In this guide
Medieval India gives CDS three kinds of easy-looking questions: "which ruler introduced which reform", "which battle in which year between whom", and "which saint is linked to which region or text". All three are matching questions in disguise, so the way to prepare is to learn the material in pairs and keep the pairs apart.
Before the Sultanate
Between the 8th and 10th centuries, three powers fought for Kannauj: the Palas of Bengal, the Gurjara-Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas. This is the "tripartite struggle". The Pala king Dharmapala founded Vikramashila university.
From the north-west came raids and then conquest.
- Mahmud of Ghazni raided India repeatedly between c. 1000 and 1027, including Somnath (1025). The scholar Al-Biruni came with him and wrote Kitab-ul-Hind.
- Muhammad Ghori lost the First Battle of Tarain (1191) to Prithviraj Chauhan and won the Second (1192).
The Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526)
| Dynasty | Ruler | Remember it for |
|---|---|---|
| Mamluk (Slave), 1206–1290 | Qutb-ud-din Aibak | Began the Qutb Minar and the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque |
| Iltutmish | Completed the Qutb Minar; silver tanka and copper jital; iqta system | |
| Razia Sultan | The only woman to rule from the Delhi throne | |
| Balban | Strict court ceremony (sijda, paibos); crushed the nobles' group of "the Forty" | |
| Khalji, 1290–1320 | Alauddin Khalji | Market price control; branding of horses (dagh) and descriptive rolls of soldiers (chehra); Alai Darwaza; resisted Mongols; Malik Kafur's southern campaigns |
| Tughlaq, 1320–1414 | Muhammad bin Tughlaq | Shifted the capital to Daulatabad; token currency in copper/brass; the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta served at his court |
| Firoz Shah Tughlaq | Canals; new towns such as Hisar; moved two Ashokan pillars to Delhi | |
| Sayyid, 1414–1451 | Khizr Khan | Founded after Timur's invasion (1398) weakened Delhi |
| Lodi, 1451–1526 | Sikandar Lodi | Founded Agra (1504) |
| Ibrahim Lodi | Defeated and killed at Panipat (1526) |
Vijayanagara and the Bahmanis
Vijayanagara was founded in 1336 by Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama dynasty, with its capital at Hampi on the Tungabhadra. It peaked under Krishnadeva Raya (Tuluva dynasty), who wrote the Telugu work Amuktamalyada and patronised the poets known as the Ashtadiggajas. The empire declined after the Battle of Talikota (1565) against the combined Deccan sultanates.
Foreign visitors left accounts of the city: Niccolò de' Conti (Italian), Abdur Razzaq (Persian), and Domingo Paes and Fernão Nunes (Portuguese).
The Bahmani kingdom was founded in 1347 by Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah, with its capital first at Gulbarga and later at Bidar. Its minister Mahmud Gawan built a madrasa at Bidar. It broke into five sultanates: Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmednagar, Berar and Bidar. Bijapur's Gol Gumbaz is its best-known monument.
Bhakti and Sufi saints
| Saint | Region or order | Remember for |
|---|---|---|
| Ramanuja | Tamil region | Vishishtadvaita philosophy |
| Kabir | Varanasi | Dohas; rejected ritual of all religions |
| Guru Nanak | Punjab | Founder of Sikhism; born 1469 at Talwandi |
| Chaitanya | Bengal | Krishna bhakti; kirtan |
| Mirabai | Rajasthan | Devotion to Krishna |
| Tulsidas | Awadh | Ramcharitmanas (Awadhi) |
| Surdas | Braj | Sursagar |
| Dnyaneshwar | Maharashtra | Dnyaneshwari, a Marathi commentary on the Gita |
| Namdev, Tukaram | Maharashtra | Varkari tradition; abhangs |
| Shankaradeva | Assam | Ekasarana dharma; sattras and namghars |
Sufi orders are asked less often but predictably.
| Order | Saint and centre |
|---|---|
| Chishti | Moinuddin Chishti (Ajmer); Nizamuddin Auliya (Delhi), whose disciple was the poet Amir Khusrau; Salim Chishti (Fatehpur Sikri) |
| Suhrawardi | Bahauddin Zakariya (Multan) |
| Naqshbandi | Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, a critic of Akbar's religious policy |
The Mughals (1526–1857)
| Ruler | Key points |
|---|---|
| Babur (1526–30) | Won Panipat I; wrote his memoirs, the Baburnama, in Turki |
| Humayun (1530–40, 1555–56) | Lost to Sher Shah; regained Delhi in 1555; his sister Gulbadan Begum wrote the Humayun-nama |
| Sher Shah Suri (1540–45, not a Mughal) | Silver rupiya; rebuilt the road from Bengal to the north-west (the later Grand Trunk Road); land measured for revenue; tomb at Sasaram |
| Akbar (1556–1605) | Mansabdari system; abolished jizya (1564); Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri; Din-i-Ilahi (1582); Todar Mal's revenue system; Abul Fazl wrote the Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari; Buland Darwaza |
| Jahangir (1605–27) | "Chain of justice"; Sir Thomas Roe visited his court (1615); painting flourished; Nur Jahan |
| Shah Jahan (1628–58) | Taj Mahal; Red Fort and Jama Masjid in Delhi; Peacock Throne |
| Aurangzeb (1658–1707) | Reimposed jizya (1679); long Deccan wars; empire at its greatest extent |
After Aurangzeb, the empire weakened. Nadir Shah of Persia sacked Delhi in 1739 and took the Peacock Throne.
Battles in order
| Year | Battle | Between | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1191 | Tarain I | Prithviraj Chauhan v. Muhammad Ghori | Prithviraj won |
| 1192 | Tarain II | Same | Ghori won |
| 1526 | Panipat I | Babur v. Ibrahim Lodi | Mughal rule began |
| 1527 | Khanwa | Babur v. Rana Sanga | Babur won |
| 1539, 1540 | Chausa; Kannauj | Sher Shah v. Humayun | Humayun driven out |
| 1556 | Panipat II | Akbar (Bairam Khan) v. Hemu | Akbar secured Delhi |
| 1565 | Talikota | Deccan sultanates v. Vijayanagara | Vijayanagara declined |
| 1576 | Haldighati | Mughal army under Man Singh v. Maharana Pratap | Mughals held the field; Pratap resisted |
| 1761 | Panipat III | Marathas v. Ahmad Shah Abdali | Marathas defeated |
Sikh Gurus and the Marathas
- Guru Arjan Dev compiled the Adi Granth (1604) and was executed under Jahangir (1606).
- Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed under Aurangzeb (1675).
- Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa in 1699.
Shivaji was born at Shivneri (1630) and crowned at Raigad in 1674. He signed the Treaty of Purandar (1665) with the Mughal general Jai Singh. His council of eight ministers was the Ashtapradhan, and he collected chauth and sardeshmukhi. After him, the Peshwas (Balaji Vishwanath, Baji Rao I, Balaji Baji Rao) expanded Maratha power until the defeat at Panipat in 1761.
Common confusions
- Qutb Minar: begun by Aibak, completed by Iltutmish (and repaired later by Firoz Shah).
- Grand Trunk Road: the route is older; Sher Shah rebuilt and improved it with sarais.
- Ibn Battuta vs Al-Biruni: Ibn Battuta (Moroccan) came under Muhammad bin Tughlaq; Al-Biruni came with Mahmud of Ghazni.
- Talikota vs Tarain: Talikota (1565) is in the Deccan; Tarain (1191–92) is near Thanesar in Haryana.
Practice MCQs
- Who completed the Qutb Minar? (a) Aibak (b) Alauddin Khalji (c) Balban (d) Iltutmish
- Market price control is associated with (a) Alauddin Khalji (b) Balban (c) Muhammad bin Tughlaq (d) Sikandar Lodi
- Ibn Battuta visited India during the reign of (a) Iltutmish (b) Alauddin Khalji (c) Muhammad bin Tughlaq (d) Firoz Shah Tughlaq
- Vijayanagara was founded in (a) 1206 (b) 1336 (c) 1347 (d) 1565
- Amuktamalyada was written by (a) Harihara (b) Mahmud Gawan (c) Tulsidas (d) Krishnadeva Raya
- Who was a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya? (a) Kabir (b) Amir Khusrau (c) Abul Fazl (d) Salim Chishti
- The Battle of Khanwa (1527) was fought between Babur and (a) Rana Sanga (b) Hemu (c) Ibrahim Lodi (d) Sher Shah
- Who introduced the silver rupiya? (a) Akbar (b) Alauddin Khalji (c) Sher Shah Suri (d) Iltutmish
- The Khalsa was founded in (a) 1604 (b) 1675 (c) 1699 (d) 1707
- Shivaji's coronation took place at (a) Shivneri (b) Pune (c) Purandar (d) Raigad
Answers:
- (d) Aibak began it; Iltutmish completed it.
- (a) Alauddin fixed prices and set up market officials.
- (c) Ibn Battuta served as a qazi under Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
- (b) 1336; 1347 is the Bahmani kingdom.
- (d) Krishnadeva Raya wrote it in Telugu.
- (b) Amir Khusrau was his disciple.
- (a) Rana Sanga of Mewar.
- (c) Sher Shah's rupiya became the base of later coinage.
- (c) By Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.
- (d) At Raigad, 1674; Shivneri is his birthplace.
Revise this
Before this period comes ancient India; after it, modern India.
- I can list the five Sultanate dynasties in order with dates.
- I can separate Alauddin's reforms from Muhammad bin Tughlaq's experiments.
- I can write the battle table from Tarain to Panipat III with years.
- I can match ten Bhakti saints to their region or text.
- I know three Sufi orders and their centres.
- I can give one policy and one building for each great Mughal.
- I know Shivaji's key dates and the terms Ashtapradhan, chauth and sardeshmukhi.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Union Public Service Commission website .
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