapur Sultanate?
[A] Murad II
[B] Mehmood II
[C] Ibrahim Zubayri
[D] Yusuf Adil Shah
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Yusuf Adil Shah]
Notes:
Yusuf Adil Shah founded the Bijapur Sultanate around 1489-1490 after Bahmani Sultanate’s decline. He made Bijapur an independent sultanate and ruled until 1510. He established Shia Islam as the official religion in 1503 and built significant monuments like the citadel Arkilla and Faroukh Mahal palace during his reign.
3. Kamal-ud-Din Abd-ur-Razzaq ibn Ishaq Samarqandi, a Persian Islamic Scholar, visited which Indian city during early 1440s?
[A] Surat
[B] Calicut
[C] Chennai
[D] Chinsurah
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Calicut]
Notes:
Calicut is a metropolitan city in the state of Kerala in southern India on the Malabar Coast. Kamal-ud-Din Abd-ur-Razzaq ibn Ishaq Samarqandi visited Calicut in early 1440s. He wrote a narrative of what he saw in Calicut which is valuable as information on Calicut’s society and culture.
4. Which among the following is the correct meaning of a word “Manigramam” used in medieval India?
[A] Association of Villages
[B] Complex of various markets
[C] Association of Merchants
[D] Unit of administration in a small village
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Association of Merchants]
Notes:
Manigramam guild was a localized merchant body which first appeared along the Kerala coast in the ninth century A.D. According to Herman Gundert, Manigramam people were descendants of Syrian Christian merchants who were converted to Saivism by Tamil Saivite poet Manikkavasagar. They gradually flourished in Tamil Nadu in the Pallava and Chola periods and then became supra-regional in character by being active in South-east Asia.
5. A manuscript titled “Sarab Gutaka” is ascribed to which among the following mystics?
[A] Bhagat Pipa
[B] Surdas
[C] Bhagat Trilochan
[D] Bhagat Namdev
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Bhagat Pipa]
Notes:
Bhagat Pipa was a mystic poet and saint of Bhakti movement. He was a Rajput King of Gagaraungarh who abdicated the throne to become a Hindu mystic poet and saint of the Bhakti movement. He was born in the Malwa region of North India in approximately AD 1425. The manuscript “Sarab Gutaka” is ascribed to Bhagat Pipa.
6. Nadir Shah attacked India, at the time of which among the following later Mughals?
[A] Jahandar Shah
[B] Shah Alam
[C] Akbar II
[D] Muhammad Shah
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Muhammad Shah]
Notes:
Muhammad Shah was able to keep the throne for around 29 years partially because the first thing he did was to eliminate the Sayyid Brothers. During his time Nadir Shah attacked and looted Delhi and took the Peacock Throne with himself. The invasion of Nadir Shah fastened the disintegration of the Mughal Empire. During his time, the states of Hyderabad, Bengal, Awadh were established as independent Kingdoms.
7. One of the cited reasons of the expedition of Muhammad Bin Qasim on Sindh was to punish the Bawarij of Sindh. Who were these people?
[A] Dacoits
[B] Pirates
[C] Soldiers
[D] Traders
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Pirates ]
Notes:
Bawarij were Sindhi pirates who used special ships called barja warships. They looted Arab shipping bound for the Indian subcontinent and China. One of the cited reasons of Arab conquest of Sindh was to punish the Bawarij who used to prey on Arab shipping from their bases at Kutch, Debal and Kathiawar.
8. Babur, the founder of the mighty Mughal Empire traced his lineage from :
[A] Timur from paternal line and Chengiz Khan from Maternal Line
[B] Chengiz Khan from Paternal Line and Timur from Maternal line
[C] Chagatai Turks from paternal and maternal side.
[D] Mongoloids from paternal and Maternal side
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Timur from paternal line and Chengiz Khan from Maternal Line]
Notes:
Babur is the founder of Mughal Empire. He Traced his lineage from paternal line and Chengiz Khan from Maternal Line.
9. Which among the following Mughal emperor had prohibited smoking and use of tobacco in 1617 AD?
[A] Akbar
[B] Jahanagir
[C] Shahjahan
[D] Aurangzeb
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Jahanagir]
Notes:
Jahangir is the Mughal emperor who prohibited smoking and use of tobacco in 1617 AD. Jahangir ruled from 1605 to 1627.
10. The Treaty of Purandar was signed on June 11, 1665 between Mughals and Maratha Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Who represented Mughals in this treaty ?
[A] Jai Singh I
[B] Man Singh I
[C] Ram Singh II
[D] Jai Singh II
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Jai Singh I]
Notes:
The Treaty of Purandar was signed on June 11, 1665, between the Rajput ruler Jai Singh I, who was commander of the Mughal Empire, and Maratha Shivaji. Shivaji was forced to sign the agreement after Jai Singh besieged Purandar fort.
