History Medieval

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The 13th Century

Created: 2/25/2012 1:21 PM

Factors Behind Ghurian SuccessSocial

1. The narrow social base of the ruling class. Indian society was deeply divided with the brahman-ruling class nexus exploiting the rest, specially the lower castes and untouchables. Naturally they didn't feel alienated when the existing rulers were replaced by te new ones. The narrow social base was responsible for the fact that once defeated, they could not regroup and strike back.

2. They held secondary economic activities derogatory and had reduced the artisans and craftsmen to a status of shudras and untouchables.3. The Turks were united, even the king could eat with a common soldier. Such a thing would lead to a loss of caste for the Rajput king!

Economic

1. They just didn't have the economic base to fight the Turks. They were mostly rural economies and had little and inefficient secondary economic base. The Turks on the other hand had sound secondary economic base.

2. The Rajput temples were a storehouse of treasure. Because of the Turkish system where the soldiers were allowed to retain 80% of the war loot, the temples acted as magnets and the morale of Turkish soldiers was quite high.

Politico-Military

1. Tripartite struggle and political fragmentation had made Indian rulers inward looking since for last 200 years, their challenges had been coming from within. They stopped tracking the developments in Central Asia and left the defence of the frontiers to the Hindushahis. Neither did they learn new technologies and strategies.

2. The infighting also made them bitter enemies of each other and they couldn't unite whole-heartedly against the enemy.3. The prevailing state system where the ruling classes had no empathy for the welfare of their subjects and were merely concerned about their own well being.

This coupled with their failure to understand the nature of the Ghurian invasion. They thought he would come, plunder and go away. Naturally they didn't feel responsible to protect their subjects in this scenario.

4. Rajputs had a feudal society and the king had to depend on feudal lords for revenue and military. These feudal lords always had centrifugal tendencies and in any case, since the soldiers were maintained and hired by them, the soldiers had loyalty to the lord and not to the king.

5. Turks had better military technology - iron horse shoe, iron stirrup, concave saddles and horse-archers. They were highly mobile as against Rajputs who mainly depended on elephants and used to carry their entire towns with them. The Turks knew how to counter the elephants.

6. The Rajputs were fighting a defensive war. So their victories meant little and loss meant substantial loss since they had a narrow social base and no fall back plan.

7. The Iqta system of Turks. It provided them with a scalable, readily implementable form of administration which could be used for maintaining army.

Cultural

1. Rajputs believed in idealistic practices even while fighting a war. They preferred to die on the battlefield rather than run away and fight another day. The Turks on the other hand used every tactic for a win.

2. The Rajputs considered it good to return the land of even a defeated king. That is why they could never eliminate the threat even when they had advantage.3. Rajput culture was marred by evil practices like tantricism, superstition etc. So even religion failed to inspire them unlike Turks.

Consequences of Ghurian SuccessEconomicTechnological

1. Agriculture: Persian wheel drawn by animals, distillation, canals irrigation on a wide scale.2. Cloth Industry: Spinning wheel, block printing, weaving, domesticated silk production.3. Paper Industry: Paper, book binding. 4. Architecture: Arch, vault, dome, mortar. Large spacious well lighted superstructures.5. Military: Iron horse-shoes, iron stirrups, concave saddles, naphtha, mangonels.

Others

1. Agricultural Production: They extended cultivation, encouraged cultivation of superior crops, did irrigation works and established gardens for fruits. So overall the production increased.

2. Monetization: They introduced standard currency system based on silver tanka and copper dirhams. LR was now paid in cash as well. Introduction of paper also led to the emergence of hundi system.

3. Growth of urban centres: Around military garrisons, weaving centres, other arts and crafts grew. Better means of communication. Safety, better roads, sarais, postal system. The Turks accorded a higher social status to secondary activities which were hitherto considered untouchable in India.

4. Village-Town Relationship: Flow of agricultural surplus began to take place to towns since LR had to be paid in cash.

Social

1. Social Order: Little changed in Hindu social order. Though now the Brahmans lost their royal backing and the grants. Hence they had to increasingly take to other professions. Caste system remained rigid as ever. In Muslims, though theoretically they were equals, they too were divided based on ethnicity with the lowest classes comprising of lower caste Hindu converts.

2. Village Society: It reduced the influence of the chiefs living on the land at least in the areas of direct imperial control. 3. Judicial System: The varna based judicial system gave way to a uniform criminal law system in India. Though the convicts were given a chance to embrace Islam

and escape harsh punishment. 4. Women: If anything, the seclusion turned for worse. Practices like sati, jauhar, early marriage, veiling became more widespread.5. Education: Islamic system of education came into being. At the base level were the maktabs for elementary education. Then came madarssas where Islamic

subjects were taut and which got state patronage. 6. Slavery: Increased rapidly. Slaves were used for domestic and personal chores. Slaves markets were established. Slaves were allowed to marry and own

personal property and we have examples of slaves rising to high positions as well.

Cultural

1. Architecture: They introduced the Islamic style also called the arcuate style. They had true arches, domes, vaults. The monuments were spacious and had light.



Focus was on serene beauty of the monument instead of heavy ornamentation. Initially the monuments were a fusion since the craftsmen were Indians and the building material was from temples. The deity images were pulled down, a wall erected with verses of Quran inscribed on it. Later on true Islamic architecture came to India.

2. Sculpture: Muslim religion is against images of humans and animals. So the walls were now sculpted with verses of Quran and calligraphy improved. They had floral and geometric designs now.

3. Literature: Growth of Persian literature. Exchange of Hindu and Muslim ideas. Interchange of words in languages and Urdu developed. Persian dictionaries, illustrations and historiography got a boost.

4. Paintings: Miniature painting grew in the form of illustrations in the books. Walls of private homes too were painted.5. Dance & Music: Sufism. Lyrical style grew. Amir Khusrau was a gazal composer. Written works on music emerged for the first time laying down rules. 6. Religion & Philosophy: The rejuvenation of economy led to a stirring in the philosophical space too. A new wave of bhakti and sufi movements emerged.

Foundation & Consolidation of Delhi Sultanate Iltutmish - as the real founderWhat is meant by a 'real founder'?

1. One who assumes leadership in the initial phases and when he assumes leadership, the organization is faced with challenges serious enough to threaten its survival.

2. Through his actions, by the time he leaves, he has firmly removed all the challenges which threaten the survival of the organization.

Problems of Iltutmish(a) Internal

1. His legitimacy: He was son-in-law and had deposed the son of Qutub-ud-din to claim the throne. Naturally his claims of legitimacy were weak and his rule was challenged by nobles (the Amirs of Delhi).

2. Economic: The iqtadars were not depositing full amount of fawazil in the central treasury. The economy was in bad shape overall marred with all the years of wars and loot.

3. Rebellions: The iqtadars of Bengal had turned hostile and thrown off the imperial yoke. Others were keen to follow. The Rajputs had recovered the territories in Rajputana, Malwa Bundelkhand and Gujarat.

(b) External

1. Ex's: Muhammad Ghuri's governors in Sind and Ghur had not accepted Delhi's claim of independence and threatened it with invasion.2. Mongols: Ghenghis Khan emerged on the frontiers.

Actions of Iltutmish(a) Internal

1. Legitimacy: He sought investiture from the caliph. He tackled the Amirs of Delhi and created a nobility called Chalisa dependent and loyal to him alone. He also created the tradition of having an army directly under the control of the Sultan.

2. Economic: He clearly defined the roles and responsibilities of iqtadars and made efforts to enforce it strictly. He said that an iqtadar had to maintain troops which were to be supplied to Sultan in the hour of need, had to collect LR from his province, deduct his expenses and then deposit the remaining into the central treasury. He issued standard currency of silver tanka and copper jittal. He also patronized many works of architecture and literature, provided safety along the routes and peace.

3. Rebellions: He defeated the Rajputs and the Bengal governor and local zamindars and established firm control over the areas of sultanate.

(b) External

1. Ex's: He defeated the Sind governor while the Ghur governor was disposed off by Mongols.2. Mongols: He handled Ghenghis Khan with diplomacy.

Balban - the theory of kingshipFactors Responsible

1. Threat to his position on the office of Sultan: He had no legitimate claim. He was an ex-slave who had risen among the ranks to finally usurp the office. So his authority was challenged by the Chalisa.

2. Threat to the office of Sultan itself: With weak successors of Iltutmish, the authority of the office had diminished and the nobles and others had lost their respect and fear of Sultan.

3. Threat to Sultanate itself: Many rebellions were taking place. Bengal had thrown off imperial yoke along with Rajputs. The area of Mewat was infested with robbers and numerous local Zamindars had created revenue and law and order problems. The Mongols were knocking.

Nature & Character

1. Threat to himself: He claimed semi-divine authority for the king. He claimed that the king is selected by God himself to rule and is his shadow on earth. He claimed absolute despotism and unchallenged authority. He also claimed descent from Persian legendary heroes and named his grandsons after Persian heroes. When faced with problems, rulers turn to polarize society to rally support behind them. To legitimize his claim, he exalted his dynasty. He rallied the support of ulemmas for this and to do this he pacified them. He rallied the Turks behind him by practicing a policy of extreme racial prejudice against non-Turks. He eliminated his rival nobles. He himself kept aloof and never was in a non-serious mode anytime. He employed numerous spies to keep himself updated of all happenings in his empire.

2. Threat to the office: He followed a policy of blood and iron against his opponents and instilled in their hearts fear of the office. He imparted impartial and in fact strict justice against his rival nobles. He subdued them completely by also transferring, murdering them etc. He created a new group of nobles who were loyal and submissive to the sultan. He maintained extensive court paraphernalia and insisted on practices of paiboz to break the pride of his nobles. He created a separate military department diwan-i-ariz for maintenance of army and strengthen the sultan's position.

3. Threat to Sultanate: He built a line of defence against Mongols. He suppressed revolts.

Significance(a) Short-Term

1. He succeeded in meeting challenges to himself, to te office and to the state. 2. Impartial justice won him respect of commoners.

(b) Long-Term

1. The theory of divinity, court paraphernalia, despotism was an important element later on as well. 2. His line of resistance built against Mongols held well. His success against them gave confidence to other sultans.



Limitations

1. Failed to install his dynasty.2. Mongol policy was defensive.3. Racial discrimination narrowed his social base and it fell.4. Top heavy centralized administration was not sustainable. 5. The new noblery was too submissive and they didn't react when Khaljis captured power.

Iqta System Features

1. Military system + administrative system + economic system. All in one.2. Centralized, non-hereditary, transfers.3. Merit based.4. Not an equal system. Iqtas were small and large.

Evolution

1. Muizuddin introduced in India. But Iltutmish laid its real foundations. He laid down 5 rules - to maintain law and order, to maintain army, to supply army to sultan in need, to collect LR, to deduct his expenses and deposit fawazil in the central treasury.

2. Balban tried to establish greater central control over iqtadars. He appointed an officer 'khwaja' to keep the accounts and reduce corruption. Spies were appointed too.

3. Alauddin squeezed further. Small iqtas in doab were abolished. Revenue demand increased from others and a department Diwan-i-Mustakraj created to collect arrears.

4. MbT went one step further. He asked them to deposit entire LR into central treasury and claim their salary and expenses separately.5. But Firuz made it hereditary, revoked law of escheats.6. Lodis believed in a policy of Sultan being first among equals. Fawazil was abolished altogether. The practice of sub-assignment also commenced.

Significance

1. Scalable. Good in expansion times. Didn't create headache for sultan.2. Merit based.3. Iqtadars used to aid in expansion. Had incentives.4. Centralized, helped in maintaining military. Disposing off unwanted nobles.

Limitations

1. Centrifugal tendencies. King makers. Independence. Corruption.

Nature & Character of Polity (Elements of Change & Continuity)Sultan

1. Monarchial. Issue of succession usually decided in battlefields and by support of nobles. 2. The despotism and centralization increased till the reign of MbT and subsequently declined. Firuz made Iqta system hereditary and abolished law of escheat.

Lodis believed in theory of first among equals.

Bureaucracy

1. Police state & military state which was based on Iqta system. 2. Department based. Wazir, Ariz, Insha (correspondence department) and Risalat (foreign affairs) were important departments.

Taxation

1. Imposed Kharaj and Jiziya. Little else change apart from the magnitude and the direction of flow of LR.

Culture

1. Islamic state.2. Court patronage to art and architecture.

Theocracy HypothesisWhat is a Theocracy?

1. Religious source of authority is superior than political source of authority.2. Theologians enjoy high status and have a high degree of influence in politico-administrative matters.3. State machinery is used for religious propagation in normal conditions.4. Religious laws are applicable strictly.5. Followers of other religions are discriminated against to a high degree.

Arguments for

1. Delhi sultans used to seek investiture from Caliph upon succession. They used to read his name in their khutba, struck coins in his name, declared themselves to be rulers in his name. They used to wear the robe sent by Caliph with great pride.

2. Ulemmas used to receive court patronage extensively. They got government jobs and departments like justice and education were under them. Many sultans like Balban, Firuz and the lesser ones used to take any decision on any politico-administrative matter only after consulting them.

3. Many conversions took place, temples were destroyed, higher taxes (kharaj and jiziya) were imposed on non-Muslims, convicts and PoWs were given an option of Islam or death.

4. Shariat was the official law. 5. Muslims were favored in government jobs, army and welfare measures. Hindus also had to lay higher taxes.

Arguments Against

1. All these were symbolic acts. These sultans mostly had no natural legitimate claim on the throne and had usurped it through power. They were always faced with court intrigues anyways. So to legitimize their position, they sought approval from the religious head. Also, such an approval was not sought by each ruler,



even if sought was sought after the accession and not before, and was never refused. It was a matter of pride for the caliph to invest them rather than the other way round. No sultan was ever removed for not securing the investiture. They were rulers in independent might and never had to seek caliph's approval in any decision.

2. While it is true, they had a high status, used to receive government favors and held sway in politico-administrative matters under most sultans, under the stronger sultans like Ala and MbT, they had no interventionary powers. Their authority was inversely proportional to the authority of the sultan. Thus while generally they held considerable power, to rule without their backing was not unthinkable.

3. Destruction of temples was a war time phenomenon generally and not peace time. The peasantry was mostly Hindu, so imposition of kharaj and jiziya suited the economic needs of the Sultanate. Generally, force was not used for conversion. There are many instances when rulers denied the demand of ulemmas to give Hindus an option of Islam or death only saying it was not possible.

4. Shariat was the official law but it could never be imposed seriously perhaps due to lack of political will as the Sultans knew it won't be practical in India. Even Barani agrees Sultanate was a jahandari and not a dindari.

5. The Turkish Sultans didn't try to interfere with the local life in India. Village administration was still dominantly run by Hindus. Can't be denied that Hindus were discriminated against, but it was not a secular state. The degree of discrimination makes it theocratic. Hindus still had the freedom to celebrate their festivals in public.

Rajput Policy of Mughals

Created: 2/28/2012 5:00 PM

1. Babur

1. It was primarily hostile since he had to complete the conquest @ Panipat. So he gave a religious color to the conflict.2. To boost the morale of his troops, he made the begs swear on Quran that they will not turn away, he promised tax relief and freedom to go back to Afghanistan

after the battle as well as he gave up wine and gambling.

2. Humayun

1. Cordial @ personal level but failed to translate it into state policy.

3. AkbarFactors Responsible

1. Personal: He was born and early years in Rajput fort. His father was liberal. His guru was liberal. The liberal attitude enabled him to follow a liberal policy. 2. Political: Rajputs were an important force and hence it was necessary to secure their cooperation. This would have helped in extension of his empire instead of

threatening Delhi itself. 3. Economic: He wanted Gujarat. Rajputana served as the route to Gujarat.

Nature & Character

1. Liberal. No religious bigotry. Rajputs were allowed full internal and religious freedom except levying taxes on transit. Also while they were given their provinces as mansabs, any succession had to be approved by the emperor.

2. Force and conciliation. 3. Absorbed in mansabdari system.4. Cemented with matrimonial alliances.5. Use of diplomacy. Pragmatic.

Matrimonial Alliances

1. Political marriages were not a new concept. But before him, they used to happen as a prize of war or as a symbol of superiority. But Akbar emphasized on the special relationship with the family in many ways. For example, he took Bhagwant Das on many expeditions after marrying his sister.

2. These alliances were not forced upon the Rajputs. Nor were they the only way to earn favor of the emperor. Many Rajput rajas who had not married into his family also held high mansabs.

EvolutionPhase 1 (1560-72)

1. In this phase, Rajputs were loyal allies. After taking charge of administration, he sent diplomatic missions to many states. Many states had accepted his suzerainty, they were absorbed in mansabdari system and were given back their kingdoms as jagirs. There was minimal central interference in their internal affairs. Against states which had not accepted his suzerainty, military campaigns were carried out.

2. However, they were not posted elsewhere or given important campaigns. They were just supposed to maintain law and order in their jagirs and surroundings. Sometimes they were taken on campaigns but never fought.

Phase 2 (1572-78)

1. In this, the Rajputs became sword arms of the empire. They were now given charge of important campaigns. This happened because in the 1572 Gujarat campaign, Raja Bharmal saved Akbar from his mad elephant.

2. In 1576 Rajputs commanded even a campaign against Rana Pratap. Man Singh was the joint commander in Battle of Haldi Ghati.

Phase 3 (1578-1605)

1. By this time Akbar had become even more liberal and his ibadatkhana affairs had ended. Now Rajputs became trusted partners in the empire.2. They were given important responsibilities and posts. They were used to counter the weight of Turani nobles. Man Singh even led the campaign against the

prince Salim.3. The breakup with the orthodox ulemmas had adversely affected the loyalty of the Turani nobles and they could no longer be relied upon. Rajputs were now

appointed subahdars of Lahore, Kabul, Agra and Ajmer.

Significance

1. Boost to empire as instead of wasting energy fighting them, they enhanced the strength.2. Helped in success of mansabdari system.3. Economically beneficial. Gujarat + resources.



4. Influenced Akbar's religious policy as well.5. Influenced development of culture since many Rajput elements found their way into the Mughal culture.

4. Jahangir

1. Continued dad's policy. Able to capture Mewar as well.

5. SJ

1. Same.

6. AzEvolutionPhase 1 (1657-67)

1. The Rajput princes had allied themselves against Az. But he pardoned them and restored and even promoted them. It was a basic continuation of the same policy.

2. Rajputs were still given the charge of important campaigns like Jai Singh was given the charge against Sivaji which led to the Treaty of Purandar in 1665.

Phase 2 (1667-78)

1. Here the relations began to deteriorate, the emperor was facing multiple challenges and began to grow suspicious but still outwardly there was little change. Rajputs were losing their political significance and other elements were becoming more important.

2. Sivaji had successfully attacked Mughal camp @ Poona. In this many soldiers including the commander Sasta Khan were injured. The responsibility of the security of the camp was with Jaswant Singh. Suspicion began to grow in Az's mind.

3. Sivaji had escaped from captivity of Ram Singh in 1666. Az thought Ram Singh had deliberately let him escape on the insistence of his dad Jai Singh.4. In 1667, Jai Singh died and with this no capable Rajput leader was left. There were more Rajput failures and Az began to grow even more suspicious.5. Az was facing challenges from Sikhs, Ahom, Deccan. So he was forced to polarize and draw support from the orthodox Islamic elements.6. So he began to transfer Rajputs to far off lands to please his orthodox elements. Jaswant Singh was posted in NWFP and Ram Singh was sent to Bengal.

Phase 3 (1679-07)

1. This was a phase of open hostility, even war. With the death of Jaswant Singh who had died sonless, rival factions arose among Rajputs over succession. So Az annexed the kingdom and then sold it to the rival of the queens and ex-ruler. This was not to their liking.

2. The queens bore children but Az refused to accept Ajit Singh as the heir. This led to the beginning of a war in which Mewar also joined Marwar.

Factors Responsible for Az's Rajput Policy

1. Personal: He was an orthodox. He was of suspicious character. The failures of Rajputs at some crucial points was seen by him as a deliberate attempt and in religious light.

2. Political: He was facing multiple challenges from non-Muslim subjects. So he needed to rally the Muslims behind him. Also the political significance of Rajputs was decreasing and they were no more an important force and didn't have capable leaders as well.

Significance of Az's Rajput Policy

1. Alienated, weakened. But not to be exaggerated.

Economy

Created: 3/1/2012 1:41 PM

The 13th & 14th Centuries Agricultural ProductionFactors Influencing

1. Extension of Cultivation: They encouraged extension of cultivation and cultivation of superior crops specially from MbT onwards.2. Better Irrigation: They did many irrigation works specially Firuz, so multiple crops would now be grown over a larger area. Although we find some unclear

evidences of the use of rahat (persian wheel) in ancient India as well but most likely the technology which was use would have been Noria. Noria was useful in drawing water from ponds and rivers but not from wells while rahat was useful in drawing water from the wells as well.

3. Horticulture: Specially Firuz. Nobles began to invest in horticulture.4. Agro-Based Industries: They grew as a result of better supply of raw materials and better technology. Examples are wine making and oilseed processing.

Features

1. More production due to extension of cultivation, irrigation, horticulture, superior crops, extensive manuring due to presence of large amount of cattle.2. The pressure on land was not so much due to less population. But still there were landless due to social restrictions and dense forests.

Urban Economy & Non-Agricultural ProductionFactors Responsible

1. New technologies brought in by the Turkish rulers like in cloth industry (spinning wheel, cotton carder), paper industry, metallurgical industry (iron stirrup, armor, horse shoe), agriculture (rahat for irrigation), construction industry (mortar, arch & dome).

2. Role of State: It became possible to extract the huge agricultural surplus and bring it into towns under the sultans who then spent it lavishly leading to the development of towns. Safety, improved means of communication, uniform laws, taxation and weights & measures. Many towns grew around the military garrisons as providers of their needs and later developed into fledging cultural centres as well. The Turkish rulers lived in a lavish lifestyle.

3. Social Factors: The new social outlook in Islam didn't consider secondary activities as lowly. Mohd. Habib believes that under the rajputs a large section of the society was considered as low or out caste and was exploited. This changed under the Turks as the exploited lot moved to the cities to take advantage and improve their lot.

4. Relationship with Agriculture: LR had to be paid in cash under some Sultans. This increased the flow of agricultural surplus from villages to city and hence led to growth of cities.



Textiles

1. The cotton coarse cloth was produced mainly in villages and in some special regions such as Oudh. The muslin was produced in Sylhet, Dacca and Deogiri. Khambat (Cambay) was a major manufacturing center of fine as well as coarse cloth. Painting techniques used were both hand and block.

2. Silk used to be produced in Bengal and imported silk came from Iran and also via Khambat.3. Wool was produced in mountainous tracts of Kashmir. Carpet weaving was developed with many Iranian and Central Asian designs being incorporated.4. Spinning was considered a woman's work and even slaves were employed in it. There were also the royal karkhanas.

Metallurgy + Construction + PaperTrade & CommerceFactors Responsible

1. There was increased monetization of economy. Standard silver tanka and copper dirham were introduced on a large scale.2. The Turkish rule was heavily dependent upon military. Thus it was essential for it to expand and this created new cities as well as trade routes. Then in such a

vast empire it became necessary to maintain good routes so as to exchange information and move army quickly to quell revolts.3. Means of communications were improved. Sarais were built, road safety improved and post system was introduced.4. New technologies brought in by the Turkish rulers like in cloth industry (spinning wheel, cotton carder), paper industry, metallurgical industry (iron stirrup, armor,

horse shoe), agriculture (rahat for irrigation), construction industry (mortar, arch & dome).5. LR collection in cash.6. Active support from the state.

Domestic Trade(a) Local Trade (village - town)

1. From village to towns agricultural produce flowed while in the reverse direction spices, salt, raw iron. Exchanges used to take place in the local mandi while fairs etc. used to supplement them. Trade was carried with the help of intermediary called village baniya. Rich peasants sometimes directly sold the produce in the market.

(b) Inter-Regional Trade (Town - Town)

1. The bulk low value goods were mainly carried by caravans of banjaras. The high value trade was carried on and financed by rich traders. There were some regions having surplus and some deficit. So muslin, horses etc. were transported. Hundi system of financing was used.

2. Due to safety reasons generally the traders used to move in caravans. They used to keep hired soldiers and weapons as well. Sometimes for their items of daily necessity small markets also moved with them.

3. Important land routes were one connecting Delhi with Bengal via Badaun, Kannauj, Allahbad, Benaras, Gaur. Delhi was connected to Malwa via Nagaur and Gwalior as well as via Bayana and Gwalior. It was connected with Ujjain via Sambhal, Ajmer and Chittor and from Ujjain it went to Khambat and Bharuch.

Foreign Trade

1. The establishment of Mongol empire led to growth in trade after the initial war phase. Due to high cost of transportation, trade mainly happened in low weight, high value commodities and horses. Major imports were horses, weapons, dry fruits and slaves. Exports were cotton textiles, steel weapons, sugar and indigo.

2. Multan was India's principle centre of trade with NW and it was also connected to the sea via Indus. The maritime trade was dominated by Arabs though Indians also took part.

LRSDifferent MechanismsCrop Sharing

1. Khet Batai: Areas of fields were demarcated and shared for revenue and non-revenue purposes.2. Lang Batai: Crop was harvested, heaped and then shared.3. Ras Batai / Galla Bakshi: Harvested crop was threshed and then the grain was shared. This was the most common system.

Nashq

1. Previous year's assessment was used for this year as well. Assumption was land under peasant's cultivation has not changed.

Kankut

1. Land was measured roughly by pacing it.

Turks

1. Initially, the iqta system made sure that there was no attempt to change the LRS operating at the ground level. Only the destination of revenue changed from the house of the local chief to the iqtadar and ultimately the sultan. So the village zamindar collected the LR from peasants, deducted his cut and deposited it with the iqtadar. On top of it, he could collect additional cesses like haq-i-khoti from the peasants.

2. Alauddin: He introduced a system of measurement and assessment called masahat. He conducted a land measurement (units were 1 bigha = 20 biswas) and assessed revenue based on that. LR could be paid in cash or kind although in regions around Delhi at least 50% of LR had t be paid in kind and in other regions, peasants were forced to sell their surplus produce to the state licensed banjaras. He reduced the privileges of the intermediaries (abolished right to collect cesses, made them pay their own revenue) and fixed LR @ 50% + chari and ghari taxes. But after him, the power of intermediaries came back.

3. Ghiasuddin Tughluq instituted the crop sharing mechanism again but MbT reverted to Alauddin's ways. But he mismanaged it and ended revolts and destruction. The reason being he didn't take actual productivity of land in mind (fixed some standard productivity), took official price rates so that LR became unbearably high + he hurt the intermediaries also.

4. Firuz followed a system of revenue farming. He also dropped the practice of receiving gifts from iqtadars since he believed that it was ultimately bourne by peasants.

SSSFeatures

1. It was measurement and survey based. For measurement, sikandari gaj --> biswa --> bigha were the units used. 2. Land measurement and revenue assessment happened @ individual level but collection happened @ village level.3. The land was divided into good, middle and bad lands. Production rate of each type was determined through sample cutting. The average of these rates was

taken, one third of which was the LR (though in Multan LR was 25%).4. The LR could be paid in cash or kind, though cash was preferred. For conversion into cash amount, official price list called ray (which were the prices prevailing

in the capital) were used.



5. The LR was collected by the village headman and patwari who got their share of 10%. These intermediaries couldn't collect any additional cesses from the peasants.

6. Each peasant had to sign a kubuliyat upon which he was given a patta. The patta laid down his land rights whereas kubuliyat laid down his acceptance of responsibility.

7. The system had emergency provisions as well where a cess of 2.5 sers per bigha was levied for help in crop failures and sometimes LR was remitted in such cases.

8. It was based on the philosophy of being liberal @ the time of assessment and strict @ the time of collection.9. Revenue concessions were granted for newly cultivable land.

Limitations

1. Collection @ village level gave ample scope for corruption and left open the role of intermediaries.2. Annual measurement of land resulted in delays for peasants.3. Getting prices list approved from SSS was a difficult task since he was on the move.4. Prices used were those prevailing in the market.5. Crop failure risk with peasant. LR remission difficult to come by. 6. Peasants having more of bad land suffered and those having more of good land benefitted.

AkbarFactors Responsible

1. He needed LR in cash.2. He wanted to do away with the adhoc large machinery for assessment and prevalent corruption.

Initial Attempts

1. In 1561, he asked all jagirdars to submit account since they had encroached upon khalisa land. This freed up khalisa land. 2. Harsala System: In 1572, this system was introduced based upon the data of land under cultivation and revenue realized furnished by qanungos from the period

1567-71. Based upon it, a new jama was prepared and it also used local price lists instead of SSS's ray. But it failed since the data was faulty. 3. Karori System: In 1574, he divided the khalisa land into groups, the LR from each group being 1 cr dams. The main objective was to gather more information

and measure the land. 4. In 1576, all land from Lahore to Allahbad was brought under khalisa to know more about the agriculture.

Dahsala System (1579)

1. It was a survey and measurement based system. Land was measured using gaj-i-ilahi which was better than sikandari gaj. Other systems of assessment were kankut, nashq and batai.

2. It is called dahsala because it was based on the productivity and price data of 10 years from 1569-78.3. Land was divided into 4 types based on frequency of cultivation. Polaj was the land cultivated each year, parauti had to be left uncultivated for 1-2 years after a

crop, chachar had to be left uncultivated for 3-4 years after a crop and banjar had to be left uncultivated for >= 5 years after a crop. Now based on soil fertility, it was further classified into good, middle and bad land.

4. From the data, productivity rates were determined for each subtype and aggregated averages were taken for each 4 frequency based type. One-third of the average was LR (though in Multan it was 25% and in Kashmir 50%).

5. There were incentives on extending cultivation since parauti, chachar and banjar lands only had to pay progressive rates of taxation. 6. LR could be paid in cash or kind. For conversion into cash, land was divided into various groups or dasturs and local price lists were used in each dastur.7. Collection was @ individual level only though zamindars were used and were paid their due. Akbar encouraged the zamindars to be a part of the system. 8. There were emergency provisions with an emergency cess and remittance of LR in crop failures.9. It had measures to cope up with temporary changes in prices and patta + kubuliyat.

10. It had a provision of nabud where the peasant could keep 1/8 of his land uncultivated to restore fertility. 11. The peasants had the flexibility to chose between dahsala and other systems.

Shah Jahan

1. He abolished nabud and raised LR to 50%.2. He separated the functions of revenue assessment and collection.3. He extended Dahsala to Deccan as well.

Aurangzeb

1. He went back to the system of revenue farming.

The 16th & 17th CenturiesPopulation

1. Nearly 15% of population lived in cities. 2. 1600: 140-150 mm. 1800: 200-210 mm. Growth rate: 0.21%.

Agricultural ProductionLand Relations

1. The central feature of the Mughal economy was that the entire system was based on extraction of agriculture surplus form the peasants and concentration into the hands of the sultans and his officers.

2. Khalisa land comprised ~20% of all cultivated land but this was not a constant feature. It used to change depending upon the contemporary politico - economic conditions. For instance in 18th cent khalisa land declined to a small proportion only due to the weak position of the emperor while the share of jagirs increased.

3. Apart from khalisa and jagir, other land classifications were Madad-i-Mash or Milk which was the land given to men of religion. Initially the sultan had great control over it and he could transfer it or revoke it but later on it became hereditary and began to be treated as personal fiefs. Theoretically the donee didn't have any rights of ownership on the land, he merely had the rights over the land revenue collected. So the donee could neither sell the land nor transfer it. Many a times he was given fallow land and was expected to bring it under cultivation so he could also give it on lease to other peasants.

4. Land which was under cultivation by the Riyayat class (khudkasht) was owned by them. State didn't have any property ownership claims on it - it mere had claim to land revenue from it. So long as the land revenue was paid, state couldn't dispose the owner. Similarly even though village community had a say in the sale / purchase of land the ownership rights belonged to khudkasht only. However the khudkasht couldn't leave the land uncultivated. If he did so, state had the right to get it cultivated by someone else. But when he came back for cultivating it he could always get his land back. State owned the rights over forest and uncultivated land and it could authorize anyone to cultivate it.



5. That there was no community ownership of the land can be seen from the fact that ownership belonged to khudkashts and zamindars. The tenancy rights belonged to paikashts and muzaris. The zamindari rights belonged to the zamindar and only the diwani rights belonged to the state. The village commons and nearby forests belonged to the state and not village community. Thus when a zamindar wanted to bring that land under cultivation he had to take the permission of the state and not the village community. This is also substantiated by the fact that state used to extend loans like taccavi directly to the peasant and not to the village community.

Production Process

1. The LR was collected in cash and it was a lot. So the peasant had to sell a large part of his produce in the market. Moreover to pay the LR he had to grow superior crops like wheat (even though it was not his staple diet which was coarse grain). Superior crops needed more investment so most peasants (except the rich ones) had to often borrow. Such loans often came from the informal channel through the local money lenders and zamindars and came at high interest rates.

2. LR rate differed for different classes of peasants. Riyayat peasants (who were often from higher castes as well) had to pay at a reduced rate while Raiyyat peasants (which includes Paikashts and Muzaris and were often from lower castes) had to pay LR at a higher rate. So state used to ensure that Raiyyat peasants don't get converted into Riyayat peasants.

3. We cannot accept the claim that villages in mughal India were self sufficient in all respects because they were small units and it was not possible for them to have all professionals living in them. So they used to depend on each other for quite many things.

Role of Zamindars

1. There were 3 classes of zamindars - (a) Autonomous chieftains which included Rajput kings, Rawat, Rao, Rajas etc. They were the erstwhile rulers in their own might and had political power but began to be called zamindar only because they came under Mughal suzerainty. There were again 2 subtypes here, one where they had to pay regular peshkashs to the mughal administration and also offer military service and other where they were free from such obligations. (b) Intermediary zamindars who were either employed by the jagirdars or the autonomous chieftains to collect LR on their behalf. In return they could keep a portion with themselves. Their privileges came not from any ownership rights but from service to the administration. (c) Primary zamindars who had ownership rights over the land which they used to get cultivated by giving on lease. But it must be kept in mind such a classification was not watertight.

2. Autonomous chieftains, as mentioned earlier, were supposed to pay peshkash to the administration and sometimes military service. Intermediary zamindars were expected to collect (or assist in collection) and deposit LR, help in LR assessment and also maintain law and order. Primary zamindars were expected to do the same. So long as a zamindar paid his LR he had inheritable zamindari rights and could also transfer / sell it.

3. Another important responsibility of the zamindar was to keep maximum possible land under cultivation and to extend it. For this reason he had to provide loans, oxen, seeds etc. to the cultivators. If for some reason he was unable to bring his land under cultivation, he could be deprived of his zamindari rights.

4. Zamindars were required to keep small military units for maintenance of law and order and rendering military service when called upon to do so.5. Zamindars had the privilege of collecting malikana (share from LR for his claim over the land in case the LR was collected directly), Nankar (share from LR for his

service or grant of revenue free land in exchange for his service) and some other feudal levies directly from the peasants. Peasants could complaint to the administration if the zamindar was trying to exploit them illegally. This worked well while the Mughals were strong but towards the later half of 17th century and 18th century there were no effective checks on zamindars.

6. Apart from these functions they also had community functions like resolving petty disputes, organizing fairs and festivals in the village etc. All this tells us that there was no panchayati raj system in villages in mughal period.

Craft ProductionRoyal Karkhanas

1. The Mughals maintained a number of royal karkhanas for the production of goods for royal use. These karkhanas were under the office of Mir Saman.2. Each karkhana had an in-charge called daroga-i-karkhana who had special knowledge of the working of the karkhana. The chief artisans were called ustads and

juniors were called shagirds. These artisans were employed by state and paid out of royal treasury.3. The state used to employ best artisans in the karkhanas. These karkhanas also developed new technologies and sometimes the artisans were sent to and settled

in different cities. 4. Based on the type of output, these karkhanas were classified into 6 types - animal related, military items, items for court, items for royal household needs,

storehouses, needs of various departments of administration.5. Aping the emperor, various nobles and some zamindars too had their personal karkhanas. Sometimes these karkhanas were used to earn profit.

Production Process in Medieval India

1. Industries: Important industries were construction, textiles, metallurgy, paper, carpentry. India suffered from not having sufficient coal (because at that time mining was not practiced) so it had to use wood in metallurgical industry which was obviously very inefficient. Iron smelting and sword making industries were important and iron was produced domestically only. Iron was produced @ Bengal, Kashmir, Lahore, Gujarat, Ajmer, Kalinjar and Gwalior while swords were produced @ Bhuj, Una and Sirahi. Saltpeter was produced in Ajmer, Alwar and Patna and was a very important export item to European companies. Salt used to be produced in coastal areas and Sambhar lake and Shamsabad in Lahore. It was brought to the towns by banjaras. Paper industry had developed but not in a big way. Sugar and gud making industries were well developed. Silk was produced in Bengal.

2. Technology: Labor intensive technologies were used and there was a general resistance towards using labor saving technologies. But technologies which improved production without cutting labor were encouraged.

3. Distribution: Craft production took place both in rural areas and cities. The rural artisans were part-time farmers also. Apart from these, royal karkhanas were there.

4. Mode of organization: It was mostly unorganized sector. It was predominantly household based. It were mainly the farmers and rural labor who also used to engage in crafts as side business. In karkhanas, ship making and in public works only did artisans assemble @ one place. But mostly this assembly was on an ad-hoc basis and as soon as the project was finished, they were dispersed.

5. Mode of production: Putting out system or the dadni system was prevalent where the merchant would give raw materials, credit to artisans in their home. Sometimes the artisans in this system were reduced to wage earners when prices of all inputs were fixed. Another system was the guild system. There was a master craftsman and his juniors. They held a high rank in the society as Abu Fazl puts them below nobles but above ulemmas.

Towns

1. Unity, safety, peace, uniform laws. But it must be kept in mind that despite the fragmentation of the country following decline of Sultanate there was no visible decline in the level of urbanization in 15th cent. Similar phenomenon occurred in the 18th cent. There was no decline in urbanization.

2. New urban settlements called kasba came up in 16th and 17th cent. Initially a village which had a fort used to be called a kasba but later on villages which had a market came to be called upon with that name. Transportation and communications means also developed between these market villages or kasbas, many sarais came up and urbanization grew.

3. Development in means of communication and roads, promotion of technologies, royal karkhanas, promotion of trade via concessions, european companies, abolition of pilgrimage tax etc. all measures led to increase in urbanization.

4. New towns founded by the rulers like Fatehpur Sikri, Din Panah, Shahjahanabad.5. Payment of LR in cash and the heavy amount of LR itself led to the increased availability of agriculture produce in the towns and led to their growth. The surplus

from LR was concentrated in the hands of few. The mughal rulers and amirs used to spend luxuriously and this encouraged crafts production and commerce.



Villages used to provide agriculture produce while they got salt and iron in return.

6. Growth of cantonment towns. 7. The condition of urban poor was getting more difficult due to increasing influx of displaced peasants from the countryside (in the face of excessive LR and

exploitation). They often lived in small one room kuccha huts in poor living conditions. Small traders and professionals lived in pukka houses.

Commerce with Europe (Dutch, English & French): A Trade RevolutionWhat was the Revolution?

1. There was a tremendous increase in India's foreign trade from middle of 16th to middle of 18th century not only in volume, but trade items and geographies as well.

2. Important factors in this increase were the companies and rise of 3 large empires - Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals.3. New centres of crafts grew. The developed Coromandel as a major centre of textile production - multiple times bigger than Gujarat which dominated until then.

Kasimnagar was developed as a major centre of raw silk production.4. New items grew in importance in trade. Indigo was found to be superior and cheaper means of dyeing in Europe so its export grew manifolds. Textiles became a

major item of export. Raw silk exports grew (from Kasimnagar) and they became second largest after textiles. Saltpeter was exported from Bihar.

Their Modus Operandi

1. They used their naval power extensively in their trade dealings. They not only fought off each other but also used to coerce native powers to grant them favorable terms.

2. They believed in trade monopolies and were against free trade. So another strategy was to gain trade concessions from home and local governments and later on to dictate terms of trade.

3. They backed up their naval power by setting up factories and forts @ coasts. The Dutch captured the spice trade by ousting Portuguese. They needed Indian textiles to pay for Indonesian spices, so strengthened their influence in the coromandel coast as well by setting up a factory @ Masaulipatnam. They obtained concessions from Golconda, Vijaynagar and nayaks. Soon they captured Malacca, Colombo and Cochin to establish their dominance.

Attitude of Indian Powers

1. They believed in encouraging trade. They encouraged these companies to compete against each other. The Portuguese tried to blockade Surat. So when the Dutch and English fought them off to increase their own influence, they were welcomed and farmaans were given to them to setup factories.

2. They view them as trading companies which were increasing Indian exports and bringing prosperity. This increased the revenues of the state. Hence the powerful rulers used to grant them trade concessions despite having occasional differences which arose due to overreach by the companies. Thus for instance Aurangzeb gave concessions to the in 1690 despite having fought a battle against them. Moreover the weaker rulers used to get coerced by the military and naval might of the companies.

Reasons for Success: Colonial Interpretation

1. They were successful not because of government monopolies or violence but because of their competitiveness.2. They established transparency and predictability in otherwise volatile and crooked markets.

Critique of Colonial Interpretation

1. Prices were fixed not by fair means but by establishing monopolies and leveraging political power.2. They always shied away from competition and tried to create monopolies and get government concessions.3. The could penetrate so easily in Indian markets not because of their skills but because of the advanced trade and credit systems present here.

Indian Mercantile ClassNobility

1. They used to carry on trade in association with merchants or sometimes through misuse of their offices.2. They also used to invest heavily in ship building.

Local Village-Town Trade

1. Villages supplied food grain and agri-produce like indigo, cotton for manufacturing in cities. In general they took salt, raw iron etc. Crucial role was played here by banjaras, banks and mandis.

2. The village baniks retailed goods in the villages, transported and sold food grains in the mandis, brought village necessities, lent money. Banjaras also used to freight grains and other essentials.

Inter-Regional Trade

1. There were regions of surplus and deficit and hence trade. Gujarat, Bengal, Kashmir, Coromandel were important textiles centres. Imported goods came from Multan and Gujarat and Punjab. Agra and Burhanpur were nodal centres earlier and with the decline of Agra, Benaras came up.

2. Trade used to happen over both land and river ways and coastal shipping. Trade used to happen both in luxury and essential goods.3. The traders didn't belong to any one community and in different places different communities dominated different types of trades. They were also organized into

guilds and had political influence. There were big merchant houses as well like today's industrial houses. They also traded with european companies and sometimes bought their entire consignment in one go.

4. Then there were smaller traders who had their independent business (which they financed out of loans or savings) as well as acted as agents of the bigger merchants and europeans. Some of the agents worked on a commission basis while some took the inventory risk.

Foreign Maritime Trade

1. companies were an important player in it.2. Indian trading community was a large and a prosperous community and included some of the richest trading names of the world in the age like the Vohras.

Indian traders can be classified into 3 - (a) Those who owned multiple ships and hired captains. (b) Those who owned one ship and used to captain themselves. There were some who functioned as both the owners of their ship and goods and also agents for the goods of other traders ferrying on their ship. (c) Those who used to hire space on other ships. This category was naturally the largest. The merchants engaged in international trade used to rely mainly on brokers / agents at the ports for selling their goods and sourcing new ones. Thus there grew a large class of traders who used to operate in ports and their hinterlands.

3. There was non interference from the state so long as law and order was maintained and taxes were paid on time. The trade was based on principles of free trade and no military backing was acquired by the traders. But the royal amirs and princes used to engage in trade in their personal capacity.

4. Most of the transactions and contracts used to happen between traders from the same caste or community. This was because of the realities of the socio-legal system of the age. The legal system was not as effective as the social system. So it was easy to enforce contracts if the parties belonged to the same community. Contracts between different community members used to happen but they remained exceptions. Thus the trade was organized on family / community lines.



5. In the 15th cent, Indian traders (mostly Gujaratis) dominated the Indian ocean trade between Gulf of Khambat and Malacca Straits. In the Arabian sea, although the ships used were made in India, the dominant trading community was that of Arabs. Malacca had emerged as an international commercial center and Indian ships from Gujarat, Coromandel coast and Bengal used to sail for there. Indians used to export opium, perfumes (from Arabia) and sandalwood and import porcelain and silk from China.

6. Though later the europeans increased their trade in this route, Indian ships had lower rentals than the european ships. Also Indian traders used to prefer Indian ships only so that contractual disputes were easier to settle.

Markets

1. There were usually 2 modes of procurement of goods - (a) Spot purchases, (b) Agent system, and (c) Dadni system. Spot purchases used to happen often in the big or small urban markets and were the commonest for of the market. Big traders and europeans used the agent system to procure goods where they would hire some agents to do the procurement task from either the craftsmen or small traders. Dadni system was the putting out system which became popular in later half of 17th century. Additionally sometimes the princes and amirs would buy the entire consignment of goods directly from the large traders.

Foreign Overland Trade

1. Indian merchants settled along all major trade routes of Central Asia and Persia. Here they settled inn pockets and were given protection by the respective rulers.

2. They used to trade in collaboration with the locals whom they used to transport their goods, sharing profits.

Hundi System

1. They were like the letters of credit and carried a promise to pay a fixed amount after a fixed time at a fixed place. But they could be redeemed early @ a discount. Hundis financed the inter-regional long distance trade. The merchant could encash it @ the point of destination after the delivery of goods. Hundis were also used to transfer money from one place to another much like the hawala system. These hundis often carried no signatures or seals and yet were honored. The sarafs used to charge for issuing hundis. These charges (from European sources) ranged around 1 - 2% in 17th cent AD. Additional charges were levied while discounting the hundi. These rates varied from time to time according to demand and supply conditions.

2. The system began when people began to place deposits with the sarafs which were repayable on demand. These sarafs would then lend it out on credit to earn interest and thus make money. Soon various nobles also began to place deposits with them from the treasury (although illegally). Thus the hundi system led to the development of institutions which were able to mobilize savings and direct it towards the investment avenues. Hundis also created credit and thus additional money supply.

Credit System

1. Agriculture credit: The LR had to be paid in cash and on time. This led to the growth of a monetary economy and credit. Money changes came up in virtually every village. Their main job was to exchange objects (mostly gold and silver) for coins for which they would charge a fee. When the LR was due, the bankers would pay it and zamindars would pay them when they collected their dues. The hundi method was also used for the movement of khalisa revenue from distant places like Bengal. Also due to the high rates and time bound payment requirement the peasant himself was forced to borrow and borrow mostly from the local money lenders and thus remained in debt trap. To get over with this problem the state began to give taccavi loans to the peasants.

2. Commercial credit: Petty traders and shopkeepers would often borrow from the mahajan or sahu in order to finance his purchases. Then he would purchase goods, come back, sell them (often to the same mahajan or sahu) and repay the debt and interest. Similarly small artisans would borrow from such traders and sell back the output to them. Gradually the traders also began to supply them the raw materials (and thus the dadni system evolved). Interest rates for such commercial loans were in 6 - 12% per month range in Delhi - Agra. If some trader needed funds for a short time he would mortgage his hundis. Sometimes the amirs would also borrow though mostly they were a source of raising deposits.

Insurance System

1. It was generally a part of the hundi system or the credit system. Insurance was done mostly for ships and goods to be transported. There were 2 types of insurers - one where the insurer would undertake the responsibility of ferrying the goods himself and other where he would not ferry the goods.

2. Though it depended upon the distance, value, means of transport, the insurance rates for an inter-regional trip were low and ranged from 0.5-2%.

The 15th & Early 16th Century - Political Developments and Economy

Created: 2/27/2012 1:13 PM

Rise of Provincial DynastiesBengalSignificance of the Bengal Rulers(a) Economic

1. They exchanged embassies with China and developed Bengalese craft and trade including the ports of Chittagong.2. Bengal became a centre of textiles and ship building.

(b) Cultural

1. The sultans patronized Bengali and also patronized famous Persian scholars. 2. They adorned their capitals (Gaur and Pandua) with magnificent buildings. Adani mosque is the best example. the Bengalese architecture was independent of

Delhi. (a) It used material from temples. (b) It used broad, sloping arches and curvilinear roofs.

(c) Social

1. Kings like Azam Shah (1389-1409) followed religious tolerance and love for justice. 2. Sufi movement became widespread and it increased communal harmony.

Kashmir (Zainul Abedin)Significance of Zainul Abedin(a) Economic

1. He imported technologies like paper-making and book-binding.2. He encouraged shawl-making, stone-cutting and polishing, musket-making, fireworks-making etc.3. He developed irrigation works and encouraged agriculture.



(b) Social

1. Before him, Hindus were persecuted. First by the Mongol invaders and then by the king who drove them out of valley. He invited them back, followed a secular policy, rebuilt their temples, restored grants etc.

(c) Cultural

1. He patronized Persian, Kashmiri, Sanskrit and Tibetan. He was a learned man and himself wrote poetry. Many Sanskrit works including Rajtarangini were translated into Persian and brought up to date.

2. He built an artificial island on Wular Lake and built his palace there.

Gujarat (from Timur's time)Significance of Gujarat Rulers (a) Economic(b) Social(c) Cultural

1. Rulers like Ahmed Shah (1411-42) built new capitals and many buildings like madarssas, palaces, bazars. The Gujarat architecture drew on the rich tradition of Jainas and Hindus and hence was different from Delhi. Jama Masjid (1423 AD) is the best example. The Gujarat architecture had slender turrets, exquisite stone-carving and highly ornamented stone and timber works.

2. Mahmud Begarha built a new capital Mustafabad with lofty buildings. He built multiple gardens and palaces.

MalwaSignificance of Malwa Rulers(a) Economic(b) Social(c) Cultural

1. Malwa architecture was massive with lofty buildings and high plinths. They used large number of glazed colored tiles. Examples are Jama Masjid, Hindola Mahal and Jahaz Mahal.

BahmanidSignificance of Bahmani Kingdom(a) Political

1. It provided stability and law and order in the Deccan at a time Sultanate was on a decline.2. Mahmud Gawan laid the foundations of an efficient administration. Land was divided into jagirs and khalisa. Noblemen were paid using jagirs usually. LRS was

measurement and assessment based.

(b) Cultural

1. Bahmani ruler Firuz Shah patronized a great number of scholars and artists and was well versed in 6 languages himself. A number of scholars from N India and abroad flocked to his kingdom.

2. Firuz was also fond of natural sciences and encouraged it. He built an astronomical observatory near Daulatabad.3. Firuz laid down the foundation of an inclusive administration where Hindus were recruited in large numbers.4. Mahmud Gawan too was a great patron of arts. He built a massive madarssa @ Bidar which attracted scholars from all over Islamic world.

(c) Economic

1. Firuz encouraged foreign trade and made Chaul and Dabhol important ports in W coast. 2. Mahmud Gawan fixed the LRS to assessment and measurement based.

The Vijaynagar EmpireClash with Kingdoms of NorthReasons(a) Economic Factors

1. Fertile agricultural regions of Tungbhadra doab, Krishna-Godavari delta and Konkan belt.2. Port cities in Krishna-Godavari delta and Konkan belt and its hinterland which controlled the foreign maritime trade of India. The port of Goa in the Konkan belt

was important for the import of quality horses. Additionally the rich mines in the area also lured the two kingdoms.3. Contemporary muslim writers tell us that the peace between the two kingdoms hinged on the Vijaynagar kingdom paying a regular tribute to the Bahmanids.

Whenever they stopped paying, war broke out.

(b) Geo-Political Factors

1. Krishna and Tungbhadra rivers divide the peninsular India into two distinct geographies. Since the ancient ages we have see powers like Chalukyas of Kalyani, Pallavas, Rashtrakutas, Eastern Chalukyas etc. to the south and to the north of these rivers to try and cross them to establish their influence over entire peninsula. The Vijaynagar - Bahmanid conflict was a mere repetition of the same age old conflict.

2. Imperialistic outlook. But Bahmani kingdom was surrounded in the north by powerful principalities of Gujarat, Malwa and Odisha. So only expansion possible was in the south of Tungbhadra. Similarly Vijaynagar was surrounded by the sea and only expansion possible was to the north.

3. Revengeful needs.

(c) Cultural Factors

1. Contemporary muslim writers tell us that Bahmani sultans fought these wars to quell the enemies of Islam and that Vijaynagar was often defeated in them. But other evidences don't support this.

Developments in the Conflict(a) Phase I

1. In 1367, the Vijaynagar ruler Bukka I stormed the fort of Mudukal and killed all Bahmani soldiers except one. In retaliation, the Bahmani king stormed Vijaynagar. The Vijaynagar ruler fled to the forests. After not being able to capture him and growing weary, a peace deal was signed where old positions were restored and it was agreed to avoid mass slaughters.

2. During the reign of Devraya I, there was a renewed fight for the Tungbhadra doab and Vijaynagar was defeated again. He had to marry his daughter to Bahmani



sultan and buy peace. But this marriage couldn't buy lasting peace.3. Until now, Warrangal in the east had allied himself with the Bahmani kingdom due to which Vijaynagar couldn't expand there. But there was a change of power

and the new ruler allied with Vijaynagar. This altered balance of power and Devraya launched an offensive on Bahmani kingdom and defeated him and annexed the doab.

4. His successor Devraya II strengthened his army with western horses and archers and defeated Bahamans again in 1443.

(b) Phase II

1. Comes Krishnadevrai in 1509. He first annexes Krishna-Godavari delta from the ruler of Odisha and then sacks the Tungbhadra doab.2. His successors under Rajaraja stopped the supply of horses to the northern states. He kept them divided and defeated them one by one. But later they combined

and defeated Vijaynagar in 1565 in the Battle of Talikota / Bannihatti.

Significance of KrishnadevraiPolitical

1. He restored the former glory of Vijaynagar empire and even surpassed it. He wrested back Krishna-Godavari delta, defeated an alliance of Bijapur and Odisha and kept Portuguese in check.

2. He also kept internal law and order.

Social

1. He give complete religious freedom to his subjects. Anybody could settle down and move freely in his kingdom without any distinction of religion.

Cultural

1. He was a great patron of Telugu, Tamil and Kannada literature as well as Sanskrit.2. He was a great builder. He constructed a new town near Hampi and built massive tank there and temples,

The LodisFactors Behind Decline of DS

1. Dependency on Sultan.2. Absence of laws of successions. 3. Military state. Rule could be maintained only till military superiority of Sultan was maintained. 4. Police state.5. Islamic state.6. Nobility. Theory of first among equals in Afghans. Court intrigues.7. Inward looking character and backward technology.8. Military heterogeneity.

Significance of Lodis(a) Political

1. It recreated the Sultanate and provided a large empire. Sikandar Lodi tried to make it centralized and impress his sovereignty against the Afghan concept of first among equals. He made nobles stand in front of him in the court and whenever a royal decree was sent, the nobles had to come out of the town to receive it and with due honor.

2. Corruption in administration was checked with Sikandar stressing on regular accounts from jagirdars.

(b) Economic

1. Sikandar Lodi established law and order, abolished certain taxes and promoted trade.2. He introduced a new standard of measurement called Sikandar-gaj. He also prepared a jama which was used by SSS.

(c) Social

1. Limitation: He was a religious bigot.

(d) Cultural

1. He patronized men of religion and learning and art.2. He had many Sanskrit works on music translated into Persian.3. He built Agra.

Mughal EmpireBabur Battle of Panipat's Significance

1. Opened Lodi's territories up to Jaunpur for his conquest.2. The treasury recovered from Agra was a great relief and morale booster.

Battle of Panipat's Limitations

1. The Afghans in Jaunpur and Rajputs in Rajasthan were still strong and hostile.2. The city dwellers had refused to cooperate with Mughals thinking they would massacre them like Timur. So they fled Agra leaving Babur with no resources. In

other towns, they locked themselves up in forts.3. Babur's commanders wanted to go back thinking the battle had been won.

Babur's Response

1. He declared his intention to stay on openly and asked all those who wanted to leave to leave. 2. After exhausting the treasure of Agra, he distributed the unconquered territory to his begs making clear that only way to make money now is to fight.3. He declared war against Rajputs as Jihad and promised tax exemptions etc. Gave up wine.4. Against Afghans, he beloved that by the virtue of defeating Lodi, he had a claim over his entire territory including Jaunpur. So he didn't negotiate with Afghans of

Jaunpur but he knew a wipeout will need an extensive campaign. So he just defeated them and forced his suzerainty.



Significance of Babur

1. Laid the founding principles of Mughal rule. Secularism and religious tolerance.2. Sovereignty of ruler yet good treatment of nobles. Hence a good centralized empire. 3. Inward looking attitude of Indian powers was abolished and Mughals used to exchange embassies with other rulers. 4. Afghanistan came to India. This extended India's natural frontiers and brought the Central Asian trade routes including the one to China in India's reach. 5. He was a great patron of dance, music, art and architecture.

HumayunChallenges Before Humayun

1. Financial: Frequent wars had left little time for consolidation. It also meant huge expenses on military. As a result finances of the state were in a ruined state and Humayun had to buildup from scratch.

2. Administrative: Humayun didn't have any efficient administrative setup to fall back upon due to frequent wars in Babur's time. The kingdom had been haphazardly divided among many begs for administration and revenue collection. It was a war time setup.

3. Cultural: Tmurids had a tradition of partitioning the empire after the emperor's death. So Humayun's brother Kamran considered it legitimate to carve out his own dominion and even captured Lahore.

4. Military: Gujarat in the south and Afghans in the east were constant problem.

Humayun's Response(a) Gujarat

1. He secured his kingdom first from Bahadur Shah's attack by securing Kalinjar fort and forming a line of defence against Gujarat which included forts of Bayana, Dholpur, Kalinjar and Gwalior.

2. He wanted to avoid a war and just wanted to keep Gujarat contained. Any attack from Gujarat had to proceed via Rajasthan. So when Bahadur Shah attacked Chittor, Humayun advanced to Gwalior and Bahadur Shah had to fall back. Then he went back to Delhi and built a new city of Din panah. This was followed by diplomatic exchanges between the two rulers in which Humayun stressed the good relations between the two states.

3. This, however, was taken as a weakness and Bahadur Shah attacked Chittor. Humayun was left with no option but to attack Gujarat. Bahadur Shah had to flee.4. But he couldn't consolidate his conquest of Gujarat as the administrators there proved inefficient and he himself didn't spend enough time there.

(b) Afghans

1. He didn't want to disturb the status quo initially for he knew that he would have to secure his back before launching any extensive campaign against the Afghans. So only when SSS attacked the fort of Chunar (which was considered a gateway to Bihar) that Humayun decided to march there. He defeated SSS and then released him on condition of tribute and service.

2. It was only when SSS conquered Bengal in 1537 that Humayun felt threatened and marched against him. He seized the fort of Chunar again but the seize took longer than expected and SSS completed his Bengal conquest.

3. He failed to realize the true character of the threat and till the end offered to give SSS any jagir in return for giving up te claim on Bengal and surrendering royal emblems. But Bengal was too precious a prize to give up and SSS rejected his demands.

Limitations of Humayun

1. As a General: He was an able commander and led his troops to victory in many battles like Chunar, Gujarat, Kalinjar. But he lacked vision and strategic thought. He didn't do anything to keep Afghans under check after capturing Chunar in 1532. Maintaining status quo was a good policy in those circumstances but status quo can't be maintained by closing eyes. The enemy ha to be kept weak. Similarly after winning he simply allowed the losers to continue. He marched too deep into Bengal without realizing that the circumstances didn't allow him to have a stable rule in Bengal and it was a futile chase.

2. As a Diplomat: Though he showed eagerness to use diplomacy, but he failed to reconcile it with his larger policy. His aim was to contain Gujarat. That would have been possible only with a weak Gujarat. But calling Gujarat a friendly state after its adventures in Chittor and Malwa could only signify his weakness.

3. As an Administrator: He was an able administrator and built everything from scratch. But he failed to pic right people for crucial jobs as in Gujarat. Again he didn't realize that his control over Gujarat was not strong enough and he needed to personally spend more time there.

4. As a Benevolent Ruler: He instituted a drum of justice to win people. He also remitted few cesses to make it easy for peasants and merchants.5. As a Builder: He constructed the city of Din Panah in Delhi.

Sher Shah Suri (SSS) PolityMughal-Like Elements

1. Stress on sovereignty of one ruler alone and his despotism. 2. Secular nature of state.3. Welfare orientation. 4. Some provinces were called subahs.

DS-Like Elements

1. Called himself 'Sultan'.2. Administration: Sirkars and Parganas.3. Military: Dag and Huliya continued.4. Revenue: Measurement based like Alauddin.

Administration

1. Empire --> Sirkars --> Parganas --> Villages. Some sirkars in the frontier regions grouped together into subahs.2. Each village had a headman and a patwari. The headman maintained law and order and patwari maintained accounts. Both helped in collecting LR and got their

cut.3. The Pargana had a Shiqdar to look after the general administration and a munsif to measure land for revenue assessment. Both helped in collecting LR. Records

were kept in Persian and the local language.4. The Sirkar had a mukta / faujdar for general administration and a munsif-i-munsifan for measuring land for revenue assessment. Both helped in collecting LR. 5. At the central level, traditional departments like revenue, military etc. continued, but the power of the senior officials was severely curtailed. 6. Principle of local responsibility was applied. Hindu law was applied to Hindus and uniform Muslim law was applied in criminal matters. Punishments were severe. 7. He believed that law and order could be maintained only by checking the misuse f power by the local zamindars who were often in nexus with the robbers. So he

kept them firmly in check.

Economic Measures



1. Currency: He introduced a standard pure silver coin called 'Rupiah' and pure copper coin called 'dam' by eliminating a number of debased currencies in circulation that time.

2. Land Revenue: He carried out a measurement of all land @ individual level. LR was collected @ village level in cash. Official price lists were used. And was divided into good, bad and average and productivity rates were identified for each. LR was one-third of the average of all three.

3. Tolls: He abolished numerous taxes prevailing and instead levied two taxes : (a) @ stage of production or entry of goods in his empire. (b) @ point of sale.4. Communication: He constructed many roads like Sonargaon --> Attock, Agra --> Jodhpur, Agra --> Burhanpur, Lahore --> Multan. Trees were planted and

sarais built where separate arrangements were made for Hindus and Muslims. Services were provided to the travelers out of state funds according to their rank. These sarais became hub of trading activity with time. Road safety was improved and the sarais also served as post offices.

Art & Architecture and Welfare Measures

1. Education: Land grants were made to bot Hindu and Muslim scholars. Many maktabs and madarssas were opened.2. Welfare: Free kitchen was opened. Help and charity was provided to needy.3. Architecture: Purana Qila, SS's tomb @ Sahsaram etc.

Portuguese Colonial Enterprise Indian Ocean Trade Before the Portuguese

1. It was a free trade and the merchants were encouraged by their respective states but were not backed by navies. 2. The level of specialization among traders was relatively less and they used to trade multiple commodities, wherever they could earn profit.3. Arab ships came to W coast of India. Earlier, Chinese ships used to come to Malabar coast as well but later they sailed only till SE Asian ports. So another sub-

channel was from India to SE Asia.4. The merchants were organized into guilds. The sailors were mostly Asians. Captains were respected and used to earn good money.5. Trade used to go on in luxury items (like spices, ivory, silk, porcelain, horses) as well as day to day items (like sugar, salt, grains, clothing).6. India was a major shipbuilding center though later Chinese and Arab ships took over.

Factors behind their rise(a) Political

1. The S states were constantly fighting each other. They didn't realize the true character of Portuguese. They didn't develop efficient navy. 2. Better generals, better strategy. Spirit of imperialism.

(b) Social

1. The spirit of enquiry. Better technological knowhow.

(c) Cultural

1. The mariner's spirit of daring and knowledge of sea.2. Christianity spirit.

ImpactEconomic

1. It ended the era of free trade. Now trade began to be increasingly supported by navies. This very concept of controlling trading rights was new to this part of the world.

2. Initially they began to loot the ships but later on they established a license system (called cartaze) and every ship (including the royal ships) had to obtain a license in order to ply safely and also further pay toll taxes whenever they passed near their factories. Later on they initiated a caravan system so that it was easier to collect tolls and also protect ships from pirates. Initially the Portuguese state declared certain items to be their trading monopoly and to tax other items but its implementation remained ineffective and they had to revoke it. The reason was that although the Portuguese could search any ship and treat any offender as prisoner of war, they realized that by doing so, they would stand to lose more on land. So they liberalized the permit system (called cartaze system) and relaxed the implementation.

3. It ended the Arab monopoly over trade. Yet it also failed to have much impact because Asian sailors began to use alternate routes over which Portuguese had no control. Also the Turks and SE Asian rulers were able to liberate their seas from Portuguese and thus Malacca and Hormuz remained out of their control.

4. The monopoly also failed because there was little demand of Portuguese goods here. Often they had to pay in bullion. But bullion was scarce for them. So the direct trade was never very important but tolls became an important source of income for them.

5. They brought crops like potato, tomato, chillies, pineapple and tobacco to India. They also brought printing press but it didn't take off for some reason.

Political

1. The Portuguese were never strong enough to have any lasting political influence. However, they did manage to capture some coastal pockets and islands. Their influence was higher in Goa, Diu, Malabar. They could never control Coromandel and Bengal and also Gujarat effectively.

2. They managed to coerce the native rulers to act in their interests.

Social

1. Slavery and exploitation increased as they used to make slave raids. 2. They created a new class of Indo-Portuguese who were looked down upon as well. 3. Conversions also couldn't take place on a large scale. They realized the realities of India that if they insist too much on conversion the merchants would leave

their dominations and their revenues will suffer.

Story of Portuguese PowerThe Beginning

1. From 1502 Portuguese began to establish their fortifications along the coastal areas and by 1510, Alberqueque had laid down the foundations of the Portuguese rule from Bijapur to Goa and made Goa the main center. By 1511, Malacca also fell to their dominance and thus they began to control the trade from India to Malacca. By 115 they came to control the trade in the Arabian sea as well. By this time they had control over Colombo, Coromandel coast, Macau apart from the above mentioned places.

2. Portuguese presence threatened the interests of other states. In his subsequent trips, Vasco-da-gama was accompanied by soldiers who persecuted Arab merchants and also arm-twisted the Calicut ruler to grant concessions. 1st European factory in India was opened in Cochin. They continued harassing Indian Ocean trade. So in 1509, the Egyptians and Gujaratis sent a combined navy but was defeated by Portuguese @ Battle of Diu(Francisco de Almeida was the 1st Portuguese governor). This made them supreme in Indian Ocean.

3. Alberqueque became the Portuguese governor of the east in 1510. He followed a policy of setting up forts @ strategic places to protect the naval supremacy (blue water policy). Following this policy, he captured Goa from Bijapur in 1510 (Goa became Portuguese headquarter in India under Nano Cunha's time). Using



Goa as a base, they were able to block Bijapuri sea trade. Next they established forts @ Colombo, SE Asia and W Asia in the Red sea and the Gulf. 4. To meet their challenge, an alliance was forged between Ottoman Turks and Gujarat's Bahadur Shah. But before they could achieve anything significant in Indian

seas, Bahadur Shah was ousted by Humayun and he had to seek refuge with Portuguese. After a few years, Turks too came @ peace with Portuguese.

The End

1. By 1600 new european powers were emerging with superior and faster ships than Portuguese. Thus in 1605 Dutch defeated them and ended their monopoly. By 1619 they were carrying on the trade in spices with Indonesia and had also established a factory in Surat.

2. Seeing the Dutch focus on the spices trade and also because demand for spices was not high in England but demand for textiles was, English decided to focus on India.

3. Portuguese had slow and heavy ships compared to the other European powers. They also suffered from the state ownership. English and Dutch could easily muster the support of their navies and yet remained outside state ownership. Moreover Portuguese had already alienated the rulers in India.

Mughal Polity & Administration

Created: 2/28/2012 6:19 PM

Nature of Mughal Polity

1. It had elements of Mongols + Persian + Indian polity.2. Monarchy + despotism + sovereignty + law of primogeniture.3. Centralized. 4. Court paraphernalia + semi-divine character + dynastic rule.5. Mansabdari + jagirdari system + checks and balances.6. Military + welfare state + secular.7. Written correspondences.8. Role of state in economy. 9. Imperialism.

10. Class state.

Mansabdari SystemFeatures

1. There were 2 mansab ranks - zat and sawar. The zat rank determined the salary, status and the maximum number of animals and carts a noble could maintain and sawar determined the actual number he had to maintain. In times of emergency, a mashrut rank was temporarily given.

2. Each mansabdar had to keep military as well. They were hired, fired, moved around by emperor only and were responsible to him. Mir Bakshi screened them. 3. It was supposed to be non-hereditary, open and merit based system. It was also supposed to be progressive as mansabdars were usually appointed @ low

mansabs and promoted through career for good service. It was based on law of escheats. But in reality birth played an important role and khanzadas i.e. whose ancestors had been nobles occupied significant proportion of high mansab ranks. Similarly Turani-Irani nobles always constituted large chunk of high nobility.

4. It was helpful in keeping checks and balances. No mansabdar was given a mansab high enough for him to become a threat to the king. Rajputs balanced Turani nobles. Mansabdars balanced subahdars.

5. Salary system was cash or jagirs. For jagirs, a jama was prepared which was equal to his salary. However, the system was top heavy and the leading nobles were paid excessively high salaries.

6. The system was institutional in character because the duties and powers of the offices were well defined.7. Practices of dag, huliya and regular inspection of troops were used.

Evolution of Mansabdari SystemAkbar

1. The system is first mentioned in 1567 => it was introduced probably in that year. Then in 1573, dag and huliya were introduced and in 1595, zat and sawar ranks were.

2. He excluded the Afghans largely from it.

Jahangir

1. Akbar followed the 10-20 model where a band of 10 sawars had to maintain 2 horses. Best 3 had to maintain 3 horses each, next 4 had to maintain 2 each and last 3 had to do with 1 each. But it became difficult to identify sawars capable of han

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