Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Abul Fazl.

 Key Points

• The Akbarnama is the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar.
• It was written by his court historian and biographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak.
• He was one of the "nine jewels in Akbar's court".
• It was written in Persian.

 Important Points

• Amir Khushro was a Sufi mystic and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya.
• His Khaliq-e-bari, which is known as the oldest printed dictionary of the world deals with Hindi and Persian words.
• He is regarded as the “father of qawwali”.

The correct answer is Hyderabad.

Key Points

• The Golconda Fort is situated at Hyderabad, Telangana.
• This fort was built by the Qutb shahi dynasty near 1143.
• Golconda is a fortified citadel and an early capital city of the Qutb Shahi dynasty.
• Golconda has many mines where many diamonds like Kohinoor, Nassak Diamond, Hope Diamond and many other diamonds were produced.
• The historic Golconda Fort derives its name from a Telugu word ‘Golla Konda’ which means Shepherds.

The correct answer is Nadir Shah.

• Nadir Shah took away the peacock throne built by Shahjahan, from India.
• Nader Shah, the Ruler of Iran, stole the valuable jewels bound to him during the invasion of 1739.

Key Points

• A famous jewelled throne that was the seat of the Mughal Emperors of India was the Peacock Throne.
• It was commissioned by Emperor Shah Jahan in the early 17th century and was housed in the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audiences) in the Delhi Red Fort.
• In 1783, Delhi was captured by Sikh Sardars Baghel Singh, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and hoisted the Nishan Sahib at the Red Fort.
• In defiance of the persecution of the Sikhs, he came to the throne on horseback, and he was pulled into the Golden Temple, Amritsar. In the Ramgarhia Bunga, where it is still there. It was named after a peacock as two peacocks at the rear are seen dancing.

Important Points

• Nader Shah was one of the most powerful Iranian rulers in Iranian history, reigning from 1736 to 1747 as Shah of Iran (Persia) during an uprising when he was assassinated.
• The Peacock Throne was inaugurated on 22 March 1635, the official seventh anniversary of the accession of Shah Jahan, in a glorious ceremony.
• His son Aurangzeb, who had the royal name of Alamgir, ascended the Peacock Throne after Shah Jahan's death.

The correct answer is Guru Gobind Singh.

• Guru Gobind Singh founded the 'Khalsa'.

Key Points

• The Khalsa tradition was initiated in 1699 by the Tenth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh. 
• The founding of Khalsa is celebrated by Sikhs during the festival of Vaisakhi.
• Khalsa according to McLeod, is derived from the Arabic or Persian word "Khalisa" which means "to be pure, to be clear, to be free from".
• Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth Gurus of the Sikh religion.

Additional Information

• The principal Sikh scripture is the Adi Granth more commonly called the Guru Granth Sahib. 
• The Guru Granth Sahib was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth guru of the Sikhs.
• The second holiest book of the Sikhs is called the Dasam Granth – the book of the tenth guru.

The correct answer is Iltutmish​.

Key Points

• Iltutmish (1211-1236):
  • He succeeded to the throne after Qutub-ud-din-Aibak.
  • He was the third ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, belonging to the Mamluk dynasty.
  • He constituted corp of forty loyal slave Amirs known as Turkan-i-Chihalgani also called Chalisa.
  • He introduced the silver coin (tanka) and cooper coin (jittal).
  • He made Delhi the capital in place of Lahore.

​Additional Information

• Firoz Shah Tughlaq:
  • He was the third ruler of Tughlaq dynasty that ruled over Delhi from 1351 to 1388 AD.
  • He established the Diwan-i-Khairat - office for charity
  • He established the Diwan-i-Bundagan -- department of slave
  • He is known to establish four new towns, Firozabad, Fatehabad, Jaunpur and Hissar.
  • He appointed Khan-i-Jahan Maqbal, a Telugu Brahmin convert as wazir (prime minister). 
    • The wazir helped the Sultan in his administration and maintained the prestige of the Sultanate during this period.
• Mohammad bin Tughlaq (1325-1351):
  • He shifted his capital from Delhi to Deogir and renamed it as Daulatabad.
  • Daulatabad is situated in Maharashtra. 
  • He built a road from Delhi to Deogir and also set up rest houses for the people.
  • He introduced bronze coins of the same value as Silver coins.
  • He established a new department of agriculture known as “Diwan-i-Kohi".
  • He also provided agricultural loan “Takavi” to the farmers.
• Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah (1580-1612):
  • He was the fifth sultan of the Qutub Shahi dynasty of Golkonda
  • He founded the city of Hyderabad, in South-central India and built its architectural centrepiece, the Charminar. 
  • He founded the city of Hyderabad and named it as Bhagyanagar after his Hindu mistress Bhagamati.​