Question

Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched ?
{ll} (Travellers) & (Country)

• A. Abdur Razzaq – Morocco
• B. Seydi Ali Reis – Turkey
• C. Mahmud Wali Balkhi – Uzbekistan
• D. Muhammad ibn Ahmad Abu Ralhan al-Biruni – Afghanistan

Hint:

To remember these medieval travel pairings easily for exams:
• Seydi Ali Reis $\rightarrow$ Ottoman Admiral $\rightarrow$ Turkey
• Al-Biruni $\rightarrow$ Born in Khwarazm $\rightarrow$ Uzbekistan
• Abdur Razzaq $\rightarrow$ Persian Envoy $\rightarrow$ Iran
• Mahmud Wali $\rightarrow$ From Balkh $\rightarrow$ Afghanistan

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Concept: The study of medieval Indian history relies heavily on accounts left behind by foreign diplomats, sailors, merchants, and scholars. Identifying the correct historical geographical origin of these individuals is essential for alyzing the ture of global exchange and cross-cultural contact during that era.

Step 1: Alyzing the correctly matched pair.
Let us look at Option (B) Seydi Ali Reis – Turkey:
• Seydi Ali Reis (1498–1563 CE) was a famous Ottoman Turkish admiral, vigator, and writer.
• After a military val conflict with Portuguese forces in the Indian Ocean, his fleet was struck by an intense storm, forcing him to seek port in Gujarat.
• He traveled extensively overland across India, Afghanistan, and Persia during his return journey to Constantinople.
• He documented his extensive observations in his famous travelogue, Mir'at ül Memalik (The Mirror of Countries, 1557 CE).
• Because he was an Ottoman subject from modern-day Turkey, this pair is precisely and historically accurate.

Step 2: Alysis and correction of mis-matched options.
Let us carefully examine why the remaining options are historically incorrect:
• (A) Abdur Razzaq – Morocco: This pair is incorrect. Kamal-ud-din Abdur Razzaq ibn Ishaq Samarqandi was an ambassador from Persia (modern Iran) sent by the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh. He visited Calicut and the Vijayagara Empire (under Deva Raya II) in the 1440s. The traveler from Morocco was actually Ibn Battuta.
• (C) Mahmud Wali Balkhi – Uzbekistan: This pair is incorrect. As indicated by his descriptor me (Balkhi), Mahmud Wali Balkhi hailed from Balkh, located in northern Afghanistan. He traveled through India during the reign of Mughal Emperor Jahangir and lived at places like Cuttack and Rajmahal.
• (D) Al-Biruni – Afghanistan: This pair is incorrect. The polymath Abu Rayhan al-Biruni was born in 973 CE in Khwarazm (modern-day Uzbekistan). He was captured by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni and subsequently brought to Ghazni, from where he later entered India and wrote his definitive text, Kitab-ul-Hind. Therefore, Option (B) stands isolated as the only correctly aligned pair.