MEDIEVAL INDIA HISTORY REVISION FOR PRELIMS This material is only for revision process this material will save a lot of time for preparation and will give you the most
useful information needed for Prelims
The Early Medieval history So many things have occurred in the South Indian peninsula over the years. The Deccan plateau, the region north and south of Krishna-Tungabhadra region is historically important. The Rashtrakutas were a prominent dynasty that ruled India around 8 th to the close of 10 th century. These Rashtrakutas were overthrown by the Chalukyas who established their independent kingdom. Some of the important dynasties of the region were The Rashtrakutas, the Chalukyas of Kalyani, the Pallavas of Kanchi and the Cholas of the Thanjavur.
The Cholas The 2 nd and 13 th Rock edict of Asoka refers to them as friendly power in South India. Together with the Chēras and the Pāndyas, the Cholas formed the three main Tamil dynasties of Iron Age India, who were collectively known as the Three Crowned Kings. Then in history, another great Cholas are coming. The famous dynasty sometimes known as the medieval Cholas.
The great empire of the Chola was founded by Vijayalaya. Began his rule around 850 AD. He was previously under the Pallava kings. He was led by his son Aditya I. He overthrew the Pallava ruler Aparajitavarman. Later on Parantaka I came to the throne. After Parantaka I many others succeeded them like Gandaraditya, Sundara Chola, Karikala and Uttama Chola. Rajaraja Chola (AD 985-1014) was the son of Sundara Chola. Succeeded the throne and was a great ruler. He had the titles Mummadi Choladev, Jayangonda, Martanda etc. Rajaraja Chola was militarily very powerful and made Cholas very powerful. He conquered Kalinga and the Old islands of the sea which can be Laccadives and Maladives. He constructed the famous Brihadeshwara Temple, the Shiva temple at Thanjavur. It is also called Rajarajeshvara. Rajendra I Gangaikonda (AD 1014-44) was the son of Rajaraja I. He brought the Chola empire to its glory.he annexed the whole of Sri Lanka.
He regained the power over Kerala and Pandyan kings. He founded the capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Made a huge temple there with brilliant granite sculptures. THE OTHER ASPECTS OF CHOLAS This time was characterized by the rise of Bhakti Movement. Lord Shiva was worshipped as symbol of fertility. The Brihadeshvara Temple of Thanjavur is a classic example of Dravidian Style of temple. Many wonderful bronze figurines were crafted during this period. The Nataraja statue is very famous. The Local Self Government was very famous. The Assemblies were of 3types. There was UR, SABHA/MAHASHABHA & THE
NAGARAM. Ur was the common one. The Sabha was exclusively dominated by the
Brahmanas. The Nagaram had Merchants assembly. The system of canals was very renowned in this time. The empire was divided into Mandalams- Kottams- Nadus(district)-Kurrams (Village). Tiger was their emblem. They had fine and strong navy. Mahabalipuram, Kaveripattanam and Korkai are the important ports. Land tax constituted the single largest source of income of the Chola state It was generally assessed at one-third of the produce Trade with foreign countries was an important feature of the Cholas mercantile activities There were gigantic trade guilds that traded with Java and Sumatra Kalanju was the currency prevalent in the Chola kingdom The Nattar was the dominant peasant community, and the cultivators were the subordinate client group of the nattars THE ADMINISTRATION OF CHOLAS The king was the head of the administration It was hereditary monarchy The rule of primogeniture generally prevailedthe king gave verbal orders (Tiruvakya-kelvi) Officers like Olainayamak (Chief Secretary) and Vidaiyadhikari (despatch clerk)were prominent The army consisted of infantry, cavalry and elephants which formed the three limbs of the great army The Velaikkarars were the most dependable troops in the royal service
They were the bodyguards of the monarch, who defended him with their lives and were ready to immolate themselves on the king s funeral The whole empire was divided into mandalams or provinces The villages were mainly of three types The first type constituted of an intercaste population where the land was held by all classes of people and paid taxes to the king in the form of land revenue. (Popular one) The second was the Brahmadeya or agrahara villages which was granted to the Brahmins and was entirely inhabited by them They were exempted from tax and were prosperous The third type of village was the Devadana, which were villages granted to god The revenues from these villages were donated to a temple The Devadana type of villages gained more popularity as the temples became important UR, SABHA & NAGARAM The ur was a general assembly of the village The ur consisted of all the tax-paying residents of an ordinary village The Alunganattar was the executive committee and the ruling group of the ur The ur open to all male adults but was dominated by the older members The sabha was apparently an exclusively Brahmin assembly of the brahmadeya villages The sabha had more complex machinery, which functioned largely through its committees called the variyams
The sabha possessed proprietary rights over communal lands
It also controlled private lands of the villages It reclaimed forest and waste land It aided in the assessment of the produce and land revenue HOW ABOUT THE ELECTIONS? Election to the executive body and other committees of the ur and sabha appears to have been conducted by draw of lots from among those who were eligible The nagaram was an assembly of merchants and were found more commonly in the trading centers The Rashtrakutas
They were feudatories of Chalukyas of Badami. It was founded by Dantivarman/Dantidurga. He defeated the Chalukyan king Kirtivarman. His uncle Krishna I led the other conquests and defeated the Chalukyas of Badami, Gangas of Mysore etc. Then there were Govinda II and Dhruva who ruled the dynasty. He was again succeeded by Govinda III. He fought against North Indian Kings and the Pala king Dharmapala and Chakrayudha. He was succeeded by his son Amoghavarsha/Sarva. He patronized literature and arts. After them came Indra III and Krishna III. Indra III defeats the Prathihara King Mahipala. The Rashtrakutas were of Kannada origin and Kannada language was their mother tongue Dantidurga was the founder of the Rashtrakuta dynasty He defeated the Gurjaras and captured Malwa His successor Krishna I was also a great conqueror. He defeated the Gangas and the eastern Chalukyas of Vengi. He built the magnificent rock-cut
monolithic Kailasa temple at Ellora
Amoghavarsha I was a follower of Jainism. Jinasena was his chief preceptor He was also a patron of letters and he himself wrote the famous Kannada work, Kavirajamarga He had also built the Rashtrakuta capital, the city of Malkhed or Manyakheda The Rashtrakuta Empire was divided into several provinces called rashtras under the control of rashtrapatis They were further divided into vishayas or districts governed by vishayapatis The next subdivision was bhukti consisting of 50 to 70 villages under the control of bhogapatis The Hindu sects of Vaishnavism and Saivism flourished during the period of Rashtrakutas Almost one third of the population of the Deccan were Jains There were some prosperous Buddhist settlements at places like Kanheri, Sholapur and Dharwar There was harmony among various religions There was a college at Salatogi, situated in modern Bijapur district An inscription gives details of this educational centre It was run by the income from the endowments made by the rich as well as by all the villagers on occasions of functions and festivals The Rashtrakutas widely patronized the Sanskrit literature There were many scholars in the Rashtrakuta court. Trivikrama wrote Nalachampu and the Kavirahasya was composed by Halayudha during the reign of Krishna III
Amogavarsha I, who was a Jain patronized many Jain scholars
His teacher Jinasena composed Parsvabhudaya, a biography of Parsva in verses Another scholar Gunabhadra wrote the Adipurana, the life stories of various Jain saints Sakatayana wrote the grammer work called Amogavritti The great mathematician of this period, Viracharya was the author of Ganitasaram The Kannada literature saw its beginning during the period of the Rashtrakutas Amogavarsha s Kavirajamarga was the first poetic work in Kannada language Pampa was the greatest of the Kannada poets. His famous work was Vikramasenavijaya Ponna was another famous Kannada poet and he wrote Santipurana OTHER ASPECTS OF RASHTRAKUTAS The man of Letters Jinasena who wrote Adipurana lived under the patronage of Amoghavarsha. There were Mahaviracharya who wrote Ganitasara Samghraha. Saktayan wrote Amoghavritti. The Arab traveler Al Masudi came during the Rashrakuta period and was impressed by Indra III.
The Chalukyas The Rashtrakutas were overthrown by Tailapa or Taila who founded another dynasty called the Chalukya dynasty which had the capital at Kalyani (Karnataka) There are many Chalukyan dynasties. MAIN CHALUKYAS Chalukyas of Badami/Vatapi. They are known as early western Chalukyas. Chalukyas of Vengi. They are known as Eastern Chalukyas. The Chalukyas of Kalyani. They are known as Western Chalukyas. The Chalukyas of Gujarat. The Chalukyas began with a base in northern Mysore at Vatapi or Badami and the adjacent Aihole, from where they moved northward and annexed the former kingdom of the Vakatakas Pulakesin I (550-566) was the real fouder of the Chalukya dynasty of Badami. He made Badami or Vatapi as his capital. He adopted the title Vallabheshvara and performed the ashvamedha He was succeeded by Kirtivarman I With the expeditions of Pulakesin II, the Chalukyas became the paramount power in the Deccan
The army of Pulakesin II checked the forces of Harshavardhana on the banks of the Narmada The Pallava King Narasimhavarman I (A.D. 630-668) occupied the Chalukya capital at Vatapi in about 642 A.D., when Pulakesin II was probably killed in fight against the Pallavas One of the paintings in Ajanta represents Pulakesin II receiving the ambassador from Iran Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim visited the kingdom of Pulakesin in about 641 A.D Vikramaditya I plundered the Pallava capital, Kanchi, thus avenging his father s defeat and death at the hands of the Pallavas The other Dynasties The Senas of Bengal were supposed to be the original inhabitants of Dhakshinapatha. The last ruler of Pala dynasty called Madanapala was defeated by the founder of Sena dynasty called Vijayasena. Ballalasena and Lakshmana Sena are notable kings in the Sena dynasty. The Pratihara dynasty was founded by Nagabhatt II. They fought continuous battles and got the glory under the king Bhoja I/ Mihirabhoja. Mihirabhoja adopted the title Adivaraha.
The Pratihara dynasty was called as Gurjara Pratihara.
Rajputs were also very known family. They have emerged from the Agnikula. The 4 agnikula clans are Pratiharas, Chauhans, Solankis and Paramaras. The Chandela dynasty was centered in the region of Bundelkhand. It was founded by Nanuka. Dhanga was the famous king. The Pallava dynasty was very famous. The term Pallava meant Creeper and is a Sanskrit one for Tamil called Tondai. Their capital was at Kanchi. Dandi was the court poet of Narasimha Varman II. Vaishnavism and Shaivism became very popular during the Pallava period. Majority of the kings were Shaivites except Simhavishnu and Nandivarman who were Vaishnavites. The Kailashnatha temples, the temples of Mahabalipuram are classic examples of Pallava temples. The Arab conquest of Sind The Khalifa of Baghdad wanted his governor Hajjaj to invade Sindh. The ships carrying some valuable materials/gifts were travelling from Ceylon to Baghdad. This ship was attacked by the pirates. This angered the Arabs.
Mohammad Bin Qasim invaded Sindh in 712 AD and killed the Hindu king Dahir in the Battle of Rowar. Islam was spreading in different parts of India. The Turkish invasion (1000-1025 AD) A man called Mahmud of Ghazni attacked India. He wanted to plunder wealth from India.
He attacked India 17 times. He defeated Anandapal of Hindu Shahi dynasty in the Battle of Waihind. He attacked different temples of India. He completely destroyed the Somnathpur temple. He destroyed the temple of Thaneshwar and burnt the temple of Mathura. FACTS RELATED TO MAHMUD OF GHAZNI The poet Firdausi wrote the SHAHNAMA (Book of Kings) Alberuni was a person related to Mahmud and he wrote the Tarikh-ulhind. He took the wealth of India to Ghazni and wanted to make it one of the prosperous cities in the world.
MOHAMMAD OF GHORI EPISODE Mohammad of Ghori came after Mahmud of Ghazni and waged many battles in India. He attacked India between 1175-1206 AD. Mohammad of Ghori was defeated in the Battle of Tarain in 1191 AD. The Indian ruler Prithviraj Chauhan defeated him. In 1192 AD, Mohammad Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan in the 2 nd Battle of Tarain. In 1193, in the Battle of Chandwar, Ghori defeated the king Jayachandra. After he left India, the territories were handed over to the other Generals. The most notable general was Qutb-ud-din Aibak who later started a new empire called the Slave Dynasty. THE SLAVE DYNASTY
After the death of Ghori, the general Qutb-ud-din Aibak was in Lahore. Ghori had given him the Vice regal powers in India. There was a series struggle for the throne. It was between the Ghori s generals who were all slaves. They were Nasiruddin Qabachha, Tajuddin Yildiz and Qutb-ud-din Aibak. So Qutb-ud-din Aibak took the control of India and established his empire in India. In 1206, the foundation of the empire was laid and started the Delhi Sultanate. It was the first ruling dynasty of the sultanate.
They were also called as Yamini and Ilbari Turk dynasty. Sometimes called as the Mameluqs /Mameluq dynasty. Mameluq means Slaves born of free parents. THE DIFFERENT DYNASTIES OF DELHI SULTANATE The ILBRI --- 1206-1290 The KHALJIS --- 1290-1320 The TUGHLAQS --- 1320-1413 The SAYYIDS --- 1414-1451 The LODIS --- 1451-1526 All the kings in the dynasty are not slaves. Aibak, Iltutmish and Balban were slaves during their early life. Qutb-ud-din Aibak (1206-10) Turk of the Aibak tribe means Lord of the moon in Turkish. Lahore and later Delhi were his capitals. His main intention was to control the empire from different forces. There was no time for fresh conquests. He initiated the work of Qutb Minar.
One day while playing CHAUGAN, he fell from the horse and died. He had a title called LAK-BAKSH. It was because of his kind and generous attitude and behavior. The foundation of Qutb Minar was laid and named after the Sufi saint Qutbud-din Bhaktiyar Kaki. He was succeeded by his incapable son Aram Shah. He was later succeeded by Iltutmish. Iltutmish (1210-1236) His real name was Shamsuddin Iltutmish. When Aibak died, he was the governor of Badaun. Delhi was his capital. He had to continuously fight with Tajuddin Yildiz and Nasiruddin Qabachha to keep the empire under control.
He also saved the Sultanate from the Mongol Invasion. He received the Deed of Investiture from the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad. His status of Sultan was recognized officially. It was during his period, a powerful group of ruling nobles called Turkanii-Chwahalgai or Chalisa (The group of forty) formed. The whole of his empire was divided into big and small lands called IQTAS. It was also given as salary to the officers. Iltutmish introduced the two coins of the Sultanate called Silver Tanka and copper Jittal. He wanted his daughter, Razia to be the next ruler as he was not confident about his other sons. After his death, some Turkish nobles made his son Ruknuddin Firoz as the emperor. He was later dethroned by Razia. SULTANA RAZIA (1206-1240)
She is the first and last Muslim ruler of medieval India. She had asked the people to depose her if she could not fulfill the expectations of the people. She began to avoid purdah and started to wear Male attire and started presenting herself as a king like one. She used to travel on the back of an elephant whenever she wanted to meet the public.
The nobles slowly started to go against her. Her actions in many field angered the nobles. She could rule only for three and a half years. She raised and promoted an Abyssinian man called Lallaluddin Yakut as the master of stables. Kabir Khan of Lahore revolted against her and she herself marched to crush him. In another case, the governor of Bhatinda also revolted. She was defeated in this and was married by Altonia. The nobles were very angry with such moves and decided to put Bahram Shah, the son of Iltutmish on the throne of Delhi. On the way back to Delhi, Razia s forces were defeated by the Bahram s army. The army left her and was later murdered by the robbers. Bahram Shah was succeeded by Alauddin Masud Shah. And next, the line was occupied by the powerful Balban. BALBAN (1266-86)
With his kingship, the rulers of the Iltutmish family ended. Balban was a leading Turkish noble and married his daughter to the Sultan. Sultan gave him the titles like Ilaib-i-mamlakat (Regent) and Ulugh Khan (Premier Khan). Consolidation and Expansion were his core principles. His entire focus was given to consolidation and saving the empire from different threats. The size of the army was increased and more incentives were given to the army. Regular military drills were organized. He actively controlled and resisted the Mongol invasion
The Iqtas were given in lieu of salaries. He separated the Military department (Diwan-i-Arz) from the Finance department (Diwan-i-Wizarat). He was the first Sultan to discuss about the views of Kingship. He derived his Kingship from the Sassanid Persia. He brought the concept of Shadow of God (Zil-i-illahi). He believed that he ruled on the basis of Divine Sanction and was not answerable to any of them. His court was modeled on Iranian model and inspired the Sassanid model. Balban before becoming the king was an active member of Forty. He had a tough time against the governor of Bengal called Tughril. Even after two failed attempts, Balban had to reach there and settle the accounts. It was a big strain for him during his old age. His heir, Muhammad was killed against the Mongols and this incident made Balban very weak. He was succeeded by his grandson Kaiqubad who was very pleasure seeking man. The administration became very weak. Jalaluddin Firoz Khalji killed him
and took over. With this the Ilbari dynasty ended.
THE KHILJI DYNASTY (1290-1320) They came through a big revolution, sometimes called the Khilji revolution. Jalaluddin Khliji s (1290-96) entry was a big revolution and ended the Ilbari Dynasty. He wanted to keep intact his kingdom and even followed a conciliatory policy with the Mongols. He married one of his daughters to the Mongol leader Uligh Khan. During his time, there was a campaign against the Yadava Kingdom in the Deccan. Devagiri, the capital of the Yadavas was invaded by Ali Gurshap. Ali Gurshap is no one else but Sultan Alauddin Khilji. After the invasion, Ali Gurshap invited the Sultan to Kara to receive the booty and other wealth as present. When the Sultan came, he was brutally murdered by Ali Gurshap. There Ali Gurshap proclaimed himself the Sultan and took the name Alauddin Khilji. ALAUDDIN KHILJI (1296-1316)
Ali Gurshap became the Sultan and he reached back to Delhi and killed the family of Jalaluddin Khilji. The son of the former Sultan, Arkali Khan was also eliminated. He made it sure he removed all the Jalali nobles and Balbani nobles are out from the empire. He wanted the Consolidation and Expansion to go together. Anhilwad was attacked and the King Kama with his daughter ran away. Alauddin married the chief queen Kamala Devi with full honour.
During the raid and attack of the Cambay region, the commander of Alauddin called Nusrat Khan got a slave who later on became the military general. He was Malik Kafur (Hazardinari). He even became the Malik Naib of Alauddin. He captures Chittoor and named it Khizraabad after his son Khizr Khan. Between 1307-1312, Malik Kafur attacked the Deccan territories and fought with the Kakatiyas, Hoysalas, Pandyas etc. The Pandyas refused to accept the Sultanate. Mongols attacked during the time of Alauddin. The border areas were now guarded well. He followed some steps to keep his empire strong and free from internal rebellions. SOME OF THE STEPS(ORDINANCES) TAKEN BY THE SULTAN
Prevention of wealth distribution among the nobles. Grants of lands were revoked. Good spy system was organized. Sale and use of Alcohol and related materials were banned in Delhi. Parties, marriages between the Noble families needed the permission from the Sultan.
MARKET REFORMS OF ALAUDDIN KHILJI The basic objective was to maintain a large army. Prices of many commodities were reduced. It was also for the Welfare of the people. The prices of many commodities were fixed. Different markets were launched for different things. Separate markets for Grains, manufactured goods, general goods, market for horses, cattle s, slaves etc. There was a controller of market. Merchants should get registered. Sultan got daily reports of the market. Strict punishment for cheating and underweight. Subsidy was given. Rationing during the famines.