Kanishka: Facts about the most famous Kushana emperor

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.

Quiz - Delhi Sultanate Period 12 April 2020

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 Rukn-e-Alam, Alai Darwaza, Tomb of Sikander Lodi

Answer-(a) Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Alai Darwaza, Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Tomb of Sikander Lodi

• Tomb of the Sufi saint Sheikh Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fateh, commonly known by the title (Shah) Rukn-e-Alam, is considered to be the earliest specimen of Tughluq architecture. 
• Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque was commissioned by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, founder of the Mamluk or Slave dynasty.
• The Alai Darwaza was built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji of the Khalji dynasty in 1311.

3. The Tughlaq Sultan who twice made unsuccessful efforts to recover Bengal during the reign of Ilyas Shah and his son Sikander Shah was

(a) Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq

(b) Muhammad bin Tughlaq

(c) Firuz Shah Tughlaq 

(d) Ghiyassuddin Tughlaq Shah II

Answer-(c) Firuz Shah Tughlaq 

• Soon after his accession, the Ilyas Shahi ruler Sikandar Shah has to face a military campaign of the Tughlaq Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq who had earlier made an expedition to Bengal in 1353 during the rule of Shamsuddin Iliyas Shah. However like the first expedition, the second one also proved to be a failure for the Tughlaq ruler. 
• Sikandar Shah ascended the throne after the death of his father in 1357 and ruled Bengal for thirty-three years.

3. Ilyas Shahi Sultan who exchanged embassies with the Chinese emperor of the Ming dynasty was 

(a) Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah

(b) Sikander Shah

(c) Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah

(d) Saifuddin Hamza Shah

Answer-(c) Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah

• Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah established diplomatic and cultural relations with China, and the growth of Chittagong port led to the increase in trade with the Far East. 

4. During the reign of which of the following rulers of Hussain Shahi dynasty did Sikander Lodi attack Bengal?
(a) Alauddin Husain Shah
(b) Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah 
(c) Alauddin Firuz Shah
(d) Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah


Answer-(a) Alauddin Husain Shah

• Ala-ud-din Husain Shah was founder of the Hussain Shahi dynasty.