Urban Decay in (c.300-c. 1000)

R.S. Sharma

Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Contents

List of Illustrations vii Chart of Symbols Used in Sections ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Abbreviations xiv Roman Equivalents of Nagari Letters xv 1. HISTORICAL AND PROBLEMS OF URBAN 1-9 Search for foreign influence and art objects 1-2; Historical archaeology de-emphasized 2-5; Limitations of the archaeology of urban sites 3-4; Identifying towns 4-8; Problems of the urban eclipse 8-9. 2. URBAN GROWTH AND DECAY IN THE NORTH 10-27 The Kusana phase and urbanism 10; The case of Taxila 11-13; Jammu and Kashmir 13-14; Punjab 14-19; Haryana 19-20; Western Uttar Pradesh 20-27. 3. URBAN GROWTH AND DECAY: THE MIDDLE GANGETIC PLAINS AND EASTERN REGIONS 28-59 Eastern Uttar Pradesh 28-42; North 42-50; South Bihar50-56; Orissa 56-57; West Bengal 57-59; Assam 59. 4. URBAN GROWTH AND DECAY: CENTRAL AND WESTERN REGIONS 60-83 Rajasthan 60-62; Madhya Pradesh 62-71; Gujarat 71-74; Maharashtra 74-83. 5. URBAN GROWTH AND DECAY IN THE SOUTH 84-107 Karnataka84-87; Andhra Pradesh 87-100; Tamil Nadu 100-107. 6. LITERARY AND EPIGRAPHIC SOURCES ON URBAN DECLINE 108-21 VI Contents Inscriptional evidence on the decline of trade and urbanism in Bengal 108-9; The Brhat Samhita material 109-14; The Kavyas and the Jain sources 114-17; Texts on architecture 117-18; Hsüan Tsang and Al-biruni 118-21 7. NATURE OF EARLY MEDIEVAL MONASTIC SETTLEMENTS 122-31 Decrease in urban elements 122-23; Paucity of metal money 123-25; Absence of artisanal and commercial seals 125; Decrease in craft tools and craft work 125-29; Fall in trade 129-30; Marks of de-urbanization 130-31. 8. EXPLAINING THE URBAN ECLIPSE 132-42 Fall of empires and foreign invasions 132-34; Loss of long- distance trade 135-38; The social disorder of the Kali age 139-40; Impact of land grants on towns 140-42. 9. CONSEQUENCES OF DE-URBANIZATION 143-67 Generative role of early historic towns 143-51; Fall in urban revenue and change in the nature of the army 151-52; The fate of merchants 152-53; Impact on artisans 153-55; No distinction between the town and the country 155-57; Parasitic non-agrarian settlements 157-60; Migration of the brahmanas 160-61; Dependence of temples and monasteries on land 161-65; New social and economic relationships 165-67. 10. AGRARIAN EXPANSION 168-77 .Rise of states in eastern, central and southern India 168-69; Land grants and rural expansion 169-71; Founding of villages 171-72; Agricultural knowledge and technology 172-74; Differentiation in the countryside 175-76; Urban shrinkage and agrarian expansion 177. CONCLUSION 178-85 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Towns in Gujarat/Malwa/Karnataka from where the Brahmanas Migrated to Enjoy Land Grants in Gujarat 186-90 Appendix 2: Note on Diagram 191 Appendix 3: Note on Maps 198 Bibliography 199 Index 211