Medieval and Islamic History

The Dargah of the famous Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is located in Ajmer, Rajasthan.

Mughal painting reached its peak or zenith during the reign of Jahangir, who was a great patron of the arts.

Akbarnama, the official biography of Akbar, was written by his court historian Abul Fazl.

Aurangzeb was known as 'Zinda Peer' (living saint) due to his simple lifestyle and strict adherence to religious practices.

Qutub-ud-din Aibak founded the Slave Dynasty, which was the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.

Haider Ali was the ordinary soldier in Mysore Kingdom. He overthrew the King and become king of Mysore. Tipu sultan was the son of Haider Ali.

Tipu Sultan is recognized for his modernization efforts, which included adopting Western military techniques, administration, and technology to strengthen his kingdom against colonial powers.

Tipu Sultan introduced several administrative reforms, including a new Mauludi calendar, a new coinage system, and standardized weights and measures to improve trade and governance.

Zafarnama, meaning 'Letter of Victory', was a letter written by Guru Gobind Singh to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, criticizing his policies and moral conduct.

Guru Gobind Singh was assassinated by two Afghan Pathans, Jamshed Khan and Wasil Beg, who were sent by the Mughal governor of Sirhind.

According to legend, Sultan Mahmud Ghazni offered Firdosi a gold piece for every couplet of the Shah Nama he wrote. The poet agreed to receive the money as a lump sum when he had completed the epic. After thirty years of work, Firdosi finished his masterpiece. Shah Nama consisted of more than 50,000 couplets about the history of Persia.

Muhammad Ghori was killed when he was doing his night Namaz by a group of Shia-Ismaili assassins sent by Khwarezm Shah. This incident took place at Dhamiak on the banks of river Jhelum in 1206 CE. Muhammad Ghori was buried at Dhamiak where a tomb was built by his slave generals in his memory.

It was under the leadership of Mohammad-bin-Qasim the conquest of Sind was successful after a number of attempts. He was a Umayyad general who conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions at a very young age of 17. Sind invasion is considered as one of the world's historic marvels as it led to the spread of Islam in South Asia and the Muslim communities in India.

The conquest of Mohammad Ghori and establishment of the Sultanate brought major changes in the land revenue system in India. He assigned Qutubuddin Aibak as a first Iqta of India.

Ahmad Shah Abdali was an Afghan chief who belonged to Durrani clan. He occupied the throne of Afghanistan in 1747 after the assassination of Nadir Shah. He ruled from 1747 to 1773. During this period he invaded India eight times. He won tremendous victory over the Marathas in the Third battle of Panipat in 1761.