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Home , Bhoja, Capture of Delhi (1771), Carnatic expansion, Chamarasa, Chandel (Rajput clan), Chauhan

Medieval

Early

History of

 The Rajputs always insisted thfat they were of the caste and they were divided into clans.

 The kings belonged to ordered family, which connected them with either the sun-family (-vamshi) or the moon-family (chandra-vamsha) of ancient Indian kings. However, there were four clans who claimed that they had not descended from either of these two families, but rather from the fire-family (- kula).

Pratiharas:

Sources of Gurjara Pratiharas’ History

 Historians believe that after the Gupta period, Gurjara Pratiharas came to India from the central Asian region and settled in . Gradually, they gained political importance.  The bardic tradition of Rajasthan claims that the Gurjara Pratiharas, Chalukyas, Parmaras, and Chahmanas were born out of a done at . Therefore, these four dynasties are also known as agnikulas(fire-clans).  The four dynasties of Rajputs were created for the protection of the country from external aggressions.  The literary meaning of Pratihara is ‘door keeper.’ It is believed that their ancestor Lakshmana served as a door keeper to his brother . Therefore, they were called as Pratihara.  The geographical name of is supposed to be derived from Gurjara.

Rulers of Gurjara Pratiharas

The inscription mentioned the early history of the family. The inscription was founded by King Bhoja in the 7th century. He was the most famous king of the Gurjara Pratiharas dynasty.

Nagabhatta-I was the real founder of the fame of family. He defeated the Muslim forces from the Arabs. During A.D. 775-800, followed an aggressive imperial policy. He defeated Pala king of .The Rashtrakuta king Dhruva defeated Vatsaraja and took away the political benefit of the defeat of Pala king.Dharmapala took advantage of the defeat of Vatsaraja and installed his own nominee Chakrayudba on the throne of Kanauj.

Vatsaraja’s son, Nagabhatta II (A.D.815) made an alliance with Andhra, Vidharbha, and Kalinga. He made extensive preparation to fight against his rivals.

Nagabhatta II first defeated Chakrayudha and captured Kanauj. Then he defeated Dharmapala and fought with Govinda-III, the Rashtrakuta king.Nagabhatta also defeated Vega who was the son of the governor of Sind under the Caliph-l Mamun.Nagabhatta-II was succeeded by his son .Ramabhadra was succeeded by his son Bhoja-I about A.D. 836.

Bhoja-I restored the falling prosperities and reputation of his dynasty.A golden opportunity to the king Bhoja-I was provided by the death of Devapala of Bengal and Rashtrakuta's invasion of Bengal thereafter.

 The Rashtrakuta king, Krishna II was involved in the struggle with the .  Bhoja-I defeated Krishna-II and captured the region of and Gujarat.  After victory over two great rivals, Bhoja-I founded his sovereignty over the , Avadh, and other territories of and consolidated his empire.  Bhoja-I was a devotee of , and adopted the title of ‘Adivaraha.’ It has been inscribed in some of his coins. He is also known by other names as 'Mihir', 'Prabhasa,' etc.  Bhoja-I was succeeded by his son Mahendrapala-I about A.D. 885.  Mahendrapala-I also extended the boundaries of his empire. During his reign, the Pratihara Empire stretched almost from the in the north to the Vindhyas in the south and from Bengal in the east to Gujarat in the west.  Mahendrapala-I was also known as 'Mahendrayudha', and 'Nirbhayanarendra.' He was a liberal patron of learned men.  Rajashehara was learned man of his court. He had written Karpuramanjari, Bala-, Bala Bharata, Kavyamimansa, Bhuvana Kosha, and Haravilasa.  The Pratiharas dynasty dominated north India for over two hundred years from the 8th century to the 10th century A.D.  Arab scholar, Al-Masudi, visited India in A.D. 915-916.  Al-Masudi mentioned about the great powers and prestige of the Pratihara rulers and the vastness of their empire.  Al-Masudi says that empire of AI-Juzr (Gurjara) had 1,800,000 villages, the cities and rural areas were about 2,000 km in length and 2,000 km in breadth.  The Rashtrakuta king, -II again attacked Kanauj between A.D. 915 and A.D. 918 and completely destroyed it. This weakened the Pratihara Empire.  Krishna-III was other Rashtrakuta ruler invaded north India in about A.D. 963. He defeated the Pratihara rulers. This led to decline of Pratihara Empire.  The Pratiharas were patrons of learning and literature.  Rajashekhar ( poet) lived at the court of Mahendrapala-I.  The Pratihara kings were followers of .  They build with many fine buildings and temples at Kanauj.  The epigraphic records show that the building of temples and the educational institutions attached with them, formed community projects, in which the entire village community participated.  Many Indian scholars went to the court of the Caliph at Baghdad along with embassies. However, the names of the Indian kings are not known who sent these embassies.

 This interaction between India and Arab led to the spread of Indian culture, literature, and science, especially mathematics, algebra, and medicine to the Arab world from where these were further transmitted to Europe.  Although the Pratiharas were well known for their aggression to the Arab rulers of .  Despite all this, the movement of scholars and trade between India and west Asia remained uninterrupted.

Chandela

The Chandela or is an Indian Rajput clan found in Central India. A section of the Chandelas which was also known as Chandela Dynasty ruled much of the region of central India for long periods between the 10th and the 13th centuries AD. The Chandel dynasty is famous in Indian history for Rao Vidyadhara, who repulsed the attacks of Mahmud of .

From the ninth century to the 13th century, the Chandelas ruled over central India. Their first capital city was Khajuraho, which was later shifted to Mahotsava Nagar or . They are regarded to be Chandravanshi; i.e., the descendents of Soma (Sanskrit literal meaning: moon). The roots of Chandela Rajput can be traced to Sapai, which was popularly known as Samapada Nagar. The title given to them was Rao. They are the only hereditary title holders of Kanpur district. After the Muslim invasion the royals resided in Sapai. It was also called Sampada Nagar.

The kingdom of the Chandels of Khajuraho were always a part of this large empire of the Gurjara Pratiharas, the extent of which varied with the fortunes of the kings. The Chandel rulers for about hundred years that is, from Nannuk till Harsh Dev, were but vassals of the Pratiharas. They proclaimed themselves independent when the Pratihara empire weakened and disintegrated. Earlier, the Pratiharas helped the Chandels and other kings of the region in defending the country from the aggression of Muslim invaders from the Middle East. This collective defence against the invaders rendered security in the region which created favourable circumstances for encouraging art and culture.

The founder of the Chandel dynasty, Nannuk was the ruler of a small kingdom. According to inscriptions, he was the chief of his clan in the first quarter of the ninth century. Epigraphic records show that Khajuraho, then called Khajuravatika -Bearer of Dates or Khajuravatika – Garden of Dates, was the stronghold of Nannuk and his people. Later on, his descendants linked their lineage with the Moon or with Chandratreya of the legend, in order to attribute some divine links to the origin of their dynasty. Vakapati succeeded his father Nannuk during the second quarter of the ninth century.

The celebrated king, Mihir Bhoja was his contemporary. Samrat Mihir Bhoj had to fight many battles against his two enemies, the Devapala of Bengal and Kokal,

the Kalchuri king. Vakapati the ruler of Khajuraho, had to often assist Pratiharas in the battle field, because he was a vassal of the Pratiharas. The inscription mention the Vindhya Hills, one of the frequent places of warfare, as the pleasure mount (Krida-giri) of Vakapati. It can be inferred on the basis of this inscription that Vakapati managed to extend his territory so as to include some hills of the Vindhyas, Jaishakti and Vijayshakti, the two sons of Vakapti, succeeded him, one after the other. Both the princes were strong and valorous and annexed considerable territories to their kingdom.

Chandellas were described as the most significant culturally as well as politically among the former feudatories of the Pratiharas in central India. The style and pattern of architecture in Chandella dynasty have a rugged simplicity and are quite distinct from the works of the later Pratiharas. Indeed, the Chandella architecture is different from their sandstone successors at Khajuraho. Chandellas were creative builders in their major towns and strongholds, above all in their capital, Khajuraho. With the contemporary efforts of the Solankis in Gujarat and the Somavamshis in Orissa, the great series of works of the Chandellas mark the culmination of northern temple development.

The monuments of Khajuraho are divided into three groups west, east and south of the modern village. The earliest structures are the Chaunshat-Yogini temple and Lalguan to the south and north-west of the western group and the Brahama to the west of the eastern group. Like other hypaethral temples elsewhere in India dedicated to the celebration of the shaktis or 'Working Energies' of the pantheon, central to Tantric cults, the Khajuraho Chaunshat-Yogini has a broad terrace with an open court bordered by unadorned cells for sixty-four avarana-devatas, the sacred number enshrined in the Manduka Mandala - in a regular series broken only in the centre of the south range, opposite the entrance, by a large shrine for . The Lalguan and temples consist of a Phamsana-roofed mulaprasada with bold central projections and shallow hall portico over a plain platform.

The base has both plinth and dado and the wall is divided into two registers below an entablature whose frieze is the main ornament.

Further, the architecture in Chandella dynasty reflects significant developments. The early Chandella works have simplicity. The main series of these works begins with the Lakshmana temple, the Vaishnavite foundation of Yashovarman I, and continues with Dhanga's Shaivite Vish-vanatha and Jaina , the Surya Chitragupta and the Vaishnavite Devi-Jagadamba of . The Parshvanatha, the main temple of the eastern group, is a sumptuous compressed composition in which the mulaprasada and closed hall are juxtaposed without major recession or projection and assimilated in articulation. The essential compactness of the composition is denied by the projection of an additional shrine chamber from the west of the mulaprasada and of a portico before the main entrance in the east. Along with superb mithunas, Vaishnavite iconography plays a

prominent part in the rich sculpture of the exterior, despite the temple's Jaina affiliation.

The Chitragupta temple and Devi-Jagadamba, though without ambulatory and comparable in scale to the Parshvanatha, are more closely related in articulation to their great companions in the western group - the Lakshmana temple, Vishvanatha and Khandariya. Each of these, however, has an open pavilion between the portico and main closed hall and their garbha-grihas are encircled by ambulatories. The Lakshmana temple is still basically of five bays, with deep balconies projecting from both mulaprasada and closed hall.

Its walls are divided into two registers alive with wonderful shardulas, and mithunas.

The Chitragupta temple and Devi-Jagadamba, like the Vishvanatha and Khandariya, have seven-bay facades with three registers of dazzling sculpture; visible from without in the central projections of the Chitragupta and Devi-Jagadamba, are lit by the balconies opening from the ambulatories of the other three great works. The vedikas of porticos, balconies and open halls are relieved only by shallow slats, introducing a note of severity as sharply in contrast with the luxury of the walls as their voids are to the masses. Beyond the porticos, with flying arches, the halls are divided by matching piers and pilasters, generally recessed, occasionally faceted, with capitals formed of grotesque brackets bearing apsaras and other shakti symbols. Ceilings are stunning in their variety and sanctuary portals, usually with seven jambs and still basically architectonic, are overwhelmed with exuberant figure sculpture. The architecture of the Chandellas is considered as one of the supreme achievements of Indian architecture.

Paramara clan

The origin of the Paramaras is shrouded in obscurity. However, it seems probable that since Malwa formed part alternately of the domains of Pratiharas and Rashtrkutas, they must have been the feudatories of either of the two.

Though the owes its origin to a chief named Upendra or Krishnaraja at the beginning of the 9th century AD, it was as a result of the collapse of the Rashtrakuta power in the second half of the 10th century that Paramaras became an independent power. was their earlier capital and later Dhara became their seat of power. Both these places are in .

The first great Paramara ruler of note was Vakapati Munja, (c 974-997-8) who was in constant war withTailapa or Taila II, founder of the later western Chalukyan dynasty of Kalyani. It is said that Munja defeated him for sixteen times. However, in the seventeenth encounter, Munja was defeated and taken prisoner and subsequently killed.

Himself an accomplished poet, Munja basked in the glory of being the patron of scholars and poet.

This can be gauged from the galaxy of men of letters who graced his court. Prominent among them werePadmagupta, Dhananjaya, Dhanika and Halayudha. Dhananjaya was the author of Dasharupa, a work on dramaturgy.

Dhanika was the author of Avaloka, a commentary on Dasharupa. Munja is also said to have built several artificial lakes including the existing Munjasagar lake at Dhara named after him. The cities in his kingdom were adorned with beautiful temples.

Munja was succeeded by his brother, Sindhuraja, who is known for having assumed the significant title of Navasahasanka, (meaning the new Sahasanka or .) His exploits are described in theNavasahasankacharitam written by Padmagupta.

However, the greatest ruler of the Parmara dynasty was Bhoja (1018-55) immortalized in legend. Son and successor of Sindhuraja, he was an epitome of an ideal ruler and statesman. He is hailed as the greatest scholar king of India. Like his predecessor Munja, he is also credited with the construction of dams and artificial lakes in his kingdom. Called Kaviraja in an inscription, he authored no less than 24 books on a variety of subjects including astronomy, medicine, poetics, polity, grammar, religion, architecture etc. Some of his famous works are Samaranganasutradhara, a unique work on architecture, andAyurvedasaravasva, a work on medicine. He also wrote a commentary on Yagasutra of . Bhoja also set up a college known as Bhojasala at Dhara. He patronised Dhanapala, Uvata and others.

Bhoja entered into wars with his contemporaries including the Chalukyas of Kalyani and the Chalukyas of Anhilwara. During the last year of his reign he had to face the combined armies of Chalukyan king Bhima I and Lakshmikarna of the Kalchuri dynasty. Bhoja died during the battle and his capital Dhara came into hands of the allied powers.

Chauhan Dynasty

Origin of the : The Rajput kings of dynasty are believed to belong to Agnivanshi Clan (descendants of the Fire God). The Chauhan Dyansty played a prominent part on the Indian political stage.

Prithviraj Chauhan III (1168-1192 A.D.): is one of the most celebrated Hindu King of and . His birth took place in 1149.

The Chauhan dynasty had long history of rivalry with the Chalukyas of Gujarat. However, Prithviraj decided to adopt the policy of neutrality in the War between King of Gujarat and Mohammed Ghori. He neither supported the Gujarat Kingdom nor Mohammed Ghori. The King of Gujarat inflicted a defeat on Mohammed Ghori.

Meanwhile, Prithviraj continued his policy of conquest and expansion of his empire. He also fought with the Chalukyan king and got some success.

In 1191, the was fought between Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohammed Ghori in which the latter was completed defeated. But, Mohammed Ghori

reappeared and the took place. Prithviraj was defeated and taken prisoner.

He was a great Hindu ruler of Delhi who died a hero’s death for country.

The Chauhana dynasty after Prithviraj Chauhan: The real fame of Prithviraj rests upon his struggle with Muhammad of Ghur. Mohammed Ghori followed up his victory by the conquest of Ajmer and Delhi. He placed the young son of Prithviraj as his vassal in Ajmer. But Hariraja, the brother of Prithviraj captured the throne of Ajmer and followed a policy of hostility. Qutubuddin Aibek invaded Ajmer and overthrew Hariraja and took the country. The Chauhan dynasty then retired to Ranthambhor and ruled there in diminishing glory. But in 1301, Ala-ud-din Khilji captured Ranthambhor and uprooted the last stronghold of Chauhan power.

Solankis

The dynasty ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and in India between 950-1300 CE. The kings of the dynasty used the self-designation Chaulukya, and are also known as the Chalukyas of Gujarat or as the Solanki Rajputs. The dynasty ended when conquered Gujarat.[1]

Gujarat was a major centre of Indian Ocean trade, and their capital at Anhilwara (modern Patan, Gujarat) was one of the largest cities in India, with population estimated at 100,000 in 1000 CE. In 1026, the temple complex of Somnath in Gujarat was destroyed by . After 1243, the Solankis lost control of Gujarat to their feudatories, of whom the of came to dominate. After 1292, the Vaghelas became tributaries of the Seuna (Yadava) dynasty of Devagiri in the

Dilwara Temple

Location: Near Mount Abu, In Rajasthan

Built in: During 11th - 13th century

Dedicated to: Adinath, Rishabh Dev, Neminath, Mahavir Swami, Parshvanath

Significance: Famous pilgrimage of the Jains

Dilwara Temples of Rajasthan are popular for their beautiful artistic work. Located near Mount Abu in Rajasthan, Dilwara Temple is easily accessible from any town or city of Rajasthan. Mount Abu is a beautiful and one & only hill station of Rajasthan. Several train services are available by Indian Railways for Mount-Abu from different cities. Dilwara Temple lies at a distance of 2.5 kms from Mount Abu. From Mount Abu railway station, many bus services and taxis are available for Dilwara Temple.

Dilwara Temple forms a famous pilgrimage of the followers of . The striking use of marble, in the construction of this temple, is truly worth-admiring. However, the simple architecture of the temple, reminds one of the virtues of Jainism. Set

amidst the picturesque hills, are said to have built during the 11th and 13th century. In the huge temple complex, there are five shrines that are dedicated to Lord Adinath or Lord Rishabnath, Lord Neminath, Lord Mahavir Swami and Lord Parshvanath respectively.

Exquisite Temple Carvings

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of Jain temple architecture is its carvings. and that is an understatement. Wherever one looks, be it pillars, ceilings, walls and floors, Jain temples go to the extreme - and beyond it - when it comes to adorning their temples with the very stone they work with. Jain mythology, saints, gods and goddesses, monks, devotees or just good old religious motifs all find their way in a spectacular rendezvous in marble and rock.

Each nook and corner of Jain temples are so diligently carved that it is a wonder that the edifice was created out of plain stone. Carving is perhaps not the right word for Jain temples - chiselling would be more appropriate. Their fragile delicacy merged with an architectural lexicon is what constitues the basis of these amazing temples. Simply put, there is not an inch where one can place his hand and not encounter a spectacular frieze.

The Methodology of Carving

In the temples in Mount Abu even chiseling was put aside, and artisans adopted the sedulous task of thinning the marble into carved images, a worth noticing architectural splendor. This was done by gently scraping away the surface till a figure eventually emerged, so intricate and fine that it was intelligibly magnificent. This is the reason why the temples in Mount Abu and Ranakpur are said to be the finest Jain temples in the world.

Marvelous Architecture Splendor

The architectural vocabulary of the region included ornamental rendering of flowers and creepers. The portrayal of Yakshini Chakreshwari, the attendant deity of Adinatha (first Jain saint) is an integral part of the temple. Keeping with the prevailing aesthetic norms the figures have sharp facial features set in broad faces and narrow waists. The intricately sculpted arches here are of two types; one with regular wavy undulations and the other, which is seen in the Vimala Vasahi, with exaggerated curves. Two of these temples have been singled out by many experts as outstanding. These are the Vimala Vasahi built in 1031-32AD and Luna Vasahi built in 1230.

Social and Cultural Development during Rajput Dynasty

Rajput’s were valiant and aggressive fighters which they even considered as their ‘Dharma’. They valued qualities and ideals that were of very high fundamentals. Yet they were large-hearted and generous and they took pride in their roots and lineage which to them was supreme. They were brave, egoistic and very forcefully loyal clan who gave shelter to the refugees and their foes.

Social and General Conditions of the People

 Wars conquests and victories was the dominating feature of the Rajput culture and society.  The society suffered also because there was a great disparity in the standard of living of the people. They believed in caste and creed systems.  The ministers, officials, feudal chiefs belonged to the upper class so they enjoyed the privileges to accumulate wealth as they were entitled to live in luxury and splendor.  They were indulged in costly clothes, jewels and ornaments of gold and silver. They lived in palace like houses of several storeys.  The Rajput showed their glory with their Harems and number of servants that worked under them.  On the other hand the peasants were burdened with the land revenue and other taxes that were brutally taken by the feudal lords or else they had to render forced labor.

Caste System

 The lower castes suffered the animosities of feudal lords who looked upon them like vultures.  Most of the workers like weavers, fishermen, barbers, etc. as well as tribal were treated very ruthlessly by their owners.  The Rajput’s as a new caste were more involved in image building and had supreme egos which made the caste system even more prominent.

Condition of Women

 Although the honor of women was much defined and matter of utter dignity to the Rajput’s yet they lived in an unauthentic and handicapped society.  The Rajput women of low class were denied the right to study the Vedas. However families of higher families received higher education. The laws for women were very stingy.  They were supposed to follow higher ideals in terms to their men and society. They were supposed to gladly sacrifice themselves along with the dead bodies of their husbands.  Though there was no ‘purdah’ system. And ‘Swayamvar’ type of marriage was in vogue in several royal families yet the society saw the evil practice of Infanticide and early marriage.

Education and Science

 Under the rule of Rajput only Brahmans and some sections of upper classes were entitled to be educated.  The famous centre of higher learning was at in and some other important centres were Vikramasila and Uddandapura. At this time only some Saiva centers of learning flourished in .  Religion and philosophy were the popular subjects for study and discussion.  Yet during this time the overall, growth of the knowledge of science slowed down as the society became increasingly rigid, thinking was mostly confined to traditional philosophy also during this period Science did not get proper scope or opportunity to develop.

Architecture

 The Rajputs were significantly great builders who expended extravagantly on building forts, palaces and temples to show off their generous wealth and valor. In this period Temple building reached its zenith.  Few significant temples are the Lingaraja temple, temple at and the Sun temple at Konark.  Khajuraho, puri and Mt. Abu are measured most well-known temples built by the Rajput.  Rajput was also known of building irrigation canals, dams, and reservoirs which are still considered for their precision and high quality.  Foundations of many cities like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, , were laid down by the Rajput kings these cities were decorated with beautiful palaces and forts and are today known as Heritage Cities  The Victory Tower at the fort of Chittor the Lake palace at , Hawa Mahal and, Astronomical Observatory by Sawai JaiSingh in 18th century are some astonishing examples of very complexly built Rajput architecture.

Paintings

 The Rajput works of art can be ordered into two schools-the Rajasthani and the Pahari schools of painting.  The subjects of the artworks were enormously affected by the religion and for the most part portray scenes from the Ramayana and and Radha and Krishna in different temperaments.  The system of both the schools is the same and both have made utilization of brilliant shades to explain scenes from the lives of the basic individual

Arabs Conquest Of Sindh

The rise of in India began with the conquest of Sind, one of the oldest Indus Valley civilisations, by the Arabs. Among the , the first to conquer the territories of India were the Arabs. They, by spreading Islam, attained their political and religious unity in India. The conquest of Sind was successful after a number of attempts.

It was under the leadership of Mohammad-bin-Qasim, that Sind, then a part of India along the (now in ) was conquered. Muhammad-bin-Qasim was an Umayyad general who conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions at a very young age of 17. Today, Sind is given the nick name “Bab-e-Islam”, the meaning of which is “The Gateway of Islam”

The foundation of Arab domination in Sind in 712 A.D. was the result of a number of efforts to enter India. In fact, Muhammad-bin-Qasim’s exploration to India was actually the third attempt.

After the death of Prophet Muhammad, the Arabs conquered Persia and Herat and formed a large empire. After these conquests, their attention was towards India. During that time, there were commercial trade connections between India and Arabia and the merchants of Arabs were familiar with the sea coast to the west of India.

One prime factor that led Arabs to invade Indian territories was the vast wealth of India. Plus, they also wanted to spread . Moreover, in order to form an Islamic empire, the Arabs also followed a policy of conquest, that too very systematically. The immediate cause of India’s invasion was when some Sindi pirates plundered some Arab ships near the coast of Debal.

The king of Ceylone had sent precious gifts to of Baghdad and to Hajaj, the Governor of Iraq on these ships. As a result, Hajaj wanted compensation from King Dahir of Sind, which he refused outrightly, as he had no control over the pirates.

Thus, started the first military expedition against King Dahir, under Ubaidullah, which failed. The second invasion also failed and this time it was under Budail. In the third attempt, Hajaj entrusted the responsibility to his son-in-law Muhammad-bin- Qasim, with a powerful army to attack Dahir. He arrived at the coast in 712 A.D. and was successful in defeating and killing Dahir and thus, Debal was occupied.

After Dahir’s death, his wife Queen Rani Bai fought against the Arabs. She was also defeated and she performed the rites of Jauhar to save her honour. In the meantime, Mohammad-bin-Qasim kept on capturing all the neighbouring towns of Debal such as Nirun, Rewar, Brahmanbad, Alor and and Sind as a whole.

During these conquests, Qasim was all of a sudden recalled by the Khalifa and by making him a victim of party politics was put to death. It is said that had he been alive, he would have conquered the entire South Asian region.

Though the Arabs had failed in their first two attempts to conquer Sind and the other Indian territories, in the third attempt, King Dahir could not restrain the powerful army of Mohammand-bin-Qasim. In 712 A.D., when Qasim crossed the river Indus, Dahir had already gathered with an army of 50,000 horses. Both the armies lay opposite to one another and it was a ferocious battle. On the fateful day, Dahir mounted his elephant and marched towards the enemy but an Arab soldier succeeded in shooting Dahir’s elephant with an arrow attached with burning cotton. This terrified the animal and it fled towards the river, which was already been enclosed by the enemy soldiers. Dahir, ultimately had to face death, though he had put up a brave fight against the Arabs.

Significance

Some significant impacts of the invasion of Sind by the Arabs in Indian History are as follows:

 The Arab rule in Sind led to the mingling of two essentially different cultures and the Arab culture got enriched by the Hindu culture and civilisation.  Some historians say that Sind was the birthplace of .  Some also say that many rulers did not fight against Arabs and this made easier for Mahumud of Ghazni and Ghori to raid the country.  After the conquest of Sind, some were converted to Islam.  Knowledge on Hindu philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine became popular with the Arabs.  Many Indian scholars such as Bhala, Manaka, and were invited to Baghdad.  Also, Indian architects were invited to built and buildings in Baghdad.  An Indian physician Dhana served as the chief medical officer at Baghdad.  Abu Mashar, an Arab astronomer came to Benaras to study astronomy there for ten years.  Many noted Indian works on astronomy such as Brahma Sidhanta and Khanda Khadyaka were translated into Arabic.  Indian art and architecture always influenced the Arab culture.  It was a known fact that after Sind invasion, the Hindus and Muslims lived as fellow citizens for many years and there was amity and peace between them.  The Sind conquest by Muhammad Bin Qasim in 712 AD gave the Muslims a strong dominance in the Indian sub-continent and also showed the tolerance between the two religions.  The conquest of Sind led the Islamic civilization come in contact with the ancient Vedic civilization of the subcontinent.

Though Qasim had conquered a few territories, the Arabs failed to expand their territories beyond Multan and Sind. To check the invasion of the Arabs in other parts of India, there were Rajput rulers of the North and of the East.

The Arabs did not bring about any new system of administration. Qasim established good administrative structure, peace and order in the places he conquered. He respected other religions, though there were instances of poor Hindus being converted to Muslims. The reason being, he helped the poor people who were impressed by his

ruling policies, which made them embrace Islam. During his rule, the Hindu and Buddhist spiritualists were given stipends.

The Ghazavids – Mahmud of Ghazni

The Ghazavids

Ghaznavids were an Islamic dynasty of Turkish slave origin (366-582/977-1186), which in its heyday ruled in the eastern Iranian lands, briefly as far west as Ray and Jebāl; for a while in certain regions north of the Oxus, most notably, in Kārazm; and in Baluchistan and in northwestern India. Latterly, however, its territories comprised eastern , Baluchistan, and northwestern India, with its last rulers reduced to the Punjab only.

The genesis of the lay in the process which took place in the middle decades of the tenth century, whereby Turkish slave commanders made themselves in effect autonomous on the southern fringes of the Samanid Empire.

After the death of the Amir ʿAbd-al-Malek, the Turkish slave general of the Samanid army in Khorasan withdrew to Ḡazna after an attempted coup to place his own candidate on the throne had failed. He dispossessed an indigenous family who had ruled in Ḡazna, the Lawīks and he, and following him a series of slave commanders, ruled there as nominal vassals of the Samanids; they struck coins but placed the names of the Samanids on them.

The fifth of these commanders was Sebüktigin, who governed Ḡazna for twenty years till 997 with the title of Al-Hajeb Al-Ajall (most noble commander).

In fact, he laid the foundations of what was speedily to become a fully independent power when the Samanids went into terminal decline in the .

Mahmud of Ghazni

In 998 AD, the Turkish conqueror, Mahmud of Ghazni, succeeded his father, and established a huge empire in Central Asia, with capital at Ghazni, the present-day South Kabul. He was 27 years old then and the first ruler to get the title as “Sultan”, which means authority, thereby implying his power and strength.

For 17 times, he attacked India during the period between 1000 and 1027 AD, a significant event in the .

Mahmud of Ghazni had started his invasions in India during the period when the Rajput power had declined. The two main reasons that led to the conquest of India by Mahmud Ghazni was firstly, to accumulate the vast amount of wealth that existed in India, and secondly, to spread Islam. Another reason was that he wanted to transform Ghazni, his capital city, into a region of formidable power in the entire Central Asia’s political scenario.

He raided India for the first time in 1000 AD. After that, he is said to have conquered India 17 times, till his death. He was resisted by King Jaipal and then by his son Anandpal but both of them were defeated.

Between 1009 AD and 1026 AD, the places that Mahmud of Ghazni invaded were Kabul, Delhi, Kanauj, Mathura, Kangra, Thaneshwar, Kashmir, Gwalior, Malwa, Bundelkhand, Tripuri, Bengal and Punjab. He died in 1030 AD, and before his death, his last invasion of India was in 1027 AD.

In 1027 AD, he invaded the in Gujarat, on the coast of or Kathiwar. This was supposed to be his biggest invasion as he had looted all treasures and precious items of the fortified temple.

Mahmud Ghazni’s invaders were more of fast moving , while the Indian armies were mainly of elephants. The army of Rajputs, no doubt, evolved during the Mughal rule, which was also appreciated by the Mughals. But this expansion and evolution of the Rajput’s army was nothing in comparison to the Turkish invaders and could not keep pace with the military tactics and troops of Mahmud Ghazni.

Obviously the clear winner was Mahmud Ghazni. It is said that he always attacked India during the hot summer seasons and with the onset of monsoons, would go back to Ghazni, the reason being, he wanted to avoid the flooding rivers of Punjab, so that his forces won’t get trapped there. In all his 17 invasions, a number of dynasties were conquered by him.

In 1027, he attacked the Somnath temple. The brave Hindu Rajputs tried to defend the temple when the enemy tried to get inside it. The Hindus fought very bravely and initially the enemies could not damage the temple. However, after 3 days of fights, Mahmud Ghazni’s troops were successful in plundering the Somnath temple, in which the sacred idol, Linga was destroyed. Ghazni looted all the treasures of the temple, which was at that time worth 20-million Dinars, more than eighty times of what he had collected in his first invasion. Around 5000 Hindus died during this last invasion.

Implications

1. Mahmud’s invasions of India were no doubt bloody. He was a ruthless raider and plunderer of wealth. 2. In each invasion of an Indian dynasty, he carried back vast wealth with him. 3. Places like Mathura, Kanauj, Thaneshwar were transformed into ruins. 4. The demolition of the Shiva temple at Somnath earned him tremendous hatred of many Hindus. 5. He looted the wealth of the temples and then destroyed them completely at various places such as Jwalamukhi, Maheshwar, Narunkot and Dwarka. 6. Though his invasions did not show any systematic effort to conquer the subcontinent, they led to the foundation of the Turkish rule in India and his conquest opened the gates of India to be conquered from the Northwest. 7. Mahmud Ghazni built a large empire covering Samarkand in the north, Gujarat in the south, Punjab in the east and Caspian sea in the west. His empire included Persia, Afghanistan, Trans-oxyana, and Punjab.

8. He was considered a great Islamic Hero. 9. The 17 invasions of India undertaken by Ghazni, one after the other, revealed the Indian rulers’ military weakness. 10. These invasions also disclosed how the Rajput rulers had no political unity among themselves. 11. These conquests proved that the Muslims were superior to Hindus in the field of war, discipline and duty. 12. With Ghazni’s invasions, the economic condition of India weakened. 13. Huge wealth was looted out of the country. 14. The resources of India were drained out by his repeated conquests and India was deprived of her manpower, which also adversely affected the future political scenario of the country. 15. There was a huge setback to Indian arts, architecture and sculpture due to the demolition of idols and temples. 16. Islam also gained a major foothold in India after the attacks. 17. The conquests also led to a growing hatred and fear among the Hindus and the Muslims. 18. However, these conquests also led to the coming of the Sufis or the Muslim saints for more Hindu-Muslim interaction. 19. Ghazni’s conquests, especially the inclusion of Punjab and Afghanistan in his kingdom, made the Indian frontiers weak. This made easier for other Afghan and Turkish rulers to enter India into the Gangetic valley at any time. One special mention is of Muhammad Ghori’s invasion of India.

Al Beruni’s India Al Beruni came to India in the war-train of Mahmud and lived in India for many years. He was a great philosopher, mathematician and historian. Attracted to Indian culture, he learnt Sanskrit and studied several books concerning Hindu philosophy and culture. He travelled far and wide and wrote a masterly account of India in his book Tahqiq-i-Hind. This was also known as Kitabul Hind (1017-31 A.D). In addition to it, Alberuni is also credited to have translated many Sanskrit works into Persian and Arabic. Talking of Hindu in general, Alberuni complains of their complacency and ignorance of the outside world. He even finds faults with them for their want of sympathy and communication with other peoples whom they call mlechchas. Observing the consuming arrogance of Hindus he notes, ‘The Hindus believe that there is no country but theirs, no nation like theirs, no kings like theirs, no religion like theirs, and no science like theirs. If they travelled and mixed with other nations, they would soon change their mind, ‘he adds, ‘for their ancestors were not as narrow- minded as the present generations.’ He observed that the Hindus did ‘not desire that a thing which has once been polluted should be purified and thus recovered’. Thus, the above portrayal clearly shows that all was not well with India. Caste tensions were prevalent. There was no sense of cause; the disintegrating tendencies were already serious. Alberuni was able to observe the condition of India very minutely. He wrote what he saw here.

Caste-Ridden Society Albiruni said: The Hindus call their castes varṇa, i.e. colours, and from a genealogical point of view they call them jâtaka, i.e. births. These castes are from the very beginning only four.

1. The highest caste are the Brâhmaṇa, of whom the books of the Hindus tell that they were created from the head of Brahman. And as Brahman is only another name for the force called nature, and the head is the highest part of the animal body, the Brâhmaṇa are the choice part of the whole genus. Therefore the Hindus consider them as the very best of mankind. 2. The next caste are the Kshatriya, who were created, as they say, from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. Their degree is not much below that of the Brâhmaṇ 3. After them follow the Vaiśya, who were created from the thigh of Brahman. 4. The Śûdra, who were created from his feet.

After the Sudra follow the people called Antyaja, who render various kinds of services, who are not reckoned amongst any caste, but only as members of a certain craft or profession. There are eight classes of them, who freely intermarry with each other, except the fuller, shoemaker, and weaver, for no others would condescend to have anything to do with them. These eight guilds are the fuller, shoemaker, juggler, the basket and shield maker, the sailor, fisherman, the hunter of wild animals and of birds, and the weaver. The four castes do not live together with them in one and the same place. These guilds live near the villages and towns of the four castes, but outside them. The people called Hâḍî, Ḍoma (Ḍomba), Caṇḍâla, and Badhatau (sic) are not reckoned amongst any caste or guild. They are occupied with dirty work, like the cleansing of the villages and other services. They are considered as one sole class, and distinguished only by their occupations. In fact, they are considered like illegitimate children; for according to general opinion they descend from a Śûdra father and a Brâhmaṇî mother as the children of fornication; therefore they are degraded outcasts. The Hindus give to every single man of the four castes characteristic names, according to their occupations and modes of life. Of the classes beneath the castes, the Hâḍî are the best spoken of, because they keep themselves free from everything unclean. Next follow the Ḍôma, who play on the lute and sing. The still lower classes practise as a trade killing and the inflicting of judicial punishments. The worst of all are the Badhatau, who not only devour the flesh of dead animals, but even of dogs and other beasts. Each of the four castes, when eating together, must form a group for themselves, one group not being allowed to comprise two men of different castes. If, further, in the group of the Brâhmaṇa there are two men who live at enmity with each other, and the seat of the one is by the side of the other, they make a barrier between the two seats by placing a board between them, or by spreading a piece of dress, or in some other way; and if there is only a line drawn between them, they are considered as separated.

Since it is forbidden to eat the remains of a meal, every single man must have his own food for himself; for if any one of the party who are eating should take of the food from one and the same plate, that which remains in the plate becomes, after the first eater has taken part, to him who wants to take as the second, the remains of the meal, and such is forbidden.Such is the condition of the four castes. Stagnant Knowledge To al-Beruni the Hindus were excellent philosophers, good mathematicians and astronomers, though [out of a certain self-confidence] he believed himself to be superior to them, and disdained to be put on a level with them. He did not conceal whatever he considered wrong and unpractical with them, but he duly appreciates their mental achievements. Speaking of the construction of the ponds at holy bathing-places, he says: “In this they have attained a very high degree of art, so that our people (the Muslims), when they see them, wonder at them, and are unable to describe them, much less to construct anything like them.” Social Evils Al-Beruni noted: (i) Social conditions: Indian society was cast-ridden. Several evil practices like child marriage, prohibition of widow marriage, ‘Sati’ and ‘Jauhar’ existed in the Hindu society. Only the Brahmans had the right to attain salvation. People had a very narrow outlook. (ii) Religious conditions: Idol worship was prevalent. Brahamans had the sole privilege of reading the Hindu scriptures. (iii) Political conditions: Alberuni informs as that the feeling of nationalism among the Indians was almost absent. The country was fragmented into a number of independent states. These states were jealous of each other and constantly engaged in fights against one another. (iv) Legal system: According to Alberuni, criminal law was very mild in India. The Brahmanas were exempted from death punishment. The limbs of serious offenders were amputated. Religion Al-Beruni read the major Indian religious and astronomical texts; in his account he highlighted a few choice parts of the Gita, the Upanishads, Patanjali, , the four Vedas, scientific texts (by Nagarjuna, Aryabhata, etc.), relating stories from Indian mythology to make his point. He also compared Indian thought to the Greek thought of Socrates, Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Galen and others, and at times with Sufi teaching.

Mahmud Ghori

Sultan Mahmud was undoubtedly one of the greatest military leaders, the world has ever seen. It is true that he never faced any defeat. It is, however, equally true that he

never tried to consolidate his position. He came like “a wind and went back like a whirl wind.”

Unlike Mahmud, Ghori was not a great general and had to suffer humiliating defeats several times. He was defeated by Mularaja II, the ruler of Gujarat; by Prithviraj Chauhan in the first battle of Tarain and by Khwarizam Shah, the ruler of Persia. In fact, he was killed in his own camp by his Khokar enemies.

But the greatness of Ghori was that none of these defeats could weaken his spirits or check his ambitions. He took his every failure as a valuable experience. He improved upon his weaknesses, removed them and ultimately got success.

The conquests of Ghori brought about more permanent results than the conquests of Mahmud. Mahmud was contented to plunder the wealth of India and did not think of establishing his empire. Mahmud kept himself busy in invading and looting but Ghori attempted to build -up an empire which lasted for centuries.

Wealth, not territory, extirpation of idolatory and not conquest, were the objects of Mahmud’s raids, and when these were accomplished, he cared nothing for the myriad people of India. “He was no religious knight-errant of Islam like Mahmud of Ghazni but a practical conqueror. The objects of his distant expeditions were not temples but provinces.”

Ghori as a practical statesman who took the fullest advantage of the rotten political structure of India. Ghori gave proof of his statesmanship while dealing with different Rajput rulers.

After his victory over Prithviraj, instead of annexing Delhi and Ajmer to his territories, he handed over the administration of Delhi and Ajmer to the relatives of Prithviraj. Ghori did not change the status of those Hindu chiefs who accepted his suzerainty and did not interfere in their administration. Of course, he established forts in these territories.

This Hero of three stupendous defeats at Andh-khud, Tarain and Anhilwara had to his credit the establishment of one of the greatest empires of the Middle Ages and in this he definitely rises above Mahmud of Ghazni.

Ghori had the art of selecting the best men for his services. He trained generals and administrators like Qutab-ud- din Aibak, who proved quite competent to maintain his empire.

Ghori appointed governors of the provinces he conquered. These governors consolidated the position of Turks and they suppressed rebellions. After the death of Ghori, Qutub-ud-din Aibak, his most able military commander founded the Slave Dynasty that ruled India for about one hundred years.

Thus it becomes quite clear that though Mahmud was a great military commander and always a victor but he did not try to establish his kingdom in India. There is no doubt that he paved the way for the establishment of Turkish empire. Ghori also

accumulated vast wealth without any scruples but his main objective always remained the founding of an empire and he was successful in that aim.

Establishment and Expansion of the

First Battle of Tarain

The First Battle of Tarain () was fought between Sultan Mohammad Ghoriand Prithviraj Chauhan in 1191 near the town of Tarain in . The army of Mohammed Ghori was defeated by the Rajput army of Chauhan. The Western Punjab was already annexed by Mohammed Ghori. The provinces of Eastern Punjab were within the control of Prithviraj Chauhan. As an initial step, Mohammed Ghori stormed the strategic fortress of Bathinda, which was situated within the dominion of Prithviraj Chauhan.

The fall of the fortress of Bathinda awakened Prithviraj to the gravity of the strong Mohammed’s invasion. He promised revenge and set out with an army against Mohammed. The Rajput army completely dominated the battle. In the first battle of Tarain in 1191 A.D, Prithviraj routed the Gurid army by the prowess of his arms.

Mohammed Ghori was badly injured and fled from the battleground. The victory at Tarain was the last flicker of the extinguishing lamp of Hindu valor. Prithviraj followed up his success by taking possession of the fort of Bathinda from the invaders.

Second Battle of Tarain

The Second Battle of Tarian (Taraori) was again fought between Ghurid army of Mohammed Ghori and Rajput army of Prithviraj Chauhan. The battle took place in 1192 A.D near Tarain. In this battle, Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated by Mohammed Ghori.

We know that in the First Battle of Tarian, Mohammed Ghori had lost the battle. After the defeat, Mohammed Ghori further prepared to strengthen his position. He reappeared in 1192 A.D. in Punjab at the head of an army of one hundred and twenty thousand men, for the conquest of Hindustan.

This time, Mohammed Ghori had prepared his plans and strategy in advance. Mohammed recaptured Bathinda and reached the field of Tarain without meeting any serious opposition on the way. Meanwhile, Prithviraj formed a confederacy of several Hindu kings. He was aware that this time his Turkish adversary came well prepared to win victory.

Prithviraj Chauhan blocked the passage of Mohammed Ghori in the field of Tarain. Skanda, the veteran general of Prithviraj and the hero of the first battle of Tarain was engaged in warfare elsewhere and failed to lend support to his master. In the battle that followed, Mohammed entirely routed the Hindu army by his superior generalship and tactics. Prithviraj Chauhan was imprisoned and executed.

The Second Battle of Tarain 1192 A.D. destroyed the imperial power of the Chauhan Dynasty. The subsequent attempts of the Hindu kings to resist the Muslim tide proved futile. Muslim power was strongly founded in Northern India after the battle. Thus the Second battle of Tarain 1192 A.D. may be regarded as a turning point in India’s history.

Bhakti and Sufi Movement • The Medieval period is considered as an age of great cultural synthesis in India and during this period a new phase of cultural development was initiated. • The Turks and Mughals introduced fresh ideas and helped in giving rise to new features in the areas of religion, philosophy and ideas. • The synthesis between different cultures gave birth to new philosophical and religious traditions, ideas.

The Bhakti Movement

 During the seventh century, Bhakti movement evolved in the south part of the country (especially in the Tamil speaking regions). Over a period of time, it spread in all the directions.  The alvars and the nayannars of the Tamil devotional cult had started the tradition of preaching the idea of bhakti through hymns and stories.  Most of the saints of Bhakti movements were from the non-Brahman families.  Like Sufi ideology, the bhakti ideology also taught that the relationship between man and God was based on love, and worshipping God with devotion was better than merely performing any number of religious ceremonies. Bhakti Saints emphasized on the tolerance among men and religions.

In the ninth century Sankara started a Hindu revivalist movement giving a neworientation to Hinduism.His doctrine of Advaita or Monism was too abstract to appeal to the common man.Moreover, there was a reaction against the Advaita concept of Nirgunabrahman (God without attributes) with the emergence of the idea of Sagunabrahman (God with attributes).In the twelfth century, , who was born at Sriperumbudur near modern Chennai, preached Visishtadvaita. According to Ramanuja God is Sagunabrahman. The creative process and all the objects in creation are real but not illusory as was held by Sankaracharya. Therefore, God, soul, matter are real. But God is inner substance and the rest are his attributes. He also advocated prabattimarga or path of self-surrender to God. He invited the downtrodden to .

In the thirteenth century, Madhava from region propagated Dvaita or dualism of Jivatma and Paramatma. According to his philosophy, the world is not an illusion but a reality. God, soul, matter are unique in nature. Nimbarka propagated Dvaitadvaita and Vallabhacharya propagated Shuddhadvaita of Vaishnavite Bhakti in the region.

Sankaracharya

Sankaracharya was a Nambudiri Brahman born in Kaladi, Malabar. He was originally a worshiper of Shiva. He gave an entirely new turn to the Hindu revival movement by providing it with a solid philosophical background through the reinterpretation of ancient Indian scriptures, particularly the Upanishads.

Sankaracharya advocated the philosophy of “Advaita” the monism of the Vedanta by giving a brilliant exposition to the entire range of the Vedic religions and spiritual thought. Having lost his father in his childhood, Sankaracharya become a sanyasi, while in his teens and began to roam around in search of true knowledge and wisdom.

A genius by birth and intensely religious by outlook and social heritage, he received instruction in religious scriptures and philosophy at Kashi. Sankaracharya renewed and systematised Vedanta philosophy by stressing on its main principle of monism (evalaadvaita or absolute non-dualism). Sankaracharya started a vigorous campaign for the revival of Hinduism based on the solid foundation of Vedic philosophy and ancient Indian cultural tradition in order to check the growth of and Jainism.

He recognised the ascetic order of sanyasis on the pattern of Buddhist sangha and launched a campaign for the popularisation of Hinduism. He composed extensive commentaries on the Brahmasutra and chief Upanishad and traveled all around India to highlight the cultural unity of India.

The also began propagating and became the centre of Vedic religion. The mathas, among many, included Jaganathpuri in the east, in the South, Dwarka in the west and Badrinath in the north.

Sankaracharya was an orthodox for whom the Vedic literature was sacred and unquestionably true. In order to harmonise the many paradoxes of Vedic tradition, he had to take recourse to a philosophy of “ double standard of truth” (already known in Buddhism). It meant that on the everyday level of truth, the world was produce by Brahma, and it went through an evolutionary process similar to that taught by the Sankhya school of philosophy.

But on the highest level of truth, the whole universe including the God was unreal, i.e., the world in maya, an illusion and figment of imagination, Therefore, Shankarcharya believed that ultimately the only reality was the Brahman, the impersonal world soul of the Upanishads with which the individual soul was identical.Sankaracharya also believed that god and the created world was one and the difference which is evident is due to ignorance. According to him, the way to salvation was to realize by means of meditation and knowledge that god and the created beings were one and same. At the deepest level of meditation “nirvikalpasamadhi”, the complete identity between god and the individual is realized.

It is the goal of everyone to know, realize, feel and display in action this identity. When this is accomplished all sufferings, birth and death cease. This identity has been termed as “sachidanand Brahman” by Sankaracharya. Sankaracharya’s ‘Brahman’ is not really different from the concept of ‘nirvana’ of Buddhism. It is a fact which was well recognised by his opponents who called him “crypto-Buddhist.” However, Shankarcharya proved the Buddhist scholars wrong and was able to show that Buddhist metaphysics was only a poor imitation of the metaphysics of Sanatan dharma. The philosophy of Sankaracharya had far reaching consequences for the India society. For example, the monsticSankaracharya (mathas) which he established in the four corners of India served as an effective step towards the physical and spiritual unification of India.

By the able use of arguments he reduced all the apparently self-contradicting passages of the Upanishads to a consistent system which has remained the standard of Hinduism to this day.

Sankaracharaya passed away at KedarNath at the age of 32. Later on Ramanuja combined Sankara’s Advaitavada with the VaishnavaPancharatra theology which claimed that Vishnu is the very foundation of the universe. The impact of Ramanuja’s writings and his long service as priest of the famous Vishnu temple at Srinangam made his ideas widely known among the Vaishnavites and he is justly regarded as the founder of Srivashnavism.

The Vedantic Philosophy of Sankaracharya was revived by Vivekanand in the second half of the 19th century.

The Bhakti movement in North India

The bhakti movement in the north included socio-religious movements that were linked to one of the from the south and is sometimes seen as a continuation of the movement that originated in the south.

Though there were similarities in the traditions of the two regions, the notion of bhakti varied in the teachings of each of the saints.

The Nirguna’s like Kabir rejected the varnaashrama and all conventions based on caste distinction and championed new values, helping the emergence of new groups and new unorthodox/protestant sects.The Saguna’s like Tulsidas on the other hand upheld the caste system and the supremacy of the . They preached religion of surrender and simple faith in a personal god and had a strong commitment to idol worship.

Monotheistic Bhakti

Kabir was the earliest and most influential Bhakti saint in north India. He was a weaver and spent a large part of his life in Banaras.His poems were included in the Sikh scripture, the AdiGranth.Among those who were influenced by Kabir were

Raidas, who was a tanner by caste from Banaras, Guru Nanak who was a from Punjab and Dhanna who was a Jat peasant from Rajasthan. There are similarities in the teachings of the various monotheistic Bhakti saints in North India.Most of the monotheists belonged to the low castes and were aware that there existed a unity in their ideas.They were also aware of each other’s teachings and influence and in their verses they mention each other and their predecessors in a manner suggesting ideological affinity among them.

All of them were influenced by the Vaishnava concept of Bhakti, the Nathpanthi movement and Sufism.

Their ideas seem to be a synthesis of the three traditions.The importance given to the personal experience of Bhakti saint with God was another common feature among the monotheistic bhakti saints.Nirguna bhakti and not saguna bhakti was what they believed in. They had adopted the notion of bhakti from Vaishnavaism but they gave it a nirguna orientation.

Though they called God using different names and titles their God was non-incarnate, formless, eternal and ineffable.The Bhakti saints refused any formal association with the organized dominant religions of the time (Hinduism and Islam) and criticized what they regarded to be the negative aspects of these religions. They rejected the authority of the Brahmans and attacked the caste system and practice of idolatry.

They composed their poems in popular languages and dialects spoken across north India which enabled them to transmit their ideas among the masses. It also helped their ideas to spread rapidly among the various lower classes.

Vaishnava Bhakti

In the 14th and early 15th centuries Ramananda emerged as a popular Vaishnava bhakti saint in north India.Though he was from the south he lived in Banaras because he considered it to be the link between the South Indian bhakti and North Indian

Vaishnava bhakti traditions.He looked upon Ram and not Vishnu as the object of bhakti.He worshiped Ram and Sita and came to be identified as the founder of the Ram cult in north India.He like the monotheist bhakti saints also rejected cast hierarchies and preached in the local languages in his attempt to popularize the cult.His followers are called Ramanandis.

Tulsidas also championed the bhakti cause.In the early 16 century Vallabacharya, a popular bhakti saint popularized the Krishna bhakti.Among those who followed Vallabacharya’sfootsteps were Surdas and Mira Bai.Surdas popularized Krishna cult in north India.Mirabai was a great devotee of Krishna and she became popular in Rajasthan for her bhajans. Tulsidas was a worshipper of Rama and composed the famous Ramcharitmanas, the version of Ramayana.

The Vaishnava bhakti movement in Bengal was very different form its counterparts in north India and the south and was influenced by the Vaishnava bhakti tradition of the Bhagavatapurana and the Sahajiya Buddhist and Nathpanthi traditions. These traditions focused on esoteric and emotional aspects of devotion.In the 12th century, was an important bhakti saint in this tradition. He highlighted the mystical dimension of love with reference to Krishna and Radha.

Chaitanya was a popular bhakti saint from the region; he was looked upon as an avatara of Krishna. Though, he did not question the authority of the Brahmans and the scriptures. He also popularized the sankirtan (group devotional songs accompanied with ecstatic dancing). With him the bhakti movement in Bengal began to develop into a reform movement with the notions of caste divisions that came to be questioned.

In the bhakti movement drew its inspiration from the Bhagavatapurana and the Siva Nathpanthis. Jnaneswar was a pioneer bhakti saint of Maharashtra. His commentary on the called Jnanesvari served as a foundation of the bhakti ideology in Maharashtra. Arguing against caste distinctions he believed that the only way to attain God was through Bhakti. was the God of this sect and its followers performed a pilgrimage to the temple twice a year. The Vithoba of Pandarpur became the mainstay of the movement in Maharashtra.

Namdev (1270–1350) was another important bhakti saint from Maharashtra. While he is remembered in the north Indian monotheistic tradition as a nirguna saint, in Maharashtra he is considered to be part of the varkari tradition (the Vaishnava devotional tradition).

Some of the other important bhakti saints of Maharashtra were the saints Choka, Sonara, Tukaram and Eknath. Tukaram’s teachings are in the form of the Avangas (dohas), which constitute the Gatha, while Eknath’s teachings that were in Marathi attempted to shift the emphasis of Marathi literature from spiritual to narrative compositions.

Importance of the Bhakti Movement

The importance of the bhakti movement was very great. Various preachers spoke and wrote in the regional languages and thus, the bhakti movement provided an impetus for the development of regional languages such as Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, etc.

Through regional languages they made direct appeal to the masses. As the caste system was condemned by the bhakti saints, the lower classes were raised to a position of great importance.

The importance of women in society was also increased because the bhakti movement gave equal importance to them.

Moreover, the bhakti movement gave to the people a simple religion, without complicated rituals.They were required to show sincere devotion to God. The new idea of a life of charity and service to fellow people developed.

GURU NANAK

The teachings and philosophy of Guru Nanak form an important part of Indian philosophical thought.

His philosophy consists of three basic elements: a leading charismatic personality (the Guru), ideology (Shabad) and Organization (Sangat).

Nanak evaluated and criticized the prevailing religious beliefs and attempted to establish a true religion, which could lead to salvation. He repudiated idol worship and did not favour pilgrimage nor accept the theory of incarnation.He condemned formalism and ritualism.

He laid emphasis on having a true Guru for revelation. He advised people to follow the principles of conduct and worship: sach (truth), halal (lawful earning), khair (wishing well of others), niyat (right intention) and service to the lord.

He denounced the caste system and the inequality it caused. He argued that the caste and honour should be judged by the acts or the deeds of individuals.He laid stress on concepts of justice, righteousness and liberty. His verses mainly consist of two basic concepts, Sach (truth) and Naam (name). The bases of the divine expression for him were formed by, the Sabad (the word), Guru (the divine precept) and Hukam (the divine order). He introduced the concept of Langar (a community kitchen). Guru Nanak identifies himself with the people or the ruled. Though the Sikh guru’s stressed on equality the social differentiation among the followers continued. It was only towards the end of the 17th century that Guru Gobind Singh reasserted the idea of equality. In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh attempted to resolve the differences among the various Sikh groups and created the Khalsa. This institution removed the masands as intermediaries. Thereafter every Sikh was to have a direct link with the Guru. To create a sense of unity among the Sikhs the Guru started some practices which were to be followed by Sikhs. These were initiation through the baptism of the double edged

sword, wearing uncut hair, carrying arms, adopting the epithet Singh as part of the name.

The idea of Guru Panth was another institutional idea that emerged during this period. It sanctified the collective authority of the KhalsaPanth, which equated the Panth with the Guru.

Guru Nanak in his last days had nominated a successor and paid homage to him, this gave rise to the idea that the Guru and the Sikh were interchangeable. This created a problem for the institution of the Sangat (that was a collective body of the Sikhs) in which God was said to be present.

When Guru Gobind Singh created the Khalsa he chose the panjpiyare (the five beloved) and requested them to administer the pahul (amritchakhha) to him. With this the difference between the Guru and the Khalsa was symbolically removed. Guru Gobind Singh is believed to have said that the Khalsa is his own roop (form).

Guru Arjun compiled the Guru Granth Sahib. After the death of Guru Gobind Singh the tenth Guru the tradition of guru ended. It was believed that the spirit of the guru did not pass onto any successor but instead remained within “ShriGurugranth Sahib”.

Chaitanya, the devotee of Krishna, was a religious teacher who preached in Bengal. He composed many hymns dedicated to Krishna.

Chaitanya had traveled different parts of the country and gathered a group of his followers. At the end of his life, he settled at Puri in Orissa.

In Maharashtra, the Bhakti ideology was preached by Jnaneshvara. Jnaneshvara had translated Gita in Marathi.

Mirabai was a great Bhakti saint, Hindu mystic poet and a devotee of the Lord Krishna.Born in the late fifteenth century into a royal family of Rajasthan, Mira, from her childhood was a great devotee of Lord Krishna and wrote many beautiful poems in praise of her Lord.

The Bhakti movement was not only a religious movement, but rather it also influenced social ideas. The earlier bhakti teachers such as those of the Tamil devotional cult and saints such as Chaitanya were largely concerned with religion.Kabir and Nanak, in particular, also had ideas on how society should be organized. They both objected to the division of society on the caste basis. They also refuted the low status given to women. They encouraged women to join their menfolk in various activities.When the followers of Kabir and Nanak gathered together, women were included in the gathering.

Sufism Introduction:

The Sufis from the liberal element in Islam and it is by their efforts that Islam has acquired some respect in India. There were many orders of the sufis which slightly differ from one another in certain matters. But there is a lot of common ground.

The term Sufi is generally used for that class of Muslim saints which clad itself in simple woolen garments with a view to live the life of poverty and humility and which instead of accepting the literal external meaning of the Quran lays greater emphasis on its underlying mysteries.

• Sufism or tasawuf is the name for various mystical and movements in Islam. • It aims at establishing direct communion between god and man through personal experience of mystery which lies within Islam. • Every religion gives rise to mystical tendencies in its fold at a particular stage of its evolution. In this sense, Sufism was a natural development within Islam based on the spirit of Quaranic Piety. • The Sufis while accepting the Shariat did not confine their religious practice to formal adherence and stressed cultivation of religious experience aimed at a direct perception of god. • There developed a number of Sufi orders of silsilah in and outside India. All these orders had their specific characteristics. However, there were a number of features which are common to all Sufi orders. • Sufism stressed the elements of love and devotion as effective means of the realization of God. Love of God meant love of humanity and so the Sufis believed service to humanity was tantamount to service to God. • In Sufism, self discipline was considered an essential condition to gain knowledge of God by sense of perception. • While orthodox Muslims emphasise external conduct, the Sufis lay stress on inner purity.

• While the orthodox believe in blind observance of rituals, the Sufis consider love and devotion as the only means of attaining salvation. • According to Sufis one must have the guidance of a pir or guru, without which spiritual development is impossible. • Sufism also inculcated a spirit of tolerance among its followers. • Other ideas emphasised by Sufism are meditation, good actions, repentance for sins, performance of prayers and pilgrimages, fasting, charity and suppression of passions by ascetic practices.

Growth of Sufism in Islamic World

• Sufism began to acquire the form of an organised movement with the establishment of the Turkish rule under the Ghaznavis and then under the Seljuqs in various parts of central Asia and Iran in the later 10th and 11th centuries. • The period marks the development of two parallel institutions in the Islamic world – the Madarasa system (seminary, higher religious school) in its new form as an official institution of orthodox Islamic learning and the Khanqah system as an organized, endowed an permanent centre for Sufi activities. • Another salient feature of Sufism during this period was the emergence of Sufi poetry in Persian. • While Arabic literature on mysticism is in prose, Persian literature is in poetry. • Sufi poetry in Persian in the form of narrative poems (mannavis) reached its peak during the 12th and 13th centuries. • Al-Ghazzali was the most outstanding sufi author. • One of the most authentic and celebrated manual of sufism was KashfulMahjub written by Al-Hujwiri.

Sufi movement in India

• The Sufi movement in India commenced in the 11th century A.D. Al Hujwiri, who established himself in north India was buried in and regarded as the oldest Sufi in the sub-continent. • Among the important Sufi Orders in the history of Medieval India were those of the Chishtitiya, Suhrawardiya, Qadiriya and Naqshbandiya.

• Chisti and the Suhrawardisilsilahs were popular during the Sultanate period. • The Suhrawardis were active in Punjab and Sindh while the Chishti’s were active in Delhi, Rajasthan and parts of the western Gangetic plains. By the end of the sultanate period Chishti’s spread to the eastern regions of the Gangetic plain (Bihar and Bengal) and into the Deccan. • During the medieval period the Sufis played an important role in interpreting and elaborating on Islamic theological concepts like WahdatulWujud (unity of being) and also encouraged the development of practices like Ziyarat (the practice of visiting tombs).

The ChishtiSilsilah

• The Chisti Order was established in India by MuinuddinChishti who moved to India after the invasion of Muizzuddin Muhammad Ghori and subsequently to Ajmer in 1206. • The fame of KhwajaMuinuddin grew after his death in 1235. • His grave was visited by Muhammad Tughlaq after which the and dome were erected by Mahmud Khalji of Malwa in the fifteenth century. • The patronage of this dargah peaked after the reign of the Mughal emperor . • The Chishtis believed in love as the bond between God and individual soul and tolerance between people of different faiths. • They accepted disciples irrespective of their religious beliefs. • They associated with Hindu and Jain yogi’s, and used simple language. • The Chishti presence in Delhi was established by QutbuddinBakhtiyar Kaki who settled in Delhi from his homeland in Trans-oxiana in 1221. This was at the time of the Mongol invasions when there was a steady flow of people from central Asia fleeing from the Mongols. • QutbuddinBakhtiyar Kaki presence in Delhi was a threat to the Suhrawardis who sought to force him to leave by leveling charges against him. The Sultan of Delhi, , dismissed these attempts eventually forcing the Suhrawardis to relent. • The Chishtipirs laid great emphasis on the simplicity of life, poverty, humility and selfless devotion to God. • The renunciation of worldly possessions was regarded by them as necessary for the

control of the senses that was necessary to maintain a spiritual life. • KhwajaMuinuddinChishti argued that highest form of devotion to God was to redress the misery of those in distress, fulfilling the need of the helpless and to feed the hungry. • Chisti’s refused to accept any grant for their maintenance from the . • The other important Chishti Baba FariduddinGanj-i-Shakar, established himself at (in Haryana) on the route between Multan and Lahore. • NizamuddinAuliya, was the best known Chishti saint of the Sultanate period. He lived in the fourteenth century, during a period of political change and turmoil. During his lifetime he was witness to the establishment of the Khalji rule after the death of Balban and subsequently the establishment of the Tughlaq’s. • There are numerous stories surrounding the life of NizamuddinAuliya, famous among them were stories of his confrontations with the Sultans of Delhi. The Khwaja is said to have maintained a strict policy of not involving himself with the various groups and factions of the Sultan’s court in Delhi earning him the respect of many. • NasiruddinChiraghDehlvi was another of the Chishti saint of Delhi. He played an active role in the political affairs of the period. • In the 13th century the Chishti Order was established in the Deccan by ShaikhBurhanuddinGharib. • Between the 14th and 16th centuries many Chishti Sufis migrated to . This was accompanied with a change where some of the Chishtis began accepting grants and patronage from the ruling establishment. • Muhammad Banda Nawaz was among the famous pirs in the region. • The Deccan city of emerged as an important centre for Sufi activity.

The Suhrawardi Silsilah

• This Silsilah was founded by ShihabuddinSuhrawardi in Baghdad. • It was established in India by BahauddinZakariya who founded the Suhrawardi Order, based in Mutan, which was under the control of Qubacha. • BahauddinZakariya was critical of Qubacha and openly favored Iltutmish over his rival. • BahauddinZakariya’s ways were different from that of the Chishtis.

• The Suhrawardis, unlike the Chishtis, accepted, maintenance grants from the Sultans. • They believed that a Sufi should possess the three attributes of property, knowledge and hal or mystical enlightenment. • Suhrawardi saints argued that this was necessary to ensure that they served the poor better. • BahauddinZakariya stressed on the observance or external forms of religious belief and advocated a combination of ilm (scholarship) with mysticism. • Practices like bowing before the sheikh, presenting water to visitors and tonsuring the head at the time of initiation into the Order that the Chishtis had adopted were rejected. After his death the silsilah continued to play an important role in Punjab and Sindh.

Naqshbandi Silsilah

• In India this order was established by Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshbandi. • From the beginning the mystics of this Order stressed on the observance of the Shariat and denounced all innovations or biddat. • Sheikh BaqiBillah the successor to KhawajaBahauddinNaqshbandi settled near Delhi, and his successor Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi attempted to purge Islam from all liberal and what he believed were ‘un-Islamic’ practices. • He opposed the listening of sama (religious music) and the practice of pilgrimage to the tombs of saints. • He opposed interaction with Hindus and Shias. • He criticised the new status accorded by Akbar to many non-Muslims, the withdrawal of the Jizyah and the ban on cow slaughter. • He believed that he was the mujaddid (renewer) of the first millennium of Islam. • He maintained that the relationship between man and God was that between the slave and the master and not the relation of a lover and beloved. • He emphasized the individual’s unique relation of faith and responsibility to God as creator. • He tried to harmonize the doctrines of mysticism and the teachings of orthodox Islam.

The QadriSilsilah

• The Quadiriyyasilsilah was popular in Punjab. • Sheikh Abdul Qadir and his sons were supporters of the Mughals under Akbar. • The pirs of this Order supported the concept of Wahdat al Wajud. • Among the famous Sufis of this order was Miyan Mir who had enrolled the Mughal princess Jahanara and her brother Dara as disciples. • The influence of the sheikh’s teachings is evident in the works of the princeDara. • Shah Badakhshani another pir of this silsilah while dismissing orthodox elements, declared that, the infidel who had perceived reality and recognised it was a believer and that a believer who did not recognise reality was an infidel. • During medieval period there was constant tension between the liberal and orthodox views in Islam. • The sufis featured on both sides, while there were those like the Chishtis who held a liberal view and argued in favour of assimilation of local traditions there were others like Sheikh Abdul Haqq of the Qadiriyyasilsilah who held the view that the purity of Islam was being diluted. • This Orthodox view was represented by the ulema that argued from the perspective of being upholders of the Shariat. • The liberal opinion found its voice among many sufis who argued against the narrow definition of Islamic laws by the ulema.

Main Features of Sufism (Sufi Movement)

 Instead of depriving God of form and attributes they impute to him the qualities of effulgence, love, mercy, generosity and immanence.  Instead of inculcating fear of the wrath of god, they put forward the ideal of securing union with Him by pursuing the path of perfect love.  The most outstanding attribute of god, according to the Sufis, is his effulgence and they dwell upon his luster, glory and splendor in various ways.  They feel that it is His glory that is reflected in every object, nay every little particle, in the universe. That is why they recommend love and kindness to all created beings.  As a corollary of this, many sufis were strict vegetarians.  Removing the sheaths of ignorance and impurity encrusting the heart, they contemplate on God with a feeling of utter sincerity and purity.  They recognize the value of repletion of God’s name and sometimes resort to music of a loving devotional character as an aid to concentration.

 The fervor of music often led to heightening of emotion which ended in ecstatic dancing.  Their goal is union with God.  In each of these orders, the preceptor or the pir has a great importance because it is only under his guidance that spiritual progress is possible.

Conclusion: Because most of them were men of sterling character they commanded high respect among the Muslims and the king and commoner alike looked upon it as a great privilege to be able to render them some service.

Delhi Sultanate

Slaves(1206-1290)

Qutb-ud-din Aibak

Qutb-ud-din Aibak was a Turkish slave officer who had progressed well in his career under the patronage of Mohammed Ghori. He rose to be a general. After the departure of Mohammed Ghori for Khorasan in 1193, the task of strengthening Ghurid control over north-west India was left to Qutb-ud-din Aibak. He conquered the areas between the rivers Ganga and Jamuna while his lieutenant Bakhtiyar Khalji vanquished Bihar and Bengal. Between the years 1195 and 1203 Qutb-ud-din Aibak launched a series of campaigns against the Rajput forts as the Rajputs were still resisting Ghurid domination.

After Muhammad Ghori’s assasination in 1206 AD, Aibak became the Sultan of India and laid the foundation of Mameluk dynasty or Slave dynasty. In 1206 AD only, he was appointed as Naib us Sultanate (viceroy of Indian Empire of Ghori) by Muhammad Ghori.

His status as a slave was a legal obstacle for him, but he overcame that hurdle by obtaining manumission. He now established himself as an independent ruler. He further strengthened his position by forming marriage alliances. His empire consisted of Delhi, Punjab Bengal, Kalinjar and Gujarat.

Qutb-ud-din was an able administrator. His administration was based on military strength. Garrisons were posted in all the important towns of the kingdom. He also patronized scholars such as and Fakhr-Ud-din. He had built two big mosques, the Quwwatul Islam mosque at Delhi and the Adhai Din Ka Jhopda at Ajmer. He also started the construction of the famed Qutb Minar which was later completed by his successor Iltutmish. Qutb-ud-din was extremely generous and was known as Lakh Baksh Sultan. His reign was cut short by his accidental death during a game of polo in 1210.

The major points related to Qutb-ud-din Aibak are as following:

 He ruled for only 4 years. He died in 2010 while playing Chaughan.  He was the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate.  He was a Turkish of the Aybak tribe.  Since he was very generous, He was nicknamed Lakha Baksh Sultan.  He was credited for laying the foundation for Qutub Minar which was named after a Sufi saint KhwajaQutb-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki.  He also commissioned Qutub Al Islam mosque.  He was succeeded by his son in law Iltutmish.  His tomb is located in Lahore, Pakistan.

Iltutumish:

He was from the Illabari tribe of the Turks. He was the son–in–law of Aibak and succeeded him as the next Sultan of Delhi.

He is credited with building the Hauz-i- Shamshi near Mahrauli in Delhi. He also completed the work on Qutub Minar which was started by his predecessor.

He also introduced the Iqta system in Delhi sultanate which was a practice of tax farming. Under Iqta system, an officer was given grant of revenue from a territory in lieu of salary. However, Iqta system was not hereditary. The Iqta system connected the farthest part of the Sultanate to the central government.

He is credited with issuing Silver Tanka and Copper Jital. The silver tanka had the weight of 175 grains.

During the reign of Iltutmish, the Mongols had attacked India under Chengez Khan. But they soon left India and moved towards Multan, Sind and Qabacha.

Following the death of Iltutmish, Razia became the sultan of Delhi Sultanate. But it was not easy for her. The main reason behind her becoming the sultan was that Iltutmish had found all his sons ill qualified and Razia fit all the criteria of a worthy successor to the throne. Therefore, he had declared Razia as his successor. But the Chihalgani or The Forty of the Turkish Chiefs opposed the death wish of Iltutmish and made his son Rukn ud din Firuz sit on the throne.

Rukn ud din Firuz was incompetent and overindulged himself in sensuous pleasures and the affairs of the state were mismanaged. He was assassinated within 7 months. He was succeeded by Razia in 1236. She ruled for three and half years till 1240. Although, she had all the qualities of a good monarch, the Chihalgani (the group of forty Turkish chiefs) couldn’t accept the rule of a woman. They rebelled against Razia when she appointed her favourite Yakut as the superintendent of the Stables. Yakut was an Abyssinian which raised the jealousy of Turko-Afghan nobles.

The rebel chiefs were supported by Malik Altunia, the governor of Bhatinda. Soon a battle ensued between the two rival groups following which Yakut was killed and Razia was taken prisoner.

Razia married Altunia and they jointly tried to take the sultanate back which was captured by Razia’s brother Muizuddin Bahram Shah. However, Razia and her husband were defeated and they were forced to flee. While fleeing to Kaithal, they were captured by the Jats and assassinated.

Muiz un din Bahram ruled for 2 years which was filled with murders and treacheries. Later, he was killed by his own army. The period ensued saw some puppet kings sitting on the throne of Delhi sultanate.

Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, the youngest son of Iltutmish ruled from 1246 to 1266, primarily assisted by a chief Balban. Balban later on succeeded Nasir-ud-din Mahmud.

Achievements of Balban.

 Balban’s Theory of Kingship and Restoration of the Prestige of the Sultan  The Destruction of ‘Turkan-i-Chihalgani’  The Army  The Administration and the Spy-System  The Suppression of Revolts  The Conquest of Bengal.

Balban’s Theory of Kingship and Restoration of the Prestige of the Sultan

Balban had realized that without the restoration of crown’s prestige which had sunk low during the rule of weak successors of Iltutmish, no better and effective government could be possible. He also knew that this could be restored through the policy of absolute despotism. He believed that absolute despotism alone could exact obedience from his subjects and ensure security of the country.

He also knew that in order to be a successful despot one must follow the policy of theory of kingship. The concept of theory of kingship is that the right to rule is given by the God and not by the people and for his actions whether good or bad, the ruler is answerable and accountable to God but not to the people he rules.

Balban at first made out his concept of theory of kingship to his subjects. Secondly he emphasized on external dignity and prestige as essential for kingship. He maintained a great distance from the people and denied to meet the common people. He organised his court on the Iranian model and followed the etiquette and Ceremonials of the Persians very strictly.

Having a long beard on his long face and wearing a very big crown on his head, he sat on the throne with the dignity of the great Sassanid kings. He maintained his dignity by grim and serious looks. He appointed tall and fearsome body-guards who stood round him with their swords drawn and dazzling in the sun.

He ordered for Sijda (prostration) and paibos (feet- kissing) as the normal form of Salutation for the king. He prohibited drinking, jokes, laugh and even smile among the courtiers and officers. He himself also gave up wine and merry-making. He also dismissed all low-born persons from important offices of his administration. Thus Balban by displaying his power, authority and dignity struck terror in the hearts of the people and made them submissive. This was a right step at that time for the restoration of the crown’s prestige.

The Destruction of ‘Turkan-i-Chihalgani’

The Forty a select body of Turkish nobles was created by Iltutmish for better and effective administration. The members of this body were chosen on the basis of loyalty

and meritorious service. But after Iltutmish, the members of the Forty enjoyed unlimited power due to his weak and incompetent successors. They considered the Sultan just a puppet in their hands. Balban clearly knew that in the path of his despotism, the Forty would be a great obstruction.

And without its destruction, he could not achieve his goal. So he planned to bring them under control by destroying their organisation. At first, he promoted the junior Turks to important positions and placed them on par with the Forty. Secondly, he inflicted severe punishments on the members of the Forty for minor offences and reduced their importance in the eyes of the people.

He flogged Malik Baqbaq, the governor of Badaun and a member of the Forty, publicly for beating his servant to death. Haibat Khan, another influential member of the Forty and governor of Awadh, had killed a man while he was drunk with wine. He was flogged with 500 stripes and was handed over to the widow of the deceased whom he paid 20,000 tankas to get himself liberated.

He was so much insulted that he never came out of his home till death. Similarly Amir Khan, governor of Awadh was hanged at the city gate for his failure to curb a rebellion in Bengal. Sher Khan, another influential member of the Forty, excited jealousy of Balban who poisoned him to death. In this way he finished some of his great enemies and others surrendered at his feet for the safety of their life and honour. This was in fact a bold step in the direction of his royal despotism.

The Spy system:

Balban organised an efficient system of espionage as an instrument of his despotism. He appointed reporters and news- writers in every department, in every province and district to collect information’s of various happenings in the state. They did it with utmost honesty and secrecy. They were severely punished if they failed in their duties.

The news reporter of Badaun was hanged over the city gate because he failed to report in time regarding the misconduct of Malik Baqbaq. They were highly paid and were independent of the control of the governors and commanders. They were also rewarded for their daring services. With the result, internal rebellions could not take place and even the nobles could not meet for discussions. Balban through this system of espionage could keep effective control over the government and people. Law and order was perfectly established throughout his reign.

Re-organisation of Army:

Balban re-organised his army and made it strong and efficient as it was the main pillar of his despotic government. He appointed Imad-ul-Mulk who was a competent vigilant officer, as the Diwan- i-Ariz (minister of war) in charge of the army. The minister in charge of the army was made independent of the financial control of the Wazir and he enjoyed full confidence of the Sultan.

The lands, given in Jagir to the military personnel since the time of Aibak and now enjoyed by their widows, sons and successors were taken back and they were paid

pensions in cash. Of course, the young men whose predecessors were in military service were asked to retain their Jagir but they were not allowed to collect revenue. They were also paid in cash but the revenue from their land was collected by the government. But it is said there was a lot of reactions against this order.

However, Balban did not introduce any revolutionary change in the military organisation. But certainly he raised the efficiency and morale of the Army. With the help of a strong and powerful army he could successfully suppress the internal rebellions and external aggressions.

Suppression of Rebellions:

During the reign of Balban, Some severe rebellions took place which he put down with a strong hand. The most dangerous rebellious men were the Mewatis, the people of Mewat, who were very often plundering the vicinity of Delhi. As there were jungles around Delhi, it was covenant on their part to plunder and escape.

Balban closed the western gate of the capital and cleared off the jungles around Delhi and built roads to facilitate movement. He sent his army against the Mewatis and massacred them. He constructed four forts around Delhi and garrisoned them with Afghan soldiers. Similarly he crushed the rebellions of the Hindus of the region and their chiefs were cowed down.

The people of Katehar also revolted against him. Balban ordered his soldiers to attack and set fire to their houses and to wipe out their adult male population. Their women and children were made slaves. Barani says, after this incident, the kateharias never raised their heads and the entire region became safe for the travellers.

Rebellion in Bengal:

Bengal was a part of the Delhi Sultanate and its governor, Tughril Khan was a slave of Balban. Tughril Khan was very courageous and ambitious and was loyal to the Sultan in the beginning. But in 1279 he declared the independence of Bengal and defied the authority of Balban. Most probably, he was encouraged by the old age of Balban as well as frequent Mongol invasions. But Balban was not the man to leave him so easily. He sent an expedition under Amin-Khan against him. But Amin-Khan was defeated by Tughril. This enraged Balban so much that he ordered Amin-Khan to be hanged publicly.

Balban also sent another army under a military officer named Bahadur. He was also driven back by Tughril Khan. At last Balban proceeded in person against Tughril. When Tughril heard of the approach of Balban, he fled away towards east but was captured and put to death. His followers were also mercilessly put to death. Then he appointed his own son Bughra Khan as the governor of Bengal and returned back to Delhi.

Mongol Invasion:

The Mongol invasion was frequent on the border and it was a constant headache to Sultan Balban. In the western border, Lahore was then under the sphere of Mongol influence and Sind and Multan were always exposed to their invasion. Sultan Balban, therefore, adopted a number of measures for the safeguard of the western borders.

He built a line of forts along the frontier and garrisoned them with able-bodied Afghan soldiers, secondly he appointed Sher Khan, a distinguished warrior as the commander of the army at the border. She Khan was successful against the Mongols on a number of occasions. But due to the unfortunate death of Sher Khan in the year 1270, the Mongols started their plundering raids without any fear. Balban appointed experienced Amirs in charge of frontiers, but they failed to check the Mongols.

At last he divided the frontier region into two parts. One part which consisted of Sind, Multan and Lahore was kept under the charge of his eldest son, Prince Muhammad Khan. The second part which consisted of the province of sunam and Samana was given to his second son Bughra Khan.

Prince Muhammad though successfully repelled the Mongol invasion twice in 1279 and 1285, but he himself became a victim of the Mongols in his third encounter with them. Prince Muhammad died fighting in the battle field in the year 1286. This was the greatest shock to Balban. Though he re-occupied Lahore from the Mongols, but he could not recover himself from the shocks of his son’s death. Prince Muhammad was his most favorite son.

Death of Balban:

Balban’s health gradually declined after the shock of his son’s death. He was old and was at quite advance stage of his life. Realizing his end he summoned his youngest son Bughra Khan, the governor of Bengal to Delhi. But Bughra apprehending some danger did not turn up. Balban then nominated Kai Khusrav, the son of his eldest son prince Muhammad as his heir. He died in 1287 at the age of eighty.

Estimate of Balban:

It can be said undoubtedly that Balban was one of the greatest Sultans of Delhi. He to his credit, guided the destinies of the Sultanate for a long period of forty years, twenty as prime minister and twenty as Sultan. By ascending the throne at a time of confusion and crises, he did everything right and appropriate for the restoration of crown prestige and good governance of the state.

By following the divine right theory of kingship he maintained a great distance from the common people. He set up a magnificent court and displayed his power and authority with kingly dignity. He did everything to strike fear in the heart of the people and officers in the administration. Thus he could restore the status and prestige of the Sultan.

Next he was successful in destroying the power and influence of the corps of forty which was the greatest obstruction in the path of his royal despotism. He even did not mind to inflict severe exemplary punishments to them for their slight offence and

mistakes. Further by organizing an efficient espionage system, he was successful in establishing law and order in the country.

He kept the nobles under control and strengthened the Central Government. He was also a good administrator and he had strong sense of justice. Peace, protection and consolidation of the empire were the prime objectives of his administration. According to Dr. Iswari Prasad, “A great warrior; ruler and statesman who saved the infant Muslim state from extinction at a critical time, Balban will ever remain a great figure in medieval Indian history.

It was Balban who saved the country from the frequent Mongol raids. It was he who consolidated the empire by bringing Rajput States to the fold of Sultanate of Delhi and by rendering a good administration. Dr. Iswari Prasad has remarked further that the successful career of conquest of the great Ala-ud-din was possible because of the consolidation work of Balban.

Balban was a great patron of learning and education. He had provided scope and facilities to a large number of learned men migrated from Central Asia. The great Persian poet Amir Khusru and Amir Hosan flourished during his time. His son Prince Muhammad was a learned man and was greatly inspired by those two great poets. Besides he was a very affectionate father. He dearly loved his sons and relations. The shock of his son’s death practically killed him. He was also very much religious and had great respect for the Ulemas.

Nevertheless he had some grave defects in his character. Balban was often harsh and cruel. He did not forgive anybody even for small offence. He did not care for the means for the achievement of his goal. Balban did not live the men of low birth and he had great hatred for Indian Muslims. He always insisted on high birth and appointed the men of Turkish origin in army. For that he could not raise a vast and strong army. However he was one of the greatest Sultans of Delhi Sultanate.

The Khaljis (AD 1290- AD 1320)

Jalaluddin Khilji

Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji was the first sultan of the Khilji Dynasty, which reigned from 1290 to 1296. He built his capital at Kilughari, a few miles from the city of Delhi, and completed the unfinished palace and gardens of Sultan Qaiqabad, the last ruler of Slave Dynasty.

He was born as Malik Firuz, in Afghanistan, into the Khilji family. He was of Turkic ethnic background. He was appointed by Sultan Qaiqabad (1286-1290) as the commander of his army. And on 13 July 1290, he was enthroned as the ruler.

After the accession to the throne, Jalaluddin allowed Malik Chhajju, the nephew of Balban, to retain his freedom of Kara-Manikpur. He enshrined some responsibilities to his three sons. His two nephews, Alauddin and Almas Beg, received significant responsibilities in the royal household. In 1292, the Sultan defeated a Mongol army who had invaded north-. He then allowed them to retreat.

In 1296, he was killed by his nephew Alauddin, who became the second ruler of the Khilji Dynasty

Alauddin Khilji was the second ruler and probably the most powerful monarch of the Khilji Dynasty. After conquering the throne by killing his uncle and predecessor, Jalaluddin Khilji, he continued his legacy of invading states and territories to increase his empire over the .

He was the first Muslim ruler to successfully defeat and conquer the southern parts of India. His passion for conquest helped him achieve success at wars. In this endeavor of expansion, he was well supported by his loyal generals, especially and Khusraw Khan. He ensured that he completely ousted the reigning kings and administered absolute power while invading the northern states. In , he used to loot the states and also extracted payment of annual taxes from the overthrown rulers.

Besides his expeditions of raiding and conquering, he was engaged in defending the Delhi Sultanate from continuous Mongol invasions. Khilji also acquired the Koh-i- noor, one of the largest known diamonds in human history, while invading the Kakatiya rulers of .

He also introduced some agrarian as well as market reforms which produced mixed results.

Market reforms of Alauddin Khilji

The market reforms of Alauddin Khilji were one of the most effective and far reaching economic regulations of the Sultanate period.

They did not remain confined to rural economy but extended to the urban markets as well.

He issued a set of seven regulations which came to be known as market control measures. These measures were enacted to regulate the activities of the traders who brought grain to Delhi.

The Sultan fixed the prices of all commoditions from grain to cloths, slaves, cattle etc. A controller of market (shahna-i-mandi) intelligence officers (barids) and secret spies (munhiyan) were appointed. The grain merchants were placed under the Shahna-i- mandi. Regrating (ihtikar) was prohibited.

For controlling the food prices, Alauddin Khilji tried to control not only the supply of food grains from the villages, and its transportation to the city by the grain – merchants (Karwanis or banjaras) but also its proper distribution to the citizens.

His first effort was to see that there were sufficient stocks of food grains with the government so that the traders did not try to hike up prices by creating an artificial scarcity or indulging in profiteering (regarding). For this purpose royal stores were set up at Delhi.

Perhaps, the significant and lasting impact of these reforms was the furthering of the growth of a market economy in the villages and bringing about a more integral relationship between the town and the country, the furthering of the process of the internal restructuring of the sultanate.

Though Alauddin Khilji’s market reforms were oriented more towards administrative and military necessities than internal restructuring but he adopted a holistic approach to see the reform working properly. That is why he did not control the price of essential commodities only, for those meant for direct use by the military. Instead he tried to control the price of everything from caps to socks, from combs to needles, vegetables, sweet meats to chapatis etc. Such widespread centralised control was found to influence every section of the society.

The price, control system affected trade severely. The merchants were unable to realise sufficient profits. The rule was enforced so rigidly that no corn-dealer, farmer or anyone else could hold back secretly a mound or half a mound of grain and sell it far above the fixed price. The horse merchants were so tightly controlled that, they were fed up with their lives and wished for death. The severe punishments given to erring merchants made many to stop business.

The cultivators most certainly would have been affected adversely by the low price of food-grain and the high land-revenue. It seems they lost on the other hand what they gained from one. Alauddin Khilji’s policy was to leave the cultivator with so little as to barely enough for carrying on cultivation and his food requirements.As a result they were unable to take home the surplus produce even after paying 50 per cent of their produce as land revenue. They were compelled to sell their grain at a low price to the merchants who were permitted to purchase grain. The fear of the government was such that the cultivators would sell even their wives and cattle to pay the land- revenue so many had lost interest in agriculture.

The impact of Alauddin Khilji’s market reforms on the contemporary society was immense. The fact that articles were sold at cheap rates in Delhi made many to migrate to Delhi. Among them were learned men and excellant craftsmen. As a result the fame of Delhi increased.

Tughlaq Dynasty:

The Tughlaq's provided three competent rulers – Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, Muhammad- bin- Tughluq and Firuz Shah Tughluq.

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (AD 1320-1325)

 He was the founder of the dynasty. His father was a Turk and mother was a Jat woman of Punjab.  He strengthened the defence of the North-Western frontier in order to check the Mongol invasions.  His son Fakhr-ud-din Muhammad Jauna Khan defeated the Kakatiya ruler of Warangal, Prataparudra- II.  He founded the city of Tughlaqabad.

 He put down the revolt of Ghiyasuddin Bahadur in Bengal. On returning from Bengal, he died in 1325, from the collapse of a wooden pavilion. According to the some historians, he died because of the conspiracy hatched by his son Jauna Khan because the pavilion was constructed by the royal architect (Mir Imard) Ahmad.

Muhammad Bin TughLaq (AD 1325-51)

 Jauna Khan succeeded his father in AD 1325 under the title of Muhammad- bin-Tughlaq.  He was the most learned scholars of his time. He knew both Arabic and Persian and had comprehensive knowledge of philosophy, astronomy, logic, mathematics and physical science.  The Sultan maintained good relation with foreigners and received an envoy from the Chinese ruler.  Toghan Timur (AD 1341), who came to seek permission to rebuild Buddhist Monasteries, in the Himalayan region which were destroyed during the crucial expedition.  The sultan gave the permission and sent Ibn Batutah to the court of the Chinese emperor in 1347.  Ibn Batutah was a traveller from Morocco. He came to India in 1333 and was appointed as the chief Qazi of Delhi by Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq.  He has left an invaluable account of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq's reign.

Reforms and Experiments

Sultan lacked political judgement and common sense and, rather obsesses with his theoretical knowledge, indulged in lofty theories and visionary projects, which failed.

His Five Disastrous Projects

1. Taxation in the Doab: The Sultan made a stupid budgetary examination in the Doab between the and Jamuna. He expanded the rate of duty as well as restored and made some extra Abwabs or cessess. Despite the fact that the share of the state stayed half as in the time of Alauddin, it was settled self- assertive and not on the premise of real deliverer. 2. Transfer of Capital (1327): It seems that the Sultan needed to make Deogir as his second capital so that he may have the capacity to control south India better. Deogir was renamed Daulatabad. After two or three years, Muhammad Tughlaq chose to forsake Daulatabad basically on the grounds that he soon found out that he couldn't control south India from Delhi and he couldn't control north from Daulatabad. 3. Introduction of Token Currency(1330): Muhammad Tughlaq chose to present bronze coins, which were to have the same worth as the silver coins. Muhammad Tughlaq may have been effective in the approach if he could keep individuals from moulding the new coins. He was not able to do as such and soon the new coins began to be incredibly cheapened in businesses.

4. Khurasan Expedition: The Sultan had a dream of widespread victory. He chose to win Khurasan and Iraq and activated a gigantic armed force for the reason. Be that as it may, his campaign demonstrated a disappointment. 5. Quarachi Expedition: This campaign was propelled to counter Chinese attacks. It likewise gives the idea that the campaign was coordinated against some headstrong tribes in Kumaon-Garhwal district with the objective of bringing them under Delhi Sultanate. The main assault was a win yet when the rainy season set in, the trespassers underwent awfully.

These projects led to revolt in many parts of the country leading to independence of Madurai and Warrangal and foundation of Vijaynagar and Bahamani.

Firuz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-1388)

 He ascended to the throne at the age of forty six. He was the son of Rajab by his Bhatti wife, who was the daughter of Abuhar chief, Rana Mall.  He was not a distinguished military leader his campaigns are as follows: He led two unsuccessful campaigns into Bengal against Haji Iliyas (Shams-ud-din Iliyas Shah) and Sikandar Shah. Tartar Khan commanded the army.  The Rai of Jajnagar (modern Orissa) and Nagarkot and the ruler of Sind (Jam Babaniya) surrendered before the sultan. He also indirectly acknowledged the independence of the Balmani king by receiving embassy from him.

Reforms and Experiments

 He carried out many reforms and works of public utility with the help of his able minister - Khan-i-Jehan Maqbool, a Hindu convert.  He revived the Jagir system (grant of lands) which had been abolished by Alauddin and granted it to his military officials in lieu of cash salaries. The iqtas granted and the post of officials and soldiers was made hereditary. This reduced the competent men and has negative impact on the army.  He organized the institution of slavery into a system and employed them in Royal Karkhanas and other production activities. A separate department, Diwan-i- Bandagan, was established for the welfare of the people.  He established a charity bureau called Diwan-i-Khairat for the help of poor persons, widows and or phans and through which pecuniary help was distributed for the marriage of poor Muslim girls. A charitable hospital called Darul-Shafa was set up at Delhi was free medicine and diet was supplied.

Bright side of Firoz Tughlaq’s reign:

1. Assessment of the revenue:

Firoz Tughlaq appointed a special officer namely Khawja Hisan-ud-Din to prepare an estimate of the public revenue of the kingdom. It took 6 years to complete this work. The Khawja toured the entire kingdom and prepared proper records. Thereafter he fixed the revenue of the ‘Khalsa’ land (Government land) in the kingdom at six crores and eighty-five lakhs of ‘Tankas’ (silver coins).

It was a rough estimate. The revenue which was fixed remained unchanged during the reign of Firoz Tughlaq. The chief merit of this system was that the income of the state was fixed and the expenditure of the state could be adjusted according to the income which was known before hand.

2. New system of taxation: In accordance with the Islamic law, he imposed the following four taxes:

(i) ‘Kharaj’:

It was the land tax which was equal to one-tenth of the produce of the land.

(ii) ‘Zakat’:

It was two-and-half per cent tax on property realized from the Muslims and utilized for specific religious purposes only.

(iii) ‘Kham’:

It was one-fifth of the booty captured and the four-fifth was left for the soldiers.

(iv) ‘Jijya’:

It was levied on the Non-Muslim subjects, particularly the Hindus. Women and children were, however exempted from the taxes.

3. Levy of other taxes:

The irrigation tax, garden tax, octroi tax and the sales tax were the other important taxes.

4. Irrigation works:

With a view to encourage irrigation, the Sultan paid a lot of attention to irrigation works.

Following four canals were constructed:

 The first and the most important and the longest canal were one which carried the waters of the river Jamuna to the city of Hissar. It was 150 miles long.  The second canal was drawn from river to Ghaghra. It was about 100 miles long.

 The third canal was from and Sirmur hills to Hansi.  The fourth canal ran from Ghaghra to the newly established town of Firozabad.

5. Laying out gardens:

The Sultan laid out about 1200 gardens in and around Delhi. These gardens produced so much fruit that they brought to the treasury an annual income of one lakh and eighty thousand tankas’.

6. Welfare of the peasants:

The Sultan waived off the loans that were given to them by Muhammad Tughlaq at the time of drought. He issued strict instructions to the officers not to harass the peasants.

7. Benevolent works:

These included the following:

(i) ‘Diwan-i-Kherat’:

It performed two main functions. The marriage bureau gave grants to the poor parents for the marriage of their daughters. It also provided financial help to the destitute.

(ii) ‘Dar-ul-Shafa’:

Hospitals were set up in important towns where medicines were given free of charge. Poor people were also supplied food.

(iii) ‘Sarais’:

About 200 ‘ ‘sarais’ (rest houses) were built by the Sultan for the benefits of merchants and other travellers.

(iv) Grants to sufferers:

The Sultan gave liberal grants to all those persons or their heirs who had suffered bodily or executed during the reign of Muhammad Tughlaq.

8. Public works department:

The Sultan got constructed four canals, ten public baths, four mosques, thirty palaces, two hundred, Sarais’, one hundred tombs, 30 towns and one hundred

bridges. Firoz Shah had a passion for public works. About his building activities, Sultan himself observed, “Among the gifts which God has bestowed upon me, His humble servant, had a desire to erect public buildings. So 1 built many mosques and monasteries that the learned and the devout and the holy, might worship God in these edifices and aid the kind builder with their prayers.”

Four important towns founded by him were of Firozabad, Fatehabad, Jaunpur and Hissar Firoza. Two pillars of Ashoka were brought to Delhi—one from Meerut and the other from Topra, Arnbala district—and erected in Delhi. In this regard Dr. V.A. Smith has observed, “Asiatic kings as a rule show no interest in buildings erected by their predecessors, which usually are allowed to decay uncared for. Firoz Shah was particular in devoting much attention to the repair and rebuilding of the structures of former kings and ancient nobles.”

9. Promotion of education and literature:

Firoz Tughlaq was a great patron of historians, poets and scholars. He himself was a man of learning and wrote his biography entitled ‘Fatuhat-i-Firozshah’. He established thirty educational institutions including three colleges. Teachers were liberally paid and stipends were granted to the students.

Zia-ud-Din Barani wrote ‘Fatwah-i-Jahandari’ and Afif wrote his ‘Tarikh-i-Firuzshah’.

Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Rumi, the famous theologian also flourished in his court.

10. Judicial reforms:

Firoz Tughlaq was opposed to severe punishments. He ended punishments like cutting of the limbs, extracting the eyes, putting melted glass in the throat, burning alive etc. He established courts at all important places of his empire and appointed Qazis etc. to administer justice.

11. Reforms in the currency system:

The Sultan introduced several types of new coins and small coins and ensured that no false coins came into circulation.

Dark Side of Firoz Tughlaq‘s Reign:

1. Failure as a conqueror:

Firoz Tughlaq was not an able general. No significant conquests were made by him.

Main military events are given below:

(i) Bengal: Firoz Tughlaq made two attempts to conquer Bengal but failed.

(ii) Orissa: While returning from Bengal, he attacked Orissa. The ruler agreed to pay tribute to the Sultan.

(iii) Nagarkot (Kangra): It took about six months to subjugate the Raja who acknowledged the Sultan’s suzerainty.

(iv) Sindh: In the initial attacks by the Sultan himself, about three- fourth of his army was destroyed. Later the Sindh ruler accepted the suzerainty of the Sultan.

2. Army organization:

The Sultan introduced several reforms in the army which produced negative results.

 He did not maintain a standing army,  Military service was made hereditary,  The principle of merit was ignored,  The Sultan introduced the system of paying salary by grant of land.

This meant that a soldier had to go to his village for collecting his land revenue in lieu of salary.

3. Evils of Jagirdari system:

Firoz Tughlaq introduced the system of granting jagirs (lands) to his officials in place of cash payment. In due course, jagirdars became very powerful and created difficulties for the rulers

4. Nereauary nobles:

Firoz Tughlaq decreed that whenever a noble died, his son should be allowed to succeed to his position. This reduced the chances of competent persons being appointed at responsible posts.

5. Slave system:

It is said that Firoz Tughlaq had maintained about one lakh, eighty thousand slaves. It put great economic burden on the state. This slave system proved very harmful and became one of the contributory factors of the downfall of the Tughlaq empire.

6. Fanatically intolerant religious policy towards the Hindus:

Firoz encouraged the Hindus for conversion to Islam. In his autobiography, he wrote, “I encouraged my infidel subjects (Hindus) to embrace the religion of the Prophet (Islam religion), and I proclaimed that everyone who left his creed and became a Mussalman should be exempted from ‘jizya’. He further wrote, “I also ordered that the infidel books, the idols and the vessels used in their worship (Hindus) should all be publicly burnt.”

An estimate of Firoz Tughlaq:

(a) Appreciation by historians:

“The welfare of the people”, says Dr. Ishwari Prasad, “was the watchword of his administration. Therefore, Firoz is considered by Barani as an ideal Muslim King.”

In the words of Havell Firozj’s reign “is a welcome breath in the long chain of tyranny, cruelty and debauchery which make up the gloomy annals of the Turkish dynasties.”

Afif, a contemporary of Firoz writes, “Their (peasants) homes were replete with grain, everyone had plenty of gold and silver. “No women was without ornaments”

About the previous penal code and the changes brought about by Firoz, S.R. Sharma states, “it was left to his less appreciated successor (Firoz) to mitigate its ferocity.”

About the judicial system, V.A. Smith has said, “One reform the abolition of mutilation and torture, deserves unqualified commendation.”

About his love for buildings, Sir Woolseley Haigh has remarked, “He indulged in a passion for building which equalled if it did not surpass that of Roman emperor Augutus.”

(b) Criticism by historians:

About his lack of military skill, V.A. Smith states, “The campaign (Bengal) had no result except the wanton slaughter thus evidenced. No territory was annexed and the practical independence of the eastern empire continued unimpaired.” He further observes, “It seems to be plain that Firoz Shah possessed no military capacity. His early campaigns in the east and the west were absolutely futile, and during the greater part of his long reign he abstained from war.”

Likewise regarding Firoz’s expedition to Sindh, Dr. Ishwari Prasad wrote, “The expedition was a singular instance of the Sultan’s felinity and lack of strategic skill.”

Regarding his religious intolerance, S.R. Sharma states, “It is a pity that such a Sultan should have besmirched his fair name by acts of religious intolerance.”

In the same manner Dr. R.C. Majumdar writes, “Firoz was the greatest bigot of his age.”

Professor B.P. Saxena also states, “…But in the last fifteen years of his reign Firoz was an incurable and degenerate fanatic.”

Concluding Statement:

We may conclude the discussion with the views of Dr. V.A. Smith, “Firoz Shah, whatever may have been his defects or weaknesses deserves much credit for having

mitigated in some respects the horrible practices of his predecessors, and for having introduced some tincture of humane feelings into the administration.”

Sayyid Dynasty

The Sayyid dynasty rose to power after the Tughlaqs. They were essentially the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate of India and reigned from 1414 to 1451.

The history of the Sayyid dynasty is not clearly known, but they claimed to be the descendants of Prophet Mohammed. The Sayyid Empire was formed amidst chaos when there was no figure of authority to control Delhi.

The dynasty had four basic rulers. The founder of the dynasty was Khizr Khan who ruled from 1414-1421. He was known to be an able administrator and was very soft natured. He never resorted to bloody battles until it was absolutely necessary. It was his kind and docile nature that did not let him acquire many kingdoms during his reign. He defeated the Hindus of Daob, Kalithar and Chandwar since they had stopped paying tributes. He was busy suppressing revolts in different parts of his kingdom. He could not come up with many great reforms but still he was greatly respected and loved by his subjects.

After his death in 1444, his son took over the throne under the title of Alam Shah. During the year 1447, he visited a place called Baduan and loved it so much that he decided to stay there forever. He ruled Baduan till he died in the year 1478. And with his death, the Sayyid dynasty came to end.

Lodhi Dynasty

The Lodhi dynasty was a Pashtun dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the last dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. It was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when he replaced the Sayyid dynasty

The first Lodi ruler was Bahlul Lodi , who was the most powerful of the Punjab chiefs, and replaced the last king of the Sayyid dynasty in 1451. He was a vigorous leader, holding together a loose confederacy of Afghan and Turkish chiefs with his strong personality. Starting with only the control of the region adjacent to Delhi, Bahlūl extended the effective boundaries of his empire to the borders of Bengal. This expansion involved the conquest of the powerful kingdoms of Malwa and Jaunpur.

Sikandar Lodi was the greatest of the Lodi Sultans. His real name was Nizam Khan. He ascended the throne of Delhi in 1488 after his father’s death. He crushed the unruly Afghan nobles and brought the haughty chiefs under his control. Sikandar also subdued the rulers of Dholpur, Chanderi and Gwalior. He annexed the province of Bihar and maintained friendly relations with the ruler of Bengal. In 1504, he founded a new city near Agra, which became his capital.

Like Balban, he maintained a splendid court and was greatly feared and respected by the nobles. But like Firoz Tughlak, he was a religious bigot and intolerant towards the

Hindus. He is said to have destroyed many temples and raised mosques in their places.

Ibrahim Lodhi, an Afghan by blood was the last ruler of the Lodhi dynasty. He succeeded his father Sikander Lodhi but could not match his ability as a ruler. He was defeated by in the battle of Panipat which saw the end of Delhi Sultanate and the beginning of the Mughal reign.

When Sikander died and Ibrahim ascended the throne, he faced resistance from a faction of the nobility. They advocated a partition of the kingdom and set up Jalal Khan, the younger brother of Ibrahim on the throne of Jaunpur. However Jalal was killed by Ibrahim’s men and he claimed the whole empire.

Ibrahim did not have good relations with the nobles. He ill-treated and imprisoned them. He was also cruel to his subjects and killed and poisoned many noblemen. Rebellions started to erupt in various corners of his kingdom.

One of his noblemen-Daulat Khan invited Babur to invade India and take revenge on their behalf. Babur responded to his call and set out to meet the Delhi Sultan.

Babur reached Ambala without any resistance and then prudently organized his army in a defensive position. For eight days he waited for Ibrahim’s army and when they finally arrived they were surprised by the unique strategies of Babur.

Despite having a great numerical advantage the Afghans lost the battle. Ibrahim being a brave soldier, led his army from the front and gave his life in the war.

Thus the first battle of Panipat (1526) witnessed the establishment of the Mughal kingdom in India.

Administrative Structure under the Delhi Sultanate

Delhi sultanate was not a theocracy in practice. Thus was not possible due to the area being directly under the control of the Khalifa but due to other historical factors.

The link with the Khalifa was nominal because when Muslim rule was established at Delhi, the temporal authority of Khalifa was dwindled into mere shadow.

It was particularly under the Tughlaq that the Muslim jurists first received recognition. The rigidity shown by Ulma may be judged by the fact that they accepted the throne of Razia Sultana (1236-40).

The Sultan

The title of the sultan signified a sovereign ruler and made the transition from the quasi theocratic Khalifa to a secular institution.

The sultan of Delhi had powers and Persian ideas regarding the divine right of Kings. The Hindus were already used to regard the king a representative of the divine power. There was no permanent law of succession in India during the Sultanate period.

When there was no competent heir to the throne, nobility got the right to choose the Sultan, as in the case of Iltutmish, and after him upto Tughlaq. The swords also decided the issue of succession. Ala-ud-Din Khilji, Khizar Khan and Bahlul had got the throne by sheer force.

The Sultan was all powerful despot and enjoyed the supreme military, judicial and administrative power. His order was law in the state. The other was the consent of nobility but influence of nobility was different in different periods.

Majlis-i-Am and Majlis-i-Khalwat were the forums where Sultan discussed important matters with his advisors. He was not bound to follow their advice. The concept of election although had been changed with nomination, yet still present to some extent. The acceptance of the governors, the principle nobles of the capital and the chief of the theologians was taken as the indirect consent of the mass of the people.

Departments of the State

The post of naib was created during the region of Sultan Bahram Shah. It was influential during the reigns of weak rulers. If the king was weak, then the naib enjoyed powers, otherwise the post was quite ceremonial.

The Prime Minister was called the vazir. He was primarily the head of finance department called the Diwan-e-Wazarat. He was empowered to supervise income and expenditure including all other departments. He was assisted by many subordinates, among which were the Naib-Vazir, Mumalik (Accountant-General) and Mustaufi- Mumalik (Auditor-General). The Naib Wazir acted as a deputy to the wazir. The wazir was assisted by the Mushrif-i-Mamalik, (accountant) who maintained a record of the accounts and the Mustauf-i-Mamalik (auditor) who audited this account. Under Firuz Tughluq, wazirs became hereditary.

Ariz-I-Mumalik

He had the department of Diwan-i-Arz and was the controller governor of the military department. His function includes the recruitment of soldiers, fixation of their salaries, their inspection and maintenance of discipline.

Diwan-i-Ariz or Diwan-i-Arz

The post of Diwan-i-ariz was next to the Wazir. He was the controller general of the military establishment.

It was his duty to recruit troops and to maintain the descriptive rolls of men and horses. He was also to arrange to held review in order to inspect the forces.

The Sultan was the commander-in-chief of the army. So the Ariz-i-mamalik was not to command the royal troops generally, but sometimes he had to do it, at least a part of the army.

He particularly looked after the discipline of the army, their equipment and their dispositions on the battle field. Sometimes the Sultan himself performed some of its tasks. Ala-ud-din Khilji often paid personal attention to it.

Diwan-i-insha

The Diwan-i-insha was the third important minister. He was in charge of royal correspondence. A member of Dabir (writers) assisted him. They were all masters of style.

This department used to make all correspondences, even of the confidential matters made between the Sultan and the rulers of other states or of the important vassals and officials of the kingdom.

They drafted the important royal orders and sent to the Sultan for his sanction. They were then copied, registered and dispatched.

Thus the department performed a very confidential nature of work. Naturally the head of the department was always a very trusted person of the Sultan.

Diwan-i-risalat or the minister for foreign affairs

He was the minister for foreign affairs and was the in-charge of diplomatic correspondences and the ambassadors and envoys sent to and received from the foreign rulers.

The diwan–i–rasalat was an important officer as all the Sultans of Delhi were always eager to maintain diplomatic relations with the Central Asian powers and other powers of the country.

Sadar-us-Sadar

He was minister of religious affairs. His main duty was to propagate Islam and protection of the privileges of the Muslims. He also controlled the funds of Zakat.

He also looked after the distribution of charity by the state. The Muslim scholars were financed by him.

Barid-I-Mumalik

He was the head of the intelligence and posted department.

Amir-I-Hajab

He was the master and organizer of royal ceremonies. All the petitions were presented to the Sultan by Amir-l-Hijab.

Wakil-I-Dad

He was to converse with the Wakil-i-Sultanate of the Sayyed’s dynasty and Wakil-i- Mutliq of the Mughals. He was also the controller of the royal household.

Amir-I-Shikar

He arranged the hunting parties for the king.

Finance

There were various sources of income of the Delhi Sultans. They are given as under:

Kharaj (Land Tax)

This was the mainstay of the finance of the government. It was charged from Muslims and non-Muslims, ranging from 1/5th to 1/2 under various reigns.

Khamus (1/5 of the war spoils)

According to the Islamic law, 1/5th of the booty goes to state and rest 4/5th to soldiers. But all Sultans, except Firoz, collected 4/5th for the state.

Jizya

This was the religious tax on non-Muslims which they had to pay for their protection. It was exempted if a non-Muslim undertook military duties in an Islamic state. It was common in middle ages for military needs.

The Jizya was recovered in the following three categories:

1. The richest classes paid four diners per head per annum. 2. The middle classes paid two diners per head per annum. 3. The lowest classes paid one diner per head per annum.

Zakat

This was a religious tax which was imposed only on the Muslims and consisted of 2- 1/2 of the Money,7-1/2 tola of gold or 52 1/2 tola of silver for a year. A separate treasury was maintained for Zakat.

Irrigation

It was imposed by Firoz Tughlaq as 1/10th of the product on the peasants who used the water of the canals developed by the state.

Ala ud Din imposed two new taxes, i.e. house tax and grazing tax.

Army

There were four kinds of soldiers in the army under Sultans.

The Sultan kept a 4,75,000-strong standing army. This army was maintained by the Ariz-i-Mumalik. There was no regular course of training. lban took measures to train his army for hard life by taking them to hunting parties.

The soldiers were recruited by provincial nobles and governors. Nobles were assigned jagirs to finance their troops. Some soldiers were recruited only in times of war.

There were three parts of the army:

Cavalry

This formed the backbone of the army. The cavalry men were of two kinds: the Sawar (having one horse) and do-aspe (having two horses). Horses were imported from Arabia.

War Elephants

Only the Sultan had the privilege to keep elephants. There was separate department for the training and maintenance of elephants. Elephants were armored during the course of battle.

Infantry

The foot soldiers were called “Payaks”. They were aimed with swords, spears and bows and arrows.

Artillery

There was nothing like modern artillery. However, there was a sort of mechanical artillery through which fire-balls, fire-arrows, snakes, stones etc., were hurled on the enemy with the help of gun-powder.

In the provincial kingdoms of Gujarat and the Deccan, cannon were properly developed. Army of the Sultan consisted of different modalities and diverse faiths, the Persians, the Afghans, the Mongols, the Indian Muslims and the Hindus etc. Most of the soldiers were Muslims and were united on the basis of Islam.

Navy

The Sultan maintained a large number of boats primarily for transport purpose, and for fighting as well.

Judicial System

There were four types of courts i.e.

1. Diwan-e-Mazalim presided by the ruler to his representative. 2. Qadis Courts. 3. The Courts of Muhtasibs. 4. Police courts (Shurta).

The third type of courts gained power under Tughlaq and Aurangzeb in India.

Amir-I-Dad

The Amir-l-Dad functioned as the supreme judge throughout the Muslim rule in the absence of the Sultan. He president over the court of complaint and justice. He also controlled he police and the Muhtasib.

His main duty was to deal with civil disputes among the Muslims, but later his jurisdiction widened and embraced the supervision of Awqaf. He was appointed by the central government.

The Qazis were completely independent of governors. The chief Qazi was also the Sultan’s legal adviser in matters relating to Shariah.

Most of the Sultans took steps to uphold the prestige of the Qazi. Even the powerful Sultan like Ale-ud-Din Khilji rewarded the Qazi with a Khilafat.

Provincial Administration

The provincial government of the sultanate was not well developed. The provincial governors of the region were usually called walis or muqtas. The provincial government was an exact replica of the central government.

The empire of the Delhi Sultanate was divided into province foe the convenience of the administration. They were called Iqtas. The number of Iqtas was not fixed and there was no uniformity in their administration. The head of the Iqta was addressed by various names such as naib Sultan, nazim, muqti or wali. The walis or the muqtis enjoyed the same powers in relation to their Iqtas as the Sultan enjoyed in the Empire. Besides the muqti, there were other officers of the central government in every Iqta. There was a vazir, an ariz and a qazi in every Iqta.

In some provinces the sultan appointed an imperial officer called sahib-i-diwan for controlling the provincial revenues and he exercised a sort of check on the powers and activities of the governor.

The provinces were further divided into shiqs or districts which were governed by shiqdars. Each shiq comprised a few parganas which was an aggregate of villages. At the lowest ladder were the villages which were governed by their local panchayats.

By the end of the 13th century there was no smaller administrative unit than Iqta. After that Iqtas were divided into smaller units called shiqqs, which were put under shiqqdars. The shiqqs were further divided into parganas.

The most important feature of Muslim administration in India was the local autonomy enjoyed by the rural areas. This was maintained by Sultans of Delhi. The Hindu chiefs enjoyed such an important position in rural life that too many felt as they were personally governing, where the Sultan was almost a mythical figure.

Iqta System

The iqtadari was a unique type of land distribution and administrative system evolved during the Sultanate period.

Under the system, the whole empire was divided into several large and small tracts of land, called the iqtas, which were assigned to nobles, officers and soldiers for the purpose of administration and revenue collection.

The iqtas were transferable, i.e., the holders of iqtas-iqtadars-were transferred from one region to another every three to four years. It means that the grant of iqta did not imply a right to the land. It was just an administrative unit.

The iqtas could be big or small. The assignees of bigger iqtas- had dual obligation, tax collection and administration. They collected revenue from their iqta, defrayed their own expenses, paid the troops maintained by them and sent the bawazil (surplus) to the Centre. Their accounts were checked by the royal auditors.The holders of small iqtas were individual troopers. They had no administrative responsibilities. They appropriated, for their personal use, the land revenue collected by them. In return, when the central government called them for service or inspection, they had to be present with horses and arms.

It was lltutrnish who gave this system an institutional form. The iqtadari system witnessed numerous changes during the Sultanate period. Initially, iqta was a revenue-yielding piece of land which was assigned in lieu of salary. However, during Firuz Shah Tughlaq’s reign, it became hereditary.

Local Governance

The village was the smallest unit of administration. The functioning and administration remained basically the same as it had existed during the pre-Turkish phase. Khat, muqaddam and patwari were the main village functionaries.

The cities or a group of villages were placed under the control of an official known as Amir-I-Sadar, He was assisted by a number of other officials, the prominent amongst them being Karkun, Mulckadam, Balahar, Chaudhary, Patwari etc.

The lowest administrative unit was the village. The Panchayats were responsible for the administration of the villages. During the Sultanate period no effort was made to disturb the work of the Local Self Government Institutions and they continued to work as they had been doing in the earliest times.

The officials of the State obtained from interference in the work of the rural administration. Thus we can say that the administration at the local level remained unaffected by the political changes at the higher levels.

The system of administration during Sultanate period was quite different from the traditional system of government prevailing in ancient times. It was theocratic, military and feudal in character and lacked the goodwill and support of the people.

The feeling of mutual attachment between the ruler and the ruled was mostly absent and there was a wide gap between the two. The rulers were mainly concerned with the preservation of their authority and not with the welfare of the people. Consequently, they perused policies which promoted more of their own interest than the interests of the people.

Rural Classes

1. Peasantry

Peasants formed the overwhelming majority of the population. They had to work hard to eke out bare subsistence. Usually they were required to pay one-third of their produce as land revenue.

2. The State in the beginning had ignored the local population so for as the civil and military administration was concerned but they could not do so for long. Even Sultan Mahmud had to recruit them in both the civil and military departments and as the time advanced their number increased in all the branches of the Government. High positions were seldom given to the Hindu population. 3. The nobles enjoyed a standard of living which was comparable to the highest standard in the world at that time, viz., to the standards of the ruling class in the Islamic world in West and Central Asia.

Improvement of Agriculture

The evolution of agrarian conditions during the thirteenth century and the agrarian reforms Alauddin Khaljı have already been noted. Ghiyasuddin Tughluq reverted to the ‘produce-sharing’ method which, as noted earlier, favoured the peasantry.

He lowered the rate of state revenue demand and abolished several agrarian excesses. He mitigated the harshness of ın measures concerning the the muqaddams and the muqtacs. His short reign probably brought considerable relief to the rural population.

The impact of ’s experiments with the agrarian economy, such as the sudden increase of the rate demanded in the Doab, the rotation of crops and the granting of loans to the peasants, was lost in the plethora of revolts; in the agrarian sector, as in other sectors, left only confusion and anarchy.

It took Fıruz Shah Tughluq six years to survey the entire land and prepare new estimates of revenue. He decided to adhere to the ‘produce-sharing’ method.

By making a substantial addition to the water supply through canals and innumerable wells, he made an enormous contribution to gardens and cultivable land and thus ensured a substantial increase in the supply of cereals and fruit.

Firuz Shah made extensive assignments to the nobility, officers, and men and institutions of learning; inevitably weakening the state financially.

The impression of overall is due to the sustained increase in production and to the long period of general peace. It was also a period of lax administration, during which nobles and officers would misappropriate public funds, fail to pay dues and thus become rich and powerful at the expense of the state.

Growth of Commerce and Urbanisation

The Hindus occupied an important role in foreign, as in domestic, trade, although foreign Muslim merchants, known as khurasani, also had a large share of it.

The rulers of the coastal kingdoms in the Deccan accorded to foreign merchants certain extra-territorial rights and special concessions, in consideration of the heavy taxes which they paid to the treasury.

An organized class of brokers handled the business on the coast and inside the country. The imports consisted mainly of certain luxury items for the upper classes, and a general supply of all kinds of horses and mules, in which India was deficient. The Hindus had never attached any importance to cavalry, but seeing the success of the Muslim horsemen, they started to substitute horses for elephants.

The exports included large quantities of food-grains and cloth. Among the agricultural products were wheat, millet, rice, pulses, oilseeds, scents, medicinal herbs, and sugar. Some of the countries around the Persian Gulf depended on the subcontinent for their entire food supply. Cotton cloth and other textiles were especially important items of export, particularly to Southeast Asia and East Africa, although some reached Europe. They were carried by the Arabs to the Red Sea and from there found their way to Damascus and Alexandria, from where they were distributed to the Mediterranean countries and beyond.

Many industries of considerable size and importance developed during this period, the most important of which were textiles, various items of metal work, sugar, indigo, and in certain localities, paper. The Muslims introduced a number of fine varieties of textiles, most of which had Persian or Arabic origin. Bengal was the main center of this industry, but Gujarat rivaled it as a supplier of the export trade during the Sultanate period.

Next in importance were a number of industries connected with metal work; the manufacture of swords, guns, and knives, as well as household needs such as trays and basins.

Manufacture of sugar was also carried on on a fairly large scale, and in Bengal enough was produced to leave a surplus for export after meeting the local demand. Paper-making was a minor industry, of which little is known except that Delhi was the center of a considerable market. These industries were mainly privately owned, but the government equipped and managed large-scale karkhanas, or factories, for supplying its requirements.

The royal factories at Delhi sometimes employed as many as four thousand weavers for silk alone. The example of the sultan of Delhi was followed by the rulers of the regional kingdoms, and the contribution of the state to the development of the industry was not a minor one.

In certain aspects of social life, the Hindus had virtual autonomy during the sultanate. This was in accordance with the established axiom of Islamic law; that while Muslims were governed by the Shariat, non-Muslim zimmis were subject to their own laws and social organization, but it was also a product of the Indian situation.

The Muslim rulers from the days of the Arab occupation of Sind accepted the right of the village and caste panchayats to settle the affairs of their community. This meant that the Hindu villages remained small autonomous republics, as they had been since ancient times, and in commerce and industry the Hindu guilds were supreme. This position continued throughout the Muslim rule, but during the sultanate, when the provincial administration had not been properly organized, Hindu autonomy outside the principal towns was particularly effective.

It is often forgotten—that a large number of independent or quasi-independent Hindu chiefs remained after the establishment of the sultanate. Some of them were rajas, or kings; others were only petty chieftains, controlling a few villages.

Many of them belonged to old families, but new principalities grew up even after the establishment of Muslim power at Delhi. The Rajputs often found new kingdoms for themselves in remote, easily defended areas in Rajputana and the Himalayas. From such movements during the sultanate come also some of the large landed estates still held by Rajputs in Oudh and in Bihar.

In these predominantly Hindu areas the old religion was fostered, and its cultural expressions kept alive even in the periods of greatest Islamic politics.

Art & Architecture Under Sultanate

During the rule of various Sultans, several politically significant Hindu temples located in enemy states were vandalised, damaged and desecrated and the development of Indo-Islamic architecture initiated. The grand and imposing edifices and monuments constructed by the Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate stand as the first illustration typifying Indo-Islamic style of architecture. A mix of Indian and Arabic styles of architecture emerged during the Delhi Sultanate that, as opined by Sir John Marshall, developed into a peerless form of art and architecture comprising of architectural brilliance of both Hindu and Muslim artisans.

Some of the unique features of architectural styles preferred by the Delhi Sultanate are palpable from their palaces that adorn elaborately decorated and embellished arches and domes. Teachings from the Holy Quran and various floral patterns are visible in the arches while swastika, lotus, bells and other Hindu motifs used widely by the sultans form parts of other embellishments of the palaces thus giving them a grand and exquisite appearance.

The Qutb Complex

The ‘Qutb Complex’ comprising of a number of historically significant monuments and buildings is one of the foremost examples of Indo-Islamic architecture. Some of the important constructions of the complex include the ‘Qutb Minar’, the ‘Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque’, the ‘Tomb of Iltutmish’, the ‘Tomb of Imam Zamin’, the ‘Iron Pillar’ of Delhi, and Major Smith's Cupola.

‘Qutb Minar’ - The 73 m (240 ft.) colossal tower called ‘Qutb Minar’ made of red sandstone and marble located within the complex stands not only as the highest brick minaret in the world but it is also as one of the most famous tourist attractions in India. Construction of this UNESCO World Heritage Site was initiated by Qutb ud-Din Aibak, the founder of the Mamluk Dynasty in Delhi, in 1200 AD and completed by his successor and son-in-law Iltutmish in 1220 AD.

This minaret was dedicated by Aibak to the Muslim Sufi mystic saint and scholar of the Chishti Order, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki.

‘Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque’ – It is regarded as the first mosque built in India; its construction was delegated by Aibak, which started in 1193 and completed in 1197. Twenty seven Hindu temples, shafts of which adorn the inner and outer courtyard of this Jami Masjid, were demolished to construct it. A provocative inscription etched over its eastern gate justifies the presence of typical Hindu embellishments in a Muslim mosque.

‘Alai Darwaza’ - Another brilliant example of Indian and Muslim architecture is the magnificent ‘Alai Darwaza’ within the complex that forms the central gateway from the southern side of the mosque. Built in 1311 AD by Ala-ud-din Khilji, the second Khilji Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, the gateway built of red sandstone and white marble stands as the first ever structure in India that incorporated principles of Islamic architecture, both in its construction and decoration. Unique features of Khilji art including intricate patterns and embellishments are visible from the monument

The fortified city of Tughlaqabad built by emperor Ghiyaz ud Din Tughluq; the fourth medieval city of Delhi called Jahanpanah and the ‘Adilabad Fort’ built by Muhammad bin Tughlaq, son of Ghiyath ud Din Tughluq; and the Ferozabad fort and palace constructed by Firoz Shah Tughlug, successor of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, marks the architectural style of the Tughlug dynasty.

The Alai Minar is an unfinished tower in the Qutub Complex, construction of which was started by Alauddin Khilji. After Khilji had doubled the size of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque he decided to constructed a tower which would be twice the height of the Qutub Minar. Construction of the Alai Minar came to a halt in 1316 following the death of Alauddin Khilji. Today the Alai Minar, a massive red rubble structure stands at a height of 2.5 meters.

Regional Dynasties

Age of the Kakatiyas: Society, Economy, Polity and Culture

Society: Relying on the evidence furnished by the Dharmasastric literature, traditional historians perceive the society as based on the Varnasramadharma model and divided into fourfold Varnas; Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. We also notice the emergence of sub-castes and Brahmins being divided on the basis of sub-regions as Velanatis, Veginatis and Mulakanatis, besides Srotriyas and Niyogis. Interestingly, the community of Brahmins besides being scholars and teachers also acted as Dandanayakas or commanders and Amatyas or ministers.

Rulership was not the monopoly of the alone and the prominence of the Kshatriya community as rulers appears to have diminished to a large extent. Anyone could become a ruler, provided he had the necessary qualities and abilities. One of the prominent features of medieval Andhra was the emergence of Sudras as the new political elite and the other social groups accepted the superiority of the Sudras as rulers. Further, it is believed that kings made it their duty to uphold the Brahmanical Dharma and took measures to see that each caste followed the duties assigned to it.

There is a strong belief that in medieval Andhra, the Brahmans occupied superior place in social order and the social order itself depended on their dictates. Cynthia Talbot rejects the image of a static village and a caste based organization during this period as and Jati are less visible in the Kakatiya lithic records and hence she argues that the idealized paradigm of Varna and Jati are not relevant. Identities on the basis of local, familial and occupational associations are highlighted and very interest- ingly neither the ruling family nor the warrior elite claimed the superior Varna status, to prove their high ancestry.

Instead, clan and lineage were taken as the greater signifiers of social status with considerable divergence of status within the larger clan-Varna affiliation. Such claim was made by the Brahmins in the epigraphs by referring to their or Sakhas and Vama status only in situations of contention about power and resources. Kakatiya lithic records hail the Sudras as the bravest of the four Varnas and also the best. Cynthia Talbot is of the view that the individual eminence, military service and

administrative ranking were the main basis for identities, and claim to social importance. Mobility in turn indicates social typologies.

Considerable social fluidity among all non-Brahmins and the existence of occupational groups like merchants makes it too complex a situation for applying any standard model for Kakatiya Andhra society. Temple epigraphs testify to the practice of Saani being added to the women of the royal family and those attached to the temple. Women made donations referring themselves as somebody’s wife or daughter. That women had right to Stridhana and other forms of property is evident as women comprise 11 per cent of all individual donors.

Epigraphs also record donation of livestock, temple buildings and metal items used in ritual worship, along with irrigational facilities and cash. Interestingly, most of the temple women or Gudisanis were daughters of respectable men like Nayakas and Settis and temple women were not barred from marriage.

Cynthia Talbot is of the view that the condition of women in Kakatiya age was by no means deplorable as was presumed by traditionalist observers basing their conclusions on legal and epic literature. It can be concluded that multiplicity of social foci existed in Kakatiya phase, wherein both kingship ties and territorial proximity created linkages among people based on factors like military service, a common sectarian membership or similar occupation.

Social rigidity was less noticeable due to dynamism and fluidity witnessed in social relations. For example, the literary test Palanativirulakatha refers to the war and the friends Balachandra from diverse backgrounds: a Brahmin, a blacksmith, a goldsmith, a washer man, a potter, and a barber and all of them call themselves ‘brothers’ and dine together before going to battle. Merchants and artisan association appear to be the largest category of collective donors known from the epigraphs of the Kakatiyas. Social relationships appear to be based on common interest and occupations rather than Vama and Jati as social identities were not expressed in terms of Varna or Jati.

Economy: Kakatiya epigraphs bear testimony to the economic development witnessed by Andhradesa due to the cumulative effect of the steps taken by rulers and feudatories and officials from AD 1158 to 1324. Both agriculture and trade and commerce,

particularly long distance trade acted as a catalyst in carrying the Kakatiya state and making it economically sound.

Cynthia Talbot writes “During the Kakatiya era, inland Andhra economy underwent considerable growth due to the extension of agriculture into uncultivated territories, the boosting of agricultural productivity through the construction of irrigational facilities and an overall rise in trade and commerce in which the temple as an institution was ultimately intertwined”.

Though the core area of the Kakatiyas was ecologically in dry zone with scanty rainfall, with soil not very fertile, the Kakatiyas paid much attention to agriculture, the main occupation of majority of its population. They employed tank irrigation as a necessary technique to provide water for cultivation.

In order to encourage more people to undertake the digging of tanks, wells and canals, tank construction was made one of the Saptasantanas which confers merit. Kakatiya epigraphs refer to more than 38 tanks of considerable size which provided water through artificial channels to thousands of acres. Of all the tanks, the Ramappa and the Pakala lakes are of large size and require special mention. Ramappa Lake adjoins the well-known Ramappa temple at Palampet in Mulug taluk of Warangal district. Gopal and P.V.P. Sastry state that this lake had a colossal bund only one side that extends over 200 feet and rises up to 56 feet.

The lake has a ring of hills on three sides. Kakati Ganapati Deva’s Senapati, Recharla Rudra constructed this lake in AD 1213. Pakala Lake in Narasampet taluk ofWarangal district is larger than Ramappa Lake, with a dam composed of laterite pebbles and earth that is one mile long from which 40 artificial channels have been extended. This lake was also constructed in the time of Ganapati Deva by a subordinate, Jagadala Mummadi, the son of a minister or Mantri.

The multitude of historical traces confirms that a boom in the building of tanks occurred in inland Andhra while the Kakatiyas were ruling. The tank foundation inscriptions are distributed throughout Telengana, the southern coastal districts, and in Cuddapah of Rayalaseema. They are more concentrated in the districts of Khammam and Warangal. Along with tank construction, we also notice the construction of temples with a tank in the interior as well as addition of a tank to the existing temples.

Cynthia Talbot observes the frequency of new temples is notably higher in the Telangana than in coastal Andhra. The temple construction also led to the growth of new settlements of people who brought uncultivated virgin land into cultivation. By these processes of tank construction and temple construction, the Kakatiyas achieved the twin objective of improving productivity by bringing new areas under cultivation and also the formation of Andhra as a regional society, noted by Talbot.

Cultivable land was classified as wet and dry land. Wet land is further divided as paddy growing land and garden land. Dry lands are those where crops like millet, sesame, indigo, mustard, castor, etc., were grown which needed less water. Forests and pastures were kept exclusively for grazing cattle. Land was surveyed and measured, where the ruler collected one-fourth to one-half of the produce as revenue. The revenue was collected either in cash or in kind. The Kakatiyas levied different taxes like tax on grazing, property tax, income tax, profession tax, marriage tax, tax on herds of sheep and tax on salt. Heavy taxation by the state appears to be the feature of Kakatiya polity.

In the Kakatiya Andhra, trade was carried on by well-organized Srenis or guilds. Both the merchants and artisans had their own guilds. Epigraphs refer to guild of weavers, agriculturists, oil pressers, mat makers, smiths, potters and jewelers. The guilds obtained a license to conduct business in a particular town or fair. Fairs or weekly markets were held regularly at specified places. The merchandise was transported by means of carts, oxen, horses, etc., and to a great extent by boats and barges through the rivers Govadari and Krishna.

Kakatiyas recognized the importance of long distance trade. One indication that they wanted to encourage maritime trade, comes from the famous Mompalli epigraph which runs as follows: “This inscribed guarantee has been granted by his majesty the king Ganapati Deva which assures and welcomes the traders from other areas going back and forth through selected area to all countries and towns. In the past, kings forcibly seized all the cargo such as gold, elephants, horses, jewels, etc., when sea-going vessels journeying from one region to another were caught in storms, wrecked and cast on shore. But we for the sake of our reputation and religious merit and out of pity for those who have incurred the grave risk of a sea voyage thinking that wealth is more valuable than life give up all but the customary tariff” Motupalli must have been the

chief port of the Kakatiyas and this port was visited by the Venitian traveller, Marco Polo.

The Motupalli epigraph specifies the rates assessed on a variety of items, including scents such as sandal, camphor, rose-water, ivory, pearls, corals, a range of metals like copper, zinc and lead, silk, pepper, and areca nuts. This above list gives an idea of exports and imports from Motupalli port to other Indian regions along the coast as well to foreign territories.

One Warangal epigraph issued by merchant groups, who traded in the main markets of Warangal, refers to the same commodities mentioned above. Another epigraph notes that a number of agricultural products offered for sale in Warangal market included rice, wheat, and other grains and assorted vegetables, coconuts, mangoes, tamarind and other fruits, sesame seeds, green lentils, mustard, honey, ghee, oil, turmeric and ginger.

We have epigraphic reference to the activities of Pekkandru, a guild which was carrying on long distance trade. Besides, Motupalli, Krishnapattanam, Chinaganajam, Nellore, and Divi also played a very crucial role in fostering sea-borne trade. Thus, flourishing agriculture and surplus produce and long distance trade carried on by guilds like Pekkandru was the base for the sound economic position of Kakatiya Andhra.

Religion: The early Kakatiya rulers were adherents of Jainism of the Digambara sect. They are credited with the construction of Padmakshi temple at Hanumakonda. Though there are strong references to the worship of Buddhism, it had lost its impetus and Buddha has been identified with Vishnu and Buddhism was absorbed into Brahmanical religion. Saivism was the most predominant faith in Kakatiya Andhra; Beta II and Prola II of this lineage are known to be the adherents of the Kalamukha school of Saivism. During the reign of Ganapati Deva, the Pasupata sect of Saivism had become very popular and Visveswara Sivacharya became the Rajaguru of Ganapati Deva.

The Malakapuram inscription of Rudramadevi helps us to know about the growth of Pasupata sect and Golaki activities in Andhradesa. During this period another sect of Saivism, Aradhya Saivism also emerged and Mallikarjuna Pandita was a well- known pioneer of this sect. In the past three decades, western scholars like Herman

Kulke and Burton Stein have stressed that religions patronage by royalty was a critical element of state formation. Further scholars like Spencer, Brackenbridge, and Appadurai also opine that by religious patronage, kings enhanced their royal authority.

There is a view that Brahmanical rituals legitimized and conferred royal power on the kings of the Sudra community. Cynthia Talbot observes; “Contrary to what one might expect from the secondary literature, we have seen that the religious patronage of the Kakatiyas was quite limited. Altogether, the five independent Kakatiya rulers left behind only 26 inscriptions documenting their religious gifts spanning over a period of 150 years (Rudradevas – six grants; Mahadeva – one Ganapatideva independently – 14 and with Rudramadevi – one; Rudramadevi independently – 4 and Prataparudra – 4). Rudradeva, the first independent ruler constructed the Thousand-pillared temple at Hanumankonda and laid the foundation for a new capital at Warangal along with a temple to the tutelary deity of Svayambhudeva.

Ganapati Deva also built temple at Motupalli because by that time this area had become a secondary core area of the Kakatiyas. It may be suggested that the Kakatiyas regarded divine legitimation and the support of the institutionalized religion as important assets to royal authority, and not necessarily the foundation for their sustenance as effective rulers. The model of Dharmic kingship does not apply to the Kakatiya rule as the Kakatiyas understood that political interests differed from religious interests.

Culture and Literature: Andhra under the Kakatiyas witnessed considerable literary activity. Sanskrit occupied the place of pride and was the language of the educated few. Many epigraphs of this period are written in Kavya-style of Sanskrit. The noted poets who were the authors of the epigraphs of this age are Nandi, Acchitendra Antantasuri and Iswarasuri. The greatest Sanskrit poets of this age were Vidyanadha and Jayapasenani. Vidyanatha wrote Parataparudrayasobhushana. Jayapasenani was the author of Nrityaratnauali and Gitaratnavali.

Coming to Telugu literature, the most important are Tikkanna Somayaji who wrote Nirvachananottarammayatn, Mantri Bhaskara who wrote Bhaskara Ramayana, Gona Budda Reddi who wrote Ranganatha Ramayanam, Nanne Choda, the author of

Kumara Sambhavama, Baddena the author of Sumati Satakam and Palkuriki Somanadha, the author of Basavapuranam, and Panditaradhyacharita. Of the above Ranganadha Ramayanam, occupies a unique place as a Dvipadakairya.

The Kakatiyas inherited the Chalukyan architecture but the distinctive feature of their architecture is the display of more indigenous art than that allowed by the texts. The architects used locally available granite and sandstone in the main structure of the Vimana and used bricks and lime in constructing superstructure. They used black granite for pillars, jambs, lintels, decorative motifs and icons.

Their temple architecture reflects great sophistication and the ‘Thousand-pillared temple’ is a landmark in the evolution of the Kakatiyan architectural style. The great Rudresvara temple was built by Recharla Rudra, the commander in chief of Ganapati Deva; in the words of Y. Gopala Reddi it marks the climax of the Kakatiyan style. The Gomateswara temple at Manthani, the Erakesvara and the Namesvara temples at Pillalamarri and the temple at Naguladu are the masterpieces of the Kakatiyan style of architecture.

About the Kakatiya sculptures, we have very little evidence to study it. Their main decoration was Kirtimukha or Krititorana. Nandis are a special feature of the Kakatiya sculpture. The Nandi images at Palampet, Thousand-pillared temple, Sambhuni Gudi, Ghanapur, Kolanupalli are some of the best examples with profuse bell ornamentation. The sculptural presence of Hamsa or swan motifs, on the gateways and friezes is to be noticed for their grace and beauty. Of the decorative sculptures, the motifs of dancers and Kolata are worth recording.

It is also suggested by scholars that, they represent the dance styles of Jayapasenani. The Narasimha temple at Parivela near Nalgonda consists of profusely carved lintels and jambs. The temples at Nandigonda contain richly furnished Mandapa pillars and ceilings.

The Kakatiyas also extended patronage to the art of painting. The traces of painting that are found on ceilings of the pillared halls of the temples at Ghanapur and Palampet bear testimony to the painting skill of that period. The defaced painting of the ‘Churning of the Milk Ocean’ found on the ceiling of the Sabha Mandepa of the Namevara temple at Pillalamarri is also a good example of their painting skill.

The Kakatiya rule in Andhra was a period of transition and ushered the beginning of an era in the 13th century. The Kakatiyas by their support of art and their integrative polity improved agriculture, commerce and trade in the interior and construction of temples in Telangana, Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra.

Vijayanagara Empire

Vijayanagara Empire was ruled by maily four important dynasties. They were

1.: It was the first dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire and Raya I( 1336-1356 AD) was the first ruler of the dynasty. Some of the rulers of the dynasty were: Bukka Raya, Virupaksha Raya, , Ramachandra Raya, Mallikarjuna Raya and Praudha Raya.

2.: It was the first dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire andNarasimhadeva Raya (1485 AD to 1491 AD) first ruler of Saluva Dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire. He was succeeded by his son Thimma Bhupala. Narasimha Raya II was the last ruler of Saluva Dynasty succeeded his father Thimma Bhupala.

3.: It was the third dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire. The rulers of Tuluva Dynasty were: Narasa Nayaka, Viranarasimha Raya, , Achyutadeva Raya and Sadasiva Raya. Krishnadeva raya was a very powerful ruler of Vijayanagara Empire. It is considered that during his reign the empire reached its zenith. He ruled the empire from 1509 AD to 1529 AD. (for more detail aboutKrishnadevaRaya, see the individual section.)

4.: The fourth and last dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire was Aravidu Dynasty. After the the empire started to decline and Muslim states of Bijapur became prominent.

Sources: The history of Vijayanagar Empire constitutes an important chapter in the history of India. Four dynasties – Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu – ruled Vijayanagar from A.D. 1336 to 1672. The sources for the study of Vijayanagar are varied such as literary, archaeological and numismatics. Krishnadevaraya’s Amukthamalyada, Gangadevi’s Maduravijayam and Allasani Peddanna’s Manucharitam are some of the indigenous literature of this period.

Many foreign travelers visited the Vijayanagar Empire and their accounts are also valuable. The Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battuta, Venetian traveler Nicolo de Conti, Persian traveler Abdur Razzak and the Portuguese traveler Domingo Paes were among them who left valuable accounts on the socio-economic conditions of theVijayanagar Empire.

The copper plate inscriptions such as the Srirangam copper plates of Devaraya II provide the genealogy and achievements of Vijayanagar rulers. The ruins and other monuments of Vijayanagar provide information on the cultural contributions of the Vijayanagar rulers. The numerous coins issued by the Vijayanagar rulers contain figures and legends explaining their tittles and achievements.

Political History: Vijayanagar was founded in 1336 by Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama dynasty. They were originally served under the Kakatiya rulers of Warangal. Then they went to Kampili where they were imprisoned and converted to Islam. Later, they returned to the Hindu fold at the initiative of the saint Vidyaranya. They also

proclaimed their independence and founded a new city on the south bank of the . It was called Vijayanagar meaning city of victory.

The decline of the Hoysala kingdom enabled Harihara and Bukka to expand their newly founded kingdom. By 1346, they brought the whole of the Hoysala kingdom under their control. The struggle between Vijayanagar and Sultanate of Madurai lasted for about four decades. Kumarakampana’s expedition to Madurai was described in the Maduravijayam. He destroyed the Madurai Sultans and as a result, the Vijayanagar Empire comprised the whole of South India up to Rameswaram.

The conflict between Vijayanagar Empire and the Bahmani kingdom lasted for many years. The dispute over Doab, the region between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra and also over the fertile areas of Krishna-Godavari delta led to this long- drawn conflict. The greatest ruler of the Sangama dynasty was Deva Raya II. But he could not win any clear victory over the Bahmani Sultans. After his death, Sangama dynasty became weak. The next dynasty, Saluva dynasty founded by Saluva Narasimha reigned only for a brief period (1486-1509).

Administration: The administration under the Vijayanagar Empire was well organized. The king enjoyed absolute authority in executive, judicial and legislative matters. He was the highest court of appeal. The succession to the throne was on the principle of hereditary. Sometimes usurpation to the throne took place as Saluva Narasimha came to power by ending the Sangama dynasty. The king was assisted by a council of ministers in his day to day administration. The Empire was divided into different administrative units called Mandalams, Nadus, sthalas and finally into gramas. The governor of Mandalam was called Mandaleswara or Nayak. Vijayanagar rulers gave full powers to the local authorities in the administration.

Besides land revenue, tributes and gifts from vassals and feudal chiefs, customs collected at the ports, taxes on various professions were other sources of income to the government. Land revenue was fixed generally one sixth of the produce. The expenditure of the government includes personal expenses of king and the charities given by him and military expenditure. In the matter of justice, harsh punishments such as mutilation and throwing to elephants were followed.

The Vijayanagar army was well-organized and efficient. It consisted of the cavalry, infantry, artillery and elephants. High-breed horses were procured from foreign traders. The top-grade officers of the army were known as Nayaks or Poligars. They were granted land in lieu of their services. These lands were called amaram. Soldiers were usually paid in cash.

Social Life: Allasani Peddanna in his Manucharitam refers the existence of four castes – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras - in the Vijayanagar society. Foreign travelers left vivid accounts on the splendour of buildings and luxurious social life in the city of Vijayanagar. Silk and cotton clothes were mainly used for dress. Perfumes, flowers and ornaments were used by the people. Paes mentions of the beautiful houses of the rich and the large number of their household servants. Nicolo Conti refers to the prevalence of slavery. Dancing, music, wrestling, gambling and cock- fighting were some of the amusements. The Sangama rulers were chiefly Saivaites and

Virupaksha was their family deity. But other dynasties were Vaishnavites. Srivaishnavism of Ramanuja was very popular. But all kings were tolerant towards other religions. Borbosa referred to the religious freedom enjoyed by everyone. Muslims were employed in the administration and they were freely allowed to build mosques and worship. A large number of temples were built during this period and numerous festivals were celebrated. The Epics and the Puranas were popular among the masses.

The position of women had not improved. However, some of them were learned. Gangadevi, wife of Kumarakampana authored the famous work Maduravijayam. Hannamma and Thirumalamma were famous poets of this period. According to Nuniz, a large number of women were employed in royal palaces as dancers, domestic servants and palanquin bearers. The attachment of dancing girls to temples was in practice. Paes refers to the flourishing devadasi system. Polygamy was prevalent among the royal families. Sati was honoured and Nuniz gives a description of it.

Economic Conditions: According to the accounts of the foreign travelers, the Vijayanagar Empire was one of the wealthiest parts of the world at that time. Agriculture continued to be the chief occupation of the people. The Vijayanagar rulers provided a stimulus to its further growth by providing irrigation facilities. New tanks were built and dams were constructed across the rivers like Tunghabadra. Nuniz refers to the excavation of canals.

There were numerous industries and they were organized into guilds. Metal workers and other craftsmen flourished during this period. Diamond mines were located in Kurnool and Anantapur district. Vijayanagar was also a great centre of trade. The chief gold coin was the varaha but weights and measures varied from place to place. Inland, coastal and overseas trade led to the general prosperity. There were a number of seaports on the , the chief being Cannanore. Commercial contacts with Arabia, Persia, South Africa and Portugal on the west and with Burma, Malay peninsula and China on the east flourished. The chief items of exports were cotton and silk clothes, spices, rice, iron, saltpeter and sugar. The imports consisted of horses, pearls, copper, coral, mercury, China silk and velvet clothes. The art of shipbuilding had developed.

Cultural History of Vijaynagar Empire: Art & Architecture and Literature

The temple building activity further gained momentum during the Vijayanagar rule. The chief characteristics of the Vijayanagara architecture were the construction of tall Raya Gopurams or gateways and the Kalyanamandapam with carved pillars in the temple premises. The sculptures on the pillars were carved with distinctive features. The horse was the most common animal found in these pillars. Large mandapams contain one hundred pillars as well as one thousand pillars in some big temples.

These mandapams were used for seating the deity on festival occasions. Also, many Amman shrines were added to the already existing temples during this period.

The most important temples of the Vijayanagar style were found in the Hampi ruins or the city of Vijayanagar. Vittalaswamy and Hazara Ramaswamy temples were the best examples of this style.

The Varadharaja and Ekamparanatha temples at stand as examples for the magnificence of the Vijayanagara style of temple architecture. The RayaGopurams at Thiruvannamalai and Chidambaram speak the glorious epoch of Vijayanagar. They were continued by the Nayak rulers in the later period. The metal images of Krishna Deva Raya and his queens at Tirupati are examples for casting of metal images. Music and dancing were also patronized by the rulers of Vijayanagar.

Different languages such as Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil flourished in the regions. There was a great development in Sanskrit and Telugu literature. The peak of literary achievement was reached during the reign of Krishna Deva Raya. He himself was a scholar in Sanskrit and Telugu. His famous court poet Allasani Peddanna was distinguished in Telugu literature. Thus the cultural contributions of the Vijayanagar rulers were many-sided and remarkable.

Importanat Temples of this period

1. The temple building activity of the Vijayanagar rulers produced a new style, called the Vijayanagar style. Though often characterized as Dravida Style, it had its own distinct features.

2. The distinct features of the architecture were the pillars and the complicated manner in which they were sculptured.

3. The horse was the most common animal to be depicted on the pillars.

4. The temples had a Mandapam or open pavilion with a raised platform, generally meant for seating the deity on special occasions. It also had a Kalyana Mandapam with elaborately carved pillars. The most magnificent of the temples in this style are in

Hampi (Vijayanagar). Vitthalaswamy and the Hazara Ramaswamy temples are the best examples.

5. The Raya Gopurams, towers in commemoration of the visit of emperors in different corners of the empire, are also important examples of architecture of the period.

6. In the Vijayanagar temples the central part was occupied by the Garbhagriha—the sanctum cell where the presiding deity was installed.

7. Amman shrine was meant for the consort of the God.

Literature under Vijaynagar Empire

The Vijayanagar rulers were also great patrons of literature. Under their patronage, several religious as well as secular books were composed in different languages such as Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil. The peak of literary development was reached during the reign of Krishna Raya, who is rightly called 'Andhra Bhoja'.

Works in Telugu:

1. Up to 1500 AD most of the books were written in the form of translations.

2.Famous scholars were Srinatha, Pothana, Jakkama and Duggana, who translated Sanskrit and works into telugu.

3. During Bukka I‘s time, Gangadevi wrote MaduraVijayam.

4. Devaraya I constructed a Peran hall to hours the scholars.

5. Devaraya II wrote two Sanskrit works, Mahanataka Sudhanidhi and a commentary on the Brahmasutras of Badrayana.

6. Devraya II gave the title of Kanakkabhisekha to Srinatha who wrote Sringara Naishada, Sivar-otrimahatyam, Kasikandha, Bhim-kanda, Harivilasam and Ponditaradhya Charita.

7. Bommara Pothana popularly (Niyogi) translated the Bhagwat Purana into Telugu and also wrote Virbhadra Vijayam.

8. Krishnadeva Raya wrote ‘', a book on polity in Telugu and also a Sanskrit drama ‘Jambavati Kalyanam'.

9. Allasani Peddana (Andhrakavi Pitamaha) wrote Manucharitam and Harikathasarammsamu.

10. Tenaliramakrishna wrote Pandura-ngamahatyam.

11. Dhurjati wrote Kalahastimahatyam.

12. Madayyagari Mallana wrote Rajasekharacharitam.

13. Pingali Suranna wrote Raghavapan-daviyam and Prabhavari Padyumna.

14. Ramabhadra wrote Sakaramatasara Sangraham.

15. Ramaraja Bhusan wrote Narasabhu- paliyan and Harischandra Nalopa- khyanam.

16. Achyuta Raya Patronised Rajanatha and the poetess Tirumalambadevi who wrote Vardambika Parinayam.

17. Ramaraya patronized Ramayama- tya, an authority on music. Tirumala commented on Jayadeva's Gitagovinda, Vaishnavite Saint Poetess Molla wrote Mollaramayana in the time of Tirumala. Bhattamurthi, a scholar wrote Vasucharita in times of Tirumala.

18. Dikshitar wrote a commentary on the Vedas and explained Advaita Philosophy Vemana wrote Vemanasatakas, moralist literature in Telugu.

19. Elugandi Peddana translated Leelavati, a maths book into Telugu.

Works in Kannada:

1. Narahari (Kumaravalmiki) composed a popular version of Ramayana called Torve Ramayan.

2. Kumaravyas composed Mahabharta in Kannada.

3. Vithalnath translated Bhagwat Purana into Kannada.

4. Vaishnav Saints Purandhardas, Kanakdas and Sripathraja contributed to through Bhakti songs and Kirthans. Bhimakavi wrote Purana

5. wrote Prabhulinglai.

6. Virupaksha Pandit wrote Chennabasva Purana.

Art under Vijaynagar Empire

1. Music: Vijayanagar period is known for origin of under Purandhar Dasperiod known for origin of Rudraveens.

2. Dance: was promoted. Drama was a popular dance drama closely associated with temple walls.

3. Paintings: Themes of Ramayana and Tlahabharta on temple walls.

4. Sculpture: Largest number of portrait sculptures in this period. Portrait sculpture of Krishnadeva Raya and his queens is seen at Tirumala.

In the above ‘Cultural History of Vijayanagar’ deals with the cultural glorious epoch of Vjaynagar Empire. The kings of this empire were great patrons of music, literature and architecture which can see even today also. For example- Someshwar, Vidyashankara, Narasimhaswamy etc.

The Vijayanagara Empire, an important South Indian empire was founded by Harihara Raya I and his brother Bukka Raya I. The capital of the empire was Vijayanagara, present days Hampi in . The empire ruled from 1336 AD to 1646 AD although the power of the empire declined after the Battle of Talikota in 1565 AD.

Mughal Empire

The significance of Babur’s advent into India are as follows −

Geo-strategic Significance

 Kabul and Qandhar had always acted as staging places for an invasion in India, Babur’s advent made Kabul and Qandhar the integral parts of an empire comprising north India.  Babur and his successors strengthen the India security from an external invasion, which were persistent from the last 200 years.

Economic Significance

 Geographically Kabul and Qandhar positioned in the trade route; therefore, the control of these two regions strengthened India's foreign trade.  Babar attempted to re-establish the prestige of the Crown, which had been eroded after the death of Firuz Tughlaq.

Zahir al-Din Muhammad (Babur)

 Babur born on 14 February 1483 at Andijan in Mughalistan (present day Uzbekistan).  Babur had the prestige of being a descendant of two of the most legendary warriors of Asia namely Changez, and Timur.  Babur groomed himself to his begs by his personal qualities. He was always prepared to share the hardships with his soldiers.  Babur was fond of wine and good company and was a good and cheerful companion. At the same time, he was a strict disciplinarian and a hard taskmaster.

 Babur took good care of his army and other employees, and was prepared to excuse many of their faults as long as they were not disloyal.  Though Babur was an orthodox Sunni, but he was not prejudiced or led by the religious divines. Once, there was a bitter sectarian conflict between the Shias and the Sunnis in Iran and Turan; however, in such a condition, Babur’s court was free from theological and sectarian conflicts.  Though Babur declared the battle against a jihad and assumed the title of ‘ghazi’ after the victory, but the reasons were noticeably political.

 Babur was master of Persian and Arabic languages, and is regarded as one of the most famous writers in the Turkish language (which was his mother tongue).  Babur’s famous memoirs, the Tuzuk-i-Baburi is considered as one of the classics of world literature. His other popular works are masnavi and the Turkish translation of a well-known Sufi work.  Babur was a keen naturalist, as he described the flora and fauna of India in considerable details.  Babur introduced a new concept of the state, which was to be based on −  The strength and prestige of the Crown;  The absence of religious and sectarian bigotry; and  The careful fostering of culture and the fine arts.  Babur, with all these three features (discussed above), provided a precedent and a direction for his successors.

Nasiruddin Muhammad (Humayun)

 Throughout the reign period (1530-1556), Humayn had faced many adverse conditions; however, he did not lose his patience rather fought with courage.

 Born on 17 March 1508, Humayun succeeded Babur (his father) in December 1530 at the young age of 23.

 Babur, because of his pre-matured death, could not consolidate his empire; therefore, Humayun, when became the ruler, he had to struggle with various problems.

Major Problems

 Major problems (left behind by Babur) were −  The administration systems of were weak and the finances were unjustifiable.  The Afghans had not been subdued entirely; hence, they were cultivating the hope of expelling the Mughals from India.  When Humayun ascended the throne at Agra, the Mughal Empire included Kabul and Qandhar; however, there was loose control over Badakhshan (beyond the Hindukush Mountains).  Kabul and Qandhar were under the charge of Kamran, Humayun's younger brother. Kamran was not satisfied with these poverty-stricken areas therefore, he marched towards Lahore and Multan, and occupied them.  Humayun, who was busy elsewhere, reluctantly accepted his brother’s autocratic act, as he was not interested in starting a civil war. However, Kamran accepted the suzerainty of Humayun, and promised to help him whenever it required.  The swiftly growing powers of Afghans in the east and Bahadur Shah (ruler of Gujarat) in the west were becoming problems that Humayun had to suppress.  The Afghans had conquered Bihar and overrun Jaunpur in eastern , but in 1532, Humayun had defeated the Afghan forces.

 After defeating the Afghans, Humayun besieged Chunar (from the Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri).  Chunar was the powerful fort that commanded the land and the river route resting between Agra and the east; Chunar was popular as the gateway of eastern India.  After losing , Sher Shah Suri (also known as Sher Khan) persuaded Humayun to get permission to retain possession of the fort and he promised to be loyal to the Mughals. Sher Shah also sent one of his sons to Humayun court as a hostage. Humayun was in haste to return back to Agra; therefore, he accepted Sher Shah’s offer.  Bahadur Shah of Gujarat who was of the same age of Humayun had strengthened himself enough to threaten him (Humayun) in the north.  Ascending the throne in 1526, Bahadur Shah had overrun and conquered Malwa and then moved towards Rajasthan and besieged Chittor and soon abridged the Rajput defenders to sore straits.  According to some legends, Rani Karnavati (the widow of Rana Sanga), sent a rakhi (a thread that normally sister gives her brother and in return brother promises to protect her) to Humayun seeking his help and Humayun courteously responded.  Because of the fear of Mughal intervention, Bahadur Shah made an agreement with the Rana Sanga and left the fort in his (Rana Sanga’s) hands; however, he (Bahadur Shah) extracted a large indemnity in cash and kind.  Humayun spent one and half years of his time in building a new city nearby Delhi, and he named it as Dinpanah.  The buildings of Dinpanah were built to impress friends and foes alike. Another intention was, Dinpanah could also serve as a second capital, in case, Agra was threatened by the Gujarat ruler Bahadur Shah (who already had conquered Ajmer and overrun eastern Rajasthan.  Bahadur Shah invested Chittoor and simultaneously, he supplied arms and men to Tatar Khan (Tatar Khan was a cousin of Ibrahim Lodi), to invade Agra with a force of 40,000 men.  Humayun easily defeated Tatar Khan. The Afghan forces run away, as the Mughal forces arrived. Tatar Khan was defeated, and he was killed.  After defeating Tatar Khan, Humayun now invaded Malwa. He advanced forward slowly and cautiously, and covered a position midway between Chittoor and Mandu. Likewise, Humayun cut off Bahadur Shah from Malwa.  Bahadur Shah swiftly compelled Chittoor to surrender. It became possible because Bahadur Shah had fine artillery, which was commanded by Rumi Khan, an Ottoman master gunner.  Bahadur Shah did not dare to fight with the Mughals and he left his fortified camp and escaped to Mandu to Champaner, then to Ahmadabad and finally to Kathiawar. Thus the rich provinces of Malwa and Gujarat, as well as the huge treasure boarded by the Gujarat rulers at Mandu and Champaner, came into the hands of Humayun.  The fear of Bahadur Shah’s attack (on Mughal Empire) was gone with his death, as he died while fighting with the Portuguese.

Sher Shah’s Upsurge

 Humayun’s absence from Agra (between February 1535 and February 1537), gave an opportunity to Sher Shah to strengthened his power and position.  Though superficially, Sher Khan continued to acknowledge loyalty to the Mughals, but steadily he planned to expel the Mughals from India.  Sher Khan was in close touch with Bahadur Shah, as he (Bahadur Shah) had helped him with heavy subsidies, which enabled him to recruit and maintain a large and competent army including 1,200 elephants.  After equipping a new army, Humayun attacked Sher Khan and captured Chunar and then he invaded Bengal for the second time, and seized Gaur (the capital of Bengal).  After the victory of Gaur, Sher Khan sent a proposal to Humayun that he would surrender Bihar and pay an annual tribute of ten lakhs of dinars if he was allowed to retain Bengal. However, Humayun was not in a mood to leave Bengal to Sher Khan.  Bengal was the land of gold, rich in manufactures, and a center for foreign trade. Secondly, the ruler of Bengal who had reached Humayun's camp in a wounded condition, informed that resistance to Sher Khan was still continued.  By observing underneath suspicious intention of Sher Shah, Humayun rejected Sher Khan's proposal and decided a campaign to Bengal. Soon after, the Bengal ruler submitted to his wounds; therefore, Humayun had to undertake the Bengal campaign all alone.  Bengal campaign of Humayun was not much beneficial, but rather was the prelude to the disaster, which overtook his army at Chausa after a year.  Sher Shah had left Bengal and went south Bihar. With a master plan, he let Humayun campaign Bengal so that he might disrupt Humayun's communications with Agra and bottle him up in Bengal.  Arriving at Gaur, Humayun swiftly took steps to establish law and order. But this did not solve any of his problems. On the other hand, Humayun’s situation was further made worse by his younger brother, Handal, as he attempted to crown himself of Agra. However, because of Sher Khan's master plans, Humayun was totally cut off from all news and supplies from Agra.

Humayun’s Difficulties

 After a stay of three to four months at Gaur, Humayun planned back to Agra, leaving a small garrison behind. In spite of having a series of problems such as the rainy season, discontent in the nobility, and the constant harrying attacks of the Afghans, Humayun managed to get his army back to Chausa near Buxar, without any serious loss.  As Kamran heard about Hindal’s act, he left Lahore to suppress Hindal’s rebellion at Agra. But Kamran, though not disloyal, made no attempt to send any help to Humayun.  Deceived by an offer of peace from Sher Shah, Humayun crossed to the eastern bank of the Karmnasa River and gave full opportunity to the Afghan horsemen encamped there. It was the great mistake of Humayun that reflected not only a bad political sense, but also a bad generalship as well.  Sher Shah’s forces attacked on Humayun surreptitiously; however, Humayun, somehow managed to escape from the battle field. He swam across the river with the help of a water-carrier. Sher Shah robbed Humayun’s treasures. In this war, about 7,000 Mughal soldiers and many prominent nobles were killed.

 After the defeat at Chausa in March 1539, only the fullest unity among the Timurid princes and the nobles could have saved Humayun.  Kamran had a battle-hardened force of 10,000 Mughals under his command at Agra. But he had not come forward to help Humayun, probably, he had lost confidence in Humayun's leadership. On the other hand, Humayun was not ready to assign the command of the armies to Kamran, as he could misuse it to store power for himself. The confusions between the two brothers grew till Kamran decided to return back to Lahore with his army.  The army hastily assembled by Humayun at Agra was no match against Sher Shah. However, in May 1540, the battle of Kanauj was bitterly contested. Both the younger brothers of Humayun namely Askari and Hindal, fought courageously, but to no avail.  The battle of Kanauj taken away Humayun’s empire and he became a prince without a kingdom; Kabul and Qandhar remaining under Kamran. Sher Shah, now became the sole powerful ruler of north India.  Humayun kept wandering in Sindh and its neighboring countries for the next two and a half years, planning various schemes to regain his kingdom. But hardly anyone was ready to help him. Surprisingly, his own brothers were against him, and even had tried to kill or imprison him. Nevertheless, Humayun faced all these trials and tribulations with great fortitude and courage. The downfall period of Humayun reflected the best part of his character.  While wondering in search of shelter, Humayun reached at the court of the Iranian king. In 1545, with the help of Iranian king, Humayun recaptured Qandhar and Kabul.

Reasons of Humayun’s Downfall

 The major reasons for Humayun's failure were −  Humayun’s inability to understand the nature of the Afghan power and Sher Shah’s deceptive trick.  The presence of large numbers of Afghan tribes across the north India and their nature of getting united under a capable leader (like Sher Shah).  Without getting the support of the local rulers and zamindars, the Mughals were bound to remain numerically inferior.  The differences of Humayun with his brothers, and his alleged faults of character.  Though Humayun was a competent general and politician, his two mistakes i.e. ill-conceived Bengal campaign and wrong interpretation of Sher Shah’s proposal made him lose.  Humayun's life was a romantic one, as he experienced from rich to rag and again from rag to rich.  In 1555, after the break-up of the Sher Shah’s empire, Humayun again recovered Delhi; however, he did not live long to enjoy his victory.  Humayun died because of fall from the first floor of the library building in his fort at Delhi.  The tomb of Humayun was built by the orders of Akbar (son of Humayun) and Humayun's first wife (Bega Begum). And, the tomb was designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian architect appointed by Bega Begum.

 Building of the tomb was started in 1565 (nine years after the death of Humayun) and completed in 1572. The total cost spent in the building (of tomb) was 1.5 million rupees (at the time).Founded by Sher Shah, the Sur Empire ruled India from 1540 to 1555.

Farid(Sher Shah) Sher Shah Suri ascended the throne of Delhi at the age of 67. His original name was Farid and his father was a jagirdar at Jaunpur.

 Sher Shah spent his childhood with his father and remained actively involved in the affairs of his father’s jagir. Because of this, he learned rich administrative knowledge and experience.  Sher Shah was very intelligent, as he never let any opportunity to go in vain. The defeat and death of Ibrahim Lodi and the misunderstanding in Afghan affairs let Sher Shah emerge as the most important Afghan sardars (of that time).

 Because of his smart skill set and administrative quality, Sher Shah became as the right hand of the ruler of Bihar.  After killing a tiger, the patron of Sher Shah adorned him the title of ‘Sher Khan.’  As a ruler, Sher Shah ruled the mightiest empire, which had come into existence (in north India) since the time of Muhammad bin Tughlaq.  Sher Shah’s empire was extended from Bengal to the Indus River (excluding Kashmir). In the west, he conquered Malwa, and almost the entire Rajasthan.  Maldeo, the ruler of Marwar, ascended the gaddi (kingdom) in 1532, and in a short span of time, took the control of whole of western and northern Rajasthan. He further expanded his territories during Humayun's conflict with Sher Shah.  In the course of the conflict, the Maldeo was killed after a courageous resistance. His sons, Kalyan Das and Bhim, took shelter at the court of Sher Shah.  In 1544, the Rajput and Afghan forces clashed at Samel (located between Ajmer and Jodhpur). While invading different jagirs of Rajasthan, Sher Shah had taken the great precautions; at every step, he would throw up entrenchments to guard against a surprise attack.  After the battle of Samel, Sher Shah besieged and conquered Ajmer and Jodhpur, forced Maldeo into the desert.  Merely in 10 months of ruling period, Sher Shah overran almost the entire Rajasthan. His last campaign was against Kalmjar; it was a strong fort and the key to Bundelkhand.  During the Kalmjar campaign (1545), a gun burst and severely injured Sher Shah; the incident took, Sher Shah’s life.  Sher Shah was succeeded by Islam Shah (his second son), who ruled till 1553.

 Islam Shah was a competent ruler and general, but most of his energies were lost in controlling the rebels raised by his brothers. Besides, rebels of tribal feuds also pulled Islam Shah’s attention.  Islam Shah’s death (November 1554) led to a civil war among his successors. The civil war created a vacuum that ultimately provided an opportunity to Humayun to recover empire of India.  In 1555, Humayun defeated the Afghans, and recovered Delhi and Agra.

Sher Shah’s Work

 Sher Shah was one of the most distinguished rulers of north India who had done a number of developmental works (along with well-planned administrative works). His works can be studied under the following heads −

Administrative Works

 Sher Shah re-established law and order across the length and breadth of his empire.  Sher Shah placed considerable emphasis on justice, as he used to say, "Justice is the most excellent of religious rites, and it is approved alike by the king of infidels and of the faithful".  Sher Shah did not spare oppressors whether they were high nobles, men of his own tribe or near relations.  Qazis were appointed at different places for justice, but as before, the village panchayats and zamindars also dealt with civil and criminal cases at the local level.  Sher Shah dealt strictly with robbers and dacoits.  Sher Shah was very strict with zamindars who refused to pay land revenue or disobeyed the orders of the government.

Economic and Development Works

 Sher Shah paid great attention for the promotion of trade and commerce and also the improvement of communications in his kingdom.  He reinstated the old imperial road known as the Grand Trunk Road, from the river Indus in the west to Sonargaon in Bengal.  He also built a road from Agra to Jodhpur and Chittoor, noticeably linking up with the road to the Gujarat seaports.  He built a separate road from Lahore to Multan. At that time, Multan was one of the central points for the caravans going to West and Central Asia.  For the convenience of travelers, Sher Shah built a number of sarai at a distance of every two kos (about eight km) on all the major roads.  The sarai was a fortified lodging or inn where travelers could pass the night and also keep their goods in safe custody.  Facility of separate lodgings for Hindus and Muslims were provided in the sarai. Brahmanas were appointed for providing bed and food to the Hindu travelers, and grains for their horses.  Abbas Khan Sarwani (who had written ‘Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi’ or history of Sher Shah) says, "It was a rule in the sarai that whoever entered there, received

provision suitable to his rank, and food and litter for his cattle, from the government."  Sher Shah also made efforts to settle down villages around the sarai, and the land was set apart in these villages for the expenses of the sarai.  Sher Shah built about 1,700 sarai; some of them are still existing, which reflect how strong these sarai were.  Over a period of time, many of the sarai developed into qasbas (market-towns) where peasants flocked to sell their produce.  Sher Shah’s roads and sarai have been called as "the arteries of the empire." These development works strengthened and fasten the trade and commerce in the country.  In Sher Shah’s entire empire, customs duty was paid only at two places: the goods produced in Bengal or imported from outside paid customs duty at the border of Bengal and Bihar at Sikrigali and goods coming, from West and Central Asia paid custom duty at the Indus. No one was allowed to levy custom duty at roads, ferries, or town. The duty was paid a second time at the time of sale.  Sher Shah instructed his governors to compel the people to treat merchants and travelers well and not to harm them in any way.  If a merchant died, no one to seize his goods.  Sher Shah enjoined the dictum of Shaikh Nizami i.e. "If a merchant should die in your country it is a perfidy to lay hands on his property."  Depending on the territoriality, Sher Shah made the local village headmen and zamindars responsible for any loss that the merchant suffered on the roads.  If the goods of a merchant were stolen, the headmen and/or the zamindars had to produce them, or to trace the haunts of the thieves or highway robbers, failing which they had to undergo the punishment meant for the thieves and robbers.  Though it sounds barbarous (to make innocent responsible), but the same law (discussed in the immediate above point) was applied in cases of murders on the roads.  Abbas Sarwani explained Sher Shah’s law and order in the picturesque language i.e. "a decrepit old woman might place a basketful of gold ornaments on her head and go on a journey, and no thief or robber would come near her for fear of the punishment which Sher Shah inflicted."  Sher Shah’s currency reforms also promoted the growth of commerce and handicrafts.  For the trade and commerce purpose, Sher Shah made an attempt to fix standard weights and measures across his empire.

Administrative Division

 A number of villages comprised a pargana. The pargana was under the charge of the shiqdar, who looked after law and order and general administration, and the munsif or amil looked after the collection of Land revenue.  Above the pargana, there was the shiq or sarkar under the charge of the shiqdar-i-shiqdran and a munsif-i-munsifan.  Accounts were maintained both in the Persian and the local languages (Hindavi).

 Sher Shah apparently continued the central machinery of administration, which had been developed during the Sultanate period. Most likely, Sher Shah did not favor leaving too much authority in the hands of ministers.  Sher Shah worked exceptionally hard, devoting himself to the affairs of the state from early morning to late at night. He also toured the country regularly to know the condition of the people.  Sher Shah's excessive centralization of authority, in his hands, has later become a source of weakness, and its harmful effects became apparent when a masterful sovereign (like him) ceased to sit on the throne.  The produce of land was no longer to be based on the guess work, or by dividing the crops in the fields, or on the threshing floor rather Sher Shah insisted on measurement of the sown land.  Schedule of rates (called ray) was drawn up, laying down the state's share of the different types of crops. This could then be converted into cash on the basis of the prevailing market rates in different areas. Normally, the share of the state was one-third of the produce.  Sher Shah’s measurement system let peasants to know how much they had to pay to the state only after sowing the crops.  The extent of area sown, the type of crops cultivated, and the amount each peasant had to pay was written down on a paper called patta and each peasant was informed of it.  No one was permitted to charge from the peasants anything extra. The rates which the members of the measuring party were to get for their work were laid down.  In order to guard against famine and other natural calamities, a cess at the rate of two and half seers per bigha was also levied.  Sher Shah was very solicitous for the welfare of the peasantry, as he used to say, "The cultivators are blameless, they submit to those in power, and if I oppress them they will abandon their villages, and the country will be ruined and deserted, and it will be a long time before it again becomes prosperous".  Sher Shah developed a strong army in order to administer his vast empire. He dispensed with tribal levies under tribal chiefs, and recruited soldiers directly after verifying their character.  The strength of Sher Shah's personal army was recorded as −  150,000 cavalry;  25,000 infantry armed with matchlocks or bows;  5,000 elephants; and  A park of artillery.  Sher Shah set up cantonments in different parts of his empire; besides, a strong garrison was posted in each of them.  Sher Shah also developed a new city on the bank of the River near Delhi. The sole survivor of this city is the Old Fort (Purana Qila) and the fine mosque within it.  One of the finest nobles, Malik Muhammad Jaisi (who had written Padmavat in Hindi) was the patron of Sher Shah’s reign.

Religious View

 Sher Shah did not, however, initiate any new liberal policies. Jizyahcontinued to be collected from the Hindus.

 Sher Shah’s nobility was drawn exclusively from the Afghans.

Jalal-Ud-Din Muhammad(Akbar)  In 1542, Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal rulers, was born at Amarkot.  When Humayun fled to Iran, Kamran (brother of Humayun) captured young Akbar. Kamran treated the child well; however, Akbar was re-united with his parents after the capture of Qandhar.  When Humayun died, Akbar was in Punjab, commanding operations against the Afghan rebels.  In 1556, Akbar was crowned at Kalanaur at the age of merely thirteen years and four months.

 When Akbar succeeded, the Afghans were still strong beyond Agra, and were reorganizing their forces under the leadership of Hemu.  Kabul had been attacked and besieged. Sikandar Sur, the defeated Afghan ruler, was forced to loiter in the Siwalik Hills.  Bairam Khan, the tutor of the prince Akbar and a loyal and favorite officer of Humayun, became the wakil (advocate) of the kingdom and received the title of ‘khan.i.khanan;’ . He united the Mughal forces.  The threat from Hemu was considered the most serious for Akbar. Further, the area from Chunar to the border of Bengal was under the domination of Adil Shah, a nephew of Sher Shah.  During Islam Shah’s reign, Hemu had started his career as a superintendent of the market, but soon promoted under Adil Shah. Surprisingly, Hemu had not lost a single one of the twenty-two battles in which he had fought.  Adil Shah had appointed Hemu as wazir, gave the title of ‘Vikramajit,’ and entrusted him with the task to expel the Mughals.

Second Battle of Panipat

 Hemu first seized Agra, and with an army of 50,000 cavalry, 500 elephants and a strong park of artillery marched towards Delhi.  In a well-contested battle, Hemu defeated the Mughals near Delhi and captured the city. But Bairam Khan took an energetic and smart step to meet the critical situation. Bairam Khan strengthened his army marched towards Delhi before Hemu could have time to consolidate his position again.

 On 5 November, 1556, the battle between the Mughals (led by Bairam Khan) and the Afghan forces (led by Hemu), took place once again at Panipat.

 Though Hemu’s artillery had been captured by a Mughal force, the tide of battle was in favor of Hemu. Meanwhile, an arrow hit in the eye of Hemu and he fainted. Hemu was arrested and executed. Akbar had virtually reconquered his empire.

 Since Akbar held the throne at his teen age; he had been supported by a group of nobles.

Bairam Khan’s Conquest  Bairam Khan remained at the helm of affairs of the Mughal Empire for almost next four years and during this period, he kept the nobility fully under control.

 The territories of the Mughal Empire were extended from Kabul (in the north) to Jaunpur (in the east) and Ajmer (in the west).

 Mughal forces captured Gwalior and vigorous efforts were made to conquer Ranthambhor and Malwa.

Bairam Khan’s Downfall

 Over a period of time, Akbar was approaching the age of maturity. On the other hand, Bairam Khan became arrogant and had offended many powerful persons and nobles of Mughal court (as he held supreme power). Many of the nobles complained to Akbar that Bairam Khan was a Shia, and that he was appointing his own supporters and Shias to high offices, while neglecting the old nobles.  The charges against Bairam Khan were not much serious in themselves, but he (Bairam Khan) became egoistical, and hence failed to realize that Akbar was growing up. In fact, there was friction on a petty matter, which made Akbar realize that he could not leave the state affairs in someone else's hands for any more.  To control Bairam Khan, Akbar played his cards cleverly. He left Agra on the pretext of hunting, and came Delhi. From Delhi, Akbar issued a farman(summon) dismissed Bairam Khan from his office, and ordered all the nobles to come and submit to him personally.  The farman made Bairam Khan realize that Akbar wanted to take power in his own hands; so, he was prepared to submit, but his opponents were keen to ruin him. They heaped humiliation upon him until he was goaded to rebel.

 The rebellion distracted the empire for almost six months. Finally, Bairam Khan was forced to submit in Akbar’s court; Akbar received him cordially, and gave him the option of serving at the court (anywhere), or retiring to .  Bairam Khan chose to retire to Mecca. On his way to Mecca, he was assassinated at Patan near Ahmadabad by an Afghan who bore him a personal grudge.  Bairam Khan's wife and a young child were brought to Akbar at Agra. Akbar married Bairam Khan's widow (who was also his cousin), and brought up the child as his own son.  Bairam Khan’s child later became popular as Abdur Rahim Khan-i- Khanan and held some of the most significant offices and commands in the Mughal Empire.  During Bairam Khan's rebellion, some groups and individuals in the nobility became politically active. The group included Akbar's foster-mother, Maham Anaga, and her relatives. However, Maham Anaga soon withdrew from politics.  Maham Anaga’s son, Adham Khan, was an impetuous young man. He assumed independent airs when he had been sent to command an expedition against Malwa. He claimed the post of the wazir, and when this was not accepted, he stabbed the acting wazir in his office. His tyrannical act enraged Akbar. In 1561, Adham Khan had been thrown down from the parapet of the fort and he died.  Much before Akbar’s maturity and establishing his full authority, the Uzbeks formed a powerful group. They held important positions in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Malwa.  Between the period of 1561 and 1567, the Uzbeks rebelled many times, forced Akbar to take the field against them. Every time Akbar was induced to pardon them. However, 1565 rebel exasperated Akbar at such a level that he vowed to make Jaunpur his capital till he had rooted them out.  Encouraged by Uzbeks’ rebellions, Akbar's half-brother, Mirza Hakim, who had seized control of Kabul, advanced into Punjab, and besieged Lahore. As a result of this, the Uzbek rebels formally proclaimed him as their ruler.  Mirza Hamim’s attack was the most serious crisis Akbar had to face since Hemu's . However, Akbar's bravery and a certain amount of luck enabled him to triumph.

 From Jaunpur, Akbar directly moved to Lahore, forced Mirza Hakim to retire. Meanwhile, the rebellion of the Mirza’s was crushed, the Mirzas fled to Malwa and thence to Gujarat.  In 1567, Akbar returned back to Jaunpur from Lahore. Crossing the river Yamuna nearby Allahabad (at the peak of the rainy season), Akbar surprised the rebels led by the Uzbek nobles and completely routed them out.  The Uzbek leaders were killed in the battle; likewise, their protracted rebellion came to an end.

Kingdom of Malwa

 During Akbar’s initial period, Malwa was being ruled by a young prince, Baz Bahadur. Baz Bahadur’s accomplishments were a mastery of music and poetry. Besides, the romantic story of Baz Bahadur and Rani Rupmati is also very famous. Rani Rupmati is known in history because of her beauty.  Because of Baz Bahadur’s interest in music and poetry, Mandu (Baz Bahadur’s capital) had become a celebrated center for music. The army, however, had been neglected by Baz Bahadur.

 In March 1561, the expedition against Malwa was led by Adham Khan, son of Akbar's foster-mother, Maham Anaga. Baz Bahadur was badly defeated (in the battle of Sarangpur) and the Mughals took valuable assets, including Rupmati. However, she refused to go with Adham Khan and preferred to commit suicide.

 After defeating Malwa, Adham Khan ruled with cruelties, because of this, there was a reaction against the Mughals, which supported Baz Bahadur to recover Malwa.

 In 1562, Akbar sent another expedition to Malwa (led by Abdullah Khan). Baz Bahadur defeated again and he had to flee west. He took shelter with the Rana of .

 After wandering about from one area to another, Baz Bahadur, finally approached to Akbar's court and was enrolled as a Mughal mansabdar. Likewise, the extensive territory of Malwa came under Mughal rule.

Kingdom of Garh-Katanga

 In 1564, Mughal arms (led by Asaf Khan) overran the kingdom of Garh-Katanga. The kingdom of Garh-Katanga included the Narmada valley and the northern portions of present Madhya Pradesh.  The kingdom of Garh-Katanga consisted of a number of Gond and Rajput principalities.  In 1542, Aman Das (also known as Sangram Shah), ruler of Garh-Katanga married his eldest son Dalpati Shah with Rani Durgawati (daughter of famous Rajput Chandel Emperor Keerat Rai of Mahoba) and strengthened his position.

 Dalpati Shah died soon after his marriage and the princess Durgavati became a widow. But she made her minor son king and ruled with great courage.  Princess Durgavati was a good markswoman with both guns and bow & arrow. She fought many successful battles against her neighbors, including Baz Bahadur of Malwa.  Asaf Khan, the Mughal governor of Allahabad moved towards Garh-Katanga with 10,000 . Some of the semi-independent rulers of -Katanga found it an opportune moment to throw off the Gond supremacy.  The Rani Durgavati was not supported by her nobles rather left with a small force. She fought bravely but defeated. Once finding that she lost the battle and was in danger of being captured, she stabbed herself to death.  Over a period of time, Asaf Khan also became despotic; however, when Akbar had dealt with the rebellion of the Uzbek nobles, he forced Asaf Khan to expel his illegal games.  Akbar restored the kingdom of Garh-Katanga to Chandra Shah, the younger son of Sangram Shah and took ten forts to round off the kingdom of Malwa.

Gujarat Expedition

 In 1572, after defeating Rajputs (namely Chittoor, Ranthambhor, Jodhpur, etc.), Akbar advanced towards Ahmadabad via Ajmer; however, Ahmadabad surrendered without a fight.  After Rajasthan expedition, Akbar turned his attention towards the Mirzas who held Broach, Baroda, and (regions of Gujarat).

 During the Gujarat expedition, Akbar saw the sea for the first time at Cambay, he rode on it in a boat.  In 1573, when Akbar returned back, after defeating Gujarat, a fresh rebel broke out all over Gujarat. Immediately after hearing the news, Akbar moved out of Agra and traversed across Rajasthan in merely nine days.  On the eleventh day, Akbar reached Ahmadabad. In this journey, which normally took six weeks, only 3,000 soldiers were accompanied with Akbar. But with only 3,000 soldiers, Akbar overcame the 20,000 rebellions.  In 1576, Akbar defeated Daud Khan (the Afghan ruler) in Bihar and executed him on the spot. Likewise, ended the last Afghan kingdom from northern India.

Akbar’s Administrative System

 Though Akbar adopted Sher Shah’s administrative system, he did not find it that much beneficial hence he had started his own administrative system.  In 1573, just after returning from Gujarat expedition, Akbar paid personal attention to the land revenue system. Officials called as ‘karoris’ were appointed throughout the north India. Karoris were responsible for the collection of a crore of dams (i.e. Rs. 250,000).  In 1580, Akbar instituted a new system called the dahsala; under this system, the average produce of different crops along with the average prices prevailing over the last ten (dah) years were calculated. However, the state demand was stated in cash. This was done by converting the state share into money on the basis of a schedule of average prices over the past ten years.  Akbar introduced a new land measurement system (known as the zabtisystem) covering from Lahore to Allahabad, including Malwa and Gujarat.  Under the zabti system, the shown area was measured by means of the bamboos attached with iron rings.  The zabti system, originally, is associated with Raja Todar Mal (one of the nobles of Akbar), therefore, sometimes, it is called as Todar Mal's bandobast.  Todar Mal was a brilliant revenue officer of his time. He first served on Sher Shah’s court, but later joined Akbar.  Besides zabti system, a number of other systems of assessment were also introduced by Akbar. The most common and, perhaps the oldest one was ‘batai’ or ‘ghalla-bakshi.’

 Under batai system, the produce was divided between the peasants and the state in a fixed proportion.  The peasants were allowed to choose between zabti and batai under certain conditions. However, such a choice was given when the crops had been ruined by natural calamity.  Under batai system, the peasants were given the choice of paying in cash or in kind, though the state preferred cash.  In the case of crops such as cotton, indigo, oil-seeds, sugarcane, etc., the state demand was customarily in cash. Therefore, these crops were called as cash- crops.  The third type of system, which was widely used (particularly in Bengal) in Akbar's time was nasaq.  Most likely (but not confirmed), under the nasaq system, a rough calculation was made on the basis of the past revenue receipts paid by the peasants. This system required no actual measurement, however, the area was ascertained from the records.  The land which remained under cultivation almost every year was called ‘polaj.’  When the land left uncultivated, it was called ‘parati’ (fallow). Cess on Parati land was at the full (polaj) rate when it was cultivated.  The land which had been fallow for two to three years was called ‘chachar,’ and if longer than that, it was known as ‘banjar.’  The land was also classified as good, middling, and bad. Though one-third of the average produce was the state demand, it varied according to the productivity of the land, the method of assessment, etc.  Akbar was deeply interested in the development and extension of cultivation; therefore, he offered taccavi (loans) to the peasants for seeds, equipment, animals, etc. Akbar made policy to recover the loans in easy installments.

Army

 Akbar organized and strengthened his army and encouraged the mansabdari system. “Mansab” is an Arabic word, which means ‘rank’ or ‘position.’  Under the mansabdari system, every officer was assigned a rank (mansab). The lowest rank was 10, and the highest was 5,000 for the nobles; however, towards

the end of the reign, it was raised to 7,000. Princes of the blood received higher mansabs.  The mansabs (ranks) were categorized as −  Zat  Sawar  The word ‘zat’ means personal. It fixed the personal status of a person, and also his salary.  The ‘sawar’ rank indicated the number of cavalrymen (sawars) a person was required to maintain.  Out of his personal pay, the mansabdar was expected to maintain a corps of elephants, camels, mules, and carts, which were necessary for the transport of the army.  The Mughal mansabdars were paid very handsomely; in fact, their salaries were probably the highest in the world at the time.  A mansabdar, holding the rank of −  100 zat, received a monthly salary of Rs. 500/month;  1,000 zat received Rs. 4,400/month;  5,000 zat received Rs. 30,000/month.  During the Mughal period, there was as such no income tax.  Apart from cavalrymen, bowmen, musketeers (bandukchi), sappers, and miners were also recruited in the contingents.

 Akbar hardly brought any changes in the organization of local government.

Akbar’s Organization of Government

 Akbar followed the system of the Subhah, the pargana, and the sarkar as his major administrative units.

Subhah was the top most administrative unit, which was further sub-divided into Sarkar. Sarkar (equivalent to district) was constituted of certain number of parganas and pargana was the collective administrative unit of a few villages.

 The chief officer of subhah was subedar.

 The chief officers of the sarkar were the faujdar and the amalguzar.  The faujdar was in-charge of law and order, and the amalguzar was responsible for the assessment and collection of the land revenue.  The territories of the empire were classified into jagir, khalsa and inam. Income from khalsa villages went directly to the royal exchequer.  The Inam lands were those property, which were given to learned and religious men.  The Jagir lands were allotted to the nobles and members of the Royal family including the queens.  The Amalguzar was assigned to exercise a general supervision over all types of lands for the purpose of imperial rules and regulations and the assessment and collection of land revenue uniformly.  Akbar reorganized the central machinery of administration on the basis of the division of power among various departments.  During the Sultanate period, the role of wazir, the chief adviser of the ruler, was very important, but Akbar reduced the responsibilities of wazir by creating separate departments.  Akbar assigned wazir as head of the revenue department. Thus, he was no longer the principal adviser to the ruler, but an expert in revenue affairs (only). However, to emphasize on wazir’s importance, Akbar generally used the title of diwan or diwan-i-ala (in preference to the title wazir).  The diwan was held responsible for all income and expenditure, and held control over khalisa, jagir and inam lands.  The head of the military department was known as the mir bakhshi. It was the mir bakhshi (and not the diwan) who was considered as the head of the nobility.  Recommendations for the appointments to mansabs or for the promotions, etc., were made to the emperor through the mir bakhshi.  The mir bakhshi was also the head of the intelligence and information agencies of the empire. Intelligence officers and news reporters (waqia-navis) were posted in all regions of the empire and their reports were presented to the emperor’s court through the mir bakhshi.  The mir saman was the third important officer of Mughal Empire. He was in- charge of the imperial household, including the supply of all the provisions and articles for the use of the inmates of the harem or the female apartments.

 The judicial department was headed by the chief qazi. This post was sometimes clubbed with that of the chief sadr who was responsible for all charitable and religious endowments.  To make himself accessible to the people as well as to the ministers, Akbar judiciously divided his time. The day started with the emperor's appearance at the jharoka of the palace where large numbers of people used to assemble daily to have a glimpse of the ruler, and to present petitions to him if required so.

Akbar’s Provinces

 In 1580, Akbar classified his empire into twelve subas (provinces) namely –

 Bengal  Lahore  Bihar  Multan  Allahabad  Kabul  Awadh  Ajmer  Agra  Malwa and  Delhi  Gujarat

 Each of these subah consisted of a governor (subadar), a diwan, a bakhshi, a sadr, a qazi, and a waqia-navis.

Akbar’s Relation with Neighbours

Relation with Rajputs

 When Humayun conquered India, for the second time, he embarked upon a deliberate and diplomatic policy to win over these elements.  Abul Fazl has written in his work as "to soothe the minds of the zamindars, he (Humayun) entered into matrimonial relations with them."  When Jamal Khan Mewati (one of the greatest zamindars of India), submitted to Humayun, he married one of his (Humayun’s) beautiful daughters and married his younger sister to Bairam Khan. Over a period of a time, Akbar also followed this policy.  Before the Akbar period, the girl once married, normally, was lost to her family, and never came back after her marriage. But, Akbar abandoned this policy. He

gave religious freedom to his Hindu wives and gave an honored place to their parents and relations in the nobility.

Relation with Amber State

 Bhara Mal, the ruler of Amber cemented the alliance (with Akbar) by marrying his younger daughter, Harka Bai, to Akbar.  Bhara Mal was given a high dignitary. His son, Bhagwan Das, rose to the rank of 5,000 and his grandson, Man Singh, to the rank of 7,000, which was accorded by Akbar to only one other noble, namely Aziz Khan Kuka (his foster- brother).  In 1572, when Akbar went on Gujarat expedition, Bhara Mal was placed as the in-charge of Agra where all the royal ladies were residing; it was a signal honor usually given only to nobles who were either relations or close confidants of the emperor.  Akbar had abolished the pilgrim-tax, and the practice of forcible conversion of prisoners of war. In 1564, Akbar also abolished the jizyah, which was (sometimes) used by the ulama to humiliate non-Muslims.

Relation with Mewar State

 Mewar was the only state which had stubbornly refused to accept Mughal suzerainty.  In 1572, Rana Pratap succeeded Rana Udai Singh to the 'gaddi' (throne) of Chittoor. Akbar sent a series of embassies to Rana Pratap asking to accept Mughal suzerainty and to do personal homage. All these embassies, including the one led by Man Singh, were courteously received by Rana Pratap. In return, Rana Pratap also sent Amar Singh (his son) with Bhagwan Das to do homage to Akbar and accept his service. But Rana never accepted or made any final agreement.  In 1576, Akbar went Ajmer, and deputed Raja Man Singh with a force of 5,000 to lead a campaign against Rana. In anticipation of this campaign, Rana had devastated the entire territory up to Chittoor so that the Mughal forces might get no food or fodder and fortified all the passes in the hills.

 The battle between Rana Pratap and Mughal force (led by Man Singh) was fought at Haldighati in June 1576.

Jahangir

Jahangir was the fourth Mughal emperor, counted amongst the greatest Indian Emperors. He ruled over India for a period of 22 years from 1605 to 1627, and was well known for his love for fine arts.

As the eldest surviving son of the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great, he was trained for succession from a young age.

He was tutored by the best teachers his father could find and was given expert training in civil and military administration. With time he grew impatient for succession and revolted against his father in 1599 but was unsuccessful.

The relations between Akbar and Jahangir became strained as a result of this revolt, and some historians suggest that Jahangir ultimately poisoned his father to death. He ascended to the throne shortly afterwards. As emperor, he proved to be an excellent administrator and his reign was marked by political stability and economic growth.

He had a profound interest in fine arts and patronized the European and Persian arts, and played a major role in the development of Mughal arts. Having inherited a rich legacy from his father, he continued with several of Akbar’s policies. Jahangir was also notorious for his vices. He was addicted to alcohol, opium, and women, and was infamous for the acts of brutality he inflicted upon the Sikhs.

Nur Jahan first married to an Iranian, Sher Afghan, and after his death (in a clash with the Mughal governor of Bengal), she married to Jahangir in 1611.

 After marrying with Nur Jahan, Jahangir appointed her father Itimaduddaula as joint diwan and later he had been promoted to chief diwan. Besides, other members of her (Nur Jahan) family also benefited.  In ten years of his service, Itimaduddaula proved his loyalty, competency, and acumen. He made a considerable influence in the affairs of the state until his death.  Asaf Khan, Nur Jahan's brother, was also a learned and deserving man. He was appointed as the ‘khan-i-saman;’ it was the

post reserved for the highly trustworthy nobles.

 Asaf Khan married his daughter with Khurram (later Shah Jahan). Khurram was favorite of Jahangir particularly after the rebellion and imprisonment of Khusrau.

 Some historians mentioned that along with her father and brother, and in alliance with Khurram, Nur Jahan formed a group or "junta," which managed Jahangir’s governance at such a level that without its support no one could approach emperor. This led to the division of the court into two groups i.e. Nur Jahan "junta" and its opponents.  Over a period of time, Nur Jahan became ambitious and tried to dominate, which resulted in a breach between her and Shah Jahan, and that this drove Shah Jahan into rebellion against his father in 1622. It was the time when Shah Jahan felt that Jahangir was completely under Nur Jahan's influence. However, some other historians are not agreed with this view.  The precise political role of Nur Jahan during that period is not clear. However, she dominated the royal household and set a new fashion based on Persian traditions.  Nur Jahan was the consistent companion of Jahangir, and even joined him in his hunting expeditions since she was a good rider and a shooter. However, Jahangir was not dependent on the "junta" or on Nur Jahan’s diplomacy.  Shah Jahan became powerful because of his personal qualities and achievements rather than the support of Nur Jahan. And, Shah Jahan had his own ambitions of which Jahangir was not unaware.  During the Mughal period, no emperor could afford or allow a noble or even a prince to become so powerful (lest he challenged his authority). Probably, it was the reason of the conflict arose between Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

Khurram(Shah Jahan) Date of Birth: January 5, 1592 Place of Birth: Lahore, Pakistan Birth Name: Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram Date of Death: January 22, 1666 Place of Death: Agra, India

Reign: January 19, 1628 to July 31, 1658

Legend Associated With His Birth

Emperor Akbar’s first wife Ruqaiya Sultan Begum was childless throughout her marriage. Though she couldn’t give birth to a royal prince or princess, she was told by a fortune teller that she would be responsible in raising a future Emperor. The prediction was such that Akbar’s favorite grandson, who would go on to become the the fifth Mughal Emperor, would be brought up by the childless Empress. So, when Jahangir’s third son was born, Akbar instinctively knew that he would be raised by his childless Empress.

Childhood

As per the prediction of the fortune teller, Shah Jahan was born on 5thJanuary 1592, to Emperor Jahangir and his second wife, Jagat Gosaini (a Rajput princess). After naming him Khurram (the joyous one), his grandfather,

Emperor Akbar took him away from his mother and handed him over to his Empress Ruqaiya Sultan Begum. Khurram, who was just six days old, started growing up under the care of Akbar and Ruqaiya Sultan Begum.

Quite naturally, young Khurram was fond of Akbar and his foster mother more than his biological parents. Ruqaiya Sultan Begum raised him with love and care and made that her top priority. In fact, Jahangir once famously said that he (Khurram) was showered with more love by Ruqaiya Sultan Begum than he or his wife ever could have. He received a traditional princely education that involved training in martial arts and cultural arts which included music and poetry.While Akbar would instill in him the different techniques of warfare and leadership, his foster mother would narrate him the importance of moral values. In 1605, post the demise of Akbar, a 13-year-old Khurram returned to his biological parents.

Engagement With Mumtaz Mahal

In 1607, the 15-year-old Khurram got engaged to Arjumand Banu Begum (Mumtaz Mahal). However, the court astrologers had predicted that the couple should not marry until 1612, for their marriage wouldn’t be pleasant otherwise. Paying heed to the astrologers, Khurram’s parents and well-wishers decided to put off his wedding with Mumtaz until 1612, making the couple wait for another five years.

Khurram’s Weddings

After he was told to wait until 1612 for his wedding with Mumtaz, Khurram went ahead with his first wedding with Kandahari Begum, a princess from Persia. He had his first child, a daughter, with her. He then married another princess before marrying Mumtaz Mahal in 1612. After having fathered two children from his first two marriages, he fathered fourteen children with his favorite wife Mumtaz. He also married two other women namely Akbarabadi Mahal and Muti Begum, but it is said that these marriages were for political reasons and the women he married for such reasons were considered more as ‘royal wives.’

Aurangzeb(Alamgir)

Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad, commonly known by the sobriquet Aurangzeb, or by his regnal title Alamgir, , was the sixth Mughal emperor. Widely considered the last effective Mughal emperor, his reign lasted for 49 years from 1658 until his death in 1707.

Aurangzeb was made the viceroy of the Deccan when he was just 18 and he went on to aid his father in expanding the empire by undertaking several military campaigns.

War of succession

Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657, and was widely reported to have died. With this news, the struggle for succession began. Aurangzeb's eldest brother, Dara Shikoh, was regarded as heir apparent, but the succession proved far from certain.

On news of the Shah Jahan's supposed death, his second son, Shah Shuja declared himself emperor in Bengal. Imperial armies sent by Dara and Shah Jahan soon restrained this effort, and Shuja retreated.

Soon after, however his youngest brother Murad Baksh, with secret promises of support from Aurangzeb, declared himself emperor in Gujarat.

Aurangzeb, ostensibly in support of Murad, marched north from Aurangabad, gathering support from nobles and generals. Following a series of victories, Aurangzeb declared that Dara had illegally usurped the throne. Shah Jahan, determined that Dara would succeed him, handed over control of the empire to Dara.

A series of bloody battles followed, with troops loyal to Aurangzeb battering Dara's armies. Aurangzeb's forces surrounded Agra. Fearing for his life, Dara departed Agra for Delhi, leaving Shah Jahan. The old emperor surrendered the Red Fort of Agra to Aurangzeb's nobles, but Aurangzeb refused any meeting with his father, declaring that Dara was his enemy.

In a sudden reversal, Aurangzeb then had Murad arrested. Murad's supporters fled to Aurangzeb.

Meanwhile Dara gathered his forces, and set up an alliance with Shuja. But the key commander of Dara's armies, the Rajput general Jai Singh, defected to Aurangzeb, along with many thousand Rajput soldiers.

Dara fled Delhi, and sought an alliance with Shuja. But Shuja pretended to drop his claim to emperor after Aurangzeb offered him the governorship of Bengal. This move had the affect of isolating Dara and causing some troops to defect to Aurangzeb.

Shuja, however, uncertain of Aurangzeb's sincerity, continued to battle Aurangzeb. His forces suffered a series of defeats at Aurangzeb's hands. At length, Shuja went into exile in Arakan (in present-day Myanmar) where he disappeared, and was presumed to be dead.

With Shuhja and Murad disposed of, and with Shah Jahan confined in Agra, Aurangzeb pursued Dara, chasing him across what is now northwest India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. After a series of battles, defeats, and retreats, Dara was betrayed by one of his generals, who arrested and bound him.

In 1659, Aurangzeb arranged a formal coronation in Delhi. He had Dara openly marched in chains back to Delhi; when Dara finally arrived, he had him executed. Legends about the cruelty of this execution abound, including stories that Aurangzeb had Dara's severed head sent to Shah Jahan.

Aurangzeb kept Shah Jahan under house arrest at the Red Fort in Agra. Legends concerning this imprisonment abound, for the fort is ironically close to Shah Jahan's great architectural masterpiece, the Taj Mahal.

Relations of Aurangzeb with the Deccani States can be categorized into four phase as  The First Phase between 1658 and 1668;

 The Second Phase between 1668 and 1681;

 The Third Phase between 1681 and 1687; and

 The Fourth Phase (between 1687 and 1707).

First Phase(1658–68)  The treaty of 1636, by which Shah Jahan had given one-third of the territories of Ahmednagar state as a bribe for withdrawing support to the Marathas, and promised that the Mughals would "never never" conquer Bijapur and Golconda, had been abandoned by Shah Jahan himself.

 In 1657-58, Golconda and Bijapur were threatened with extinction. Golconda had to pay a huge indemnity, and Bijapur had to agree to the surrender of the Nizam Shah' territories granted in 1636.

 After becoming emperor, Aurangzeb had to face two problems viz −

 The rising power of , and

 Persuading Bijapur to part with the territories ceded to it by the treaty of 1636.

 In 1657, Kalyani and Bider had been secured. Parenda was secured by bribe in 1660.

 Angered by Adil Shah's attitude of non-cooperation, Aurangzeb ordered Jai Singh to punish both Shivaji and Adil Shah.

 Jai Singh was an astute politician. He told Aurangzeb, "It would be unwise to attack both these fools at the same time".

 Jai Singh had suggested that the Maratha problem could not be solved without a forward policy in the Deccan — a conclusion to which Aurangzeb finally came 20 years later.

 The campaign for the conquest of the Deccan would be long and arduous and would need the presence of the emperor himself with large armies. But as long as Shah Jahan was alive, Aurangzeb couldn’t afford to go away on a distant campaign.

 With his limited resources, in 1665, Jai Singh's Bijapur campaign was bound to fail. The campaign recreated the united front of the Deccani states against the Mughals, for the Qutb Shah sent a large force to aid Bijapur.

 The Deccanis adopted guerilla tactics, luring Jat Singh on to Bijapur while devastating the countryside so that the Mughals could get no supplies. Jai Singh found that he had no means to assault the city, since he had not brought siege guns, and to invest the city was impossible.

 In the Deccani campaign, no additional territory was gained by Jai Singh. The disappointment of failure and the censures of Aurangzeb hastened Jai Singh's death and he died in 1667.

 In 1668, the Mughals secured the surrender of Sholapur by bribery.

Second Phase(1668–81)  During the period of 1668 to 1676, the power of Madanna and Akhanna (two brothers of Golconda) had increased. They had virtually ruled Golconda from 1672 to almost till the extinction of the state in 1687.

 The brothers had attempted to establish a policy of tripartite alliance among Golconda, Bijapur, and Shivaji. However, this policy was periodically disturbed by faction fights at the Bijapur court, and by the over-weening ambition of Shivaji.

 In 1676, Mughals attacked Bijapur and overthrown the Khawas Khan (the regent of Bijapur).

 Aurangzeb, further, invited Bahadur Khan and Diler Khan who had good relations with the Afghan faction in Bijapur was placed in command. Diler Khan persuaded the Afghan leader Bahlol Khan to join in an expedition against Golconda.

 In 1677, the failure of the Mughal-Bijapur attack was in no small measure due to the firm leadership of Madanna and Akhanna.

 In 1679-80, Diler Khan again attempted to seize Bijapur, but failed; probably, because of lack of equipment and forces to fight against the united forces of the Deccani states.

Third Phase(1681–87)  In 1681, when Aurangzeb went Deccan in pursuit of his rebel son, Prince Akbar, he first ordered his forces to fight against (the son and successor of Shivaji), meanwhile making renewed efforts to separate Bijapur and Golconda from the side of the Marathas.

 Aurangzeb’s dividing policy could not bring any beneficial result. The Marathas were the only shield against the Mughals, and the Deccani states were not prepared to throw it away.

 Failure of Aurangzeb made him anxious and he decided to force the issue. He invited Adil Shah and asked to supply a vassal to the imperial army and facilitate the Mughal army a free passage through his territory and also to supply a contingent of 5,000 to 6,000 cavalry for the war against the Marathas.

 Adil Shah, on the other hand, appealed for help from both Golconda and Sambhaji, which was promptly given. However, even the combined forces of the Deccani states could not withstand against the full strength of the Mughal army, particularly when commanded by the Mughal emperor or an energetic prince, as had been demonstrated earlier. In spite of being the presence of Emperor Aurangzeb and prince, it took 18 months to siege.

 The success of Mughals, provided replenishing justification for the earlier failure of Jai Singh (1665), and Diler Khan (1679-80).

 Following the downfall of Bijapur, a campaign against Golconda was inevitable.

 In 1685, despite stiff resistance, the Mughals had occupied Golconda. The emperor had agreed to pardon Qutb Shah in return of a huge subsidy, the ceding of some areas, and the ousting of two brothers Madanna and Akhanna.

 In 1688, Qutb Shah accepted Mughals conditions and subsequently, Madanna and Akhanna were dragged out on the streets and murdered. In spite of this acceptance, Qutb Shah could not protect his monarchy.

 Aurangzeb had triumphed but he soon found that the extinction of Bijapur and Golconda was only the beginning of his difficulties. The last and the most difficult phase of Aurangzeb's life began now.

Fourth Phase(1687–1707)  After the downfall of Bijapur and Golconda, Aurangzeb was able to concentrate all his forces against the Marathas.

 Apart from invading Burhanpur and Aurangabad, the new Maratha king, Sambhaji (son of Shivaji) had thrown a challenge to Aurangzeb by giving shelter to his rebel son, Prince Akbar.

 Sambhaji took a peculiarly passive attitude towards Prince Akbar, spending his energies in a futile war with the Sidis on the coast and with the Portuguese.

 In 1686, prince dashed into the Mughal territory, but repulsed. Discouraged, Prince Akbar escaped by sea to Iran, and sought shelter with the Iranian king.

 In 1689, Sambhaji was surprised at his secret hideout at Sangameshwar by a Mughal force. He was paraded before Aurangzeb and executed as a rebel and an infidel.

 As historians observed that this was undoubtedly a major political mistake on the part of Aurangzeb. He could have set a seal on his conquest of Bijapur and Golconda by coming to terms with the Marathas.

 By executing Sambhaji, he not only threw away this chance, but provided the Marathas a cause. In the absence of a single rallying point, the Maratha sardars were left free to plunder the Mughal territories.

 Rajaram, the younger brother of Sambhaji, was crowned as king, but he had to escape when the Mughals attacked his capital.

 Rajaram sought shelter at Jinji on the east coast and continued the fight against the Mughals from there. Likewise, Maratha resistance spread from the west to the east coast.

 Aurangzeb, after 1690, concentrated on annexing to the empire of the rich and extensive Karnataka tract.

 During the period between 1690 and 1703, Aurangzeb stubbornly refused to negotiate with the Marathas. Rajaram was besieged at Jinji, but the siege proved to be long drawn out.

 Jinji fell in 1698, but the chief prince, Rajaram, escaped. Maratha resistance grew and the Mughals suffered a number of serious reverses. The Marathas recaptured many of their forts and Rajaram also managed to come back to Satara.

 From 1700 to 1705, Aurangzeb dragged his exhausted and ailing body from the siege of one fort to another. On the other hand, floods, disease, and the Maratha rambling bands took fearful toll of the Mughal army. All these gradually lead to apathy and disaffection among the nobles and the army.

 Many of the jagirdars made secret pacts with the Marathas and agreed to pay chauth if the Marathas did not disturb their jagirs.

 In 1703, Aurangzeb opened negotiations with the Marathas. He was prepared to release Shahu (the son of Sambhaji), who had been captured at Satara along with his mother.

 Aurangzeb was prepared to grant Shivaji's swarajya to Shahu and the right of sardeshmukhi over the Deccan, thus recognizing his special position.

 Over 70 Maratha sardars actually assembled to receive Shahu. However, Aurangzeb cancelled the arrangements at the last minute, as he was uncertain about the intentions of the Maratha.

 By 1706, Aurangzeb was convinced of the futility of his effort to capture all the Maratha forts. He slowly retreated to Aurangabad while as exulting Maratha army hovered around and attacked the stragglers.

 In 1707, when Aurangzeb breathed his last at Aurangabad, he left behind an empire, which was deeply distracted, and in which all the various internal problems of the empire were coming to a head; later led to decline of the Mughal Empire.

Mansabdari System  Akbar had developed a new administrative machinery and revenue system, which were maintained by the subsequent (with minor modifications).

 The Mansabdari System, as it developed under the Mughals, was a distinctive and unique system.

 The origins of the Mansabdari system, however, can be traced back to Changez Khan. Changez Khan organized his army on a decimal basis, the lowest unit of his army was ten, and the highest ten thousand (toman) whose commander was known as ‘Khan.’

 There is, however, a controversy regarding the Mansabdari system i.e. when it started precisely. From the available evidence, it appears that this system had been initiated by Akbar (in 1577). Along with Mansabdari system, Akbar also reformed the revenue system and introduced two new concepts namely ‘Zat’ and ‘Sawar.’

 The Zat rank signified the personal status of an individual in the imperial hierarchy. Zat had fixed salary.

Classification of Mansab

 There were sixty-six grades or Mansabs from ten to ten thousand. However, ranks above five thousand were reserved for princes.

 Persons holding ranks below 500 Zat were called ‘Mansabdars;’

 Persons holding ranks somewhere between 500 and 2,500 were known as ‘Amirs:’ and

 Persons holding ranks of 2,500 and above were known as ‘Amir-i-umda’ or ‘Amir-i-azam.’

 A person with a rank of 5,000 could have under him a Mansabdar up to a rank of 500 Zat and one with a rank of 4,000 could have a Mansabdar up to a rank of 400 Zat, and so on.

 The categories, however, were not rigid; persons were generally appointed at a low mansab, but gradually (because of his skills and loyalty) promoted. A person could also be demoted if he became incompetent or disloyal (as a mark of punishment).

 All employees of these ranks were expected to maintain a stipulated quota of horses, elephants, beasts of burden (camels and mules), and carts from their own salary.

 A Mansabdar holding the rank of 5,000 Zat had to maintain 340 horses, 100 elephants, 400 camels, 100 mules, and 160 carts. Over a period of time, these were maintained centrally; however, the expenses still were taken from the salary of respective Mansabdar.

 Depending upon the quality, the horses were classified into six categories and the elephants were categorized into five categories. It was practiced because horses and elephants of high breed were greatly prized and were considered indispensable for an efficient military machine.

 For meeting the financial requirements of all levels of Mansabdars, they were paid very handsomely.

 A Mansabdar with a rank of 5,000 could get a salary of Rs. 30,000/month;

 A Mansabdar with a rank of 3,000 received Rs. 17,000/month; and

 A Mansabdar with a rank of 1,000, received Rs. 8,200/month.

 A Mansabdar was allowed to retain 5% of the total salary of the sawars in order to meet various contingent expenses. In addition to this, he (a Mansabdar) had been given two rupees for every sawar that he maintained. This amount had been given to compensate him for his efforts and the larger responsibility (integrated into this work).

 By the end of Akbar's reign, the highest rank a noble could attain was raised from 5,000 to 7,000, which had been given to Mirza Aziz Koka and Raja Man Singh.

 A number of other modifications were, however, carried out, but the Mansabdari system (as discussed above) was maintained until the end of Aurangzeb's reign.

 Depending upon the situation, Mughals also practiced to reduce salaries. For example, the average salary paid to a sawar was reduced by Jahangir.

 Jahangir also introduced a system whereby the selected nobles could be allowed to maintain a larger quota of troopers, without raising their Zatrank. The system was popular as ‘du-aspah’ (a trooper with two horses) or ‘sih- aspah’ (a trooper with three horses) system.

 The salaries of the Mansabdars were given in rupees, but over a period of time, they were normally not paid in cash, but rather by assigning them a ‘jagir.’

 Mansabdars also preferred a jagir because cash payments were likely to be delayed and sometimes even entailed a lot of harassment.

 The salaries of the Mansabdars were put on a month scale i.e. 10 months, 8 months, 6 months or even less than that. Besides, their obligations for the maintenance of a quota of sawars were also brought down accordingly.

 Most of the Marathas who were employed in the Mughal service, were assigned Mansabs on a 5 monthly basis or even less than that. Likewise, they were given a high rank in the hierarchy, but the actual number of horses and effective sawars was much lower – according to their rank (as discussed above).

 Under the Shah Jahan’s administration, the Mansabdari system worked properly, as he had paid personal and meticulous attention to administration.

Mughal Army

 The cavalry was the principal arm of the Mughal army and the ‘Mansabdars’ provided the overwhelming proportion of it. In addition to the mansabdars, the Mughal emperors had also employed individual troopers, namely ‘Ahadis.’

 The Ahadis had been more popular as gentlemen-troopers and received much higher salaries than other troopers of the same rank.

 The Ahadis were a highly trustworthy corps, and they were directly recruited by the emperors.

 An Ahadi mustered up to five horses; however, sometimes two of them shared one horse.

 The duties of Ahadis were of miscellaneous type such as clerical jobs of the imperial offices, the painters of the court, the foremen in the royal karkhanas (factories), etc.

 During the Shah Jahan’s reign, Ahadis were numbered about 7,000 and were well distributed over the different parts of the army. Many of them worked as skilled musketeers (baraq-andaz) and bowmen (tir-andaz).

 In addition to the Ahadis, the emperors had also maintained a crop of royal bodyguards (wala-shuhis) and armed palace guards. They were actually cavalrymen, but served on foot in the citadel and the palace.

 There were a large number of the footmen (piyadgan). Many of them consisted of matchlock-bearers (banduqchi). Their salaries were ranging between three and seven rupees a month.

 The foot-soldiers also included porters, servants, news-runners, swordsmen, wrestlers, and slaves.

 The Mughal emperors had a large stable of war elephants, and also a well- organized park of artillery.

 The artillery was comprised of two sections −

 Heavy guns, which were used for defending or assaulting forts; these were often clumsy and difficult to move and

 The light artillery, which was highly mobile and moved with the emperors whenever needed.

 Under the Shah Jahan reign, the Mughal army consisted of about 200,000, excluding the men working in the districts and with faujdars. However, this number increased to 240,000 during the Aurangzeb period.

Social Life under the Mughals

 The economic, social, and cultural conditions during the first half of the seventeenth century were flourishing like anything.  Ralph Fitch (a British traveler) had written about (Bihar) as, “Here the women bedecked with silver and copper that it is strange to see, they use no shoes by reason of the rings of silver and copper they wear on their toes."  The houses of the mass of the people were made up of mud (which still can be seen in many remote parts of the country).  Regarding the food, rice, millets, and pulses were the staple diet; besides, fish in Bengal and in the coastal regions, and meat in the south of the peninsula were also common.  Ghee and oil were much cheaper than the staple food grains and hence were a staple part of the poor man's food. However, salt and sugar were more expensive.  The village artisans were paid for their services by means of commodities, which were fixed by custom.  In spite of having so much prosperity, some historians also mentioned that there were inequality and disparity, especially in the villages. The peasant who did not have his own ploughs and bullocks often tilled the land of zamindars or the upper castes, and could make out a bare existence. These peasants were popular as ‘pahis.’  Whenever there was a famine (which was frequent in those days), it was the lower class Peasants and the village artisans who suffered the most. Tulsidas, the sixteenth century Hindi poet, had said (about these people) that this type of cultivation was a source of misery.  The peasants who owned the land tilled their own land were known as “Khudkasht.” These peasants had to pay their land revenue at customary rates.  It has been estimated that the population in India at the beginning of the seventeenth century was about 125 million. Hence, there was an abundance of cultivable land.  All classes of the peasants probably had more fuel at their disposal because of the abundance of forests.  During this time, a peasant cannot be dispossessed off from his land until he had been paying the land revenue. Secondly, a peasant can also sell his land. Children of a peasant had the right to inherit his father’s land (after his death).  Cities were largely comprised of the poor i.e. the artisans, the servants, and slaves, the soldiers, petty shopkeepers, etc.  The salary of the lowest grade servant (as per the record of the European travelers), was less than two rupees a month. The bulk of the menials and foot soldiers were given less than three rupees a month.  During this period, it has been calculated that a man could maintain his family and other personal requirements merely in two rupees (for a whole month).

Organization of Trade & Commerce

 The Mughals paid attention to roads and sarais, which made communication easier. A uniform tax was levied on goods at the point of their entry into the

empire. Rahdari (a transit duty, a toll) or Road ceases was declared illegal, though it continued to be collected by some of the local rajas (kings).  The Mughals introduced silver rupees of high purity, which became a standard coin in India and abroad and that helped in the growth of India's trade as well.  Mughals also made the policies that helped the commercialization of the economy and the growth of a money economy.  During the Mughals period, salaries of the standing army as well as many of the administrative personnel (excluding the nobles) were paid in cash. Besides, under the zabti system, the land revenue was assessed and required to be paid in cash.  The growth of the rural grain markets led to the rise of small townships (or qasbas). The demand for all types of luxury goods by the nobles led to the expansion of handicraft production as well as the growth of towns.  Ralph Fitch, who came India during the Akbar's reign said that Agra and Fatehpur Sikri were each larger than London.  Monserrate said that Lahore was second to none of the cities in Europe or Asia. Bernier says that Delhi was not much less than Paris and that Agra was larger than Delhi.  Ahmadabad was also a large town, being as large as London and its suburbs. Dacca, Rajmahal, Multan, and Burhanpur were large towns, while Patna in Bihar had a population of 2 lakhs.

Role of European Trading Companies

 In the beginning of seventeenth century, the arrival of Dutch and English traders also helped in the growth of India's trade.  The Indian traders welcomed the foreign traders and they helped to break the Portuguese monopoly of sea trade, and in a course of time, helped to establish a direct link between India and the European markets.  Over a period of time, like the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English traders were also intended to establish a monopoly and made fortified establishments so that they could confront the local rulers.  The Portuguese power had begun to decline during the second half of the sixteenth century, as was demonstrated by the defeat of the Spanish Armada by England in 1588.  Despite a vehement opposition by the Portuguese, in 1606, the Dutch established themselves at Machilipatnam after obtaining a farman from the ruler of Golconda. They also established themselves in the Spice-Islands (Java and Sumatra); likewise, by 1610, they predominated in the spice trade.  The cloth produced on the Coromandel Coast was the most popular and also cheapest to carry. Hence, Dutch increased their trade to south from Machilipatnam to the Coromandel Coast. They made Pulicat as their base station after taking it from the local ruler.  Like the Dutch, the English also had come to the coast for the spice trade, but the hostility of the Dutch created a hindrance.  In 1612, after defeating a Portuguese fleet out-side Surat, the English were able to set up a factory (in Surat), for which permission finally was taken by Thomas Roe in 1618 from the Mughal Emperor Jahangir.  The Dutch followed the English and soon established a factory at Surat as well.

 Export of textiles was the base of India's foreign trade. As an English writer observed, "From Aden to Achin (in Malaya) from head to foot, everyone was clothed in Indian textiles."  In 1622, with the help of the Persian forces, the English captured Ormuz, the Portuguese base at the head of the Persian Gulf.  By the first quarter of the seventeenth century, both the Dutch and the English were well set in the Indian trade, and the Portuguese monopoly was broken forever.  The Portuguese restricted to Goa and Daman and Diu only; likewise, their share in India's overseas trade declined continuously and was almost insignificant by the end of the century.  By 1640, export of cloth from the Coromandel equated with that of Gujarat; and by 1660, it was three times that of Gujarat. Machilipatnam and Fort St. David, which later developed into Madras were the chief centers of the trade.  Another item which became popular was the export of Saltpeter (chemical name Potassium nitrate), which supplemented the Europeans, as it was used in making gun-powder and was also used as a ballast for ships going to Europe.  The best quality Saltpeter was found in Bihar; therefore, exports from these areas grew rapidly; surprisingly, by the end of the century, this trade became equal (in value) to the exports from the Coromandel.  The Indian textiles became a rage in England by the last quarter of the seventeenth century. An English observer wrote, "Almost everything that used to be made of wool or silk, relating either to dress of the women or the furniture of our houses was supplied by the Indian trade."  The increasing import from India, put down the local European market; as a result of which, in 1701, an agitation had been seen in Europe. Subsequently, all calicoes painted, dyed, printed, or stained from Persia, China, or the East Indies (i.e. India) were banned. But the agitation and subsequent strict laws could not change the trade pattern effectively.  India was more closely linked to the world markets, especially to the European markets where a commercial revolution was taking place. But this linkage had negative factors as well. Europe had little to supply to India in return for its goods.

Mughals’ Cultural Developments

 The traditions in the fields of architecture, painting, literature, and music, which had been created during the Mughal period set a norm and deeply influenced the succeeding generations.

 Because of having wonderful cultural development, the Mughal period can be called as the second classical age after the Gupta age (of northern India).

 During the Mughal period, the cultural development (of India), amalgamated with the Turko-Iranian culture brought to the country by the Mughals.

Architecture

 The Mughals built magnificent forts, palaces, gates, public buildings, mosques, baohs (water tank or well), etc. Besides, they also constructed formal gardens with running water.

 Use of running water even in the palaces and in the pleasure resorts was a special feature of the Mughals.

 Babur was very fond of gardens and hence he constructed a few in the neighborhood of Agra and Lahore.

 Some of the Mughal gardens, such as the Nishat Bagh garden (in Kashmir), the Shalimar Bagh (in Lahore), the Pinjore garden (in Chandigarh) etc. can be seen even today.

 Sher Shah also had given a new stimulus to the Indian architecture. His famous mausoleum at Sasaram (Bihar) and his mosque in the old fort at Delhi are considerable examples of architectural marvels.

 Akbar was the first Mughal ruler who had the time and means to undertake construction on a large scale. He built a series of forts, the most famous of which is the fort at Agra. was built of red sandstone, which had many magnificent gates.

 In 1572, Akbar commenced a palace-comfort complex at Fatehpur Sikri (36 kilometers from Agra), which was completed in eight years.

 The climax of fort building was reached at Delhi with the construction of Lal Qila (Red Fort) by Shah Jahan.

 The Gujarat style of architecture was used most widely in the palace built probably for the Rajput wife or wives.

 Persian or Central Asian influence can be seen in the glazed blue tiles used for decoration in the walls or for tiling the roofs.

 One of the most magnificent constructions was the Buland Darwaza (Lofty Gate), which was constructed in 1576 at Fatehpur Sikri to commemorate Akbar’s victory in Gujarat.

 By the end of Jahangir’s reign, the practice of constructing buildings entirely of marble and decorating the walls with floral designs made of semi-precious stones began.

 The particular method of decoration, popular as ‘pietra dura,’ became more popular under Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan used this technique while constructing the Taj Mahal.

 The Taj Mahal is a great example of Mughals’ architecture, which brought together all the architectural forms developed by the Mughals in a very pleasing manner.  Humayun’s tomb built at Delhi (during Akbar’s reign), has a massive dome of marble; normally, it is considered as a precursor of the Taj Mahal.  The chief glory of the Taj Mahal is the massive dome and the four slender minarets linking the platform to the main building.  Mosque-building also reached its climax under Shah Jahan, the two most noteworthy mosques are −  The Moti Masjid (at the Agra fort): It is built (like the Taj Mahal) entirely of marble, and  The Jama Masjid (at Delhi): It is built of red sandstone.  The Mughal architectural traditions based on a combination of Hindu and Turko-Iranian forms along with decorative designs were continued during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.  Mughal traditions influenced the palaces and forts of many provincial and whole kingdoms.  The Golden Temple (of the Sikhs), located at Amritsar (in Punjab), was built on the arch and dome principle and incorporated many features of the Mughal traditions of architecture.

Painting

 The Mughals made a distinctive contribution in the field of painting. They introduced many new themes portraying the court, battle grounds, and the chase scenes. Besides, Mughal painters also introduced many new colors and new forms.  The Mughal painters had created a living tradition of painting, which continued to work in different parts of the country even after the disappearance of Mughal glory.

 After the eighth century, the tradition seems to have decayed, but palm-leaf manuscripts and illustrated Jain texts from the thirteenth century onwards indicated that the tradition had not died.

 Humayun had taken two master painters, into his service who accompanied him to India.

 During the Akbar’s reign, the two great painters (who came India with Humayun), organized painting in one of the imperial establishments. Besides, a large number of painters from different parts of the country were invited; many of them were from the lower castes.

 From the beginning, both Hindus and Muslims painters joined in the work. Jaswant and Dasawan both were the famous painters of Akbar's court.

 Over a period of time, the painting school developed fairly and became a celebrated center of production.

 Apart from illustrating Persian books of stories, the painters were soon assigned the task of illustrating the Persian text of the Mahabharata the historical work, Akbar Noma, and many others.

 Mughal painting was at climax under Jahangir’s period who had a very peculiar sense of paintings. During those days, it was a fashion in the Mughal School that in a single painting - the face, the body, and the feet of a person to be painted by different artists.

 Some of the historians claimed that Jahangir had the sense to distinguish the work of each artist separately in a picture.

 During Jahangir’s period, special progress was made in portrait painting and paintings of animals. Mansur was the great name in this field.

 The Rajasthan style of painting combined the themes and earlier traditions of western India or Jain school of painting with Mughal forms and styles.  In addition to hunting and court scenes, Rajasthan style of paintings also illustrated paintings on mythological themes, such as the romance of Krishna with Radha, or the Barah-masa (it is the seasons, or Ragas (melodies).

Language

 During the Mughal period, regional languages also developed due to the patronage extended to them by the local and regional rulers.  By the time of Akbar, knowledge of Persian had become so widespread in north India because Akbar dispensed with the tradition of keeping revenue records in the local language.  The tradition of keeping revenue records in the local language was also in the Deccani states till their extinction in the last quarter of the seventeenth century.

Literature

 Persian prose and poetry were at climax under Akbar's reign. Abu’l Fazl who was a great scholar and a stylist, as well as the leading historian in the Akbar’s court, set a style of prose-writing which was emulated for many generations.  Faizi (brother of Abu’l Fazl) was the leading poet of that age. Faizi also worked for the Akbar's translation department. The translation of the Mahabharata was carried out under his supervision.  Utbi and Naziri were the two other leading Persian poets. They were migrated from Iran to India and made the Mughal court one of the cultural centers of the Islamic world. Besides, Hindus also contributed to the growth of Persian literature.  Apart from literary and historical works, a number of famous dictionaries of the were also compiled in this period.

 Regional languages acquired stability and maturity, as some of the finest lyrical poetry was produced during this period.  The romance of God Krishna with Radha and the milkmaids’ pranks of the child Krishna and stories from Bhagawat Gita were largely in lyrical poetry and translated in many regional languages including Bengali, Oriya, Hindi, Rajasthani, and Gujarati.  Many devotional hymns to Rama were also composed and the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were translated into the regional languages.

 Medieval Hindi in the Brij form, that is the dialect spoken in the neighborhood of Agra, was also patronized by the Mughal emperors and Hindu rulers. From the time of Akbar, Hindi poets began to be attached to the Mughal court.

 A leading Mughal noble, Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana, produced a fine blend of Bhakti poetry with Persian ideas of life and human relations. Likewise, the Persian and the Hindi literary traditions began to influence each other.

 Tulsidas was one of the most influential Hindi poet of the medieval period who had written Ramcharitmanas. He used a dialect of Hindi, spoken in the eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh (around Banaras).

 Eknath and Tukaram developed and made the , popular. Eknath explains – “if Sanskrit was made by God, was Prakrit born of thieves and knaves? Let these erring of vanity alone. God is no partisan of tongues. To him Prakrit and Sanskrit are alike. My language Marathi is worthy of expressing the highest sentiments and is rich laden with the fruits of divine knowledge.”

 This undoubtedly expresses the sentiments of all those writing in local languages. It also shows the confidence and the status acquired by these languages. Due to the writings of the Sikh Gurus, Punjabi received a new life.

Music

 Akbar patronized Tansen (the great musician of Gwalior) who is credited with composing many new melodies (ragas).  Jahangir and Shah Jahan as well as many Mughal nobles also had given very much importance to music.  Some researchers say that Aurangzeb banished singing in his court, but not the performance of musical instruments. In fact, Aurangzeb himself was an accomplished veena (a musical instrument) player.  Music in all forms continued to be patronized by Aurangzeb's queens (in the harem) and by the nobles as well. This the reason that the largest number of books on classical Indian music (in Persian) were written during Aurangzeb's reign.

Religious Ideas and Beliefs Akbar’s Religious Policy with Special Reference to Sule Kul Akbar’s religious policy of harmony, reconciliation, and synthesis among all the religions did not develop all of a sudden.

Between 1556 and 1562, Akbar remained a staunch Sunni Muslim. He practiced the tenets of Islam as a devout Muslim—prayed five times a day, kept fast in the holy month of Ramazan and honored the Ulemas of Islam.

He never hesitated to punish the opponents of Islam. However, gradually his views changed after 1562.

According to Dr. Tara Chand, his religion was the product of the synthetic effect of the Vedanta and Sufism of the age. Akbar was deeply interested in religion and philosophy and listened very carefully not only to the arguments of the Sufi and Shia divines but also the scholars of other religions also.

He watched the good men professing different creeds and ‘Sule Kul’ i.e. reconciliation seemed to him the only solution of developing harmony and friendship among followers of different faiths. In fact some scholars equate ‘Din- i-Ilahi’ with ‘Sule-Kul’.

Akbar’s ‘Sule-Kul’ or his policy of reconciliation and liberalism in religious matters was greatly influenced by his Hindu mother, his guardian and tutor Bairam Khan and Abdul Latif respectively, his contact with philosophers and scholars like Sheikh Mubark and his sons Faizi and Abdul Fazal, his contact with Rajputs, his contact with other religions and his political ambition to expand and strengthen his empire with the cooperation of all religions.

Ibadat Khana (House of Worship):

In 1575, Akbar established Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri for the purpose of conducting religious discussions and debates for a better understanding of deep truth in religion. Akbar himself took part in these discussions. In the beginning, Mullahs only participated.

Akbar addressed the following words to those assembled for discussion: “My sole object, O. Mullahs is to ascertain truth, to find out and disclose the principles of genuine religion and to trace it to the divine origin.”

In due course, exponents of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Christianity began to be invited. All the scholars were given due respect. However with the passage of time, Akbar found that the debates in the Ibadat Khana were not helpful in leading to better understanding between different

religions, rather they created bitterness. Hence in 1582, he discontinued the debates

Development of Akbar’s religious views and measures taken (in the chronological order):

 Akbar stopped the practice of converting the prisoners of war to Islam (1562)  He abolished the pilgrimage tax (1563)  He abolished Jizya — a tax levied on Hindus (1564)  He established the Ibadat Khana or House of Worship (1575)  He issued Infallibility Decree (1579)  He founded a new religion called Din-i-Ilahi (1581)  He forbade the killing of animals on certain days (1583)

Infallibility Decree (1579):

Akbar was in favour of weakening the powers of the Ulemas/Mullahs. He wanted to combine in himself both political and spiritual powers. According to the Decree, Akbar became the supreme arbiter in civil and religious affairs. This declaration was signed by leading divines. Akbar himself began to read the Khutba (earlier read by the Imam of the Mosque) from the pulpit of a Fatehpuri Mosque.

‘Din-i-Ilahi’ or ‘Tauhid-i Ilahi:

After acquainted himself thoroughly with the principles and practises of different religions through listening to the debates and discussions of religious philosophers and scholars and watching their lives, Akbar founded a new religion in 1581 which included the virtues of other religions and he named it Din-i-Ilahi. Akbar tried to emphasise the ‘Sule Kul’ i.e. peace and harmony among religions.

Important principles of Din-i-Ilahi:

Some of the important principles of Din-i-Ilahi were:

 God is great. He is One.  Akbar is His apostle or representative.  Every adherent of this faith should be willing to give away property, life, religion and honour to the emperor.  Every member should take an oath of doing good to everybody.  No member should have blind faith.  The followers of this faith should not approve of child marriage as well as old marriage.

 All should show respect to all religions.  Whenever the followers of this faith meet, one should say: Allah- hu- Akbar (God is great) and in reply the other should say Jalla-Jallah – hu (God is beautiful and merciful).  As far as possible, the followers of this religion should not eat meat.  The followers should not sleep with minor girls.  Every member should arrange a feast at his birth day and give charity.

Membership of the Din-i-Ilahi:

The number of the followers of the Din-i-Ilahi was not large. Probably it was a few thousands only. Among the nobles, only eighteen are said to have accepted this faith. Shaikh Mubark, his two sons Faizi and Abul Fazl and Raja Birbal embraced the new faith. Akbar did not force anyone to accept Din-i-Ilahi. It was sad and unfortunate that the new faith died with Akbar’s death.

Evaluation of Din-i-Ilahi:

Critics of Din-i-Ilahi: Monuments of Akbar’s folly. Budauni regards the founding of Din-i-Ilahi as an un-Islamic act. Dr. Smith writes, “The whole scheme was the outcome of ridiculous vanity, monstrous growth of unrestrained autocracy – a monument of Akbar’s folly, not of his wisdom.” He further calls it “a silly invention”.

Admirers of Din-i-Ilahi:

According to Sharma, Din-i-Ilahi was the crowning expression of Akbar’s nationalism. Dr. Ishwari Prasad regards it very rational containing good points of all religions. Havell thinks that with the new faith Akbar won an imperishable name in Indian history.

Lane-poole has justly observed, “The broad minded sympathy which inspired such a vision of catholicity left a lasting impression upon a land of warring creeds and tribes and for a brief while created a nation where before there had been only factions”.

According to S.M. Zaffar, “The wisdom of Akbar’s assumption of the prophetic role may be called in question but the noble ideal that prompted it deserves high praise and not condemnation. To achieve the aim of unification of India and consolidation of Mughal Empire, it was necessary first to conquer and then to command sincere devotion from all and sundry by granting them the freedom of worship and the liberty of conscience. Therefore, Akbar gave up such a religious code-in essence a political document—as would commend itself to the whole population”.

The Divine Faith had far-reaching consequences. It totally changed the character of Muslim rule in India. Malleson has also felt, “Akbar’s foremost aim was the union of Hindustan under one head which was difficult to achieve had he persecuted all non-Islamic religions. To accomplish such a union it was necessary, first to conquer, Secondly, to respect all consciences, and all methods of worshipping Almighty”.

Fanatic Religious Policy of Aurangzeb:

The general view of historians is that Aurangzeb entirely reversed the policy of religious toleration followed by Akbar and it resulted in serious revolts among the Hindus.

In the words of Lane-Poole, “For the first time in their history, the Mughals beheld a rigid Muslim in their emperor—a Muslim as sternly repressible of himself as of his people around him, a king who was prepared to stake his throne for sake of his faith.

Aims of Aurangzeb’s religious policy:

It is generally accepted that Aurangzeb was a fanatic Sunni Mussalman. His chief aim was to convert Dar-ul-harb (India: the country of Kafirs or infidels) to Dar-ul-Islam (country of Islam). He was intolerant towards other faiths, especially Hindus. He was also against Shia Muslims.

Aurangzeb’s religious policy had two aspects

(i) To promote the tenets of Islam and to ensure that the people led their lives accordingly.

(ii) To adopt anti-Hindu measures.

Anti-Hindu measures

1. Demolishing temples and breaking idols:

Even as a governor of Deccan he had pulled down several temples including the important Chintamani temple of which he replaced with a mosque. He followed this practice vigorously after becoming emperor of India. In the first year of his reign, he issued orders to the governor of Orissa to demolish all temples in the province.

In the twelfth year of his rule, he ordered the demolition of all important and famous temples within his empire. Mosques were built at the sites of different temples. In Mewar alone, he is said to have demolished 240 temples. The most famous of the temples destroyed were those of Keshva (Krishan Janmabhoomi) in Mathura, Vishwanath in and Somnath in Kathiawar.

2. Reimposition of Jaziya:

Akbar had abolished this tax on the Hindus but Aurangzeb again levied this tax. According to Elliot, the object of reimposing the Jaziya or poll tax “was to curb the infidels and to distinguish the land of the faithful from an infidel land.” Manucci however, holds that the object of the tax was two-fold; first to fill up his treasury which had begun to shrink on account of expenditure on his various military campaigns; secondly to force the Hindus to embrace Islam.

General nature of anti-Hindu policy:

Haig draws the picture of the religious policy of Aurangzeb in the following words: “Aurangzeb was a bigot to whom the religion of the great majority of his subjects was anathema, mischief, idolatry, which it was his duty before heaven to persecute and if possible to stamp out. His methods were iconoclasm, sacrilege, economic repression, bribery, forced conversion and restriction of worship.

3. Discriminatory toll far:

The Hindu traders were required to pay a toll tax of 5 per cent as against half of it paid by the Muslim traders. Later on Muslim traders were totally exempted from the payment of this tax.

4. Removal of the Hindus from Government jobs:

Aurangzeb’s predecessors, especially Akbar had appointed a large number of Hindus in the various departments, but Aurangzeb followed the policy of removal of the Hindus from these jobs. The Hindus were not allowed to occupy high administrative or executive posts. A general order prohibiting the employment of the Hindus in the revenue department was passed in 1670.

But as it resulted in the complete breakdown of the efficiency, the order was slightly modified and Hindus were allowed to work on certain limited posts in the revenue department.

5. Restrictions on Hindu educational institutions:

For destroying the culture of the Hindus, Aurangzeb destroyed their several educational institutions at Varanasi, Multan and Thatta. He placed restrictions on the starting of new pathshalas. The Hindu children were disallowed to study the fundamentals of their faith. They were not allowed to attend Muslim Madaras and Maqtabs.

6. Conversion through different means:

For the Hindus the only way to escape from the payment of various taxes like pilgrim tax, trade tax, Jizya, etc. was conversion to Islam. Getting jobs after conversion also became easier. The Hindu prisoners were freed on their conversion to Islam. All sorts of promises were made to the converted.

7. Social restrictions:

Aurangzeb issued order that except Rajputs, no Hindu could ride an elephant, a horse and a palanquin. Holi and Diwali festivals were allowed to be celebrated with certain restrictions. The Hindiis could no longer put on fine clothes. The Hindus were not allowed to burn their dead on the banks of the river Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. Similar restrictions were placed at Delhi on the river Jamuna.

Results of the religious policy of Aurangzeb:

The religious fanaticism of Aurangzeb overshadowed his virtues. His reversal of Akbar’s policy of religious toleration resulted in weakening the entire structure of the Mughal empire. It led to several conflicts and wars in different parts of the country.

These conflicts were:

 Conflict with the Jats  Conflict with the Satnamos  Conflict with the Sikhs  Conflicts with the Rajput’s  Conflict with the Marathas.

All these rebellions destroyed the peace of the empire, disrupted its economy, weakened the administrative structure, diminished its military strength, led to the failure of Aurangzeb to make any impact. Ultimately all these contributed to the downfall of the Mughal enterprise.

Was Aurangzeb really anti-Hindu?

A few historians have tried to justify Aurangzeb’s religious policy. They state that this policy was the outcome of his political and economic considerations. He was an imperialist and he wanted to strengthen his hold on his subjects. Since several sections of the Hindu society which formed the majority of his subjects did not want to be ruled by him, they revolted. His Deccan campaigns against the Shia Sultans were also the outcome of his expansionist policy.

Regarding special taxes imposed upon the Hindus, it is argued that Aurangzeb was in need of money to carry out his policy of expansion. He therefore, imposed different kinds of taxes. Since Hindus were quite rich, they had to bear the burden of various taxes. But no argument is put forward by the protagonists of this view as why he took pains to demolish temples and break idols.

The following three letters written by him to his sons clearly establish the fact that he was a staunch Musalman and he wanted to promote his religion. These letters also indicate that he himself considered himself a failure as a ruler. About the letters Dr. V. Smith says that “The sternest critic of the character and deeds of Aurangzeb can hardly refuse to recognise the pathos of these lamentations or to feel some sympathy for the old man on his lonely death-bed.”

Rise of Maratha  The Marathas had important positions in the administrative and military systems of Ahmednagar and Bijapur.

 Marathas did not have any large, well-established states; however, a number of influential Maratha families, namely, the Mores, the Ghatages, the Nimbalkars, etc., exercised local authority in some areas.

 The Maratha ruler Shahji and his son, Shivaji, consolidated the Maratha kingdom. Shahji acted as the kingmaker in Ahmednagar, and defied the Mughals.

 Taking advantage of the unsettled conditions, Shahji tried to set up a semi- independent principality at Bangalore, as Mir Jumla, the leading noble of Golconda, tried to carve out such a principality on the Coromandal coast. Further, Shivaji's attempted to carve out a large principality around Poona.

Early Career of Shivaji

 Shahji had left the Poona jagir to his neglected senior wife, Jija Bai and his minor son, Shivaji.

 Shivaji was brave and intellect since his childhood. When he was merely 18 years old, he overran a number of hill forts near Poona—Rajgarh, Kondana, and Torna in the years 1645-47.

 In 1647, after the death of his guardian, Dadaji Kondadeo, Shivaji became his own master and the full control of his father's jagir came under his control.

 In 1656, Shivaji conquered Javli from the Maratha chief, Chandra Rao More and started his reigning career.

 The conquest of Javli made Shivaji the undisputed master of the Mavala region or the highlands and freed his path to the Satara region and to the coastal strip, the .

 Mavali foot-soldiers became a strong part of Shivaji’s army. With their support, Shivaji conquered a series of hill forts near Poona.

 Shivaji and the Mughals

 In 1657, the Mughal invasion of Bijapur saved Shivaji from Bijapur reprisal. Shivaji first entered into negotiations with Aurangzeb and asked him for the grant of all the Bijapuri territories he held and other areas including the port of Dabhol in the Konkan. Later Shivaji betrayed and changed his side.

 Shivaji resumed-his career of conquest at the expense of Bijapur. He burst into the Konkan, the coastal strip between the and the sea, and seized the northern part of it.

 The ruler of Bijapur sent Afzal Khan (one of the premier nobles) along with 10,000 troops. Afzal Khan had been given instructions to capture Shivaji by any possible means.

 In 1659, Afzal Khan sent an invitation to Shivaji for a personal interview, promising to get him pardoned from the Bijapuri court. Convinced that this was a trap, Shivaji went with full preparation, and murdered Afzal Khan. Shivaji captured all Afzal Khan’s property, including equipment and artillery.

 Shivaji soon became a legendary figure. His name passed from house to house and he was credited with magical powers. People flocked to him from the Maratha areas to join his army, and even Afghan mercenaries who had been previously in the service of Bijapur, joined his army.

 Aurangzeb was anxious because of the rising of the Maratha power near to the Mughal frontiers. Poona and adjacent areas, which had been parts of the

Ahmednagar kingdom had been transferred to Bijapur by the treaty of 1636. However, these areas were now again claimed by the Mughals.

 Aurangzeb instructed Shaista Khan, the new Mughal governor of the Deccan (he was also related to Aurangzeb by marriage), to invade Shivaji's dominions and Adil Shah, the ruler of Bijapur, was asked to cooperate.

 Adil Shah sent Sidi Jauhar, the Abyssinian chief, who, invested Shivaji in Panhala. Getting trapped, Shivaji escaped and Panhala came under the control of the Bijapuri forces.

 Adil Shah took no further interest in the war against Shivaji, and soon came to a secret understanding with him. This agreement freed Shivaji to deal with the Mughals.

 In 1660, Shaista Khan occupied Poona and made it his headquarters. He then sent detachments to seize control of the Konkan from Shivaji.

 Despite harassing attacks from Shivaji, and the bravery of Maratha defenders, the Mughals secured their control on north Konkan.

 In 1663, on one night, Shivaji infiltrated into the camp and attacked on Shaista Khan, when he was in his harem (in Poona). He killed his son and one of his captains and wounded Khan. This daring attack of Shivaji put Khan into disgrace. In anger, Aurangzeb transferred Shaista Khan to Bengal, even refused to give him an interview at the time of transfer as was the custom.

 In 1664, Shivaji attacked Surat, which was the premier Mughal port, and looted it to his heart's content.

 Treaty of Purandar

 After the failure of Shaista Khan, Aurangzeb deputed Raja Jai Singh of Amber, who was one of the most trusted advisers of Aurangzeb, to deal with Shivaji.

 Unlike Shaista Khan, Jai Singh did not underestimate the Marathas rather he made careful diplomatic and military preparations.

 Jai Singh planned to strike at the heart of Shivaji's territories i.e. fort Purandar where Shivaji had lodged his family and his treasure.

 In 1665, Jai Singh besieged Purandar (1665), beating off all Maratha attempts to relieve it. With the fall of the fort at sight, and no relief likely from any quarter, Shivaji opened negotiations with Jai Singh.

 After hard bargaining with Shivaji, the following terms we agreed upon −

 Out of 35 forts held by Shivaji, 23 forts were surrendered to the Mughals;

 Remaining 12 forts were left with Shivaji on condition of service and loyalty to the Mughal throne;

 Territory worth four lakhs of huns a year in the Bijapuri Konkan, which Shivaji had already held, was granted to him.

 The Bijapur territory worth of five lakhs of huns a year in the uplands (Balaghat), which Shivaji had conquered, was also granted to him. In return for these, Shivaji was to pay 40 lakhs huns in instalments to the Mughals.

 Shivaji asked them to be excused from personal service. Hence, a mansab of 5,000 was granted to his minor son, Sambhaji.

 Shivaji promised, however, to join personally in any Mughal campaign in the Deccan.

 Jai Singh, later, cleverly threw a bone of contention between Shivaji and the Bijapuri ruler. But the success of Jai Singh's scheme depended on Mughal support to Shivaji in making up from Bijapur territory worth the amount he had yielded to the Mughals.

 Jai Singh had considered the alliance with Shivaji from the starting point of the conquest of Bijapur to the entire Deccan. However, the Mughal-Maratha expedition against Bijapur failed. Shivaji who had been deputed to capture fort Panhala was also unsuccessful.

 As the plan failed, Jai Singh persuaded Shivaji to meet with Aurangzeb at Agra. Jai Singh though that if Shivaji and Aurangzeb could be reconciled, then Aurangzeb might be persuaded to give greater resources for a renewed invasion on Bijapur. But Shivaji’s meeting with Aurangzeb also became futile.

 When Shivaji met Aurangzeb, he kept him in the category of 5,000 mansabdar (the rank, which had been granted to his minor son). Further, the emperor, whose birthday was being celebrated, did not find time to speak to Shivaji. Therefore, Shivaji walked off angrily and refused imperial service.

 Since Shivaji had come to Agra on Jai Singh's assurances, Aurangzeb wrote to Jai Singh for advice. In return, Jai Singh strongly argued for a lenient treatment for Shivaji. However, in 1666, before any decision could be taken, Shivaji escaped from the detention.

Administrative System of Shivaji  Shivaji’s system of administration was largely borrowed from the administrative practice of the Deccani states (Malik Amber of Ahmednagar).

 Shivaji designated eight ministers, sometimes called the ‘Ashtapradhan’ (it was not in the nature of a council of ministers), each minister being directly responsible to the ruler.

 The most important ministers were the ‘’ who looked after the finances and general administration, and the sari-i-naubat (senapati), which was a post of honor and was generally given to one of the leading Maratha chiefs.

 The majumdar was the accountant, while the waqenavis was responsible for intelligence post and household affairs. Further, the surunavis or chitnis helped the king with his correspondence.

 The dabir was master of ceremonies and also helped the king in his dealings with foreign powers. The nyayadhish and panditrao were in charge of justice and charitable grants.

 Shivaji preferred to give salaries in cash to the regular soldiers; however sometimes the chiefs received revenue grants (saranjam).

 Shivaji strictly regulated the “mirasdars,” (mirasdars were those who had the hereditary rights in land). Later mirasdars grew and strengthened themselves by building strongholds and castles in the villages. Likewise, they had become unruly and seized the country. Shivaji destroyed their bastions and forced them to surrender.

 Shivaji was not only a deserving general and a skillful strategist, but he was also a shrewd diplomat and laid the foundation of a strong state by curbing the power of the deshmukhs.

Shivaji’s Achievements

 In 1670, Shivaji renewed the contest with the Mughals, sacking Surat a second time. During the next four years, he recovered a large number of his forts, including Purandar, from the Mughals and made deep inroads into Mughal territories, especially Berar and Khandesh.

 Mughal preoccupation with the Afghan uprising in the north-west gave an opportunity to Shivaji. Further, Shivaji also renewed his contest with Bijapur, securing Panhala and Satara by means of bribes.

 In 1674, Shivaji crowned himself formally at Raigad. He was by now, became the most powerful among the Maratha chiefs.

 The formal coronation had, therefore, a number of purposes, including −

 It placed him on a much higher pedestal than any of the Maratha chiefs;

 It strengthened his social position and hence he married into some of the leading old Maratha families;

 Gaga Bhatt, the priest presiding over the function, supported Shivaji and said that Shivaji was a high class Kshatriya; and

 As an independent ruler, now it became possible for Shivaji to enter into treaties with the Deccani sultans on a footing of equality and not as a rebel.

 In 1676, Shivaji undertook an expedition into the Bijapuri Karnataka. Shivaji was given a grand welcome by the Qutb Shah at his capital and a formal agreement was made.

 Qutub Shah agreed to pay a subsidy of one lakh huns (five lakhs of rupees) annually to Shivaji along with a Maratha ambassador who was appointed at his court.

 Qutub Shah, further, supplied a contingent of troops and artillery to aid Shivaji and also provided money for the expenses of his army.

 The treaty with Qutub Shah was beneficial to Shivaji, as it enabled him to capture Jinji and Vellore from Bijapur officials and also to conquer much of the territories held by his half-brother, Ekoji.

 Shivaji had assumed the title of “Haindava-Dharmoddharak” (Protector of the Hindu faith), but he plundered mercilessly the Hindu population of the respective region.

 As per the agreement, Shivaji had to share treasure (won in the war) with Qutub Shah, but when Shivaji returned back to home with treasure, he refused to share anything with the Qutub Shah. Hence, Qutub Shah resented with Shivaji.

 Karnataka expedition was the last expedition of Shivaji, as he died shortly after his return from the Karnataka expedition (1680).