CHAPTER-2

THE REGIONAL KINGDOMS OF EIGHTH CENTURY

Q1.Fill in the blanks.

1.The medieval period begins with the early eighth century.

2.The exact origin of the Rajput has been a matter of debate.

3.The region around Kanauj was ruled by Gahadavala rulers.

4. The word Rajput has been taken from the Sanskrit language.

5. The Chandellas ruled the land between Yamuna and Narmada rivers.

6The capital of Chandellas was Khajuraho.

7. Mahmud needed large army to make Ghazni the most powerful

kingdom.

8. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked India 17 times.

9. The Somnath temple in Gujarat was stripped of all its wealth

10. Mahmud of Ghazni decided to raid India to collect money to raise a

large army.

11. Mahmud carried away all the booty to his kingdom Ghazni.

12. Ghor was a small kingdom in present day Afghanistan.

13. The Rajputs belonging to sun family were called Suryavanshi.

14.Jaichandra was a ruler of Gahadavala dynasty.

15.Mahmud Ghazni captured Ghor and made its ruler his vassal.

16.After Mahmud’s death, the Ghazanavids became weak.

17.In 1175, Ghori attacked and conquered Multan.

18.Ghori,realized that Punjab could be a good base for future conquests.

19.The armies of Muhammad Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan clashed.

20. Muhammad Ghori was defeated in the First Battle of Tarain.

21.A subordinate chief was called vassal.

22.Muhammad Ghori defeated Raja Jaichandra in the Battle of

Chandwar.

23.From the strategic point of view, Kanauj was an important city in

north India.

24.Prithviraj Chauhan made no attempt to chase the Ghoris out of

Punjab after First Battle of Tarain.

25.Dharmapala encouraged trade with South east Asia.

Q2.Multiple choice question.

1.The founder of Pala dynasty was________________.

a)Gopala b)Devpala c)Dharmapala

2.The most powerful ruler of Gurjara Pratihara was_______-.

a)Mihir Bhoja b)Mahendrapala c)Devpala

3.The Tripartite struggle was between the________dynasties.

a)Two b)Three c)Four

4.The Palas were the followers of________.

a)Hinduism b)Jainism c)Buddhism

5)The Deccan region refers to the area located between ______ and
_____ rivers__.

a)Goadavari, Kaveri b)Mahanadi,Tapi

c)Narmada,Krishna

6Malked in Maharashtra was the capital of _______________.

a)Pala b)Rashtrakutas c)Gurjara-Pratiharas

7)In which battle Prithviraj was defeated by Muhammad Ghori____?

a)Battle of Buxar b)SecondBattle of Tarain c)Battle of

Chandwar

8)The land between two rivers is called______________.

a)Doab b)Dhar c)Delta

9)The Palas were succeeded by the rulers of the ___________ dynasty.

a)Mughals b)Sena c) Mauryan

10.The Gurjara-Pratiharas ruled over the certain parts of _____and___.

a)Rajasthan,Gujarat b)Harayana,Goa c)Punjab,Rajasthan

Q3.Write true or false.

1.Rajputra means the son of a king. True

2.Khajuraho has many beautiful temples built by the Chandellas..True

3.Mahmud of Ghazni attacked India 18 times. False

4.The Rashtrakutas were overthrown in the tenth century. True

5.Kirtivarman was the most able ruler of Gahadavalas dynasty. False

6.Muizzudin Muhammad is popularly known in history as Muhammad

Ghori .True

7.The Tripartite struggle lasted for over two centuries. True

8.Mahmud of Ghazni attacked India to establish his empire. False

9.Muhammad Ghori was the first Turk to invade India.False

10.Continuous wars weakened the Rashtrakutas.True

Q4.Match the following:

1.Battle of Chandwar 1194

2.Palas capital Pataliputra
3.Rashtrakutas Elephanta caves
4.First Battle of Tarain 1191
5.Gurjara Pratiharas capital Kanauj
Q5.Very short answer:

1. Name the place where Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori

clashed twice?

ANS. Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori clashed twice at Tarain.

2.Which Pala king along with his son expanded and strengthened the
kingdom?

ANS. King Gopala along with his son Dharampala expanded and
strengthened the kingdom.

3. Who was the founder of the Rashtrakuta dynasty ?

ANS. Dantidurga was the founder of the Rashtrakuta dynasty.

4. Name few powerful rulers of South?

ANS. Rulers like the Pallavas ,the Pandyas and the Cholas were
powerful rulers.

5. Which present day states were under the Palas?

ANS. The present day states Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal were
under the Palas.

6. Who raided Mathura and Kanauj in 1018?

ANS. Mahmud of Ghazni raided Mathura and Kanauj in 1018.

7. Rulers of which dynasty encouraged the growth of regional languags

?

ANS. The rulers of Rashtrakutas encouraged the growth of regional

languages.

8. Define the term : Tripartite struggle

ANS. A struggle in which three parties are involved .

9.Mahmud of Ghazni targeted which rulers in his early raids?

ANS. The early raids of Ghazni were targeted against the

Hindushahi rulers of Punjab.

10.Mihir Bhoj was succeeded by which ruler?

ANS. Mihir Bhoj was succeeded by his son Mahendrapala.

Q6.Short Answer questions.

1. Who was the most powerful ruler of the Chandella Dynasty?

ANS.(a) Kirtivarman was the most powerful ruler of the Chandella

Dynasty.(b)The chandellas ruled the land between the Yamuna and
Narmada rivers.

2. Who was Mahmud Ghazni? Why did he attack India?

ANS. Sultan Mahmud or Mahmud Ghazni

was the most powerful ruler of the Ghaznavids dynasty.

ii. When he came to know about the riches of India, he decided to

invade India.

3. Who were Chandellas?

ANS. The Chandellas ruled the land between the Yamuna and Narmada
rivers.
ii. Khajuraho was their capital.

iii. Kirtivarman was the most powerful ruler of the dynasty.

4. Which ruling dynasties were engaged in the Tripartite Struggle to

control Kannuaj?

ANS. The Palas, Gurjara-Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas were engaged in

the Tripartite Struggle to control Kannuaj.

5. How do you know that Rashtrakutas were patrons of art, architecture

and literature?

ANS. The Rashtrakutas were patrons of art, architecture and literature

because the famous Kailasha Temple at Ellora and the rock cut
Elephanta caves were carved during their reign.

6.What were the conditions during the reign of the Palas?

ANS.(a)There was great prosperity during the reign of the Pala king.(b)
They were followers of Buddhism, built stupas and gave money to
monasteries.

7. Who were Rashtrakutas ? What were their achievements.

ANS.a)The Rashtrakutas belonged to the Deccan area.b)Dantidurga

laid the foundation of Rashtrakutas .c)Dantidurga and Krishna1
consolidated the Rastrakutas rule in the region of present day
Maharashtra.
8.What do you know about Pala dynasty?

ANS.a)The Pala dynasty was founded by Gopala.b)Its capital was at

Pataliputra. c)Dharmapala was the son of Gopala who encouraged trade
with South east Asia.

9.Who were Gahadavalas?

ANS.a)The region around kanauj was ruled by Gahadavala rulers.b) The

Gahadavala king Jaichandra was defeated by Ghori in 1194.

10.Why do we say that continuous wars weakened the Rashtrakutas

considerably?

ANS. a) The Rashtrakutas fought against the Palas and the Gurjara
Pratiharas in the north.

b) Towards the south they clashed with the Pallavas, the Pandyas and
the Cholas.

c) Due to the continuous wars the Rashtrakutas were weakened

considerably.

Q6. LONG ANSWERS QUESTIONS:-

1. Mahmud Ghazni‘s attack was a great blow to many kingdoms of

India. Elaborate.

ANS. a) Mahmud of Ghazni attacked India 17 times between 1000AD to

1026AD.
b) He also attacked the rich temple-towns of India. He raided Mathura
and Kannuaj in 1018 and Somnath in 1026.

c) The Somnath temple in Gujarat was stripped of all its wealth. Even
the precious stones embedded on the temple walls were taken out.

d) Mahmud carried away all the booty to Ghazni, where he built

beautiful mosque, library and museum.

2. Why could Prithviraj Chauhan not defeat Muhammad Ghori in second

battle of Tarrain?

ANS. a) Muhammad Ghori was defeated in1191 in the First battle of

Tarain. Prithviraj, however, made no attempt to chase the Ghoris out of
Punjab.

b) Muhammad Ghori once again collected his men and raised an army.
The two armies met once again in 1192. This time, Muhammad’s army
was better prepared.

c) Prithviraj appealed to the neighbouring kings for help. Some Rajput

rulers came to his help.

d) The most powerful Rajput, however, stayed away. Prithviraj was

defeated and captured.

3. Write a short note on The Rajputs.

 ANS. a) The word ‘Rajput’ has been taken from the Sanskrit word
‘Rajputra ’meaning the son of a King.
b)Some believe that they were descendants of the central Asian
tribes settled in India after Huna invasion.
c)The Rajputs claimed to be descendants of Kshatriyas or warrior
class of Vedic times.
d)They claimed to be suryavanshi or Chandravanshi or part of
agnikula.

4.Why there was a tripartite struggle for Kanauj?

ANS.a)From the strategic point of view,Kanauj was an important city
in the North India.
b)Iys location was such that whoever held Kanauj could control the
resources of entire Ganga valley.
c)Since the eighth century the Palas,the Gurjara-Pratiharas and the
Rashtrakutas were engaged in a tripartite struggle to control Kanauj.
d)This lasted for over two centuries and weakened all the three
dynasties.

5. Who was the real founder of the Muslim empire in India. Give
reasons
ANSa) Muhammad Ghori is the regarded as the real founder of the
Muslim empire in India.

b) He did not feel content with merely defeating the Rajputs and
plundering their territories.

c)When he was away, he left it to his generals to complete his work of

conquests.In this way, he made his conquests more permanent.

d) Mahmud Ghazni was a great military ruler but he was interested only
in the wealth of India and not in founding an empire.