History
Chapter 5
THROUGH THE EYES OF TRAVELLERS
Previous Year Questions
One mark
1. Which of the following statements is or are correct about Francois Burnier
1. A French Man adopter political philosopher and historian
2. He was closely associated with the Mughal court as a physician to Prince Dara
Shukoh
3. He was in India for 14 years from 1656 to 1670
4. He was also associated as an intellectual and scientist with the Danishmand Khan
and Armenian Noble at the Mughal court
A. 1,2,3,4. B.1,2,3. C. 1,2,4. D. 2,3,4
2. Al Biruni’s major work Kitab ul Hind is significant for its comprehensive study of
India. Which of the following was the primary aim of his work
A. Promote Islamic teaching. B. Map geographical locations
C. Critique culture and traditions. D. Document Indian culture
3. Throughout his extensive travels, Ibn Battuta was able to explore unfamiliar cultures
and societies. Which of the following competencies did he most likely develop ?
A. Leadership and judicial management.
B. B Cultural competencies and skills
C. Knowledge of Administration and army.
D. Scientific and technical expertise
4. Match the following
Foreign travellers Countries
a. Afanasi Nikitin I . Persia
b. Domingo Paes II. Russia
c. Abdur Razzak III. Portugal
d. Nicolo de Conti [Link]
A. III,IV,I,II. B. II,III,I,IV. C. I,II, IV,III. D. II, I, III,IV
5. Why did Ibn Battuta find the Indian agriculture very productive
A. Lack of pests and insects [Link] and experience the farmers
C. Year round rainfall and soil quality. D. Fertile soil and irrigation system
6. Arrange the following in chronological order and choose the correct option
I. Visit of Francois Bernier in India
II. Visit of Abdur Razzaq in India
III. Visit of Ibn Battuta in India
IV. Visit of Al Biruni in India
A. I,II,IV,III. B. II,I,III,IV. C. IV,III,II,I. D. III,IV,II,I
7. To whom among the following did Francois Bernier dedicate his writing “comparing
East and West”
A. Louis XIV. [Link]. IX. C. Louis IX. [Link] II
8. Match the following
A. Al Biruni i. Morocco
B. Marco Polo ii. uzbekistan
C. Ibn Battuta iii italy
D. Abdur Razzaq iv. Samarqand
A. i, ii,iii,iv. B. ii,iii,i,iv. C. iii,iv,i,ii. D. iv, i, ii, iii
9. According to Montesquieu how did the rollers in Asia manage their subjects choose
the most appropriate option from the following
A. By promoting private property. B. By ensuring economic equality
C. By exercising absolute authority. D. By decentralizing powers to leaders
10. Identify the medieval globe trotter with the help of the following information
● before he set off for India he made pilgrimage trips to Mecca before 1332 to
33 CE
● The Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq made him qazi or the judge of Delhi
A. Abdur Razzaq B. Al Biruni C. Ibn Battuta D. Seydi Ali Reis
11.These trees are among the most peculiar trees in kind and most astonishing in habit.
They look exactly like date palm without any difference between them except that the
one produces nut as its fruits and the other produces dates. which of the following
traveller gave his description
A. Ibn Battuta. B. Al Biruni. C. Duarte Barbosa. D. Megasthanese
12. Match the following
A. Afanasii Nikitin I. Spain
B. Duarte Barbosa [Link]
C. Antonio Monserrate III. Portugal
D. Seydi Ali Reis [Link]
A. I,III,II,IV. B. II,III,I,IV. [Link],III,I,II. D. III,IV,II,I
13. Assertion: Ibn Battuta found Indian agriculture very productive.
Reason: The soils were fertile which allowed the farmers to produce two crops a year
A. Both A and R is the correct and R is the correct explanation
B. Both A and R is the correct and R is not the correct explanation
C. A correct and R incorrect
D. A incorrect and R correct
3 mark
14. Analyse the observations, critical insights and reflections provided by Bernier while
he travelled in Mughal India.
8 mark
15.‘Ibn Battuta has written extensively about his experience in India’ explain the
statement with examples
Passage based questions
16. Read the following source carefully and answer the questions that follow:
A warning for Europe
Bernier warned that if European kings followed the Mughal model:
Their kingdoms would be very far from being well-cultivated and peopled,
so well built, so rich, so polite and flourishing as we see them. Our kings are
otherwise rich and powerful; and we must avow that they are much better and more
had They would soon be kings of of deserts and solitudes, of beggars and
barbarians, such as those are whom I have been representing. (the Mughals)
………We should find the great Cities and the great Burroughs (boroughs) rendered
uninhabitable because of ill air, and to fall to ruine (ruin) without anybodies (anybody)
taking care of repairing them; the hillocks abandon'd, and the fields overspread with
bushes, or fill'd with pestilential marishes (marshes), as hath been already intimated.
A. Mention any one prominent contribution of Bernier.(1)
B. How did Bernier describe the difference between European kingdom and the
Mughal territories?(1)
C. Explain Bernier's views on the socio-economic status of people under
Mughal rule.(2)
17.Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow:
A language with an enormous range
Al-Biruni described Sanskrit as follows:
If you want to conquer this difficulty (i.e. to learn Sanskrit), you will not find it easy,
because the language is of an enormous range, both in words and inflections,
something like the Arabic, calling one and the same thing by various names, both
original and derivative, and using one and the same word for a variety of subjects,
which, in order to be properly understood, must be distinguished from each other by
various qualifying epithets.
(A.) How did Al-Biruni's description of Sanskrit reflect his engagement with Indian
culture?(1)
(B.) What key similarity between Sanskrit and Arabic did Al-Biruni highlight?(1)
(C.) Why did Al-Biruni consider Sanskrit a rich language?(2)
(D) What motivated Al-Biruni to study Sanskrit(1)
(E) How did Al-Biruni’s observations about Sanskrit contribute to cross cultural
understanding(1)
(F) In what ways Al-Biruni compare Sanskrit to Arabic(2)
18.Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow:
A strange nation?
The travelogue of Abdur Razzaq written in the 1440s is an interesting mixture
of emotions and perceptions. On the one hand, he did not appreciate what he
saw in the port of Calicut (present-day Kozhikode) in Kerala, which was
populated by "a people the likes of whom I had never imagined", describing
them as "a strange nation"
Later in his visit to India, he arrived in Mangalore, and crossed the Western
Chats. Here he saw a temple that filled him with admiration: Within three
leagues (about nine miles) of Mangalore, I saw an idol-house the likes of which
is not to be found in all the world. It was a square, approximately ten yards a
side, five yards in height, all covered with cast bronze, with four porticos. In
the entrance portico was a statue in the likeness of a human being, full stature,
made of gold. It had two red rubies for eyes, so cunningly made that you would
say it could [Link] craft and artisanship!
(A) Why did Abdur Razzaq call India a 'strange nation'?
(B) How do emotions and perceptions reflect in this source?
(C) How did Abdur Razzaq describe the temples of the Western
19.
Map work
20.
