Medieval Indian History MCQs

Notes:
Firoz Shah Tughlaq, who ascended Delhi’s throne on March 23, 1351, introduced four taxes based on Islamic law: kharaj (land tax), khams (one-fifth of spoils of war), jizya (tax on non-Muslims), and zakat (2% on property). The kharaj, or land tax, was the precursor to the first irrigation tax, equalling one tenth of the land produce. This first irrigation tax marked a significant shift in the economic policy of the Sultanate and had a lasting impact on Indian agriculture.

Notes:
In 1293 A.D., Marco Polo, an Italian traveller visited Motupalli, a famous sea port during Kakatiya Dynasty. He wrote about the prosperity and power of the kingdom under Rudrammadevi.  Polo visited India twice, in 1287-78 and 1291-92. He landed on the Coromandel Coast in 1292 after a two-year trip by sea across the Indian Ocean. He joined the Tamil Pandya kingdom around Tanjore.  Polo wrote about his experiences in the book The book of Sir Marco Polo. He described the Kakatiya Empire’s extensive diamond and muslin exports. He said that these exports were likely used by his patron, the Great Kublai Khan of Yuan China.

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.

Notes:
Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), is known by his name, Humayun was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern India, and Bangladesh from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early but regained it with the aid of the Safavid dynasty of Persia, with additional territory. At the time of his death in 1556, the Mughal Empire spanned almost one million square kilometres.

Notes:
Guru Samarth Ramdas taught Advaita Vedanta and Yoga to Shivaji.He was a Ram and Hanuman bhakt and honored the Kshatriya Dharma. He inspired Shivaji in his battles.

Notes:
Ustad Mansur was a court artist of Jahangir, who specialised in depicting plants, animals and birds and was bestowed the title Nadir-ul-‘Asr (“Miracle of the Age”) by the Mughal emperor Jahangir for his extraordinary talent in painting. He is best known for two paintings viz. siberian crane and Bengal Florican and also remembered for a famous painting on Dodo, now an extinct Bird.

Notes:
The ruling period of Muhammad Bin Tughluq as Sultan of Delhi Sultanate was from 1325-1351 AD.

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

Notes:
In 1451 AD, Bahlol Lodhi laid the foundation of Lodhi dynasty by taking over the throne of Delhi by Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah, the  last ruler of Sayyid dynasty. He captured Jaunpur and annexed the Sharqui Kingdom in 1484 AD and died in 1488 AD.

Notes:
In 1580 AD, Akbar divided the entire kingdom into 12 Parganas. The administration in each Suba or Pargana was almost duplicated. Each Suba had a Subedar (Governor),a Diwan, a Bakshi, a Sadar, a Qazi and also a waqia navis. The job of the waqia navis was to document the events. The peace and security was the job of Kotwal.