Dr.

ABDUL KALAM ACADEMY

MARAI MALAI NAGAR-603209, TAMIL NADU

CBSE CLASS – VII

HISTORY
THE MEDIEVAL AGE
Prof. RAJ
This chapter contains information about…

 The time period of the medieval period.

 The major political developments in the age.
 Importance of Geographical knowledge like maps
and names of places in the medieval period.
 Names of medieval scholars who visited India
 Medieval documents and the language used
 New social, political groups and religious groups
which arose in the medieval period.
 Major Topics of the Chapter

• Introduction
• Major Political Developments
• Importance of Geographical Knowledge
• Keeping Records
• New Social and Political Groups
• Old and New Religions
 Three periods of history
The history of the world can be divided into
three broad periods:

• Ancient
• Medieval
• Modern
 Medieval Age
• The medieval period in India spans over a
millennium (1000 years) from 8th century AD
to 18th century AD.
• But in Europe the medieval age began in the
5th century AD.
 Two phases of Medieval Age in India
The Medieval period in India can be divided
broadly into two phases:

Early medieval period (8th century AD to 13th

century AD) and

Later medieval period (13th century AD to 18th

century AD).
 Early Medieval Period
• The Early Medieval Period (8th to 13 century
AD) saw power struggles among regional
kingdoms of both North and South.
• The Rajputs in North India and the Cholas in
South India were the prominent kingdoms.
• The distinctive cultural characteristics of the
regional kingdoms spread in the new regions
that came under them.
 Later Medieval Age
• Muslim conquerors from Central Asia
especially the Turks, the Afghans and the
Mughals ruled India.
• The Khaljis, the Tughluqs and the Mughals
established mighty dynasties.
• Islamic customs influenced political,
economic, social and cultural life in India and a
Indo-Islamic culture grew in a big way.
 European traders
• Towards the end of the 15th century,
Europeans began direct trade with Indian
seaports.
• Portuguese came first followed by the English,
the Dutch and the French.
• By the mid 18th century, the British beat the
French to be the dominant political force in
India.
• This marked the beginning of the Modern Age.
 Importance of Geographical Knowledge

• Geographic knowledge especially maps helped

to understand a region better.

• Geographical features of a region and the

region’s location with respect to other regions
explains why a region prospered or remained
isolated or was invaded frequently.
 Cartography and Medieval India
• Cartography or map making was unknown in
ancient India.
• The worldwide growth of trade and the
expansion of empires during the medieval period
created the need for accurate maps.
• The Arabs and the Europeans who undertook
long journeys over land and sea developed
cartography.
• India was introduced to cartography by the Arabs
and the Europeans.
 Al-Idrisi and his upside down map
• Al-Idrisi is a 12th century cartographer from
Morocco.
• His upside down map (the map has the south
shown at the top) has Arabia at the centre and
India to its left.
• Above India is an island which could be Sri Lanka.
• Below Arabia is Turkey and further down Europe.
• But by the end of the medieval period
cartography became more accurate.
 Medieval Maps of India

• Most medieval maps of India were drawn by

sailors who were more familiar with the
coastal regions.

• Hence, these maps show the coastal areas in

more detail than the interior regions.
 Place names
• Medieval maps and writings of medieval
authors provide valuable information about
the geographical feature and the names of
places in those times.
• But the names of places mentioned in those
documents and maps may have changed over
time.
• Historians have to find out the present names
and match it with old names.
 Medieval Scholars who visited India
• Alberuni, a famous Central Asian scholar came
to India and mastered Sanskrit and translated
some Sanskrit texts into Arabic. He also wrote
a book called Kitab-al-Hind on India.
• Ibn Batutah came to India from Tangier (North
Africa)in the 14th century. His work Rihla
describes his travels in India.
• Their writings give us the valuable
geographical information on medieval India
 Record Keeping
• In the medieval kingdoms in India, records
were maintained properly.

• At that time, paper came into wide use as a

writing material.

• These documents area now preserved in the

archives (a place where historical documents
are maintained by the government.
Nature of the medieval documents

• Medieval records of land revenue and land

grants, works of religious literature and
secular works such as travel writing, history
and science are preserved till date.
 Prashastis / Rajatarangini
• Most of the historical works are prashastis or
eulogies which are writing praising somebody,
usually a ruler.
• One exception is Kalhana’s Rajatarangini – a
history of Kashmir in Sanskrit verse written in
the 12th century.
• As a true historian, Kalhana referred to
different original documents, inscriptions and
coins to check the facts.
 Growth of new languages …
• Most scholars and officials all over India wrote either in
Sanskrit or in Persian.

• But regional languages came into wide use in regional

kingdoms.

• Telengani was used in Telengana, Kashmiri in Kashmir,

Awadh (a form of Hindi) in Uttar Pradesh, Gujari in Gujarat
and Gauri in Bengal.

• Many literary works were composed in these languages

and they provide valuable historical information.
 Historians’ Problems
• All medieval documents were manuscripts
(handwritten documents) as there was no
printing press at that time.
• Scribes (writers) made copies of original
documents and some of them put in their own
thoughts in their own language changing the
original text.
• Later historians had to check these documents
with other sources to ascertain the truth in case
the original document was lost.
 Historians’ problem continued
• Another problem which confronts the
historians is that the languages used in the
documents have changed.

• Historians are not able to read the documents

because the handwriting of the scribes are
illegible or because the script (lettering) is no
longer in use.
 Historian problems continued…
• Here are two examples to show how the usages and
expressions changed with time.
• The term mlechchha was used during ancient times for
all non-Aryan people including hill and forest dwellers.
• During the early medieval period, the term referred to
all foreigners culturally different people from kings to
untouchables.
• Gradually when some untouchables were absorbed
into the varna (caste system), the term came to be
applied for meat eating people and those who did not
observe caste rules.
 Historians’ problem continued
• The term Hindustan referred to different territories at
different times.
• Around 3rd century AD, the southern part of the Indus
plain was called Hindustan in an inscription of the
Sassanians of Persia who ruled over this region.
• In the early medieval period, the Arabs referred to the
land between the Indus and the Ganga-Yamuna Doab
as Hindustan and its people Hindu derived from the
word Sindhu or Indus.
• In the later medieval period, the whole of India except
the extreme south was called Hindustan.
• Today, the county India, is also called Hindustan.
 New Social and Political Groups
• During the medieval period, many new social
groups emerged.
• Some of these groups also became politically
powerful.
• Among them were the Rajputs from Rajasthan
and its surroundings, the Sikhs, who were a
religious group of Punjab, the Jats of Harayana,
who were farmers, the Ahoms, who conquered
and ruled Assam, and the Marathas, who were
warriors of Maharashtra.
 New social groups got absorbed…
• New social groups were absorbed into the caste
system.
• For example, the Rajputs, being heroic and noble,
got Kshatriya (warrior) status.
• With the expansion of agriculture and trade,
wealthy landowners and traders acquired higher
social status.
• Forest dwellers, tribal herders who took to
agriculture were absorbed into the Shudra caste.
 Brahmans enter low caste profession

• High caste Brahmans entered low caste

professions like agriculture, trade and craft in
the medieval age.
 Subcastes - Jatis
• The growth of new professions gave rise to a large
number of subcastes each called a Jati.
• A jati consisted of people who were in the same
profession.
• Prominent among the jatis that emerged were the
Kayasthas-a subcaste of scribes.
• The Kayasthas rose to prominence because record
keeping had become an important profession.
• The jatis had their own rules and regulations
administered by elders. Besides, all the jatis had to
follow the civil rules of towns and villages.
 Portuguese and potatoes
• Many foreigners settled in coastal cities and near
the north western border.
• These foreigners brought along their culture,
customs, religion, crafts, technologies and even
fruits and vegetables.
• Sericulture came from China and Persian water
wheel from Persia.
• Turks brought plums, peaches, oranges and
lemons.
• Portuguese brought potatoes, tomatoes and
chillies.
 Old and New Religions
• Hinduism went through some changes.
• New deities came to be worshipped.
• Tribal ideas of worship entered Hinduism.
• Building temples became an important
activity.
• The deities worshipped in these temples often
represented the qualities that an ideal ruler
was expected to have.
 Brahmans became wealthy and powerful

• Rulers patronised learned Brahmans and

granted them tax-free land.
• Thus, many Brahmans became wealthy and
powerful.
• They used their power to made the caste rules
and religious norms very rigid.
 Islam
• Islam, the religion of the Muslims, arose in
Arabia in the 7th century AD.
• Islam is centred on the belief in one God,
Allah, and the teachings of His last prophet,
Muhammad.
• The teachings are contained in the holy book
called the Quran.
 Shia and Sunni
• After Prophet Muhammad’s death, a Caliph, or Khalifa,
succeeded him as the religious and political head of the
Muslim community.
• Later, the community split into two manor sects- Shia and
Sunni.
• The Shias regard Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali as the
Prophet’s true successor.
• They believe that a caliph is appointed by divine will.
• But the Sunnis believe that a caliph should be chosen by
the whole community.
• Apart from the Quran, they follow the Sunnah (customs
and laws based on the deeds and words of Muhammad).
 Islam and India
• Islam was brought to India by Arab traders.
• Later, Muslim conquerors ruled India
according to Islamic law and the ulema
(experts in Islamic law)received their
patronage.
• Among the various schools of Islamic law that
had developed, the Hanafi school became
popular in India. Turks made it popular in
India.
 Bhakti Movement
• Towards the end of the ancient period, around
the 7th century AD, several Hindu religious
thinkers of South India started challenging the
Brahman domination.
• They stressed on bhakti (personal devotion to
God) without the help of a middle man (Brahman
priest). This is called the Bhakti Movement.
• In North India, it began only around the 13th
century AD.
• Bhakti Movement attracted people all sections of
society.
 Sufism
– From around the 8th century, some Muslims began
to be influenced by Hindu, Greek and Buddhist
religious ideas.
• This gave rise to a faith called Sufism.
• Sufi philosophy is basically Islamic.
• Besides devotion to one God, it preaches
brotherhood among men.
• After the Turkish invasions, many Sufi saints
came to India to spread their faith.
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