Which one of the following European travellers has NOT written an account of the Vijayanagara Empire?
- A.Niccolo de Conti
- B.Marco Polo
- C.Domingo Paes
- D.Fernao Nuniz
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Marco Polo. He travelled in the late thirteenth century, decades before the Vijayanagara Empire was founded in 1336, so he could not have described it.
Marco Polo of Venice reached the Pandya country of south India around 1292 on his way home from China, and his account describes the Coromandel coast and the trade of Kayal. The Vijayanagara kingdom was set up by Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama dynasty only in 1336. Several Europeans later left lively accounts of its capital, Hampi, describing its markets, festivals and the splendour of its rulers.
A is wrong because the Italian Niccolo de Conti visited Vijayanagara around 1420, in the reign of Devaraya I. C is wrong because the Portuguese Domingo Paes described the city in the time of Krishnadeva Raya. D is wrong because the Portuguese horse trader Fernao Nuniz wrote a chronicle of the empire's history in the reign of Achyuta Raya.
Exam tip: Vijayanagara visitors: Ibn Battuta and Nicolo de Conti (early), Abdur Razzaq (Persian, Devaraya II), Paes and Nuniz (Portuguese, 16th century).
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following is/are NOT historical biography/biographies?
1. Dipavamsa
2. Harshacharita
3. Vikramankadevacharita
4. Prithvirajavijaya
Select the correct answer from the code given below :
- A.1 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.2, 3 and 4 only
- D.1, 2, 3 and 4
Show answer
The Dipavamsa is a Pali chronicle of Sri Lanka, not the biography of a king, while the other three are historical biographies of rulers.
Read the full explanation →The place of English East India Company settlement in Madras was known as
- A.Fort William
- B.Fort St. George
- C.Elphinstone Circle
- D.Marble Palace
Show answer
The English East India Company built Fort St. George at Madras (Madraspatnam) in 1639 to 1644, and the city of Madras, now Chennai, grew around it.
Read the full explanation →During the Swadeshi movement, a National College was started in Calcutta under the principalship of
- A.Rabindranath Tagore
- B.Aurobindo Ghosh
- C.Rajani Kant Sen
- D.Syed Abu Mohammad
Show answer
When the Bengal National College was set up in Calcutta in 1906, Aurobindo Ghosh left his post in Baroda to become its first principal.
Read the full explanation →In the Manusmriti which form of marriage results from the "Voluntary union of a maiden and her lover"?
- A.Eighth form
- B.Fifth form
- C.Seventh form
- D.Sixth form
Show answer
The voluntary union of a maiden and her lover is the Gandharva marriage, which is the sixth of the eight forms listed in the Manusmriti.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements is not true about Ijarah system ?
- A.It was a system of revenue farming.
- B.It encouraged the role of middlemen.
- C.Under this system, land revenue was fixed for the peasant.
- D.The ijaradar paid a fixed amount to the State treasury.
Show answer
Under ijarah only the ijaradar's payment to the state was fixed; what he collected from the peasant was not, so the peasant faced rising and arbitrary demands.
Read the full explanation →