Indian History and World History (Part-4)

11. Alexander the Great was born in- [S.S.C. Online CHSL (T-I) 18.01.2017 (Shift-II)]

(a) 356 BC
(b) 189 BC
(c) 189 AD
(d) 356 AD

Correct Answer: (a) 356 BC

Solution:Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC. He was born in Macedonia. He died in 323 BC in Babylon. Alexander was a disciple of Aristotle.

12. Alexander defeated …………….. in the battle of Hydaspes? [S.S.C. Online CHSL (T-I) 11.01.2017 (Shift-I)]

(a) Porus
(b) Chandragupta Maurya
(c) Herakles
(d) Eudemus

Correct Answer: (a) Porus

Solution:The Battle of Hydaspes or Jhelum took place between Alexander and the Indian ruler Porus. Porus was defeated in this war.

13. Who among the following was the last ruler of the Nanda dynasty? [S.S.C. Online Graduate Level (T-I) 3.03.2020 (Shift-II)]

(a) Dhanananda
(b) Panduka
(c) Govishanaka
(d) Kaivarta

Correct Answer: (a) Dhanananda

Solution:The last ruler of the Nanda dynasty was Dhanananda, a contemporary of Sikandar. He has been called by the Greek writers ‘Agrames’.

14. How many powerful Mahajanapadas existed in ancient India? [S.S.C. Online MTS (T-I) 6.08.2019 (Shift-I)]

(a) 14
(b) 12
(c) 18
(d) 16

Correct Answer: (d) 16

Solution:In 6th century BC, in ancient India, there were 16 Mahajanapadas. These 16 Mahajanapadas were mentioned in the Buddhist text ‘Anguttarnikaya’ and the Jain text ‘Bhagwatisutra’.

Mahajanapada	Capital City	Region (Present-day location)
Anga	Champa	Bhagalpur, Bihar
Magadha	Rajagriha (later Pataliputra)	South Bihar
Vajji	Vaishali	North Bihar
Malla	Kusinara & Pava	Eastern Uttar Pradesh
Kasi	Varanasi	Eastern Uttar Pradesh
Kosala	Shravasti (earlier Ayodhya)	Eastern Uttar Pradesh
Vatsa	Kausambi	Near Allahabad (Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh
Chedi	Suktimati	Bundelkhand region (Madhya Pradesh)
Kuru	Indraprastha (Delhi)	Delhi & Haryana
Panchala	Ahichhatra (North), Kampilya (South)	Western Uttar Pradesh
Matsya	Viratanagara	Alwar region, Rajasthan
Surasena	Mathura	Western Uttar Pradesh
Assaka (Asmaka)	Potana	Telangana / Maharashtra region (Godavari valley)
Avanti	Ujjayini (West), Mahishmati (South)	Western Madhya Pradesh
Gandhara	Taxila	Rawalpindi district, Pakistan
Kamboja	Rajapura	Eastern Afghanistan / Western Pakistan

15. How many great powers (Mahajanpadas) existed in the 7th and early 6th centuries BC, during the life time of Lord Gautam Buddha? [S.S.C. Online Graduate Level (T-I) 4.06.2019 (Shift-II)]

(a) 11
(b) 17
(c) 16
(d) 13

Correct Answer: (c) 16