BHIC-105 HISTORY OF INDIA-III (750 - 1206 CE) School of Social Sciences Indira Gandhi National Open University EXPERT COMMITTEE Prof. Kapil Kumar (Convenor) Prof. Makhan Lal Chairperson Director Faculty of History Delhi Institute of Heritage, School of Social Sciences Research and Management IGNOU, New Delhi New Delhi Prof. P. K. Basant Dr. Sangeeta Pandey Faculty of Humanities and Languages Faculty of History Jamia Milia Islamia School of Social Sciences New Delhi IGNOU, New Delhi Prof. D. Gopal Director, SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi Course Coordinator : Prof. Nandini Sinha Kapur COURSE TEAM Prof. Nandini Sinha Kapur Dr. Suchi Dayal Dr. Abhishek Anand COURSE PREPARATION TEAM Unit no. Course Writer Dr. Khushboo Kumari Academic Counsellor Dr. Suchi Dayal 1 Non Collegiate Women’s Education Board Academic Consultant, Faculty of History School (Bharati College), University of Delhi of Social Sciences, IGNOU, New Delhi Dr. Avantika Sharma Dr. Ashok Shettar 8 2* Department of History, I.P. College for Karnataka University, Dharwad Women, Delhi University, Delhi Dr. Pintu Kumar 3** Dr. Richa Singh Assistant Professor 9 Ph.D from Centre for Historical Studies Motilal Nehru College (Evening) Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Delhi University Professor Champaklakshmi Dr. Naina Dasgupta 10****** Retired from Center for Historical Studies National Open School, Kailash Colony Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi New Delhi and Dr. Sangeeta Pandey Dr. V. K. Jain Faculty of History Department of History School of Social Sciences IGNOU, New Delhi University of Delhi, Delhi 4*** Prof. Y. Subbarayalu, Head Prof. Harbans Mukhia Indology Department, Retired from Centre for Historical Studies French Institute of Pondicherry, Puducherry Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Dr. Sangeeta Pandey 11******* Mr. Prem Kumar Faculty of History, School of Social Sciences Assistant Professor, Motilal Nehru College IGNOU, New Delhi (Evening), Delhi University 5**** Prof K M Srimali 12 & Prof. Ranabir Chakrabarti Department of History 13******** Centre for Historical Studies University of Delhi, Delhi Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 6***** Dr. Jaya Priyadarshini Prof. R. Champakalakshmi Ph.D from Centre for Historical Studies Retired from Center for Historical Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 7 Dr. Jaya Priyadarshini 14********* Prof. Ajay Dandekar Ph.D from Center of Historical Studies Shiv Nadar University, Noida Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 15 Dr. Richa Singh Ph.D from Centre for Historical Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 16 Dr. Avantika Sharma Department of History, I.P. College for Women Delhi University, Delhi 17 Dr. Suchi Dayal Academic Consultant Faculty of History School of Social Sciences IGNOU New Delhi * This Unit has been taken from EHI 03 (History of India from 8th to 15th century), Block 3 (Indian Polity in its regional Variation: 8th to 13th century), , Unit 10 (Western and Central India). ** This Unit has been taken from BHIC 132 (History of India from c. 300 CE to 1206), Unit 10 (Emergence of Rashtrakutas) and MHI 04 (Political Structures), Block 2 (State in Early Medieval India), Unit 5 (Early Medieval Polities in North India 7th to 12th Centuries AD). *** This Unit has been taken from BHIC 132 (History of India from c. 300 CE to 1206), Unit 6 (The Kadambas, the Chalukyas of Badami, the Cholas and the Hoyasalas) **** This Unit has been taken from EHI 03 (History of India from 8th to 15th Century), Block 2 (Society and Culture: 8th to 13th Centruy), Unit Unit 7 (development of Regional Cultural Traditions). ***** This Unit has been taken from BHIC 132 (History of India from c. 300 CE to 1206), Unit 11 (The Arabs: Invasions and Expansion) and Unit 12 (Mahmud Ghazni and Mohammad Ghouri: Invasions and Resistance). ****** This Unit has been taken from EHI 03 (History of India from 8th to 15th Century), Block 1 (Early Medieval Economy: 8th to 13th Century ), Unit 1 (Agrarian Economy), Unit 3 (Trade and Commerce) and MHI 05 (History of Indian Economy), Block 3 (Early Medieval Economy and Its Continuities), Unit 10 (The Feudalism Debate in Indian History). ******* This Unit has been taken from BHIC 132 (History of India from c. 300 CE to 1206), Unit 14 (Social Structure and Gender Relations: c. 700-1200 CE). ******** These Units have been taken from MHI 05 (History of Indian Economy), Block 3 (Early Medieval Economy and its Continuities), Unit 14 (Trade, Trading Networks and Urbanization: North India, c. AD 300- c. AD 1300) and Unit 15 (Exchange Networks, Merchant Organization and Urbanization: South India). ********* This Unit has been taken from MHI 06 (Evolution of Social Structures in India through the Ages), Block 4 (Early Medieval Societies), Unit 15 (Religion in Society) and Block 6 (Medieval Society -2), Unit 22 (Socio Religious Movements) CONTENT, FORMAT AND LANGUAGE EDITING Prof. Nandini Sinha Kapur Dr. Suchi Dayal PRINT PRODUCTION GRAPHICS COVER DESIGN Shri …. Dr. Suchi Dayal Mr. Sandeep Maini, Dr. Suchi Dayal School of Social Sciences IGNOU, New Delhi Course Contents Course Introduction Page Nos. 1. Historical Sources 11 2. The Political Scenario I- Rajputs; Rise and Struggle to Power 30 3. The Political Scenario II-Rashtrakutas and Palas 44 4. The Political Scenario III-Cholas and Chalukyas 61 5. Art and Architecture : North India and South India 78 6. Arab Conquest of Sindh, Turkish invasions, Mahmud Ghazni and 92 Muhammad Ghouri 7. Social, Cultural and Technological Impacts : Arab and Turkish Invasions 125 8. Society, Economy, Polity and Culture : East and North-East India 139 9. Political and Cultural Expansion in Southeast Asia 147 10. Agriculture, Landlord, Peasants and Tribals : The Feudalism Debate 162 11. Castes, Gender and Professions 182 12. Trade, Trade Routes and Maritime Trade 200 13. Merchant Guilds and Urbanization of North Indian and South India 222 14. Developments in Religion 240 15. Education, Intellectual Traditions, Interactions and Philosophy 254 16. Languages and Literature 267 17. Science, Technology and Environment 279 History of India-III Guidelines for Study of the Course In this Course we have followed a uniform pattern for presenting the learning material. This starts with an Introduction to the Course underlining the significant developments in chronological order and covers 17 Units. For the convenience of study, all the Units have been presented with a uniform structure. Objectives as the first section of the Unit have been included to help you find what you are expected to learn from the study of the Unit. Please go through these objectives carefully and keep reflecting and checking them after studying a few sections of the Unit. Introduction of the Unit introduces you to the subject area covered and guides you to the way subject matter is presented. These are followed by the main subject area discussed through sections and sub-sections for ease of comprehension. In between the text, some Check Your Progress Exercises have been provided. We advise you to attempt these as and when you reach them. These will help you assess your study and test your comprehension of the subject studied. Compare your answers with the answer guidelines provided after the Summary. The Key Words and unfamiliar terms have been provided at the end of each Unit. At the end of each Unit under Suggested Readings we have also provided a list of books and references. These include sources and books which are useful or have been consulted for developing the material for the concerned Unit. You should try to study them. 6 COURSE INTRODUCTION Historical Sources The present course deals with the history of India from c. 750-1206 CE. This period has also been called as the early medieval period. Certain features started emerging in this period which make it different from the early historical period. We see the further crystallization of these changes later in the medieval period. However, we have to remember here that the change from one phase of history to another has to be analyzed not only as a change of political power i.e. from one dynasty to another but also as an emergence of local dynasties. The change has to be seen and analyzed in relation to various areas of life i.e. economic, social, political, cultural etc. In all these areas we find significant changes taking place during this phase. For example the feudal structure got consolidated and towards the end of this period the Delhi Sultanate got established. Certain characteristics of feudalism had emerged from the Gupta period and they became noticeable in the post-Gupta period. The practice of giving land grants to donees increased, creating a large number of landlords. These landlords also yielded political authority. Restrictions were imposed on the movements of the peasants, artisans and merchants. The condition of the peasantry deteriorated and forced labour gained prominence. The process of urbanization suffered a setback and a decline was witnessed in commerce and trade. We would like to mention here that the history of the period under study is based on a variety of sources. To seek information, analyze and interpret in the historical context, historians use contemporary literary texts. Epigraphical sources like inscriptions, and archaeological sources provide necessary information on this period. The first Unit deals with these sources which are important for the reconstruction of this period. Certain genres of historical writing became common from this period onwards such as charitas, kavyas and vamsiavalis. This period also saw the beginning of Islamic history writing and many scholars wrote texts which can be considered as truly historical in nature. The Units 2nd, 3rd, and 4th deal with a number of regional polities that emerged and consolidated their hold in their respective regions. We will discuss their nature at a general level and analyze their regional features. Certain polities like that of the Rajputs show some influence of ‘lineage’. We will be discussing the operation of such factors as lineage and land-rights in the rise of states.