Medieval India Compendium — Dynasties, Battles, Monuments & Dates

Why This Chapter Matters

By the time an aspirant reaches this chapter, they have read seventeen chapters full of names, years, and battles. The problem is never learning the facts once. The problem is that SSC and RRB questions jump around: a question on Panipat sits next to one on the Bahmani Sultanate, which sits next to one on Fatehpur Sikri's architecture. The exam does not test chapters in order, it tests recall under pressure. This chapter exists to fix that. It pulls every dynasty, every major battle, every monument, and every medieval author from this book into one place so you can revise the whole "Medieval India" portion in a single sitting, right before the exam.

Expect 4 to 7 questions from this consolidated material in a typical SSC CGL/CHSL or RRB NTPC General Awareness section, on top of the questions already tied to individual dynasty chapters. The repeat offenders are: match-the-following on "ruler and monument," chronological ordering of battles, "which dynasty came after which," and one-line identification of authors and their books (Baburnama, Ain-i-Akbari, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri). Treat this chapter as your final revision sheet, not as new content to memorise from scratch.

1. Master Timeline — Every Dynasty in This Book

This table lists every ruling house covered across Chapters 2 to 17, in the order they rose to power. Use it to fix the skeleton of medieval Indian history in your head: who ruled when, and who ruled alongside whom.

Dynasty/Kingdom	Approx. Period	Founder	Capital	Notable Later Rulers
Ghaznavid raids	1000–1027	Mahmud of Ghazni (raider, not a ruler of India)	Ghazni (Afghanistan)	—
Ghurid campaigns	1173–1206	Muhammad of Ghor	Ghor (Afghanistan)	Qutb-ud-din Aibak (his general)
Slave (Mamluk) Dynasty	1206–1290	Qutb-ud-din Aibak	Delhi/Lahore	Iltutmish, Razia Sultana, Balban
Khalji Dynasty	1290–1320	Jalaluddin Khalji	Delhi	Alauddin Khalji
Tughlaq Dynasty	1320–1414	Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq	Delhi (Daulatabad under Muhammad bin Tughlaq)	Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Firoz Shah Tughlaq
Sayyid Dynasty	1414–1451	Khizr Khan	Delhi	Muhammad Shah, Alam Shah
Lodi Dynasty	1451–1526	Bahlul Lodi	Delhi/Agra	Sikandar Lodi, Ibrahim Lodi
Bahmani Sultanate	1347–1527/1538	Alauddin Bahman Shah	Gulbarga, later Bidar	Mahmud Gawan (minister)
Deccan Sultanates (5 successors)	1490s–1686	Split from Bahmani	Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar	Adil Shahi, Qutb Shahi, Nizam Shahi houses
Vijayanagara Empire	1336–1646	Harihara I & Bukka I	Hampi	Krishnadevaraya (Tuluva dynasty)
Mughal Empire	1526–1857 (medieval scope ends ~1761)	Babur	Agra/Delhi	Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb
Sur Dynasty (interregnum)	1540–1555	Sher Shah Suri	Delhi	Islam Shah Suri
Ahom Kingdom	1228–1826	Sukaphaa	Charaideo, later Rangpur	Various Ahom Swargadeos
Mewar (Sisodia Rajputs)	c. 8th century onward, medieval peak 1500s–1600s	Bappa Rawal (traditional)	Chittor, later Udaipur	Rana Sanga, Rana Pratap
Bengal Sultanate	1352–1576	Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah	Gaur/Pandua	Various Ilyas Shahi and Hussain Shahi rulers
Gujarat Sultanate	1407–1573	Zafar Khan (Muzaffar Shah I)	Ahmedabad	Mahmud Begada
Malwa Sultanate	1401–1562	Dilawar Khan Ghuri	Mandu	Hoshang Shah
Jaunpur Sharqi Dynasty	1394–1479	Malik Sarwar	Jaunpur	Ibrahim Shah Sharqi
Kashmir Sultanate	1339–1586	Shah Mir	Srinagar	Zain-ul-Abidin
Gajapati Dynasty (Odisha)	1435–1541	Kapilendra Deva	Cuttack/Puri	Purushottama Deva, Prataparudra Deva
Maratha Kingdom/Confederacy	1674–1818	Shivaji	Raigad, later Peshwa capital Pune	Sambhaji, Rajaram, Peshwas (Balaji Vishwanath onward)
Sikh Misls (pre-Ranjit Singh)	c. 1716–1799	Confederacy of 12 misls after Banda Bahadur	Punjab (various)	Precursor to Ranjit Singh's kingdom (Modern India book)

Exam tip: SSC loves asking "arrange in chronological order" using four of these dynasties together, for instance Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi. Memorise the order Slave to Khalji to Tughlaq to Sayyid to Lodi as one continuous chain, since this is the Delhi Sultanate's five-dynasty sequence and it gets asked directly almost every cycle.

2. All Major Medieval Battles — One Table

Below is every battle mentioned across this book, with year, the two sides, the winner, and why the battle mattered. Learn the year and the winner first, the significance second.

Battle	Year	Combatants	Winner	Significance
First Battle of Tarain	1191	Prithviraj Chauhan vs Muhammad of Ghor	Prithviraj Chauhan	Ghor's first defeat in India, temporary check on Turkish advance
Second Battle of Tarain	1192	Prithviraj Chauhan vs Muhammad of Ghor	Muhammad of Ghor	Opened the door to Turkish rule; led to the Delhi Sultanate
First Battle of Panipat	1526	Babur vs Ibrahim Lodi	Babur	Ended the Lodi Dynasty, founded the Mughal Empire, first recorded use of gunpowder/artillery in a north Indian battle
Battle of Khanwa	1527	Babur vs Rana Sanga of Mewar	Babur	Crushed the Rajput confederacy, secured Mughal rule in north India
Battle of Ghaghra	1529	Babur vs Mahmud Lodi & Afghan-Bengal forces	Babur	Last major battle of Babur's reign, secured the eastern frontier
Battle of Chausa	1539	Humayun vs Sher Shah Suri	Sher Shah Suri	First major defeat that forced Humayun toward exile
Battle of Kannauj (Bilgram)	1540	Humayun vs Sher Shah Suri	Sher Shah Suri	Humayun lost the throne; Sur interregnum begins
Battle of Talikota	1565	Vijayanagara vs allied Deccan Sultanates (Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda, Bidar)	Deccan Sultanates	Broke Vijayanagara's power permanently, city of Hampi sacked
Second Battle of Panipat	1556	Akbar/Bairam Khan vs Hemu	Akbar	Secured the throne for the young Akbar, ended Hemu's brief bid for Delhi
Battle of Haldighati	1576	Akbar's forces (led by Man Singh) vs Rana Pratap of Mewar	Mughals (tactically), Rana Pratap escaped	Rana Pratap's defiance became a symbol of Rajput resistance
Battle of Samugarh	1658	Aurangzeb vs Dara Shikoh	Aurangzeb	Decided the Mughal war of succession in Aurangzeb's favour
Third Battle of Panipat	1761	Marathas (Sadashiv Rao Bhau) vs Ahmad Shah Abdali	Ahmad Shah Abdali	Halted Maratha expansion north, created a power vacuum the British later filled

Exam tip: All three Battles of Panipat are a favourite match-the-pair set: 1526 Babur–Ibrahim Lodi, 1556 Akbar–Hemu, 1761 Marathas–Abdali. Learn them as one group of three, never in isolation.

3. Monuments and Their Builders

Medieval India left behind some of the world's most recognisable architecture. SSC frequently asks "who built" or "where is it located" questions on this table.

Monument	Builder	Location	Period/Dynasty
Qutb Minar	Started by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, completed by Iltutmish	Delhi	Slave Dynasty
Alai Darwaza	Alauddin Khalji	Delhi (Qutb complex)	Khalji Dynasty
Tughlaqabad Fort	Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq	Delhi	Tughlaq Dynasty
Firoz Shah Kotla	Firoz Shah Tughlaq	Delhi	Tughlaq Dynasty
Hampi's Vijaya Vittala Temple	Krishnadevaraya (main structure)	Hampi	Vijayanagara Empire
Gol Gumbaz	Muhammad Adil Shah	Bijapur	Adil Shahi (Deccan Sultanate)
Charminar	Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah	Hyderabad	Qutb Shahi (Deccan Sultanate)
Jama Masjid, Mandu / Hoshang Shah's Tomb	Hoshang Shah (tomb completed by successors)	Mandu	Malwa Sultanate
Fatehpur Sikri	Akbar	Near Agra	Mughal (Akbar)
Buland Darwaza	Akbar	Fatehpur Sikri	Mughal (Akbar)
Humayun's Tomb	Built by Haji Begum (Humayun's widow)	Delhi	Mughal
Agra Fort (red sandstone core)	Akbar (later additions by Shah Jahan)	Agra	Mughal
Taj Mahal	Shah Jahan (for Mumtaz Mahal)	Agra	Mughal
Red Fort (Lal Qila)	Shah Jahan	Delhi	Mughal
Jama Masjid, Delhi	Shah Jahan	Delhi	Mughal
Moti Masjid, Agra	Shah Jahan	Agra Fort	Mughal
Sheesh Mahal, Amber Fort	Rajput rulers of Amber (Mughal-influenced style)	Amber (Jaipur)	Kachhwaha Rajputs
Raigad Fort	Shivaji (coronation site, 1674)	Maharashtra	Maratha Kingdom
Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) foundation	Guru Ram Das (founded the tank/town), Guru Arjan Dev (built the temple)	Amritsar	Sikh Gurus

Exam tip: Taj Mahal (Shah Jahan), Qutb Minar (Aibak-Iltutmish), and Fatehpur Sikri (Akbar) are the three most frequently asked monument questions in this whole book. Do not go into the exam without these three locked in.

4. Medieval Literature and Authors

Work	Author	Language	Notes
Baburnama	Babur	Chagatai Turkish (translated into Persian later)	Babur's autobiography, covers his campaigns and observations on India
Humayun-nama	Gulbadan Begum	Persian	Written by Humayun's sister, a rare female-authored Mughal chronicle
Akbarnama	Abul Fazl	Persian	Official chronicle of Akbar's reign
Ain-i-Akbari	Abul Fazl	Persian	Third volume of Akbarnama, administrative gazetteer of the empire
Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri	Jahangir	Persian	Jahangir's own memoirs
Padshahnama	Abdul Hamid Lahori	Persian	Official history of Shah Jahan's reign
Ramcharitmanas	Tulsidas	Awadhi	Bhakti-era retelling of the Ramayana
Sur Sagar	Surdas	Braj Bhasha	Krishna-bhakti poetry
Guru Granth Sahib (compilation)	Compiled by Guru Arjan Dev	Gurmukhi/various	Sikh scripture, includes hymns of several Gurus and Bhakti-Sufi saints
Rajatarangini (context note, pre-medieval origin, referenced for Kashmir chronicles)	Kalhana	Sanskrit	Used as background for Kashmir's medieval-era rulers
Kitab-ur-Rehla	Ibn Battuta	Arabic	Travel account covering the Delhi Sultanate under Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Rihla accounts of Abdur Razzak	Abdur Razzak	Persian	Timurid envoy's account of Vijayanagara under Devaraya II

5. Foreign Travellers — Quick Cross-Reference

This table complements Chapter 17. Keep it here as a one-glance reminder of who visited which court and when.

Traveller	Origin	Visited/Wrote About	Approx. Period
Marco Polo	Venice (Italy)	South Indian coast, on his way back from China	Late 13th century
Ibn Battuta	Morocco	Delhi Sultanate under Muhammad bin Tughlaq	1330s
Abdur Razzak	Persia (Timurid envoy)	Vijayanagara under Devaraya II	1440s
Domingo Paes	Portugal	Vijayanagara under Krishnadevaraya	1520s
Francois Bernier	France	Mughal court under Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb	1650s–1660s
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier	France	Mughal India, especially trade and diamonds	Mid-17th century
Niccolao Manucci	Italy	Mughal court, war of succession period	Mid-to-late 17th century

6. "Firsts" in Medieval India

Exam-setters love a clean list of firsts. Here is the consolidated set for this book.

First	Person/Event	Year
First Turkish ruler to establish a durable Sultanate in Delhi	Qutb-ud-din Aibak	1206
First and only woman to rule the Delhi Sultanate	Razia Sultana	1236–1240
First systematic market-control and price-fixing regime in the Sultanate	Alauddin Khalji	Early 1300s
First ruler to introduce token currency (copper/brass coins at face value of silver) in India	Muhammad bin Tughlaq	1330s
First major use of artillery/gunpowder in a north Indian pitched battle	Babur, First Battle of Panipat	1526
First Mughal emperor to formalise the mansabdari system fully	Akbar	1570s onward
First European traveller among this book's set to leave a detailed Vijayanagara account	Abdur Razzak	1440s
First Sikh Guru	Guru Nanak	Born 1469
First formal military-religious order among the Sikhs (Khalsa Panth)	Guru Gobind Singh	1699
First Maratha ruler to take a formal royal coronation (Chhatrapati title)	Shivaji	1674
First Peshwa to expand Maratha power deep into north India	Baji Rao I	1720s–1730s
First and only Mughal emperor to reimpose jizya after Akbar had abolished it	Aurangzeb	1679

7. Ruler-to-Contribution Snapshot (Cutting Across Dynasties)

Ruler	Dynasty	One Defining Contribution
Iltutmish	Slave Dynasty	Introduced the silver tanka and copper jital, organised the Sultanate's core administration
Balban	Slave Dynasty	"Blood and iron" policy, crushed nobility (Chihalgani/Group of Forty), strengthened royal authority
Alauddin Khalji	Khalji Dynasty	Market reforms, Deccan expansion via Malik Kafur, defeated repeated Mongol invasions
Muhammad bin Tughlaq	Tughlaq Dynasty	Capital shift to Daulatabad, token currency experiment, both seen as bold but poorly executed
Firoz Shah Tughlaq	Tughlaq Dynasty	Canal building, welfare measures, but reimposed some orthodox restrictions
Sher Shah Suri	Sur Dynasty	Grand Trunk Road, rupiya currency, efficient land revenue survey later copied by Akbar's officials
Akbar	Mughal	Religious tolerance (Din-i-Ilahi, abolished jizya), mansabdari, Rajput alliances
Shah Jahan	Mughal	Peak of Mughal architecture, Taj Mahal and Peacock Throne, Deccan campaigns
Aurangzeb	Mughal	Largest territorial extent of the empire, but religious and Deccan policies accelerated later decline
Krishnadevaraya	Vijayanagara (Tuluva)	Peak of Vijayanagara power, patron of Telugu literature, built major temple gopurams
Shivaji	Maratha	Ashtapradhan council, guerrilla warfare (ganimi kava), naval strength on the western coast
Guru Gobind Singh	Sikh	Founded the Khalsa Panth, compiled the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru

8. Chronology Skeleton for Last-Minute Revision

Read this list top to bottom the night before the exam. It is the entire book compressed into dates.

• 1000–1027: Mahmud of Ghazni's raids into north India.
• 1191–1192: Two Battles of Tarain, Turkish foothold established.
• 1206: Delhi Sultanate begins under Qutb-ud-din Aibak.
• 1236–1240: Razia Sultana's reign.
• 1290: Khalji Dynasty replaces the Slave Dynasty.
• 1296–1316: Alauddin Khalji's reign, Deccan expansion.
• 1320: Tughlaq Dynasty begins.
• 1336: Vijayanagara Empire founded.
• 1347: Bahmani Sultanate founded.
• 1398: Timur's invasion of Delhi.
• 1414: Sayyid Dynasty begins.
• 1451: Lodi Dynasty begins.
• 1526: First Battle of Panipat, Mughal Empire founded.
• 1527–1529: Khanwa and Ghaghra, Babur consolidates power.
• 1540: Sher Shah Suri defeats Humayun, Sur interregnum begins.
• 1555: Humayun recovers the throne.
• 1556: Second Battle of Panipat, Akbar secures Delhi.
• 1565: Battle of Talikota, Vijayanagara's power broken.
• 1576: Battle of Haldighati.
• 1605: Akbar's death, Jahangir accedes.
• 1628: Shah Jahan accedes.
• 1658: Battle of Samugarh, Aurangzeb wins the succession war.
• 1674: Shivaji's coronation at Raigad.
• 1679: Aurangzeb reimposes jizya.
• 1699: Khalsa Panth founded by Guru Gobind Singh.
• 1707: Aurangzeb's death, Mughal decline accelerates.
• 1720s onward: Peshwa-led Maratha expansion.
• 1761: Third Battle of Panipat, Maratha power checked, sets the stage for the Modern India period.

Quick Revision — One-Line Facts

• The Delhi Sultanate's five dynasties, in order, are Slave, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi.
• Qutb Minar was started by Qutb-ud-din Aibak and completed by Iltutmish.
• Razia Sultana remains the only woman to have ruled the Delhi Sultanate.
• Alauddin Khalji's market reforms were the first systematic price-control system in Sultanate India.
• Muhammad bin Tughlaq's token currency experiment failed due to widespread forgery.
• Timur invaded Delhi in 1398, weakening the already fading Tughlaq Dynasty.
• The Lodi Dynasty was the only Afghan (as opposed to Turkish) dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate directly.
• First Battle of Panipat (1526) ended the Lodi Dynasty and founded the Mughal Empire.
• Battle of Khanwa (1527) broke the Rajput confederacy under Rana Sanga.
• Sher Shah Suri's Grand Trunk Road and rupiya coin outlasted his short-lived Sur Dynasty.
• Second Battle of Panipat (1556) was fought between Akbar's forces and Hemu.
• Battle of Talikota (1565) ended Vijayanagara as a major regional power.
• Krishnadevaraya of the Tuluva dynasty is Vijayanagara's most celebrated ruler.
• The Bahmani Sultanate split into five Deccan Sultanates: Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar.
• Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur has one of the largest unsupported domes in the world.
• Charminar was built by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of the Qutb Shahi dynasty.
• Akbar abolished jizya; Aurangzeb reimposed it in 1679.
• Fatehpur Sikri was built by Akbar and later abandoned due to water shortage.
• Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in memory of Mumtaz Mahal.
• Battle of Samugarh (1658) decided the Mughal war of succession in Aurangzeb's favour.
• Shivaji was crowned Chhatrapati at Raigad in 1674.
• Shivaji's administrative council of eight ministers is called the Ashtapradhan.
• Guru Nanak founded Sikhism; Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699.
• The Guru Granth Sahib was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev and later given the status of eternal Guru.
• Baji Rao I is credited with the fastest expansion of Maratha power into north and central India.
• Third Battle of Panipat (1761) was fought between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali.
• Ibn Battuta's account is the key foreign source for Muhammad bin Tughlaq's reign.
• Abdur Razzak and Domingo Paes are the two most quoted foreign sources on Vijayanagara.
• Abul Fazl wrote both the Akbarnama and its administrative volume, the Ain-i-Akbari.
• Jahangir's own memoir is called the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri.
• Humayun-nama was written by Gulbadan Begum, Humayun's sister.

Memory Tables

Table A: Dynasty → Founder → End Year (Delhi Sultanate Chain)

Dynasty	Founder	Approx. End Year	Reason for End
Slave (Mamluk)	Qutb-ud-din Aibak	1290	Overthrown by Jalaluddin Khalji
Khalji	Jalaluddin Khalji	1320	Overthrown by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
Tughlaq	Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq	1414	Weakened by Timur's invasion, succession disputes
Sayyid	Khizr Khan	1451	Replaced by Bahlul Lodi
Lodi	Bahlul Lodi	1526	Defeated by Babur at First Panipat

Table B: Three Battles of Panipat at a Glance

Battle	Year	Winner	Loser	Long-term Result
First Panipat	1526	Babur	Ibrahim Lodi	Mughal Empire founded
Second Panipat	1556	Akbar (Bairam Khan)	Hemu	Mughal throne secured for Akbar
Third Panipat	1761	Ahmad Shah Abdali	Marathas (Sadashiv Rao Bhau)	Maratha northward expansion checked

Table C: Empire → Peak Ruler → Signature Structure/System

Empire/Kingdom	Peak Ruler	Signature Legacy
Delhi Sultanate	Alauddin Khalji	Market control system, Alai Darwaza
Vijayanagara	Krishnadevaraya	Vijaya Vittala Temple, Amara-Nayaka system
Bahmani/Deccan Sultanates	Mahmud Gawan (as minister)	Administrative reforms, Gol Gumbaz (later Adil Shahi)
Mughal Empire	Akbar/Shah Jahan	Mansabdari system, Taj Mahal
Maratha Confederacy	Shivaji/Baji Rao I	Ashtapradhan council, rapid territorial expansion
Sikh Panth	Guru Gobind Singh	Khalsa Panth, Guru Granth Sahib as living Guru

Medieval India's story closes here at 1761, with the Marathas checked at Panipat and Mughal authority reduced to little beyond Delhi. What follows next, the steady rise of the East India Company and the events of 1757 onward, belongs to the Modern India book.

Practice MCQs

Q1. Which dynasty came immediately after the Khalji Dynasty in the Delhi Sultanate? (a) Slave Dynasty (b) Tughlaq Dynasty (c) Sayyid Dynasty (d) Lodi Dynasty

Q2. Who completed the construction of the Qutb Minar after it was started by Qutb-ud-din Aibak? (a) Balban (b) Iltutmish (c) Alauddin Khalji (d) Razia Sultana

Q3. The First Battle of Panipat (1526) was fought between Babur and which ruler? (a) Rana Sanga (b) Ibrahim Lodi (c) Hemu (d) Sher Shah Suri

Q4. Match the following battles with their years:

1. Battle of Khanwa A. 1565
2. Battle of Talikota B. 1527
3. Battle of Haldighati C. 1576
4. Battle of Samugarh D. 1658 (a) 1-B, 2-A, 3-C, 4-D (b) 1-A, 2-B, 3-D, 4-C (c) 1-C, 2-D, 3-A, 4-B (d) 1-D, 2-C, 3-B, 4-A

Q5. Who built the Taj Mahal? (a) Akbar (b) Jahangir (c) Shah Jahan (d) Aurangzeb

Q6. Which ruler introduced token currency in the Delhi Sultanate? (a) Alauddin Khalji (b) Muhammad bin Tughlaq (c) Firoz Shah Tughlaq (d) Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq

Q7. The Battle of Talikota (1565) led to the decline of which empire? (a) Bahmani Sultanate (b) Vijayanagara Empire (c) Gujarat Sultanate (d) Mughal Empire

Q8. Arrange the following in chronological order: (i) Second Battle of Panipat (ii) First Battle of Panipat (iii) Third Battle of Panipat (iv) Battle of Khanwa (a) ii, iv, i, iii (b) ii, i, iv, iii (c) iv, ii, i, iii (d) i, ii, iii, iv

Q9. Who among the following is the only woman to have ruled as sovereign of the Delhi Sultanate? (a) Nur Jahan (b) Razia Sultana (c) Chand Bibi (d) Gulbadan Begum

Q10. Which of the following pairs of ruler and monument is INCORRECTLY matched? (a) Shah Jahan — Red Fort (b) Akbar — Fatehpur Sikri (c) Aurangzeb — Taj Mahal (d) Qutb-ud-din Aibak — Qutb Minar (started)

Q11. The Ashtapradhan council of eight ministers was set up by which ruler? (a) Baji Rao I (b) Shivaji (c) Sambhaji (d) Balaji Vishwanath

Q12. Who wrote the Akbarnama and its administrative section, the Ain-i-Akbari? (a) Gulbadan Begum (b) Abul Fazl (c) Abdul Hamid Lahori (d) Ibn Battuta

Q13. In which year did Guru Gobind Singh found the Khalsa Panth? (a) 1606 (b) 1666 (c) 1699 (d) 1708

Q14. Which battle marked the end of Mughal Emperor Humayun's rule and the beginning of the Sur interregnum? (a) Battle of Chausa (b) Battle of Kannauj (Bilgram) (c) Battle of Samugarh (d) Second Battle of Panipat Note: Chausa (1539) weakened Humayun, but the decisive battle that actually forced him out of India was Kannauj (Bilgram), 1540.

Q15. The Third Battle of Panipat (1761) was fought between the Marathas and which invader? (a) Nadir Shah (b) Ahmad Shah Abdali (c) Muhammad of Ghor (d) Timur

Answer Key

Q	Answer	One-line reason
1	(b) Tughlaq Dynasty	Khalji Dynasty ended in 1320, replaced by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
2	(b) Iltutmish	Aibak started Qutb Minar, Iltutmish completed it
3	(b) Ibrahim Lodi	First Panipat (1526) ended the Lodi Dynasty
4	(a) 1-B, 2-A, 3-C, 4-D	Khanwa 1527, Talikota 1565, Haldighati 1576, Samugarh 1658
5	(c) Shah Jahan	Built for his wife Mumtaz Mahal
6	(b) Muhammad bin Tughlaq	His token currency experiment failed due to forgery
7	(b) Vijayanagara Empire	Combined Deccan Sultanates defeated Vijayanagara at Talikota
8	(a) ii, iv, i, iii	First Panipat 1526, Khanwa 1527, Second Panipat 1556, Third Panipat 1761
9	(b) Razia Sultana	Only woman to rule the Delhi Sultanate, 1236-1240
10	(c) Aurangzeb — Taj Mahal	Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan, not Aurangzeb
11	(b) Shivaji	Set up the Ashtapradhan council of eight ministers
12	(b) Abul Fazl	Wrote both the Akbarnama and the Ain-i-Akbari
13	(c) 1699	Khalsa Panth founded by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699
14	(b) Battle of Kannauj (Bilgram)	This 1540 defeat forced Humayun into exile
15	(b) Ahmad Shah Abdali	Defeated the Marathas at Third Panipat in 1761