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Summary

Medieval India Class 01

## THE CLASS STARTED AT 05:05 PM

## MEDIEVAL HISTORY (05:06 PM):

- **Sources to refer to:**
- Satish Chandra NCERT.
- **Topics To Discuss:**
- Imperial Cholas.
- Advent of Islam in India.
- Regional Kingdoms like Rajputs, Pala, Sena, Gajpati, Yadavas, Kakatiyas, Hoysala.
- Delhi Sultanate.
- Vijayanagar & Bahmani Kingdom.
- Mughal Empire.

## IMPERIAL CHOLAS (05:24 PM):

- After the Sangam Period there are no records of the Cholas until about the 9th Century A.D.
- In this period major development had occurred in Southern India the powerful kingdoms of Pallavas & Rashtrakutas have lost their strengths.
- The Bhakti Movement emerged as a powerful social force led by the Alvars & Nayanars.
- The emergence of the Cholas began with Vijayalya who conquered the Kaveri Delta & build the city of Thanjavur.
- The early rulers were Parantak 1 & Parantak 2 (Sundar Chola).
- The Chola empire reached its zenith during the Rajraja 1 & Rajendra Chola.
- **Rajaraj Chola from 984 A.D. to 1014 A.D. (05:56 PM):**
- His birth name was Arumali Verman.
- He invaded Sri Lanka & annexed Northern Sri Lanka and defeated the kings of Chola, and Cheras.
- He also led a military campaign against the Maldives which was conquered.
- He constructed the famous Rajrajeswar or Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjore in 1010 A.D.
- He developed an advanced revenue system wherein the land was surveyed & then the revenue was assessed.
- Because of the new system he was also called Ulgalanda Perumal.

## RAJENDRA CHOLA FROM 1014 A.D. TO 1044 A.D. (06:06 PM):

- He continued his father's legacy by pursuing a policy of conquest. The whole of Sri Lanka was made part of the Chola Empire.
- He defeated the Cheras, Pandayas, Western Chalukyas.
- One of his most famous campaigns was toward North India he defeated several rulers including Mahipal of the Pala Dynasty in Bengal.
- To commemorate the successful campaign he founded the city of 'Gangaikond Cholpuram' & constructed the Rajeshwaram Temple.
- Another military campaign was his Naval Expedition to the Srivijay Kingdom, which comprised Malay, Jawa & Sumatara peninsulas islands.
- After this campaign he assumed the title of Kadaramkondan. He was also known as Pandit Chola as he was a great patron of learning.
- The later rulers of the Chola Dynasty such as Rajendra 2, Rajadhiraj, and Kullotunga 1.
- Kullotung is the hero in the Tamil poem Kallingatuparni written by his court poet Jayamkondan.
- By the late 12 and early 13th century the Chola empire declined the last ruler Rajendra 3 was defeated by Jatavarman Pandaya in 1279 A.D.
- Many regional kingdoms emerged such as Hoysalas, Kakatiyas, and Pandayas.
- **CHOLA ADMINISTRATION (06:20 PM):**
- King was at the top of the administration and patronized the Brahmin by granting huge states of lands known as Brahmdeyas.
- One king handed 'Sengol' as a symbol for the transfer of power. The word is derived from the Tamil word Semmai which means righteousness.
- The empire called Rajyam was divided into provinces called Mandalams which were further divided into Valanadus or Kottams.
- Valanadus were divided into Nadus and villages were the smallest unit of administration.
- The army consisted of infantry, cavalry & elephant corps. Two types of ranks were mentioned in the army Perudanam (Upper officers), and Cirudanam (Lower rank officers).
- **Local Administration of Cholas:**
- The Chola Administration comprised of autonomous villages Shrenis for example two types of assemblies are mentioned at the village level:
- 1) Ur: General assembly of residents of non-Brahmdeya villages.
- Urar who were the landholders in the village acted as spokesmen & were interested in maintaining the temples & tanks.
- 2) Sabha also referred to as Maha Sabha. It was an assembly of Brahmin adult male members from the Brahmdeya villages.
- Both Ur & Sabha functioned as agents of the state in carrying out the administration.
- The Uttaramerur inscription provides details of the process of electing members to various committees that administered the Brahmdeya settlements.
- Nagaram: it was a settlement of traders as Chola rulers promoted trade e.g. Kulottunga revoked the collection of toll fees known as Sungam.

## ECONOMY UNDER THE CHOLAS: (07:00 PM):

- Land revenue was the major source of revenue and various units of land measurement such as Kuli, Veli, Patti, and Padagam were used.
- The cultivators used to pay a tax called Kudimai.
- Cholas started investment in irrigation.
- Channels known as Vativaikkal were constructed to harness rainwater.
- Village assemblies collected a tax called Eriayam & the proceeds were used to repair the irrigation tanks.
- During Pallavas rule a special category of land known as Eripatti was used and the revenue was used to maintain the irrigation tanks.
- **Society & Religion In Chola Period (07:08 PM):**
- Caste system was prevalent and the conditions of untouchables known as Pariyar was miserable.
- The Chola categorizes the divisions in the caste as Valangai (Agricultural Groups) & Idangai (Artisans, traders).
- The Cholas were ardent followers of Shaivism however both Vaishnavism and Shaivism flourished.
- Within Shaivism a School of Philosophy known as Shaivasiddhanta emerged as the foundational text of the philosophy and was composed by Meikander.
- Cholas was a great patron of Art & Literature, Dravidian Style of architecture reached its zenith during this period.
- Kamban Ramayana was composed in Tamil in this period.

## ADVENT OF ISLAM (07:17 PM):

- **DELHI SULTANATE (07:41 PM):**
- Sources:
- Books like Chachnama, this book provides a history of the Sindh region on the eve of an Arab invasion led by commander Mohammed Bin Qasim.
- Al Beruni was from modern-day Uzbekistan a polyglot (person who knows many languages) & a polymath(skilled in many disciplines).
- He came to India with the army of Mahmud of Ghazani and stayed for many years & wrote about India in detail in his book Kitab-al-Hind (written in Arabic and later translated into Persian).
- Amir Khausrau was not a historian and he was a poet and prominent representative of Indo-Muslim culture for four decades.
- He was known as Toote-e-Hind, the father of qawwali music, and author of many books such as Mifaul Fateh's book about Jalaluddin Khilji), Khazaimul Fateh (Allauddin Khilji), etc.
- Barani: His book Tarikh-e-Ferozshahi and Fatwa-e-Jahandari are considered the greatest work in the history of medieval India.
- Autobiography of Ferozeshah Tughlaq known as Futuhat-e-Ferozeshahi.
- Farishta: His work Taikh-Farishta provides a history of various regions in India. And he also wrote Gulshan-i-Ibrehmi.
- Ibn-e-Batuta was a traveler from Morocco who wrote Rihla as his travel diary from India.

## TOPIC OF THE NEXT CLASS:

Details of Delhi Sultanate, etc.