State and Society In Medieval India Online Test 9th Social Science Lesson 9 Questions in English

The ‘medieval’ period from the 7th century A.D.(CE) till the beginning of Mughal rule in the 16th century. The Mughal era, from the 16th to 18th century is referred to as the early modern Period.

The expansion of the Chola empire from the time of Rajaraja I which eclipsed the Pandyan and Pallava kingdoms, extending north till Orissa.

The consolidation of Muslim rule under the Mughals in the north, beginning in 1526 A.D. (C.E.) with the defeat of the Ibrahim Lodi by Babur. At its height, the Mughal empire stretched from Kabul to Gujarat to Bengal, from Kashmir to south India.

The coming of the Europeans, beginning with the Portuguese who arrived on the west coast of India in 1498.

Muslim rule was established in Delhi at the end of the 12th century by Muhammad Ghori, Arab Muslim merchants had been trading in the ports of the west coast, especially Kerala, as early as the 9th century.

The impact of Muslim rule was felt during the reign of Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316 A.D. (C.E.)) who sent military campaigns to the south. The primary objective was to plunder the wealth, rather than to expand his territory.

Devagiri (near Aurangabad) was captured by Alauddin Khalji. Renamed Daulatabad, it was the second stronghold of his growing kingdom.

Alauddin Khalji’s slave and commander, Malik Kafur, was sent on military expeditions further south in the first decade of the 1300s A.D. (C.E.).

The First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April 1526 was fought between invading forces of Babur and Lodi. The Battle of Talikota was fought between Vijayanagar and Deccan sultans. Battle of Plassey was fought between nawab of Bengal and British East India company on 23 June 1757. Battle of Buxar was fought between forces under the command of the British East India Company, led by Hector Munro, and the combined armies of Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal on 22 October 1764

During the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, there was a revolt in Daulatabad. The Tughlaq kings who came after Alauddin also sent their armies to the south. As a result, the generally more isolated southern part of the country came into the orbit of the rulers of the north.

Alauddin Bahman Shah set up the Bahmani sultanate in 1347 A.D. (C.E.), with his capital in Bidar.

The Bahmani kingdom survived for nearly a century and a half, mainly due to the able administration of Mahmud Gawan, a great statesman and loyal minister.

After the death of Mahmud Gawan, many viceroys declared their independence, and by the end of the fifteenth century, five sultanates came up in the Deccan: Bijapur, Golkonda, Ahmednagar, Berar, and Bidar.

The Deccan sultanates were conquered by Aurangzeb in the 1660s A.D. (C.E.), and the entire region, as far south as Madras (Chennai) became a part of the Mughal empire.

The chola empire expanded further under Rajendra I who had successfully taken his armies as far to the northeast as the river Ganges. He had also sent naval expeditions against the Sailendra Kingdom of Sri Vijaya (in Indonesia), Kadaram (Kedah) and Ceylon.

The empire was further consolidated through marriage with the eastern Chalukyas under Rajendra’s grandson Kulottunga I, and extended up to the border of Orissa.

The territorial expansion of the Chola empire began under Rajaraja I. The Pallava kingdom had already been assimilated into the Chola kingdom. The Pandya kingdom remained independent, but was subservient to the Cholas.

To the north of chola was the Hoysala kingdom, with its capital at Belur and later Halebidu. This kingdom extended through much of the present day state of Karnataka.

The Chola Empire began to decline after the middle of the 13th century. The last known Chola emperor was Rajendra III. The empire died out in 1279 A.D. (C.E.).

The Kakatiyas ruled from Warangal (Telangana) while the Yadavas ruled in Devagiri until Devagiri fell to Alauddin Khalji’s forces at the end of the 13th century.The pandya ruled Madurai. Hoysala kingdom ruled north, with its capital at Belur and later Halebidu.

The establishment of the kingdom (subsequently empire) of Vijayanagar was the most momentous development in the history of south India in the medieval period. The kingdom was established by Harihara and Bukka, two brothers.

Sangama dynasty was the first ruler of Vijayanagar. They founded a new capital city on the southern banks of Tungabhadra which they named Vijayanagar (city of victory). Harihara was crowned in 1336 A.D. (C.E.). The Sangam dynasty ruled Vijayanagar for nearly one and a half centuries. This was followed by the Saluva dynasty which was in power only for a brief period.

The Tuluva dynasty then succeeded as rulers after saluva dynasty. Krishnadeva Raya, the greatest ruler of Vijayanagar, belonged to this family.

The rulers of Vijayanagar were almost continuously at war with the Bahmani sultanate as well as with the Religous based kingdoms of Kondavidu and Orissa. Finally, the combined forces of the five Deccani Sultanates defeated Vijayanagar in 1565 A.D. (C.E.) at the Battle of Talikota.

The Vijayanagar emperors then shifted their capital further south to Penugonda, and eventually to Chandragiri near Tirupati. The empire (or what remained of it) finally withered away in the middle of the seventeenth century.

The first six Mughal emperors are referred to as the ‘Great Mughals’. Aurangzeb was the last of the great Mughals.

Akbar consolidated the Mughal empire through conquests and through a policy of conciliation with the Religious based kingdoms of Rajasthan.

The Mughal empire was founded by Babur in 1526 A.D. (C.E.) after he defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat.The Mughal empire though began to disintegrate after Aurangzeb, continued to exist nominally till 1857 A.D. (C.E.) when the British finally ended the virtually non-existent empire.

A new power centre rose in Maharashtra in the seventeenth century, and the Marathas under the leadership of Shivaji seriously undermined the authority of the Mughals in western India.

During the fifteenth century the Europeans were pre-occupied with trying to find a direct sea route to India, bypassing the overland route through west Asia and the Mediterranean. The spice trade from India was controlled by Muslims up to Alexandria. In 1498 A.D. (C.E.), Vasco da Gama landed on the Kerala coast having sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

Barely five years later after their arrival, the Portuguese built their first fort at Cochin in 1503 A.D. (C.E.). Goa was captured in 1510 A.D. (C.E.) and became the centre of the Portuguese state in India.

Other European nations soon followed the Portuguese, most notably the Dutch, English and French. The Dutch were in Pulicat (and later Nagapatnam), the English in Madras, the French in Pondicherry and the Danes in Tarangampadi (Tranquebar).

The administrative machinery was re-organised during Chola rule. The basic unit of local administration was the village (ur), followed by the sub-region (nadu) and district (kottam). Marketing centres and towns were known as nagaram.

Tax-free villages granted to Brahmins were known as brahmadeya. The temple was no longer a mere place of worship, but became an important economic entity as an employer, consumer and land-owner. The construction of great temples also was a reflection of the growing prosperity in the kingdom, since the activity involved great expenditure.

The establishment of Islamic Rule in Delhi made a big impact on Indian society. Initially, Islam did not cause any social tension. Arab merchants, for instance, when they came and settled on Kerala coast, married local women and led a peaceful life. The situation changed when Islam became a state power. For a medieval ruler one way of asserting imperial authority was to demolish the place of worship of the enemies. Otherwise Islam as a monotheistic religion had its positive impact in Indian society. It played a decisive role in the evolution of a composite culture.

Muslim kingdoms in Delhi, as well in the Deccan, also attracted migrants from Persia and Arabia who moved to India and took up service in these states and many became important and well-known statesmen.

A new composite culture evolved. This could be seen most vividly in the Deccan sultanates of Bijapur and Golkonda whose rulers were extremely broad-minded and secular in outlook.

A notable development was the profusion of contemporary historical accounts of the Muslim Sultanates by Arab and Persian historians. Al beruni, Ibn Batuta, and Ferishta are among the best known of the Muslim historians.

The establishment of the VIJAYANAGAR EMPIRE changed the administrative and social institutional structure of south India, especially in the Tamil country.

Vijayanagar kingdom was threatened from the beginning by the hostility of the Bahmani sultanate in the north, Vijayanagar evolved as a militaristic state. This empire needed two kinds of resources to feed its military establishment – revenue and men.

Military officers, known as ‘nayakas’, were appointed as chiefs of various localities in Tamilnadu and received land grants from the emperor. Many forts were also built which were under Brahman commanders.

In Vijayanagar empire there were also lesser military leaders known as palayakkarar who essentially supplied the manpower for the army.

Three major nayaka kingdoms, owing allegiance to the Vijayanagar emperor, came up between 1500 A.D. (C.E.) and 1550 A.D. (C.E.) in Madurai, Tanjavur and Gingee (Senji). These nayakas had formal roles in court ceremonials at Vijayanagar.

Resources realized from the land were transferred to the empire by the nayakas not as tax revenue, but as tribute. Thus, the resources of the core regions, especially in the Tamil region, were utilized for military purposes. The appointment of Telugu nayakas also resulted in the migration of Telugu-speaking people from the north. These included soldiers, agriculturists, craftsmen and Brahmins.

The Mughal empire transformed the economy and society of north India. The empire was consolidated under Akbar through his policy of co-opting the Hindu Rajput rulers under the umbrella of Mughal rule.

In part due to Aurangzeb’s reversal to orthodox Islamic principles of governance which alienated the Rajput rulers and the Hindu subjects, the over-extended empire began to collapse under its own weight by the beginning of the eighteenth century.

There was an explosion in the demand for Indian textiles in the European markets, often referred to as the ‘Indian craze’. This led to a significant expansion of textile production in India, which was accompanied by an expansion of the production of commercial crops like cotton and indigo and other dyes.

Caste is the four-fold division of society as specified in the religious texts, referred to as varna. In traditional society many castes were denied various social rights and privileges.

Caste also created a mythical genealogy to establish its origins; this was used to justify the claim for the right to a higher status in the hierarchy. These genealogies are found in many of the manuscripts collected by Colin Mackenzie.

Buddhism had faded out in India. Jainism also lost ground in most parts of India due to emergence of bhakti movement under Sankara and Ramanuja.

Mathas or mutts were established under different gurus or religious leaders like Vidyaranya; Saivite movements came up like the Tamil Saivasiddhanta, and the Virasaivas in Karnataka; in Maharashtra the Varkarisampradaya (tradition) of the devotees of Vithoba arose in the 14th century.

With regard to Christianity, there were a small number of Christian groups in Kerala claiming their origins to the time of St Thomas, the disciple of Jesus. But Christianity took roots when the Portuguese arrived in Kerala and set themselves up in Goa.

In the north a new religion, Sikhism, was founded by Guru Nanak, who lived during 15th and 16th century. Sikhism grew in strength in spite of severe repression by Aurangzeb.

Foreign religions also came to India when Jews and Zoroastrians (Parsis) migrated to India. The Parsis, who fled Persia to escape persecuation, settled in Gujarat, while the Jews lived in Kerala.

The best known among the Jesuit missionaries was St Francis Xavier who was instrumental in making the fishing community to take to Christianity in the Tuticorin region.

Diverse institutions with different ideologies came up within the bhakti movement during the medieval period. Parsi merchants were among the richest and most prominent in the port of Surat, and subsequently, in Bombay under the British.

The best-known classical poet, Kamban, wrote Ramayana in Tamil which was formally presented (Arangetram) in the temple at Srirangam.

Sekkilar’s Periyapuranam, similarly was presented at the temple in Chidambaram. Among the other great works of the period is Kalingattup-parani and Muvarula.

The monumental architecture of the Cholas is visible in the great temple of Tanjavur, Gangai-konda-cholapuram and Darasuram, to name only a few. Stone images were sculpted on the temple walls and pillars.

During chola period. Bronze images of great beauty and artistry were made by the ‘lost wax’ process. The best known of them is the iconic representation of Siva as Nataraja, performing the cosmic dance.

The Sultans built forts, tombs, mosques and other monuments in Delhi as well as in south India which came under their rule. Mughals left behind numerous monuments, in addition to constructing entire cities like Shahjahanabad (Delhi) and Fatehpur Sikri, gardens, mosques and forts. The art of painting also flourished in the Mughal period. Primarily known as Mughal miniatures, they were generally intended as book illustrations or were single works to be kept in albums.

A large volume of literature was produced, especially in Persian, and also in Urdu, Hindi and other regional languages. In the performing arts, like Hindustani the name of Tansen is well-known indicating the patronage extended to classical music under Akbar.

In south India, the Vijayanagar rulers and their military chiefs actively supported temple construction. Many new temples were built by them. Besides this, new structures like pavilions and halls with many pillars were added extensively to existing temples, with elaborately carved pillars. emple sculptures of the Vijayanagar period. The intricately carved lofty towers or gopurams at the entrance to temples were all added during the Vijayanagar period.

A large volume of religious literature, especially in Sanskrit, was produced under the patronage of the nayakas and the Vijayanagar rulers. Telugu literature flourished under royal support. A new style of Tamil literature called Prabandham emerged during this period.

Venkatamakhi, son of Govindha Dikshidar who codifying the ragas of Carnatic music had lived in Vijayanagar period. The great commentaries of the epic Silappadikaram were also written during this period.

India was predominantly an agricultural country, and a very large proportion of the population lived in rural areas and depended on agriculture for their livelihood. In the north, the Persian wheel was used for lifting water from wells.

The biggest network of canals known in India was built in fourteenth century by Firuzshah Tughluq in the Delhi area. Construction of lakes, tanks and reservoirs with sluices to let out the water as well as the use of check dams all increased the availability of water for irrigation.

In the Tamil region, the Cholas had created a network of canals for irrigation connecting the tributaries of Kaveri. Lakes and tanks also added to the water sources.

In India variety of food grains like wheat, rice, and millets were grown apart from lentils and oilseeds. Many other commercial crops were also grown such as sugarcane, cotton and indigo. Maize and tobacco were two new crops which were introduced after the arrival of the Europeans.

Many new varieties of fruit or horticultural crops like papaya, pineapple, guava and cashew nut were also introduced which came from the west, especially America. Potatoes, chillies and tomatoes also became an integral part of Indian food.

The peasant in India was more knowledgeable about many crops as compared to peasants in most of the world at the time. In general, two different crops were grown in the different seasons, which protected the productivity of the soil.

Up to the end of the seventeenth century, India was one of the largest manufacturing countries in the world though the economy was primarily agricultural. Non-agricultural production refers to both processed agricultural products and craft production. A large part of the production was intended for local use in the village, or at most a rural region. In economic terms, what was important was specialized production by skilled craftsmen for an external market, especially in demand among the high income rural and urban upper classes.

Nearly all the cloth that was produced was of cotton, though silk weaving had developed in Bengal where silk was produced, and in Gujarat. Each region of India produced a range of highly specialized local varieties of cotton cloth ranging from the coarse to the superfine.

Dyed and printed/patterned cloth involved the use of vegetable dyes. India had two natural advantages in cotton weaving. The first was that cotton grew in almost all parts of India. Second, the technology of producing a permanent colour on cotton using vegetable dyes was known from very early times in India.

Cotton does not absorb dyes without a preparatory process using mordants, which was not known in the rest of the world. Indigo was the most important dye crop that was grown in India, but other dye crops (like the chay root for red colour) were also grown in India.

In addition to such overland trade, smaller ships and boats were used in coastal trade along both the western and eastern coasts of the country. Finally, the major ports like Surat, Masulipatnam, Calicut etc. were the nodal points in international, maritime trade.

Ports like Malacca, Calicut etc. were ‘entrepots’ or intermediate points in this regionally segmented trade. In the seventeenth century, Surat in Gujarat, Masulipatnam in the Golkonda kingdom, Chittagong in Bengal, Pulicat (Pazhaverkadu) and Nagapatnam on the Coromandel Coast, and Calicut in Kerala were all major ports in Asiatic trade.

India was also a major exporter of textiles, pepper, precious and semi-precious gems – especially diamonds which were then found only in India. Textiles accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the total exports from India.

The major imports from China and the east were silk, Chinese ceramics, gold, spices, aromatic woods and camphor. Silk, drugs, dye woods and sugar were the main imports from Persia, while gold, ivory and slaves were brought in from east Africa.

The village was the basic geographical unit of production, and was essentially a subsistence economy and barter were the medium of exchange. Big cities were usually major commercial centres, with bazaars and shops. They were also intermediate points in inter-regional trade since they were connected by a network of roads to other centres in other parts of the country.

In South India, especially the Tamil region, urbanization went hand in hand with temples. Temples were large economic enterprises requiring a variety of goods and services to function. Devotees coming to worship at the temple needed many services and goods, so that temple towns also became marketing centres.

In the beginning of the 9th century A.D. (C.E.), a new institution called Holy Roman Empire came into existence in continental Europe. This had nothing to do with the old Roman Empire which had ceased to exist after 476 A.D. (C.E.).

Charlemagne, the king of Franks, was the first Holy Roman Emperor to assume the title (800 A.D. (C.E.)). Charlemagne was a contemporary of Pallava king Nandivarman II and Pratihara ruler Nagabatta I.

The nobles in England forced King John II to sign a Charter of Liberty in 1215 A.D. (C.E.). It is Magna Carta or the Great Charter. This Charter contained a promise that the king would respect certain liberties of the nobles and the people of England.