Which one of the following was an important Pandya port, celebrated for its pearls in Sangam poems and Greek accounts?
- A.Muchiri
- B.Korkai
- C.Puhar
- D.Arikamedu
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Korkai. Korkai, near the mouth of the Tamraparni river in the present Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, was the chief port of the early Pandyas. It stood on the Gulf of Mannar, famous for its pearl beds, and Sangam poems praise its pearl fisheries. Greek and Roman writers knew it too: the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and Ptolemy mention it as Kolchoi, a centre of pearl diving worked by convicts. The Pandya capital was Madurai, inland, and Korkai was its window on the sea trade. Option A is wrong because Muchiri, the Muziris of the Romans, was the main port of the Cheras on the Malabar coast, known for pepper. Option C is wrong because Puhar, or Kaveripattinam, at the mouth of the Kaveri, was the great port of the Cholas. Option D is wrong because Arikamedu near Puducherry is an excavated Indo-Roman trading site, not a Pandya port. Exam tip: Korkai for the Pandyas, Muziris for the Cheras, Puhar for the Cholas.
Practice Questions
View allConsider the following pairs : Inventions — Inventors I. Flying shuttle loom — John Kay II. Water frame — James Hargreaves III. Spinning jenny — Richard Arkwright How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
- A.One
- B.Two
- C.All the three
- D.None
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Only the first pair is right: John Kay invented the flying shuttle.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following was the founder of the Avadh Kingdom in the 18th century?
- A.Murshid Quli Khan
- B.Saadat Khan
- C.Alivardi Khan
- D.Sarfaraz Khan
Show answer
Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk was appointed governor of Avadh by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah in 1722 and made it a virtually independent state.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following crops was introduced by the Portuguese in India?
- A.Opium
- B.Coffee
- C.Betel leaf
- D.Chilli
Show answer
Chilli is native to the Americas and reached India through the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, after their voyages linked the New World with Asia.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements about the Ain-i-Akbari is not correct ?
- A.It was written by Abu'l Fazl.
- B.It is a part of a larger work called Akbar Nama.
- C.It describes the Mughal Empire as having a diverse population and a composite culture.
- D.It was later revised by Sadullah Khan on the orders of Shah Jahan.
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No such revision took place; the Ain-i-Akbari remained Abu'l Fazl's own work, completed in Akbar's reign. Abu'l Fazl, a leading noble and close friend of Akbar, wrote the Akbar Nama in three volumes.
Read the full explanation →At which among the following Harappan sites are fire altars found?
- A.Kalibangan
- B.Harappa
- C.Mohenjo-daro
- D.Rakhi Garhi
Show answer
Excavations at Kalibangan in Rajasthan found a row of fire altars, the clearest evidence of a fire ritual in the Harappan civilisation.
Read the full explanation →