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 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.
2. Who among the following were the last belligerents against whom Mohammad Ghori had led a campaign?
[A] Khokhars
[B] Gohils
[C] Baghelas
[D] Bhattis
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Khokhars]
Notes:
Ghori had suffered a humiliating defeat in 1205 at the hands of the Shah of Khwarizm. Soon afterwards, he heard the news of a revolt by Khokhars in central Punjab. Hard pressed, Aibek appealed to Muhammad Ghori for help. The latter came to the Punjab, crushed the revolt and helped Aibek in restoring law and order. On his return journey to Ghazni, he was encamped at Jhelum on the Indus when a party of the Khokhar dare-devils stealthily entered his tent and put him to death on March 15, 1206.
3. Bhakti saint Ramanujacharya was devotee of which god?
[A] Krishna
[B] Rama
[C] Vishnu
[D] Shiva
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Vishnu]
Notes:
Rāmānuja presented the epistemic and soteriological importance of bhakti, or the devotion to a personal God (Vishnu in Rāmānuja’s case) as a means to spiritual liberation. His theories assert that there exists a plurality and distinction between Ātman (soul) and Brahman (metaphysical, ultimate reality), while he also affirmed that there is unity of all souls and that the individual soul has the potential to realize identity with the Brahman.
4. “Hasan Nizami” and “Fakh-e-Mudabbir” were the court poets of which ruler of Mamluk Sultanate?
[A] Qutb-ud-din Aybak
[B] Iltutmish
[C] Balban
[D] Razia
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Qutb-ud-din Aybak]
Notes:
“Hasan Nizami” and “Fakh-e-Mudabbir” were the court poets of Qutb-ud-din Aybak. Hasan Nizami was a Persian language poet and historian. Fakh-e-Mudabbir was a Persian author and courtier under successive Ghaznavid, Ghūrid, and Shamsī sultans in South Asia.
5. Faujdar and Amalguzar were the chief officials of the ‘Sarkars’ (administrative divisions) in Mughal Period. Amalguzar was related to which of the following operations?
[A] Law & Order
[B] Revenue
[C] Defence
[D] Audit and Accounts
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Revenue]
Notes:
During the Akbar’s reign the Amalguzar was assigned to exercise a general supervision over all types of lands for the purpose of imperial rules and regulations and the assessment and collection of land revenue uniformly.
6. Which of the following Mughal Emperors shifted his imperial court and residence from Agra to Sikri, later renamed as Fatehpur Sikri?
[A] Akbar
[B] Jahangir
[C] Shahjahan
[D] Aurangzeb
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Akbar]
Notes:
Akbar is the Mughal emperor who shifted his imperial court and residence deom Agra to Sikri. Fatehpur Sikri is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city itself was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar.
7. In context with the Ashta Pradhan, that helped with the administration of the Maratha empire of Shivaji, who among the following was in charge of General Administration?
[A] Moro Trimbak Pingale
[B] Ramchandra Neelkanth Mujumdar
[C] Annaji Datto
[D] Dattaji Trimbak Waknis
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Moro Trimbak Pingale]
Notes:
Ashta Pradhan of Shivaji:
1. Pantpradhan(Moro Trimbak Pingale) – General administration of the kingdom.
2. Amatya(Ramchandra Neelkanth Mujumdar) – Accounts of the kingdom.
3. Sachiv(Annaji Datto) – To prepare royal edicts.
4. Mantri(Dattaji Trimbak Waknis) – state correspondence.
5. Senapati(Hambirrao Mohite) – Managing the army and protection of the kingdom.
6. Sumant(Ramchandra Trimbak Dabir) – Foreign relations.
7. Nyayadhish(Niraji Raoji) – to dispense justice.
8. Panditrao(Moreswar Panditrao) – Religious matters.
8. Which legendary Sufi saint of Chishti order was popularly known as ‘Chirag-e-Dehlavi (Chirag of Delhi)’?
[A] Nizamuddin Auliya
[B] Shaikh Nasiruddin Mahmud
[C] Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Shaikh Nasiruddin Mahmud]
Notes:
Nasiruddin Mahmud Chirag-e-Delhi (ca 1274-1356) was a 14th century mystic-poet and a Sufi saint of the Chishti Order. He was a murid (disciple) of noted Sufi saint, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, and later his successor. He was the last important Sufi of the Chishti Order from Delhi. He was given the title, “Roshan Chirag-e-Delhi”, which in Urdu, means “Illuminated Lamp of Delhi”
9. Mausoleum of ‘Baiju Bawra’ is situated at which place in Madhya Pradesh?
[A] Chanderi
[B] Gwalior
[C] Satna
[D] Bhopal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Chanderi ]
Notes:
Mausoleum of ‘Baiju Bawra’ is situated in Chanderi. Baijnath Mishra, better known as Baiju Bawra (“Baiju the Crazy”), was a dhrupad musician from medieval India. He died in 1610.
10. Who among the following Tuluva dynasty ruler wrote ‘Amuktamalayada’ ?
[A] Krishna Devraya
[B] Venkata I
[C] Achyuta Devraya
[D] VirNarsimha Raya
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Krishna Devraya ]
Notes:
The emperor of Vijayanagar empire, Sri Krishna Devraya wrote the epic peom ‘Amuktamalayada’ in telugu. The epic poem tells the well-known story of the daughter of Periazhvar, Goda Devi, who used to wear the garlands intended for Lord Ranganatha before they were offered to the deity. Therefore, the name ‘Amukta Malya Da’ was given that means one who wears and gives away garlands
