Unit 12: Paper 3 — History of Asia and Oceania (HL)
Topic 12.2: The Mughal Empire and the British East India Company (1526–1858) Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History (2028) Topic 12.2. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.3 - Q5
What was the immediate spark that triggered the sepoy mutiny at Meerut in May 1857?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.2 - Q1
In which year did Shivaji crown himself Chhatrapati at Raigad, formally declaring an independent Maratha kingdom?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.2 - Q3
Which Persian ruler invaded and sacked Delhi in 1739, taking the Peacock Throne and exposing the collapse of Mughal central power?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.1 - Q4
What was the mansabdari system introduced under Akbar?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.1 - Q5
Which region did Aurangzeb spend decades conquering, bringing the Mughal Empire to its greatest-ever territorial extent by the 1680s-90s?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.1 - Q3
In what year did Akbar abolish the jizya, the tax previously charged to non-Muslim subjects?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.2 - Q4
Who commissioned the Taj Mahal (built 1632-1653) as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.2 - Q5
Which Mughal emperor abolished the jizya tax on non-Muslims in 1564 as part of a policy of religious tolerance, which was later reimposed by Aurangzeb in 1679?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.2 - Q2
For roughly how many years did Aurangzeb remain in the Deccan trying to defeat the Marathas after Shivaji's death in 1680?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.3 - Q2
At the Battle of Plassey in 1757, how did Robert Clive's much smaller force defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah's army of over 50,000?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.3 - Q3
What legal right did the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II grant to the East India Company in 1765, after the Company's victory at Buxar?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.3 - Q4
Which princely state did Governor-General Dalhousie annex outright in 1856 by declaring its government 'misruled', without even using the Doctrine of Lapse?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.1 - Q2
Which Afghan leader defeated Humayun in a series of battles and drove him into exile in Persia by 1540?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.1 - Q1
What key technological advantage helped Babur defeat Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.3 - Q1
Which event of 1739 exposed how militarily defenceless the Mughal Empire had become, decades before the East India Company's major conquests in Bengal?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.3 - Q9
To what extent do you agree that the 1857 Rebellion deserves to be called a genuine 'War of Independence' rather than a narrow military 'mutiny'?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.3 - Q6
To what extent do you agree with the claim that the Battle of Plassey (1757) marked the true beginning of British rule in India?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.1 - Q9
To what extent do you agree with the claim that Aurangzeb's reign (1658-1707) represented the peak of Mughal strength rather than the beginning of its decline?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.2 - Q10
Evaluate the claim that Akbar's policy of religious tolerance was primarily a calculated political strategy rather than a genuine belief in coexistence.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.2.1 - Q7
Evaluate the claim that Humayun's 15-year exile (1540-1555) shows that the early Mughal Empire's survival was never guaranteed.
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