State PCS
The real founder of Turkish rule in Bihar and Bengal, who sacked Nalanda and Vikramashila around 1200 CE, was:
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Answer: Option C — Ikhtiyaruddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji
Detailed Solution
Ikhtiyaruddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, a Turkish (Khalji) commander of Muhammad Ghori and Qutbuddin Aibak, is regarded as the real founder of Turkish rule in Bihar and Bengal.
About Bakhtiyar Khalji:
- He was rejected for service in the armies at Ghazni and Delhi because of his poor appearance, according to tradition, but later found service in Awadh.
- He began raiding the territories of Bihar from his base in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
His conquests:
- Around 1200 CE, he attacked Bihar and captured the fortified town of Odantapuri (Bihar Sharif), mistaking the monastery there for a fort.
- He sacked the great Buddhist monastic universities of Nalanda, Vikramashila and Odantapuri, killing many monks and burning their libraries.
- This was a severe blow to Buddhism in India.
- Around 1204-05, he made a sudden attack on Nadia (Nabadwip), the capital of the Sena king Lakshmana Sena, with only a small band of horsemen; the old king fled.
- He then made Lakhnauti (Gaur) his capital, and established Turkish rule in north and west Bengal.
His end:
- In 1206, he led an expedition to Tibet through Assam, which ended in disaster; most of his army perished.
- He returned to Devkot, where he died (or was murdered by one of his officers, Ali Mardan Khalji) in 1206.
Source:
The main source for his campaigns is the "Tabaqat-i-Nasiri" of Minhaj-us-Siraj, who visited Bengal later.
After him:
- His successors, such as Ghiyasuddin Iwaz Khalji, ruled Bengal and sometimes defied Delhi.
- Iltutmish brought Bengal under Delhi's control.
- Bengal later became independent under the Ilyas Shahi and other dynasties.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Qutbuddin Aibak and Iltutmish ruled from Delhi.
- ✗Ghiyasuddin Iwaz Khalji was a later ruler of Bengal.
Quick tip
Remember: Bakhtiyar Khalji = founder of Turkish rule in Bihar and Bengal (sacked Nalanda, Vikramashila, Odantapuri about 1200; raided Nadia; capital Lakhnauti); died 1206.
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Delhi Sultanate — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Delhi Sultanate, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
The Delhi Sultanate ruled much of northern India from 1206 to 1526 under five dynasties: the Slave (Mamluk), Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi dynasties. This topic covers its rulers, administration, market and revenue reforms, architecture and the foreign invasions of the period. Typical questions cover the founder of each dynasty, Alauddin Khalji's market reforms, Muhammad bin Tughlaq's token currency and transfer of the capital, and Firoz Shah Tughlaq's public works. The First Battle of Panipat (1526), in which Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, ended the Sultanate. Keep the five dynasties in order with their founders. Practise the Delhi Sultanate questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.