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IGNOU ASSIGNMENT REFERENCE MATERIAL (2017-18) E.H.I.-03 INDIA: FROM 8th to 15th CENTURY A.D

Note: All questions are compulsory. Marks are indicated against each question.

Section 1: Answer each question in about 500 words.

Q1. What were the guilds? Examine the organisation and functions of Ayyavole and Maninagram.

Ans. The guilds were voluntary associations of merchants dealing in the same type of commodity such as grains, textiles, betel leaves, horses, perfumes, etc. They were formed by both local as well as itinerant merchants.

Organisation and functions of Ayyavole and Maninagram

The two most important merchant guilds of South India were known as the Ayyavole and the Maninagram. Geographically, the area of their operation corresponded to the present day state of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and South Andhra Pradesh. The Cola kings from the tenth century onwards made a concerted effort to trade and commerce through trade missions, maritime expeditions, abolition of tolls, etc. It greatly increased the activities of these guilds which were involved in not only inter-regional but also inter-oceanic trade across the Bay of Bengal. The merchant guild called Ayyavole was also known as the guild of “the 500 Swami of Aihole” nanadeshi. While some have argued that such organisations were primarily traders in various types of merchandise and not a single unified corporation of merchants, a detailed study of Kannada Ayyavole shows that the The organisation might have had an initial membership of 500.

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Give a detailed account of the expansion of Delhi Sultanate under the Khaljis.

Ans. The most important states in south India at the time were the Kakatiyas of Warangal and the Hoysalas with their capital at Dvar Samudra. Further to the south were the Pandyas of Mabar and Madurai. All these powers were engaged in constant wars with each other and with the Yadavas of Deogir in territorial disputes.

Having secured a base and a reliable ally at Deogir, between 1309 and 1311, Alauddin sent two expeditions under Malik Kafur to make the southern states disgorge their accumulated wealth and compel them to accept Delhi’s suzerainty and pay an annual tribute. Alauddin had no intention of annexing any of these states and bringing them under his direct administration, since he knew that the distances and differing conditions would make such an attempt difficult and hazardous.

Q2. Trace the development of Iqta system under the Delhi Sultans.

Ans. The iqta was a territorial assignment and its holder was called the muqti or the wali. The classical definition of the iqta system has been given by Nizam-ul Mulk Tusi, a Seljuq statesman of the 11^th century. According to Tusi’s definition, the iqta was a revenue assignment that the muqti held at the pleasure of Sultan. The muqti was entitled to collect in proper manner the land tax and other taxes due to the Sultan, he had no further claims on the person, women and children, land or other possessions of the cultivators. The muqti had certain obligations to the Sultan the chief being the maintenance of troops and furnishing them at call to the Sultan. The iqta was a transferable charge and the transfers of iqta were frequent. In the early years of the foundation of the Sultanate, neither the revenue income of these assignments was known nor the size of the contingent of the assignee was fixed. However, certain modifications and mild attempts at introducing central control to some extent were made by Balban (1266-86) when he appointed a khwaja (accountant) with each muqti: this may imply that the Sultanate now was trying to find out the actual income of the iqta and muqti s expenditure.

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Analyse the growth of Bhakti Movement in medieval period.

Ans. The popular bhakti movement which began in north India from the 14th-15th centuries onwards has often been considered an off-shoot of the southern movement. Interaction in the cultural field between north and south India was a continuous process, both among the Hindus and among the Buddhist and Jain scholars. During the 9th century, Sankara is supposed to have undertaken a journey to north India to engage in scholarly discussions because, according to tradition, such discussions in north and south were necessary to establish a system of though. What is notable, however, is that despite this strong tradition and the early origins of bhakti in north India, bhakti did not become a mass phenomenon in north India till the fifteenth century. This gap of five hundred years or more can only be explained in terms of the social, political and cultural conditions obtaining in the two regions.

Section 2: Answer each question in about 250 words.

Q3. Who were Samantas? What role did they play in the politics of 8th to 12th century?

Ans. Instability was built into the nature of early medieval polity. Frequent changes in the composition of territorial limits of the political powers itself is an indication of this. State society even in nuclear areas did not necessarily have a stable locus.

Mobilisation of military strength could displace existing power holders and create new locus and networks of political relations. The decentralised character of the state with different foci of power. The shifting allegiances of the diffused foci of power, e.g. those represented by the subordinate chiefs or Samanta feudatories, would add to political instability.

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Critically examine the formation and consolidation of lineage power in the Deccan.

Ans. The formation and consolidation of lineage power did not develop in a uniform way. One of the indicators of the process of lineage power formation was the colonisation of new areas, as is evident in the expansion of the number of settlements. The colonisation of new areas could result from the annexation of the new territories by means of organised military strength. The Chauhan kingdom of Nadol known as Saptashata is said to have been made into Saptasahasrikadesha by a Chauhan chief who killed chiefs of the boundaries of his kingdom and annexed their villages. Territorial expansion of the Western Indian powers was accomplished, on some areas, at the expense of tribal settlements.

Q4. Write a brief note on emergence of new social ethos in the early medieval period.

Ans. The post-eighth century social organisation which seems to have prevailed till at least the establishment of the Turkish political power in the thirteenth century.

A new social ethos was in the making. The new trends in Indian economy were conductive to feudal formation. In the realm of political organisation too, a great majority of power centres were marked by feudal tendencies based on graded land rights.

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Discuss in brief the factors responsible for the Turkish conquest of India.

Ans. There are various factors responsible for the Turkish conquests of North India. Many of the contemporary chroniclers do not go beyond the standard explanation of attributing this major event to the ‘Will of God’. Some British historians, who initiated the study of Indian history in greater depth, accounted for the success of the Turks as follows: The Ghorian armies were drawn from the war like tribes inhabiting the difficult region lying between the Indus and the Oxus. They had gathered military powers and expertise fighting the Seljug armies and other fierce tribes of Central Asia. On the other hand, the Indians were pacifist and not given to war. Moreover, they were divided into small states which hampered expansionist ambitions.

Q5. Discuss the nature of conflict between the nobility and the Delhi Sultans.

Ans. In the early stages of the foundation of the Sultanate, were from the families of the Turkish slave-officers. Many of the early Turkish nobles and Sultans (such as Aibak and Iltutmish) had started their early career as slaves but they received letters of manumission (khat-i azadi) before becoming Sultans. One such was Qutbuddin Aibak. On his death in A.D. 1210, Illtutmish, one of his favoured slaves, seized Delhi and set himself up as Sultan. He created his own corps of Turkish slaves—the Shamsi maliks, called Barani turkan-i chihilgani( “The Forty”). Iltutmish’s nobility also included a number of Tajik or free-born officers. That this element of free-born immigrants continued to form a part of the ruling class is noted by Minhaj at the time of Nasiruddin Mahmud’s accession (1246 A.D.).

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Critically analyse the role of religion and religious classes in the Vijaynagar Empire.

Ans. The importance of the Brahmans as political and secular personnel rather than ritual leaders. Most of the durga dannaiks (incharge of forts) were Brahmans. Literary sources substantiate the theory that fortresses were significant during this period and were placed under the control of the Brahmans, especially of Telugu origins.

During this period, the majority of educated Brahmans desired to become government servants as administrators and accountants which offered them good career prospects. The Imperial Secretariat was totally manned by the Brahmans. These Brahmans were different from the other Brahmans: they belonged to a subcaste called the Telugu niyogis.

Q6. Discuss with examples the salient features of architecture during the Sultanate period.

Ans. The Sultanate period brought to India new styles of art and architecture which were soon absorbed into the existing set up. A number of factors were responsible for events to move in such a direction. The existing Indian styles and the new ideas had many common features, which allowed them to adapt to one another. For instance, both the temple and mosque had large open courtyards. Also many temples were converted in mosques by the foreign invaders, and this created a blend of Indian as well as foreign styles.

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Write a short note on the growth of music during the Sultanate period.

Ans. Trends towards mutual understanding and integration are to be found not only in the fields of religious beliefs and rituals, architecture and literature, but also in the fields of fine arts, particularly music. When the Turks came to India, they inherited the rich Arab tradition of music which had been further developed in Iran and Central Asia. They brought with them a number of new musical instruments, such as the rabab and sarangi, and new musical modes and regulations. Indian music and Indian musicians at the court of the Calipsh at Baghdad had possibly influenced the development of music there.

Section 3: Answer in about 100 words each.

Q7. Write short notes on any two of the following:

1. i) Sharqis of Jaunpur

Ans. Malik Sarwar, a noble of Feroz Shah Tughlaq, took full advantage of the succession tussle among the sons of Feroz and rose to the high position of Wazir under Sultan Muhammad Shah (1390-94). Malik Sarwar got the charge of the eastern districts along with the title of Sultan-us Sharq. The invasion of Timur, which virtually shattered the kingdom of Delhi, gave Malik Sarwar an opportunity to declare his independence in Jaunpur.

1. ii) Afaqis and Dakhanis

Ans. During Shihabuddin Mahmud’s reign (1482-1548), the clash reached its climax. While the king showed his distinct inclination for the-Afaqis, the Dakhnis joined hands with the Habshi (Abyssinian) faction. The latter, in 1487, in a desperate bid attempted to kill the king but failed. It resulted in a large-scale massacre of the Dakhnis which continued for three days.

iii) Irrigation Technology during the Sultanate period

Ans. The construction of water-works and the technological changes that took place in the traditional irrigation system in India during the Delhi Sultanate hitherto neglected, need a scientific study. The relevant evidence available in the contemporary Arabic and Persian works, though brief and laconic, sheds interesting light on the engineering skill that went into the construction of water works and the changes that irrigation technology underwent from time to time.

1. iv) Mongols and Delhi Sultans

Ans. The sources claim invasions by hundreds of thousands of Mongols, numbers approximating (and probably based on) the size of the entire cavalry armies of the Mongol realms of Central Asia or the: about 150,000 men.

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