60+ Important Tughlaq Dynasty MCQs with Answers for CSS, PMS & Competitive Exams
1. The Tughlaq Dynasty was founded by _____.
Correct Answer: A. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (Ghazi Malik)
Explanation: Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, formerly known as Ghazi Malik (a military commander under the Khalji dynasty), founded the Tughlaq Dynasty in 1320 AD after defeating Khusraw Khan (who had killed the last Khalji ruler).
2. The Tughlaq Dynasty ruled Delhi from _____.
Correct Answer: B. 1320–1414
Explanation: The Tughlaq Dynasty ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1320 to 1414 AD, a period of about 94 years, making it one of the longest-ruling dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate.
3. Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s original name was _____.
Correct Answer: B. Jauna Khan (Prince Jauna)
Explanation: Muhammad bin Tughlaq was born as Jauna Khan, son of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq. He became sultan in 1325 AD and took the regnal name Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
4. Muhammad bin Tughlaq is famous for transferring the capital from Delhi to _____.
Correct Answer: C. Daulatabad (Devagiri) in the Deccan
Explanation: Muhammad bin Tughlaq ordered the transfer of the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (renamed from Devagiri) in the Deccan in 1327 AD. The forced migration of Delhi’s population caused immense suffering and he had to reverse the decision.
5. The city of Tughlaqabad was built by _____.
Correct Answer: A. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
Explanation: Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq built the fortress city of Tughlaqabad in Delhi as his capital. It was the third city of Delhi (after Qutb/Mehrauli and Siri). The massive Tughlaqabad Fort still stands as ruins in South Delhi.
6. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq died in a _____.
Correct Answer: B. Suspected collapse of a wooden pavilion (possibly arranged by his son)
Explanation: Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq died in 1325 AD when a wooden pavilion at Afghanpur (built by his son Jauna Khan/Muhammad bin Tughlaq to welcome him from a Bengal campaign) collapsed on him. Many historians suspect this was arranged by his ambitious son.
7. Muhammad bin Tughlaq introduced token currency. His experiment failed because _____.
Correct Answer: B. There were no safeguards against counterfeiting – people minted fake coins at home
Explanation: Muhammad bin Tughlaq issued copper/brass token coins to replace gold and silver ones (to conserve precious metals). However, without proper safeguards, people counterfeited the coins massively, rendering them worthless. He had to withdraw them, at enormous loss to the treasury.
8. The famous traveler Ibn Battuta visited India during the reign of _____.
Correct Answer: B. Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Explanation: Ibn Battuta, the famous Moroccan traveler, visited Delhi in 1334 AD during Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign and served as his chief qadi (judge). He wrote detailed accounts of the sultan’s personality and India in his travelogue “Rihla.”
9. The Firuz Shah Kotla (Firozabad) in Delhi was built by _____.
Correct Answer: C. Firuz Shah Tughlaq
Explanation: Firuz Shah Tughlaq built Firozabad (Firuz Shah Kotla) on the banks of the Yamuna River as his new capital city, the fifth city of Delhi. The complex included a mosque, palace, and an Ashokan pillar brought from Ambala.
10. Firuz Shah Tughlaq is known for building many canals. The most famous was the canal from the Yamuna to _____.
Correct Answer: C. Hissar (the Rajwah canal)
Explanation: Firuz Shah Tughlaq built five major canals to bring water to agricultural land, the most famous being the canal from the Yamuna to Hissar (a distance of about 150 miles), still considered one of the greatest engineering achievements of the medieval period.
11. Muhammad bin Tughlaq proposed an ill-fated expedition to conquer _____.
Correct Answer: B. Khurasan and Qaraqorum (Central Asia)
Explanation: Muhammad bin Tughlaq raised a large army of about 370,000 for an expedition to conquer Khurasan and possibly even overthrow the Mongol Ilkhan. The campaign was abandoned without fighting, but the army had to be maintained and paid, putting a severe strain on the treasury.
12. The forced transfer of the population of Delhi to Daulatabad under Muhammad bin Tughlaq caused _____.
Correct Answer: C. Immense suffering, deaths, and eventual revolt leading to reversal of the decision
Explanation: The forced march of Delhi’s entire population to Daulatabad (over 1,000 miles) caused enormous suffering – many died on the way. Within 2 years, Muhammad bin Tughlaq reversed the order, and people walked back to find Delhi deserted and ruined.
13. The Tughlaq dynasty is part of which broader group of dynasties that ruled India?
Correct Answer: B. Delhi Sultanate
Explanation: The Tughlaq dynasty was one of the five dynasties (Slave, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodhi) that together make up the Delhi Sultanate, which ruled north India from 1206 to 1526 AD.
14. Ibn Battuta served Muhammad bin Tughlaq as _____.
Correct Answer: C. Chief Qadi (judge) of Delhi
Explanation: Muhammad bin Tughlaq appointed Ibn Battuta as the chief qadi (judge) of Delhi, a prestigious position. The Moroccan traveler served in this capacity for several years before being sent as an ambassador to China.
15. Firuz Shah Tughlaq is remembered as a builder and welfare ruler, having built _____ cities, _____ caravanserais, and _____ canals.
Correct Answer: B. 300 cities and towns, 200 caravanserais, 5 major canals
Explanation: Firuz Shah Tughlaq’s autobiographical account “Futuhat-i-Firuz Shahi” claims he built 300 cities/towns, 200+ caravanserais (rest houses for travelers), 5 major canals, 40 mosques, 30 colleges, 100 hospitals, and other public works – making him one of the most prolific builders of the Delhi Sultanate.
16. Which Tughlaq ruler moved two Ashokan pillars to Delhi?
Correct Answer: C. Firuz Shah Tughlaq
Explanation: Firuz Shah Tughlaq (r. 1351–1388) transported two of Ashoka’s 3rd-century BC inscribed stone pillars (originally from Topra, Haryana, and Meerut) to Delhi. He placed one in his Firoz Shah Kotla complex and one in the hunting lodge at the Delhi-Meerut ridge.
17. Muhammad bin Tughlaq was described as “the most learned and yet the most foolish” sultan of Delhi. Who said this?
Correct Answer: B. Ziauddin Barani (historian who wrote about his reign)
Explanation: Ziauddin Barani in his “Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi” portrays Muhammad bin Tughlaq as a paradox – brilliant and learned (speaking many languages, being well-versed in philosophy and science), yet undertaking disastrously impractical schemes (capital transfer, token currency, failed expeditions).
18. The Tughlaq period saw the rise of independent regional states including the _____ in the Deccan.
Correct Answer: B. Bahmani Sultanate
Explanation: In 1347 AD, the Deccan nobles of the Delhi Sultanate revolted and established the independent Bahmani Sultanate, centered at Gulbarga. This represented the permanent loss of the Deccan from Delhi’s control during Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign.
19. The Vijayanagara Empire, the great Hindu kingdom of South India, was founded in _____.
Correct Answer: C. 1336 AD (during Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign)
Explanation: The Vijayanagara Empire was founded in 1336 AD by Harihara I and Bukka Raya I (the Sangama brothers), taking advantage of the chaos in Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s empire to establish a significant Hindu kingdom in the South.
20. Timur’s invasion of India in 1398 AD was during the reign of which Tughlaq sultan?
Correct Answer: B. Nasiruddin Mahmud Tughlaq (the last Tughlaq)
Explanation: Timur (Tamerlane) invaded India in 1398 AD during the reign of the last Tughlaq sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah. The sultan fled as Timur approached, and Timur sacked Delhi, massacring its population before returning to Central Asia.
21. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq’s ethnicity was _____.
Correct Answer: C. Mixed – Turkish father and Hindu mother (Jat woman)
Explanation: Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (Ghazi Malik) was of mixed heritage – his father was a Turkish slave-soldier and his mother was a Hindu Jat woman. This mixed background meant he was not accepted by the pure-Turkish aristocracy as one of their own.
22. Firuz Shah Tughlaq’s welfare measures included building _____ hospitals called “Darul Shifa.”
Correct Answer: C. About 100
Explanation: Firuz Shah Tughlaq built approximately 100 “Darul Shifa” (free hospitals) throughout his empire, which provided free medical treatment to the poor, an unprecedented welfare initiative in medieval India.
23. Muhammad bin Tughlaq proposed an expedition to conquer which territory that required an army to cross the Himalayas and never returned?
Correct Answer: B. China via the Himalayan passes (Qarachil expedition)
Explanation: Muhammad bin Tughlaq sent the “Qarachil expedition” – a large army to conquer Kumaon/Nepal/Tibet Himalayan region (possibly to open a route to China). The army was trapped in the mountain passes during monsoon and almost entirely destroyed, one of his most disastrous failures.
24. Which Sufi saint famously refused to meet Muhammad bin Tughlaq?
Correct Answer: C. Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya (though he died before Tughlaq’s reign; the saint who refused was Shaikh Burhanuddin Gharib)
Explanation: Nizamuddin Auliya famously ignored and refused to meet the sultan (Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, not Muhammad). When Ghiyasuddin threatened the saint, it was said Nizamuddin replied “Hunooz Dilli door ast” (Delhi is still far), which came true when Ghiyasuddin died before reaching Delhi.
25. The famous phrase “Hunooz Dilli door ast” (Delhi is still far) is associated with which Sufi saint?
Correct Answer: B. Nizamuddin Auliya
Explanation: When Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq sent repeated summons to Nizamuddin Auliya and threatened him for not appearing, the saint reportedly replied “Hunooz Dilli door ast” (Delhi is still far). Ghiyasuddin later died before reaching Delhi, fulfilling the prophecy.
26. Firuz Shah Tughlaq is considered a “welfare Sultan” because he _____.
Correct Answer: C. Abolished torture, funded irrigation, built hospitals and rest houses for travelers
Explanation: Firuz Shah Tughlaq (r. 1351–1388) abolished most forms of torture and mutilation practiced by his predecessors, opened free hospitals (darul shifa), employment bureaus (diwan-i-khairat), built canals, and established rest houses (sarai) for travelers across his empire.
27. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq before becoming sultan served as the governor of _____.
Correct Answer: C. The northwest frontier (Punjab/Dipalpur region)
Explanation: Ghazi Malik (Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq) served as the Warden of the Marches (military governor of the Punjab/northwest frontier) under the Khalji dynasty. He reportedly won 29 victories against the Mongols in this role before becoming sultan.
28. Muhammad bin Tughlaq taxed the Doab region heavily during a famine, causing _____.
Correct Answer: C. Mass starvation, depopulation, widespread revolt, and agricultural ruin in the Gangetic plain
Explanation: Muhammad bin Tughlaq, seeking revenue for his ambitious projects, imposed heavy taxes on the Doab (the fertile land between the Ganges and Yamuna) during a period of famine (c. 1334 AD), leading to massive starvation, peasant revolt, and depopulation of the richest agricultural region in India.
29. Ziauddin Barani’s famous history of the Delhi Sultanate is called _____.
Correct Answer: C. Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi
Explanation: Ziauddin Barani (1285–1357) wrote “Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi” during Firuz Shah Tughlaq’s reign, covering the history of the Delhi Sultanate from Balban to the early Tughlaq period. It is one of the most valuable primary sources for medieval Indian history.
30. The Tughlaq dynasty’s rule ended when which event destroyed its power?
Correct Answer: C. Timur’s devastating invasion in 1398 AD
Explanation: Timur’s invasion and sacking of Delhi in December 1398 AD fatally wounded the already weakened Tughlaq dynasty. Although the Tughlaqs technically continued until 1414, they were never again powerful enough to restore control, leading to the Sayyid dynasty’s rise.