Medieval India Test - 2

The Bahmani kingdom was founded by Alauddin Bahman Shah, also known as Hasan Gangu, in 1347. The Sultans of Southern India derived their origin from the conquests of Ala-ud-din (1303-1306).

The Chola navy was the zenith of ancient Indian sea power. It played a vital role in the expansion of the empire, including the conquest of the Ceylon islands and naval raids on Srivijaya. The navy grew both in size and status during the medieval Cholas reign.

The Chola admirals commanded much respect and prestige. From 900 to 1100, the navy had grown from a small backwater entity to a potent power projection and diplomatic symbol in all of Asia, but was gradually reduced in significance when the Cholas fought land battles subjugating the Chalukyas of the Andhra-Kannada area in South India.

The Satavahana dynasty was one of the great and prominent dynasties in south India. Satavahana rulers established an extensive empire. Gautamiputra Satakarani was the most prominent and the greatest ruler of Satavahanas. He was called Rajrano, i.e. king of kings.

Prior to Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rise, the Punjab region had numerous warring misls, twelve of which were under Sikh rulers and one was under a Muslim ruler. Ranjit Singh successfully absorbed and united the Sikh misls and took over other local kingdoms to create the Sikh Empire.

He repeatedly defeated invasions by outside armies, particularly those arriving from Afghanistan, and established friendly relations with the British.

The Mansabdari system introduced by Akbar was borrowed from Mongolia. It was a system whereby nobles were granted the rights to hold a jagir, or revenue assignments (not land itself) for services rendered by them, with the direct control of these nobles in the hands of the king. Abu'l Fadl mentioned 66 grades of mansabdars, but in practice, there were not more than 33 mansabs.

During the early reign of Akbar, the lowest grade was ten and the highest was 12,000. Higher mansabs were given to princes and Rajput rulers who accepted the suzerainty of the emperor.

Jahangir was the first Mughal emperor to allow the British to establish trade links with India.

In 1608 AD, the East India Company sent Captain William Hawkins to the court of Mughal emperor Jahangir, to secure royal patronage. He succeeded in getting royal permit for the company to establish its factories at various places on the western coast of India.

In 1615 AD, Sir Thomas Roe was sent by Emperor James I of England to Jahangir's court, with a plea for more concessions to the company. Roe was very diplomatic and, thus, successfully secured a royal charter giving the company freedom to trade in the entire Mughal territory.

The incorrectly matched pair is 'Prithvi Raj Chauhan – Akbar' because Prithviraj Chauhan was born on 1166 AD and died in 1192 AD, whereas the Mughal Empire in India started in the 16^th century when Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in the battle of Panipat in 1526 AD. After the death of Babur, his son Humayun became the Mughal emperor and after his death, Akbar, the son of Humayun, became the king of the Mughal Empire who reigned from 1556 to 1605.

Prithvi Raj Chauhan and Akbar were the kings of two different periods.