Q20. Which Mughal emperor built the Sheesh Mahal in Agra Fort?
[2023 — SSC MTS 2022 cycle — held 9 May 2023, Shift 1]
(A) Shah Jahan
(B) Humayun
(C) Babur
(D) Akbar
Answer: (A) Shah Jahan
Explanation: Shah Jahan’s Sheesh Mahal is a celebrated mirrored chamber inside Agra Fort. Its ornamented surfaces reflect the artistic refinement and elaborate interior decoration associated with his reign.
Q19. Which Mughal ruler patronised Kavindra Acharya Saraswati of Banaras, a notable Sanskrit and Hindi scholar?
[2022 — UPPSC/UPPCS Preliminary GS-I — 12 June 2022]
(A) Shah Jahan
(B) Jahangir
(C) Akbar
(D) Humayun
Answer: (A) Shah Jahan
Explanation: Kavindra Acharya Saraswati was an influential Sanskrit intellectual supported by Shah Jahan. His scholarship and petitions illustrate interactions between learned Hindu communities and the imperial court.
Q18. Arrange these events of the Mughal succession struggle chronologically: 1. Battle of Deorai; 2. Defeat of Shuja near Banaras; 3. Battle of Samugarh; 4. Battle of Dharmat.
[2022 — UPPSC/UPPCS Preliminary GS-I — 12 June 2022]
(A) 1, 3, 4, 2
(B) 4, 2, 1, 3
(C) 2, 4, 3, 1
(D) 3, 4, 2, 1
Answer: (C) 2, 4, 3, 1
Explanation: Shuja’s defeat at Bahadurpur occurred in February 1658, Dharmat in April and Samugarh in May. Dara Shikoh was defeated again at Deorai in 1659.
Q17. Who arranged for the translation of the Upanishads into Persian under the Mughal Empire?
[2022 — WBCS (Executive) Preliminary — 2022]
(A) Babur
(B) Akbar
(C) Shah Jahan
(D) Dara Shikoh
Answer: (D) Dara Shikoh
Explanation: Dara Shikoh, Shah Jahan’s eldest son, sponsored a Persian translation of the Upanishads called Sirr-i-Akbar. His studies explored perceived philosophical connections between Hindu and Islamic mysticism.
Q16. Which statement about Shah Jahan’s Deccan policy is NOT correct?
[2021 — RPSC Assistant Professor, History Paper I — 24 September 2021]
(A) Ahmadnagar was absorbed into the Mughal Empire by 1633.
(B) Bijapur and Golconda accepted Mughal supremacy through treaties in 1636.
(C) Aurangzeb served as viceroy in the Deccan during Shah Jahan’s reign.
(D) Shah Jahan completely annexed Bijapur and Golconda in 1656.
Answer: (D) Shah Jahan completely annexed Bijapur and Golconda in 1656.
Explanation: Bijapur and Golconda were not completely annexed by Shah Jahan in 1656. The kingdoms survived his reign and were conquered by Aurangzeb in 1686 and 1687 respectively.
Q15. In 1653, which Mughal prince was assigned a campaign to recover Kandahar?
[2021 — RPSC Assistant Professor, History Paper I — 24 September 2021]
(A) Aurangzeb
(B) Murad Baksh
(C) Dara Shikoh
(D) Shah Shuja
Answer: (C) Dara Shikoh
Explanation: Shah Jahan entrusted Dara Shikoh with an expedition against Safavid-held Kandahar in 1653. The siege failed, continuing a series of expensive but unsuccessful Mughal attempts to recover it.
Q14. Who wrote Chahar Chaman, an account describing Mughal elite and courtly life during Shah Jahan’s reign?
[2021 — SSC CGL 2020 cycle — held 16 August 2021, Shift 2]
(A) Abul Fazl
(B) Chandra Bhan Brahman
(C) Gulbadan Begum
(D) Muhammad Waris
Answer: (B) Chandra Bhan Brahman
Explanation: Chandra Bhan Brahman was a Persian prose writer and secretary at the Mughal court. His Chahar Chaman provides valuable descriptions of Shah Jahan’s administration and court culture.
Q13. Which traveller–reign pair is NOT correctly matched?
[2021 — RRB NTPC CBT-I — 5 April 2021, Shift 2]
(A) John Jourdain — Shah Jahan
(B) Marco Polo — Pandya kingdom
(C) Abdur Razzaq — Deva Raya II
(D) Ralph Fitch — Akbar
Answer: (A) John Jourdain — Shah Jahan
Explanation: John Jourdain travelled in India during Jahangir’s reign, not Shah Jahan’s. The other pairs represent commonly cited historical associations between visitors and rulers or ruling dynasties.
Q12. François Bernier served as physician to which member of Shah Jahan’s family?
[2021 — UPSC CDS (I), General Knowledge — 7 February 2021]
(A) Prince Murad
(B) Princess Jahanara
(C) Emperor Shah Jahan
(D) Prince Dara Shikoh
Answer: (D) Prince Dara Shikoh
Explanation: François Bernier, the French physician and traveller, was associated with Prince Dara Shikoh. His writings offer observations on seventeenth-century Mughal society, wealth, politics and religious debates.
Q11. In which year was Delhi’s Jama Masjid completed under Shah Jahan?
[2021 — RRB NTPC CBT-I — 4 January 2021, Shift 2]
(A) 1652
(B) 1656
(C) 1655
(D) 1653
Answer: (B) 1656
Explanation: The construction of Shah Jahan’s Jama Masjid at Delhi concluded in 1656. The monumental mosque formed a focal point of religious life in his newly built capital, Shahjahanabad.
