Which one of the following pairs-is not correctly matched?

The correct answer is B. The Natural History was written by Pliny the Elder, the Roman encyclopaedist, not by Ptolemy. Ptolemy, the Greco-Egyptian scholar of Alexandria, wrote the Geography and the Almagest.

• A is correct: Hui Li, a disciple of Xuanzang, wrote his biography, the Life of Hiuen Tsiang.
• C is correct: Pompeius Trogus wrote the Historiae Philippicae, a universal history now known through Justin's epitome.
• D is correct: Herodotus, the Father of History, wrote the Histories.

The core concept is the set of Greco-Roman and Chinese sources that inform ancient Indian history. Pliny and Ptolemy both matter for Indo-Roman trade and early Indian geography, which links this to Ancient India and Mains answers on foreign accounts.

Trap: aspirants pair Pliny and Ptolemy because both are encyclopaedic Greco-Roman authors of the same period. Learn each work with its author, not by the general field.