Class 12 History NCERT Based- 3 - Free MCQ Practice Test with solutions,

• The very choice of the site of Vijayanagara was likely inspired by the existence of the shrines of Virupaksha and Pampadevi. The Vijayanagara kings claimed to rule on behalf of the god Virupaksha.

• All royal orders were signed “Shri Virupaksha”, usually in the Kannada script. Rulers also indicated their close links with the gods by using the title “Hindu Suratrana”. This was a Sanskritisation of the Arabic term Sultan, meaning king, so it meant Hindu Sultan.

The Sangam dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty that ruled parts of South India between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. The Tuluva dynasty succeeded the Vijayanagara Empire and ruled from the 15th century to the 16th century CE. The Saluva dynasty was a predecessor of the Tuluva dynasty and ruled from the mid-15th century to the mid-16th century CE. The Aravidu dynasty succeeded the Tuluva dynasty and ruled from the 16th century to the 17th century CE.

• Located on one of the highest points in the city, the “Mahanavami Dibba” is a massive platform rising from a base of about 11,000 sq. ft to a height of 40 ft. There is evidence that it supported a wooden structure.

• The base of the platform is covered with relief carvings. The Hazara Rama temple. This was probably meant to be used only by the king and his family.

• Krishnadeva Raya belonged to the Tuluva dynasty. Krishnadeva Raya’s rule was characterised by expansion and consolidation.

• This was the time when the land between the Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers (the Raichur doab) was acquired (1512), the rulers of Orissa were subdued (1514) and severe defeats were inflicted on the Sultan of Bijapur (1520).

• Raya gopurams were royal gateways (not a pavilion) that often dwarfed the towers on the central shrines, and signalled the presence of the temple from a great distance.

• This was a tricky question to check your grip on terms. Mandapas WERE pavilions and long, pillared corridors (so this can’t be placed at the top of Virupaksha temple) that often ran around the shrines within the temple complex. Let us look at two temples more closely – the Virupaksha temple and the Vitthala temple.

1. Dam on the river Tungabhadra was built by Krishnadeva Raya.

   • Krishnadeva Raya was a prominent king of the Vijayanagara Empire, which flourished in South India during the 16th century. He is known for his contributions to art, architecture, and irrigation projects. However, the specific historical record attributing the construction of a dam on the Tungabhadra River directly to Krishnadeva Raya is not clear. There were several irrigation projects during his reign, but saying definitively that he built a specific dam requires more precise historical evidence.

2. Fortification was only done around the city.

   • The Vijayanagara Empire, especially the capital city of Vijayanagara, is famous for its extensive fortifications. These included not just the city but also surrounding agricultural areas, making them one of the most complex and expansive fortification systems of the time. Hence, fortification was not limited to just the city but extended to a much larger area.

Therefore, the correct answer is: Both a and b

• The high respect shown by Akbar towards the members of the Jesuit mission impressed them deeply. They interpreted the emperor’s open interest in the doctrines of Christianity as a Sign of his acceptance of their faith. This can be understood in the light of the prevailing Climate of religious intolerance in Western Europe.

• Monserrate remarked that “the king cared little that in allowing everyone to follow his religion he was in reality violating all”. Akbar was curious about Christianity and dispatched an embassy to Goa to invite Jesuit Priests.

• Shah Jahan in his eighth regnal year asked Muhammad Amin Qazvini to write an official History of his reign and he completed his Badshahnama in 1636, which covers the first ten (lunar) years of Shah Jahan’reign.

• Jalaluddin Tabatabai wrote another Badshahnama, but the extant portion of the text covers Only four years, from fifth to eighth regnal year of the emperor. The project was later given to Abdul Hamid Lahori, who wrote his Badshahnama in two volumes.

• The first volume of this Work is based upon Qazvini’s work but has more details. The second volume covers the next Ten (lunar) years of Shah Jahan’s reign. He completed his work in 1648. Lahori died in 1654.

• Muhammad Waris, a pupil of Lahori was given the responsibility to complete the task and his Badshahnama (completed in 1656) covers the rest of the period of Shah Jahan’s reign. His Work was published by the Asiatic Society as the third volume of the Badshahnama of Lahori.

• Mughal chronicles such as the Akbar Nama written in Persian, others, like Babur’s Memoirs, were translated from the Turkish into the Persian Babur Nama. Translations of Sanskrit texts such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana into Persian were commissioned By the Mughal emperors.

• The Mahabharata was translated as the Razmnama (Book of Wars) Abu’l-Hasan (or Abu al-Hasan) (1589 – c. 1630), from Delhi, India, was a Mughal painter of Miniatures in the reign of Jahangir.Abu al-Hasan was initially trained by the emperor himself in his large studios and workshops But soon surpassed his father and his employer.

• Jahangir said of him that he had no equal and Bestowed the title Nadir-uz-Saman (“Wonder of the Age”) on him.

• The chaudhuri means in charge of revenue collection. They were not a part of Mughal Household. The term “harem” is frequently used to refer to the domestic world of the Mughals. It Originates in the Persian word haram, meaning a sacred place.

• The Mughal household Consisted of the emperor’s wives and concubines, his near and distant relatives (mother, step- and foster-mothers, sisters, daughters, daughters-in-law, aunts, children, Etc.), and female servants and slaves.

• In the Mughal household a distinction was maintained between wives who came from Royal families (begams), and other wives (aghas) who were not of noble birth. Apart from wives, numerous male and female slaves populated the Mughal household.

• The tasks they performed varied from the most mundane to those requiring skill, tact And intelligence. Slave eunuchs (khwajasara) moved between the external and internal Life of the household as guards, servants, and also as agents for women dabbling in Commerce.

• The bazaar of Chandni Chowk,the throbbing centre of Shahjahanabad, was designed by Jahanara.

• Chandrabhan Barahman described the Mughal nobility in his book Char Chaman (Four Gardens) was written during the reign of Shah Jahan

• Awards included the robe of honour (khilat), a Garment once worn by the emperor and imbued with his Benediction. One gift, the sarapa (“head to foot”), consisted Of a tunic, a turban and a sash (patka).

• Jewelled ornaments Were often given as gifts by the emperor. The lotus blossom Set with jewels (padma murassa) was given only in Exceptional circumstances.A courtier never approached the emperor empty handed:He offered either a small sum of money (nazr ) or a large Amount (peshkash).

• Qandahar was a bone of contention between the Safavids and the Mughals. The Fortress-town had initially been in the possession of Humayun, reconquered in 1595 by Akbar.In the winter of 1622 during reign of Jahangir, Persian army besieged Qandahar.

• The ill-Prepared Mughal garrison was defeated and had to surrender the fortress and the city To the Safavids. Perfecting prelims: Previous year questions from this chapter-

Mughal painting flourished significantly during the reign of Jahangir. This period is marked by a distinctive style that combined intricate detail and vibrant colours, showcasing both naturalism and emotion. Jahangir had a keen interest in art and personally patronised numerous artists, which led to the creation of some of the most renowned works in Mughal art history. His appreciation for nature and the human form influenced the thematic elements prevalent in paintings of this era. Consequently, Jahangir's reign is often regarded as the golden age of Mughal painting.

• In 1851 Governor General Lord Dalhousie described the kingdom of Awadh as “a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day”. Five years later, in 1856, the kingdom was formally annexed to the British Empire.

• Satara state was a short-lived Princely state created by the British in 1818 after the Third Anglo-Maratha War and annexed by them in 1849 using the Doctrine of lapse. The state was ruled by descendants of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire.

• At the time of its adoption, the British East India Company had imperial administrative jurisdiction over wide regions of the subcontinent.

• The company took over the princely states of Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Nagpur and Jhansi (1854), Tore and Arcot (1855) and Udaipur (Chhattisgarh) under the terms of the doctrine of lapse. Oudh (1856)

• The administrative structures established by the rebels were primarily aimed at meeting the demands of war. However, in most cases these structures could not survive the British onslaught.

• But in Awadh, where resistance to the British lasted longest, plans of counter-attack were being drawn up by the Lucknow court and hierarchies of command were in place as late as the last months of 1857 and the early part of 1858.

• Azamgarh proclamation criticized the attitude of British towards native public servants. Section (iii) of proclamation was regarding public servant.

• It is not a secret thing, that under the British Government, natives employed in the civil and military services have little respect, low pay, and no manner of influence; and all the posts of dignity and emolument in both the departments are exclusively bestowed on Englishmen.

• Therefore, all the natives in the British service ought to be alive to their religion and interest, and abjuring their loyalty to the English, side with the Badshahi Government, and obtain salaries of 200 and 300 rupees a month for the present, and be entitled to high posts in the future

• At a time when the clamour was for vengeance, pleas for moderation were ridiculed. When Governor General Canning declared that a gesture of leniency and a show of mercy would help in winning back the loyalty of the sepoys, he was mocked in the British press. In one of the cartoons published in the pages of Punch, a British journal of comic satire, Canning is shown as a looming father figure, with his protective hand over the head of a sepoy who still holds an unsheathed sword in one hand and a dagger in the other, both dripping with blood.

• Jhansi - Rani Laxmibai; Lucknow - Begum Hazrat Mehal; Jagdishpur (Bihar)- Kunwar Singh. Most of the Punjab, Rajputana (Chittor) and Kashmir remained peaceful Nizam. of Hyderabad, Gulab Singh of Kashmir, Sikh rulers of Patiala, Nabha and Jind, Holkar of Indore, Scindia of Gwalior, Nawab of Bhopal, Rulers of Tehri and Tikamgarh in order to retain their position and state, helped the British to suppress the revolt of 1857.

• Lord Dalhousie’s annexations created disaffection in all the areas and principalities that were annexed but nowhere more so than in the kingdom of Awadh in the heart of North India. Here, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was dethroned and exiled to Calcutta on the plea that the region was being mis-governed.

• The British government also wrongly assumed that Wajid Ali Shah was an unpopular ruler. On the contrary, he was widely loved, and when he left his beloved Lucknow, there were many who followed him all the way to Kanpur singing songs of lament.

• The widespread sense of grief and loss at the Nawab’s exile was recorded by many contemporary observers.

• One of them wrote: “The life was gone out of the body, and the body of this town had been left lifeless … there was no street or market and house which did not wail out the cry of agony in separation of Jan-i-Alam.