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Showing posts with the label Medieval India

Raja Todar Mal, Finance Minister of Emperor Akbar

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  Raja Todar Mal, the finance Minister of Emperor Akbar / Image Credit Todar Mal was a brilliant finance officer who was first in the service of Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri and afterwards in that of Mughal emperor Akbar. Known for introducing standard weights and measures, he was the main architect behind a brilliant land revenue system Zabti system which is also called as Todar Mal bandobast. Dahshala , a system of taxation, was also established by him.  According to tradition he was one of Akbar’s ‘Navratnas (“Nine Jewels”). The Navratnas were nine individuals of extraordinary ability gracing the court of Akbar. Todar Mal joined Akbar’s revenue department in 1560 by replacing Khawaja Malik Itimad Khan. Another field in which Todar Mal excelled was architecture. In 1585 Todar Mal rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath Temple which was later demolished by Aurangzeb, who had the Gyanvapi Mosque built on its ruins. Qila Rohtas, near the city of Jhelum in Pakistan, was built by Raja Todar Mal for S

History Medieval India - MCQs – Set 6

Q.1. The actual name of Later Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II was (a) Alamgir (b) Aziz-ud-Din (c) Ali Gauhar  (d) Muhammad Kam Bakhsh Q.2. Name the Mughal Queen whose name was inscribed on the coins and all royal firmans. (a) Mumtaz Mahal (b) Nur Jahan (c) Ladli Begum (d) Mariam uz-Zamani  Q.3. How did the Mughal Emperor Jahandar Shah's reign come to an early and? (a) He was addicted to drinking and died of too much consumption. (b) He was deposed by his Wazir (c) He died due to a slip while descending from the staircase (d) He was defeated by his nephew Farrukhsiyar in a battle Q.4. Who was the Mughal Emperor when the Battle of Plassey was fought in 1757 between Siraj ud Daula, the Nawab of Bengal and the English East India Company? (a) Muhammad Shah (b) Ahmad Shah (c) Aziz-ud-Din Alamgir II (d) Shah Alam II Q.5. Who was the last Mughal Emperor to sit on the peacock throne? (a) Aurangzeb  (b) Muhammad Shah Rangila  (c) Bahadur Shah I (d) Farrukhsiyar Q.6. Who is the author of the famo

History Medieval India - MCQs – Set 5

Q.1. Which one of the following dynasties ruled over the Delhi Sultanate following Timur’s invasion? (a) Sayyid dynasty (b) Lodi dynasty (c) Tughlaq dynasty (d) Khalji dynasty Q.2. Which of the following Delhi Sultanate rulers had set up employment exchanges for the unemployed? (a) Firuz Shah Tughlaq (b) Alauddin Khilji (c) Muhammad bin Tughlaq (d) Iltutmish Q.3. Which of the following rulers of the Delhi Sultanate is called “Father of Indian Irrigation”? (a) Firoz Shah Tughlaq (b) Alauddin Khilji (c) Muhammad Bin Tughlaq (d) Sikandar Lodi Q.4. Which of the following battles took place between Sher Shah and Humayun? (a) Battle of Ghaghra (b) Battle of Bilgram (c) Battle of Surajgarh (d) None of the above Q.5. The Mughal empire under Akbar was divided into 15 provinces. They were called --------. (a)  Parganas (b)  Subahs (c)  Sarkars (d)  None of these Q.6. What was the name of the war that took place between Sher Shah Suri and  the Mughal Governor of Bihar, Jalal Khan,  in 1534 ? (a)

History Medieval India - MCQs – Set 4

 Q.1.- Ibrahim Lodhi was defeated by Rana Sanga in which of the following battles? (a) Battle of Khatoli (b) Battle of Gagron (c) Battle of Khanwa (d) None of the above Q.2.- Who among the following Delhi Sultanate rulers was first to have coins inscribed with the name of Abbasid caliph of Baghdad? (a) Iltutmish (b) Ruknuddin Firoz (c) Razia  (d) None of the above Q.3.- Chintamani Bhatta’s Suka-saptati (Parrot’s Seventy) was the first Sanskrit work to be translated into Persian by the name Tutinama. Who translated the work during the time of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq? (a) Malik Muhammad Jayasi  (b) Amir Khusrau  (c) Zia Nakhshabi  (d) Zain-ul-Abidin   Q.4.- The Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in Delhi is the earliest example of Islamic architecture in India. What was the original construction at the site of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque? (a) A Jain temple (b) A Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu (c) A Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva (d) None of the above Q.5.- Which of the following rulers of Delhi Sulta

History Medieval India - MCQs – Set 1

 1. Who among the following had written Tughlaq Nama? (a) Amir Khusrau (b) Minhaj-us-Siraj (c) Khwaja Abd Malik Isami (d) Ziauddin Barani 2. The court of which of the following did Abdur Razzaq, ambassador of Timur’s son Shah Rukh of Herat, visit? (a) Zamorin of Calicut  (b) Alauddin Khilji (c) Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq (d) Muhammad bin Tughluq 3. Who ascended the throne of Delhi Sultanate after the death of Iltutmish? (a) Rukn-ud-din Firuz  (b) Aram Shah (c) Balban (d) Razia Sultana 4. When was Sayyid Dynasty of Delhi Sultanate founded? (a) 1404 AD (b) 1408 AD (c) 1414 AD (d) 1418 AD 5. Who among the following traced his descent to the Prophet? (a) Khizr Khan (b) Ghiasuddin Tughlaq (c) Ibrahim Lodi (d) Jalalud din Khalji 6. Who among the following was the first Muslim ruler to conquer South India?  (a) Alauddin Khalji (b) Muhammad bin Tughlaq (c) Sher Shah (d) Akbar 7. Who among the following had introduced the Dagh and Chehra system in administration? (a) Balban  (b) Alauddin Khalji (c)

Mirat-i-Sikanderi by Sikander bin Muhammad Manzu

Mirat-i-Sikandari is a Persian work describing the political history of Gujarat from the inception of the Muzaffarid dynasty by Muzaffar Shah (Jafar Khan). The work was composed by Sikander bin Muhammad Manzu and completed in 1611. Sikander bin Muhammad Manzu served in the army of Aziz Koka, a leading noble and Mughal Subahdar of Gujarat. Mirat-i-Sikandari also describes the cultural and social life of Gujarat.

Kakatiya Dynasty

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                Kakatiya’s well at Warangal|Wikimedia Commons/Aravind Pakide A famous kingdom of eastern Deccan in South India, Kakatiya dynasty rose in prominence in the 12th and 13th centuries. Ruling over an area corresponding to the modern day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and parts of southern Odisha and eastern Karnataka, the Kakatiya dynasty produced rulers who created some exquisite pieces of temple architecture in India like the  Ramappa temple and  Thousand Pillar temple (Sri Rudreshwara Swamy Temple) . The Kakatiyas were at first the subordinates of the Rastrakutas and then Western Chalukyas of Kalyani. It was in or around 1163 that they threw their allegiance to them.  Ganapati Deva (ruled 1199–1262) was the greatest ruler of the Kakatiya Dynasty. Earlier, he was imprisoned by Yadava ruler Jaitugi who had killed his father Mahadeva. Later on, Ganapati was set free by Jaitugi and ascended the Kakatiya throne in 1199. He ruled for over 60 years and proved to be a good adminis

Salabat Khan’s Tomb at Ahmadnagar

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                                      Tomb of Salabat Khan/ Wikipedia Commons The octagonal tomb of Salabat Khan is at the centre of an octagonal terrace on a picturesque hill site in Ahmadnagar in Maharashtra. Salabat Khan was a minister under Sultan Murtaza I (1565-88) of Ahmadnagar Sultanate, known more famously as the Nizam Shahi dynasty, one of the five independent states that arose on the debris of the Bahmani Sultanate.   Salabat Khan’s tomb is also known as Chand Bibi’s palace. Chand Bibi was the daughter of Husain Nizam Shah of Nizam Shahi dynasty and widow of Ali Adil Shah belonging to the Bijapur’s Adil Shahi dynasty. 

Minhaj-us-Siraj: Author of Tabaqat-i-Nasiri

Minhaj-ud-din Abu Uraar bin Siraj-ud-din al-Juzjani, popularly known as Minhaj-us-Siraj,  was a medieval historian who was patronized by Slave Sultan Nasir-ud-din Mahmud to whom he had dedicated his magnum opus Tabaqat-i-Nasiri . Since Siraj held the high office of the Chief Qazi of Delhi to which he was appointed by Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, it is natural that Tabaqat-i-Nasiri gives a first hand account of the historical events from the conquest of Delhi by Muhammad of Ghur up to the year 1260 AD. Siraj was temporarily removed from the post of Chief Qazi from 1253 to 1255 when a section of nobles induced the Sultan to send his prime minister Balban into exile.  Tabaqat-i-Nasiri has been translated into English by Raverty .   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This page was last edited on 24 July 2021

Ziauddin Barani : leading Medieval Historian of India

One of the foremost medieval historians of India, Ziauddin Barani was born in 1286 during the reign of Salve Sultan Balban of Delhi Sultanate. His famous works are Tarikhi-Firozshahi and Fatwa –i- Jahandajri which were written under the patronage of Firoz Tughlaq, the last prominent ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty.  A highly educated man of noble descent, Barni lived more than seventy five years and was a contemporary of Muhammad bin Tughluq and Friuz Shah Tughluq. Completed in 1359 AD, Tarikh-i-Firozshahi begins with the accession of Balban and concludes with the sixth year of the reign of Firoz Firoz Tughlaq. Fatwa –i- Jahandajri describes about principles and ideals of government.

Sultan Ghari Tomb of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud

Located in the Malakapur village near Vasant Kunj in Delhi, Sultan Ghari tomb is the first Turkish tomb in India. It was built by Slave Sultan Iltutumish on the grave of his eldest son Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, who died in April, A.D. 1229, while looking after the state of affairs in Bengal as the governor of that province. Nasir-ud-din Mahmud is not to be confused with his namesake who later became a ruler of the Slave dynasty. Architecturally, the Sultan Ghari tomb is more Hindu than any other tomb in India.