Ancient History MCQs with Answers
1. Which ancient text provides the earliest list of the 16 Mahajanapadas?
- Vedas
- Jataka Tales
- Anguttara Nikaya
- Arthashastra
Answer: C) Anguttara Nikaya
2. Which Mahajanapada later emerged as the most powerful kingdom in ancient India?
- Avanti
- Magadha
- Kosala
- Vatsa
Answer: B) Magadha
3. Which Chinese traveller visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II of the Gupta Empire?
- Faxian
- Xuanzang
- I-tsing
- Marco Polo
Answer: A) Faxian
4. Who was the Greek ambassador sent to the court of Chandragupta Maurya?
- Pliny the Elder
- Ptolemy
- Strabo
- Megasthenes
Answer: D) Megasthenes
5. Who wrote the famous book Kitab-ul-Hind?
- Ibn Battuta
- Al-Biruni
- Marco Polo
- Abdur Razzaq
Answer: B) Al-Biruni
6. The Pandya dynasty ruled mainly in which region of India?
- Northern India
- Western India
- Southern India
- Eastern India
Answer: C) Southern India
7. Which sea was important for the overseas trade of the Pandya kingdom?
- Arabian Sea
- Bay of Bengal
- Mediterranean Sea
- Red Sea
Answer: B) Bay of Bengal
8. Which dynasty ruled a powerful empire in South India between the 9th and 13th centuries CE?
- Chera Dynasty
- Pandya Dynasty
- Chola Dynasty
- Pallava Dynasty
Answer: C) Chola Dynasty
9. Who built the famous Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur?
- Rajaraja I
- Karikala Chola
- Rajendra I
- Kulottunga I
Answer: A) Rajaraja I
10. The Chera dynasty was one of the three early Tamil dynasties, along with:
- Satavahanas and Pallavas
- Mauryas and Guptas
- Rashtrakutas and Chalukyas
- Cholas and Pandyas
Answer: D) Cholas and Pandyas