TISS GUIDE
presents
Static GK: Medieval India
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Medieval India
Dynasties across India prior to the rise of the Delhi Sultanate
1000-1200 AD:
Mahmud of Ghazni conducted 17 raids into India.
His most daring raid was against Somnath in Gujarat in 1025, the last in India
First Battle of Tarain in 1191 in which the Ghauri forces were defeated by Prithviraj
Chauhan. Prithviraj was defeated in the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192.
Ghauri left for Ghazni, leaving India in the hands of his trusted slave Qutbuddin Aibak.
The Delhi Sultanate
Slave dynasty of Delhi Sultanate(1206-90):
The Slave dynasty was also known as Mamluk dynasty. They were Turkish in origin.
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Qutub-ud-din-Aibak constructed 2 mosques, „Quwat-ul-Islam‟ at Delhi and „Adhai din ka
Johpra‟ at Ajmer. He also commsioned the construction of Qutub Minar in honour of Sufi
saint Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar.
Iltutmish was a slave of Aibak. He belonged to Ilbari tribe. Iltutmish is credited for
shifting the capital of his empire to Delhi from Lahore. Iltutmish saved India from
Mongol wrath of Chengiz Khan . Iltutmish issued silver Tanka, introducing arabic
coinage in India. Various sufi saint Minhaj-us-Siraj, Taj-ud-din, Nizam-ul-mulk, Fakhrul-
Mulk Isami. Iltutmish completed the construction of Qutb Minar at Delhi.
Raziya was nominated by Iltutmish as his successor. She was the first and only Muslim
lady who ever ruled India. In 1240 AD, Razia was defeated and killed.
Ghiyasuddin Balban introduced the Persian festival of Nauroz. He established a separate
military department known as diwan-i-arz.
The Khilji Dynasty of Delhi Sultanate (1290-1320 AD)
The Khilji dynasty was founded of Jalauddin Khilji.
Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316 AD) –
He killed his father-in-law to usurp the throne. He was the first Turkish Sultan of Delhi who
separated religion from the State. He ordered the measurement of land. He established four
separate markets in Delhi. There were separate department called Diwani Riyasat was created
under an officer known as Naib-i-Riyasat. There were secret agents called munhiyans. He seized
Chittor in Rajasthan. His greatest achievement was conquest of Deccan. He patronized poets like
Amir Khusrau and Amir Hasan. He built Alai Darwaza and constructed a new capital at Siri.
The Tughlaq Dynasty of Delhi Sultanate (1320-1414):
Ghiyassudin Tughlaq was the founder of Tugalaq dynasty. He killed Khusrau Khan, the last king
of Khilji dynasty.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq(1325-1351):
He is considered to be ahead of his time.
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He had relations with China, Egypt, Iran.
He was the only Delhi Sultan who had received a comprehensive literary, religious and
philosophical education
shifted the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad. But then again shifted the capital back to Delhi
after two years.
He introduced copper based token currency, for the first time in India. But he was not able to
prevent forging of the coins and the experiment had to be abandoned.
He began the scheme of giving loans to farmers for cultivation known as takkavi loans.
Firoz Shah Tuglaq(1351-1388 AD):
Under his reign, Jiziya became a separate tax and was strictly imposed on non-muslims.
He built Firozabad near Red Fort, popularly known as Firoz Shah Kota.
He established a new department called Diwan-i-khairat to take care of widows and orphans.
Sayyid Dynasty of Delhi Sultanate (1414-1451 AD):
claimed to be the descendants of Prophet Mohammed.
The founder of Sayyid dynasty was Khizr Khan and ruled from 1414-1421.
None of the Sayyid rulers achieved anything great.
Alam Shah took the throne in 1444. During the year 1447, he visited a place called Baduan
and loved it so much that he decided to stay there forever and gave up his empire.
Lodis of Delhi Sultanate (1451-1526 AD):
The Lodis were Afghans
Bahlol Lodi founded the Lodhi dynasty. He was succeeded by Sikandar Lodhi.
Sikandar Lodhi was the greatest of the three Lodi sovereigns. He conquered Bihar, while
also defeating many Rajput chiefs. He shifted the capital from Delhi to Agra.
Ibrahim Lodi succeeded Sikandar Lodi. He was defeated by the Afghan Mughal Babur in
the 1st Battle of Panipat in 1526. He was the last king of Delhi sultanate.
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Vijayanagara Kingdom and The Portuguese:
The Vijayanagara Empire was founded by Harihar and Bukka.
Dev Raya II (1422-1446) is considered to be the greatest ruler of the Vijayanagara kingdom.
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Nuniz, the Portuguese traveller and Nicolo Conti, the Italian traveller who stayed in the
kingdom
Vijayanagara kingdom was defeated near Talikota in 1565.
Several remains of the dynasty can be found today in Hampi, Karnataka.
Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut in 1498. Albuquerque became the governor of the
Portuguese possessions in India in 1510 AD. He captured Goa from Bijapur in 1510 AD.
Thus, the Portuguese remained masters of the Indian seas and of the Deccan coast.
The Sufi and the Bhakti movements:
Sufis like Mansur bin Hallaj laid great stress on love as the bond between God and the
individual soul.
The Chishti order was set up in India by Khwaja Moinudin Chisti in Ajmer. Among his
celebrated disciples were Bakhtiyar Kaki and Farid-ud-Din Ganj-I-Shakar.
The most famous Chishti saint, however, were Nizamuddin Auliya and Nasiruddin Chiragh-
i-Delhi.
The Bhakti movement stressed mystical union of the individual with God.
Maharashtrian saint, Namdev, Ramanuj and Kabir from UP, Ravidas from UP, Guru Nanak
Dev from Punjab, Mirabai from Rajasthan, Chaitnya Mahaprabhu from Bengal and Jaidev.
Moinuddin Chisti (Ajmer), Nizamuddin Auliya (Delhi), Farduddin Masud (Pak Patan,
Pakistan) & Khwaja Syed Mudammad Gesu Daraz (Gulbarga) are the famous sufi shrines.
The Mughals and the Afghans:
Babur
Babur was the founder of Mughal Empire.
He was related to Timur from his father‟s side and Chengiz Khan to his mother‟s side.
His original name was Zahiruddin Muhammad. Babur succeeded to Farghana, a small state
in Trans-Oxiana. Therefater, he moved to Kabul, which he conquered in 1504. He was
forced to leave.
Daulat Khan Lodi Babur to attack India and suggested that he displace Ibrahim Lodi.
Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat and established Mughal rule in India.
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He defeated Rana Sanga of Mewar in Battle of Khanua in 1527 near Agra. He then assumed
the title of „Ghazi‟.
Babur also defeated the Afgans in battle of Gogra in Bihar.
Babur wrote his memoirs in Tuzuk-i-Baburi in Turki language, describing the flora and
fauna of India.
Humayun(1530-1540 AD and 1555-56 AD)
Humayun succeeded Babur in 1530 at the age of 23.
He fought a fierce battle at Chausa (1539) with Sher Shah, a powerful Afghan sardar, who
was the unquestioned master of Bihar.
Humayun‟s forces managed to escape and he had to spend some time in exile in Iran. He
could return only after Sher Shah‟s death.
He died from a fall off the first floor of his library building.
Sur Empire/ Interregenum(1540-1555AD)
Sher Shah Sur
Shershah (1540-55) ascended the throne of Delhi at the age of 67
He built Purana Qila in Delhi. He introduced new coins called as „dams‟ which remained in
circulation til 1835.
built roads to strengthen communication, mainly 4 important highways. From Sonargaon to
Sind, From Agra to Burhampur, from Jodhpur to Chittor and from Lahore to Multan.
Built the Grand Trunk Road from Peshawar to Sonargaon in Bengal.
Sher Shah died at Sasaram where a fine mausoleum to his memory stands.
Akbar
Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal rulers was born at Amarkot in 1542. He was crowned in
1556 at the young age of 13 years and 4 months.
Bairam Khan was his regent (caretaker)
Akbar contested a battle with Hemu, the Afghan king at Second battle of Panipat, which saw
the killing of Hemu after being defeated.
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He won a fierce battle against Rana Udai Singh of Chittor. It was followed by the conquest
of
Ranthambore, the most powerful fortress in Rajasthan.
Consequently, most Rajput states including Bikaner and Jaisalmer, submitted to him. Only
Mewar continued to resist. In 1572, Rana Pratap succeeded to the throne in Mewar. Akbar
won the furious battle between the two sides at Haldighati.
Akbar‟s land revenue system - instituted a new system called the dahsala, under which,
revenue settlement was done for 10 years on the basis of actual cultivated land. Though
Todar Mal played major role in this, it was borrowed from Sher Shah. The land was divided
into 4 categories: Polaj(every year cultivation), Parauti(cultivated once in 2 years),
Chachar(once in 3-4 years), and Banjar( once in 5-6 years).
The mansabdari system started by Akbar remained the basis of the Mughal rule till the end.
Religious tolerance. In 1564, he abolished the jaziya and the pilgrim-tax.
Arts and learning: He had nine gems or navratnas in his court.
Abul Fazl (his biographer and historian), Fiazi, Man Singh, Birbal, Tansen, Baijubawra,
Todar Mal and Do Piaji.
He made a few buildings like the Fatehpur Sikri City, The Buland Darwaza (to celebrate the
Gujarat victory) and the Panch Mahal in Agra.
started the ceremony of Jharokha Darshan hear public complaints.
set up a new religious sect called the Din-I-Illahi in 1584. Its major theme was Tauhid-i-
Wajudi (The Unity of Being) and its goal Sulah-i-Kul (Peace To All). He ordered the
construction of Ibadat Khana(House of Worship) at his capital Fatehpur Sikri. He invited
scholars of all religions for consultations.
historians call him the Ashoka of Medieval India or Akbar The Great.
Jehangir
Jehangir ordered the murder of fifth sikh guru Arjun Dev (the first to be murdered by
Mughals).
Visited dargah of Moinuddin Chisti several times.
Married Iranian widow (Mehrunisa), who was given the title Nur Jahan.
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most noted for his patronage of painting.
Mughal painting reached its climax under Jahangir. Mansur, the great painter, lived at his
court.
Captain William Hawkins of East India Company came to Jahangir‟s court. Sir Thomas
Roe, a representative of King James I of England also came to his court seeking permission
to establish trading port at Surat. He was granted permission after initial resistance.
Shahjahan
His Peacock throne & capital Shahjahanabad are remembered.
Reformed the zat & sawar system
Most memorable
Mughal monuments belong to his reign:The immortal Taj Mahal, The Red Fort, The Jama
Masjid and the Moti Masjid
buildings in marble decorated with floral designs made
of semi-precious stones. This method of decoration is known as pietre dura
Aurangzeb
He assumed the title of Alamgir.
Aurangzeb forced Shah Jahan to surrender and he was confined to a fort in Agra. There he
lived for eight long years under the loving care of his daughter.
Aurangzeb ruled for almost 50 and he came to be called a Zinda Pir or “a living saint”.
discontinued Jharokha Darshan and rie-imposed the Jaziya on non-Muslims.
He banned Nauroz, the Persian new year, banned painters, musicians, drinking & women
pilgrimage
in 1675 arrested and executed Guru Teg Bahadur with five of his followers.
this forced the Sikhs to go back to Punjab and organized an armed military brotherhood
called the Khalsa under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh.
He defeated the Shia Sultans of Bijapur, Golconda eliminating the Qutubshahi dynasty.
This removed the barrier between the Maraths and the Mughals and confrontations began.
His Deccan policy ruined the treasury of the Mughal empire.
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The Mughals after Aurangazaeb were of little importance and achieved little.
Maratha history:
The history of the Marathas can be divided into two well-marked phases
viz., the earlier phase from the later half of the seventeenth century till the death of
aurangazeb i.e., the period of Shivaji, Sambhaji, Rajaram and Tarabai, and
The later mughal phase, when the Peshwas became the de facto rulers and the maratha
empire turned into a loose confederacy of the maratha chiefs
The Marathas rose to power under Shivaji. He was born at Shivneri Fort in 1627.
His father was Shahji Bhonsle and mother was Jijabai. He inherited the Jagir of Poona
from his father.
He conquered many forts like, Kondana, Chakan, Toran, Purandhar, Rajgarh, Supa and
Panhala.
The Bijapur Sultan sent Afzal Khan against Shivaji, but he was murdered by Shivaji in
1659.
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Shaista Khan, was sent by Aurangzeb against Shivaji. Shaista Khan defeated and
captured Poona from Shivaji. But Shivaji made a bold attack on Shaista Khan and
plundered Surat and Ahmednagar.
When Sivaji visited Agra, he was imprisoned there. Shivaji escaped from Agra and began
Military preparations. He then captured all his lost territories from the Mughals. In 1674,
he assumed the title of Chatrapathi. He conquested Karnataka during 1677-80 before his
death.
Administration under Shivaji:
He had a council of ministers called Asthapradhan. Each minister was directly
responsible to Shivaji. He divided the Maratha territory into three provinces under a
viceroy. Provinces were then divided into prants, further subdivided into Paragans. The
lowest unit was village, headed by Patel.
The ministers in Shivaji‟s council of ministers:
Peshwa: Initially finance and general administration. Later became prime minister.
Sar-i-Naubat or Senapati: Military commander.
Majumdar(Amatya): Revenue and accounts
Waqenavis(Mantri): Intelligence, postand home affairs.
Surnavis(Sachiv): Head of Royal corresponsence
Sumant(Dabir): master of ceremonies
Nyayadhish: justice
Pandit Rao(Sadar): Religious administration
After death of Shivaji, a war of succession took place between Shanbaji and Rajaram, his
sons. Shambaji won, but later captured and killed by Mughals. Rajaram usurped the
throne but Mughals made him flee to Ginjee fort. He was succeeded by Shivaji II under
guardianship of Tarabai and Shahu.
The Peshwas :-
Balaji Vishwanath(1713-1720 AD)
He was the first Peshwa. He made the post of Peshwa hereditary. Balaji vishwanath gained
certain rights from then Mughal emperor Farukh Siyar. Firstly the Mughal emperor recognized
Shahu as the Maratha king. Secondly, he allowed Shahu to collect chauth and Sardeshmukhi
from 6 Mughal provinces in Deccan.
Balaji Rao I(1720-1740 AD)
He was the eldest son of Balaji Vishwanath. The Maratha power reached its zenith under him.
He started the Confederacy among Maratha chiefs. Under the system of confederacy, each
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Maratha chief was assigned a territory which was administered autonomously. Hence, many
Maratha families gained prominence. They were:
Gaekwad at Baroda
Bhonsle at Nagpur
Holkars at Indore
Scindias at Gwalior
Peshwas at Poona
Balaji Baji Rao(1740-1761 AD)
Balaji Baji Rao succeeded his father as Peshwa Baji Rai I. With Shahu dying without any issues,
and other nominated successor Ramraja in Satara prison. Balaji Baji Rao became the sole
controller of Maratha kingdom. He entered into an agreement with the Mughal emperor Ahmed
Shah in 1752, according to which, the Peshwas would protect the Mughal empire from external
and internal threats. For this, the Marathas would collect Chauth from northwest provinces along
with the total revenue coming from Ajmer and Agra.
Therefore, when Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India, Marathas fought Third Battle of Panipat in
1761. Though Marathas fought bravely, they were defeated. This marks the decline of Maratha
Power in India.
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Anglo-Maratha Wars
First Anglo -Maratha War (1775-1782)
The British fought in favour of Peshwaship to Raghunath Rao. The English (under Hastings)
were defeated by the Marathas. They had to sign the Convention of Wadgaon in 1779, which was
humiliating for the British. The English later signed the Treaty of Salbaiin 1782 where they
renounced their cause of Peshwaship for raghoba.
Second Anglo – Maratha War (1803- 1806)
The Maratha Peshwa Baji rao II signed the Subsidiary Alliance Treaty of Bassein in 1802.
Other Maratha chief who were part of Maratha confederacy, were not happy due to this
arrangement. The Scindias of Gwalior began the war against the British but they were defeated
by the British.
Third Anglo – Maratha War (1817-1818)
It is also known as Pindari war. Lord Hastings was determined to proclaim British paramountcy
in India. Hastings moved against Pindaris which transgressed the sovereignty of the Maratha
chiefs and the war began. The Marathas were defeated.
Monuments of Medieval India:
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Prominent foreign travellers who visited India and their details:
Important terminologies used during Medieval times
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Terms used in Medieval India
Rise of other regional dynasties with weakening Mughals
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Miscellaneous facts:
Islam:
Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 AD.
The Quran alongwith the Hadith (sayings of the prophet) is venerated as supreme sources
of authority in Islam.
Muhammad‟s migration from Mecca to Medina is known as Hijra & the muslim calendar
commences from this year.
Quibla the direction to be faced during prayer changed from Jerusalem to Mecca
Prophet‟s son-in-law Ali was regarded as lawful immediate by some section (Shias)
while other group considered his close followers Abu Bakr, Umar & Uthman as legal heir
(came to be known as Sunnis)s
The largest indigenous industry during the Delhi sultanate period was that of textiles.
All the Lodi rulers were buried on the Bagh-i-Jud known today as Lodi Garden. The
coins of Mahmud Ghazni, Iltutmish, Nasirudin Mahmud, Balban, Alauddin Khalji bear
the name of Abbasid Caliph.
Mansabdars had dual ranks – zat (personal rank & expenses) & sawar (cavalry rank).
Land revenue systems were batai (crop divided between state & the peasant), hast-o-bud
(official inspection for estimation), kankut system (estimation of land & yield), nasaq
system (based on previous estimates).
Sikhism:
Guru Angad developed the Gurmukhi script. Guru Arjun Dev completed Adi
Granth. Guru Hargobind
constructed the Akal Takht at the Golden Temple & asked his followers to built
the fort of Lohgarh.
Enraged Jehangir had the Guru imprisoned for 2 years.
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Printing press was introduced in India by the Portuguese.
The Bahamani kingdom split into: Bijapur (Adil Shahi Dynasty), Ahmadnagar
(Nizamshahi dynasty), Golkonda (Qutbshahi dynasty), Bidar (Barid Shahi dynasty)
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