Civil Services (Prelims) Examination Special
Quick Revision Notes

History

Dadu: was the saint from Gujarat who preached non-sectarianism in medieval times. He founded the “Brahma- Sampardaaya” (the sect of Brahma).

Dahar (or Dahir): was the Brahmana king of Sind who was defeated by the Arab invasion in A.D. 712 by Mohammadbin- Kasim, nephew and son-inlaw of al-Hajjaj, governor of Irak. The Indian ruler (Dahar) offered a brave resistance in the battle near Raor but was defeated and killed.

Darius: was the Iranian ruler who penetrated into north-west India in 516 B.C. and annexed Punjab, west of Indus, and Sindh.

Devapala: (A.D. 830-850) was successor to Dharmapala, the famous Pala ruler. He established the third important Pala university of Somapura. He shifted his capital to Monghyr from where he maintained diplomatic relations with the Sailendra kings of Sumatra.

Dhammapada: was the first major work to say that salvation by means of devotion is open to humans regardless of birth, gender or station in life.

Dharmachakra: In the Gandhara art, it is the preaching mudra associated with the Buddha’s First Sermon at Sarnath. First Congress Split: took place in 1907 at Surat.

First metal used by man: Copper.

First Muslim invaders of India: Arabs were the first Muslim invaders of India.

First Sultan of Delhi: was Qutb-ud-din who succeeded Muhammad Ghuri as sovereign of the new Indian conquests, and from 1206 may be reckoned as the first Sultan of Delhi.

First to issue gold coins in India: Mauryas.

First to set up department of agriculture: Muhammad-bin- Tughlaq was the first to set up a department of agriculture in India.

First to start sea trade with India: Portugal.

Gautamiputra Satakarni: was the great king of Satavahana dynasty.

Gayatri mantra: is contained in Rig Veda.

Gopuram: It has been the main feature of the South Indian temple architecture.

Hasan Gangoo: entitled Zafar Khan was founder of the Bahmani kingdom in Deccan.

Ibadat Khana: is a building at Fatehpur Sikri where Akbar held discussions on religious matters.

Ibn-Batuta: was a great scholar and traveller from South Africa who came to India in A.D. 1333 during the reign of Mohammad Tughlak and wrote about him.

Iqta: It was the land-grant system adopted by Ala-ud-din Khilji to grant his officers as reward for services rendered. Qutabuddin Aibak was assigned the first iqta in India by Mohd of Ghor.

Jimutavahana: was a famous jurist of medieval India (fifteenth century). His work Dayabhaga is a commentary on the srutis, specially on Manu.

Kalachuri era: counted from A.D. 248, it was mostly current in Central India. Their capital was Tripuri near Jabalpur. Kalachuris were the feudatories of the Pratiharas but soon acquired independence.

Karshapana: was the most commonly used coin in the Chola kingdom.

Khiraj: was the land tax imposed by Mohd-bin-Qasim after the Arabs’ occupation of Sind.

Magazines started by National leaders: Young India (M.K. Gandhi); Kesari (B.G. Tilak); New India (Annie Besant); Bengali (S.N. Bannerji).

Maski Rock edict: This minor Rock-edict is the only edict in which Ashoka refers to himself as the king of Magadha.

Moplah Rebellion: broke out in Malabar (Kerala) in August 1921.

Nastaliq: was a Persian script used in medieval India.

Nauroj festival in India: Balban introduced the famous Persian festival of Nauroj in India.

Nicolo Conti: was the Italian foreign traveller who visited Vijayanagar about A.D. 1420 during the reign of Deva Raya-II.

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