University of Delhi

Sri Venkateshwara College

DSC I-History of India III (750 -1200)

Assignment

Q: Discuss the various aspects of inter-regional and maritime trade during c.750-1200 C.E.

Submitted By- Angel Choudhary

Course- B A (h) History

Year- II

Roll No.- 0623038

 I

The Production of economic goods in India has always been based on either co- existence or
inter penetration of Subsistence and Commercial sector. Initially, population living in villages
in India only produced for subsistence and there was little to no external exchange trade
activities taking but gradually this phenomenon began to change as this dominance of
subsistence economy was modified by mechanism of surpluses and deficits that lead to the
establishment of a multi-tiered and structured economic and commercial network dependent
on internal as well as external trade. The three different phases of Urbanisation readily
present 1the gradual expansion of trade networks later followed by a period of stagnancy and
that of an urban decline as argued by RS Sharma at around 300 CE, he sites reasons like
feudalisation of Indian Economy etc to substantiate his arguments.

The first phase of Urbanisation is represented by the planned cities of the Harrapan
civilisation, it covered a time span from middle of third to middle of second millennium BC.
2
Indus valley sites interacted with other cultures but they didn’t expand beyond what is
referred to as Structure Line by BD Chattopadhyay. So, it can be said that Indus Urbanism
didn’t really affect the rest of the subcontinent. 3The second phase of Urbanism marked by
the sixth century BC revealed stages of internal growth and horizontal expansion, the former
was fuelled by expansion of India’s trade networks by contacts with Central Asia and the
Roman Empire as they reach their peak. The shrinkage of this network coincides with decline
urban centres from Post Kushana to Post Gupta periods as argued by RS Sharma.

4
Finally , Urbanisation in the medieval period is marked by beginning of the third
urbanisation in India but here a major question arises as to what lead to the emergence of
Urbanisation in early medieval India after a period of such a lapse and the difference between
this medieval urbanism and early historical urbanism and where does the role of trade fit here

1
B.D. Chattopadhyay, The Making of Early Medieval India, Ch7, Pg 164
R. S., Sharma, Urban Decay in India c.300 – c.1000
Sharma, R.S, Indian Feudalism, University of Calcutta, 1965, pp 65

2
Ibid, Pg 164
O.H.K. Spade & A.T.A Learmonth, India and Pakistan: A General and Regional Geography (Methuen & Co.,3rd
edition ,1967), pg 175-179
3
R.S. Sharma, Material Background of Origin of Buddhism, pg 64
R.S. Sharma, Iron and Urbanisation in Ganga Basin
The Indian Historical Review, Vol I ,1974, pg 98-103.
Dilip K Chakravarti, Beginning of Iron & Social Change in India
4
Ibid, Pg 166
since 5it’s decline is the very reason cited for collapse of second urbanisation and thus rise of
third urbanisation in early medieval at all .

Urban centres & their association with trade

Talking of urbanism and early medieval urban phase,

6
B D Chattopadhyay cited the example of cooperative activities in the Andhra region from
1080 to 326 that talk about the urban organisations and the list of 7factors that resulted the
urban roots in the region

(i)holding fairs (ii) emergence of religious centres (iii)commercial activities that centre
around ports (iv) the bestowal of urban status on rural settlements (v)initiatives taken by
kings and ministers in the creation of urban centres.

Similarly, in South India there has been a substantial study on urbanization process in the
growth of KudaMukku Palaiyarai Twin Cities of cholas in the Kaveri valley. The factors that
are highlighted in the context of growth of this complexity are (i)the geographical location as
it made it a point of convergence of all major trade routes their pass through the core region
of the Chola Kingdom (ii) importance as a centre of political and administrative activities(iii)
religious importance indicated by the presence of large number of temple shrines and
(iv)trade was mostly incidental in the process of urbanization. So these factors they speak
about the four major criteria that led in the emergence of Urban Development but here 8 trade
is mostly seen as a secondary factor, religious activity was a more dominant and persistent
factor though not necessarily the sole factor as it is argued by R Champalakshmi in her work,
the growth of urban trades in South India where she primarily talks about the fact that it was
more the brahmdeya temples that acted as the centres of Urban Development rather than trade
alone itself .The epigraphic facts refers to Urban centres that include basically two important
pieces of information, first, that tend to link new urban centres to the outside space
and ,second, talks about its interaction as regular urban activity and how it takes place There
is an inscriptional record from Bilhari that is datable to the sixth century in the period of
Yuvraj II, it provides a list of articles that were brought from the Puttanna mandapaka and
the levies that were imposed on them in the form of cash ,salt products, oil mills ,beetle
5
R. S., Sharma, Urban Decay in India c.300 – c.1000
Sharma, R.S, Indian Feudalism, University of Calcutta, 1965, pp 65
6
B.D. Chattopadhay, The Making of Early Medieval India , Pg 174
T Venkateshwara Rao, Pg 124-125
7
R. Champalakshmi, Growth of Urban Centres in South India
8
Ibid, Pg 26
nuts ,black pepper, dry ginger, variety of vegetables and so on other items of considerable
values on the sale. Levies were also imposed on war horses and elephants .So, from this
inscription, it can be seen that the imposition of levies acted as a source of urban income that
indicated the nature of activities that would be predominant in the urban areas. Secondly, the
nuclei of the urban space was where the urban economic activities took place and the nature
of interaction of these settlements with the outside world and finally the nature of urban
hierarchy . One could look at the example of Karthikeyan bilari inscription that shows that
they were both centres of exchange reports and the centre of this activity was ‘Manda Paka’
(a term that refers to pavilion but the contextual meaning refers to its survival in the form of
mandi in Hindi and mandi in marathi) and for Karthigai the range is partial, interaction
remains limited to its immediate ruler context as it derives its resources primarily for its rural
hinterlands devices and land that was signed to the inhabitants of Karthigai unveils articles
they brought to its market centre . Looking at the inscriptional evidence of seven urban
centres satisfied in the core of Kalachuri region , there is a possibility that there existed a
hierarchy order of settlements. Evidences from other regions, for example ,the South of
Rajasthan and north Karnataka indicate that they were levies enforced on merchants and their
organizations and the items that were sold at the market centre hata , majorly on candid sugar
and jaggery that belonged to the traders ;the was an amount of tax that was imposed that
could not be derived from the records and on each baraka measure, the amount was one
dubbaka and another part of the activities mentioned that Diwani mandal association of
leaders was required to pay one drama each month and the items are too sold at the markets
there were subjected to meticulous assessment ,for example, on each block load of salt, one
manaka measure of salt was taxed . Besides , every household was also required to pay one
drama . There are records from Karnataka of 1200, in the record that shows the statement of
the variety grants so it provides a barshi runs into the layout of an urban space by mentioning
land as an item of grant within the territorial limits ,division that was present in venue
gramma shows the intermediate of residential institution and non-residential space as well the
crucial economic activities at the centre around professionals of two major categories taking
place.Emergence and Manufactures of trade in Anugraha comprised of both categories of
merchants and manufacturers and they were represented in the assembly because they were
involved in the movement of great bulk of goods that converged in the centre the specific
variety of items are used in external trade like husk rice that suggested the importance of
Silas an item of import, black pepper ,green ginger, turmeric palm leaves grass etc. The local
participants in the assembly were headed by Goldsmiths, clothiers and others so it is not
possible to determine a time when a gramma started to develop as a centre of manufacturing,
all the Belgaum records suggests it has a space it retained a measure of the rural character and
overtime it became a point of convergence of goods and specialised items from varied
distances , so the example of Veneigrama it can be said that the urban space representatives
slow transformation of rural space. The terms like Hut and Manda Paka emerged as key
themes for understanding the core of the urban space structure combined the manufacturing
and exchange: two dominant activities of any settlements worth being considered dominant
and their potential as a source of revenue was also recognised by the ruling class, the criteria
by which these activities were assumed to be dominant exchange details vary from one centre
to another but there was a common denominator that holds the mobilization of agriculture
product both in the form of food grains and commercial activities and other economic and
non-economic activities in medieval India that constituted the subsistence base of
organization, they covered a wide range of commercial and industrial items including
commercial crops and the production of these commercial crops have been on the constant
increase the exchange notes that are supposed to be productive for rural hinterland regions
like mamallapuram signify their status as an open centre , Manigramam is also believed to
have been the chief tongue for small district of seven villages ,mobilization of southwest is
associated with the elaboration of a complex institutional mechanisms ,these mechanisms of
flexible mobilization of agricultural items that were underlined as major economic activities
were generated on sustained urban centres of the early medieval period and they were tied up
with the hierarchy structure of the polity. This political structure was responsible for drawing
the reproductive units and groups with exchangeable commercial items into the network open
field and this could only be done because various groups of ruling elite ,they were not only
the ideal customers for circulating high value goods they were also the ultimate destination
towards risk solutions was supposed to move especially in this complex situation of land
pollution.

B D Chattopadhyay suggests that these so called epicentres of these organizations each had
an agrarian base, that’s with the exception of those who are located at the coast as they are
more tied up in maritime trade than an agricultural hinterland. He then suggests that these
early medieval centers did not have any epicentre as there were no records that show the
regularity of the International linkages between these early urban centres on a subcontinent
level.

Inter-Regional Trade
 (A) North India

In Medieval India, the rural market was an important feature of the intra local trade network.
Perhaps , one could make a distinction between Bazaars and Mandis , former being retail
markets and the later situated in the countryside.Intra local trade of towns was much more
complex than villages as observed by Jean Baptiste Tavernier in one of his writings from
when he visited India that all major towns were surrounded by several markets , many other
foreign travellers who visited India often cited examples of towns like Surat ( known for silk
and cotton textiles) , Goa and many others as a part to their travelogue to shed light upon the
extensive trade activities of Medieval India. The bulk of commodities in these centres were
usually intra local than inter local as they were products of other places as they not only meet
the needs of the locals but also various traders. A major feature of the inter local trade was
one way flow of commodities from villages to towns but mostly these villages rather served
as self sufficient units and their needs were met via their own produce than exchange. This
inter local trade essentially was a short version of inter-regional trade, villages were
dependent on towns for administrative relationship whilst towns were dependent on villages
for primary as well as manufactured goods, Quick responsiveness is also an important feature
of this inter regional trade as major towns always had abundant supply of food.

9
Within this nexus of inter local exchange different types of goods feature ranging from raw
materials for textiles like cotton, wool, silk to wood for other commodities. Some towns
developed as markets for particular goods like Goa in case for precious stones, Surat for
aromatics, Velapalem for calico etc. This inter regional trade was not just limited to luxuries,
items of daily use were often sold and bought. In terms of routes for inter-regional trade
waterways were preferred due to less cost but still land routes accounted for major bulk of
goods being transported. Areas like Bengal, Coromandel, Gujarat and Malabar dominated the
trade whilst North India was more of an import dependent area.

10
Trade took place in foodgrains as well which would refute the theory of self-sufficiency for
the whole sub-continent. Bengal predominantly served as the region to export foodgrains
especially rice to deficit areas. Trade at times could be heavily influenced by transportation
costs as is evident by the decline of centres like Multan and Lahore.

Not much evidence has been discovered regarding the volume of inter-regional trade during
the secular period but existing evidences all point towards the fact that in most likely
9
Tapan Raychaudhuri,Inland Trade_ The Cambridge Economic History of India, Pg 329
10
Ibid , Pg 330
situations it was going upwards. However, most sources point towards the low likeliness of
foreign investment in India during the period that could have led to increase in inter regional
trade. Here another factor that comes into play and is being observed and theorised by many
historians like Moreland is the history of prices. Moreland argues that these prices were stable
at least until 1660s, however there are a few exceptions to this like silver and clove.
Moreland’s research has been questioned by recent scholarly research that points that
foodgrain prices were shooting up in prices like Punjab and Gujarat but despite that it is
believed that he was right for choosing Sarkhej Indigo as an example of price stability. Based
on Moreland’s research some possibilities can be concluded like there were regional
variations at least in the price of food grains, market integration didn’t reach that particular
level as foodgrains supplied to deficit areas by the surplus areas were not charged at high
prices and inter regional trade was based more or less on the differences between
procurement and selling prices and ultimately on the inaccessibility of sources of supply.

A Hypothesis that has been put forward regarding the rise of price of the prices states that it
was linked to increased import of specie that was linked to the trend of Europe itself
dependent on import of bullion from new world, however this hypothesis is straight out
rejected.

11
Due to the low cost of transportation amateur amount of trade was carried out via inland
waterways especially in food items sold and salt pitter and for the same reason, the cross-
country trade in very expensive items was carried out via the water routes whenever possible.
One of the most Important water routes in north India was the course of Ganges that linked
Allahabad to Raj Mahal via Banaras and Patna. The flow of goods between Gujarat and
North India was served by two main routes, the first one linked Surat to Agra, western
Rajasthan ;the second passed through Malwa and Khandesh, sometimes the trade routes
between two posts were also maintained by more than one route. Tavernier’s travels indicate
that there were two alternative routes between Surat and Aurangabad so this evidence of trade
route suggests that there was a very elaborate structure that was put in place to facilitate the
growth of an integrated market that covered the extensive various of Hindustan ,Bengal,
Rajasthan, Gujarat, Malva; both the east and the West and this ability to create an integrative
market started in the late medieval period as it has been shown that in the early medieval
period although the trend of surplus and deficit existing but still the prices of food grains that
were transported from the surplus areas to the deficit regions were not that high indicating
11
Tapan Raychaudhuri,Inland Trade_ The Cambridge Economic History of India,Pg 337
that this structure of integrative market has not went that far .Mostly the production markets
in South India were concentrated in coastal zones as they were called the neidal zones in the
tinai ecosystem so these network of trade do not indicate them in national market but their
alignment does show that even the areas in the deep exterior had involved in this inter
regional exchange of commodities and they will not just be restricted to luxury goods.
Despite the diversity and high range of materials in inland trade and its market and it’s still
considered slow by modern standards and that is evidenced by observations that shows the
difference in the scale between modern and medieval markets. 12Mutually independent
economic institutions also existed like weights measures, currency system of taxation, they
vary from place to place. The pre modern markets in India had two functions: it brought
about commodities for consumption of local population and for distribution for consumers
within distinct markets and these functions by no means were mutually exclusive. A second
characteristic of Indian markets was the hierarchy of skills ranging from the rural heart to the
emporia of international trade like Surat or Agra so both these categories are combined we
can classify the Indian markets into four types: (i)Emporia for long distance trade overland
and overseas (ii)small scale bazars where goods were gathered from places within a short
radius for the purposes of local consumption and(iii) mandis or local markets, periodic fairs
where specialised studios met to sell and replenish stocks but consumers were not excluded
and (iv)isolated rural market where local produce was exchanged among the producers. So,
the first three types of markets are pretty much interlinked and the existence of the fourth
type is invented by various contemporary literature texts. The first category in long distance
trade has several subtypes like the poor towns that were geared mainly for international trade
that was sensitive to economic watersheds in catchment areas and small urban centres that
collected goods that were supposed to be distributed to neighbouring and district markets. 13A
concept of primary nodal markets has been often applied to the major commercial emporia as
they acted as intermediaries between producing and consuming markets and their multilateral
trade was explained as a secondary development of the purely bilateral trade. Port towns
developed functions as entry points for imported and coastal trade goods as exit points for the
produce of England. Every emporium had seen types of markets to serve the needs of the
resident population that supplied the retail trade the bazaar and inter regional markets as well.
14
The wealth of the merchants also differed from region to region, some merchants like that of

12
Ibid (Tapan Raychaudhari), Pg 339.
13
Ibid, Pg 340
14
Ibid, Pg 340
Surat, their wealth was in fact comparable to the European merchants. Most of these wealth
of these merchants was usually derived from trade but sometimes it can also be linked to the
backing by various political authorities. Taxing farmers could also serve as an important
source of capital accumulation. 15Besides the merchants, there also existed independent
traders, they traded with their own and borrowed capital in a range of their activities, the
variety of commodities that they dealt with and the geographical area that they operated was
limited but it was still done on a large scale. They had their own employed agents and a
dealer network established as well. 16These small traders included the banjaras , these
banjaras were divided into four tribes that dealt with corn, rice, pulses and salts ;they lived in
tandas or camps with their oxens that grazed in the nearby fields sometimes they were hired
by merchants but most commonly they acted as merchant themselves. In some situations, the
peasant also acted as a trader as he took his produce to the local market of the town to
creditors to whom he sold his produce on advanced contract including the urban merchant or
the money lender, so it is safe to say that they all played role in marketing the agricultural
produce. In the medieval period, the social base of the trading community was confined to a
group of castes that included Banias, Bohras, Parsis in Gujarat; Hindu and Jain Marwari in
Rajasthan; Khatri in Hindustan and the Punjab .17So the existence of various classes of
merchants represented a measure of specialisation not just the differences in the scale of the
commercial activity in the chain of exchanges that lead the producer to the consumer in local
market.Different groups perform different functions,commodities were either procured
through spot purchase or advanced contract system that was known as Dadlani .Spot
purchase were mostly made at small urban centres but mostly the commodities that had to be
procured for long distance markets were purchased via advanced contracts at least by the
latter half of the 17th century. At higher levels of commercial activity, the supply of credit
came from the merchant themselves. 18By the 18th century, there was some level of
specialisation in mercantile activities that were concentrated more on financial rather than
pure commercial aspects but throughout the 17th century big merchants like Veerji Vora were
the chief source of commercial credit.19 Most characteristic institution of credit in India was
the hundis, usually 2 months or less time was provided to pay back the money borrowed at a
particular place and allowing a discount that includes interest, insurance and cost of

15
Ibid , Pg 341
16
Ibid, Pg 342
17
Ibid, Pg 344
18
Ibid, Pg 345
19
Ibid, Pg 346
transmission and hundis later on became the standard form of payments in major commercial
transactions. Even in the long distance it might not only fulfills the requirements of an
expanding demand for credit but also gives the risks of being involved in transmission of
cash to distant places the system of institutions or and amongst the business practices that
were developed to mobilise the savings in the economy in order to invest commercially the
most important was that of a system of deposit banking its allows deposits payable on
demand but this did not exclude the possibilities of bank failures .Later under the Mughal
rulers, Money lending at the lower levels of commerce was done with the local Mahajan who
provided the credit.

20
So, the sources suggest that the volume and variety of traffic along the waterways account
for very high proportion of inland trade in the country. In the late medieval period, with the
advanced technology in transport the time taken in journeys was relatively cut short like the
journey from Surat to Agra with advanced carts took 40 days but could take 70 days with
normal carts. The organization of land transport was largely controlled by banjaras. The
facilities of accommodation of travels varied on a large scale; major cities provided better
accommodation than highways. Absence of an organised postal system acted as a constraint
on the development of an integrated market because the prices in the selling markets were
highly dependent and information regarding the level of demand in the remote lying areas.
21
In the medieval period the postal system that was organised by Mughals only catered to the
needs of the state and its high efficiency was no use to the public. Traders were often at the
threat of being looted or murdered ,of laundered and this insecurity lead to the reduction of
trade to only a periodic activity that was done in the form of organization of caravans. During
Mughal period the great majority of the people consumed what they produced for themselves
or secure from their neighbours. Everyone in the society was a producer or consumer. During
this time, fragmented markets also existed and interacted with the integrated systems of
exchange. The composition and the organization of trade was supremely complex at all
levels, trade both Indian and foreign was not static in quantitative terms ever. Price and
volume of the trade build and marked by upward trends.

(B)South India

20
Ibid, Pg 348
21
Ibid, Pg 356
Inter-regional trade didn’t exactly develop in the same way as in North India. In fact, the
Urbanisation process of North and South India are both quite different. 22According to Burton
Stein ( the propagator of the Segmentary State theory), Pre medieval or early medieval period
didn’t exactly exist in South India but the region rather directly observes the Medieval Period
and in this context Urbanisation and Trade had been studied by R Champalakshmi in South
India . 23Champalakshmi argues that South India merely experienced the end and after effects
of IInd Urbanisation and that too in particular at Andhra Pradesh and Deccan by 300 BC,
these effects were felt very indirectly in the South due to factors like

(i)Absence of trade networks

(ii) No organised coherents or guilds were present

(iii)Nature of the Tamil Polity

(iv) Absence of a Religious Ideology

So, in order to understand this different environment of South India , one needs to understand
the socio-economic ecosystem that existed in the Tamil Polity , i.e., Tinai . 24As per the
division laid out by this ecosystem , the regions were divided on the basis of their
Geographical features into four categories : Marudam(fertile agricultural tracts),
Neidal( Coastal areas), Kurinci(Mountainous tracts) and Mullai( Peripheral areas of
Marudam).

Most of the towns emerged in Marudam and Neidal areas where three major powers fought
for control i.e., Ceras in the Periyar Valley, Colas in the Kaveri Valley and Pandyas in the
Vaigai and Tamraparni valleys. Marudam being an agriculturally fertile area mostly had
inland towns with both commercial and political importance whilst Neidal had commercially
important coastal towns like Uraiyur(Colas), Madurai(Pandyas) and Vanji(Ceras).

25
These towns were controlled by kings called Vendars, who mostly arose from a tribal form
of organisation. This political system had no strict structure and even the economic system
was loosely tied with absence of taxes .These Tinai regions shared an inter- transactional
relationship where areas like Marudam supplied others with Agricultural products, Neidal

22
Herman Kulke, The State In India(1000-1700), Ch4 :Segmentary State :Interim Reflections, Pg 134
23
R. Champakalakshmi, Urbanisation in South India: The Role of Ideology and Polity, Social Scientist, Vol. 15,
No. 8/9 (Aug. - Sep., 1987), Pg 67

24
Ibid , Pg 68
25
Ibid, Pg 70
provided salt, fish ,pearls etc and regions like Kurinci provided aromatic wood and thus in a
way an exchange economy did develop in this inter tinai nexus.Other tinai regions like Mullai
although located on peripheral areas of Marudam did come to enjoy an important position as
they fell on important trade routes like that of the kongu region between Coimbatore and
Salem districts and thus became major bone of contention between the Vendars. This inter
tinai nexus led to establishment of various centres that emerged as inter trade foci contacts
and can be classified into Mudur(Old Settlements) and Perur(Large Settlements).

Pattinam emerged as commercially active towns on coast ,e.g., Puhar or Kaveripatnam. They
acted as collection center of goods and subsisted the local good exchange as production was
primarily Subsistence Oriented . These Pattinams were handled by individual traders and
merchants and here almost no guilds were present.

26
The nature of Urban Development of these towns was affected by both inter regional and
Maritime Trade as Kaveri Valley where majorly the concentration of Colas was established
developed into a farming society from a tribal one .Luxury goods mostly obtained via trade
begin to circulate in the kingship circles among scholars and local elites. Impact of trade was
mostly seen in Marudam and Neidal regions which emerged in the form of new and complex
forms of labour division .

R Champalakshmi refers to the Socio – Economic growth of the 700-900 AD was

predominantly due to rise of Brahmdeyas and Temples as they led to expansion of
Agriculture in Marudam areas and growth of royal centers that were able to establish close
relationships with their hinterlands as temples emerged as nuclei of these centers. These
urban centres as previously mentioned as well could be classified into Royal Centres and
Nagarams( trade centers) , the members of a Nagaram are called Nagattattar . 27They sought
legitimisation by giving gifts to temples . Nagarams were one of the first secular institutions
in the Tamil Polity that maintained the local markets , supervised goods flow and acted as a
link between Nadus and Traders. In Fact , it was Brahmdeyas and Nagarams that made to
possible to increase the proximity between individual Nadus as it has been previously argued
by Burton Stien in his segmentary State theorey that Nadus existed as autonomous segments
of the state with control over their own administration .Cholas in particular patronised the
Nagarams and their numbers increased with relative increase in Chola power . Gradually , an
26
Ibid, Pg 69
27
Ibid, Pg 70
element of diversification was also introduced in Nagarams with Specialisation of
commercial activities like Paraya nagaram operated as sea faring members, Vaniya Nagarams
as Oil Mongers etc.

28
Later on , the Nagaram network added to emergence of merchant organisations emerged as
major factors for Urbanisation of South India in 11- 13 century AD . One of the most
prominent communities that participated in this commercial network was Ayyavole ( Five
Hundred , as it was established by five hundred mahajans of Aihole to provide a commercial
base ) followed by Nanadesi and Valanjiyar that formed a part with Five Hundred.Besides ,
organisations like Manigraman and Anjuvannam also existed . These organisations or guilds
as they could be classified as,later bifurcated due to rise of regional interests of local
kingdoms. Predominantly , the 13-14 century AD was the period of rise of guild activities and
Five Hundred extended its sphere of influence and became less dependent on royal support
and Patronage but usually it had to act jointly with other organisations .To conclude about
commercial and guild activities of Medieval South India , it can be said that oragnisations
like Five Hundred , Cittarameli , Manigramam , Samanta Pandasali and Nagarams emereged
as major players in this context and widely dominated the economic activities of Medieval
South India.

Maritime Trade

29
There are several references of Indian foreign trade via sea during the early medieval
period. Initially this oceanic trade was shared between Persians, Indians, Indonesians and
Ceylonese but after their rise, the Arabs established their dominance by replacing Persians
who were major participants in this trade. Soon they became the foremost maritime power in
the ninth century and expanded their influence in the east. Gradually, it seems that Indian
merchants were concentrating more on the process of distribution while the actual trade was
left in the hands of foreigners.

The movement of monsoon winds made the Indian peninsula, by the Cholas, the natural
divide and an intersecting point between the Red Sea/Persian Gulf region and the Chinese
ports. The goods exported from the Chinese markets were traded by a group of merchants
engaged in trade between Western Asia and southern India, and then transhipped at south
Indian ports to trading ships concentrating on the southern India China sector. The long single
28
Ibid, Pg 71
29
Gopal Lallanji, 1965. The Economic Life of Northern India, c A.D. 700-1200, Varanasi: Motilal Banarsidass, Pg
105-160
voyages between the Arabian Peninsula and China, were now reduced and merchants adopted
safer, less time and cost consuming trips. 30In this pattern of trade, the Cholas facilitated the
movement of merchants and commodities across the Indian Ocean by linking it to the major
maritime market of the world. India had been a trans-shipment centre between the
commercial exchange of China and Rome. During the sixth and the seventh centuries Indian
ports supplied Chinese silk to the markets in the Byzantine empire. With the foundation of
Islam, Slowly and gradually, the Muslim traders started to monopolize India’s foreign trade in
west of coast of India. By the ninth century they also penetrated in the maritime circuit
between coastal India and China. By late tenth century, Muslim merchants were actively
transporting Chinese silk and porcelain through southern Indian and Sri Lanka to the Persian
Gulf and in return were carrying other goods from the Red Sea region to Chinese markets.
From 8th century CE onwards, maritime routes between India and China, that either crossed
through the Andaman and Nicobar Islands or passed around the ports of Bay of Bengal to
Sumatra and into the South China Sea, became more popular than the earlier overland routes.
31
Several factors contributed to the change from overland to seaborne routes such as change
in economic policies, developments in navigation, better understanding of monsoon (seasonal
winds), ship-building technologies and political stability which boosted. the seaborne trade
between Indian and China . Instability in Centra. Asia and encouragement of the commerce
by the southern Indian states in the eighth and the ninth centuries helped in the rapid increase
in maritime trade between India and China. K.N. Chaudhuri pointed out a significant change
which was noticed in the pattern of the maritime voyages across the Indian Ocean at the end
of the 10th century CE, were earlier longer, time-consuming voyages were replaced by less
costly, shorter and segmented trips. He with the help of a map, tried to show that in the
eleventh century the Indian Ocean trade from the Red Sea region to the East Asia was divided
into three natural segments, at each junction of the segments, great urban emporia had
developed, providing cargo and shipping services to the merchants and offering on the part of
the political rulers an element of neutrality. Chaudhuri had identified major cities engaged in
maritime trade as Aden, Hormuz, Cambay, Calicut, Satgaon, Malacca, Canton and Chuan-
chou (Zaiton). There are many epigraphic references to show the regular settlements of
foreign merchants on the western coast. There are also references of Indian commercial

30
Tansen Sen, 2003. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian
Relations, 600-1400, USA: University of Hawai’i Press and the Association for Asian Studies. (Pg 158-160).
31
Tansen Sen, 2003. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian
Relations, 600-1400, USA: University of Hawai’i Press and the Association for Asian Studies. (Pg 168-176).
relations with several countries like China, Arabia, Egypt, partially Europe and south-east
Asia also.

Sri Lanka

The Cholas tried to subjugate and annex Sri Lanka for political and economic reasons.
Politically, they became the predominant power in south India after defeating the Pandya
Kings who took refuge in Sri Lanka and made it a centre to counterattack the Cholas.
32
Curbing their power was a political necessity of the Cholas, besides there were several
economic reasons which motivated the Cholas to establish their influence in Sri Lanka, such
as gaining booty; establishing control over the pearl fisheries of the Gulf of Mannar;
exploitation of gems and precious stones; and utilised this prime location as entrepot for
maritime trade . The Cholas and the Pandyas established commercial links with Sri Lanka for
more than 300 years. Indian sailors and merchants visited the ports of east and west coast to
sell their local products or those brought from the foreign lands by foreigners. 33That they
even traded in Ceylon is evident from the eighth century Ceylonese inscription.

During the 5th century CE, Sri Lanka became the entrepot for the Indian Ocean trade, while
many Tamil merchants’ settlement continued to exist in Anuradhapura and Mahatittha that
became significant port in the trade of the Indian Ocean 7th century CE onwards. This
resulted in Indian political intervention and temporary annexation of Sri Lanka. Economic
exploitation of this island by India in respect of their internal trade was also, evident.
Between 10th and early 13th century CE, various changes in the relationship between Sri
Lanka and Cholas and their contemporaries could be witnessed.

West

States of western coast of India played a prominent role in the sea-trade with Muslim
countries in comparison to the states situated in the eastern coast. Indian merchants in large
number visited Siraf and had friendly relations with the Muslim merchants of that place.
Some references show that some of them had Indian agents at Hormuz. 34They maintained
regular trade relation with Persia and transported goods in them own ships. The centre of

32
Adhir Chakravarti and R.C. Majumdar. “India’s Contact with the Outside World” in A
Comprehensive History of India, eds. R.S.Sharma and K.M. Shrimali. 2008. Vol IV, Part 2,
DelhI(Pg 762)
33
Gopal Lallanji, 1965. The Economic Life of Northern India, c A.D. 700-1200, Varanasi:
Motilal Banarsidass.(Pg 143-45).
34
Gopal Lallanji, 1965. The Economic Life of Northern India, c A.D. 700-1200, Varanasi:
Motilal Banarsidass. (Pg 119-160).
Indian trade continued to shift, in the seventh century, it was Basra, then it was transferred to
Siraf (in Persian Gulf) and later to Kish and Hormuz. But the rise of the Arab merchants did
not leave much space for Indian ships to proceed further to the west. After capturing the
major port and market of Valabhi on the Saurashtra coast during the eight century, the Arabs
became the major maritime force in the eastern side of India as the trade with Mesopotamia,
Egypt or Eastern coast of Africa was mostly dominated by Persian and Arab merchants.
35
There were mercantile links between India and the Islamic world, ‘as there were historical
references of routes connecting Khurasan, trans-Indus and cis-Indu regions and Sind to the
interior parts of India’ . The Arab traders traded with the kings of the western coast,
especially with the Rashtrakutas (probably due to their religious toleration) who patronized
them and wanted to enjoy the monopoly of products brought by them. Many Indian coastal
powers tried to attract the Arab merchants to their ports. The Chalukyas played an active role
in the coastal trade and had control over three ports of Cambay, Broach and Somanatha. The
Paramaras also tried to control ports of the western coast which they succeeded only
temporarily. The states of the western coast tried earnestly to regulate the sea-trade and make
commercial benefits. Many Jains traders and merchants of Gujarat played important role in
western India.

Indian ports

Many historical sources refer to number of ports on the east and west coasts of India. At the
end of Indus was an important port of Debal which was visited by ships from Arabia, China
and other ports. Important port of Gujarat coast was Somanatha, Cambay and Broach. Sopara
and Thana were also major ports in western coast of India. In Bengal, earlier Tamralipti and
later Saptagrama port gained prominence with the trade with South East Asia. Other
important ports of eastern coast were Puri, Kalinga, Cikaculi (Chicacole), Banpur and
Ramesvara. Tamil merchants continued to establish their commercial activities in the Indian
Ocean, especially in the ports of Anuradhapura and Mahatittha. Malabar or the Coromandel
Coast also appeared to the commercial centres where huge ships sailed and brought
merchandise for trade. In Malabar Coast, the most important port was Quilon where large
number of trading activities took place by the foreign merchants. 36Arab writers mentioned
about other ports of lesser importance of the western coast such as Kudafarid (Alimukam),
35
Adhir Chakravarti and R.C. Majumdar. “India’s Contact with the Outside World” in A
Comprehensive History of India, eds. R.S.Sharma and K.M. Shrimali. 2008. Vol IV, Part 2,
Delhi: Manohar (Pg 761)
36
Gopal Lallanji, 1965. The Economic Life of Northern India, c A.D. 700-1200, Varanasi:
Motilal Banarsidass. (Pg 143-152)
Sinjili (Kodungallur), Tandiyur (Kadalundi), Manjarur (Mangalore) and others. The
significant ports of Gujarat were Bhrgukaccha, Broach, Cambay, Somnath and Sthanaka
(Thanna), Samyana (Sajan), Surparaka (Surbara), whereas Chemuliya (Chaul to the south of
Bombay), Chandrapura (near Goa) The port of Debal at the mouth of Indus river was
significant for Arab and Chinese traders. In the Coromandal Coast were several premier ports
for overseas trade i.e Mamallapurm in the Pallava’s reign and Nagapattinam under the Chola
rule. Puri and Kalingapattam were chief ports on the Orissa coast. In Bengal coast was an
important port which was called Samandar (near Chittagong in Bangladesh) by Arabs.
37
Many references suggest that this port had commercial interactions with many
neighborhood regions and countries and tanks.

37
Upinder Singh. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to
12th Century. New Delhi: Pearson Education (Pg 586)
 II

This section will talk about various theories and debates related to trade in early medieval
India. On one hand, some historians suggest trade declined in this era while others tend to
negate this suggestion all together by citing evidences of flourishing trade and markets.

R. S. Sharma, in his book Indian Feudalism (1965), puts forward the idea of decline in the
volume of trade with the Roman Empire after 300 CE due to several reasons. He believes that
the feudalization of Indian economy led to the languishing of trade, especially long-distance
trade between the 4th and the 12th centuries CE. Commercial activities gradually declined in
two stages, first from 700 to 900 CE and then from 900 to 1300 CE. At the same time he
accepts the notion of a partial revival of trade in 11th and 12th centuries CE due to changing
perspective of Indian feudalism. Sharma argues that in the first phase decline of trade was
due to paucity of coins as commodities were largely produced for local consumption due to
the rise of self-sufficient economies that emerged due to the land-grant system. From the 6th
century CE onwards, India’s long-distance trade with Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the
Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire declined. The consequent fall in the inflow of
precious metals from the foreign countries led to a severe scarcity of metallic currency in
India. This, in turn, led to an increased use of land grants as an alternative means of payment
by the kings. Other phenomena, such as the fragmentation of political power; dispersal of
power among local chiefs and religious land-grantees; and rise of intermediary landlords who
imposed high taxes, served to dampen the enthusiasm of traders and merchants and led to a
decline in trading activities. Frequent political wars also discouraged the commercial
activities during this phase. Sharma has also linked the phenomenon of de-urbanisation in
India (600-1000 CE) to the decline of long-distance trade with the Eastern Roman Empire
and Central Asia. The division of the Roman Empire into western and eastern halves by the
beginning of the 4th century CE and its subsequent collapse reduced the long-distance trade
carried out through the ports of peninsular India. India thus lost a vital foreign market due to
these developments. 38Thus, two emerging manifestations of urban decay were evident. First,
the decline of trade and the paucity of metallic currency suggest the rarity of exchange at the
commercial level .39The scarcity of coins, especially of gold, from 600 to 1000 CE was
witnessed in almost all parts of the subcontinent, except in Kashmir, Punjab etc.There was
also, an absence of seals used for commercial purposes by the corporate bodies of merchants,

38
Ibid, Pg 129
39
Ibid , Pg 123
traders and artisans; the reduced use of objects made of shell, glass, ivory, terracotta and iron.
Second, there was a decline of major urban centres and towns in the Gupta and post-Gupta
period. Sharma’s Indian feudalism model further puts forward the thesis that urban centres
lost their identity as areas of exchange and craft production and were transformed into centres
of religious prominence. The archaeological evidence is corroborated by the travel account of
the 7th century-CE Chinese-Buddhist pilgrim-traveller Xuanzang, who mentions the desertion
of several towns. A restricted market forced artisans and merchants living in these towns to
migrate to rural areas in search of alternative means of livelihood. In the absence of regular
well-established markets, villagers met their daily need for iron, oil, salt, spices and cloth
either by producing these commodities themselves or through weekly fairs. 40This led to the
rise of smaller units of production leading towards a self-sufficient economy. Moreover, the
sea-trade of western coast of India was disrupted and trade languished due to the raids of
Arabs on important commercial centres and ports.

Sharma’s argument suggests the decline of urbanization, though the decay and desertion of
many towns during the early phase of early medieval period. The process was caused by a
combination of interconnected and concurrent processes: issue of a large number of land
grants to religious and secular officials for them for services to the kings, paucity of metallic
currency as a medium exchange, ruralisation of economy leading to the rise of villages as
self-sufficient economic units where production was carried out for local consumption, and
decline of inter-regional and foreign trade. The rise of landed intermediaries entailed the
endearment of peasantry (i.e., high tax burden and increasing obligations to perform forced
labour) and subinfeudation.

To counter this theory of decline, Sharma’s critics have cited plenty of literary sources to
prove the existence of brisk commercial transactions during the Gupta times. 41Gupta
inscriptions from Pundravardhana (north Bengal) and Gupta seals from Vaishali in north
Bihar frequently refer to caravan traders. There are also references to riverine trade in deltaic
Bengal during the 5th-6th centuries CE. Al-Beruni, the famous 11th century-CE Arab traveller
from Central Asia, describes the existing trade-routes in northern India. Chinese-Buddhist
pilgrim-travellers Fa Hsien (who travelled in India from 399 to 415 CE) and Hsuan Tsang
describe the premier ports in the Gangetic delta, as also the direct sea-borne contacts between
Bengal and China through Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. The coast in the Tamil area served

40
Ibid, Pg 126
41
R .Chakravarti, . 2001. Trade in Early India, Delhi: Oxford University Press (Pg 74)
as a major centre of contact between Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. 42John S. Deyell shows,
arguing against Sharma’s thesis on the paucity of coins, that between 750-1000 CE there was
a significant circulation of coins in western, northern and northwestern parts of India, and
between 1000 and 1200 CE there were also some qualitative changes in the metallic content
of the coins. But, overall, for him, ‘the hypothesis of a decline of trade is in conflict with the
pattern of coin movements along the coastal axes cantering on Gujarat, or the overland axis
cantering on Afghanistan and terminating in Delhi. There is a priori evidence of long-term
disequilibrium in the balance of payments in inter-regional trade’.

Both B. D. Chattopadhyaya and Ranbir Chakravarti demonstrates the presence of trade,

marketplaces and traders in regions like Rajasthan and coastal Konkan in the early medieval
period.

43
Chattopadhyaya, in his book The Making of Early Medieval India (1994), argues that
although there is evidence for decline of some old urban centres in the early medieval period,
at the same time, there were others that simultaneously continued to flourish and some new
ones that also emerged. His research, based on early medieval Rajasthan, identifies trade
networks in and across the region, marked by the role of money. According to him, in the first
phase, from 9th to 11th century CE, there was a proliferation of local centres of exchange
within the dominions of the emergent Rajput lineages. These centres were the points of
intersection for traffic of varying origins; this gave rise to a certain measure of hierarchy in
these centres. 44The second phase, between 11th and 12th centuries CE, witnessed the
resurgence of old, local merchant lineages which had already been in operation, and the
emergence of new, hitherto unfamiliar lineages—both of which established wide intraregional
and interregional networks. He criticizes Sharma’s thesis that a decline in foreign trade led to
a decline of urban centres on the ground that a decline in foreign trade may not necessarily
imply a decline in internal trade and consequently a decline of urban centres. In defence of
his view, he offers two arguments. Firstly, as the foreign trade did not play a crucial role in
the birth of early urban centres, a reduced volume of such trade may hardly be held
responsible for their decay in the post-Kushana or post-Gupta times. Secondly, the alleged
decay of urban settlements coincided with and, in several cases, even preceded the period
when land grants grew rapidly. 45Thus, decline in trade and urban centres may not have

42
John S.Deyell. 1990. Living Without Silver. Delhi: Oxford University Press (Pg 244).
43
B.D. Chattopadhyay, The Making of Early Medieval India , 1994 , Ch 6 , Pg 60
44
Ibid , Pg 88-119
45
Ibid, Pg 147-148
logically followed from the types of assignments that were made in the early and medieval
India. Further, he argues that after 1000 CE India did witness the crystallization of new
networks of exchange, the formation of trade guilds and a new phase of money production
and circulation. He terms this phase as the third phase of urbanization in India.

46
Similarly, Chakravarti, in his book Trade and Traders in Early Indian Society (2002),
questions the stereotyped image of early Indian commerce merely in terms of trade of
luxuries, and draws the attention to transactions in daily necessities. While the early medieval
north India is said to have experienced a drastic economic decline in commercial and urban
economy from 600 to 1000 CE, there was a definite rise in the growth of urban centres and
markets in the in the post-1000-CE period. Chakravarti’s study of the distribution of Manda
pikas, however, demonstrates the emergence of exchange centres even prior to 1000 CE.

Further, Chattopadhyaya challenges the notion that a stable political structure promoted the
rise of trade and urban centres, arguing that there was no guarantee that the rise of a kingdom
or an empire would necessarily bring in trade and urbanism. He gives epigraphic evidence for
many cites of the early medieval period acting as centres for exchange of goods. 47The centre
of these activities was the Manda pika, a term used for a pavilion though its contextual
meaning is derived from the word mandi in Hindi and mandi in Marathi. In this sense, they
can be linked to modern mandis. They were mostly located in northern and western India.
Several inscriptional references evince the presence of brisk commerce at Manda pikas as
centres of brisk trade between mid-8th and early 11th centuries CE. Several commodities
ranging from staples to luxury commodities were available in these markets. These included
varied types of agricultural products brought from different surrounding regions. Probably,
these markets acted as a link between the rural exchange network and trade in urban regions.
Some of these Manda pikas became huge in size and were called mahamandapikas; those
related to urban areas were called pattanamandapikas. Several references suggest that duties
or cesses were imposed by the political authorities and by some mercantile groups in favour
of a deity or a religious establishment at the Manda pikas. The administrative authorities,
thus, must have given recognition to these centres of exchange as they also became centres of
collection of tolls and customs. There was a re-emergence of markets and merchants, as
reflected in the holding of weekly hattas or rural fairs that became nodal exchange centres, as
also a revival of long-distance trade. The rural markets or hattas closely correspond to the
46
R. Chakravarti,2002. Trade and Traders in early Indian Society, Delhi: Manohar Publisher
and Distributors.
47
Ibid( B.D Chattopadhyay, The Making of Early Medieval India), Pg 171-72
addas in eastern Deccan and santhes in western and central Deccan. 48They were periodically
held on certain days of a week. It can be presumed that they had a direct link with the rural
hinterland that supplied exchangeable agricultural and artisanal produce. This phase of
urbanization, therefore, happened due to agrarian expansion and increased craft production
which went beyond the confines of temples or monasteries. And there also emerged several
grades of traders during this period.

49
The emergence of the Cholas in south India and their maritime activities, conducted by
flourishing merchant guilds, at the centre of Indian Ocean trade system made south India an
equal participant along with China and Southeast Asia .In regard to south India, 50Kenneth R.
Hall’s work, Trade and Statecraft in the Age of the Colas (1980), demonstrate that there was
considerable commercial activity in the south Indian hinterland and that well-organized trade
networks supplied the commodities demanded by foreign traders during the Cholas period.
51
Burton Stein’s work, Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India (1980), indicates
that from the 12th century CE, trade and urban life in south India progressed in comparison to
the preceding period.

In reference to South India, it gave a boost to the inter-regional trade during the concerned
phase. During the 8th century CE, in south India, naga rams emerged, which were mainly
connected with the production and exchange commodities, at local, inter-regional or
international level. In regard to Chola state, there was an urban growth and direct royal
involvement in promoting trade and exchange networks by using the naga ram as one of the
agents of state synthesis. As, this has been previously discussed in the section of Inter-
Regional Trade; post the Temple Urbanisation of 11-13 centuries the commercial activities in
South India were flourishing which completely goes against the theory of decline or crisis of
trade by RS Sharma in this time period, although, a trade crisis or Urban decline did occur in
the Tamil Polity but the time period of that crisis was 300 AD.

48
Adhir Chakravarti and R.C. Majumdar. “India’s Contact with the Outside World” in A Comprehensive History
of India, eds. R.S.Sharma and K.M. Shrimali. 2008. Vol IV, Part 2, Delhi: Manohar. (Pg 329-330)
49
Krishna Mohan ,Shrimali,. “Money, Market and Feudalism” in A Comprehensive History of
India, eds. R.S.Sharma and K.M. Shrimali, 2008. Vol IV, Part 2, Delhi: Manohar. (Pg 745).
50
Kenneth R. Hall, Trade and Statecraft in the Age of the Colas (1980)
51
Burton Stein, Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India (1980)
 III

In the previous two sections, different aspects of Inter-Regional as well as Maritime trade
have been discussed and it would be cautious to say that these trade activities did in-fact
contribute heavily to the growth of Urban towns and the very process of Urbanisation. Along
with, the rise of trade many other aspects such as rise of port or coastal towns and trade
routes come into existence that would further help in boosting the trade activities of the
future. The trade and economic scenario of both North and South India is very different and
cannot be brought under the ambit of the same urbanisation process. Thus, differences in their
socio-economic system needs to be studied thoroughly in order to arrive at any probable
conclusion. As far as the concern of theories discussing the trade aspects, scholars have
always been divided upon the question of whether trade declined or remained stagnant or
much rather rose and flourished. What I have observed after going through these arguments is
that there was a period of a flourishing trade that was followed by gradual decline in certain
parts of the country but at the same time other regions flourished, so, this theory of decline of
trade cannot be uniformly applied to the whole subcontinent as evidences at times might
point to the other directions. But despite pointing this out, I feel there’s no denying the fact
that trade in-fact did decline in a good number of areas as per the factors cited by RS Sharma.
At the same time to further contribute to this debate of decline of trade one needs to unearth
considerable amount of evidence to argue in favour of either of the theories.
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