1
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.