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The history of U1e world can be divided Into three broad periods-ancient medieval and modern . Each of these periods covers many centuries , and the length of a period may differ from one part of the world to another. For example, the medieval period began around ilie fifth century AD in Europe, but around the eighth century AD in India. In this book you will study about lndia in the medieval period.

The medieval period in India spans a millennium, from the eighth to the eighteenth century AD. Many developments during this period distinguish it from the previous period, that is , the ancient period. This chapter outlines these new developments.

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INDIA

CHINA

1 The Medieval Period

Major Political Developments

The medieval period in India can be divi ded broadly into two phases-the early medieval period {eighth to thirteenth century) and the later medieval pericxl (thirteenth to eighteenth century).

The history of the early medieval period is centred on power struggles among regional kingdoms of both North and South India. leading to the frequent rise and fall of kingdoms. The most prominent among these kingdoms were the Rajput kingdoms in the north and the Chola kingdom in the south. The distinctive cultural characteristics of the regional

Fig. 1.1 A world map as drawn by the Moroccan cartographer Al-ldrisi. South is at the top of the map.

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kln,i.!dom s s pr<"od to th<' new rc~tons llrnt r~mw undC'r th em

ln the la ter m('dl<'val period tlwre Wt' rc a number or 1nvastons by Mllslhn ronqucrors from C1'11trnl AstA . Amonp: the tnva dc-rs WCT<' Tud{S, AtWum s And 01<' M ughals. This p<'riod s~w th<' 1·tsc- of powerful Mus lim dynasties s u c- h as thosr of 11w 1<.ha lJls , th<' T ughluqs and the Mughols. Under thctr rnlc, l sln111lc customs Influenced polftt<'al. economic, social HIid culh1m l ltfe tn lndtl'.l . Th1s led to the growth of A

unique- lndo-Islemtc- cultun' .

Towards U1c e nd of the Hftrenth century. Europ ean traders be[.!an direct overseas trade with lnrlta . Th<' PortU¢\H:'Se were th<' nrs t to arrive .

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l·ouowccl hy lhc E nglis h , the Dutch a nd the F'rc t th -n<' h t lhf' lllld-scvcntccnlh cen ury, e French Hncl · 1y

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By the mld-elghlcenlh ce.nlury, the EnaJ1si, "' Ott s t the Prcnch and becAmc a leadtng poltUcat force Cl(

lndla . This marked lhe beglnntng of lhc tnoct 111 · Ctn period In lndla .

lrnportance of Geographical Knowledge

Knowing a region 's geography helps us understand Its his tory be tter . In lhls , maps are of great he) They s how lhe geographical features of a rcg

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Fig. 1.2 Some place1 namt'~ used in medieva l India

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and the regton·s loca tion with rcspecl lo olher regtons. Such information may explain why a region prospered or was frequently Invaded or remained isolated, and so on .

Cartography and Medieval India The skill of cartog1·aphy, or map-making, was practically unknown ln ancient India. The worldwide g-rowtl1 of trade and the expansion of empires during the medieval period created the need for accurate maps. The Arabs and the Europeans, who undertook long Journeys over land and sea, developed cartography. Contact with the Arabs and Europeans introduced India to cartography.

The map shown in Figure 1.1 is a map of the world as was drawn in the twelfth century by Al-ldrisi, a cartographer from Morocco. The map has the south shown at the top. Arabia is at the centre, and t:o the left of Arabia is India. Above South India is an island which is possibly Sri Lanka. Below Arabia is Turkey and further down is Europe. By the end of the medieval period cartography became more accurate . Most maps of India belonging to this period were drawn by sailors, who were more familiar with the coastal regions. Hence, these maps show the coastal areas in more detail than the interior regions.

Place Names Medieval maps and the writings of medieval authors provide valuable information about the geographical features and the names of places in medieval times. However, the place names mentioned in these documents may have changed with time. In such cases, the historian has to find out the present names.

(a)

Among the medieval scholars who visited India were Alberunl , a famous Central Asian scholar. and lbn Batutah, a scholar from Tangier (North Africa) . Their writings give us valuable geographical Information on medieval India. Alberuni mastered Sanskrit and translated some Sanskrit texts into Arabic. He wrote a book known as Kitab-al-Hlnd on India. lbn Batutah came to Ind1a In the fourteenth century. His work Rlhla describes his travels in India.

Keeping Records

In the medieval kingdoms in India, there were elaborate systems of administration, large-scale trade, and many types of crafts and religious and cultural activities. All this required the keeping of records. In the medieval period, paper came into wide use as writing material. The paper documents that have come down to us are at present preserved in archives (an archive is a collection of historical documents and records of a government, family or other orgarusation).

Medieval documents and inscriptions include records of land revenue and land grants, works of religious literature, and secular works such as writings on travel, history and science. Most of the historical works are prashastis, or eulogies , which are writings praising somebody, usually a ruler . One exception is Kalhana's Rajatarangini-a history of Kashmir in Sanskrit verse written in the twelfth century. As a true historian, Kalhana referred to different original documents, inscriptions and coins to check the facts .

(b)

Fig, 1.3 Inscriptions in different languages used in the medieval period- Sanskrit (a), Arabic (b)

6 Our World : Then and Now - 2

Growth of New Languages Most scholars and ofTiclals all over India wrote either in Sanskrit or In Persian language. Regional languages came tnto wide use in the regtonal kingdoms. For example. Telangani was used In Telangana, Kannada , in Karnataka. Sindhi. in Sine! , Kashmir!. in Kashmir . Awadhi (a form of Hindi) . in Uttar Pradesh . Gujarl. in Gujarat, and Gauri . in Bengal . Many literary works were composed In these languages . These works provide valuable historical informati011.

Historians' Problems As there was no printing press in medieval India , all Indian paper documents of the time were manuscripts (handwritten documents) . Often, scribes (people who were employed to keep records) made copies of the orig1nal documents . While doing this, they sometimes copied wrong. Some scribes also put in their own language or their own thoughts on the subject. All this gradually changed the original te>..'t. Historians have to gather information from these changed documents if they cannot find original documents. This is difficult because the historian has to study all the available versions carefully and cross-check the contents against other dependable evidences.

Another problem is that the languages used in old documents have changed over time. The spellings and meanings of words , the grammar and even the scripts have changed. Historians cannot read some of the documents because they are unable to read the scribe's handwriting or because the script is no longer in use. Here are two examples to show you how the usages of terms and expressions changed with time.

• The term mlechchha was used ~urtng the an . period for all non-Aryan people, including hi1tc1ent forest dwellers . During the early medieval and the term ref erred to all foreigners and cuiertoQ, different people, from kings to untouc~ural!y Gradually, as some mlechchhas were absorbe~~lcs. the varna (caste ) system, the term came to1nto applied to meat-eating people and those who did n~e observe caste rules . t

• The term Hindustan also represented diff erent territories at different times . Around the th ·

ltrj century AD, the southern part of the Indus pl . was called Hindustan in an inscription of ~n Sassan1ans of Persia (Iran) who ruled over th e region . In the early medieval period , the Ara~: referred to the land between the Indus and th Ganga-Yamuna Doab as Hindustan . They call ~ its people Hindu (derived from the na~e Sindhu. or Indus) . In the later medieval period , Hindustan or Hind referred to nearly the whole of India except the extreme south. Today, the country India , as we know it, is called Hindustan.

New Social and Political Groups During the medieval period, many new social groups emerged. Some of these groups also became politically powerful. Among them were the Rajputs. who were warriors of Rajasthan and its surroundings, the Sikhs, who were a religious group of Punjab, the Jats ofHaryana, who were farmers , the Ahoms, who conquered and ruled Assam, and the Marathas, who were warriors of Maharashtra.

Many new social groups were absorbed into the caste system. For example, the Rajputs, who always wanted to be heroic and noble , got Kshatriya (warrior)

Fig. 1.4 Weapons and armour used in medieval India

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The Medieval Period 7

caste status. With the expansion of agriculture and trade, wealthy landowners and traders acquired higher social status. With agricultural expansion, forest dwellers. tribal herders and even some outcastes took to cultivation and were absorbed into the Shudra caste. Some people took to new professions besides their traditional ones. For instance, though Brahmans were the highest caste, some Brahmans entered lower-caste professions like agriculture, trade and craft.

Jati.s The growth of new professions gave rise to a large number of subcastes each called a Jati. A jati consisted of people who were in the same profession. Prominent among the jatis that emerged were the Kayasthas-a subcaste of scribes. The Kayasthas rose to prominence because record keeping had become an important profession.

The Jatis had their own rules and regulations. administered by the elders. Besides, all the jatis had to follow the civic rules of the local government bodies of the villages and towns.

Interaction with Foreigners Many foreign traders selUed in the prosperous cfUes which grew along Ind1a·s long coastline and north-western border. They broughl along U1etr

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Fig. 1.5 Lingaraj Temple, Odisha, one of India's medieval temples

religious beliefs, social customs, crafts, technologies and even fruits and vegetables. For instance, India was introduced tu Chinese serlculture (silk production by raising silkworms) and litchis, and the Persian water wheel. The Turks brought plums, peaches, apricots, melons, oranges and lemons. and the Portuguese brought potatoes, tomatoes and chillies.

Old and New Religions

Hinduism went through some changes in the medieval period. New deities came to be worshipped . The absorption of some tribal and forest groups into Hindu society brought some tribal ideas of worship into Hinduism.

Building temples to their gods and goddesses became an important activity among Hindu rulers. The deities worshipped in these temples often represented the qualities that an ideal ruler was expected to have. Rulers also patronised learned Brahmans and granted them tax-free land. Thus, many Brahmans became wealthy and powerful. They used their power to make the caste rules and religious norms very rigid.

Islam

Is lam. the religion of the Muslims. arose in Arabia in U1e seventh century AD. Islam is centred on the belief In one god, Allah, and the teachings of His last prophet. Muhammad. These teachings are contained ln the holy book called the Quran .

After Prophet Muhammad's death, a caliph. or khalifa , succeeded him as the rellglous and polllical head of the Musllm community. Later , the community split Into two major sects- Shla and Sunni. The Shias regard Muhammad's son-in-law All as the Prophet's true successor. They believe that a caliph is appointed by divine will. The Sunnis believe that a caliph should be chosen by the whol e community. Apart from the Quran , they follow the Sunnah (customs and laws based on the deeds and words of Muhammad) .

Islam was brought to India by Arab traders. Later , Muslim conquerors established kingdoms in India. They ruled according to Islamic law, and the ulema (experts in Islamic law) received their patronage. Among the various schools of Islamic law that had developed, the Hanafi school became popular in India. It was made popular by the Turkish rulers .

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Fig. 1.6 A M uslim at prayer in a mosque

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Faiths Based on Devotion

Bhakti Movement Towards the end of the ancient period , around the s eventh century AD, several Hindu religious thinkers of South India had begun to cha llenge Brahman domination. They stressed on bhalcti (personal devotion to God) without the help of a ny middleman such as a priest. This is called the Bhakti Movement. In North India, it began only around the thirteenth century. The Bhakti Movement attracted people from all sections of society.

Sufism From around the eighth century, some Muslims began to be influenced by Hindu, Greek and Buddhist religious ideas. This gave rise to a faith called Sufism. Sufi philosophy is basically Islamic. Besides devotion to one god , it preaches brotherhood among men. After the Turkish invasions, many Sufi saints came to India and spread their faith.

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