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 Early Medieval Period
1.North-lndia
 Gujjar-Pratihara
 Palas
 Rashtrakutas

2.North-lndia
 Cholas
 Western Chalukyas

NORTH INDIA: RAJPUTANA PERIOD

 After the deathof Harsha, there was no political unity in north India for about five centuries.
 The country was split up into a number of states which were constantly fighting and
changing their frontiers.
 Rajputas emerged as a powerful force in North India and dominated the lndian political
scene for about 500 years.

Tripartite Struggle
The period from 750-1000 CE saw the rise of three important empires: Gurjara-Pratihara
(Western India), Palas (Eastern India) and Rashtrakutas (Deccan).

 The conflict among these three powers (basically for control over Kannauj area of Ganga
valley) is often described as a tripartite struggle.
 Kannauj was strategically and commercially very important. lt was located on the Ganga
trade route and was connected to the Silk route. Previously, Kannauj was the capital of
Harshavardhana Empire.
 Out of these three, the Rashtrakutas emerged as the most powerful and their empire lasted
for the most time.
 Rashrakutas also acted as the bridge between north and south India in economic and
cultural areas

The Four Agnikul Rajput clans were:

1. The Pratiharas
2. The Chahamanas/Chauhans of Ajmer.
3. The Chandellas of Bundelkhand.
4. The Paramaras of Malwa.
 Gurjara-Pratihara Empire (Western India, 730-1036 AD):
 Known as Gurjara-Pratihara, as they originated from Gurjaras, who were primarily
pastoralists and fighters.
 Dynasty was founded by Harichandra, in and around Jodhpur, south western Rajasthan.
 Pratihara were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving east of the Indus River.
 Gurjara-Pratihara are known for their sculptures, carved panels and open pavilion style
temples.
 The greatest development of their style of temple building was at Khajuraho - UNESCO
World Heritage Site.

●Sanskrit Poet & Dramatist Rajasekhara lived in the court of Mahendrapala 1- son of Mihir
Bhoja.

 Finally in 11 th century CH, they were wiped off from the political map by the Ghaznavids
and their rule was succeeded by Chahamanas or Chauhans in Rajputana, Chalukyas or
Solankis in Gujarat and the Paramaras or Pawars in Malwa.

 Foreign traveller AI-Masudi had visited the Pratihara empire.

Important Rulers Nagabhata-1 (730-760 AD):

• Most famous Pratiharas kings, known for containing Arab armies .
• Defeated by Rashtrakuta king Dhruva.

 Vatsaraja (780 – 805 AD)

• Made Kannauj in western U.P as his capital.
• Expansionist policy brought him into conflict with Dharmapala, the Pala king and Rashtrakuta
king Dhruv, thus began "tripartite struggle" and continued for about another 350 years.
• Vatsraja defeated the Pala ruler Dharmapala and Dantidurga, the Rashtrakuta king for
control of Kannauj.
 Nagabhata-II (805 -833 AD)
• He conquered Kannauj and the Indo-Gangetic Plain as far as Bihar from the Palas, and again
checked the Muslims in the west.
• He rebuilt the Shiva temple at Somnath in Gujarat, which had been demolished in an Arab raid
from Sindh.

 Bhoja-1/ Mihira Bhoja (836-885 AD)

• Greatest ruler of Pratiharas, got victories over Palas and Rashtrakutas.
• Proved to be the most successful and popular ruler of Pratiharas.
• Capital at Kannauj, which is also known as Mahodaya.
• Devotee of Vishnu and adopted the title of 'Adivaraha.'
• He was called King Baura by another Arab traveller, Al-Masudi.
  Mahendrapala (885 -910 AD)
• Under Bhoja and his successor Mahendrapala I, the Pratihara empire reached its peak of
prosperity and power.
• The Rashtrakuta king Krishna III invaded north India in about 963 CE and defeated the Pratihara
ruler.

 Rajyapala (960-1018 AD)

 Raid of Mahmud Ghazni on Kannauj; Rajyapala fled from the battle field.
• Took the title Maharaja dhiraja of Aryavarta (Great King of Kings of Northern India). His court
was adorned by Rajashekhar, who was an eminent Sanskrit poet, dramatist and critic who wrote:
Karpuramanjari, Kavya Mimansa, Vidya Salabhanjika, Bhrinjika, Bala Ramayana, Prapanch
Pandav, Balabharathi, Bhusan Kosh.

 Yashpal (1024-1036 AD)

 Last ruler of this dynasty
 By 1090 CE, the Gadhavalas conquered Kannauj.

 Other AGNIKULA Rajput clans

 They ruled Bundelkhand region.
 Had two capital - Mahoba and Khajuraho
 Yashovarman made them an independent power.
 Ruled between the 9th and early 13th century.
 Weakened by invasions by Muslim dynasties.

 Paramaras
• They ruled over Malwa region, with Dhara as capital.
• The early rulers were vassals of Rashtrakutas.
• Siyaka captured Manyakheta, capital of Rashtrakutas.
• Harsola copper plate inscription in Gujarat is attested to Siyaka.
• Paramara Bhoja: Important King of this dynasty, known as patron of arts, literature and sciences.

Solanki Dynasty
 Ruled Gujarat for 300 years with the capital at Annihilwada, Solanki Dynasty
 Bhima I, in his reign Md Ghazni in 1025CE invaded Somnath temple.
 Kumarapala, in his court lived a popular Jain scholar Hemachandra.
 Bhima II, in the Year 1178, Md Ghori invaded Gujarat
 Chauhan
 Ajmer, as their capital.
Prithviraj Chauhan:
 He fought two battles at Tarain/ Staneshwar.
 In the firstbattle in 1191 he defeated Md Ghori.
 In the second battle 1192 he was defeated and "Qutbuddin Aibak" was appointed as
governor.
 Later Aibak established the Delhi Sultanate.

 Socio-Religious
 In India, Feudalism similar to western type is found in Rajput societies.
 Women immolated themselves on burning pyre- Johar. ,
 Female infanticide and earlymarriage of girls were practised.
 lt failed to absorb foreign elements.
 Vaishnavism and Shaivism were patronised by the rulers.

 Literature 1
 Buddhism declined and Jainism to some extent was present.
 In the court of Mahipala I, Sanskrit Scholar Rajasekhara lived.
 He wrote Karpuramanjari, Kavyamimamsa, Bhuvankosha and Haravilasa.
 Paramara Bhoja wrote 24 Sanskrit Kavyas and took the title of Kaviraja.
 His books were: Ayurveda Sarvasya, Samarangana Sutradhara (on architecture),
Champu-ramayana,Yukti kalpapatru (On statecraft).
 Bhoja built a Sanskrit college Bhojashala.
 Hemachandra, in the court of Kumarapala wrote Books: Kumarapalacharita, Naminatha,
Parisistha Parvan, Abhidhamma Chintamani.
 He took the title Kalikala Sarvagna.

 Art and Architecture

 The fort structure reached perfection under the Rajputs. The palaces of Jaipur and Udaipur
and the forts of Chittor, Mandu, Jodhpur and Gwalior are fine specimens of Rajputs
architecture.
 Dilwara temples at Mount Abu, the Vimla Vasahi and the Luna Vasahi were built by the
Solankis of Gujarat.
 Khajuraho temples were built by Chandellas rulers (UNESCO World Heritage site)
 Dilwara Jain temples in Mt Abu built by Solanki rulers.
 Rani ki Vav (UNESCO World Heritage site), a multi-storeyed well built by queen
Udayamathi (Bhima I wife).
  The palaces of Jaipur and Udaipur and forts of Chittor, Mandu, Jodhpur and Gwalior.
 The Rajputs paintings are divided into the Rajput School of Art and the Pahari School of
Art. The Rajasthani School flourished in Mewar, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer
and specialised in depicting scenes from Krishna Lila, Nayika Veda and Ritu Charita
 The Pahari School was patronised by the rulers of Himalayan states especially in the
regions of Basoli, Mandi, Jammu, Kangra and Garhwal.

Limitations of the rajputs:

• The Rajput society was feudal in its organisational set up. lt was divided into various states.
Each state was ruled by one or more hereditary ruling houses. They fought with each other and
exhausted themselves in the process.
• They lacked political vision and foresight and displayed lack of national consciousness. They
preferred personal freedom over political unity.
• There was no written Iaw for the land and most of the Rajputs ruled on the basis of local customs
and tradition.
• All the above causes made it easy for the Muslim invaders and when they invaded India, the
Indian society collapsed due to internal weakness.

Significance of rajputs:
•The Rajputs were the main defenders of the Hindu religion and culture from the Muslim
aggression. The bravery and courage at the time of adversity of Rajputs had inspired the
generation and is still inspiring.
• They were great warriors and laid down their lives for the honour of their family, clan and their
regional leaders.
• The Rajput women enjoyed considerable freedom and respect in the society. They were known
for their chastity and devotion to their husband. To save their honour, they committed jauhar with
pride.

The palas of Bengal: (750-1150 AD)

• Around the 8th century CE, Gopala laid the foundation of Pala dynasty.
• As the names of all the succeeding kings ended with 'Pala' which meant protector in the ancient
language of Prakrit, this dynasty came to be known as the 'Pala' dynasty.
• Capital: Muddagiri/ Munger (Bihar).
• Pala kingdom: Bengal and Bihar, included the major cities of Pataliputra, Vikrampura, Ramvati
(Varendra), Monghyr (Munger), Tamralipti and Jaggadala.
• Palas were followers of Mahayana Buddhism and Tantric schools of Buddhism.
• The Sailendra dynasty (Buddhist) which ruled over Malaya, Java, Sumatra sent many
embassies to the Pala court.
• Pala period is considered as the golden period in history of Bengal.
• Islam first appeared in Bengal during Pala rule, as a result of increased trade between Bengal
and the Middle East.
• Arab merchant Sulaiman had visited the Pala kingdom.
• The Palas' power was destroyed by the Sena dynasty under Vijayasena.
 The Rashtrakutas (Deccan):( 712-973 AD)
• Rashtrakutas meaning the chief of a rashtra, they considered as the feudatory of the Chalukyas.
Capital: Manyakheta or Malkhed near Solapur.
• They achieved spectacular military successes in the north and south and in the tripartite struggle
they mostly defeated the Palas and the Pratiharas.
• Rashtrakuta fought constantly against the eastern Chalukyas of Vengi and Pallavas of
Kanchi and Pandya of Madurai.
• Krishna III was the last great ruler of Rashtrakutas. In 972 CE, Capital city was burnt to ashes by
the united opponents. This marks the end of Rashtrakutas. They were tolerant in their religious
views and patronised Shaivism,Vaishnavism and Jainism.
• Rashtrakuta rule lasted in the Deccan for almost 200 years till the end of the 10th century.

 Dantidurga (753-756 AD)

 Feudatory of the Chalukyan king, Kirtivarman II.
 Founded Rashtrakutas kingdom in 753 CE.
 Name 'Dantidurga' (meaning he whose elephant is his fortress) also signifies his military
defeats and accomplishments.

 Krishna-1 (756-774 AD)

 The empire included present day Karnataka and Konkan under his control.
 Gave the final blow to Pallavas.
 The rock-cut Kailasanath (Shiva) temple (monolithic, dedicated to Lord Shiva) at
Ellora caves was built during his reign.

 Dhruva (780-793 AD)

He led successful expeditions to Kannauj, defeated the NNagabhata II (Pratiharas) and
Dharmapala (Pala).

 Amoghavarsha-I (814-878 AD)

 Called as "Ashoka of the South" and also compared to Gupta king Vikramaditya.
• Built a new capital city at Manyakheta (Modern Malkhed).
• Assumed the title "Veeranarayana".
 Defeated Eastern Chalukyas, maintained friendly relations with neighbours.
 He wrote Kavirajamarga (Kannada) and the Prasnottara Ratna Malika (Sanskrit).
 He was a follower of Jainism.
 After his death, all his opponents united against his successor and in 972 CE sacked the
Rashtrakuta capital Malkhed and burnt it to ashes. This marks the end of the Rashtrakutas.

Administratlon
The system of administration in all three dynasties was based upon the ideas and practices of the
Gupta empire. King was head of administration and commander in chief of the armed forces. He
also dispensed.
Socio-Religious
Law and order in the towns and in areas in their vicinity was the responsibility of Kosthapal or
Kotwal.
• Nad-Gavundas or Desa-Gramakutas were the hereditary revenue officers.
Society was divided into various castes and based on profession.
• Guilds occupied an important position in society.
• They were tolerant to various faiths.
• Amoghavarsha endorsed Jainism.

Literature
Patronised Sanskrit and popularised Kannada.
• Amoghavarsha, took a title "Kaviraja" and wrote two books:
• Kavirajamarga: grammar, first book written in Kannada.
• Ratnaloka: Sanskrit book written on Jainism.
• He patronised Sanskrit Jain scholars:
•Jinasena: wrote Parsvabhudya and Adipurana which are on Adinatha.
• Mahaviracharya: wrote Ganita sara sangraba, a book on mathematics,
• Shaktayana wrote Amogavrithi, a grammar book in Sanskrit.
• Halayudha wrote Kavirahasya.
• Viracharya wrote Ganitasaram.
• Trivikrama Bhatta wrote Nalachampu.
• Pampa wrote Vikramasenavijaya.
• Ponna wrote Santipurana.

Art and Architecture

 Instrumental in establishing Kamata Dravida style.
 Rock cut cave Kailasa temple in Ellora.
 Caves at Ellora and Elephanta.
 Kashi Vishvanatha temple and the Jain Narayana temple at Pattadakal in modern
Karnataka - both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
 The great Apabhramsha poet Svayambhu and his son lived in Rashtrakuta court.
 South lndia
The cholas: (850-1279 AD)
• Known as Imperial Cholas of Tanjore.
• The founder of Chola dynasty was Vijayalaya who was at first a feudatory of Pallavas.
• The greatest kings of Cholas were Rajaraja & his son Rajendra l.
• The use of Agrahatta (Persian wheel) also facilitated the already established smooth irrigation
networks of tanks, canals, wells and sluices.

Important rulers:

 Rajaraja-I (985- 1014 AD)

• Greatest Chola Ruler, who helped raise chola empire as largest dominion in South India.
• He took titles- Mummidi Chola, Jayankonda & Shivpadshekhara.
• He defeated Chera, Pandya & conquered Maldives lslands.
• Naval expedition against the Sailendra Empire (Malaya Peninsula).
•Expanded trade with china.
• In 1010 CE, constructed the Rajarajeshwara or Brihadeswara temple, dedicated to shiva at
Thanjavur.
• Rajarajeshwara or Brihadeeswara temple is a part of "Greatest Living Chola Temples &
entered the UNESCO World Heritage site list in 1987. This temple is the finest example of
Dravidian architecture.
• Developed a revenue system where land was surveyed and then revenue was assessed. So, he
was referred to as Ulakalanada Perumal (the great who measured the earth).

 Rajendra I (1014- 1044 AD)

• Son of Rajaraja 1, defeated & conquered whole Sri Lanka.
• Made the Chola navy the strongest in the area and 'Bay of Bengal' was converted into a 'Chola
Lake'.
• He assumed the title of "Gangaikondachola" & built a city- "Gangaikondacholapuram".
• He was a great patron of learning and known as Pandita - chola.
• Encouraged local self-government.
• Rajendra III was the last king. Later, Pandyas conquered the Chola empire.

Political System
Empire was founded by Vijayalaya, feudatory of Pallavas.
• He captured Tanjore in 850 AD.
• Rajaraja I (985-1014 A.D)
•Formative period of "chola imperialism"
• He destroyed the Chera navy at Trivandrum.
• He conquered Maldives Islands.
• Bought South- East Asia under his control.
• He over ran Vengi of Andhra Pradesh.
 Rajadhi Raja I (1044-1052 A.D):
• He earned the title "Jayamkonda chola".
• He captured Kalyani, western chalukya capital and took the title Kalyanpur Makonda

Administration
 King was the central power and assisted by a council of ministers.
o The Chola empire had a strong standing army.
o The empire was divided into mandalams (provinces), valanadu (districts).
 The officials were generally given revenue bearing lands.
 Cholas were known for village administration (Uttaramerur inscriptions of Paranthaka
provides for this).
o Two assemblies – Ur Sabha or Mahasabha.
 Ur was a general assembly of the village.
 Mahasabha was a gathering of adult men in Brahmana villages (agraharas) . Election
system was present.
 Economy Built a network of roads. Expansions in agrarian economy, use of Agrahatta
(Persian wheel) for smooth irrigation.
 Tanks for lrrigation purposes were built.
 Elaborate survey ofland is done to assess the govt. share Society
o Revenue sources: land tax, tolls on trade, taxes, professions etc, plunder.
 It was organised based on the Varnasrama model.
o Sub castes were proliferated - Kaikalla, Chetti, Cheek etc.
o The Devadasi system was prevalent in the society.
o Emergence of trading caste: Garveras (Northern merchants migrated southwards),
Gaudas/ Gavundas (originally cultivators).

Religion
 Thiruvalangadu copper plates. Karanthai plates and Anbil plates describe religious
conditions of cholas.
 Chola kings were Shaivites.
 Paranthaka I Chola covered shiva temple with gold at Chidambaram.
 Rajendra I constructed shiva temple in Ceylon.
 They were tolerant towards other religions.
 Vaishnavism also flourished during the period.
 Saint Ramanujan was a contemporary of chola kings.
 Temples acted as important centres of cultural life.
 Build great capitals: Tanjore, Gangaikondacholapuram, Kanchi etc. Large households
and large palaces.
 Chola kings built lofty temples & inscribed long inscriptions on the wall narrating their
achievements. They also depict the socio-economic conditions of that period.
 The Dravidian type of temple architecture reached its climax under the Cholas.
 Dravidian temple architecture: Garbbagriha - multiple stories in tbe chief-deity room.
Art and Architecture
 These stories varied from 5 to 7 and are known as Vimana.
 Mandapa with a pillared hall.
 Pillars are elaborately curved. Courtyards surrounding the structure.
 Gopurams- Iofty gateways
 Examples: Kailasanath Temple of Kanchipuram was built in the 8th
century.Brihadeshwara temple (Tanjore), Airavatesvara temple & temple at
Gangaikondacholapuram, Nataraja temple at Chidambaram are famous.
 Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjore was built by Rajaraja which was dedicated to Shiva.
 The Chola period is also remarkable for its sculptures and bronzes. The best example of
this can be seen in Dancing figure of Nataraja.
 Bharatanatyam & kathakali are two types of dances performed during the Chola period.

Literature
 Sivakasintamani written by Thiruthakkadevar and Kundalakesi belongs to the 10th
century.
 The Ramayana composed by Kamban and the Periyapuranam or Thiruthondar
Puranam by Sekkilar are the two master-pieces of this age.
 The Telugu version of Mahabharata was started by Nanniah & completed by Tikkana.
 Jayankondar's Kalingattupparani describes the Kalinga war fought by kulottunga I.
 Moovarula written by Ottakuthar depicts the life of three Chola kings.
 Nalavenba was written by Pugalendi.
 The works on Tamil grammar like Kalladam by Kalladanar, Yapperungalamby
Amirthasagarar, a Jain, Nannul by Pavanandhi and Virasoliyam by Buddhamitra were
written during Chola rule.
 Pampa, Ponna, & Ranna are considered 3 gems of Kannada literature lived in the 10th
century.

lmportant Terms & Meaning

• Kaikkolaperumpadai - Royal troops.

• Velaikkarar - Personal troops to defend kings.
• Kadagram - military cantonment.
• Puravuvanithinaikkalam- Revenue dept.
• Peruvazhis - Trunk roads.
 Western chalukyas
 kalyani: (973-1200AD)
• Followed the traditions of Rashtrakutas and Vatapi Chalukyas.
• Ruled Karnataka region and surrounding areas.

 Tailapa II (973-997 A.D)

 Feudatory of Rashtrakutas, Defeated Krisbna 111.
 Credited with victories over Chedi, Orissa, Nepal and Kuntala.

 Somesvara 1 (1042-68 A.D)

 Took the titles - Ahava Malla and Trailokyamalla.
 He built the city of Kalyan.
 Bilhana's Vikramankadevacharita deals with Somesvara l.
 Last ruler Tailapa III was defeated by Kalachuris

 Administration
• Hereditary Monarchical form of government.
• Used titles Samasthabhuvanasrayaand Vijayaditya.
• Their insignia was a boar signifying varabavatara.
• Limited number of council of ministers to advise the King.
• Ministers post was hereditary.
• Administration had feudal elements.
• Territory was divided into Rashtra, Vtsbaya, Nadu, Kampana and Thana.
• Vishayapatis, Gramalwtakas, Ayuktakas and Niyalwtakas were the officials.

Economy
• Agriculture and trade & commerce were backbones of the economy.
• State provided irrigational facilities.
• Cultivated land was categorised into Dry land,wet land and Garden land.
• Private ownership along with joint ownership of land existed.
• Guilds were active and had autonomy.

Society
• Social life was based on the Varnasrama model.
• Caste was universal and hereditary.
• The Relationship between caste and occupation was less rigid.
• Women of higher status played a majar role in social and administrative life.
• Akkamahadevi, a chalukyan princess also led the armies in battle.

Religion
• Shaivism and Vaishnavism were patronised.
• Shakti was worshipped as Kollapura Mahalakshmi.
• Karthikeya was worshipped - Kudidatani in Bellary.
• Basavesvara's Veerashaivism was also very popular.
• Jainism was also practised and received royal patronage too.
Art and Architecture
• Their temple architecture is known as "Karnata Dravida".
• lt is an extension of Badami chalukyan style.
• Temples of lttagi were the finest examples of Art and architecture.
• Ornamentation on the outer walls of the shrine and presence of figure sculptures of heroes and
loving couples (Mithuna) were unique features of Kalyani Chalukyas.

Eastern chalukyas
• This dynasty was founded by Pulakeshin Il's brother Vishnuvardhana and they established
themselves at Vengi in Andhra Pradesh, but later shifted their capital to Rajamahendravarman
(modern Rajahmundry).
• Vijayaditya III (848-892 AD) was credited with victories over the Pallavas, the Pandyas and the
Rashtrakutas. Their power was weakened in the 10th century AD and they became the allies of
the Cholas. Kulotbunga Chola annexed this kingdom in 1076 AD.

 The Western Gangas

• The Western Ganga dynasty ruled from the 11th to the early 15th centuries AD in Orissa. Their
capital was Kalinganagara. This dynasty was founded by Anantavannan Chodaganga (1076-1150
AD) who assumed the title of Trikalingadhipati in 1076 AD. He was credited for building Jagannath
temple at Puri in Orissa.
• Narsimhadeva (1238-1264 AD) was another famous ruler of this dynasty, who was credited for
building the Sun temple at Konark. This dynasty came to an end later it was succeeded by
chalukyas of vengi.
The Sailendra dynasty (Malaya, Java and Sumatra), which was Buddhist in faith, sent many
embassies to the Pala court and sought permission to build a monastery at Nalanda University.
• The Palas has close trade contacts with South-East Asia and Tibet.
 Iran/ Afghan Invasion
 First Invader in India - Sikander
 First Muslim Invader in India – Mhd. Bin Qasim (712 AD)
 Who was Khalifa of Iran? – Al-Hajaj
 Which book tells about Sindh Attack- Chachnama
(translated by Ali Babar Qufi)

Mahmud of Ghazni
 Reign Period (998-1030)
 Invasion in India (1001-1027AD)
 Attacked 17 times
 1001 – Punjab Attack
 1005- Bhatia Attack
 1006- Multan Attack
 1018- Mathura Temples
 1025-Somnath Temple
 1027- Attack Against Jaat Community
 1030-Ghazni Died

FAMOUS WRITER AT THAT TIME-

1. Albaruni (wrote – Kitab-ul-Hind Or Tarikh-al-
Hind, during the reign of Ghazni)
2. Farubi
3. Firdausi(wrote – Shahnama)
4. Utvi
5. Sisteni

Muhammed Ghori
 1175-Battle of Multan(Ghori defeated Moolraj II).
 1178- Battle of Mt. Abu (Bhim Dev II won).
 1191- Battle of Tarain 1st (Prithviraj
Chauhan won).
 1192-Battle of Tarain 2nd
(Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan).
 1194-Battle of Chandawar(Ghori defeated Jai Chand).
  Battte of Chandawar (l194AD):
•After Tarain, Ghori returned to Ghazni leaving the conquered territories under his trusted slave
Qutbuddin Aibak.
• During the next two years, Turks overran parts of upper doab without any opposition from
Gahadavalas. In 1194AD, Ghori returned to India again and attacked Kanauj defeating
Jaichandra, in the Battle of Chandawar (near Kannauj).
• After this invasion, Qutbuddin Aibak was made the viceroy by Ghori.
• Two successive battles of Tarain and battle of Chandawar laid the foundation of Turkish rule
in north India.
• Then Ghori moved to Banaras and destroyed many temples there. He also captured the forts of
Bayana and Gwalior, which guarded the southern bank of Delhi.
• Aibak conquered Kalinjar, Mahoba and Khajuraho from the Chandella rulers of the area.
Conquests of Gujarat Bundelkhand, Bengal and Bihar(1195-1202 AD) • Qutbuddin Aibak was
defeated by BhimaII (Solanki king). But later Aibak defeated Bhima II, plundering and rava ging a
number of towns.
• His next target was Bundelkhand which was ruled by the Chandella Rajputs. He defeated them
and conquered Bundelkhand.
• During this time, Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji, another general of Muhammad Ghuri, attacked
Bihar in 1197 AD and Bengal in 1202 AD. He destroyed the universities of Nalanda and
Vikramsila. Khilji was appointed the governor of Bengal and Bihar.

 Revolt of Khoars (1205 AD):

In 1205 AD, Ghori again came to India and this time the Khokhars stood against him. But he
defeated them.
In 1206 AD, when Ghori was returning to Ghazni, he was killed by Khokhars in Dhamyak district
near Jhelum river (now in Pakistan).
 Al-Masudi (957 AD)
• His real name was Abu Rehan Mahmud who came along with Mahmud of Ghazni and wrote
Kitab al Hind and Tahqiq-i-Hind.
 Al-Beruni (1024-1030 AD)
• He came to India along with Mahmud of Ghazni. He was the lntercivilizational connect between
India and the rest of the world
 Firdausi lbn Battuta (1333-1347 AD)
 He translated the Greek work of Euclid into Sanskrit. He transmitted Aryabattiyam (by
Aryabhatta) to the west Persian Poet, known as Homer of the East wrote Shahnama.
 He was from Morocco.
 He was the Venetian traveller who gave an account of Vijayanagar kingdom.
  Abdur Razzaq (1443-1444 AD)
• A Persian traveller who stayed in the court of the Zamorin at Calicut. His account dealt with
the Vijayanagar kingdom, especially of the city.
• A Portuguese traveller who visited the court of Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijayanagar
kingdom.
• He traced his genealogy back to the royal house of Ghazni.
• His account Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi dealt from the reign of Balban to the 6th year of the reign
of Firuz Shah Tughlaq.
• His other major work, the Fatwa-i- Jahandari, translated as the Principles of Government is
depicted in the form of a series of lectures on state- craft delivered by Mahmud of Ghazni.
• Abdal Malik Isami Shams-i-Siraj Afif
• Yahya bin Ahmad Sirhindi Ferishta
• His account Futuh-us-Salatin was composed under the patronage of Bahman Shah
(founder of the Bahmani kingdom).
• His account Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi is supposed to be continuation of Barani's which gives a
detail account of the reign of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq before it was given a death blow by
the armies of Timur.
• His account Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi dealt with the reign of Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1388-
1434 AD).
• A Persian historian who wrote Tarikh-i-Ferishta
• Aibak conquered Kalinjar, Mahoba and Khajuraho from the Chandella rulers of the area.

Conquests of Gujarat, Bundelkhand, Bengal and Bihar(1195-1202 AD)

• Qutbuddin Aibak was defeated by Bhima II (Solanki king). But later Aibak defeated Bhima II,
plundering and rava ging a number of towns.
• His next target was Bundelkhand which was ruled by the Chandella Rajputs. He defeated them
and conquered Bundelkhand.
• During this time, Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji, another general of Muhammad Ghuri, attacked
Bihar in 1197 AD and Bengal in 1202 AD. He destroyed the universities of Nalanda and
Vikramsila. Khilji was appointed the governor of Bengal and Bihar.
 Prithviraj Chauhan
 Real Name –Prithviraj III / Rai Pithora
 Dynasty- Chahamana
 Ruled -Sapadalabha
 Father/Mother – Someshwar Chauhan / Karpouri
 Painter - Anirudh
 Poet friend –Chandbardai (wrote PrithvirajRaso).
1191- Battle of Tarain I -Prithviraj Won
1192- Battle of Tarain II- Ghori Won
1194- Battle of Chadawar- Ghori Defeated Jai Chand

DELHI SULTANATE

Ghori purchased a slave- Qutub-ud-din Aibak(Turkish)

He came to Delhi with 2 Saints

Qutub-ud-din-Kaki Moin-ud-din Chishti

(Stayed in Delhi) (Stayed in Ajmer)
(Qutubminar Built by (Adhai Din ka jhonpra Built by
Aibak in his memory) Aibak in his memory)

5 Dynasties of Delhi Sultanate Qutub-ud-din Aibak

Slave Dynasty-1206-1290
Khilji Dynasty – 1290-1320
Tughlaq Dynasty- 1320-1414
Sayyid Dynasty- 1414-1450
Lodhi Dynasty- 1451-1526
 SLAVE DYNASTY(1206-1290 AD)
 Founder - Qutub-ud-din Aibak
 First to Introduce Turkish Culture in Delhi
 He never accepted “Sultan” title
 Title accepted = Malik/SipahSalar/Lakh Baksh
 Capital- Lahore
 Building – Qutub Minar
 Quwwat-ul-Islam (India’s Ist Mosque)
 Adhai Din Ka Jhopra
 Cheramanjuma is 1st Mosque, but due to no
workship there, it is not considered India’s 1st Mosque
1210-Died (During Playing Chaugan)

Aram Shah (1210AD):

 Considered the most incapable ruler.
 Thus Iltumish (Son-in-law of Aibak) was invited to Delhi. He then deposed Aram Shah and
became Sultan.

Iltutmish (1211-1236A.D.)
 Real Founder of Delhi Sultanate
 Defeated Aram Shah
 Capital Delhi
 Established Chehalgani/Chalisa
 Completed Qutubminar
 Launched Iqta System
 Defeated Mongols (Nasir Uddin Qwacha
defeated changez Khan)
 Introduced 2 coins :1. Tanka (silver) 2. Jital (copper)
 Built Sultan Garhi (Qutub Complex)
 Son- RuknuddinFiruz
 Daughter – Razia Sultan

ILBARI DYNASTY
 He nominated Raziya as his successor. Thus, he initiated hereditary succession to Delhi
Sultanate.
 Razia Sultan (1236-1240 AD)
 First and last Woman muslim ruler in India.
 Husband- Alturia(Ruler of Bathinda)
 Commander – Jamal-ud-din Yakoot
 She didn’t accept ‘Parda’
 She opt Quba and Qula

BlazerCap
 1240-1265 -3 sultan came :
1. Moizuddin Behram Shah (1240-42)
2. Allaudin Massood (1242-1246)
3. Nasiruddin Mahmood (1246-65)

Ghiyas-ud-din Balban(1265-87)
 Killed Chehalgani
 Introduced Nauroz Culture (Persian
Festival) And Persian Culture in his
Court
 Introduced Sazdaand Paibos
 He opted Bloodand Iron way.
 He was also known as Ulugh Khan.
 He called himself Nasir-amir-ul-momin
(Caliph’s right hand man)
 According to him, the sultan was God’s shadow on earth
(Zil-i-ilahi) & recipient of divine grace(Nibyabat-i-Khudai).
 He separated Diwan-i-wizarat (Finance department) From
The Diwan-i-Arz( Military Department).
 Slave Dynasty extinguished due to Mongol Invasions.
 KHILJI DYNASTY (1290-1320AD)
Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316)
 Founder- Jalaluddin Firoz Khilji (1290-1296 AD)
Title accepted by Alauddin- Alexander Second
Or Sikander-i-Sani
 Alauddin Khilji(Won 8 battles)
 Real Name – Ali Gurushasp
 Most effective Sultan
 Reformed his Army (Recruitment/Salary)
 Biswa System
 Daag&Huliya System
 Introduced Market Control System
 Fixed the taxes on 50%
 Malik Kafur or Malik Mani was captured
By Nusrat Khan in Gujarat. He was purchased
In 1000 Dinars, so he is called ‘HazaarDinari’
 Malik Kafur was gifted to Alauddin by Nusrat
Khan.
 Alauddin was the 1st ruler of Delhi Sultanate who did not
Ask for Manshur from the caliph but called himself the deputy of Caliph.
 He was appointed as Amir-i-Tuzuk (Master of Ceremonies) and Ariz-i-Mumalik (Minister of Law)by
JalaluddinKhilji.
 To keep hold on nobles - He prohibited holding festivals, marriage without permission of him,
banned wines & intoxicants to avoid social gathering, reorganised spy services (Barids).
 He was the first sultan who separated religion from politics. He proclaimed Kingship known as
Kinship.
 Ziauddin Barani wrote the book: Tarikh-i-FiruzShahi. He wrote about 6 Sultans.
 Patronised poets like Amir Khusrau and Mir Hasan Dehlavi. (Asked in SSC CGL 2018)
 He gave Amir Khusrau the title of Tuti-i-Hind (Parrot of India).
 Amir Khusrau's book Khazain-ul-Futuh speaks about Alauddin's conquests.
 First ruler to fix land revenue in cash. It enabled him to pay his soldiers in cash.
 1st Delhi Sultan to order for measurement land before fixing land revenue.
 Abolished Kismat-i-Khuti (Headman's cess), confiscated religious endowments and free lands
(Inaam and Waqf).
 He created the post of Mustakhraj to collect revenue.
 Zabawit or detailed regulations were made to fix the cost of all commodities eg. Food Grains,
Cloths, Horses, Slaves & Cattles.
 Markets controlled by 2 Officers- Diwan-i-Riyasat & Shahana-i-Mandi
 Horses were sold directly to the Military Department (Diwan-i-Arz).
 He also received daily Reports of markets from Barids (intelligence officer) and Munhiyans (secret
spies).
Allaudin’s Battles
 1292-Malwa
 1296-Devgiri
 1297- Gujarat
 1301-Ranthambore
 1303- Chittorgarh
 1305-Malwa Again
 1308-Silvana
 1311- Jalore
Bajirao I won 39 battles(1720-40)

Buildings
 Hauz Khas
 ChorMinar
 New town Siri
 Siri Fort (made it his capital)
 Alai Minar
 Alai Darwaza
 Maszid
 JammaiyatKhana

Taxation System of Delhi Sultanate

1. USHRAF-5% - 10% from Muslims
2. Kharaz- 1/3 to ½ from non Muslims
3. Khams- 1/5 of looted money will be of Sultan
4. Zakat- 2-2.5% religious tax on muslims
5. Zazia- 10% religious tax on Non- Muslims
6. Lagan- Extra 2.5% from Muslims and 5% from Non Muslims
 Two Taxes by Alauddin Khilji: Gharai &Charai

Departments of Delhi Sultanate

 Deevan-e- Vazirat(Commander)
 Deevan-e- Rasalat(External Affairs)
 Deevan-e-Arz(Defence)
 Deevan-e-Insha/Ashraf(Media/News)
 Deevan-e-Amir Kohi(Agriculture – By Mhd. Bin Tughlaq)
 Deevan-e- Mustakhraz(Revenue – Alau-ud-din Khilji)
 Deevan-e-Khairat(By Firozshah Tughlaq)
 Deevan-e-Ishtiaq(Pension Dept)
 Deevan-e-Bandgan(Jail)
 Deevan-e-Kazamalik(Justice Dept.)
 Deevan-e-Vakoof(Expense Dept.)
 TUGHLAQ DYNASTY (1320-1412AD)
 Founder :Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq
 Title :Accepted Title of Ghazi Malik
 Introduced Postal Services
 Introduced Irrigation System
 He expanded Delhi Sultanate to Bengal
 Jauna Khan (Mhd. Bin Tughlaq) killed his father
 The Tughlaqs were also known as the Quaraunah Turks as the father of Ghazi Malik was a
Qaraunah Turk in orgin.
 Built a strong fort called Tuglaqabad near Delhi.
 Amir Khusrau’s famous work Tughlaq Nama deals with the rise of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq.

Muhammed Bin Tughlaq (1325-1351)

 Most Literate Sultan
 Also Called as Pagal Raja(due to Failure
of implementation of Policies)
 Changed Name of Devgiri to Daultabad
 Launched Copper coins but failed
 Launched Token Currency but failed
 Ibn-Batuta came to his court from Morocco
(Book- Rehla in which he described
everything about Mhd. Bin Tughlaq)
 He built fort of Adiabad & the city of Jahanpanah.
 He launched the Khorasan Project & Quarachill expedition to counter the threat of Chinese
incursions but failed.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388)

 Liberal Sultan
 Imposed ‘Haq-e-Sharb’( tax on irrigation facility)
 Established various departments
1. Diwan-e-Khairat
2. Diwan-e-Bandgam
3. Diwan-e-ilaaz
4. 1st Sultan who imposed Jaziya over Brahmins
5. Autobiography –Futuhat-e-Firozshahi
 He brought ShilaLekh of Ashoka from Lumbini to India
 Renovated Qutub Minar, Sultan Garhi & Suraj Kund.

He built many cities :

a. Firozabad b. Jaunpur- Siraz-e-Hind
c. Fatehabad d. Hissar e. Firozpur
  Erased wall paintings in his palace.
 Firoz Shah Tughlaq introduced 2 new coins- 1) Adha (50% Jital) and
2) Bikh (25% Jital).
 He developed royal factories called Karkhanas in which thousands of slaves were employed.
 Imposed four taxes:
 1) Kharaj (land tax),
 2) Khams (1/5 of the looted property during wars),
 3) Jizya (religious tax on the Hindus)
 4) Zakat (2½ per cent of the income of the Muslims which was spent for the welfare of Muslims).
 He led two unsuccessful expeditions to Bengal. Bengal became free from the control of Delhi
Sultanate.

Nasiruddin Mehmood Shah (1390-1412AD)

 Last Ruler of Tughlaq Dynasty
 Taimur Lang attacked over
Delhi Sultanate in 1398 AD

Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1450AD)

 Khizr Khan (1414-1421AD)-Accepted No Title
(due to fear of Taimur who appointed him as Governor.)
 Accepted small Titles- Rayat-i-Ala or Masnad-i-Aali.
 Muizuddin Mubarak Shah (1421-1434AD) – Estb. “Mubarakbad in Delhi
 Muhammad Shah(1434-1445AD) – gave
“Khan-e-Khanam”title to Bahlol Lodhi
 AlauddinAlam Shah (1445-1450)

Lodhi Dynasty (1451-1526AD)

Bahlol Lodhi (1451-1489AD)
 1st Afghani Sultan in Delhi Sultanate
 Did Demonetisation and Launched
Bahloli Coin.
 He expanded Delhi Sultanate to Gwalior and some Parts of Deccan

Sikander Lodhi (1489-1517AD)

 Title – “Shahi”
 Introduced Land Unit ‘Gaz-e-Sikandari’
 Estblished Agra City in 1504 AD
 Opted Agra as Capital in 1506AD
 His poetry name was“Gulrukhi”.
 Fond of ‘Shehnayi’ musical instrument.
 He was a contemporary of Md. Begarha of Gujrat & Rana
 Sanga of Mewar.
 He abolished the Octroi Duty on Grains.
 He reimposed the Jaziya on Hindus.
 He built Moth ki Masjid in Delhi(Double Dome Structure)

Ibrahim Lodhi (1517-1526)

 Last ruler of Lodhi Dynasty
 1526 AD-FirstBattle of Panipat - Lost from Babur
1556 AD- 2ndBattle of Panipat-Akbar vs Hemu-- Hemu Lost.
1761 AD-3rdBattle of Panipat-Ahmed shah Durrani
(Abdali) vs Maratha Empire. Abdali won this battle.

DELHI SULTANATE
 New musical instruments such as Sarangi and Rabab were introduced during this period.
 Amir Khusrau introduced many new ragas such as Ghora and Sanam
 Amir Khusrau invented Sitar.
 Indian classical work Ragadarpan was translated into Persian during the reign of Firoz Shah
Tughlaq.
 Pir Baba Budhan Shah, a Sufi saint was one of the great musicians of this period.
 "Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior was a great lover of music. He encouraged the composition of a
great musical work called Man Kautuhal.
 MUGHAL EMPIRE
 Babur (1526-1530) Humayun (1530-40/1555-56)

 Akbar (1556-1605) Jahangir(1605-1627)

 Shahjahan(1628-1658) Aurangzeb(1658-1707)

INTRODUCTION
 Babur: founder of the Mughal Empire in India was related to Timur from his father's
side and to Chengiz Khan through his mother.
 Babur succeeded his father as the ruler of Farghana (Uzbekistan), but soon lost his
kingdom.
 Financial difficulties, apprehension of the Uzbek attack on Kabul and invitation of Rana
Sanga to invade India forced Babur to look towards India.
BABUR (1526-1530)
 Birth in Ferghana – Kabul
 Wife-Maham Begum, Aisha Sultan
 1st attack –Bhera
 Autobiography –Baburnama (Turkish)

BATTLES
 PANIPAT – 1526, Defeated Ibrahim Lodhi
 KHANWA– 1527, Defeated Rana Sanga
 CHANDERI - 1528, Defeated Medini Rai
 GHAGRA–1529, Defeated Army of Bengal
and Bihar
 DEATH-1530, Tomb- 1st Agra, then Kabul

 Related to Timur from his father's side & Chengiz through mother.
 Financial difficulties, Apprehension of the Uzbek attack on Kabul and invitation of Rana Sanga to
invade India forced Babar to look towards India.
 Reasons for Babur's victory: Alternatively resting one wing of Army, Services of two ottoman
master gunners - Ustad Ali & Mustafa, Use of Gunpowder, scientific use of cavalry & artillery tactics
- tulughma and the araba, effective use of Cannons.
 Battle of Khanwa (1527):Babur defeated Rana Sangha and assumed the title of Ghazi.
 Battle of Ghagra (1529):Babur defeated Mahmud Lodhi-Bihar Nusrat Shah-Bengal
 He left the title 'Mirza'in Kabul & had assumed the title of 'Padshah' after becoming head of
Timurid Dynasty when Uzbeks attacked on all Timurid Kingdoms.
 Babur introduced Charbagh and symmetrically laid out gardens.
 Babur wrote Tuzuk-i-Baburi (Babarnama) & Masnavi in Turkish.
Significance of Babur's Advent into India:
 Kabul and Gandhar became integral parts of the Mughal Empire.
 Security from External invasions for almost 200 yrs.
 Babur popularised gunpowder, cavalry and artillery in India. (Gunpowder used earlier in
India, but Babur popularised its use).
 Strengthened India's foreign trade.
 Proclaimed himself as Emperor of Hindustan.
 Arrival of Babur into India led to the establishment of the Timurld dynasty in the region.
 Babur introduced a new mode of warfare in India
 Defeating Sangha & Lodi he smashed the balance of power and laid the foundation for all
India empire.
 He had assumed the title of Padshah.
 Babur introduced Charbagh and symmetrically laid out gardens.
 Built mosques at Panipat and Sambhal in Rohilkhand.
 Babur wrote Tuzuk-I-Baburi (Babarnama) & Masnavi.
 Babur was a great scholar in Arabic & Persian languages
 Humayun (1530-40/1555-56)
BATTLES
 Devra-(1531)- Humayun defeated Mahmud Lodi
 Chausa–(1539)- Sher Shah Suri won it.
 Kannauj/Belgram– (1540) - Sher Shah
Suri won it.
 Sirhind– (1555) Defeated Sikander Shah Suri
 His widow Hamida Banu Begum Humayun’s built
Tomb(UNESCO Site)
 Mosques: Jamali mosque and mosque of Isa Khan at Delhi.
 Humayun's sister, Gul Badan Begum, wrote Humayun- Nama.
 The foundation for the Mughal painting was laid by Humayun when he was staying in Persia.
 He brought with him two painters - Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdal Samad to India, who became famous
during Akbar's reign.
 He had to deal with the rapid growth of power of the Afghans and Bahadur shah of Gujarat.
 At the battle of Chausa (1539) & battle of Kanauj (1540), Sher Shah defeated Humayun and forced
him to flee India.

 For sometimes he took shelter at the Iranian king. In 1555, following the breakup of Suri
Empire he recaptured Delhi but died next year.
 Humayun built a new city at Delhi which he named Dinpanah.

His widow Hamida Banu Begum built Humayun's tomb (UNESCO site).
Buildings by Humayun-
 Sher-e-Mandal (Library)
 DeenPanah City on bank of River Yamuna.

Sher-e-Mandal
Sher Shah Suri (1540-45)
 Real Name-Fared Khan
 Title –Sher Shah was accepted by him after
Battle of Chausa
 Introduced Rupaya
1Re= 178 grane Silver
 Malik Mhd. Jaisi wrotePadmavatin same time
 He died in Battle of Kalinjer.
 Tomb of his is situated in Sasaram, Bihar.
Buildings by Shershah :
 Old Fort (Qila-e-Kuhana)
 GT Road – Sadak-e-Azam-Uttarpath
 Founder of Sur dynasty and second Afghan Empire (after Ibrahim Lodhi).

 Purana Qila (Old Fort) and its mosque, Mausoleum at Sasaram were constructed during
this period.
 Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote the famous Hindi work Padmavat during his reign.
 He continued the central administration developed during the Sultanate period.
 Sher Shah's empire was divided into Sarkars.
 Chief Shiqdar (law and order) & Chief Munsif (judge) were the Incharge of the administration in
each sarkar.
 Each sarkar was divided into several parganas. Shiqdar (military officer), Amin (land revenue),
Fotedar (treasurer), Karkuns (accountants) were in charge of the administration of each pargana.
 Mauza (village)was the lowest level of administration.
 There were also many administrative units called iqtas
 He introduced a schedule of crop rates.
 He Improved land revenue by adopting Zabti-i-Har-Sal (land assessment every year).
 All cultivable lands were classified into three classes. good, middle and bad. The state's share was
one third of the average produce and it was paid in cash or crop. Land was measured using
Sikandari Gaz.
 Introduced Patta (amount each peasant had to pay) and Qabooliyat (deed of agreement).
 Introduced new Silver coins called Dam.
 He built the Shahi (Royal) road from the Indus Valley to the Sonar Valley in Bengal, connecting
Calcutta and Peshawar.
 He also built Sarais (lodging) which also served as post office.
 Every Sarai was under the control of a Shahana (custodian).
 He followed the branding of horses from Alauddin Khalji and maintained his personal royal force
called Khasa Kail.
Important officials
 Diwan-i-Wizarat/Wazir Revenue and Finance.
 Diwan-i-Ariz - in charge of the Army.
 Diwan-i-Risalat-Foreign Minister.
 Diwan-i-Insha-Minister for Communications.
 Barid- Intelligence.
AKBAR (1556-1605)
 Born on 15th Oct 1542 in Amarkot
 Father / Mother –Humayun / Hamida Banu
 Wife –Ruqaiya Begum, Jodha Bai (Heer Kunwari or Harka Bai)
 Official Language of Mughal Empire-Persian
 Official Language of Delhi Sultanate-Turkish
 Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana translated Baburnama (Turkish) to Tuzuk-i-Babri (in Persian)
 Autobiography of Akbar in 2 parts-1) Aain-i-Akbari2)Akbarnama
 Tomb of Akbar – in Sikandra, (UP)-built by Jahangir in 1605-1613
 MANSAB SYSTEM was introduced by (TODAR MAL) : MIN SALARY=10 ; MAX SALARY=12000
 Court of Akbar was divided into 2 parts-(1) Diwan-i-Aam(2) Diwan-i-Khas

Battles
1556- 2nd Battle of Panipat - Akbar defeated Hemu(Sur's wazir).
Between 1556-60, Akbar ruled under Bairam Khan's regency. Bairam became the Wakil
of the kingdom with the title of Khan-i-Khanam.
1561-Malwa (Baz Bahadur)
1567-Battle of Thanesar
1569-Siege of Ranthambore and Bundelkhand
1573-Gujarat (Muzzafar Shah)—Akbar built Bulanddarwaza at Fatehpur Sikri to
commemorate his victory.
1575-Battle of Tukaroi
1576-Haldighati (Maharana Pratap)
1586- Kashmir

Treaty
1560-62– Haram Govt by Maham-anga
1562- Treaty of Aamer (King Bharmal)
1563- Abolished Pilgrim Tax
1564- Abolished Jazia Tax
1575- IbadatKhana
1578-IbadatKhana (Parliament of Religion)
1579-Mazharnama (Infallibility Decree was drafted
By sheikh Mubrak & Abul Faizal)
1581- Kabul (Mirza Hakim)
1582-Din-e-Ilahi
1592- Sindh
1599-Ahmed Nagar
1601- Asirgarh
1605- Death
 AKBAR (1556-1605)
 Empire was divided into Subas (provinces), governed by a subadar who carried out both political
and military functions.
 Each Suba had officials: Diwan, Bakshi, Sadr, Qazi etc
 Another division of the empire: Jagir (allotted to nobles & members of royal family), Khalisa (tract
reserved for royal exchequer), Inam (given to religious leaders, half of it was uncultivated).
 Pargana & Sarkar were subdivisions of provinces.
 Fauzdar:Charge of law & order,
 Amalguzar:land assessment and revenue collection. Both were chief officers of Sarkar.
 Battle of Haldighati (1576): Akbar defeated Rana Pratap following most of the Rajput
rulers accepted Akbar's suzerainty.
 The Mughal army was led by Man Singh.
 Akbar defeated Gujarat ruler Muzaffar Shah. To commemorate this victory, he built
Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri.
 Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include much of the Indian subcontinent.

Land Revenue Administration

 With the help of Raja Todar Mal, Akbar experimented on the land revenue administration; it was
the Zabti or Bandobast system.
 Dahsala System: The revenue was fixed on the average yield of land measured on the basis of
previous ten years. It was an improved version of Zabti.
 Battai/Ghalla-Bakshi system:Produce divided between state & peasants in fixed proportion.
Peasants were given a choice between Battal & Dahsala.
 Categorization of land:Polaj (cultivated every year), Parati (once in two years), Chachar (once in
three or four years) and Banjar (once in five or more years).
 Qanungos were hereditary holders of land and Karoris were officers appointed all over North India.
They had the responsibility of collecting dams (rupees)
 Standard Measurement Unit- ilahi-Gaj Measurement Unit- Bigha, Mahal & Dastur
 Rope used for Land Measurement- Tenab

Mansabdari System
 3 scale gradation of Mansab System:
 Mansabdar (500 zat/below it)
 Amirs or Amir-al-Kabir (between 500-2500zat)
 Amir-i-Umda or Amir-al-Umara(above 2500zat)
 The ranks were divided into two: Zat and Sawar
 Zat denotes the Rank and salary of a person. It indicates the no. of soldiers under the Mansabdar
 Sawar rank indicated the number of Sawars had to be maintained by person. Every Sawar had to maintain at
least two horses.
 The Mansab rank was not hereditary & Mansabdar were paid by assigning jagir.
 Religious Policy
 He advocated the idea of Sulh-i Kul or universal peace, an idea of tolerance which did not discriminate
between the people of different religions.
 Abul Fazl helped Akbar in framing a vision of governance around this idea of Sulh-i-Kul.
 Jharoka Darshan was introduced by Akbar.
 Muhammad Hussain was Akbar's favorite Calligrapher. He was proficient in Nastaliq- the fluid style with long
horizontal strokes. Akbar honored him with Zarin-i-Kalam (golden pen).
 Akbar gave the title of Mian to Tansen (Ramtanu Pandey).
 Introduced gold coins called Ashrafi (mohurs).
 He also began dating his coins as per a new Illahi era, which replaced the earlier Hijri era.
 Akbar introduced the practice of inscribing Persian poetry praising the ruler on coins.
 Mirza Aziz Koka: also known as Kotaltash, was the foster brother of Akbar.
 Faizi:Translated Lilavati into Persian & under his supervision Mahabharata was translated into Persian
language.
 The Razmnama is the Persian translation of the Mahabharata
 Raja Todar Mal: Finance Minister. Akbar bestowed on him the title of Diwan-i-Ashraf
 Abolished jizya, pilgrimage and forcible conversion of prisoners of wars.
 He built ibadat khana (House of Worship) at Fatehpur sikri for religious discussion.
 In 1582, he promulgated a new religion called Din-e-llahi or Divine Faith. It believes in one God. It
contained the good points of all religions. It had only fifteen followers including Birbal. Akbar did
not compel anyone to his new faith.
 Akbar honored him with Zarin-i-Kalam (golden pen).

Art
 Haznama, consisting of 1200 paintings, belonged to his reign.
 Jaswant & Daswan were famous painters in his court.
 Persian poets in his court: Abu Fazl and his brother Abul Faizi, Tarikh Alfi, Utbi and Nazir
 Hindi poets in his court. Tulsidas wrote Ramcharitmanas.
 Akbar commissioned the translation of many Sanskrit works into Persian. A MaktabKhana or translation
bureau was also established at Fatehpur Sikri for this purpose.
 The Akbar period was popularly known as the renaissance of Persian literature.
 Akbar shifted his capital from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri but due to water scarcity he shifted capital to Lahore in
1585 but after the solution of water scarcity he again shifted capital to Agra.
 The Razmnama is the Persian translation of the Mahabharata.

Administration  Empire was divided into subas (provinces), governed by a

subadar who carried out both political and military functions.
 Each suba had officials: diwan, bakshi, sadr, gazi etc.
 Another division of the empire: Jagir (allotted to nobles &
members of royal family), Khalisa (tract reserved for royal
exchequer), Inam (given to religious leaders, half of it was
uncultivated).
Local Govt  Pargana & Sarkar were subdivisions of provinces.
 Fauzdar: Charge of law & order, Amalguzar: land assessment and
revenue collection were chief officers of Sarkar.
 Introduced gold coins called Ashrafi (mohurs).
 He also began dating his coins as per a new Illahi era, which
Coinage replaced the earlier Hijri era.
 Akbar introduced the practice of inscribing Persian poetry
praising the ruler on coins.
 Abul Fazl: wrote Ain-i-Akbari and Akbar Nama.
 Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana: Great poet, Translated Baburnama
into Turkish.
 Birbal: a Hindu advisor and main commander (mukhya senapati) of
the army in the court. Akbar gave him the title Raja Birbal.
 Mirza Aziz Koka: also known as Kota ltash, was the foster brother
of Akbar built by Mirza Aziz Koka as a mausoleum for himself, at
the time of Jahangir's reign.
Akbar's  Faizi: Translated Lilavati into Persian & under his supervision
Navratnas Mahabharata was translated into Persian language.
 Raja Man Singh: was a mansabdar.
 Raja Todar Mal: Finance Minister. Akbar bestowed on him the title
of Diwan-i-Ashraf.
 Fakir Aziao-Din: one of the Chief advisors of Akbar.
 Tansen: Musician, Hindu of Gwalior: He served to King
Ramachandra, who gave him the title of Tansen. Akbar gave him
the title of Mian.

 Palace-cum-fort complex at Fatehpur Sikri (City of Victory): Many

buildings in Gujarati and Bengali styles are found in this complex.
The Gujarati style was probably built for his Rajput wives.
 Akbar built Diwan -i-am (hall of public audience), Diwan-i-Khas
(private hall).
 The most magnificent building in it is the Jama Masjid and the
gateway to it called Buland Darwaza or the Lofty Gate, Shaik
Salem chisti dargah.
 Other important buildings at Fatepur Sikri are Jodha Bai's
Architecture palace and Panch Mahal with five storeys.
 During Akbar's reign, Humayun's tomb was built in Delhi and it
had a massive dome of marble. It may be considered the precursor
of the Taj Mahal.
 Akbar's tomb at Sikandra near Agra was completed by
Jahangir.
 He built Agra Fort in red sandstone and also Jahangiri Mahal in
it according to Hindu design.
 NINE JEWELS OF AKBAR’s COURT
 Birbal (Advisor) Tansen(Musician) Todarmal (Finance Minister)

 Maan Singh I (Chief Commander) Abul Fazal (Poet) Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana(Poet)

 Faizi(Poet) Fakir Aziao-Din (Religious Minister) Mulla-do-Pyaza(Advisor)

 Buildings built by Akbar
 Agra Fort Fatehpur Sikri Allahabad Fort

 BulandDarwaza Jodhabai Mahal IbadatKhana

Jahangir(1605-1627)
 Childhood Name –Salim (Shekhu Baba)
 Assasination of -Guru Arjan Dev Ji
 WIVES
1. 1585 – Manbai
2. 1587- Jagat Gosai (Jodha Title)
3. 1611- Mehrunnisa(Nur Jahan)
Note: Mehrunisa was the daughter of Mirza Ghiyas
Beg,‘Itimad-ud-Daula’title given to him by Jahangir.
‘Itimad-ud-Daula’ means Pillar of State
Jahangir banned Tobacco.
 British Visited Machilipatnam during his reign, Captain Hawkins and Thomas Roe visited his court.
Thomas Roe got the Farman for setting up an English factory at Surat. Farman was sealed by Shah
Jahan.
 Jahangir erected Zanjir--Adal at Agra fort for the seekers of royal justice:
 Introduction of the Du-Aspah-Sih-Aspah system. It was modified to Mansabdari.
 When Akbar died, Prince Salim succeeded with the title Jahangir (Conqueror of World) in 1605.
 British Visited Machilipatnam during his reign. Captain Hawkins and Thomas Roe visited his court.
Thomas Roe got the Farman for setting up an English factory at Surat. Farman was sealed by Shah
Jahan.
  His wife Nurjahan had influence over the state affairs.
 Jahangir erected Zanjir-i-adal at Agra fort for the seekers of royal justice.
 Autobiography: Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri in Persian.
 Introduction of the du-aspah-sih-aspah system. It was modified to Mansabdari.
Nobles were allowed to maintain a large number of troops without raising their got
ranks.
Art and Architecture
 Started decorating walls with floral designs made of semi-precious stones (Pietra Dura) during his reign.
 Built Moti Masjid at Lahore. Laid Shalimar and Nishant gardens in Kashmir.
 The use of Halo or Divine lights behind the king's head started under him.
 Work by Jahangir
 Painting on full glory.
 Chain of Justice – Title:King of Justice
 1608 – Capt.Hawkins came to his court
 1615- Sir Thomas Roe came to his court
Auto-Biography :Tuzuk-e-Jahangir (Persian)
Tomb of Jahangir in- Lahore

SHAHJAHAN (1628-1658)
 Childhood Name –Khurram
 Wife –ArjumandBano (Mumtaj Mahal)
 Monuments at its full Glory
 Built a city named as “Shahjahanabad”
 Battle against Portuguese in Bengal
 Aurangzeb arrested him in “Agra Fort”
 Shahjahan Died in 1666
 Arzumand Bano Died in 1631.
 The court, army & household moved from Agra to the newly
Completed imperial capital, Shahjahanabad (on the bank of Yamuna river.)

 Succeeded Jahangir and ascended the throne in 1628.

 Three years after accession, his beloved wife Mumtaj Mahal died in 1631.
 His Deccan policy was more successful. He defeated the forces of Ahmadnagar and
annexed it. Both Bijapur and Golconda signed a treaty with the emperor.
 He defeated the Portuguese in 1632.
 The court, army and household moved from Agra to the newly completed imperial capital,
Shahjahanabad. It was a new addition to the old residential city of Delhi, with the Red
Fort, the Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk etc.
 During his reign a war of succession among his sons broke out.
 Battle of Dharmat, Battle of Samugarh, Battle of Khajwa, and Battle of Deorai took
place & Finally Aurangzeb emerged victorious.
  Salutation: Under Shah Jahan, it was Chahar Taslim and Zaminbos (kissing the ground).
 His court historian Abdul Hamid Lahori wrote Badshahnama.

 Badshahanama was written by Abdul Hamid

 His son Dara Shikoh translated Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads into Persian language.
 Shah Jahan Nama is written by Inayat Khan.
 He built Sheesh Mahal and Musamman Burj at Agra.
 The Pietra Dura method (Highly Polished Coloured stones) was used on a large scale in the
Taj Mahal by Shah Jahan.

 Lahori who lived in his court.

Architecture developments
 Built Taj Mahal in 1632-33 to perpetuate memories of his wife, Mumtaj Mahal.
 Moti Masjid (entirely of white marble), Sheesh Mahal and Musamman Burj at Agra.
 Red Fort with its Rang Mahal, Diwan-i-Am and Diwan- i-Khas at Delhi.
 Jama Masjid in Delhi (red stone), Shalimar Bagh in Lahore and city of Shahjahanabad.
 The pietra dura method was used on a large scale in the Taj Mahal by Shah Jahan.

MONUMENTS
 Takht-e-Taus- 22nd March 1635 (Was looted byNadir Shah to Turkey)
 Nagina Maszid– 1635 AD
 Taj Mahal – 1631-1653 AD (50000 Workers,
1000 Elephants, took 22 years; Made by
Ustad Ahmed Lahori and Ustad Isha Khan)
 Red Fort-1638 AD
 Jama Maszid- 1644 AD
 Moti Maszid-1648 AD
Aurangzeb also made Moti Maszid but in Lal Qila

AURANGZEB (1658-1707)
Title –ZindaPeer, Shahi Darvesh
Wife- Dilras Banu, Rabia-ul-Daurani
 1658- After Capturing Shahjahan,
coronation ceremony
 1658-59– Battle of Dharmat/Deorai-
Defeated Dara Shikoh
 1659- Coronation Ceremony in Red Fort
after defeating Dara Shikoh
 1659- Abolished Nauroz Festival
 1669- He abolished Jharokha Darshan and terminated all musician
  1670- Abolished Tuladan System
 1679- Re-imposed Jaziya Tax & pilgrim Tax.
 The Masir-I-Alamgiri book written by Mustaid Khan throws light on Aurangzeb's rule.
 He assumed the title Alamgir, World Conqueror. He was also called Zinda Pir.
 He won Bijapur (1686) & Golconda (1687) and extended the Mughal Empire further south
 He faced a tough fight from Shivaji Maharaj-Maratha king who had carved out an independent
state.
 Discontinued Official departments of history.
 He issued Zawabit-i-Alamgiri (decrees of Aurangzeb or Secular Law) and appointed Muhtasibs to
enforce moral codes given under it.
 Drinking was prohibited & cultivation and use of bhang and other drugs were banned.
 He abolished inland transit duties called Pandhari.

 Although he was proficient in playing Veena, Aurangzeb forbade music in the court.
 He discontinued the practice of Jarokha darshan.
 He also discontinued the celebration of Dasara & Navroz and royal astronomers and
astrologers were also dismissed from service.
 Aurangzeb built (Near Red fort, Delhi). Bibi Ka Maqbara (replica of Ta) at Aurangabad,
Moti Masjid
 He executed the ninth Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur.
 It had also resulted in the rebellions of the Jats of Mathura and the Satnamis of Mewar.
 In the Mansabdari System he created an additional rank Mashrut (conditional)
 Miraz Mohammad Qasim wrote Alamgirnama.

 Initially Aurangzeb banned the construction of new Hindu temples and repair of old
temples. Then he began a policy of destroying Hindu temples.
 In 1679, he reimposed Jizya and pilgrim tax.
 He was also not tolerant of other Muslim sects. The celebration of Muharram was
stopped.
 Aurangzeb appointed Rajputs to high positions, and under him the Marathas accounted
for a sizable number within the body of officers.
 He was also not tolerant of other Muslim sects. The celebration of Muharram was stopped
 His religious policy was responsible forturning the Rajputs, the Marathas and Sikhs into the
enemies of the Mughal Empire.
 Therefore, Aurangzeb was held responsiblefor the decline of the Mughal.

First time Jaziya introduced by Mhd. Bin Qasim.

But sometimes in option they don’t give name of
Qasim and then tick Ferozshah Tughlaq
SUCCESSORS OF AURANGZEB
Important Rulers Important Events

Muazzam  He was More tolerant towards Hindu.

(Bahadur Shah I  He never abolished Jizya but didn't collect the tax strictly.
(1707-1712)  He Granted Marathas Sardeshmukhi of Deccan, but failed to grant
Chauth.
 Mughal historians like Khafi khan gave him the title of Shah-i-
Bekhabar.
Jahandar Shah  He Introduced Ijarah (Revenue Farming).
(1712-1713)  He Became emperor with help of Zulfikhar Khan (later became PM).
 He tried to establish friendly relations with Maratha and Rajputs and
hence, abolished Jizya, granted Sardeshmukhi and Chauth of
Deccan to Shahu and accorded title of Mirza Raja Sawai to Jai
Singh of Amber and title of Maharaja to Ajit Singh.

Farrukh Siyar  Puppet of Sayyid Brothers - Abdula Khan & Hussain Ali (known as
(1713-1719) kingmakers).
 Policy of religious tolerance - abolished Jizya & pilgrimage tax.
 He Gave Farman to the British in 1717.
 He was Dethroned by Sayyid Brothers.

Rafi-ud-Daraiat  Ruled for the shortest period of time among the Mughals.
Muhammad Shah  Autonomous states emerged under his reign.
Rangeela  Nizam-ul-Mulk:Deccan.
(1719-1748)  Saadat Khan: Awadh.
 Murshid Quli Khan: Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
 Nadir Shah invaded India and looted Delhi. He also took away the
famous Kohinoor Diamond.
 Became king with help of Sayyid Brothers later he killed them with
help of Nizam-ul-Mulk.
 Nadir Shah was defeated in the Battle of Karnal.
 Ahmad Shah Abdali also raided Delhi for the first time during his
reign.
Ahmad Shah  Mohd. Shah Rangeela's only son.
(1748-1754)  He was an incompetent ruler. Left the state affairs in the hands of
Udham Bai. She was given the title of Qibla-i-Alam.

Alamgir II  Battle of Plassey (1757) was fought during his reign.

(1754-1759)
 Shah Alam II/  Third Battle of Panipat fought between Marathas and Ahmad Shah
Aligauhar (1759- Abdali during his reign.
1806)  Participated in the Battle of Buxar (1764) along with Mir Qasim and
Shuja-ud-Daula against the British East India Company. He was
defeated and was forced to sign the Treaty of Allahabad (1765)
under which Diwani of Bengal was granted to Company.
 Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
 Became pensioner of the English.

Akbar II(1806-1837)  Gave Ram Mohan Roy the title of Raja.

 Introduced Hindu-Muslim unity festival Phool Walon ki Sair.

Bahadur Shah II  Last Mughal Emperor.

(1837-1857)  Known as an Urdu Poet using Zafar as his pen name.
 Participated in the revolt of 1857 after which he was deported to
Rangoon and died.

Buildings: Moti Maszid (Red Fort) Bibi ka Maqbara/Black Tajmahal/Taj of Deccan

by Azamshah (in Aurangabad) in 1668-69

Tomb- 1707- Aurangzeb Died at Aurangabad

now known as Sambhajinagar

REASONS FOR DECLINE OF THE MUGHALS

 Lack of stability after Aurangzeb.
 Most of the emperors became puppets in the hands of powerful Nobles who often ran
administration on their behalf.
 Weak military and political administration as exposed by Nadir Shah and Ahmad Abdali's
invasion.
 Emergence of autonomous states and hence weakening of central power.
 Orthodox policy of Aurangzeb: His attitude toward Marathas, Rajputs, and Jats made them
his enemy, also his religious policies too alienated the Hindus.
JAGIRDARI SYSTEM
 It is the system of assignment of revenue of a particular territory to the nobles for their
services to the state.
 It was an integral part of the Mansabdari system.
 Zamindars had hereditary rights over the produce of the land and claimed a direct share
in the peasants' produce which varied from 10% to 25% in different parts of the country.
Types of Jagirs

Tankha Jagirs  Given in lieu of salary and were transferable every three to four years.

Mashrut Jagirs  Were given on certain conditions.

Watan Jagirs  Were assigned to zamindar or rajas in their local dominions. Were
hereditary and non transferable.

Altamaha Jagirs  Given to Muslim nobles in their family towns or place of birth.

Important Terms and Meaning

 Diwan-i-Ala/Wazir: Head of revenue department.
 Mir Bakshl: Head of military department.
 Mir saman: in charge of the imperial households.
 Barids: Intelligence officers.
 Wagia Navis - Reporters.
 Qazi: Head of judicial department.
 Sadr-ul-sadr: incharge of charitable & religious endowments.
 Mutasaddi: Governor of port.
 Mugaddam: Head of village.
 Patwari: Accountant officer.
 Tainat-i-Rakab: Reserved force
 Taccavi: loans provided for agriculture expansion.
 Merwars: Postal runners.
 Banik: Local Traders.
 Bitikchis: Clerks.
 Chehra: Descriptive roll of every soldier.
 Ahadis: the "gentlemen troopers," who drew higher pay than ordinary servicemen under
the mansabdari system.
 Khudkasht: Peasants who owned the land they tilled.
 Khasa Kail: Personal royal force maintained by Sher Shah
 Qaboollyat system: deep agreement between the peasant and the government.
 Guerrilla Warfare: Irregular, small scale violent militant groups, operating in a hostile
territory.
  Kharkhanas: These were areas where expensive craft products were produced.
 Dasturs: The schedules containing money

SHAHJI BHONSLE
 He was the descendant of the Sisodias of Mewar who was married to Jlja Bal. She gave
birth to Shivajl in Shiver near Junnar in 1630.
 He served under Malik Ambar (1548-1626) who was earlier a slave and the Abyssinian
minister under Ahmed Shah of Ahmadnagar. After the death of Ambar, Bhonsle played a
vital role in politics.
 Jijabai and her minor son were left under the care of Dadaji Kondadeo who administered
the jagirs of Shahji Bhonsle at Poona.
Additional Information:
 Shahji acted as a kingmaker in Ahmadnagar and defied the Mughals. He yielded the
territories under his dominion by a treaty signed in 1636 and joined services of sultan of
Bijapur, turning his energies towards Karnataka.

SHIVAJI MAHARAJ (1627-1680 AD)

 Born at Shivneri fort.
 Father: Shahaji Bhosle initially served as Nizam ruler of Ahmednagar. Later he joined
Bijapur.
 Mother of Shivaji: Jija Bai
 He inherited the jagir of Poona from his father in 1637.
 At the age of 16 he captured the Torna fort, followed by many more forts.
 He created an independent Maratha kingdom with Raigad as its capital.
 He captured Javali from Chandrarao More in 1656. At the Battle of Pratapgarh (1659) he
killed Afzal Khan (Adil shah's general).
 Battle of Pavankhind (1660): Maratha force led by Baji Prabhu Deshpande held back the
larger enemy to buy time for Shivaji to escape.
 Shivaji was defeated by Shaista Khan (sent by Aurangzeb). Later he made a bold attack
on Shaista Khan's military camp at Poona in 1663 and wounded him.
 Treaty of Purandar (1665)
o Signed between Raja Jai Singh (under Aurangzeb) and Shivaji.
o Shivaji ceded some forts to Mughals & visited Agra to meet Aurangzeb.
 He defeated Mughals in the Battle of Salher (1672). He was crowned & assumed the
title Maharaja Chhatrapati in 1674 at Raigad fort.
 He died in 1680 at the age of 52.
Shivaji's  He divided the territory into three provinces. Provinces were
Administration divided into Prants which were subdivided into Parganas or Tarafs.
 Shivaji had a well organised Army & Navy. The regular army was
called Paga, while the loose auxiliaries called Silahdars & were
supervised by Havildars.
 Salary in cash was paid to the regular soldier, though
sometimes the chiefs received revenue grants (Saranjam).
 He was assisted by a council of ministers called Ashtapradhan
Mandal. Each minister was directly responsible to Shivaji (No
collective responsibility).

Ashtapradhan  Peshwa (Mukhya Pradhan): Finance & general administration. Later

Mandal became prime minister.
 Senapati (Sar-i-Naubat): Military commander.
 Majumdar (Amatya): Accountant General.
 Wagenavis (Mantri): Intelligence, posts and household affairs.
 Sachiv (Surnavis): Correspondence.
 Dabir (Sumant): Foreign minister & Master of ceremonies.
 Nyayadhish: Justice.
 Panditrao (Sadar): High Priest, managing internal religious matters.

Revenne  The revenue system of Shivaji was based on that of Malik Amber
of Ahmednagar.
 Land was measured using a measuring rod called Kathi.
 Discouraged revenue farming,
 Chauth (1/4th of land revenue) paid to Marathas to avoid Maratha
raids.
 Sardeshmukhi was an additional levy of ten percent, that is 1/10 of
standard land revenue on those lands on which the Marathas
claimed hereditary rights.
 Reduced the power of existing Deshmukhs and Kulkarnis.
 Appointed own revenue officer called Karkuns.

SAMBHAJI (1680-1689 AD)

 Sambhaji was the son of Shivaji Maharaj and as per Treaty of Purandar, he was a
Mansabdar of Mughals.
 His rule was largely shaped by the ongoing wars between the Maratha kingdom and
Mughal Empire as well as other neighbouring powers such as Siddis, Mysore and the
Portuguese in Goa.
 In 1687, at the Battle of Wai he defeated Mughal forces.
 In 1689, Sambhaji was captured, tortured and executed by the Mughals.
 He was succeeded by his brother Rajaram I.
 Maratha Confederacy
BAJI RAO I (1720-1740 AD)
 Succeeded Balaji Vishwanath.
 Maratha power reached its zenith under him.
 Was one of the greatest exponents of guerrilla tactics after Shivaji.
 Initiated the system of confederacy. Thus, many families became prominent and
established their authority.
 He captured Salsette and Bassein from the Portuguese in the Battle of Vasai (1733).
He defeated Nizam-ul-Mulk in 1737 & concluded the Treaty of Durai Sarai.
 His several expeditions in the north weakened the Mughal and made Marathas supreme
power in India.
 He said about the Mughal: "Let us strike at the trunk of the withering tree and the
branches will fall off themselves".
 Signed agreement with Ahmad Shah (Mughal emperor) - Peshwas assured to protect
the Mughal from internal and external enemies in return for the Chauth of the north-west
provinces, total revenue of Agra & Ajmer provinces.
 Defeat at the 3rd Battle of Panipat 1761 by Ahmad Shah Abdali checked the expansion
of Marathas and fragmented the empire.
 He and his son Vishwas Rao died in the Panipat battle.
 Successor: Madhav Rao, Narayan Rao, Sawai Madhav Rao and Baji Rao II.

BALAJI BAJI RAO (NANA SAHIB I) (1740-1761 AD)

 Defeated Nawab of Bengal Alivardi Khan in 1751 and 1/3rd of the Indian Subcontinent
came under the Maratha empire.

ANGLO MARATHA WARS

 There were three wars fought between the Maratha Empire and the British East India
Company over territory.
 The Third Anglo-Martha war led to the end of the Maratha Empire. All the Maratha
powers surrendered to the British.
 The Peshwa was eventually captured and placed on a small estate at Bithur, near Kanpur.
 The Maharaja of Satara was restored as the ruler of his territory as a princely state. Most of
his territory was annexed and became part of the Bombay Presidency.
 In 1848, this territory was also annexed under the doctrine of lapse policy of Lord
Dalhousie.

First Anglo-Maratha  Struggle of Power between Sawai Madhav Rao and Raghunath
War Rao was supported by the British and resulted in the First
(1775-1782 AD) Anglo-Maratha War.
 The treaty of Salbai in May, 1782 - British acknowledged
Madhavrao as the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire and ended the
Anglo-Maratha War.
 Treaty of Surat, 1775.
 Treaty of Purandar, 1776.
Second  The second war was caused by the peshwa Baji Rao II defeat
Anglo-Maratha War by the Holkar (one of the leading Maratha clans) and his
(1803-05 AD) acceptance of the subsidiary alliance (Treaty of Bassein) in
1802.
 Unhappy Maratha confederacy challenged the British power but
got defeated.
Third  Distressed By low income Pindaris made up of many castes and
Anglo-Maratha War started plundering neighbouring territories, including those of
(1817-1818 AD) companies.
 Lord Hasting (Governor General) charged Marathas with
giving shelter to the Pindaris and hence fought the war.
 Maratha warlords fought separately instead of forming a
common front and they
 surrendered one bv one

POPULAR MARATHA CHIEFTAINS

Kingdoms Territory
Scindia Gwalior
Holkar Indore
Pawar Dhar
Gaekwad Baroda
Bhosale Nagpur
Peshwa Poona

Bhonsles of  Raghoji Bhonsle (1727-55 AD) was the most important ruler of
Nagpur this clan. He is often credited for extending the Maratha influence
in Bihar and Bengal.

Gaekwads of  The Gaikwad family rose into prominence during the 1720s.
Baroda  They established their capital at Baroda (Vadodara, Gujarat).
 Malhar Rao Holkar established his power at Indore (Madhya
Holkars of Indore Pradesh).
 It was under Malhar Rao reign that Holkar's power reached its
zenith.
 The Sindhias were among the most powerful and influential
families of the Marathas.
Sindhias of  Mahadji Sindhia established his control over the Mughal
Gwalior emperor Shah Alam II in 1784.
 He secured the appointment of the Peshwa as the Emperor's
Deputy Naib-i-Munai on the condition that Mahadji would act on
behalf of the Peshwa.
Arrival of Foreigners in India-
1498 Vasco De Gamma Came 1st time In India at Calicut, Kerela.

1502- (a)2nd visit of Vasco De Gamma to India.

(b) Portuguese set up trading station at Calicut, Cochin & Cannorein 1502.

1600 Britishers came on Red Dragon Ship

IMPORTANT FOREIGN TRAVELLERS/ENVOYS

Important Foreign Travellers/Envoys

Al-Masudi (957 AD) Arab traveller.
 His real name was Abu Rehan Mahmud who came along with
Mahmud of Ghazni and wrote Kitab al Hind and Tahgiq-i-Hind.
 He came to India along with Mahmud of Ghazni. He was the
inter-civilizational connect between India and the rest of the
world because:
Al-Beruni (1024-1030 AD)
 He translated the Greek work of Euclid into Sanskrit.
 He transmitted Aryabattiyam by Aryabhatta to the west.

Firdausi  Persian Poet. known as Homer of the East wrote Shahnama

Ibn Battuta (1333-1347 AD)  He was from Morocco.

Nicold-de-Conti (1420-1421  He was the Venetian traveller who gave an account of

AD) Vijayanagar kingdom.

Abdur Razzaq (1443-1444 AD)  A Persian traveller who stayed in the court of the Zamorin at
Calicut. His account dealt with the Vijayanagar kingdom,
especially of the city.
Domingos Paes (1520-1522  A Portuguese traveller who visited the court of Krishnadeva
AD) Raya of the Vijayanagar kingdom.

Minhaj-us- Siraj Juzjani  He traced his genealogy back to the royal house of Ghazni.

 His account Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi dealt from the reign of Balban

to the 6th year of the reign of Firuz Shah Tughlaq.
 His other major work, the Fatwa-i- Jahandari, translated as the
Ziauddin Barani
Principles of Government is depicted in the form of a series of
lectures on state- craft delivered by Mahmud of Ghazni
Abdal Malik Isami  His account Futuh-us-Salatin was composed under the
patronage of Bahman Shah (founder of the Bahmani kingdom).

Yahya bin Ahmad Sirhindi  His account Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi dealt with the reign of
Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1388-1434 AD).

Ferishta  A Persian historian who wrote Tarikh-i-Ferishta

 The history of Assam is the history of the confluence of the

Tibeto-Burman (Sino-Tibetan), Indo-Aryan, and Austroastatic
cultures, as well as the confluence of people from the east, west
and the north.
 The Ahoms were a Mongoloid tribe from north Burma (present day
Myanmar) who had succeeded in establishing a powerful kingdom
in the 13th century, and had become Hinduised in course of time.
Ahoms Of ASSAM In fact, the name Assam is derived from them.
 They suppressed the old political system of Bhutyans (landlords).
 Ahom state was dependent on forced labour called Paiks.
 Almost all male adult served in the king's army during war.
 Buranjis is the historical chronicle of Ahoms.
 Ahom society was divided into Khel or clan.

 Gond lived in the vast forestland mentioned as concawana.

 Akbarnama mentions the Gond kingdom in Garh Katanga.
Gonds  The kingdom was divided into:
• Garh
• Chaurasi (unit of 84 village below Garh)
• Bahot (division of Chaurasi in 12 villages)
 The famous queen Durgawati belongs to this dynasty.
 Gajapati dynasty was established by Kapllendra Deva in 1435
CE, after the fall of the last eastern Ganga king, Bhanudeva IV.
 Gajapati etymologically means a king with an army of elephants.
Orissa  Narsinghdeo of this dynasty constructed Konark Temple.
 In the middle of the 15th CE there was the rise of Gajapati rulers;
they ruled Orissa until the end of the Lodhi period.
Mewar  Mewar or Udaipur Kingdom was originally called Medhpaat and
over time, the name Medhpath became Mewar. Interestingly, the
rulers of Mewar used the title "Maharana' (Prime Minister or
Custodian) instead of the typical title Maharaja (King).
 Rana Kumbha (1433-1468 AD) was the most famous ruler.
 Rana Kumbha wrote books like Sangeet Priya, Sudha
Prabandh, Rasik Priya, Kam Raja Ratisara etc.
 He erected a Victory Tower (Kirti Stambh) at Chittor, a mark of
victory of his conquests.
 He also consolidated the fortification of Chittor and constructed a
road running through its seven doors.
 He was acclaimed as Sangeet Shiromani and wrote an
outstanding treatise on Indian music titled Sangeet-Raj as well as
 other works like Sangeet Mimansa, Sangeet Ratnakar, and
Suprabhath.

 In Rajatarangini ( history of Kashmir written by Kalhana in the

mid- 12th century) it is stated that the valley of Kashmir was
formerly a lake.
 Zainul Abedeen was the greatest ruler of Kashmir. He was also
known as Bud Shah (the Great Sultan) and as Akbar of Kashmir
who was benevolent, liberal, and an enlightened ruler.
 He contributed to the agricultural development of Kashmir by
constructing dams and canals and initiated the maintenance of the
agricultural records.
Kashmir  He also constructed Zaina Lanka, the artificial island on the
Wullur Lake.
 Many Sankrit works like Rajtarangini, Mahabharat were
translated into Persian under him.
 In 1586 CE, Akbar conquered Kashmir and made it a part of the
Mughal Empire.

 Malik Sarwar laid the foundation of the Shargi dynasty.

 Malik Muhammed jaisi the writer of "Padmavat" was the court
Poet
The Sharagi of  Jaunpur evolved a distinct architecture that is known as the
Jaunpuri Shargi style of architecture. Jaunpur was known as the Shiraz of
India.
 Most notable examples of Sharqi style of architecture in Jaunpur
are the Atala Masjid, the Lal Darwaja Masjid, and the Jama
Masjid.
 The state of Malwa was situated on the Central highland plateau
between the rivers Narmada and Tapi. It commanded the trunk
route between Gujarat and northern India.
 From the beginning, the kingdoms of Gujarat and Malwa were
bitter rivals and were generally found in opposite camps on almost
Malwa
each occasion.
 Dilawar Khan (governor of the Malwa province during the
decline of Delhi Sultanate) threw off his allegiance to Delhi after
the invasion of Timur. He shifted his capital from Dhar to Mandu
  Bengal was a significant regional kingdom under the Palas in the
8th century and the Senas in the 12th century. The long distance,
uncomfortable climate and poor means of communications made it
difficult for the Delhi Sultanate to control this province. Therefore, it
was easy for Bengal to assert its independence.
 Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq partitioned Bengal into three
Bengal independent administrative divisions: Lakhnauti, Satgaon and
Sonargaon.
 In 1342, Ilyas Khan united Bengal and became its ruler under the
title of Shamsuddin Ilyas Khan founding the Ilyas Shah
dynasty.

 Gujarat was one of the richest provinces of the Delhi Sultanate on

account of the excellence of its handicrafts, its flourishing seaports
and the richness of its soil.
 Zafar Khan (1407-1411) was the son of Sadharan who was a
Rajput and later converted to Islam. Zafar Khan proclaimed
himself an independent ruler after Timur's invasion and
Gujarat assumed the title of Muzaffar Shah. He founded the dynasty of
Muzaffarid.
 Ahmad Shah-I and Fateh Khan (Mahmud Begarha) were the
two important rulers of this kingdom.


Vijayanagara Empire
INTRODUCTION
 The Vijayanagar kingdom constituted four dynasties - Sangama (1336-1485 CE), Saluva
(1485-1505 CE), Tuluva (1503-1570 CE) and Aravidu (till the end of the 17th century).
 It was founded in 1336 CE by Harihara and Bukka (with the blessings of Guru
Vidyaranya of the Sangama dynasty who originally served under the Kakatiya rulers of
Warangal.
 Vijayanagara kingdom was a kind of cooperative commonwealth at first.
 Early Vijayanagar rulers were followers of Shaivism. Virupaksha was their family God.
Later they came under the influence of Vaishnavism. However, Siva continued to be
worshioned.
 There was constant conflict between Vijayanagar Empire and Bahamani kingdom over
Raichur doab (fertile region between Krishna and Tungabhadra), Tungabhadra doab
(fertile areas of Krishna-Godavari delta) & Marathwada.
 In the south its main rivals were the Sultans of Madurai.
 During the reign of Rama Raya, the combined forces of Bijapur, Ahmednagar, Golkonda
and Bidar defeated him at the Battle of Talikota in 1565 which marked an end of the
Vijayanagar Empire.
 The last ruler of Vijayanagar was Sri Ranga III.
 The copper-plate inscriptions such as the Srirangam copper-plates of Devaraya II
provide the genealogy and achievements of Vijayanagar rulers.
 Dynasty Information
 Sangama was the first dynasty to rule over the Vijayanagara
empire. The founders of the empire, Harihar I and Bukka Raya
sangama belonged to this dynasty. It ruled from 1336 AD to 1485 AD.
(1336-1485 AD)  Brothers founded a new city of Vidyanagar or Vijayanagara
(meaning city of victory) on the south bank of river Tungabhadra.

 The Saluva dynasty, founded by Narasimha, succeeded the

Saluva Sangama dynasty as the second dynasty of the empire. It ruled
(1485-1505 AD) from 1485 to 1505 AD. They ruled over almost the whole of South
India.
Tuluva  Tuluva, founded by Vir Narsimha, was the third dynasty, which
(1505-1570 AD) ruled Vijayanagar Empire. It ruled from the Tuluva dynasty.
 The most famous king of Vijayanagar Empire, Krishna Deva Raya
belonged to this dynasty.
Aravidu  Aravidu, founded by Tirumala, was the fourth and last Hindu
(1570-1650 AD) dynasty to rule Vijayanagar kingdom in South India.

IMPORTANT RULERS OF VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE

 The most famous king from the Sangama dynasty.

Proudhadevaraya  Titles: 'Elephant Hunter', 'Dakshinapathada Chakravarthi.
(Devaraya-II)  Extended Vijayanagara from Gulbarga to Sri Lanka &
Telangana to Kerala.
 His commander: Lakkanna Dandesha.

 The most famous king was the Vijayanagara Empire (from

Tuluva dynasty).
 He is also known as Andhra Bhoja.
 Waged war against Bahamani kingdom & kept them under check.
 Liberated Mohammad Shah & assumed the title "Yavanapriya
Prathishta Pranacharya".
 The author of Manu Charitramu was the greatest among
Ashtadiggajas.
 His empire extended from the river Krishna in the north to River
Cauvery in the south; the Arabian Sea in the west to Bay of Bengal
in the east.
Krishna Devaraya  He had a cordial relationship with Portuguese.
(1509-1529 AD)  He authored Amuktamalyada (Telugu work on polity) and
Jambavati Kalyanam (Sanskrit drama).
 Krishna Deva Raya was a great builder as well. He built the
Hazara Rama temple and the Vittalaswami temple.
 Patronised Telugu, Kannada, Sanskrit, and Tamil scholars & poets.
 He had 8 eminent scholars Ashtadiggajas at his royal court.
 He built a new city called Nagalapuram in memory of his mother
Nagaladevi.
  A group of eight scholars adorned Krishnadevaraya's court and
they were:
o Allasani Peddanna - the author of Manucharitam, he
was also known as Andhra Kavita Pitamaha.
o Nandi Thimmana - the author of Parijatapaharanam.
Ashtadiggajas of
o Madayyagari Mallana.
Krishna o Dhuriati.
Devaraya o Ayyalaraju Ramabhadrudu.
o Pingali Surana.
o Ramaraja Bhushana.
o Tenali Ramakrishna.

ASPECTS OF THE VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE

 The king enjoyed absolute authority in executive, judicial &

legislative matters.
 The succession to the throne was hereditary.
 Administrative units divided: Mandalams, Nadus, Sthalas and finally
into Gramas.
 Important characteristics of the Vijayanagar administration was
the amara- nayaka system.
 Nayankara System: The top-grade officers of the army were known
as Nayaks/Poligars.
 They were granted land in lieu of their services which were called
Administration Amaram.
 Mandaleshwar or Nayaka was the governor of Mandalam.
 He had considerable autonomy- had the right to issue coins of
small denominations and right to impose new tax or remit old
ones.
 Sources of income: land revenue, tributes, and gifts from vassals
and feudal chiefs, customs at ports, & taxes on various
professions.
 Land revenue was fixed at generally one sixth of the produce.
 'Manyams' were tax free lands.
 A body of 12 functionaries known as Ayangars, conducted village
affairs.
 The Sangama rulers were chiefly Saivaites and Virupaksha was
their family deity.
Socio-Economic  Allasani Peddana, in his Manucharitam, mentions the four castes
Conditions that existed in the Vijayanagar society: Viprulu or Brahmins, Rajulu
or Rachavaru Matikaratalu or Vaishyas, Nalavajativaru or Sudras
 Women occupied a high position and took an active part in the
political, social and literary life of the empire.
 The practice of dancing girls attached to temples was also in vogue.
 Women even went to battles.
 It was the only empire in Medieval India which employed women in
state services.
 The plight of the widow was pitiable, but they could remarry.
 Position of  The prevalence of Sati or Sahagamana in the Vijayanagar Empire is
Women proved from both inscriptions and foreign accounts of the period.
 Untouchability existed and various classes such as Kambalattars,
dombaris, jogis and maravars were treated as untouchables.
 Slavery was quite common and Nicolo de Conti says that those
who failed to repay debts became the property of the creditor.
Cultural  Chief characteristics of the Vijayanagara architecture were the
Contributions construction of tall Raya Gopurams or gateways and the
Kalyanamandapam with carved pillars in the temple premises.
 The sculptures on the pillars were carved with distinctive
features.
 The horse was the most common animal found in these pillars.
 Most important temples built: Vittalaswamy and Hazara
Ramaswamy temples, the Stone chariot at Hampi.
 The Varadharaja and Ekambaranatha temples at Kanchipuram.
 Different languages such as Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil
flourished in the regions.
Army and Military  The conflict between Vijayanagar Empire and the Bahmani
Organisation kingdom lasted for many years.
 Vijayanagar army was very well-organised and efficient. It consisted
of the cavalry, infantry, artillery, and elephants.
 Port of Malabar was the centre of this trade and trade in other luxury
commodities
 Vijayanagar state also was familiar with the use of firearms and
employed Turkish and Portuguese experts to train the soldiers in
the latest weapons of warfare.
.
THE NAYAK SYSTEM

 The term Nayak was used in many Telugu and Kannada spoken areas from the13th
century in context to a military leader: This system was similar to the iqta system followed
in Delhi Sultanate. Inscriptions refer to this system as nayakkattanam in Tamil,
nayaktanam in Kannada and nayankaramu in Telugu. This system also finds its mention
in the accounts of Nuniz and Paes and in Telugu work, Rayavachakamu.
 Most of these Nayaks were the Kannadiga and Telugu warriors. These chiefs controlled
production within their territories by creating pettai (commercial centres). The most
famous Nayak during Krishnadevaraya was Chellapa.
 Nayaks were also known as Palaiyagar or Palegar who had to maintain a fixed number
of soldiers, horses and elephants at the service of the state.
 After the Battle of Talikota, these Nayak chiefs became more or less independent of
Vijayanagar kingdom. The 17th century was marked as a century of these bigger Nayak
kingdoms like: Madurai, Ikkeri and Tanjore.
LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION
 The land revenue was the main source of income for the government. There was a
separate land revenue department. To assess revenue, the entire land was classified into
four parts like wet land, dry land, orchards and woods.
 The government also levied other taxes like the grazing tax, the marriage tax, the
customs duty, tax on gardening and taxes on manufacture of various articles and
even military contributions in times of distress.
 The rate of taxation was rather high, but the taxes were never extorted. The mode of
payment of these taxes was both in cash and kind.

Tax
 The king of Vijaynagar charged a little more than one sixth of the revenue.
 According to an inscription, various rates of taxes were as follows:
1. 1/3rd of rice (pluruvai) during winter.
2. 1/4th of sesame, ragi and horsegram.
3. 1/6th of millet and other crops.

FOREIGN TRAVELLER DURING VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE

Ruler Foreign Traveller

Harihara-I Abu Abdullah/Ibn Battuta (Morocco)
Nicolò de Conti (Italy)
Devaraya-II Abdur Razzaq (Persia)
Virupaksha Raya-II Athanasius Nikitin (Russia)
Ludovico de Varthema (Italy)
Krishna Deva Raya Duarte Barbosa (Portugal)
Dominigo Paes (Portugal)
Achvuta Deva Kava Fernao Nuniz (Portugal)
Rudramma Devi Marco Polo (Italy)

Bahmani Kingdom
INTRODUCTION
 The Bahmani Sultanate was a Persianised Muslim state of the Deccan in South India
and one of the major medieval Indian kingdoms.
 Though the region was ruled by a Muslim it was not an exclusive 'Muslim State'. Hindus
were also part of it as well.
 Nobles of the Bahmani kingdom were categorised in two categories: Afaquis and
Deccanis.
 Deccans were nobles of native origin while Afaquis had foreign origin.
 It was founded by Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah (In 1347), also known as Hasan
Gangu, revolting against the Delhi Sultanate of Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
 There was total 14 Bahaman Sultans.
  After reshuffling of capital from Daulatabad to Delhi by Muhammad bin Tughlag, Zafar
Khan conquered Daulatabad in 1345 from where he shifted his capital to Gulbarga in
1347 for security reasons. He was also known as Ala-ud-din Bahman Shah who became
the founder of this kingdom, which extended over the entire Deccan.
 The history of Bahmani kingdom is divided into two parts:
o 1st phase: Gulbarga as the capital (1347-1422)
o 2nd phase: Bidar as the capital (1422-1538 AD)
 The Bahamani kingdom acted as a cultural link between the South & the North.
 Kingdom stretched from north to south from the Wainganga river to Krishna and east to
west from Bhongir to Daulatbad.
 Bahmani Empire was always at war with Vijayanagara Empire for control over Deccan.
 Firoz Shah invaded Vijayanagar and defeated Krishna Deva Raya I.

Additional Information:
 Three distinct and resourceful areas were the reasons for a continuous conflict
between the Vijyanagara rulers and Bahmani Sultans :
• The Tungabhadra Doab.
• The Krishna Godavari Delta.
• The Marathwada country.

 Ahmad Shah Wali later shifted Capital from Gulbarga to Bidar.

 Muhammad Shah III became the sultan at the age of 9 after the death of his brother Nizam
Shah and Mahmud Gawan served as Prime Minister.
 Bahmani Empire reached its zenith during the time of Mahmud Gawan.
 Kalimullah was the last king of the Bahmani dynasty.

Administration under Mohammed I

He appointed a council of 8 ministers:
 Vakil-us-Saltana/lieutenant of the kingdom: The immediate subordinate of the sovereign.
 Waziri-Kull: Supervisor of work of all ministers.
 Amir-i-Jumla: Minister of finance.
 Wazir-i-Ashraf: Minister of foreign affairs and master of ceremonies.
 Nazir: Assistant minister of finance.
 Peshwa: Associated with the lieutenant of the kingdom.
 Kotwal: Chief of police and city magistrate of the capital.
 Sadr-i-iahan: Chief justice and minister of religious affairs and endowments.
Mahmud Gawan  He was Iranian by birth and was a trader. He was granted
the title of Malik-ul-Tujjar (Chiefs of Merchants) by
Humayun Shah.
 For almost 20 years he dominated the state affairs of the
Bahmani. Under his leadership Bahamani kingdom saw
resurgence.
 He divided the kingdom into eight provinces called Tarafs.
Each Tara was governed by the Tarafdar.
 The salary was paid in cash or by assigning a Jagir.
 A tract of land called Khalisa was set apart for expenses of
the Sultan.
 Introduced use of Gunpowder in war against Vijayanagara
Kings.
 He built a college at Bidar in Persian Style architecture.
 Executed in 1481 by Muhammad Shah, Deccan nobles
plotted against him.

 After Gawan's Execution, Bahmani kingdom disintegrated into Flve KIngdoms (Known
as Deccan Sultanates):
Nizam Shahis of  Founder: Ahmad Nizam Shah.
Ahmednagar  It was conquered & annexed by Shah Jahan in 1633.
(1490-1633 AD)
Adil Shahis of Bijapur  Founder: Yusuf Adil Shah.
(1490-1686 AD)  Gol Gumbaz was built by Muhammad Adil Shah.
 Bijapur was conquered & annexed by Aurangzeb in 1687.
 Founder: Muhammad Quli Qutub shah.
 He built the famous Golconda fort and made it capital.
Qutub Shahis of Golconda  Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah founded the city
(1518-1687 AD) Hyderabad (originally known as
 Bhagyanagar) and also built Charminar.
 It was annexed by Aurangzeb in 1687.
Imad Shahis of Berar  Founder: Fatullah khan Imad ul Mulk.
(1490-1574 AD)  Capital: Daulatabad.
 Annexed by rulers of Ahmednagar.
Barid Shahis of Bidar  Founder: Ali Barid.
(1528-1619 AD)  Annexed by Bijapur rulers.

Glossary
Turquoise: It is a semi-precious stone (sky blue in colour). Turquoise throne is one of
the bejewelled royal seats of Persian kings described in Firdausi's ShahNama.
Pradhani (Vijayanagar): Prime Minister.
Padikaval: Selling of Policing rights.
Talara: Watchman.
Wazir-i-kul (Bahmani): Prime Minister.
Wazir Ashraf: Who controlled foreign affairs and royal court.
 KEY TERMS AND THEIR MEANINGS
Pradhani Prime minister
Raysani Recorded oral order of king
Karnikam Accountant
Kadamal, Irai, Vrai Kinds of taxes
Athavan Land revenue department

Sufi Movement
INTRODUCTION
 In the beginning of 12th century AD, some religious people in Persia turned to asceticism
due to the increasing materialism of the Caliphate. They came to be called the 'Sufis'.
 In India, Sufi movement began in 1300 A.D & came to South India in the 15th century.
 Sufism is the mystical arm of Islam. Sufis represent the inner side of the Islam creed
(Tasawwuf).
 Sufism (tasawwuf) is the name given to mysticism in Islam.
 Sufi means wool: People who wear long woolen clothes are called sufis.
 It was a liberal reform movement within Islam.It stressed the elements of love and
devotion as an effective means of the realisation of God.
 It is based on the Pir-Murid (Teacher-student) relationship.
 Sufism sprang from the doctrine of Wahdat-ul-wajood (unity of being) propounded by Ibn-
ul-Arabi (1165-1240 AD).
 Early Sufi saints - Rabia, Mansur bin hallal.
 Sufi orders are broadly divided in two:
 Ba-sara - Those followed Islamic law.
 Be-shara- who did follow Islamic law.
 In Sufism, self-discipline was considered an essential condition to gain knowledge of God.
While orthodox Muslims emphasise external conduct, the Sufis lay stress on inner purity.
 Sufism entered India between 11th and 12th centuries.
Al-Hujwari was first Sufis who settled in India and died in 1089 AD who is popularly
known as Data Ganj
 Naksh (Distributor of unlimited treasure).
 Multan and Punjab were the early centres and later on, it spread to Kashmir, Bihar,
Bengal and the Deccan.
ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS

 Fana: Spiritual merger of devotee with Allah.

 Insan-e-kamil: Perfect human with all good virtues.
 Zikr-tauba: remembrance of god all the time(zikr).
 Wahdatul-wajood: one god for the entire universe; unity of god and being.
 Sama: spiritual dance and music to promote their concepts, though music is un-Islamic.
STAGES OF SUFISM
Stage Period Character
1st Stage: Khanqa 10th century Also called the age of Golden Mysticism
When Sufism was being institutionalised and
2nd Stage: Tariga 11-14th century traditions and symbols started being attached to
it.
3rd Stage: Tarifa 15th century The stage when Sufism became a popular
onwards movement.

FEATURES OF SUFISM
 The Sufis rejected the elaborate rituals and codes of behaviour demanded by Muslim
religious scholars.
 They believed that God is Mashuq and Sufis are the Ashiqs.
 Sufism was divided into 12 orders (Silsila) and each under a mystic Sufi saint of
which four most popular ones were Chistis, Suhrawardis, Qadiriyahs and
Naqshbandis.
 Silsila is the continuous link between Murshid (teacher) and Murid (student). They lived in
Khanqah-hospice of worship.
 Names of Silsila were based on the names of founding figures E.g. Qadri Silsila based
on the name of Shaikh Abdul Qadri & Place of origin E.g. Chishti (place in Afghanistan).
 Sufism took roots in both rural and urban areas and exercised a deep social, political and
cultural influence on the masses.
 Sufism believes that devotion is more important than fast (Roza) or prayer (Namaz).
 Sufism discards the caste system.
 Sufism has adapted extensively from the Vedanta school of the Hindu philosophy.
 The cardinal doctrines of Sufism include: Complete surrender to the will of God;
Annihilation of the self; Becoming a perfect person.
 These three cardinal principles altogether make the Doctrine of Fana which means
annihilation of human attributes through Union with God.
 In Sufism, a perfect being is also called a Wali (saint), a word that literally means sincere
friend.
SUFISM AND MUSIC
 Sufism encourages music as a way of deepening one's relation with God, remembering
God by zikr (reciting name) sama ( performance of mystical music).
 Sufis too composed poems and a rich literature in prose, including anecdotes and fables,
The most notable writer of this period was Amir Khusrau the follower of Nizamuddin
Auliya.
 Sufi saints are credited with the invention of sitar and tabla.
 It contributed to the evolution of classical music.
 Khayal style owes a lot to sufism.
 Amir Khusro was a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya.
He gives a unique form to sama.
 Khusrau is sometimes referred to as the Parrot of India. His songs are sung in several
dargahs across the country. Khusrau is regarded as the Father of Qawwali.
SILSILAS/ORDERS OF SUFIS
 Founder: Khwaja Abdul Chisti.
 Originated in Persia and Central Asia.
 Moinuddin Chishti introduced the Chisti order in India.
 Baba Farid (Fariddudin Ganjshakar) was a disciple of Moinuddin & his
Chisti poems included in
Guru Granth Sahib.
 Nizamuddin Auliya was called sidh/perfect due to yogi breathing
exercises.
 Sama was mostly associated with Chisti.
 Belong to Ba-sharia.
 Founder: Shaikh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi.
 Main centre was Multan.
 Saints of this order were also rich and held important government positions.
Suhrawardi  Associated with Delhi Sultanate.
 A famous saint is Bahauddin Zakaria.
 Belong to Ba-sharia.
 Founder: Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari
Nakshabandi  Khwaja pir mohammad introduced Nakshabadi order in India during
Akbar reign.
 Orthodox Sect.
Qadri Silsilah  The Qadri/Qadiriyya silsilah was famous in Punjab and was founded by
Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani of Baghdad.
South India
The cholas: (850-1279 AD):
 Known as Imperial Cholas of Tanjore.
 The founder of Chola dynasty was Vijayalaya who was at first a feudatory of Pallavas.
 The greatest kings of Cholas were Rajaraja & his son
Rajendra I.
 The use of Agrahatta (Persian wheel) also facilitated the already established smooth irrigation
networks of tanks, canals, wells and sluices.

Important rulers:

Rajaraja-l  Greatest Chola Ruler, who helped raise chola empire as largest dominion
(985- 1014 AD) in South India.
 He took titles - Mummidi Chola, Jayankonda & Shivpadshekhara.
 He defeated Chera, Pandya & conquered Maldives Islands.
 Naval expedition against the Sailendra Empire (Malaya Peninsula).
 Expanded trade with china.
 In 1010 CE, constructed the Rajarajeshwara or Brihadeshwara temple,
dedicated to shiva at Thanjavur.
 Rajarajeshwara or Brihadeshwara temple is a part of "Greatest Living
Chola Temples", & entered the UNESCO World Heritage site list in 1987.
This temple is the finest example of Dravidian architecture.
  Developed a revenue system where land was surveyed and then revenue
was assessed. So he was referred to as Ulakalanada Peruma (the great
who measured the earth).

Raiendra-I  Son of Rajaraja I, defeated & conquered whole Sri Lanka.

(1014- 1044 AD)  Made the Chola navy the strongest in the area and 'Bay of Bengal' was
converted into a 'Chola Lake'.
 He assumed the title of "Gangaikondachola" & built a city-
"Gangaikondacholapuram".
 He was a great patron of learning and known as Pandita - chola.
 Encouraged local self-government.
 Rajendra III was the last king. Later ,Pandyas conquered the Chola empire.
Political System  Empire was founded by Vijayalaya, feudatory of Pallavas.
 He captured Tanjore in 850 A.D.
 Rajaraja I (985-1014 A.D)
 Formative period of "chola imperialism"
 He destroyed the Chera navy at Trivandrum.
 He conquered Maldives Islands.
 Bought South- East Asia under his control.
 He overran Vengi of Andhra Pradesh.
 Rajendra I (1014-1044 A.D).
 He followed the annexation policy of his father.
 He defeated pala ruler Mahipala in 1022 A.D and assumed title
Gangaikonda chola
 Build a city near the mouth of Kaveri- Gangaikondachola.
 He sent two diplomatic missions to China for political as well as commercial
purposes.
 Rajadhi Raja I (1044-1052 A.D):
 He earned the title "Jayamkonda chola".
 He captured Kalyani, western chalukya capital and took the title
Kalyanpur Makonda.
Administration  King was the central power and assisted by a council of ministers.
 The Chola empire had a strong standing army.
 The empire was divided into mandalams (provinces), valanadu (districts).
 The officials were generally given revenue bearing lands.
 Cholas were known for village administration (Uttaramerur inscriptions of
Paranthaka provides for this.
 Two assemblies - Ur, Sabha or Mahasabha.
 Ur was a general assembly of the village.
 Mahasabha was a gathering of adult men in Brahmana villages
(agraharas)
  Election system was present.

Economy  Built a network of roads.

 Expansions in agrarian economy, use of Agrahatta (Persian wheel) for smooth
irrigation.
 Tanks for irrigation purposes were built.
 Elaborate survey of land is done to assess the govt. share.
 Revenue sources: land tax, tolls on trade, taxes, professions etc, plunder.
Society  It was organised based on the Varnasrama model.
 Sub castes were proliferated - Kaikalla, Chetti, Cheek etc.
 Division of sub castes into Valangai and Idangai.
 The Devadasi system was prevalent in the society.
 Emergence of trading caste: Garveras (Northern merchants migrated
southwards), Gaudas/Gavundas (originally cultivators).
Religion  Thiruvalangadu copper plates. Karanthai plates and Anbil plates describe
religious conditions of cholas.
 Chola kings were Shaivites.
 Paranthaka I Chola covered shiva temple with gold at Chidambaram.
 Rajendra I constructed shiva temple in Ceylon.
 They were tolerant towards other religions.
 Vaishnavism also flourished during the period.
 Saint Ramanujan was a contemporary of chola kings.
 Temples acted as important centres of cultural life.
 Build great capitals: Tanjore, Gangaikondacholapuram, Kanchi etc.
 Large households and large palaces.
 Chola kings built lofty temples & inscribed long inscriptions on the wall
narrating their achievements. They also depict the socio-economic conditions of
that period.
 The Dravidian type of temple architecture reached its climax under the
Cholas.
 Dravidian temple architecture:
• Garbhagriha - multiple stories in the chief-deity room.
Art and o These stories varied from 5 to 7 and are known as Vimana.
Architecture o Mandapa with a pillared hall.
o Pillars are elaborately curved.
o Courtyards surrounding the structure.
o Gopurams- lofty gateways
 Examples: Kailasanath Temple of Kanchipuram was built in the 8th century.
Brihadeshwara temple (Tanjore), Airavatesvara temple & temple at
Gangaikondacholapuram, Nataraja temple at Chidambaram are famous.
 Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjore was built by Rajaraja which was dedicated
to Shiva.
 The Chola period is also remarkable for its sculptures and bronzes. The best
example of this can be seen in Dancing figure of Nataraja.
 Bharatanatyam & kathakali are two types of dances performed during the
Chola period.
Literature  Sivakasintamani written by Thiruthakkadevar and Kundalakesi belongs to
the 10th century.
 The Ramayana composed by Kamban and the Periyapuranam or
Thiruthondar Puranam by Sekkilar are the two master-pieces of this age.
 The Telugu version of Mahabharata was started by Nanniah & completed
by Tikkana.
 Jayankondar's Kalingattupparani describes the Kalinga war fought by
Kulottunga I.
 Moovarula written by Ottakuthar depicts the life of three Chola kings.
 Nalavenba was written by Pugalendi.
 The works on Tamil grammar like Kalladam by Kalladanar, Yapperungalam
by Amirthasagarar, a Jain, Nannul by Pavanandhi and Virasoliyam by
Buddhamitra were written during Chola rule.
 Pampa, Ponna, & Ranna are considered 3 gems of Kannada literature lived
in the 10th century.
Important Terms  Kaikkolaperumpadai - Royal troops.
& Meaning  Velaikkarar - Personal troops to defend kings.
 Kadagram - military cantonment.
 Puravuvanithinaikkalam - Revenue dept.
 Peruvazhis - Trunk roads.

Administration  Hereditary Monarchical form of government.

 Used titles Samasthabhuvanasraya and Vijayaditya.
 Their insignia was a boar signifying varahavatara.
 Limited number of council of ministers to advise the King.
 Ministers post was hereditary.
 Administration had feudal elements.
 Territory was divided into Rashtra, Vtshaya, Nadu, Kampana and Thana.
 Vishayapatis, Gramakutakas, Ayuktakas and Niyakutakas were the
officials.
Economy  Agriculture and trade & commerce were backbones of the economy.
  State provided irrigational facilities.
 Cultivated land was categorised into Dry land, wet land and Garden land.
 Private ownership along with joint ownership of land existed.
 Guilds were active and had autonomy.
Society  Social life was based on the Varnasrama model.
 Caste was universal and hereditary.
 The Relationship between caste and occupation was less rigid.
 Women of higher status played a major role in social and administrative life.
 Akkamahadevi, a chalukyan princess also led the armies in battle.
Religion  Shaivism and Vaishnavism were patronised.
 Shakti was worshipped as Kollapura Mahalakshmi.
 Karthikeya was worshipped - Kudidatani in Bellary.
 Basavesvara's Veerashaivism was also very popular.
 Jainism was also practised and received royal patronage too.
Art and  Their temple architecture is known as "Karnata Dravida".
Architecture  It is an extension of Badami chalukyan style
 Temples of Ittagi were the finest examples of Art and architecture.
 Ornamentation on the outer walls of the shrine and presence of figure
sculptures of heroes and loving couples (Mithuna) were unique features
of Kalyani Chalukyas.

Bhakti Movement
INTRODUCTION
 It was a religious reform movement during medieval times which emphasised single-
minded intense devotion to God.
 Bhakti movement was based on the doctrine that the relationship between god and
man is through love and worship rather than through performing any ritual or religious
ceremonies.
 The origin of Bhakti is traced in Vedas, but its real development took place after the 7th
century.
 It was initiated by Shaiva Nayanars & Vaishnavite Alwars in south India, later spread to all
regions.
 Emotional Side of Vaishnavism represented by:
Alvars through collective songs - Prabhandam.
 Intellectual side of Vaishnavism represented by
 Acharyas.
Navanars Alvars
 Devotees of Shiva.  Devotees of Vishnu.
 Thirumarai - Compilation of  Divya Prabandha- Compilation of the
hymns of Nayanana by the hymns of the Alvars saints - poets.
highest priest of Raja Raja Chola  Important saints: Andal (only female Alwar
I, Nambiyandar Nambi. saint who is referred to as the 'Meera of the
 The details of the lives and of the South'), Thirumazhisai Alvar, Thiruppaan
saints are described in the work Alvar, Nammalwar, Kulasekara.
"Tevaram' which is also called the
Dravida Veda.
  Important Saints: Tiru Neelakanta,
Meiporul, Viral Minda, Amaraneedi,
Karaikkal Ammaiyar (woman).

 The Bhakti saints were divided into two schools depending on the way they imagined God.
Nirgun Sagun
 Believe invisible formless god,  Believe God with form & attributes.
without attributes.  Saguna bhakti's poetry was Prema-shrayi, or
 Nirguna bhakta's poetry was with roots in love.
Jnana-shrayi or had • roots in  Saguna Saints: Tulsidas, Surdas, Meerabai
knowledge.
 Nirgun Saints: Guru Nanak,
Ravidas, Kabir
FEATURES OF BHAKTI MOVEMENT
 Unity of God or one God though known by different names.
 Condemnation of rituals, ceremonies and blind faith.
 Rejection of idol worship.
 Surrender of oneself to God.
 Emphasised both Nirguna and Saguna bhakti.
 Salvation through Bhakti.
 Open-mindedness about religious matters.
 Rejected castes distinctions & believed in equality of all humans.
 Rebelled against the upper caste's domination and the Sanskrit language.
 Use of local or regional languages for Preaching.
 Creation of literature in the local language.

CAUSES OF THE EMERGENCE OF BHAKTI MOVEMENT

 Influence of Vaishnavism
 Evil practices of the Hindus
 Fear of spread of Islam
 Influence of Sufi sects
 Emergence of great reformers.

VEDANTA SAINTS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION

Vedanta Saints Contribution
 Birth- Kerala, Death- Uttarakhand (Kedarnath).
 Guru - Govinda Bhagavath pada.
 Integrated the essence of Buddhism in Hindu thought and
interpreted the ancient Vedic religion.
Shankaracharya  Consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedant (Non-Dualism)
God & created world is one and individual soul is not
(788 - 820 AD)
different from Brahman.
 Organiser of the Dashanami monastic order and unified the
Shanmata tradition of worship
  Birth - Tamilandu.
 Guru - yadav preksha.
Ramanujarcharya  Propagator of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta or qualified
(1017-1137 AD) monism - There exists a plurality and distinction between
Atman (soul) & Brahman (metaphysical, ultimate reality).
 Exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism.
 Literary works: Vedartha Sangraham, Sri Bhashyam, Gita
Bhashyam.

 He was the contemporary of Ramanuja.

Nimbarka  He propounded the philosophy of bheda-abheda meaning
God, the soul and the world were identical yet distinct.

 He was a critic of Adi Shankara's Advaita Vedanta and

Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita Vedanta teachings.
Madhvacharya  He preached Dvaita or dualism, where divinity was separate
(1238-1319 from the human conscience soul.
 Liberation: only through the grace of God.
 Book: Anuvyakhyana.
 Criticised the ritual and other aspects of conventional religion
and the social order, using simple, logical arguments.
 They advocated renunciation of the world.
Nathpanthis,  To them, the path to salvation lay in meditation on the
Siddhas, and formless god.
 To achieve this they advocated intense training of the mind
Yogis
and body through practices like yoga asanas, breathing
exercises and meditation.
 These groups became particularly popular among low
castes.

BHAKTI MOVEMENT SAINTS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS

Saints Contribution
 He was a follower of Ramanuja.
 Founder of Sant-Parampara (literally, the tradition of bhakti
saints) in north India.
 Substitute the worship of Rama in place of Krishna.
 He has 12 disciples - Avadhutas.
 Disciple(s): Kabir (a muslim weaver), Ravidas (cobbler),
Ramanada
Bhagat Pipa, Sukhanand, sena (barber) & sudhana.
(14-15th century)
 Literary works: Gyan-lila and Yog-chintamani (Hindi),
Vaisnava Mata Bhajan Bhaskara and Ramarcanapaddhati
(Sanskrit).
 His verse is mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib.
 Disciple of Ramananda.
 He was the first to reconcile Hinduism and Islam.
Kabir Das  He was a Nirguna saint and openly criticised the orthodox ideas
(1440-1510 AD) of major religions like Hinduism and Islam.
 Denounced idol-worship, fastings, pilgrimages and religious
superstitious beliefs, bathing in holy rivers, formal worship like
nama.
 His poems are called Banis (utterances) or Dohe. His works are
compiled in the famous book: Bijak.
 Kabir says: Ram Rahim is the same.
 Birth: Talwandi Village & Death Kartarpur (Both are in Pakistan).
 Founder of Sikh religion & the first Guru of ten Sikh Gurus.
Initially worked as an Accountant.
 Preached middle path & need of Guru for liberation.
 He composed hymnes and sang along with the help of an
instrument called Rabab played by his attendant Mardana.
 Travelled across Asia including Mecca & Baghdad and spread
the message of lk Onkar -(One God).
Guru Nanak Dev  Opposes idol worship, pilgrimage and caste system, and
(1469-1538 AD) emphasised purity of character and conduct.
 Called God as Waheguru that is shapeless, timeless,
omnipresent and invisible (Nirgun
 Bhakti).
 He started Guru-Ka-langer (Community Kitchen).
 He promoted Tauhid-e-wazidi.
Purandar Das  One of the chief founding-proponents of South Indian classical
(1483-1564 AD) music (Carnatic Music).
 He is often quoted as Karnataka Sangeeta Pitamaha.
Dadu Dayal  Disciple of Kabir.
(1544-1603 AD)  He was a supporter of Hindu-Muslim unity.
 His followers were called Dadu Panthis.
Chaitanya  Founder of modern Vaishnavism in Bengal.
Mahaprabhu (1486-  He was a Saguna and popularised Kirtans (religious songs) as a
1533 AD) form of worshipping God.
 Popularised the chanting of Hare Rama, Hare Krishna.
 He made famous the practice of worshipping Radha and
Krishna together. He gave the Achintya Bheda-Abheda
philosophy.
 Didn't reject scriptures or idol worship called god as Hari.
 He wrote Siksastakam, a text in Sanskrit, where he elaborated his
philosophy.
 He is the inspiration behind the world renowned ISKCON
(International Society for Krishna Consciousness) that was
founded in the 20th century.
 Spread the Bhakti cult in Assam.
 Translated Ramayana & Mahabharata into Assamese
 He started the Ekasarana movement (Neo-Vaishnavite
movement). He believed in the worship of Ekasarana (One God)
Sankaradeva (1499 in the form of Krishna.
 He is also called Krishna by different names like Hari, Narayan
1569 AD)
and Rama.
  His most famous work is Kirtana Ghosha, written in a simple
language understood by the masses.
 He wrote in Assamese and Brajavali (mixture of Maithili and
Assamese).
 Exponent of Krishna cult.
Vallabhacharya  Founded philosophy of Shuddhadvaita (Pure Non dualism) and
(1479-1531 AD) his philosophy is known as Pushti Marg.
 He worshipped Krishna under the title Srinathji.
 He was a famous saint from Chhattisgarh and he established
the Satnami Community
Guru Ghasidas  mere
(1756-1836 AD)  He strongly believed in equality and criticised the oppressive
caste system.
 He was a monotheist and was against idol worship.
 Disciple of Vallabhacharya.
Surdas  He wrote Sursagar and Sursurvali.
(1483-1563 AD)  Showed intense devotion to Radha and Krishna.
 Regarded as the outstanding devotional poet in Brajbhasha.
Mirabai  Staunch devotee of Lord Krishna.
(1498-1546 AD)  Composed number of songs and poems in honour of Krishna.
 She composed bhajans (short religious songs) which are sung
even today.
Haridas  A great musician saint who sang the glories of Lord Vishnu.
(1478-1573 AD)
 Depicted Rama as the incarnation.
Tulsidas  Wrote Ramcharitmanas.
(1532-1623 AD)  He was Varkari.

 He was a devotee of Vithoba (Vishnu).

Namdeva  Opposed Caste system.
(1270-1350 AD)  Only Nirguna saint in Maharashtra.
 He belongs to Varkari tradition.
 He was the founder of the Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra in
Dnyaneshwar the 13th century.
(1275-1296 AD)  Wrote Dnyaneswari, a commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita.
 His other work is Amrutanubhav on Yoga and philosophy.
 He was a worshipper of Vithoba (Vitthala) who is considered a
manifestation of Vishnu.
 He was a follower of Nath Yogi Tradition. He also drew
inspiration from the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita.

Eknath  Wrote commentary on verses of the Bhagavad-Gita.

(1533-1599)  Devotee of Vithoba. He criticised the Caste distinctions.
 Contemporary of Maratha king Shivaji.
 Devotee of Vithal.
Tukaram  He founded the Varkari sect.
(1598-1650)  Man behind Maratha Nationalism.
  His teachings are contained in Abhangas.
Ram Das  Author of Dasbodh.
(1608-1681)  His teachings inspired Shivaji to establish an independent
kingdom in Maharashtra.
VIRASHAIVISM/SHARANA MOVEMENT
 The Virashaiva movement began in Karnataka in the mid- twelfth century.
 It was initiated by Basavanna and other virashaivas like Allama Prabhu and
Akkamahadevi.
 They fought for the equality of all human beings and against the Brahmanical ideas of
caste and poor treatment of women.
 They were also against religious rituals and idol worship.
 Challenged caste system, questioned the theory of rebirth.
 Encouraged post puberty marriage & widow remarriage.
 Basavanna spread social awareness through his poetry, popularly known as Vachanaas.
 He established Anubhava Mantapa (1st democratic parliament of the world) - academy
of mystics, saints and philosophers of the Lingayath's faith.

Varkari Tradition
 Varkari is a religious movement (sampradaya) within the bhakti spiritual
tradition of Hinduism. It is geographically associated with the Indian states
of Maharashtra and northern Karnataka. In the Marathi language of
Maharashtra, Vari means 'pilgrimage' and a pilgrim is called a Varkari.
Vernacular Literature
Hindi Kabir, Surdas, Tulsidas, etc.

Marathi Jnanadeva, Namdev, Eknath, etc.

Bengali Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Chandidas
Rajasthani (Braj) Meerabai, Bihari. etc.
Puniabi Guru Nanak
Assamese Sankaradeva

IMPACT OF BHAKTI MOVEMENT

 The Bhakti saints were social reformers also. The evil practice of Sati and caste rigidities
received some setbacks.
 Women were encouraged to join kirtans. Mirabai, Laila (Kashmir) and Andal composed
verses that are popular even today.
 In place of Sanskrit, Bhakti saints preached through the medium of local languages which
could be understood very easily. Surdas used the Brij dialect. Tulsi Das composed his
works in Awadhi.
 Sankaradeva popularised Assamese, Chaitanya spreading their message in Bengali,
Mirabai in Hindi and Rajasthani.
 Kirtan at a Hindu Temple, Qawwali at a Dargah (by Muslims), and singing of Gurbani at
a Gurdwara are all derived from the Bhakti movement of medieval India.
 It popularised the idea of equality & brotherhood.