Arjun, a history teacher, is planning a lesson on how the writings of travellers help us know the past. He gathers several accounts. One, written in the fifteenth century, describes a great city of south India as seen by an envoy sent by a Persian-speaking ruler. Another is by an official of a large empire, who wrote down what he saw of village life during his tours. Arjun also wants his class to place three famous foreign visitors to the subcontinent in time and trace where each came from.
Arjun's first account dwells on the buildings of a city. Besides architectural features and monuments, which subjects do surviving travel accounts often deal with?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Affairs of the court and religious issues
Option (1) Weather records and the movement of the stars — Incorrect. Weather and the stars are not among the usual themes of these accounts. Their writers looked mainly at courts, religion and buildings.
Option (2) Medicine and the treatment of diseases — Incorrect. Medicine is not a main theme of these accounts. They centre on court life, religion and monuments.
Option (3) Affairs of the court and religious issues — Correct. Surviving accounts are varied in subject matter. Some deal with affairs of the court, others with religious issues, and others with buildings and monuments.
Option (4) Mining and the making of metal tools — Incorrect. Mining and crafts are not the usual focus of these travel accounts. Their main themes are court, religion and architecture.
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