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 of the following regions was known as Jejakabhukti in early Medieval India?
[A] Rohelkhand
[B] Bundelkhand
[C] Deccan
[D] Saurastra
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Bundelkhand]
Notes:
Bundelkhand was known as Jejakabhukti, which roughly corresponds to the old Mahajanapadas of Chedi. The notable Kings among notable kings among the Chandels of Jejakabhukti were Dhanga, Ganda and Parmal. The legacy of the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti lies in their art and architecture, most notably for the temples at their original capital Khajuraho.
2. Which of the following rulers of India issued Mahzarnama to take all the religious matters into his own hands ?
[A] Jahangir
[B] Akbar
[C] Aurangzeb
[D] Shah Alam
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Akbar]
Notes:
Akbar declared or issued Mahzarnama to take all the religious matters into his own hands. This made him supreme in the religious matters. He issued Mahzarnama to curb the dominance of Ulema. It was written by Faizi in 1579.
3. Which among the following two cities were joined by “Sadak-i-Azam” or the precursor of the Grand Trunk Road built by Shershah Suri?
[A] Agra & Calcutta
[B] Delhi & Patna
[C] Delhi & Sasaram
[D] Agra & Sasaram
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Agra & Sasaram]
Notes:
The Grand Trunk Road also formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-i-Azam, Badshahi Sadak. The road was known as Uttarapath (Northern Route) during the Mauryan period as Sadak-i-Azam or Shah Rah-i-Azam (The Great Road). It was built between Agra and Sasaram.
4. Who among the following was the first to adopt the new religion propounded by Akbar called Din-i-Ilahi?
[A] Abul Fazal
[B] Faizi
[C] Birbal
[D] Raja Todarmal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Birbal]
Notes:
Din-i-Illahi was an eclectic doctrine that contained elements from very diverse fields. It overthrew almost every ceremonial rule whether Islam or Muslim, but took the good ideas from the Brahmins as well as from the missionaries and adopted “Sun” as a symbol of the worship of the creator. He started a new Illahi era. The new cult was immediately professed by a small band of the courtiers of Akbar including Faizi, Abul Fazal, Birbal and a few others.
5. Who among the following poets used to write the Urdu Ghazals with the pen name “Asad”?
[A] Mir Taqi Mir
[B] Dushyant
[C] Mirza Ghalib
[D] Amir Khusrow
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Mirza Ghalib]
Notes:
His original name was “Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan. Most of us know that “Ghalib” was his pen name. But before Ghalib, he wrote with a pen name “Asad“: which means a Lion. He was honored with title of Dabeer-ul-Mulk by Bahadur Shah Zafar II. When another title Mirza Nosha was given to him, he came to be known as Mirza Ghalib.
6. Razia was immediate successor of which of the following to become Sultan of Delhi?
[A] Balban
[B] Ruknuddin Feroz
[C] Muizzudin Bahram Shah
[D] Iltumish
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Ruknuddin Feroz]
Notes:
Ruknuddin Firoz was half brother of Razia and remained ruler of the Delhi Sultanate for less than seven months in 1236. He was one of the many sons of Sultan Iltutmish of Delhi Sultanate. Ruknuddin Firoz was born to Shah Turkan, a mistress of Iltutmish. After the death of Iltutmish, a struggle for supremacy began between the Sultan and a group of forty slaves. Ruknuddin Firoz’s misadministration led to rebellions against him and his mother. Both were arrested and imprisoned. The nobles and the army then appointed his half-sister Razia on the throne. Ruknuddin Firoz died on November 19, 1236.
7. Which of the following rulers built the Gujri Mahal in Hissar , Haryana?
[A] Muhammad Bin Tughlaq
[B] Feroz Shah Tughlaq
[C] Ala ud din Khilji
[D] Qutub ud din Mubarak Shah
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Feroz Shah Tughlaq]
Notes:
The Gujjari Mahal was built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq for his beloved Gujri Rani, a native of Hisar with whom he fell in love.
8. Which among the following was not an Independent Kingdom?
[A] Bahamani Kingdom
[B] Qutub Shahi of Golconda
[C] Vijayanagar Empire
[D] Madurai Sultanate
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Qutub Shahi of Golconda]
Notes:
Qutub Shahi of Golconda was not an independent kingdom. The Qutub Shahi dynasty ruled Golconda from 1518, initially as a breakaway state from the Bahmani Sultanate. It lost independence after Aurangzeb’s Mughal conquest in 1687, becoming a Mughal suba. Later, as the Nizam’s state and under British paramountcy post-1858, it was a princely state until 1948.
9. Who among the following rulers of Bengal had issued a coin named Zurbe Murshedabad?
[A] Mir Jafar
[B] Mir Qasim
[C] Murshid Quli Khan
[D] Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Murshid Quli Khan]
Notes:
Murshid Quli Khan was the First Nawab of Bengal whose reign in this capacity was from 1717 to 1727. He changed the name of Makhsusabad to Murshidabad and as soon as Farrukhsiyar acknowledged his changing the name of Makhsusabad to Murshidabad he released Zurbe Murshedabad coin, in his own new mint.
10. Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India for the first time during the reign of which among the following Mughal Emperors?
[A] Muhammad Shah
[B] Ahmad Shah
[C] Shah Alam-II
[D] Akbar-II
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Shah Alam-II]
Notes:
Ahmad Shah Abdali came to India first time during Nadir Shah’s invasion. He invaded for the first time during Shah Alam II in 1748.