This Indian History quiz on Ancient Ports and Maritime Trade of India puts 10 multiple-choice questions to you, the verified MCQs published with GK24's note on the topic. Every question carries a full explanation of why the correct option is right and why the other options are wrong, so you learn the fact behind the answer rather than the letter. Attempt it right after reading the note, keep to the timer, and use the explanations at the end to mark what needs another look. Sit it again before the exam as a quick revision of the topic.
10 questions with answers and explanations
The Harappan site of Lothal, known for the earliest dockyard in the subcontinent, is located in which present day state?
Lothal lies in the Bhal region of Gujarat, near the head of the Gulf of Khambhat, and was excavated by S. R. Rao.
Read the full explanation →Barygaza, the busiest western port in Greek and Roman accounts of India, is identified with which modern town?
It drained the trade of the Satavahana and Kshatrapa lands through the Narmada and Tapti valleys and sent out cotton cloth, long pepper, spikenard and gems.
Read the full explanation →The ancient port of Muziris, the chief pepper market of the Indo-Roman trade, lay on the coast of which present day state?
Muziris, called Muchiri in Tamil sources, stood near Kodungallur on the Periyar, and the excavations at Pattanam in Ernakulam district have yielded Roman amphora sherds, glass beads and brick structures that fit its description in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
Read the full explanation →The site of Arikamedu, where Roman amphorae and rouletted ware were excavated, appears in the Periplus under which name?
Arikamedu, on the Ariyankuppam river near Puducherry, is identified with the Poduke of the Periplus and the Poduke emporion of Ptolemy.
Read the full explanation →The ancient port of Tamralipti, from which Fa-Hien sailed for Sri Lanka, is in which present day state?
Tamralipti is modern Tamluk in Purba Medinipur district, on the Rupnarayan river near its meeting with the Hooghly.
Read the full explanation →Which Greek pilot is credited with using the south west monsoon winds to sail directly across the Arabian Sea to India?
Around the middle of the first century of the Christian era this pilot is said to have worked out the rhythm of the south west monsoon, after which ships ran straight from the mouth of the Red Sea to the Malabar coast instead of hugging the shore, cutting the voyage…
Read the full explanation →Which Indian export was known in Tamil sources as yavanapriya, the favourite of the Yavanas?
The Sangam poems and later Sanskrit texts call pepper yavanapriya, literally dear to the Yavanas, the word used for the Greeks and Romans who crowded the Malabar ports for it.
Read the full explanation →Which Chola ruler sent the naval expedition against the Srivijaya empire of Sumatra in 1025 of the Christian era?
The correct answer is B, Rajendra I, the son of Rajaraja I, who in 1025 of the Christian era sent a Chola fleet across the Bay of Bengal against Srivijaya, the trading power that controlled the straits of Malacca and Sunda, and recorded the campaign in his inscriptions along with…
Read the full explanation →Korkai, the pearl fishery port of the Pandyas in the Sangam age, stood on which river?
Korkai lay near the mouth of the Tamraparni in the present Thoothukudi district, and it was the headquarters of the Pandya pearl fishery of the Gulf of Mannar, praised by the Periplus and by the Sangam poets; the sea has since receded and left the site inland.
Read the full explanation →The Bali Jatra fair, which recalls the ancient sea voyages of Indian merchants to Southeast Asia, is held in which state?
Bali Jatra, meaning the voyage to Bali, is held at Cuttack on the bank of the Mahanadi on Kartik Purnima, when people float small paper and banana bark boats in memory of the merchants of Kalinga who sailed to Bali, Java, Sumatra and Borneo; the same day is marked as…
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