Chhattisgarh P.C.S. Prelims 2013

Foreign Travelers in the Sultanate

Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation

Ibn Battuta, the Moorish traveller, visited India during the reign of:

Solution & Analysis

Answer: A

Concept Ibn Battuta, a Berber scholar from Tangiers, provides one of the most detailed outsider perspectives on the Delhi Sultanate during its period of maximum expansion and subsequent internal crisis.

Explanation Ibn Battuta arrived in India in 1333 CE during the reign of Muhammad-Bin-Tughluq. He was appointed as a Qadi (judge) in Delhi and served the Sultan for seven years before being sent as an ambassador to China.

Logical Breakup
Logic 1: Option A is correct. His work, *Rihla*, documents the Sultan's eccentric character, the efficiency of the postal system, and the state of Indian society in the 14th century.
Logic 2: Other options are chronologically incorrect: Mahmud Ghazni raided in the 11th century, while Babur and Akbar belonged to the Mughal era (16th century).

Active Recall

Question

What role did Ibn Battuta play in the court of MBT?

Answer

He served as the Qadi (judge) of Delhi and later as an imperial ambassador to the Mongol court in China.

Core Insight

Ibn Battuta's accounts highlight the 'globalized' nature of the 14th-century Islamic world, where scholars could move from Morocco to India and hold high office.