INDIA FROM 6TH TO 14TH CENTURY- Notes

 

INDIA FROM 6TH TO 14TH CENTURY

Certain dynasties ruled between 6th and 14th centuries in India. After the Vardhanas, Rajputs and Karkota dynasties ruled in North India. Subsequently, Mohammed Ghazni, Mohammed Ghori and the Delhi Sultans ruled over many parts of India. RAJPUTS (6th to 12th Century) Gurjara Pratihars, Garhwalas, Paramars, Chouhans, Solankis and Chandela Rajput families ruled in North India. They have contributed a lot to literature, art and architecture. Gurjara Pratihars : Harichandra started the Gurjara dynastic rule. His four sons ruled the different branches of Pratihars at Jodhpur, Nandipur, Broach and Ujjain. Among these, Nagabhatta who ruled Ujjain was prominent and successful in facing the Arab invasion. He extended his territory upto some portions of Rajputan, beyond Gujarat and Malwa. Another prominent king, Mihir Bhoj, defeated Narayanpala of the Palas and expanded his kingdom. The Arab travellers, Suleiman and Al Masood visited his court.

After Mahendra Pala and Mahipala, this dynasty began to decline. Garhwalas : The founder of this dynasty was Chandradeva. He conquered a vast area of North India. Govindachandra was another famous king of this dynasty. He not only seized Magadha and Malwa from the Palas but also fought with Kalinga rulers and expanded his  kingdom as far as Orissa. He had good diplomatic relations with the Kashmir, Gujarat and Chola kings. Paramaras : Upendra Krishna Raja was the founder of this dynasty.

Their capital was Dhara of Malwa. King Shiyak of this dynasty defeated Kottiga II of the Rashtrakutas and freed himself from his feudatory position. He constructed many tanks and temples. Dhananjaya, Bhatta Halayuddha, Dhanika and Padmagupta were the scholars in his court. Chauhans : This dynasty was the most Prithviraj Chauhan prominent among the Rajput dynasties. Prithviraj Chouhan who hailed from Ajmer, was the most famous king of this dynasty. He defeated Chandela kings of Bundelkhand. He defeated Mohammed Ghori in the first battle of Terrain but lost in the second battle of Terrain because of the treachery of Jayachandra. Due to this, he lost his kingdom of Delhi to Mohammed Ghori. Prithviraj Chouhan was known for his bravery and adventurous nature, and he was commemorated in the Hindi epic, ‘Prithvirajaraso’.

Some of his unwise decisions led to his downfall. Solankis : Mularaja I was the founder of this dynasty. Bheemaraya I was the famous king of this dynasty. During his rule, Mohammed Ghazni attacked the Somnath Temple of Gujarat. Since he could not resist the attack of Mohammed Ghazni, Bheemaraya I handed over the power to his son Karnadeva. During this dynastic rule the famous Jain scholar Hemachandra, wrote a dictionary in Prakrit language called ‘Deshinamamala’. Mularaja II defeated Mohammed Ghori near Mount Abu. Subsequently, Allauddin Khilji’s commanders Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan defeated Karnadeva and took over this province. Chandelas : After the decline of Paramars, Chandelas established their kingdom.

 They were the feudal kings of Pratihars. Dhanga was the famous king of this dynasty. He declared himself free from the Pratihars and occupied the eastern portion of their kingdom. He defeated the Palas and the Adras and expanded his kingdom. He gave military assistance to Hindu Shahi king Jayapala against Muslims. He was bestowed the title ‘Maharajadhiraja’. During his rule Bhavabhooti wrote the poetic works ‘Malati Madhava’, ‘Uttara Ramacharitha’ and ‘Mahavira Charitha’ in Sanskrit. The king Dhanga was a scholar himself and had a number of scholars. His kingdom was taken over by the Khilji sultans. Hatred and lack of unity among the Rajput kings led to their decline. The contributions of Rajputs The Rajputs were Kshatriyas and brave warriors. They celebrated many Hindu festivals. During their rule, women enjoyed equal status with men. Sati and johar practices were prevalent in this period. Swayamvar marriages were common in royal families.

The Rajput women were proud and brave. Women were well-versed in literature, dance, music, painting and embroidery. The Rajput kings encouraged scholars and there by have contributed a lot to the field of literature.

The Rajput kings Bhoja and Munja were scholars themselves. King Munja had poets Padmagupta and Halayudha in his court. During the rule of Bhojaraja great Jain scholars like Shantisena, Prabhachandrasuri and Ghanapala enjoyed his patronage. Great poetic works like ‘Gita Govinda’ of Jayadeva, ‘Kiratarjuniya’ of Bharavi, Ravanavadha of Bharthrahari, Kavyameemamsa of Mahendrapala were written in this period. Dramas like ‘Balaramayana’ and ‘Karpuramanjari’ of Rajasekhara, ‘Mahavira Charita’ and ‘Uttara Ramacharita’ of Bhavabhuti, historical works like ‘Rajatarangini’ of Kalhana, ‘Prithvirajavijaya’ of Jayanika and ‘Kumarapalacharita’ of Hemachandra are the significant works of this period. ‘Prithvirajaraso’ was written by Chand Bardai and ‘Bhoja prabandha’ was written by Ballala. During this period Gujarati, Rajasthani and Hindi languages saw lot of development.

The Rajput kings encouraged the educational centers of Nalanda, Banaras, Vikramashila and Ujjain. Art and Architecture The Rajput kings constructed massive forts at Chittoda, Mandu, Ranathambore, Jodhpur and Gwalior in North India. The palaces of Jaipur, Gwalior and Udaipur, Mount Abu basadi and Dilawar temple at Mount Abu, Vimalavasai, Lunavasai temples are artistic architectural constructions. The Chandelas built the famous Khajuraho and Khandaraya temple at Madhya Pradesh. Shiva and Vishnu temples were prominent constructions during their time. They encouraged painting too. Their style of painting is called ‘Rajasthani’ and ‘Pahari’ schools of paintings. The Rajasthani style of painting can be seen at Mewar, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bhuni. Pahari style of painting can be seen at Khasoli, Jammu and Garhwal.

KARKOTA EMPIRE OF KASHMIR (625-855) The Indian King who extended his kingdom as far as the Caspian Sea, victorious over modern Iran, administered towards the east – Bengal, developed friendship with the Rashtrakutas and the kings of northern China. Truly! Yes. Unbelievable. It was possible to the great King Lalithaditya Muktapida of Karkota of Kashmir. Founded in 625 by Raja Durlabhavardhana, Karkota was one of the strongest of empires of India. Baladithya of Gonanda dynasty made his son-in-law heir to the throne. He married off his another daughter

Anangalekha to Durlabhavardhana. After the death Baladithya, Durlabhavardhana continued to rule. His dynasty came to be known as Karkota. His son Durlabhaka ( Prathapaditya) married Narendraprabha and got three sons- Chandrapeeda (Vajraditya), Tarapeeda (Udayaditya) and Muktapeeda (Lalithaditya). Lalithaditya Lalithaditya Muktapeeda: We get details about him in Kalhana’s Rajatarangini. Al-Beruni’s Tariq-e-hind also praises the adventures of Lalithaditya. We find his references in many Chinese historical works. Lalithaditya was a born brave, courageous and ambitious. He defeated Yashovarma of Kanauj. He laid his supremacy over Kabul by defeating Shahi dynasty. He was friendly with the rulers Vindyachala, the Rashtrakutas and extended his influence to Bengal. He fought with Tibet and made some provinces independent. Thus, Karkota dynasty included Uzbekistan, Tajakistan, Krigistan and Kajakistan and Kabul. With such a vast expansion that they had, that even Arabs and Turks could not lay siege over them, could rule for nearly 300 years. Contributions to Art: During their span of 230 years (625-855) Karkota Kingdom had their influence in the Himalayas and Mid- Asia. Bay of Bengal on the east, Vindyachala on the south, Caspian Sea on the west, and Tibet on the north were the borders. Shaivas, Buddhists and Sanathana Dharmiyas had equal respects in the kingdom. Lalithapeeda himself built Stupas. He also built Marthanda Surya temple.

 It was built in such a manner as floating magnificant the lake. They were Surya worshippers. Their capital was Paraspore or Parihasapura. The age of Karkotas was considered the age of Shaiva Siddantha. Shaivasuthra was written by Vasugupta. Great philosopher and poet, Abhinavagupta belonged to this period. Thrika and Koula traditions developed during this period. It was a golden era in the history of Kashmir. Kalhana was the court poet of Lalithaaditya. Downfall: Kings after Lalithaditya, were not powerful. Kuvalya peeda, the son of Lalithaditya, having dejected towards life, left his palace in search of peace and attained Moksha, says Rajatarangini. Vajraditya was neither clever nor brave to fight enemies from Sindh. Prithivyapeeda, Jayaapeeda, Sangramapeeda were weak.

The dynasty met its downfall. AFGHAN INVADERS Mahamood Ghazni : (997 – 1030) Alaptigin, the Turkish slave established an independent kingdom at Ghazni. Mahmood Ghazni invaded India 17 times and looted a lot of wealth. He defeated Multan king, Raja Jaipala, Bhimapala and Chandela King Raja Trilochanapala. He attacked Nagarakote, Thaneswar, Gwalior and Ujjain cities. Mahmood Ghazni attacked the famous Somnath temple of Gujarat with a huge army and plundered the great wealth therein after destroying the Shivalinga. Mahmood Ghazni’s invasions of India led to subsequent invasions by Turks. Mahmood Ghazni encouraged poets, scholars and the fine arts. A scholar in his court, Alberuni, wrote the famous ‘Tarik-ul-hind’. Indian lifestyle and knowledge have been discussed in this work. Mohammed Ghori (1149-1206) Mahamood Ghazni failed to establish Turkish rule in India, Mohammed Ghori continued this effort.

 Ambitious of expanding his kingdom, Mohammed Ghori started his invasions through Multan in India. After conquering the province of Multan, he invaded Anilwada of Gujarat. He failed in this effort. Undeterred, he invaded Peshawar part of Punjab. Later, after wresting Lahore from Khusro Malik, he became very powerful in Punjab. Peshawar became his military headquarters.

He tried to invade adjacent areas of Delhi and Ajmer, and lost to Rajput king, Prithiviraj Chouhan in the first battle of Terrain. In the second battle of Terrain, he defeated Prithviraj. The commander of Ghori, Qutubuddin Aibak, took control of Delhi and defeated many Rajput kings in the Ganga plains and expanded Ghori’s kingdom. In this manner, the Turkish rule began in North India. Mohammed Ghori appointed his trusted servant Qutubuddin Aibak to look after his administration in India. Lack of unity among Rajput rulers in India led to expansion of Ghori’s kingdom. DELHI SULTANATE (1206 – 1526 ) Ghulam, Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayed and Lodhi dynasties ruled Delhi. GHULAM DYNASTY Qutubuddin Aibak continued his rule in India. Since Aibak and his successors were all slaves, their dynasty came to be known as Ghulam dynasty. Qutubuddin Aibak Qutubuddin Aibak laid a solid foundation for the Delhi Sultanate rule in India. Qutubuddin who belonged to Turkish dynasty of Afghanistan, was sold to the Khaji of Nishapur by his guardians. In addition to Persian and Arabic language education, Aibak had the training in archery, horse riding and warfare.

The Governor of Ghazni, Mohammed Ghori, bought him as a slave. Aibak, during his stay at Ghazni, attracted the attention of Mohammed Ghori by his bravery. After the II war of Terrain, he supervised the invasions of India. During the period of Mohammed Ghori, Aibak became his successor in North India. After Ghori, he ruled as an independent king. In order to consolidate his position, on assuming power, he had marital relations with Iltamush and Nasiruddin Kabaccha. In addition to this he married the daughter of Tajuddin Yeldoj. While Nasiruddin and Tajuddin were Mohammed Ghori’s slaves, Iltamush was Aibak’s slave. Aibak constructed Quwat-ul-Islam mosque in Delhi. He began the construction of Qutub Minar in Delhi. There were the scholars, Nizami and Faq-E-Mudabbeer in his court. A work called ‘Tajul Masir’ gives all information about Aibak. Iltamush Iltamush belonged to the family of ‘Ilbari’ and was Qutubbuddin Aibak’s slave.

 He was Gwalior’s administrator and later became Aibak’s successor. Unable to tolerate the progress of Iltamush, the Ghazni king Tajuddin Yeldoj and, Sindh’s Nasiruddin Kabacha revolted against him. After defeating them and consolidating his position, Iltamush conquered Ranathambore, Mandora, Gwalior, Bhilsa, Ajmer, Benares and Kanauj. For the first time, the Mongol Emperor Chengiz Khan invaded India. Iltamush successfully forced them to retreat.

 As a result of these achievements, the Khalif of Baghdad honoured Iltamush with a letter bestowing administrative power. Iltamush divided his kingdom into provinces (ikta) and to oversee the administration, appointed provincial officers (iktadars). He appointed a group of 40 Sardars to advise him in the matters of administration and justice. The Prime Minister and the judges were advisors to the Sultan. Iltamush brought gold and silver coins into circulation. He completed the construction of Qutub Minar which was started in Qutubuddin Aibak’s time.

Razia Sultan Since Iltamush’s son Ruknuddin Feroze was incompetent, his daughter Razia Begum became his successor. She was the first woman to ascend the throne of Delhi. She earned the title of ‘Sultana’ and participated in military activities by wearing a man’s dress. She expanded her kingdom from Sindh to Bengal. Envious of her prosperity, the provincial officers revolted against her and killed her. Ghiyas Uddin Balban Balban was Iltamush’s slave and was a member of the ‘Turkish group of slaves’ by his loyalty, intelligence and good qualities.

In the court of Razia Sultana, he was appointed as Amir-E-Shikhar. He controlled the disobedient Turkish sardars. He thwarted the Mongolian attack and established peace and order in the kingdom. He brought tradition and discipline in the court. He used to wear ostentatious Persian style of clothes. He declared himself a representative of the God and brought absolute monarchy into practice. Under the leadership of experienced and trustworthy commanders, he reconstituted his army. He took back the land from those who did not pay service tax for the land they had received as jahagir (gift). To repel the attack of Mongols, he constructed forts in the northwest direction of Delhi. After the decline of the able Balban, the Sultan Qaiqubad got assassinated by his minister. With that, the Slave dynasty ended. KHILJI DYNASTY (1290 – 1320) Khilji dynasty was established by Jalaluddin. He was soft-spoken and merciful. This emboldened his sardars (lieutenants) to conspire against him. Later, he was killed by Allauddin who became the Sultan of Delhi. Allauddin Khilji : Allauddin Khilji grew up under the protection of Jalaluddin. As a brave soldier, he served as the governor and commander. As a commander-in-chief, he looted vast wealth in the attacks on Malwa, Bhilsa and Devagiri. This helped him to plot and murder his guide and mentor, Jalaluddin. Thus Allauddin became the Sultan of Delhi.

 

Allauddin not only resisted Mongol attack but also defeated many of the kings in North and South India and plundered a lot of wealth. He defeated the kings of Waghela dynasty, the Rajput king Karnadeva II, Ranathambore’s Hamirdeva and Raja Bhimsingh of Chittor. In addition to this, he conquered Malwa, Jalore, Bundi, Mandore and Tonk. His commander Malik Kafur invaded South India and looted the rich wealth. He invaded Devagiri, Warangal, Dwarasamudra and Madurai became the cause for their destruction. He did not merge these provinces with his kingdom but only looted their wealth. His third son, Qutubuddin Mubarak, ruled for four years and was killed by a soldier called Khusro. Later, Ghazi Malik (Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq) assassinated Khusro and established Tughlaq dynasty. Administrative reforms : Allauddin Khilji brought about many reforms in the administration. He abolished religious endowments, inams (gifts), land and subsidy.

 He established efficient intelligence network. He abolished consumption of alcohol, drugs and gambling. He also banned social gatherings of his lieutenants, their socialization with the public and inter-caste marriages. He directed his lieutenants to collect heavy tax from the public. Military reforms : The appointment and Do you know this? Doab : The land between two rivers is called Do-ab. Ex.GangaYamuna Doab. training of soldiers, arms and ammunitions, horses and payment of salary was the responsibility of the Defence Minister. Records of soldiers and their horses were maintained systematically. He brought in the practice of stamping of horses. He built forts at starategic places. Economic reforms : He fixed the price of essential commodities like pulses and cereals, edible oil, sugar, salt, cloth and others with a minimum profit. He directed the traders to sell products at controlled rates. He appointed a higher officer called “Sahana-E-Mandi” to control the markets.

TUGHLAQ DYNASTY (1320 TO 1399.) Ghiyasuddin established the Tughlaq dynasty. Mohammed bin Tughlaq and Feroze Tughlaq were prominent in this dynasty. Ghiyasuddin established peace and order in Delhi through liberal administrative practices. He strengthened the borders of his kingdom to stall the invasion by Mongols. He constructed irrigation canals and reduced land tax on farmers. He started the postal system through horsemen and foot-soldiers. He constructed the famous court of Tughlaqabad near Delhi. He conquered Warangal and Madurai. Later, he established peace and order in Gujarat and Bengal. Mohammad bin Tughlaq Mohammad bin Tughlaq was well-versed in Persian and Arabic languages. In spite of his vast knowledge, he had many flaws in his character. He lacked common sense, understanding, tolerance, mental balance, farsightedness and ability to take pragmatic decisions. Administrative reforms : Revenue reforms : He compiled a detailed record of land taxes pertaining to land holdings. He established the Department of Agriculture. Uncultivated land was utilized for farming and other purposes. He rendered financial help to the farmers. He increased the taxes in Do-ab areas. Shifting of his capital : Mohammad bin Tughlaq shifted his capital from Delhi to Devagiri in Madhya Pradesh. The main purpose of this exercise was to locate the capital in the centre of the kingdom and also ensure protection from invasion by outsiders. Though his idea was good, inability to make suitable arrangements for the implementation resulted in innumerable people suffering a lot of problems. Practice of symbolic coins: Mohammad bin Tughlaq had gold and silver coins made according to the prevailing price. He brought into circulation gold coins called ‘dinar’ and silver coins called ‘adali’. He had them artistically structured. After some years, he brought in copper and brass symbolic coins into circulation.

Minting of coins was not the monopoly of the government. Thus, when even common people began minting coins, chaos resulted. Expensive administrative practices, severe famine, shifting of the capital and its re-shifting emptied the coffers of the kingdom. Deccan Policy: Mohammad bin Tughlaq carried on his administration in the areas he had conquered in the Deccan. He took over Warangal of the Kakatiya’s and vanquished the capital of the Hoysalas, Dwarasamudra. He conquered Madurai in South India and appointed Jalaluddin Hasansha as the governor for its administration. In this manner, Mohammad bin Tughlaq became the first of the Delhi Sultans to establish his vast empire in India. Mohammad bin Tughlaq assembled a very large army without any farsightedness.

 As he did not try to expand his empire by invasions, he caused a heavy loss to the state exchequer. During the last 11 years of his rule, there were about 27 rebellions in South India which led to the rise of Vijayanagar and Bahamani kingdoms. After the decline of Mohammad bin Do this yourself : List and compare the administrative departments in present-day Karnataka and during the period of the Delhi Sultans. Tughlaq, Firoze Shah Tughlaq took up many projects for the welfare of his subjects. With a view of helping the subjects, he waived the takkavi loans. He paid compensation to the people who had suffered during Mohammad bin Tughlaq’s rule. He abolished about 20 taxes. Private mines and irrigation facilities were taxed. He constructed cities, mosques, madrasas, dams and canals. The main cities which he built were Jonpur, Fatehbad, Hissar, Firozepur and Firozabad. Jonpur was a famous center for learning. He built choultries for the benefit of tourists and travelers.

SAYYED DYNASTY (1414 – 1451) After conquering Delhi, the governor of Multan, Khizarkhan Sayyed, established his rule in Do-ab, Bian and Gwalior. He suppressed the rebels and established peace and order. Mohammad Shah, Allauddin and Alam Shah were the prominent rulers of this dynasty. Alam Shah was defeated by Bahulol Lodhi, thus putting an end to the Sayyed dynasty rule. LODHI DYNASTY (1451 – 1526) This is the last Sultanate to rule Delhi. Bahulol Lodhi, Sikander Lodhi and Ibrahim Lodhi were the sultans of this dynasty. Sikander Lodhi conquered Bihar, Bengal, Dholpur and Chanderi kingdoms. He established peace and order in Delhi. His successor, Ibrahim Lodhi was incompetent.

 His governors, Alam Khan and Daulat Khan, invited the Afghans to invade India. Thus, Babar invaded India and in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, defeated Ibrahim Lodhi and established Moghul Rule. The Contributions of the Delhi Sultanate Administrative system : The Delhi Sultans, being dictatorial, were Commandants of their Armies and the Chief Justices too. The Sultan’s rule was according to the doctrines of the Quran. The Sardars, Amirs and Ulemas had their influence in the administration. In the central administration, there were Defence Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Postal Department, Charity and Endowment Boards. They were headed by ministers and officials. The kingdom was divided into many provinces. The administrative centers were headed by Shikdar, Amin and Chowkidars. Collection of revenue, establishment of peace, education facility and maintenance of cleanliness were their main responsibilities. During the Sultan’s rule, kharaj (land tax), zakhat, ushr, khums (tax on plundered wealth) and jaziya, tax on property without heirs, import duty, house tax and others were the main sources of income.

There were officials for collection of taxes. Qazis helped Sultans in dispensing justice in provinces and towns. Social system: There were religious restrictions on Hindu and Shia subjects under the rule of the Sultans. Only Muslim sardars were appointed to high posts. The Sultans had appointed Hindu Revenue officials and clerks to help them in the administration. Skilled craftsmen and architects were appointed to help in construction of buildings. Slavery flourished during the reign of the Sultans. Prisoners of war were made slaves. There were many female slaves in the palace. Women did not enjoy good status. Purdah system and child marriage were in practice. Upper class women were well-versed in fine arts. Rural womenfolk were engaged in agriculture and household activities. Economic system: People were taxed heavily. Since transportation facility was not good, taxes were not uniform. Agriculture was the main source of income.

The Sultans owned factories in Delhi. Manufacture of gold and silver jewellery, embroidery, textiles and dyeing were the major industries. Literature: Foreign writers and historians enjoyed the patronage of the Sultan. Their works are in Arabic and Persian languages. Mohammad Ghazni’s court had a famous scholar called Alberuni. He was a philosopher, mathematician, geographer and writer. He wrote a book called ‘Tariq-ul-Hind’ dealing with Indian social, economic and religious topics. A scholar called Utbi wrote ‘ Tariq-E-Yamini in Arabic. Hasan Nijami wrote ‘Tajul Masir’, Minhaj-us-siraj wrote ‘Tabakhal-E-Nasiri’. Amir Khusro wrote six prominent works giving details about Hindu and Muslim culture. He was called ‘The Parrot’ of India. Ziauddin Barani wrote ‘Tariq-E-Firozeshahi’ and Firoze Tughlaq wrote ‘Futuhat-E-Firozeshahi’.

Art and Architecture: The Delhi Sultans introduced a new style of architecture known as ‘Indo-Islamic’. Arches, domes and minarets form the main features of this style. The Delhi sultans constructed forts, mosques, palaces, public buildings, madrasas and choultries. Examples of Indo-Islamic style are: Kuwat-ul-Islam mosque, Qutub Minar, Alai Darwaza and Jamait Khana mosques at Delhi.