Indian History

Sculpture of Kanishka at Mathura Government Museum / Image Source Kanishka was the founder of the Shaka Era (A.D. 78), one of the most widely spread Indian systems of dating. It was during the time of Kanishka that Buddhism began to spread to Central Asia and the Far East. According to a tradition preserved in China, the Fourth Buddhist Council was held under the patronage of Kanishka in Srinagar. In this fourth council the Sarvastivadin doctrines were codified in a summary, the Mahavibhasa . The convening of the Fourth Council led to the division into two broad sects, namely the Mahayana (great Vehicle ) and the Hinayana (lesser Vehicle).  Kanishka’s greatest contribution to Buddhist architecture was the Kanishka Stupa at Peshawar (now in Pakistan). He was a patron of Buddhist art of Gandhara .

1. The famous Atala Mosque in Jaunpur was built by the rulers of which dynasty? (a) Sharqi dynasty (b) Tughlaq dynasty (c) Khilji  dynasty (d) None of the above.  Answer-(a) Sharqi dynasty Atala Mosque in Jaunpur was built by Ibrahim Shah Sharqi (1401-1408) Atala Mosque was built on the site of a temple at Atala Devi, demolished by Firuz Shah Tughlaq in 1376.  Khalis Mukhlis Masjid, The Jhanjhari Masjid ,  Lal Darwaza mosque are other famous mosques in Jaunpur.  Jama Mosque, built by Hussain Shah Sharqi, is the largest mosque in Jaunpur. 2. The correct chronological order in which the following monuments belonging to the Delhi sultanate period were built: (a) Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Alai Darwaza, Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Tomb of Sikander Lodi (b) Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Tomb of Sikander Lodi, Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Alai Darwaza, (c) Tomb of Sikander Lodi, Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Alai Darwaza (d) Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Tomb of Shah Ruk

                                           Malik Ambar / Wikimedia Commons Malik Ambar was the regent of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, known more famously as the Nizam Shahi Dynasty, from 1607 to 1626. He was a thrice manumitted Ethiopian slave who is known in the medieval period as a great statesman and able administrator. Malik Ambar installed Murtaza II as ruler of Nizam Shahi dynasty with his capital at Parenda. He is known for instituting the innovative techniques in guerrilla warfare known as bargigiri which was later perfected by the Marathas.  He employed this warfare tactic with great effect against the Mughals. However, his gallant resistance to the Mughal forces ended when he was defeated by Mughal prince Khurram first in 1617 and again in 1621. This victory earned Prince Khurram the title of Shah Jahan (King of the World) from his father Jahangir, the fourth Mughal Emperor. He founded the city of Khirki, which was later named Aurangabad by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

Amoghavarsha I or Sarva (814-878) was the Jain scholar-king of Rashtrakuta dynasty. He succeeded to the throne after his father Govinda III’s death. He was born in a camp while his father was campaigning in the Vindhyas. Amoghavarsha’s long reign of 64 years was marked by conflicts with the Eastern Chalukyas, also known as the Chalukyas of Vengi, and the Gangas. His army remained in occupation of Vengi for twelve years. Amoghvarsha did not match the martial spirit of his father and other predecessors. This was due to his fascination for literature and leanings towards religion. Amoghavarsha was converted into Jainism by the Jaina monk Jinasena, the author of Adipurana. He was a patron of Saktayana, the author of Amoghavritti, and Mahaviracharya, the author of Ganitasara-Samgraha. He himself authored Kavirajamarga, the earliest Kannada work on poetics. The Arab traveller Suleiman in his account called Amoghavarsha as among the four great sovereigns of the world, the other three

Sikandar Lodi was the second ruler of the Lodi dynasty,  last of the dynasties that comprised Delhi Sultanate that lasted from AD  1206 to1526 . Born as Nizam Khan, he succeeded his father Bahlul Lodi after his death in 1489.  Bahlul Lodi had nominated him his heir apparent.  Sikandar  was the son of the daughter of a Hindu goldsmith.  In 1494 he dealt a crushing defeat to  Hussain Shah Sharqi  and demolished the Sharqi monuments in Jaunpur. He crushed the Raja of Tirhut and captured Chanderi in 1514. He was able to seize Bihar and signed a treaty with the Sultan of Bengal. From 1506 to 1517 he devoted his energies to capturing Gwalior which remained unconquered under its Tomar ruler Raja Man Singh (1486-1517). He is credited with the tightening of the espionage system. He  introduced the system of auditing of accounts and Gaaz-i-Sikandar of 32 digits for measuring cultivated land. He gave patronage of philosophy. His rule saw the rising popularity of Avicenna’s philosophy in Del

Shantidas Jhaveri was a leading Jain jeweller and banker in the Ahmedabad city during the 17th century. He had a beautiful Jain temple built in Ahmedabad. The temple was desecrated and converted into a mosque in 1645 by the then governor of Gujarat, Aurangzeb (later Mughal emperor) who built a mihrab (niche) for prayer in it. This was complained to Shah Jahan who, on the assertion of scholar and philosopher Mulla Abdul Hakim that Aurangzeb had flagrantly violated the sharia in usurping Shantidas’s property, ordered the temple be restored to the latter.

Maryam-i Makani Hamida Banu Begam, popularly known as  Hamida Banu Begam, was the mother of the greatest  Mughal emperor Akbar and wife of second Mughal emperor Humayun who fell in love with her while he was at his brother Hindal’s camp during his wanderings as a fugitive.    Hamida Banu Begam was daughter of Shaikh Ali Ambar Jaini, who had been a tutor to Hindal. She married Humayun in early 1942 and became mother of Akbar in November 1542 AD.  Hamida Banu Begam was given the title of Maryam Makani, literary of 'rank equal to Mary'.