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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 8th to

the close of 10thcentury.

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 2nd and 13th 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 ambas-

sador 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-ul-hind’. 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 2ndBattle 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 ‘Qutb-

ud-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 ‘Turkani-

i-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.

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