UNIT- I- SOURCES OF HISTORY

1. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES

These are very important sources in understanding and re-constructing history. They range from
monuments, crafts, tools, etc.

COINS- (NUMISMATICS)

Coins tell us about the material conditions of people. Money was generally made of ornaments.
Coins were developed around the 6th century BC in the Buddhist period. They were in the form
of metals which were predominantly copper. The coins were rectangular in shape with a simple
stamp on them. They were crude punch-marked coins. This would facilitate long-distance trade.

By the time of the Mauryan Empire, coins had evolved. The next stage of coins came in the age
of Indo-Greeks in the 2nd century BC. They brought with them dye-cast, artistic coins. It had
different figures and inscriptions. This inspired other kings to make such coins. In the 4th
century AD, Guptas came into power. The largest number of gold coins were issued by the
Kushanas who were a nomadic tribe in Tibet and China. Parts of Central Asia were under the
control of Kushanas and the entire central Asian trade would pass through Indian territories.
Over a period of time, the debasement of coins increased which indicated a decrease in the
material possessions of people.

2. LITERARY SOURCES

Vedas are the first written literature. They were the first ones to be put to writing. They were
preserved through oral teachings in schools. Each Veda had Samhitas, Brahmanas, and
Upanishads. There were commentaries like Upanishads which were critical appreciations of the
Vedas. They question a lot of older literature. These were written on reeds, clothes etc. The first
modern literary source was Rajtarangini by Kalhan which was a history of the kings of Kashmir.
The first specimen of writing comes from Ashokan inscriptions. It was in the 6th century BC that
writing would have developed at large but the first available specimens are found in the Mauryan
period.

Later, literary sources increase. Most of these sources were literary accounts by court poets who
exaggerated facts in order to paint the king in the best possible light. Literary sources also talk
about the changing social milieu. This is apparent in the story of Abhijyana Shakuntalam. This
story has two versions- one written in the Mahabharata and another written by Kalidas in the
Gupta period.
In the first version, the character of Shakuntala is much bolder and more outspoken about her
conjugal rights than in the version written by Kalidas. This is indicative of the deteriorating
position of women in the society during the Gupta period than the Vedic period.

INSCRIPTIONS- These are important sources of information, but they cannot be very long or
descriptive. Generally, these were written by kings or were commemorative in nature. The first
specimens of inscriptions come from the Ashokan Inscriptions. They are in the nature of the
King addressing the people. Other kings also followed the style of inscriptions that address
people.

UNIT- II- HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

It was one of the oldest urban civilizations in the Indian subcontinent. Earlier, this civilization
was called the Indus Valley Civilization because most of the sites were found along the banks of
the river Indus. However, with the discovery of new sites alongside other rivers, the name was
found to be inadequate. Later, it was agreed that the civilization would be called the Harappan
Civilization as it was the first site to be discovered. Some historians suggest that the
northernmost site was Shortughai which was in Pamiz in the Hindukush Mountains. The
westernmost site is seen in the slumps of Sutkagen Dor. Most of the sites are in the western part.
None of the sites are, however, found in the Harappan basin.

HARAPPAN SITES AND URBAN PLANNING

Harappan sites are divided into two parts- the Citadel and the Lower Town. The Citadel is built
on a raised platform and has fewer but larger buildings. For eg. The Great Bath of Harappa and
the Great Hall of Mohenjodaro. The statue of a man wearing a shawl is also found in the Citadel.
People of authority would have lived in the Citadel, or this area must have been used for
religious purposes or for meetings. The Citadel is walled.

Houses are found in the Lower Town. The roads have cut each other at right angles and are
rounded. Houses open at the backside of the main street. This was done to maintain the privacy
of the residents and prevent the houses from getting dirty by the dust from the streets. Each
house had a drain that connected to street drains. The roads are paved with sun-burnt bricks. This
indicated that they had cut down a lot of trees to build brick kilns. The Great Bath has flights of
stairs from two sides. It could have been used for ritualistic baths. There are changing rooms that
have wells. The water tank is making water-tight.

The site of Kalibangan in Rajasthan has some peculiar features. The Citadel has circular pits
which had charred bones of animals. It is suggesting that there must have been ritualistic
sacrifices. There is no uniformity in the religious practices. There are also furrow marks in the
ground which are pre-Harappan. This indicates that they knew agriculture much before they
developed into a civilization. They were indigenous people who evolved into a civilization.
Skeletons of horses are found in the sites of Sutkagen Dor. This was what John Marshall based
his theory of Aryan invasion. However, this is not conclusive evidence as no supporting evidence
of struggle is found on the other side.

This civilization was a bronze civilization.

POLITICAL STRUCTURE

Cities could have governed themselves and they could have come together to make important
decisions. But nothing can be conclusively said about the political structure of the civilization.
No one city could have dominated the others. However, there is no consensus on the political
structure of the civilization. There are conjectures about political structure. There is no clarity if
there was a centralized power or not. This theory is generally advocated because of the great
uniformity in the sites that are found so far apart from each other. It is suggested that in
contemporary times, the political and religious powers were vested in one central authority.

DECLINE

John Marshall gave the theory of Aryan invasion as the reason for the decline of the Harappan
empire which was later rejected by historians as there was a huge gap between the period of the
decline of the Harappans and the arrival of the Aryans. Harappans deserted their settlements due
to ecological changes like deforestation, changing the course of rivers, droughts, etc. Groups of
people are found in the Saurashtra region which have similarities to the Harappan civilization,
but they are not as advanced as the Harappans. It seems probable that people abandoned their
sites and moved to other areas.

There might have also been tectonic changes. Copper-hoard cultures came up in the northern part
of India.

RELIGION

Mother Goddess was worshiped. There are terracotta figurines of the mother goddess found. This
suggests the strong position of women in society.

A seal showing a person in a yogic posture surrounded by animals has been referred to as
Pashupati or proto-shiva. This is indicative of animal worship. The worship of bull is a
prominent feature of religion.

CRAFTS AND TRADE

Certain cities like Chanhudaro are known for their crafts. It was a center of craft-making that
specialized in the craft of bead-making. Graves are also found with artifacts that indicate the
belief in life after death. Some of the graves are also of non- Harappan people. Some seals from
the Mesopotamian Civilization have also been found. This shows that they were very strongly
linked through trade.

Lothal in Gujarat has a different pattern. Here, the gates of houses opened into the main street.
This has been interpreted that since it was a place of trade, the houses would have also displayed
goods for sale. It was a port that connected the Harappan civilization to various other
contemporary civilizations through a sea route.

The figurine of the dancing doll has been found. The proportions of the human body are very
accurate. It might be that dancing was a part of the religious ceremonies.

SEALS

Harappan seals are rectangular in nature and have various motifs. The Mesopotamian seals are
cylindrical and have inscriptions. The script of the Harappan civilization has not been deciphered
yet but it is believed that it was written from right to left.

All seals were not for trade. There were some seals that were for religious purposes also.

SOCIAL DIMENSIONS

Not everyone was equal as we have found workmen’s quarters in certain sites. There is no clarity
if these people were indigenous, or slaves brought in from other areas. There is no consensus on
the status of gender equality. Social life seems to be quite well as they were economically well-
off and lived in a properly planned urban settlement. There would have been several foreigners
visiting the area for trade or other purposes as their corpses have been found in the cemeteries.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Economic activity is largely based on agriculture. They grew a variety of crops like barley, and
cotton which might have been exported. Trading was very widespread. These have been in sites
like Chanhudaro, Lothal, and Shortughai. They might have exported products like beads, water,
spices, etc. There have been findings of Sumerian and Mesopotamian seals which suggest trade
with these countries.

CEMETERIES

The dead were buried with tools like mirrors and ornaments that suggests the belief in life after
death. All the graves were not the same and some of the graves were lined. This suggests the
differences in the burial of people belonging to different classes. These classes may be religious,
economic, or social. Some graves also have Mesopotamian seals. This is suggestive of trade
between the two civilizations.
DESCENT

Some historians suggest that these were tribal people who had come from Iran and would have
moved out due to an increase in the population. These tribes may also have been at war with
each other. They might have then settled near the Indus River in search of better opportunities.
They are suggested to be central Asian because of the presence of horses that is usually related to
the central Asian region.

Harappan sites are found even near the central Asian mountains. They would have shifted
because of differences in opinion relating to religious practices. They might have moved out also
because of scarcity in the pastoral lands with an increase in population. Cattle was one of the
major forms of property. Historians advocating the Aryan invasion or migration theory have
justified it on two grounds:

1. The Bogasgoi inscription in Afghanistan suggests that these tribes worshipped different
gods and were at odds with each other. They might have started worshipping newer forms of
Gods and some of them might have been pushed out due to inferior resources. This is
referred to as the migration theory.

2. Another inscription is about the war between two Aryan groups- Hittites and Mhtamis.
They formed a peace treaty before the gods. Some of these gods have been mentioned in the
Rig Veda.

UNIT II: VEDIC CIVILISATION

The information that is received after the decline of the Harappan Civilisation is sporadic and
incidental in nature and there seems to be a vacuum in the period between the end of the
Harappan Civilisation and the ascent of the Vedic Civilisation.

TEXTUAL SOURCES

There are two challenges that are faced by historians while handling the textual sources in the
form of Vedas:

1. Correlate the time and material connectivity.

2. Correlate texts with on-ground sources of information.

Vedic texts are Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Ved. Each Veda is divided into
the following parts:

1. Samhitas
 2. Brahmanas
3. Aranyakas
4. Upanishads

It is agreed that all this information was compiled and written down at different points of time.
Historians are of a consensus that the Rig Veda is older and the other three Vedas were compiled
around the same time.

This theory is justified on the following two grounds:

1. The rivers that are mentioned to be very important and sacred in the Rig Veda lose their
importance in the other three Vedas. This indicates the migration of people from the area
around the Indus River and Punjab to the Ganga-Yamuna doab.
2. The important gods mentioned in the Rig Veda also lose their significance in the
subsequent Vedas and there seems to be a change in the manner of worshiping of gods.

ECONOMY

The Rig Veda was composed around 1500 BC. This stage continued till 1300 BC and the Rig
Vedic period ended around 1000 BC. They seem to have settled in certain places and their
economic strength is cattle due to which they kept moving around. They must have been
pastoralists with some rudimentary agriculture. They followed the slash and burn method of
agriculture. An increase in the population would have resulted in people moving out of tribes.

Gotra- Vedic sage that is the ascendant of a particular group of people

Pravar- important people in a gotra

Rig Veda mentions das, dassyu, and pani (they were loathed and were called cattle-thief). In the
later Vedic period, the meaning of the word ‘das’ came to be connotated with slaves. This
indicates a change in the manner of identifying people. They lived in the vicinity of agricultural
communities with whom they fought over water. Did they come to know about agriculture from
their neighboring tribes?

Guessing has to be based on facts. They must have learned about agriculture from the local
communities as all words in the Vedas used for agriculture-related activities came from the non-
Sanskrit branch of languages. In the later Vedas, their knowledge about agriculture seems to
have increased. This was the period when they settled. This is when land becomes an important
economic factor. Therefore, the reasons for struggle change over a period of time from fighting
over cattle to fighting over land.

SOCIETY
The Rig Vedic ‘Rajan’ had different facilities. The tribal chief was ‘first among equals’.

The Vedic period is divided into two parts:

1. Rig Vedic Period (1500-1200 BC)

2. Later Vedic Period (1000 BC- 600 BC)

Religious practices tell historians about the society of that period of time. It is also indicative of
political power and if religious and political power was merged. Religious practices tell about the
position of women, cattle, knowledge of topography, etc. Historians are to infer and recreate
their contribution to the Indian civilization.

They identified themselves with a tribe called ‘Jana’. The tribes seem to have divided over a
period of time. These tribes were often at the war with each other. There was no king and they
had a tribal chief. All major decisions were taken by the people in meetings called sabhas,
Samiti, etc. There was a militia.

In the later Vedic period, ‘Rajan’ meant king who held a court or a durbar. He heads a kingdom
based upon the territory. He had counselors and ruled a ‘Janapad’. It stood for a tribe that had
settled down and demanded a specific territory. The position of Rajan had become hereditary in
nature. The system of primogeniture evolved in this period. Administrative officers were present
and there was a tax collector. This shows that the tribes had settled down and learned about
agriculture, and now started taxing people. This was made possible by agriculture which would
have given them enough to survive difficult periods. The spread of agriculture seems to have
been boosted by the discovery of iron or ‘ayas’ or ‘krishnala ayas’ as it was called in the Vedas.

Iron also changed the manner of warfare. It would have also brought about prosperity in the form
of increasing agricultural production. Society changed from being egalitarian to being
hierarchical which was based on the rule by a group of people who also collected taxes.

The position of women deteriorates to being subordinate to that of men. Religion was sacrificial
but complex.

UNIT FOUR: RISE OF THE MAURYAN EMPIRE

Magadha conquered the remaining Mahajanapadas and emerged as the greatest state. However,
historians do not consider Magadha to be an empire but as kingdoms. The state of Magadh
emerged as the biggest Mahajanapad. Ajatshatru emerged as one of the most important kings in
the growth of the empire of Magadh. He shifted the capital from Rajgriha to Patliputra. The
biggest opposition came from the Vrijjis.

Ajatshatru was a capable military leader who aptly designed a new kind of chariot that had a tree
trunk attached to it that would cause destruction wherever they went. The Magadha empire was
successful due to its capable cavalry. The victory of the Magadha empire over the Vrijjis marked
the victory of monarchies over republics.

NANDA PERIOD

The Nandas belonged to the lower social strata but were monarchs and had immense power due
to the rising power of the Magadha. It was preceded by Shishunagas and Haranyakas. Nandas
inadvertently united entire north India. Subsequently, they lost to the Mauryas.

The Mauryas were the first empire and all the other dynasties that preceded it were mere
kingdoms. It can be said that the Mauryas were an empire according to the way the emperors
hold and administer power. The Mauryan empire was highly centralized and comprised of a vast
area and a variety of people.

The characteristic that distinguishes an empire from a kingdom is the manner in which power is
organized and distributed. An empire comprises people of different identities and comprises a
large area of land which is controlled by a highly centralized power. This power is centralized in
the ruler.

MAURYAN EMPIRE

The Mauryan Empire was aided in its foundation by the invasion of India by Alexander the
Great. He attacked the North-West frontier of India. He defeated the smaller kings of the hills in
the area of the northwestern part of ancient India.

EMPIRE AND KINGDOMS

There is a debate over what constitutes an empire. Historians have given levels to determine
what constitutes an empire. There are certain pre-conditions which includes the nature of the
administration. It also constitutes the nature of territories and diversity of people. The power in
empires are concentrated in a central authority. There also needs to be an existence of many
economic zones.

At times, the nature of the territories controlled would change as people were exposed to newer
ideas. This transformation also constitutes a characteristic of empires. They exist for a prolonged
amount of time and thus, transform the territories that they rule over. This transformation may be
voluntary or involuntarily forced upon the people.

ALEXANDER'S INVASION OF INDIA

The period after Alexander's death is referred to as the Helenistic period. A change of power
occurs and Magadha comes under the control of the Mauryans. The Mauryans, in an attempt to
increase their power, clashed with Celicus Nicator. They signed a treaty by virtue of which some
territories of eastern Afghanistan came under the control of Chandragupta Maurya.

Chandragupta Maurya married the daughter of Celicus Nicator, Helen. He also allowed an
ambassador in his court named Megasthenes who wrote Indica.

EXPANSION OF EMPIRE AND CONQUEST OF SOUTH INDIA

Chandragupta Maurya expanded his empire upto Bengal and upto Narmada river in the Deccan
plateau region and Northern Karnataka.

It is important to note that the information about gold mines in Kolar might have motivated the
Mauryas to invade the southern part of India. In this period, there were not any major kingdoms
in the South India. However, the incoming of the Mauryas induced the formulation of states.
This was a result of their exposure to a highly developed state system.

Some of the kings like Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in the subsequent period claim to have
participated in the Mahabharata war.

CRAFTS

NBPW- Northern Black Polished Ware was a particular kind of pottery produced in Magadha.
This was used by the higher class of people. It has been found in parts of South India as well
indicatinh trade.

POST-CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYAN PERIOD

There was a famine which brought huge amount of despair to the people. It also took a toll on the
empire. Now, Jain philosophers Bhadrabahu and Sthulpad motivated Chandragupta Maurya to
abdicate his throne to his son Bindusara.

ADMINISTRATION

Mauryans divided the empire into four provinces. The fifth province of Kalinga was added later
by Ashoka. Each province was ruled by a governor who largely acted independently owing to the
lack of a proper system of communication. Mauryans took taxes from people including the forest
dwellers. The administration was organised along the following lines:

King assisted by a Council of Ministers

Lower Ministers or Amatyas

Lower superintendents (Clerks or yuktas)

Tax collectors were called samhartas and the accountants were called Samvidhatas. The council
of ministers were assisted by amatyas and superintendents or specialised officers. The King
commanded the army. Some amatyas had higher powers and were called maha- amatyas.

The city of Patliputra had a different kind of administration. There were departments for
foreigners, military and agriculture. Some territories in North India were directly under the King.
Provinces were controlled by kumars and was assisted by a finance officer and tax collector.
They were also assisted by clerks called yuktas.

Provinces were further divided into districts and sub-districts. Each district had a revenue officer,
an officer to maintain law and order called pradesikas and a judge called rajukas. Each sub-
district had two important officers:

1. Sthanik- law and order

2. Gop- Collection of revenue

Villages would be operated by Village Heads. The purpose of introducing such an elaborate
system of administration was:

1. Collect revenue
2. Ensure that there is no disaffection
3. Ensure that there is no coup against the state.

Some of the provinces had big cities which had a different kind of administration and were gated
communities. Slaves were brought to work on the lands owned by the state called sita lands.
These slaves were generally prisoners of war.

The thirteenth rock edict of Ashoka talks about this kind of bonded labour in sita lands and
mines.

MILITARY ADMINISTRATION

The King was the commander-in-chief of the military. It had various divisions looking into
infantry, cavalry, weapons and roads and bridges, chariots, navy, etc.

Soldiers were in large numbers and there was no system of cantonment of soldiers. They were
not properly trained and were free to go to their homes when not at war.

SOURCES OF REVENUE

1. Taxes imposed on people

2. Agricultural resources from state-owned lands
3. Expansion of empire
 4. Resources obtained from mines

PATLIPUTRA

The city of Patliputra was divided into six wards which had one ward for foreigners which
indicates that foreigners must have been in a sizeable number. There were six groups of classes
of people.

The Council of Ministers received salary in panas. Mauryan state was a highly centralized and
intrusive state. It collected the maximum amount of revenue from the people and the most
exploitative in that sense. The Mauryan empire extended from Eastern Afghanistan to Bengal.

Every year, a meeting of all ministers was called where they had to give an account of their
working. They were accountable to the King. The Maha-amatyas are compared to modern-day
civil servants. Ashoka appointed a separate cadre of dhamma mahaamatyas to propagate
dhamma. These are compared to religious officers.

DURGHAS

These were forts or walled cities. People belonging to different castes would live in separate
areas. One of the major tasks of durghapal was to ensure that fires do not spread.

Officers kept records of people who came and left the city. This was because the state felt
vulnerable to rebellion. They had a system of spies called gudhapurush.

SLAVES

Prisoners of war were treated as slaves and were sent to work in the state- owned agricultural
lands and mines. They were supervised by superintendents called adhyakshas.

CASTES

Megasthenes talks about seven castes of people. He is not talking about varna per se but a
combination of varnas and jatis. He mentions a few important varnas and a few important
occupations.

This indicates that these occupations must have been so important that he might have mistaken
them for a caste. This raises the question of whether castes equate to jatis or varnas?

ASHOKA MAURYA

Buddhist sources say that Ashoka had to kill his brothers to come to the throne. Ashoka Maurya
was depicted to be a cruel imperialist who attacked Kalinga without any provocation from
Kalinga.
Historians found a king called piyadassi giving its people lectures in Mauryan philosophies and
dhamma. It was James Princeton who found an inscription in which it was written that Ashoka
Maurya had adopted the title of Piyadassi.

He built several inscriptions on rocks and pillars when he got inspired by the Greek King Darius.

ASHOKAN INSCRIPTIONS

These would be erected at places where people would congregate. These inscriptions were made
on rocks and pillars. Rock inscriptions were made in the Ganga-Yamuna doab.

In these pillars and inscriptions, Ashoka propagates dhamma. This policy of Ashoka has been
debated over a lot.

DHAMMA AND PRACTICALITY

Ashoka gave up the philosophy of digvijay, or conquest and propagated dhamma. Ahimsa forms
a basic tenet of this philosophy. He, however, did not give up his army. Ashoka endorsed the
idea of having two different personal and professional lives.

He propagated dhamma vijay which asked people to be tolerant. These are a set of ethical
principles and is inspired by Buddhist philosophy but dhamma is not completely based on
Buddhist ideas. Dhamma is the law of peity that calls for people to live in harmony. Dhamma is
based on the principle of ahimsa and tolerance towards the views of others.

He mentions atavikas or forest dwellers. Mauryans asked taxes from forest dwellers as well. It
was a warning towards people to use force if they did not pay taxes.

His children Mahendra and Sanghamitra went to Sri Lanka with Buddhist monks to propagate
dhamma. It was Buddhists who started the culture of Buddhist pilgrimages. Dhamma propagated
from the following points:

1. Respect elders
2. Elders must take care of the younger people in the family
3. Animals must be treated with kindness
4. People must behave with the spirit of tolerance with one another.
5. People should not resort to violence.

Thus, Dhamma was a code of ethics and not religion.

DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE

The Mauryan Empire declined around 185 BC/BCE. The last Mauryan King was Brihadhrata
who was killed by his commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Sunga, who was a Brahmin. He
established the Sunga dynasty. When the Maurya reign was failing and the empire was splitting
up within a half-century of Asoka's death, an internal insurrection dealt the empire a death blow.
When the Maurya King Brihadratha ruled in Magadha in around 185 or 186 B.C., the leader of
the Maurya army, General Pushyamitra, staged a mutiny." Pushpamitra (Pushyamitra) the
Senapati would control the kingdom by assassinating his own master," the Puranas predict.
According to Bana, the legendary author of Harsha-Charita, Pushyamitra staged an army parade
to which he invited the King to observe, and so provided an opportunity to assassinate him on the
spot with the army's assistance.

IMPACT OF DHAMMA

Enormous spending on Buddhist Monasteries led to the financial crisis. Some scholars suggested
that Ashoka's nonviolence and pacifist programmes were designed to undermine the empire.
Foreign countries have been inclined to attack the country again since the gap in conducting
wars. Similarly, he contributed a great deal of importance and effort to the spread of Buddhism.

Note- 13th Rock inscription- mention of slavery

UNIT- V (AFTERMATH OF MAURYAN EMPIRE)

After the decline of Mauryan Empire, the period which began in 200 BC didn’t witness a large
empire like that of the Maurya. But it is notable for intimate and widespread contacts between
Central Asia and India.

The Greeks had access to India's northwestern boundary from the time of Alexander's invasion.
Chandragupta Maurya expelled the Greeks off Indian land and established his power outside the
Indian borders by conquering Seleukos Nikator. The Greek powers had no fear of Bindusara and
Asoka's authority because they were afraid of the Maurya army. However, following Asoka's
death, as the Mauryan Empire began to collapse and dissolve, the Greeks turned their hungry
gaze back to India. The futile attempts of King Antiochus the Great to capture the Indian
kingdoms are mentioned by the Greek historian Polybius. He'd made it through the Hindu Kush
and into Indian territory.

Neglect of northwest frontier- Shih Huang Ti (247-210 BCE), the Chinese monarch, built the
Great Wall of China around 220 BCE to safeguard his realm against the Scythians, a nomadic
central Asian tribe in perpetual change. On India's northern boundary, Emperor Ashoka took no
such safeguards. To flee the Scythians, the Parthians, Shakas, and Greeks were compelled to
travel to India. The Greeks were the first to enter India in 206 BCE, establishing their state of
Bactria in north Afghanistan. This was followed by a series of invasions until the Christian
period began.

THE INDO-GREEKS
A series of invasions took place from about 200 B.C. The first to cross the Hindukush were the
Greeks, who ruled Bactria, lying south of the Oxus River in the area covered by North
Afghanistan. The invaders came one after another, but some of them ruled at one and the same
time on parallel lines. The cause of invasion of the Selucid Empire established in Bactria and the
adjoining areas of Iran called Parthia is its weakness. On account of growing pressure from the
Scythian Tribes, the Greeks were not able to hold their position in Bactria. Further, the
construction of the Great Wall of China made Scythians towards their neighboring Greeks and
Parthians. Pushed by the Scythian tribes, the Bactrian Greeks were forced to invade India. The
successors of Ashoka were too weak to hold the tide of foreign invasions. In the beginning of 2 nd
century BC, the Greeks occupied a larger part of North-western India which was much larger
than that conquered by Alexander.

 Greek Rulers

Two Greek dynasties ruled on parallel lines out of which the most famous ruler was Monander
also called Milinda. He had his capital at Sakala (Sialkot at Punjab). He converted to Buddhism
by Nagarjuna which has been recorded in Milinda Panho or The Questions of Milinda in the
form of question-answer.

 Significance of Greek Rule

The Greek Rule is important in History of India because of the large number of Coins which was
issued by the Greeks. They were the first rulers to issue coins which can be definitely attributed
to the king’s as previously issued coins were punch-marked which was not identifiable. The
Indo-Greeks were the first to issue gold coins and which increased in quality and quantity during
the rule of Kushans. The Greek rule is also said to introduce Hellenistic art features in the north-
west frontier of India, giving rise to the famous Gandhara Art.

THE SAKAS/SCYTHIANS

The Greeks were followed by the Sakas and controlled a much larger part of India than them.
They continued to rule till the 4th Century AD. The Sakas didn’t meet much resistance, however,
in about 58 BC, a king of Ujjain effectively fought against Sakas and called himself
Vikramaditya. From thereon, an era of Vikrama Samvat is recognized as the victory over Sakas.
The Vikramaditya become a coveted title and whoever achieved anything great adopted this title.
(Till now we have 14 Vikramaditras in History). The most famous Saka ruler of India was
Rudradaman I (AD 130-150).

THE PARTHIANS
The Saka domination was followed by the Parthians. In the Indian Sanskrit texts, the Saka and
Parthians together are called Saka-Pahlavas. Originally Parthians lived in Iran and they moved to
India. They occupied only a small portion of North-Western India. The most famous Parthian
King was Gondophernes, in whose reign St. Thomas is said to have come to propagate
Christianity.

THE KUSHANS

The Parthians were followed by the Kushans. The Kushans were one of the five clans into which
the Yuechi tribe was divided. Kushans were a nomadic tribe from the steppes of North Central
Asia living in the neighborhood of China. They first occupied Bactria or north Afghanistan and
then gradually moved to the Kabul Valley and seized Gandhara by crossing the HinduKush,
replacing the rule of the Greeks and Parthians in these areas. Their empire extended from the
Oxus to the Ganga, from Khorasan in Central Aisa to Varansi in UttarPradesh. A good part of
Central Asia now included in USSR, a portion of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and almost the
whole of Northern India were brought under one rule by the Kushans.

The period under Kushans was a golden period for the history of India which created a unique
opportunity for the commingling of peoples and cultures, and the process gave rise to a new type
of culture which embraced five modern countries.

The most famous Kushan ruler was Kanishka and he started an era in AD 78 which is known as
the Saka era. He extended his whole hearted patronage to Buddhism. He held a Buddhist Council
in Kashmir where the doctrines of the Mahayana form of Buddhism were finalized. The
successors of Kanishka continued to rule till about AD 230 and some of them bore Indian names
such as Vasudev.

IMPACT OF CENTRAL ASIAN CONTACTS

Structure and Pottery

Use of burnt bricks for flooring have been found. Use of red- ware pottery.

Trade and technology

They introduced better cavalry and the use of riding horse on a large scale. The Sakas and the
Kushans were excellent horsemen. Their passion for horse is evident by numerous equestrian
terracotta figures of Kushan times. They introduced turban, tunic, trousers, and heavy long coat.
They also brought in cap, helmet and boots which were used by warriors. Because of these
advancements, they made a clean sweep of their opponents.

The coming of foreigners established a good contact between Indian and central Asia which
caused in increased inflow of Gold in India. The Kushans controlled the Silk route, which started
from China and passes through their empire in Central Asia and Afghanistan to Iran and Western
Asia. The route was a great source of income to the Kushans and they built a large prosperous
empire because of the tolls levied from the traders.

Polity

The Central Asian conquerors imposed their rule on small princes which led to a feudatory
system and they adopted the title of king of kings. They also strengthened the concept of divine
origin of kingship. There was less centralization under these as there were instances of two kings
or sometimes a father and a son ruling at the same time. They also used to appoint military
governors.

Religion

Some of the foreign rulers were converted into Vaishnavism which means the worship of
Vishnu. The Greek Ambassador Heliodorus set up a pillar in the honour of Vishnu near Vidisha
in MP. A few other rulers adopted Buddhism. The famous Greek ruler Menander converted to
Buddhism. The Kushan rulers worshipped both Shiva and the Buddha and same is evident from
their appearance on the Kushan coins.

The origin of Mahayana Buddhism

The contacts with foreigners brought about many changes in Indian religions. Buddhism in its
original form was too puritanical and too abstract for them. So, they wanted to change it to
something which could be easily followed and understood. Thus, they developed a new form of
Buddhism called the Mahayana or the great Wheel in which the image of Buddha began to be
worshipped. Doors of this sect were open to all. Those who didn’t subscribe to this were called
Hinayana or the small wheel. Kanishka became the greatest patron of Mahayana.

Gandhara Art

The foreign rulers were very enthusiastic patrons of Indian art and literature. The Kushans
brought together artisans and masons trained in different schools. Indian artisans also came in
contact with the Roman and the Greeks especially in the north-western frontier of India in
Gandhara. This gave rise to a new kind of art in which the image of the Buddha was made in
Graeco-Roman style. The influence of this art also spread to Mathura which was also a great
centre of art. Mathura produced beautiful images of the Buddha and it is also famous for the
headless erect statue of Kanishka whose name is inscribed on its lower part. It also produced
several stone images of Mahavira and Mathura art of style flourished during the early centuries
of Christian era and its product are made of red sandstone. Beautiful Buddhist caves were
constructed out of rocks in Maharashtra at the same time.

Literature and Learning

The foreign rulers patronized and cultivated Sanskrit literature. From now onwards, the
inscriptions began to be composed in Sanskrit. Asvaghosha wrote the Buddhacharita which is
also a biography of the Buddha. The foreigners also contributed to the development of the Indian
theatre, by introducing the use of curtain. Since the curtain was brought from the Greeks, it came
to be known as yavanika. The word is derived from the term Yavana which was used for all
kinds of foreigners.

Science and Technology

Indian astronomy and astrology developed with the increasing contacts with the Greeks. There
are many Greek terms about the movement of planets in Sanskrit texts, Indian astrology came to
be influenced by Greek ideas. In the field of technology, the Indians also benefitted from contact
with Central Asia. For ex- Kanishka is represented as wearing trousers and long boots which
shows that possibly making of leather shoes began in India during that period. Also, the Kushan
copper coins in India were imitations of roman coins. Similarly gold coins in India were struck
by the Kushans in imitation of Roman gold coins. Also, working in glass during this period was
influenced by foreign ideas and practices.

UNIT- VI (THE RISE AND GROWTH OF THE GUPTA EMPIRE (320 AD)

Gupta Dynasty was started by Shri Gupta with Magadha as its capital. Gupta is supposed to be
from Vaishya Community. It means the ruling position was open to all castes and the four-fold
division of caste was becoming more flexible. Shri Gupta showed himself as belonging to the
Licchavi clan of Buddha. He was giving legitimacy to his authority by declaring himself to be a
Licchavi dohitrya.

IMPORTANT KINGS

Chandra Gupta I of Gupta Dynasty. He is succeeded by his son Samudra Gupta. He then is
succeeded by Chandra Gupta II popularly known as Vikramaditya I. The successors of these
three rulers saw new invasions like from Hunas.

SAMUDRA GUPTA

Gujarat was out of control of Guptas. It was under the rule of Scythians/Sakas. He took an
expedition to the South. He talks about some rulers of Rajasthan. That there were two kinds of
states- Republics and monarchies. Sometimes they would come under a rule of a big empire and
sometime they will become a republic. Gupta Rulers wanted to have an access to the Arabian
Sea for trade. They already have an access to the Bay of Bengal. They controlled other areas ,
thinking they would be subordinate to him and continue to rule their territory according to them;
however, they had to pay taxes. Samudra Gupta is an important ruler as he was very far-sighted
as he didn’t try to annex all areas of his territory. Therefore, this policy of him made him go till
Madurai far more than the Mauryan.

Samudra Gupta is alleged to have killed his elder brother Kacha which is evident from some
coins issued by Kacha during that period. It shows that there were internal conflicts as well.
Exploits made by Samudra Gupta is known from Allahabad Pillars where Harisena, the poet of
Samudra Gupta has claimed that how is king is. He has claimed that Samudra Gupta’s rule was
till Sri Lanka. However, this claim is false.

Similarly, Chandra Gupta is alleged to have killed his elder brother Ram Gupta and married to
his wife Ram devi. Kumar Gupta and Shri Gupta faced a lot of attacks from Central Asia like
Hunas.

RELIGION

The Gupta were supporters of the Hindu religion. Religion is identified as the one that we follow
today. The worship of Trimurate- Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva started. Sacrifices and rituals
started declining and idol worship started. A personal relationship started with the gods. A place
was needed for this, so temple creation started. It is also a period of Avatarvad. People started
believing in avatars of Gods. For ex- Vishnu has 9 avatars- Matasya; Kurma; Varaha;
Narasimha; Vamana; Parashurama; Rama; Krishna or Balarama; Buddha or Krishna; and Kalki.
Buddhism was still dominant during this time.

FOREIGN INVASION

Hunas attacked during the Gupta Period.

BUILDINGS

Lintels and Pillars. Temples were not made in the arc shape. There were lintels and Pillars.

Arch and Dome came from Islam (Delhi Sultanate Period).

EMPIRE

The Gupta period is not considered to be an empire because of its structure. The Guptas started
appointing revenue officers to collect taxes from different areas. The Feudatory system was
started by them. Subsequently, Magadha (Narmada)- Chennai (Gujarat). Vakataka- North of
River Narmada. The structure remained the same on the face of it. Monarch- provinces- District-
Group of villages. However, some changes came at the local level- because they have to
negotiate at the local level- Generally, they were at the command of the sons of the king. They
were also able to control Bengal. Gupta Empire is not called an empire because they allowed
some feudatory revenues at the local level. In Mauryan System, local level systems were under
direct control however, in the feudatory system, the control is diluted.

ECONOMY

Economy was very sound. However, at the end of the Gupta period, we find debasement in the
coins. Particularly with regard to silver coins. It shows some short of financial crisis. The trade
declined during this period. Foreign invasions may have been one of the reasons. Samudra Gupta
didn’t direct control of the Southern conquered states because it would have been very difficult
to have direct contact.

SOCIETY

As far as society is concerned, untouchability is mentioned for the first time. There is a system of
Sati Pratha. There is also a mention of fifth varna/caste called Panchama like Chandal etc. They
were expanding their areas in the forest for agriculture as well and forest dwellers were included
in this fifth caste because of the things that they used to it. Fa-Xian, a Chinese traveler, comes
during the rule of ……….. He mentions that people used to live in cities with gates. People used
to ring bells for entering cities. Even the shadows of these people were considered to be
polluting. Position of women degraded during this period. Chandra Gupta’s wife Dhruvswamini
enjoyed great status. But the position of the common woman degraded. The practice of sati
started. Sati is the purpose for which one undertakes the journey. In urban areas, women could
find more jobs, therefore, sex workers, dancers, etc. were found more. Economic prosperity
doesn’t go hand in hand with ritualistic performance. Sudrakai- Mrichikitkam – a love story of
the Brahmin and a courtesian. Smritikaras – Not giving education. If the woman belongs to
higher varna and the man belongs to lower varna then the offspring will be of lower varna to
both the parents.

Varna System, Position of women, Position of chandals, sweepers,

It means society doesn’t work according to laws made at that time but according to the social
sanction given to the laws.

CHANGES IN BUDDHISM

Avatarvad started first in Buddhism. A kind of hierarchy started in Buddhism.

ADMINISTRATION
Important officers were recruiting their subordinates. They were not paid in cash but were
allowed to collect taxes in kind from villagers.

CONTRIBUTION

Besides contributions to literature, Dance, Astrology, Medical Science, and Astronomy.

Medicines- Yunani. Introduced metallurgy. The Iron pillar of Mehrauli is an example that was
built during Chandra Gupta II. The maximum contribution was in the field of Literature.
Aesop’s fables are a story for children. Aesop Fables’ journey starts in India. Panchtantra by
Vishnusharma- There was a king who has some children not interested in studying. The king
appointed a tutor who taught them unconventionally, like stories in which characters were
animals. Another set of stories- Kalilla Vadinna. Kalidasa wrote Abhigyan Shakuntalam,
Malvika Agnimitram, Raghuvansham. Ashvaghosha was the leading scholar and Buddhist monk
during the time of Kanishka. Unlike the Greeks who used to write only tragedies, Indians write
plays that have happy endings. Vishakhadatta wrote Mudraraksha in 327 BC. According to
some historians, Gupta Age was the Golden age.

Some argue that the Gupta age can’t be called as a golden age because no age can be golden for
the people at that time. It is only later that historians and people find that to be golden.
Administration and rule were good but it can’t be generalized that all people were happy because
untouchability and sati pratha started during this time. Similarly, forest dwellers were made were
expelled from the forests. It is not the only material thing that can decide the prosperity of a rule.

But it is surely a Classical age- Certain Building of temples and some areas, development of
literature, movement from Gandhara art-Mathura art- Varanasi art.

HISTORY OF SOUTH INDIA

THE MEGALITHIC BACKGROUND

The beginning of southern settlements can be traced to circa 2000 B.C. Till 2 nd century BC in the
upland portion of the peninsula, it was inhabited by people who are called megalith builders.
They are named after their graves called megaliths because these were encircled by big pieces of
stones. It contained not only bones of buried people but also pottery and iron objects especially
black-and-red ware which shows that people believed that these things will be used by the dead
in the next world. These things gave us an idea of their sources of livelihood. Tridents which is
associated with Shiva have also been found in the megaliths. The tools for fighting and hunting
have been found in larger numbers than those for agriculture. Megaliths were most concentrated
in the eastern side of Tamil Nadu and Andhra.

The Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras mentioned in the Ashokan inscriptions were probably in the
megalithic phase of material culture. Despite the use of iron, these people heavily depended for
settlement and burials on the slopes of hills. Though the megalithic people produced paddy and
ragi, apparently the area of cultivable land used by them was very limited and they generally
didn’t settle on the plains or the lowlands.

EVOLUTION

By the beginning of the Christian era, these people moved from the uplands into fertile river
basins and reclaimed deltaic areas. They got influenced by the material culture brought from the
north to the extreme end of the peninsula by traders, conquerors and Jaina and Buddhist
missionaries. They started practicing paddy cultivation, founded villages, and towns and came to
have social classes. All these conditions led to creation of state system in the deep south whose
basis can be construed from written records supplemented by Greek and Roman accounts and by
archaeology.

THREE EARLY KINGDOMS

The southern end of the peninsula situated south of the Krishna River was divided into three
kingdoms- Chola, Pandya, and Chera or Kerala. The Pandyas were first mentioned by
Megasthenes, who says that their kingdom was celebrated for pearls. He also mentions of it
being ruled by a woman and a seven-year-old mother. All these seem to be exaggerated but
suggest that society was matriarchal.

PANDYA

The territory was expanded to the southernmost and south-eastern portion of the peninsula with
its capital at Madurai which was the Tamil word for Mathura. The literature compiled in Tamil
Academics in the beginning of the Christian era is called Sangam Literature which refers to the
Pandya Rulers. The country was wealthy and prosperous and Pandya kings profited from trade
with the Roman empire. The Brahmanas enjoyed considerable influence and the Pandya kings
performed Vedic sacrifices.

CHOLA

The Chola Kingdom was called Cholamandalam or Coromandal. It was situated to the northeast
of the territory of the Pandyas. The center of power lay at Uraiyur, a place famous for the cotton
trade. They maintained an efficient navy that sailed as far as the mouths of the Ganga. The
Cheras and the Pandyas extended at the cost of Cholas. The remains of the Cholas were almost
wiped out by the attacks of the Pallavas from the north.

CHERAS
The Chera or the Kerala country was situated to the west and north of the land of the Pandyas. It
included the narrow strip of land between the sea and the mountains and covered the areas of
modern-day Kerala. It owed its importance to trade with the Romans.

After the 2nd Century A.D. century, the Chera power declined, and we have nothing of its history
again till the eighth century A.D.

The main interest of the political history of these three kingdoms lies in the continuous wars they
fought with one another and Sri Lanka. These kingdoms were very rich and grew spices,
especially pepper, which was in great demand in the western world. Ivory from elephants was
also supplied. The sea yielded pearls & their mines produced precious stones. Muslin and Silk
were also produced.

RISE OF SOCIAL CLASS

Taxes enabled the king to maintain a regular army as well as to pay the poets and priests, who
were mainly Brahmanas. The Brahmanas first appear in the Tamil land in the Sangam age. The
Kshatriyas and Vaisyas didn’t appeal as regular varnas in the Sangam texts. Sharp social
inequalities is noticed in the Sangam age. The dominance of the Brahmanas and the ruling caste
is noticed but acute caste distinctions which appeared in later times are lacking in this age.
Rather, occupation or profession-based distinction appears. Here there are only three Varna
Systems- Kshatriya, Brahman and Shudras. Vaishyas are included in Shudras. Mandsaur- There
was group mobility not an individual liability. Group mobility is referred from the point that
people adopted different occupations and professions which made sub jati in the caste system.

SANGAM AGE (3rd to 4th AD)

The Sangam was a college or assembly of Tamil poets held under royal patronage. There were
three Sangams held under patronage of Pandyas of Madurai. The source of Information about
these dynasties is derived from Literary texts which are a compilation of Bardic poetries. The
two important epics for the South are Silapadikram and Manimuglai. Jivak Chintamani- written
by a Jain Monk.

First Sangam – God, attended by Rishi August

Second Sangam- Tamil Grammar, Poetry

Third Sangam- Tiruvallur

THE AGE OF THE SATAVAHANS (1st BCE- 1st CE)

POLITICAL HISTORY
The most important of the native successors of the Mauryas in the Deccan and in Central India
were the Satavahanas. They are considered to be identical with the Andhras who are mentioned
in the puranas. They have ruled for almost 300 years. Earliest inscriptions of belong to the 1 st
century B.C. when they defeated the Kanvas and established power in Central Asia. They
initially appeared in Maharastra near Godavari River and later extended their power over
Karnataka and Andhra. Their greatest competitors were Sakas, who had established their power
in the Upper Deccan and Western India. Once they were dispossessed by the Sakas but later the
fortunes were brought by Gautami Putra Satkarni (A.D. 106-130).

GAUTAMI PUTRA SATKARNI

He called himself only Brahamana, defeated the Sakas, and destroyed many Kshatriya rulers. He
claims to have destroyed the Kshaharata lineage to which his adversary Nahapana belonged. It is
evident by the fact that more than 8000 silver coins have been found near Nasik which has been
restruck by the Satavahana King. His empire extended from Malwa in the north to Karnataka in
the south. The successors of Gautamiputra ruled till A.D 220.

ASPECTS OF MATERIAL CULTURE

The megalith builders of the Deccan were fairly acquainted with the use of iron and agriculture.
They issued coins of lead, which is found in the Deccan. They also issued copper and bronze
money. They exploited the mineral resources of the Deccan. They knew the art of paddy
transplantation. They also produced cotton. They developed a very advance rural economy. They
maintained an army of 100,000 infantry, 2000 cavalry and 1000 elephants. Through contacts
with the north, they learnt the use of coins, burnt bricks, ringwells, etc.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

The Satavahanas originally were a tribe of the Deccan. But they were Brahmanized, and Gautami
Putra Satakarni is believed to have established the four-fold Varna system which had fallen into
disorder. He boasts that he put an end to the inter-mixture betwwen the people of different social
orders. Such a confusion was caused by the Saka infiltration and brahmanization of the tribes
living in the Deccan. The absorption of sakas in Hindus society as Kshatriyas was facilitated by
intermarriage between sakas and satavahanas. Indigenous tribal people were acculturated by the
Buddhist monks who were induced by land grants to settle in the western Deccan. Traders also
used to support the monks which is evident by the fact that earlier caves have been found on
trade routes. The satvahanas were the first rulers who made land grants to Brahamanas. Land
grants were more made to Buddhist monks.

According to the Dharmasastras, it was the function of the Kshatriyas to rule, but the satavahanas
rulers called themselves brahmanas. Satvahanas were a local tribe who converted to brahmanism.
The orthodox brahmanas of the north looked upon the Andhras as mixed caste.
Satvahanas show traces of a matrilineal social structure. It was customary for the kings to be
named after their mother.

They ruled over the Maharashtra-Andhra region.

Metronymic- use of mothers’ names like Gautami Putr Satkarni

They were Brahmins and were also granted a lot of lands. These lands were also cultivated by
the Brahmins and were repositories of knowledge. These Brahmins were required to officiate at
rituals and sacrifices. These land grants were recorded on inscriptions etc. The rulers also wanted
to have ideological support to make defeated people accept their rule. The taxes on this land
were given to land grantees rather than the king. The land which was given was cultivable land
so that Brahmins could use the land for agriculture, this ultimately increased the tax collection.
The grantees were given enormous power (Like hearing disputes arising out of the land) such
that kings officials were not allowed to enter into the land without the permission of grantees.
This undermined the authority of the kings.

During Chandra Gupta II- Rule of Vakataka. His daughter married Vakataka. Marriage alliances
were very dynamic.

In Southern literature, the Sakas are seen to be the first invaders.

Brahmins’ power declined into three- Arabian Sea, Andhra Pradesh, and Pratishthana.

Hunas came during the age of Satavahanas from the North. Hunas were defeated by the Gupta
dynasty for ex- a ruler of Kannauj. Then, Hunas moved to the north.

After the decline of the Gupta Empire, the struggle for Kannauj started (600AD I.e,
Contemporaries of kannauj- Pushyabhutis, Harshavardhan, ………Kannauj, Thaneshar, …….
Harshavardhan ruled from 606AD-647AD. …….He is a contemporary of Prophet Mohammad.

Periplus of Erythean Sea- The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is an eyewitness account of ancient
travel to Africa and India via the Red Sea written by an unknown around the middle of the first
century CE.
Shrenis- These were in the nature of Guilds. Involved in the same kinds of goods and joined
together. Came up during post-Mauryan period. They used to hire a large no. of people (approx
500 people). They used to charge very high interest on sea voyages because they used to think
that they will not get the money. Guild managers used to live very lavish lifestyle sometimes
more than the king. These guilds will have their own procession. They had their own laws called
Shreni Dharma which regulated the life of members.

Some of the foreigners recognised as foreign kshatriyas in some literature called Vellah. Local
gods were called Murugan and subramaniyan (later combined with kartikey)

Hunas were another central asian tribes who attacked India during last period of Gupta Empire.
Hunas were defeated by Skanda Gupta and Yashodhraman and they had to return back to central
asia.

URBAN ADMINISTRATION UNDER GUPTAS

Nagar Shresthi- They used to head council which looked after urban affairs. Representation
professional groups. Nagar Shresthis- Pratham Sarthwaha, Pratham Kalika, Patham …….

They were connected to kings closely. Participative governments in local areas. Nagar Shresthis
were given more importance during the Gupta age. There were differences between civil and
criminal courts. There were other kind of courts apart from that created by courts sometimes
called Puga and Kula.

There was no death penalty as punishment but slavery existed. If female slave gave birth to child
of the master, that female salve would be freed and child would be considered as that of master.
The female slave would not be given status of married wife but she will be freed from bond of
slavery.

Varnasankar- People were marrying across varna. The question which arose was what would be
the varna of the offspring. Lawmakers were emphasizing on separation of Varna system.

THE HARSHA EMPIRE

The Guptas with their seat of power in UP and Bihar ruled over north and Western India for
about 160 years, till mid-6th century. Then North India split into several kingdoms. The white
Hunas established their supremacy over areas of Kashmir, Panjab, and Western India.
Feudatories in North and Western India gradually parcelled out Gupta Empire among
themselves. Gradually one oft such dynasties ruling in Thaneshar in Haryana extended its
authority over all the feudatories. The ruler who brought it about was Harshavardhana (A.D.
606-647).

HARSHAVARDHANA
He made Kannauj his capital and then extended his authority in all directions. Kannauj emerged
as the center of power in his time. It typifies the advent of the feudal age in North India. Since
Kannauj was located right in the middle of doab, its fortification became easier.

The History of Harsha’s reign is reconstructed from a study of Banabhatta’ Harshacharita who
was court poet of Harsha. It is also supplemented by the account of Chinese pilgrim Hsuan
Tsang, who visited India in the 7th Century and stayed in India for about 15 years.

Harsha is sometimes called the last great Hindu emperor of North India. However, it is partly
true as his authority didn’t extend to the whole of the country.

Death of Harshvardhan- 647A.D

After decline of Harsha Kingdom,

In 712 A.D, the ruler of Sind defended his kingdom very well against Mohammad Bin Qasim’s
attack. Mohammad bin Qasim was the general of Baghdad and attacked Sind and took over the
control.

Mohammad Bin Qasim- Attacked two times

Mahmud of Ghazni- (1006AD-1027AD)

Mahammad Ghor- 1191 & 1192 AD.

Under the rule of Mohammad Bin Qasim, the distinction between kitabiya and non-kitabiya was
made. As Jaziyah was collected only from kitabiya Muslims.

Those who believe in revealed books are called Kitabiya Muslims. For ex- Jews & Christians.

Zimis were supposed to pay taxes. The Kitabiya and non-kitabiya(Hindus) both were included in
Zimis and were now supposed to taxes (as a protection tax).

TURK (Ilbari Turks)

Tribes of Central Asia and extending till modern-day Turkey. Land grants- Iqta. Some of these
Turks established territories near Afghanistan etc. Mahmud of Ghazni and Mohammad Ghor
both were of the same branch. Another cult called Gazi emerged. If in extending the areas, one
dies, he will be called Gazi. To get the status of Gazi, people were willing to fight and extend
their territories. Ghazni could not control any territory other than Punjab. Mohammad Ghor
controlled the territories of India directly. They were good horse riders and occupied with better
means. The Indians didn’t have enough supplies and skills for horse riding. So, forts started to
build at this time. The water supply was cut to expel the enemies.

Swarah and Rustom- fight and Rustom kills Swarah-later found that they were son and father.

Mahmud of Ghor- Unlike Ghazni, he comes in 1191AD to control territory for continuous
supply of revenues. He controls northern empire. First battle of Tarain with Prithvi Raj Chauhan
in 1191AD. The accounts of battle are found in Prithvi Raj Raso written by Chand Bardai.
Prithvi Raj Chauhan was defeated in 1st battle.

Qutub-ud-din Aibak (206-210) was given responsibility by Mahmud of Ghor of consolidating

territory near Delhi and Punjab. Qutub-din-Aibak started ruling as an independent ruler from
1206-1210 AD. The rulers in this period took the title of Sultan and therefore the period is called
Delhi Sultanate.

Iltutmish- A slave of Qutub-ud-din Aibak, Governor of Badaun,

Razia

Nasiruddin Mohammad

Balban

Ilbari Turks- Turkan-i-Chehalgami- 40 nobles

During the time of Delhi sultanate, the Mongols have become very powerful and equipped with
advanced technology.

Qawama-

Altunia- He was controlling power in Punjab. He attacked during the reign of Razia and was
defeated by her. He was kept in prison and Altunia offered to get marry. Later, Razia accepted
the proposal. When they moved to get control of thrown, they were killed. Nasiruddin ascended
the throne. However, he was not competent. He was succeeded by Balban after the death of
Nasiruddin. It is said that Nasiruddin was not an actual ruler, he was being coerced by Balban.
Balban was the prime minister for 25 years during the reign of Nasiruddin and ruled for next 20
years as Sultan.

Balban by conspiracy killed many nobles of Chehalgami and weakened it.

BALBAN
He initiated his own policy of kingship. Afarsiyab- Mythical Iranian Hero. The king is a
reflection of God on earth and all others people are subordinate to the king. He started new two
persian practices– Sijda and Paibos. He changed tribal system into hierarchical system.
According to this, no one can meet him directly. People have to carry gifts and bow down and
kiss the feet of the king. He was also very critical of music and drinking parties. He realized that
it is during such parties that people will gather and form coalitions and will conspire against the
Sultan. Most of the Sultans of chehalgami were killed and never brought back. He tried to
consolidate the power in King and weaken the power of nobles. He never allowed anyone to
come in his chamber, neither his private servant. It shows that he is changing the nature of the
state and getting killed the nobles whom he thought to be a threat to his sons. The governor of
Bengal during his reign, thought that he is very far away from Delhi, he started not paying taxes.
Balban sent a army to Bengal and defeated the governor of Bengal. After reaching Bengal, the
suspected allies of the governor were killed brutally. He was known for cruelty against his own
people. He appointed his own son Bumra Khan as the governor of Bengal. He is known for his
policy of blood and iron. He had once killed 20000 Mewar princes and people. Those who
survived were forced to accept Islam.

His son Mahmud died fighting the Mongols. He got shocked after his death. He asked another
son Guhmrah Khan to come Delhi but he refused. His grandson was also a drunker.

Balban’s theory of kingship- A ruler can remain a ruler as long as people recognize him as a
ruler. He expects that position of the sultan should be high above all nobles and his position
should be passed to the next generation of sultans. He claimed that he is different from all other
nobles and he is a descendant of Afarsiyah. The Afarsiyah were Persian mythical heroes.
KHALJI DYNASTY

Mongols’ fiercest attack would occur during Khaljis. Kahan- Khan

Bouty- Mongols were now also part of Delhi Sultanates’ army.

JALALUDDIN KHILJI (1290-96)

One of his daughters was married to Alauddin Khalji. Alauddin was given the territory of
Allahabad to govern. One day, he without, informing the Sultan, attacked in South after knowing
about the riches of the Southern Peninsula (Devgiri). Nobles told Jalaluddin about Alauddin and
his intentions to became the ruler itself. Alauddin kept fooling Jalaluddin. Jalaluddin visited to
Alauddin to get sure of the fact that whether he is cheating him or not. Alauddin made him to
have a private meeting and thereby killed Jalaluddin. He also tried to kill many nobles.

Maulik Mohammad Jaisi wrote the Padmavati.

ALAUDDIN KHILJI
Reforms- Land revenue reforms are called the Iqta system. This system first developed in Iran
and was brought by Ilbari Turks into India. In this land were given in lieu of salaries to warriors
and ……..to control, supervise and collect revenue. Revenue collected was to be deposited into
kings’ treasure. Iqta may be of varied sizes. Iqta was roughly a military administration. A soldier
is a kind of revenue officer in this system. Jajjiya was imposed on non-Hindus to give it as an
incentive to get converted to Islam.

He is considered one of the greatest conquerors of the Delhi Sultanate. He was made the
governor of Allahabad and kara. He came to know about the riches of the southern peninsula and
for this, he attacked Devagiri without informing the Sultan, he defeated the king of Devagiri and
in return demanded revenues and sums of money. This incident made nobles believe that he is an
ambitious person and the same was made known to Alauddin Khilji. Jalaluddin Khilji thought to
confront Alauddin. However, he befooled him and killed him in the disguise of hugging him.

He attacked Chittor which came in between the conquest of Gujarat. The Ranas ruled Chittor. He
defeated the rulers of Chittor and this ruler of Gujarat gave shelter to

QUTUBUDDIN KHILJI

Market reforms

 Fixed prices from needles to slave to horse.

 Shahna-i-mandi-officer.
 Shopkeepers were given instruction to not charge more or weigh less.
 opinions for the reason of market reforms- to raise a big army.
 Whether the market reforms were limited to Delhi-(a) limited to only Delhi. (a) Not
makes sense that only limited to Delhi. Extended at least to district headquarters.
 banned all parties so that people could not gather to plot for rebellion
 Started to have a vision of declaring himself as Khalifa. Only four Khalifas are
recognized as Khalifa after the prophet.
 After his death- his son-Qutub-ud-din-Mubarak Khilji.
 Malik Kafur controlled the power and put on throne the minor son of Ala-ud-din and
started to run on his name.
 Qutub-ud-din able to kill malik kafur.
 Qutub was bisexual.
 Braadu-Brothers killed Mubarak Khilji.
 Under the leadership of Gyas Ud-din-Tuglak, they were defeated.

TUGHLUQS

GHIYASUDDIN TUGHLUQ
He was able to capture power from Bradu brothers. Able to form his own capital Tuglaqabad.

Governor of Bengal stopped giving revenue and declared himself independent. Gyas collected
and army and marched towards Bengal. And made his son governor, Juna Khan (Mohd. Bin-
tuglaq). Mohd. Bin tuglaq to welcome his father made a pavilion between agra and delhi of
wood. the pavilion broken and Gyas died. (Some blame Mohd. to plot this thing whereas others
refute that). then Mohd. gain trone

MOHAMMAD BIN TUGHLAQ

Mohd. Bin-Tuglaqs (son of Gyas)- Most well read and intelligent sultan of Delhi. Also, disciple
of a sufi saint Nijamuddin. Maximum territories were controlled by his under Delhi sultanat. he
had four different policies

(a) Transfer of Capital

(b) Taxation of Doab

(c) Khorasan Expedition

(d) Token Currency

Also, unlucky one because most of his policies were good but not fruitful. never hesitated in
introducing a inventive policy.

 Token Currency- Money was in the form of gold coins, silver coins, etc which were used
seldomly. He started issuing token coins made up of Basel metals of purchasing power
equal to silver coin.
 Transfer of capital
 Taxation in Doab- Doab is a very fertile area unlike other areas. He suffered a loss with
respect to something. So, he decided to increase taxes in Doab areas. The year he
imposed increased tax, it received less than average rainfall which caused scarcity of
grains. The officers started to levy forced taxes. Because of this, people started to escape
from the villages. When the Sultan came to know, he excused the tax that year and
extended loans to these people. However, people were very angry with the sultan and
didn’t return. The loans extended to them were called Taqavi/Sondhar. He also started a
new policy. He said people to grow alternative crops to increase fertility of the land. For
the same, he extended loans which were to be paid in installments. After the sultan dies,
they didn’t pay back the loans.
 To stop counterfeiting, token coins were revoked. Due to this, the market crashed. People
rushed to change their coins. However, the decision backfired and people felt cheated and
threw coins in front of the Palace of the Sultan.
  He had dreamed of setting up a second capital at Devagiri in the South which is now
known as Daulatabad. He wanted to establish in interior parts to protect it from Mongol
attacks. But if the capital will be so far, how will the administration be managed? When
Capital shifted, people were also made to shift in consequence of which Delhi deserted.
 Adversary for people in shifting, cursed the Sultan.
 A plague called Mabar spread during that period and engulfed the whole territory. Later,
he allowed people to move to the South without punishment.
 He also left for the North later.
 Governor of Sindh captured
 Ibn Batutta- He had come to visit Delhi from Morocco. He wrote Rihla. The ones who
were culturally, and intellectually influential were said to move North.
 Daulatabad emerged as the cultural center for Muslims and a new kingdom was
established called the Bahmani Kingdom.
 Ahmednagar, Birjapur, Golconda, Bidar & Berar.
 Bahmani Kingdom- Vijayanagar Kingdom
 Hariharan Bukka
 People were
 Laskari- Soldiers were recruited on the basis of their religion.
 Urdu language came during Bahmani kingdom and then travelled into various parts of the
country.
 Baoli (Step Well)-

Amir Khusroau- Masnan- Love story of Khizr Khan and Devalrani

Sufism- Amir Khusraou was also a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya

Once Amir had gone on an expedition with Muhammad Bin Tughlaq. When he came back, he
got to know about the demise of Nizamuddin Auliya. He wrote in his memory-

1. Gori soyi sej pe, Mukh par sare kesh

Chal Khusro ghar aapne, Rainn bhayi chahu desh

2. Ghoda thaka kyo tha, musafir pyasa kyo tha- Kyoki lota na tha

FIROZ

He was a religious bigot. Four types of taxes under Sharia Law- Jaziya, Zakat, Khaus

Hindus were not given important position under his rule

During his time, the number of slaves increased by a large number. Approximately, 1 lakh slaves
were in his tenure. They were kept in Diwan-i-Bandagari (slaves).

The slaves now ensured that no Tughlaq rule for long and defeated them. In 1398, due to
Taimur’s invasion, the Tughlaq dynasty came to an end.

One peculiar thing was that the trend of bribes increased during his tenure. He also instead of
stopping corruption and bribery, supported that. The control over Deccan and Sindh was lost
during this period.

No proper administration after Firoz Shah Tughlaq. In the rural area, the jajjiya was not collected
separately but was included in taxes & revenue. While in the Urban area, the Zazziya was
collected separately.

His tenure could be divided into two stages: - The first one is recognized as good administration
etc. However,

TAIMUR

In 1398, the Taimurs

SAIYYAD

Saiyyads are not considered rulers by many historians.

LODIS

BAHLUL LODI

SIKANDAR LODI- He started distinguishing themselves from other nobles. Agra Fort was
made during his tenure which were later enlarged by the Mughals.

IBRAHIM LODI

- Taimur(1398)- A new power rising in Central Asia during the period of Tughluqs. He
- Vasco-de-gama(1498)-
- In South- Vijayanagar Empire

MUGHAL EMPIRE

BABUR- He was born in Uzbekistan. He claimed that from his mother’s side he is an ascendant
of Chengis Khan and from his fathers’ side he is an ascendant of Taimur. He succeeds in
conquering India because of the use of cannons.
Except Aurangzeb, no other Mughal ruler wanted to control territories of South. He controlled
Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmednagar.

Administration under Mughal Empire: -

STYLE OF INVASION OF RAJPUT KINGDOMS

The King would hold on to his territories and the Mughals would come to aid in case of a third-
party invasion. The Rajput king could hold on to his kingdom but has to pay the Mughals an
annual tribute and send a contingent of soldiers and horsemen to be stationed at Agra under the
command of one of the King’s sons. The expenses were to be borne by the subordinate ruler.

Raja Bharmal also requested for the hand of the emperor to be married to his daughter. This
would set the tone for the relationship with other Hindu and Afghan rulers. Akbar, on his part,
promised to never force his Rajput wife to convert to Islam. In many cases, these women would
be lost to their families and could not meet their families and they were forced to convert to the
religion of the emperor. Other Rajput rulers were still hesitant. Subsequently, Raja Bharmal sent
his troops under the commandership of Maan Singh. Maan Singh gained a great level of trust
from Akbar. This brought about a significant change in the attitude of Muslim rulers towards
Hindus.

This was the beginning of Akbar’s policies towards non- Muslims in India.

AKBAR’S RELATIONSHIP WITH NON- MUSLIMS

Akbar chose a different policy with the non- Muslims as he obtained a tolerant attitude from the
time when he was harbored by a Shia Muslim in Persia. The initial years of Akbar were very
troublesome due to the presence of people who wanted to influence him. These people included
Bairam Khan, Mahamanga who was Akbar’s foster mother. They were very close to Akbar and
were reluctant to pass the reins to Akbar. There were factions of people against Bairam Khan.
Akbar was in a hurry and wanted to rule independently.

Akbar sent Bairam Khan on Hajj to Mecca where he was killed in his journey. Such instances
were the imperial manner of getting rid of people and very few people survived the journey.
Akbar married Bairam Khan’s wife as he was indebted to Bairam Khan. His son Abdul Rahim
Khan- e- Khana was given the status of one of the nine gems of Akbar’s court and a mansabdar.

Mahamanga’s son Adam Khan had also become weary of the control exercised by Mahamanga.
Mahamanga was very ambitious and wanted to control power behind the reins. Adam Khan has
become heady with power and used to fight with other nobles. This raised challenge to his
authority, and he killed Adam Khan in order to maintain his rein.
Akbar expanded his network by building relations with the Rajputs. He opened up his nobility
and included the Rajputs. They were not accepted by other nobles. Akbar now had another group
of people who could be juxtaposed against the nobility in support of Adam Khan and
Mahamanga. Thus, the power of Mahamanga was reduced to nobody and held no authority. This
also signifies his growth from a young boy to a ruler.

In Akbar’s case, he did not annex the jagirs of Hindu rajas. These were called watan jagir and
were covered under the larger Mughal administration. The nobles were not paid through cash but
were paid through assigning a jagir. The jagir had to either go through himself or send his
representative to collect taxes from his jagir by showing the farman. Often the amount collected
was less than what was sanctioned in the farman.

The people who were paid through cash are called nakadi mansabdar. The term used for nobility
was mansabdar. Everyone in the service of the Mughals were called mansabdars. Mansab means
rank and the holder of a mansab is mansabdar.

Rajput Kings were mansabdars and also held their watan jagirs. There was a hierarchy or
mansab. A mansabdar also had obligations to maintain a minimum number of cavalry men and
soldiers.

Some mansabdars had lesser obligations to maintain the cavalry and foot soldiers. They were not
great soldiers but were given high ranks in Akbar’s courts as advisors or courtesans. They were
the nine gems of Akbar’s court. A savar was supposed to have two horses and a savar with one
horse was called a neem savar. Each mansabdar had to maintain these horses and were to also
maintain the number of men moving with the army as the Mughal army was a slow-moving
army. Cavalry men were given monetary compensations and the cap of such compensations was
fixed according to their rank.

These mansabdars obtained money from the Royal Treasury and they had to go for an inspection
of their troops. In order to counter corruption in this, the practice of daag or branding of horses
was introduced. The emperor also introduced the practice of chehra to record the faces of
soldiers and prevent aliens from entering the army and the mansabdars from acquiring other
soldiers and claiming them as their own.

In the reign of Akbar, the Non-Muslims can continue to follow their faith and worship
accordingly.

Akbar also tried to remove taxes imposed on Muslims as well as non-Muslims. For example-
Pilgrimage taxes were levied on Muslims to visit their own worship places and Jaziya taxes were
levied on non-Muslims. Both taxes were gradually abolished. Ulemas used to criticize such
policies of rulers. The abolition of Jaziya taxes caused a loss to the treasury. Despite this, Akbar
continued with his liberal policies toward non-Muslims. Pegean Policy- According to this policy,
people were prohibited from demolishing Hindu temples as well as those who interfered in
constructing temples.

Ulemas that were not happy with the emperor’s policies- Abdul Nabi (Chief Qazi) and Abdullah
Sutharpuri (Chief Sadr-us-Sadr).

MANSABDARI SYSTEM

Ranking System from 10-5000. 5000 ranking systems were reserved only for royalties. Mann
Singh and Abdul Rahim Khane Khana were of 7000 rankings.

Zat- Position in the administrative hierarchy and salary was fixed from Zat rank. If there is a
mansabdar of 200 ranks, then he has an obligation to maintain a cavalry of 200 horses.

Sawar- If there is a mansabdar of rank 200,… Sawars payment was based on the ethnicity of
sawars.

Grades- Ist- 5000-5000; IInd- 5000- less than 5000 but above 2500; IIIrd- 5000-less than 2500.

During the time of Jahangir, some changes were made in the mansabdar system. He wanted to
increase the number of troops but not the payment made to them.

LAND REVENUE REFORMS

By the end of 18th Century- Persian Wheel

Irrigation channels from Afghanistan till MP. 100000 Daam and appointed a person crori who
was given the responsibility to collect 1,00,00,000 Daam. Subsequently, he arrived at a plan that
all the areas near Northern Plain (Lahore to Allahabad) would be brought under his direct
control. He got the land measured first as cultivable and non-cultivable. Cultivable land was
further divided into four categories: - Polaj (Most fertile), Palauti (Grown alternatively), Chachar
(Gap for 3 years), and Banjar (Cultivable wasteland, gap of more than 5-6 years). The calculation
was made about landholding. Polaj lands were further categorized into Good, middle, and bad.
No categories in Palauti (Taxes would be collected when they would be cultivated). Taxes for
subsequent years were measured on the basis of past years’ cultivation. The average produce
method was used for estimating taxes. Patta- A piece of paper in which the demand of revenue
which was estimated in advance was written. Qubuliyat- Agreement between the cultivator and
the tax collector. Incentives were given to those who used to cultivate in the barren land. They
were not charged for the first five years but thereafter. Canals and Channels were created for a
better irrigation system.

Past years’ Price/Yield= Avg. produce of past 10 years/ 10.

Average yield and average price were taken into account for estimating taxes.

Most of the demands were converted into cash except in cases where the buffer stock was made.

Finance Minister, Raja Todarmal’s Bandobast system-

Provincial Diwan- Law & order and Revenues

District level (Pargana)- Qazi/Imam

Sub District -

Villages

RELIGIOUS POLICY

Ulemas were concerned about changing India into the land of believers. They made forced
conversions.

All the Delhi sultanates avoided their suggestions and accepted them only when there was any
controversy related.

It was not a midnight change and changes were brought through a gradual change. There were
people from every sect in his Palace. The majority of the people were Sunnis and disliked shias.
Higher positions were occupied by Sunnis. Chief Qazi (Higher judicial authority) and chief Sadr
(Higher eclectic). Chief Qazi was Abdun Nabi and Chief Qadr was Abdulla Sultan Puri. He
respected them very much and sometimes carried their footwear himself. However, getting
involved with another religious sect, the influence of these two people on him decreased. Later,
he also came to know that they are engaging in corrupt practices and taking money to give
judgments (Qazi) and other such wrong practices to increase their own wealth and power.
Gradually, Akbar’s faith in them decreased, and once he called them and told them to get retired
and go to Hazz Yatra. Hazz Yatra was one of the methods of treating people during imperial
rule.

Gradually, Akbar felt that God has sent him to……………….. Akbar was raised in the Shia
community but he was not hardcore. He also started to think like Alauddin Khilji that he should
also consider declaring himself a prophet after conquering such a vast territory. The Courtiers
were sober so they made him understand that he should not consider himself a prophet.

He also wanted to discuss with his leading theologians Abdun Nazi and Abdulla Sultan Puri. He
established Ibadat Khana for debates that were near his Diwan-i-Khas It is considered that it was
near Fatehpur Sikri. Both legal luminaries were very contradicted each other on almost every
point. He wondered about that what is the truth. One of the questions that he was intrigued about
was that a King in Islam can have at most how many marriages?

One day both theologians started fighting against each other to such an extent that they threw
shoes at each other. Subsequently, he took this opportunity to invite other learned people like
Abdul fazal, Faizi, Sheikh Mubarak. He also started inviting Shias and now both Sunnis (Abdun
Nazi and Abdulla) united with each other against Shias. The only point on which everyone
agreed was that there is one Allah who is the ultimate creator and Prophet comes after that.

Subsequently, he also opened the gate for other religions as well. He invited………….. to
debate. When non-Muslims were brought up, this consensus that there is one Allah was disputed.
Akbar got much more confused that what is the truth. He finally realized that everyone wants to
make the Sultan happy and gradually this debate system was abolished. However, it brought
profound changes in him and he became less discriminatory toward other people. He realized
that perhaps all religions have elements of truth. After which debates were disbanded.

He then came up with a new statute called Mahzar which was prepared by Sheikh Mubarak.
Whenever something comes before the ruler, and leading theologians are not agreeing on
something whether it is Islamic or unislamic, then in such cases the Emperor being the highest
Mutahir can choose any one of the interpretations of texts. Both theologians started putting
allegations about Akbar that he has started considering himself a Prophet. According to him.
They started fomenting rebellion among people, especially among the people of Bihar. In Bihar,
he faced his first crisis when a German ruler ..Fatwa was issued to spear his head. Ordinary
people took it very seriously. There were internal as well as external rebellions. However, he was
successful in controlling both rebellions.

He also eliminated Muslims specific positions and started giving important positions to non-
Muslims. He thereby got the support of the people because of his policies and reforms like the
abolition of pilgrimage taxes and Jaziyah taxes.

He found Digambar Jains wearing no clothes totally unacceptable and also started punishing
them. But Jains were least bothered.

He started a new religion Tauhid-i-Ilahi also called Din-i-Ilahi. Jharoka Darshan- a practice in
which people will start their day by seeing the faces of the emperor. A kind of accusation was
imposed on him that he has ceased to be a Muslim and adopted a new religion. When he realized
that he has no such ordained power, he abolished jharoka darshan and said the patients to see a
doctor.

It is said that Din-i-Ilahi was not a new religion but only wanted to create a group of people who
will be loyal to him. The emperor was the Highest authority. People used to bow down and
remove their pagdi and Emperor used to place it again on their head. Tula Dan of Akbar was
made occasionally which was a Hindu practice. He once said to Maan Singh to adopt Din-i-Ilahi
but he refused to do so. He said that my loyalty to you will remain the same but I can’t adopt this
religion. Many other people adopted this religion like Birbal.

Historians say that it was not a new religion. Emperors were surrounded by many treacherous
people. Due to this religion, many loyal persons were grouped together. Maybe this religion was
devised with such an aim.

The whole of India was under the control of the Mughals. Territories that were outside the rule of
the Mughals may have been governed by some other laws. There were some acts that were not
punishable for ex-Sodomy. Akbar also initiated some social reforms in addition to legal reforms.
He also ordained that Muslim men should not marry more than one wife, and not marry a very
younger girl.

Din-i-Ilahi-

Ulema class was apprehended about Akbar’s religious policy.

Aurangzeb- Justice-loving but have some bad habits. He signed a treaty with Rana of Mewar.
During Akbar’s lifetime, he never chose his suzerainty and remained a rebel. After, Rana’s
death, his son accepted the suzerainty of Akbar.

History of Jujhar Singh Bundela and his son- Jahangir once rebelled and took shelter under
Jhujhar Singh Bundela. Akbar sent an army, however, Jahangir’s mother intervened. Man Singh,
Jahangir’s maternal uncle supported him and wanted to see him as next emperor. Khusrau
becomes ambitious while Jahangir was not aware about that. Khusrau rebelled against Jahangir
and Jahangir issued a farman that no one would give him shelter. Khusrau fled to Punjab where
he met a Sikh Guru, Arjun Dev (6 th Guru of Sikhs). Khusrau sought his blessings and he did the
same. When Akbar got to know this, he convicted Guru Arjun Dev. Thereafter, a rivalry started
between Mughals and Sikhs. There were internal conflicts among Sikhs as well that who will
succeed- Whether the son or disciples? Jahangir married Mehurinessa whom she named
Noorjahan (Light of the world). She was already married to a mansabadar, Sher Afghan of West
Bengal. He murdered Sher Afghan and married Mehurinessa. She had a great influence over
Jahangir. Mehurinessa had a daughter with her ex-husband named Ladli Begam. She ruled for
some time in an indirect way (Mahavat fight). She used to rule through her daughter after the
death of Jahangir. Jahangir’s son Khurram Khan (Shah Jahan) was very powerful.

Akbar’s policy towards non-muslims was undone by his successor, especially by the time of
Aurangzeb. He wanted to laid down the foundations of an Islamic state. Restarted jaziyah taxes,
old temples were destroyed, and new temples were not allowed to construct. He codified many
Muslims Laws. He got more interested in controlling territories in Deccan Area. Thereby, he got
into conflict with Shivaji. They got in touch with descendants of the Bahmani Kingdom-
Golconda, Bijapur, and Ahmednagar (Akbar first brought into his control). Ahmednagar- Chand
Bibi- guerilla warfare. Aurangzeb was not as practical as his great-grandfather. His focus on the
Southern area snatched his focus from the North and a lot of rebellions started there. For
instance- Satnami in Chattisgarh, Jats of Mathura, Rajputana of Jodhpur. For Rathors and
Marwas.

Aurangzeb later intervened in the customary succession of posts and made it discretionary to
him.

LAW AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

CHOLA EMPIRE (9TH CENTURY AD) (IMPERIAL CHOLA)

Villages granted to Brahmans were called Brahamadeva.

Temples would be constructed and grants of land and villages would be given to temple priests
for the cultivation and upkeep of deities and the performance of rituals. These villages came to
be known as Devadan. Revenue that was earlier collected by revenue officers were now
collected by Temple priests.

Their capital was at Thanjavaur.

Uttaramerur- brahmins dominated there. They collected taxes and used to give it to kings. It was
also called a form of self-government. In rura

For the first time, women were employed as spies and information officer.

Raja Raja Chola - He took the title of Gangai Konda

Rajendra Chola-

BHAKTI MOVEMENT

In Early medieval India,

FEUDALISM

Distribution of power between king and his subordinates like nobles is called feudal system.

King- Feudals-sub-feudals (This process is called sub-infeudation)

King- Religious Head

The Place where these feudals used to live were called manor where they used to live with their
wives and children. The lords were responsible for collecting taxes of their areas and send it to
overlords. Feudal lords were oppressive and used to collect as much as they can. They had to
manage an army and were supposed to accompany the king when they visited there.

Functions of Feudal lords: -

1. Maintain Army 2. Collect taxes 3.

The King and the public were at the most disadvantage.

Feudalism in Vijayanagar Empire- The feudal lords here were called Nayak. Segmentary theory
was followed in Vijayanagar Empire wherein the kings directly shared its power among different
segment of people.

VIJAYANAGAR EMPIRE

Krishna Deva Ray was the most important ruler of Vijayanagar empire which has been
established by Harihara and Bukka. They were always in fight with Bahmani Kingdom. In the
battle off Talikota, they lost it to Bahmani Kingdom. Artillery first time was used in this battle.