My Kingdom for Three Clues Trivia Quiz

Answer: Maratha Empire

The Maratha Empire was founded by Shivaji Bhosle, later crowned Chhatrapati Shivaji. Originating on the Deccan Plateau in western India in the 17th century, it soon spread to cover almost the entire mainland of the modern Indian nation. The Marathas also developed a strong navy which helped them maintain control of the western coast of India. Like most other kingdoms in India, the Maratha Empire was eventually defeated by the East India Company.

The Sindhudurg Fort was built off the coast near Raigad. It is only accessible at low tide.

Answer: Sikh Empire

The Sikh Empire was founded by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and lasted from 1799 to 1849 before it was taken over by the British. Though known as the Sikh Empire, it was a secular kingdom and had subjects that practiced all the major faiths of the subcontinent.

It was founded on the principles of Khalsa, a warrior tradition of Sikhs founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs. The empire managed to gain strongholds in the northwestern part of the subcontinent after the Mughal empire declined and weakened.

The Battle of Attock was the first major victory for the Sikh Empire. It was fought against the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan.

Answer: Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire was the last pan-Indian ruling dynasty before the subcontinent passed into the hands of the British. The foundations of the empire were laid when Babur defeated the Lodi dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526. Babur's grandson Akbar was one of the best known Mughal Emperors and given the sobriquet of Akbar the Great. Akbar moved the capital of his kingdom to Fatehpur Sikri, a specially created city located near modern day Agra. Akbar also created a new religion called Din-i-Ilahi which combined elements from all the existing religions of Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity.

His aim in creating this was to reduce religious conflicts among his subjects; however, it did not catch on and vanished a few years after Akbar's death.

Answer: Pallava Empire

The Pallava Empire reigned from 275 AD to 897 AD in the southern part of India. South Indian temple art has its origins in the architectural work of this dynasty. One of the best known examples is the Shore Temple which still stands in Mahabalipuram, a small coastal town in south India. It is now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Pallavas are also credited with developing a Brahmi script known as the Pallava alphabet. Various Asian languages like Javanese, Khmer and Lao can trace their roots in some form to this script.

Accounts of this kingdom are found in narratives of Chinese travellers like Hieun Tsang. The Pallava Empire extended in power and might during the reign of Mahendravarman I and his son, Narasimhavarman I who took on the other northern kingdoms of Badami and Chola.

Answer: Mewar Dynasty

The Mewar dynasty was one of many Rajput clans reigning over the area that now makes up the Indian state of Rajasthan. The entire area was known as the princely state of Rajputana during the British colonial rule. Maharana Pratap Singh was one of the best known rulers of this kingdom.

His reign during the 16th century coincided with that of the Mughal Emperor, Akbar who was at the time conquering vast swathes of India. The Mughals had already captured the fort of Chittorgarh during the reign of Pratap Singh's father.

This had considerably weakened the defences of the Mewar kingdom. The Battle of Haldighati was fought on 18 June 1576 between the Mughals and Maharana Pratap, with the former scoring a strong victory. Though the Mewar army suffered numerous casualties, the Maharana managed to escape. Later when the Mughals were occupied in suppressing rebellions in other territories, Pratap Singh managed to win back other key locations that had been wrested by the Mughals.

The Maharana perished during battle a few years later and the kingdom of Mewar was consistently plundered by other neighbouring kingdoms before finally taking shelter under the British colonial rule.

Answer: Delhi Sultanate

The Delhi Sultanate refers to the reign of five successive Muslim dynasties from the capital of Delhi and lasted over three centuries. It began with the Mamluk dynasty which was established in 1206 and ended in 1526 when the Lodi dynasty was vanquished by the Mughals. The construction of the Qutub Minar, a minaret dedicated to a Sufi saint and now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was commissioned by Qutb Ud-din-Aibak, the founder of the Mamluk dynasty and thus the Delhi Sultanate.

Razia Sultana is famous as the only female ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. She was the daughter of Iltumish, originally a slave to Qutb Ud-din-Aibak who later rose through the ranks to become the third emperor of the Delhi Sultanate.

The First Battle of Panipat was fought between the Lodi dynasty and the Mughals led by Babur on 21 April 1526. The Mughals won the battle marking the beginning of their reign over India.

Answer: Maurya Empire

Of all the ancient kingdoms that ruled over India at one time or another, the Maurya Empire was among the largest. It is often described as one of the largest empires existing in the world at the time. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BC and lasted until 180 BC. The ancient city of Pataliputra was the capital of the Mauryan Empire. It was also noted for being one of the only kingdoms to withstand attempts by Alexander the Great and his army to conquer it.

The empire reached its peak under the reign of Asoka, the grandson of Chandragupta. Asoka was also responsible for the spread of Buddhism on the Indian subcontinent. After witnessing the widespread carnage during the Battle of Kalinga, Asoka underwent a change of heart and adopted Buddhism and a more non violent path.

Chanakya was a philosopher and royal adviser during the reign of Chandragupta. He is considered to be the author of the "Arthashastra" an ancient political treatise.

Answer: Ahom Kingdom

The Ahom Kingdom lasted for around six centuries and is notable for being among the few that did not succumb to the Mughal expansion. Located in the Brahmaputra valley of present day Assam, the kingdom comprised of people from various ethnic backgrounds despite being named after the Ahom people.

The kingdom was established by Sukaphaa in 1228, though it expanded greatly under the rule of Suhungmung in the 16th century. The kingdom was weakened by the Moamoria rebellion which lasted for almost the entire second half of the 18th century and ultimately fell to the Burmese.

After the Anglo-Burma war, the kingdom passed to the East India Company which had by then made significant inroads on the Indian subcontinent.

Answer: Gupta Empire

The reign of the Gupta dynasty is often referred to as the "Golden Age of India" due to the scientific and cultural advances made during this period. Though it was founded by Sri Gupta, the empire came into prominence under Chandragupta I in 320 AD. After him, his son Samudragupta ascended the throne. During this time, the kingdom is believed to have extended from the Himalayas in the north to the river Krishna in the south and from the Brahmaputra river in the east to present day Afghanistan in the west.

The Gupta dynasty ruled for a little over two centuries and ushered in a period of economic stability and advancement in both the arts and sciences. Aryabhatta, the Indian mathematician credited with developing the concept of zero, lived and worked in the Gupta Empire. Other notable achievements are the establishment of the Nalanda University, one of the earliest known educational institutions, advances in ayurveda, a branch of medicine and the publishing of epic literary works like "Shakuntala" and "Kama Sutra". Later kings were unable to match the statecraft of their ancestors and the kingdom soon fell to invasion by other tribes.

Answer: Eastern Ganga Empire

The Eastern Ganga dynasty is also known as the Chodaganga dynasty. As can be deduced from the name, it covered regions to the east of this important river which included parts of the present day states of Orissa and West Bengal. The dynasty was founded by King Anantavarman in 1078 AD and reigned till 1434 AD. One of the most notable works of this dynasty is the building of the Konark Sun Temple, a modern day UNESCO World Heritage site.

The temple is built in the form of a chariot and is dedicated to the Hindu sun god, Surya.

This dynasty also built the famous Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa.