Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
Option (b) is correct — Malik Ambar (c. 1550–1626), an Abyssinian-origin administrator in the Nizam Shahi court of Ahmednagar, reformed the existing Jagirdari system by fixing revenue rates, curbing jagirdar autonomy and strengthening central authority, transforming Ahmednagar into a power capable of resisting the Mughals. Option (a) is wrong because he did not introduce the system (it predated him in the Bahmani Sultanate) and was Abyssinian, not Turkish. Option (c) reverses reality — he opposed and repeatedly resisted Jahangir's Deccan campaigns rather than allying with him. Option (d) is a geographical mismatch — he served Ahmednagar (Nizam Shahi), the rival of Bijapur (Adil Shahi), not Bijapur.
Option (c) is the incorrect match — Muhammad III was a capable late-15th-century ruler, but the Bahmani Sultanate's greatest territorial extent came earlier under Muhammad I and Ahmad I; his reign was one of consolidation, not maximum expansion. Option (a) is correct: Muhammad I (Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah, r. 1347–1358) founded the sultanate with Gulbarga (modern Kalaburagi) as capital. Option (b) is correct: Ahmad I (r. 1422–1436) strengthened the administration and the Taraf system of provincial governance. Option (d) is sound: Ibrahim Adil Shah II championed Indo-Islamic culture, though the Gol Gumbaz itself was built by his successor Muhammad Adil Shah.
- The Bahmani Sultanate and Deccan Sultanates served as major centres of Indo-Islamic cultural synthesis, blending Persian, Arabic, and Indian artistic traditions.
- The Deccan Sultanates controlled the diamond and spice trade routes, particularly through Golconda, making them economically powerful independent traders in competition with European merchants.
- The Persian language and Deccani Urdu emerged as court languages and literary mediums in the Bahmani and Deccan Sultanate courts, contributing to the development of Urdu literature.
All three statements are correct. The Bahmani and Deccan courts were vibrant centres of Indo-Islamic synthesis, blending Persian, Arabic and Indian artistic traditions visible in architecture and miniature painting (Statement 1). Golconda's world-famous diamond mines and the sultanates' strategic position gave them strong control of the diamond and spice trade, keeping them powerful independent traders before European dominance intensified (Statement 2). Persian served as the court language while Deccani Urdu emerged as a distinct literary medium, patronised by rulers like Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, making the Deccan a cradle of early Urdu literature (Statement 3).
Reason (R): The Afaqi nobles, favoured by the sultans due to their Persian administrative expertise, monopolised high offices and marginalised the local Deccani nobility, creating deep resentment and instability.
Both A and R are correct, and R correctly explains A. The Deccani–Afaqi factional struggle is widely recognised by historians as a primary destabilising force that weakened central authority and led to the Bahmani Sultanate's fragmentation in the late 15th century. The Afaqi (Persian immigrant) nobles, favoured for their administrative literacy, monopolised high offices and marginalised the local Deccani nobility, breeding deep resentment. As regional governors gained autonomy, the resentful Deccani nobles increasingly sought local power bases — directly linking the factional conflict to the eventual break-up.
- The Vijayanagara Empire and the Bahmani Sultanate engaged in continuous military conflict over control of the Krishna-Godavari doab and the Deccan plateau.
- The Vijayanagara rulers actively supported the Deccan Sultanates against Mughal expansion in the north.
- The Battle of Talikota (1565) marked the beginning of Vijayanagara's decline as a major South Indian power, though the empire persisted for several more decades.
Statements 1 and 3 are correct; Statement 2 is wrong. Vijayanagara and the Bahmani Sultanate were persistent rivals who fought repeatedly over the fertile Krishna-Godavari doab (Statement 1). Statement 2 reverses reality — Vijayanagara and the Deccan Sultanates were adversaries, not allies, and Vijayanagara had no interest in supporting them against the Mughals. The Battle of Talikota (1565) was the turning point that began Vijayanagara's decline, though the empire persisted in weakened form for several more decades (Statement 3).
