Download IGNOU's Indian History Part 3: History of India From 8th to 15th Century...
Prepare 4 Civils Presents IGNOU’s Material
Indian History: History of India from 8th to 15th Century
About Us: Prepare 4 Civils, website is a part of Sukratu Innovations, a start up by IITians. The main theme of the company is to develop new web services which will help people. Prepare 4 Civils is an online social networking platform intended for the welfare of people who are preparing for Civil services examinations. The whole website was built on open-source platform Wordpress.
Contact Details: Website: http://www.prep4civils.com/
Email:
[email protected]
Disclaimer and Terms of Use: By following Creative Common License, for the welfare of large student body we are merging all the pdf files provided by IGNOU’s course material website egyankosh and redistributing the files by giving proper credit to IGNOU and the redistribution is based on the norms of Creative Common License. We are not commercially distributing the files. People who are downloading these files should not be engaged in any sort of sales or commercial distribution of these files. They can redistribute these copies freely by giving proper credit to the original author, IGNOU (http://egyankosh.ac.in/) and “Prepare 4 Civils” (http://www.prep4civils.com/) by providing proper hyperlinks of the websites. Any sort of clichés can be addressed at
[email protected] and proper action will be taken.
' UNIT 1 AGRARIAN ECONOMY Structure Objectives Introduction Agrarian Expansion 1.2.1 Gwgmphial and Chronological Patterns 1.2.2 ldeologial bckgmund
Agrarian Organisation 1-1.1 Character and Rok of Various Types of Agrarian Settkments 1.3.2 R~ghtsin Land
Technological Improvements Rural Tension Agriculture and the Exchange Network The Characterisation of Early Medieval Agrarian Economy Let Us Sum Up Key Words Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
1.0
OBJECTIVES
After rdding this Unit you should be able to explain the: factors responsible for the expansion of agriculture in the Indian subcontinent, chronological pattern of land grant system, ideology behind land grants, character and role of various types of agrarian sdtkments, growth and nature of land ights, technological improvements in the sphere of agriculture, interdependence amongst different groups related to land, role of agriculturists in trade, and
. characterisation of early medieval agrarian economy.
1.1 INTRODUCTION The early medieval period in Indian history marks the growth of cultivation and organisation of land relations through land grants. These grants began around the beginning of Christian era and covered practically the entire subcontinent by the end of the twelfth century. In the early medieval period agricultural expansion meant a greater and more regular use of advanced agricultural techniques, plough cultivation and irrigation technology. Institutional management of agricultural processes, control of means of production and new relations of production also played an important role in this expansion. With this expansion, new type of nwal .tensions also emerged. Commercial activities in agricultural and non-agricultural commodities increased. All these aspects have been dealt in this Unit which ends with a discussion on the characterisation of early medieval agrarian economy. Let us start with the aspects related to agrarian expansion.
Early Mediwll Ezonorny : 8th 13th Century
-
AGRARIAN EXPANSION The agrarian expansiol, which began with the establishment of b m b d q a and a p r h r n settlements thfbugh land grants to Brahrnanaa from the fourth century onwards acquired a uniform and universal form in subsequent centuries. The centuries between the eighth and twelfth witnessed the processes of this expansion and the culmination of an agrarian organisation b a d on land grants to religious and secular beneficiaries, i.e. Brahmanas, temples and officers of the King's government. However, there are important regional variations in this development, both due to geographical as well as ecological factors.
1.2.1A Geographical and Chronological Patterns Cultivation was extended not only to the hitherto virgin lands but even by clearing forest areas. This was a continuous process and a major feature of early medieval agricultural economy. There is a view prevalent among some scholars that land grants started in outlying, backward and tribal areas first and later gradually extended to the Ganga valley, which was the hub of the brahmanical culture. In the backward and aboriginal tracts !he Brahrnanas could spread new methods of cultivation by regulating agricultural processes through specialised knowledge of the seasons (astronomy), plough, irrigation, etc., as well as by protecting the cattle wealth. However, this is not true of all regions in India, for, land grants were also made in areas of settled agriculture as well as in other ecological zones, especially for purposes of integrating them into a new economic order.
I A Telupu lmcriptbn of lOtb ecatury A.D. from lndu K w ~ p d i recordr e tbe &atbof m h a o afta rcacuhc cattle.
Agruinn Economy
2 & 3 Inscriptions from North Arcot in memory ofthose heroes whodidprotectingcanleduringcn~lemids.
The chronological appearance of the land grant system shows the following pattern: fourth-fifth centuries : s p m d over a good part of central India, northern Deccan and Andhra, fdth-seventh centuries : eastern India (Bcnpl and Orissa), beginnings in Western India (qujarat and Rajasthan), seventh and eighth centuries: Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, ninth century : Kerala, and end of the twelfth century : almost the entire sub-continent with the possible exception of Punjab.
1.2.2 Ideological Background Ideas relating to the gift of land emphasise the importance of dam or gift. The idea of dm8 or gift to Brahmanas was developed by Brahmanical texts as the surest means of acquiring merit (puny.) and destroying sin (pataka). I t appears to be a conscious and systematic attempt to provide means of subsistence to the Brahmnnan. Grants of cultivable land to them and registration of gifts of land on copper plates are recommended by all the Smritb and Purmm of the post-Gupta centuries. There were different items of gifts : food, grains, paddy, etc. movable assets like gold, money, etc. and r
r L - :--A.,~LI-
saa-+a
;r
fi..l+:~sLlrlsrrl
'
-4-a
--A
rr&4rat;ml m l n t
Early Medieval Lonomy : 8th l a b .Century
-
Amon8 the gifta are llro included the plough, corn, oxen lad plougbhue. B o m w t , the gift of land was conridered to be tbe bat of all typa of gift#nude to the learned Brahmana. imprecations against the destruction of such gifts and the resumption of L d donated to t Brahmana ensured their pqctuity. Thua knd grants bemn to follow r set let@ formula tystcmatbed t h r o w Lw books (DWmubrJnr). While the early land d n t a were nude d y to Vedic priuta (Shrotriya fire priests), from the fifth to thirteenth centuries, grants were also made to temple priests. The temple, as an institution, assumed a more central role in agrarian expansion a d ormnisrtion from t k eighth century A.D. Omnta to the temple, either plota of Lnd or Whok villap, were known u d.rrl.nr in the south Indian context. It needs to be stresred that what k p n M a mere trickle, beame a migbty current. The process of acquiring h d e d property was not confined to bnhmanical temples. The non-brahxmtanical religious establishmenta such M the Buddhist and Jain monasteries (samghas and basadis) too, specially in Karnataka. Andhra. Gujarat and eastern India (Bihar and O r h a ) , vied with one another to become landed magnates (you will m d more about this in Units 67-in Block 2).
I) & b n ~ o o l r r m n ' A * d m t p a i o b ~ ~ P i e L t h c ~ ~ a s ~ i a ~ L c u andpo!inCdolrm'Fagaixsttimpaiodwknhadlg~atqystem.ppeprrdin that mghn (Ccoaal lndk Bmga&Oriur. Northan Dcoua, Andhn, Tamil Nadu. Kcraia G u m Rajastban, Karnalaka),
ii)
5th-7th antuna
ii)
hi 7th - 8th maury
iii)
iv)
iv)
9th
ceotury
2) What were tbc di't items d drr (gift) to BrrhmrnulWhich was oolrsidcrcdutbcbarJ#i.
1.3 AGRARIAN ORGANISATION The agrarian orpnisation and economy were highly complex. This can be understood on the basis of intensive studies of the regional patterns of land grants and the cbuDcter and rale of the brahnadeya and nowbmhadqa and temple . ecttlementa. The growth and nature of Lnd ri#hta, interdependence -on# the different groups related to land and the production and distribution processes also help in a better understanding of the situation.
13.1 Churetcr raid Role d V ~ O W T
m of A g d m Scttitmmts
Bnhmadeya : A bnhmadeya represents a grant of land either in individual plots or whole vilIagcs given away to Bnhllvnu making tbem landownm or land controllen. It was mcmt eitber to bring v i r a land under cultivation or to integrate existin8 agricultural (or pasant) settlements into the new economic order dominated by a Brahmrm proprietor. T h a e B n h m u u donee8 played a major role in intepating various socio-cconomic groups into the new order, througb service tcnurcs and a t e mnuninm undar the VI.M
tun
Fnr cumnk. the rawi in^
peasantisation of shudras was so-t social order.
to be rationalid in the existing brahmanical
The practice of land grants as bnhmadeym was initiated by the ruling dynasties and slrbsequently followed by chiefs, feudatories, etc. Brnhmadgm facilitated agrarian expansion because they were : exempted from various taxes or dues either entirely or at least in the initial stages of settlenlent (e.g. for 12 years); also endowed with ever growing privileges (padharm). The ruling families derived economic advantage in the form of the extension of the resource base, moreover. by creating brahmadeyns they also ,gained ideological support for their political power. Lands were given as bnhmadcya either to a single Brahmana or to several Brahmana families which ranged from a few to several hundreds or even more than a thousand, as seen in the South Indian context. Brahmadeyas were invariably located near major irrigation works such as tanks or lakes. Often new irrigation sources were constructed when brnhmadeyas were created, especially in areas dependent on rains and in arid and semi-arid regions. When located in areas of intensive agriculture in the river valleys, they served to integrate other settlements of a subsihena level production. Sometimes, two or more settlements were clubbed together to form a brahmadeya or an agrahara. The taxes from such villages were assigned to the Brahmana donees, who were also given the right to get the donated land cultivated. Boundaries of the donated land or village were very often carefully demarcated. The various types of land, wet, dry and garden land within the village were specified. Sometimes even specific crops and trees are mentioned. The land donations implied more than the transfer of land rights. For example, in many cases, along with the revenues and economic resources of the village, h u m v resources such as peasants (cultivators), misans and others were also transferred to donees. There is also growing evidence of the encroachment of the rights of villagers over community lands such as lakes and ponds. Thus, the Brahmanas became managers of agricultural and artisanal production in these settlements for which they organised themselves in to assemblies.
1.
A Record from Rajkot ( A . D . 5 3 6 ) of the reign o f Dhruvnsenu-l mention5 1111 er:r~ll o f
;I \ i l i . , n ~ :I\
Agrarian Econon~?
Early Medieval Fxonomy : 8th- 13th Century
5.
Inscripticmsof Kakaf ya Ganapti (A.D. 1199) from Knrimnagar Dist riet records a land gvnt made by the Governor of Chuneridesa to Msnchi-Bhattopndhyaya, the priest of king (;anpati.
Secular Grants : From the seventh century onwards, officers of the state were also being remunerated through land grants. This is of special significance because it created another class of landlords who were not Brahmanas. The gift of land on officials in charge of administrative divisions is mentioned as early as c. A.D. 200 (the time of Manu) but the practice picks up momentum in the post-Gupta period. Lite*ry works dealing with central India, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar and Bengal between the tenth and twelfth centuries make frequent references to various kinds of grants to ministers, kinsmen and those who rendered military services. The rajas, rajaranakas, mahasamantps; etc. mentioned in Pala land charters were mostly vassals connected with land. The incidence of grants to state officials varies from one region to another. To illustrate, while we hear of about half a dozen Paramar official ranks, only a few of them are known to have received land grants. But very large territories were granted to vassals and high officers under the Chalukyas of Gujarat. The available evidences suggest that Orissa had more service grants than Assam, Bengal and Bihar taken together. Further, the right of various officials to enjoy specific and exclusive levies-irrespective of the tenure of these levies-was bound to create intermediaries with interests in the lands of the tenants.
Devadanas : Large scale gifts to the religious establishments, both brahmanical and non-brahmanical, find distinctive places in inscriptional evidences. These centres worked as nuclei of agricultural settlements and helped in integrating various peasant and tribal settlements through a process of acculturation. They also integrated various socio-economic glroups through service tenures or remuneration through temple lands. Temple lands were leased out to tenants, who paid a higher share of t l ~ cproduce to the temple. Such lands were also managed either by the sabha of the brnhmadeya o r rnahajvnss of the agrahara settlements. In non-Brahmana settlements ternplcs became the central institution. Here temple lands came to be ;itlm~nistrredby the temple executive committees composed of land owning non131.~1i1rnanas. r Q thc Velalas nf Tamil N a d u the O k k a l ~ l K n m n u l ~ i etc of Karnataka
different groups were assigned a caste and ritual status. I t is in this process that people following 'impure" and "low occupations" were assigned the status of untouchables, kept out of the temple and given quarters a t the fringes of the settlement. The supervision of temple lands was in the hands of Brahrnana and non-Brahmana landed elite. The control of irrigation sources was also a major function of the local bodies dominated by landed elite groups. Thus the Brabmona, the temple and higher strata of non-Brahmanas a s landlords, employers and holders of superior rights in land became the central feature of early medieval agrarian organisation. The new landed elite also consisted of local peasant clan chiefs o r heads of kinship groups and heads of families, who had kani rights i.e. rights of possession and supervision. I n other words, several strata of intermediaries emerged between the King and the actual producer.
1.3.2
Rights in Land
An important aspect relating t o land grants is the nature of rights granted t o the assignees. Rights conferred upon the grantees included fiscal and administrative rights. The taxes, of which land tax was the major source of revenue, theoretically payable to the King o r government, came t o be assigned t o the donees. The reference to pariharas or exemptions in the copper plate and stone inscriptions registering such grants indicate that what was theoretically payable t o the King was not being completely exempted from payment but the rights were now transferred t o the grantees. This was apparently based on the sanction of the dharmashastras. which sought to establish the royal ownership of land and hence justify such grants, creating intermediary rights in land. Although there is some evidence of a communal basis of land rights in early settlements, the development of private ownership o r rights is indicated by the fact that the grantees often enjoyed rights of alienation of land. They also enjoyed other hereditary benefits in the settlements. Land gifts were often made after purchase from private individuals. Hereditary ownership seems to have developed out of such grants, both religious and secular. -
-
1.4 TECHNOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENTS During the early medieval period there: was a n increase in irrigation sources such a s canals, lakes, tanks (tataka, eri) and wells (kupa and kinaru). That the accessibility to water resources was a n important consideration in the spread of rural settlements is shown by regional studies. Keres or tanks in south Karnataka, nadi (river), pushkarini (tank), srota (water channel) etc. in Bengal and nmghatta-wells in western Rajasthan used to be natural points of reference whenever distribution and transfer of village lands had t o be undertaken. Naturally, the concern for water resources contributed t o the extension of cultivation and intensification of agricultural activities. Water-lifts of different kinds operated by man and animal power were also known. Epigraphic sources record the construction and maintenance of such irrigation works between eight and thirteenth centuries. Many of the lakes/ tanks of this period have survived well into the modern times. Some of them were repaired, revived and elaborated under the British administration. The step wells (vapis) in Rajasthan and Gujarat became extremely popular in the eleventh-thirteenth centuries. They were meant for irrigating the fields a s well a s for supplying drinking water. The increase in the number of irrigation works was due t o a n advance in irrigation technology. There is evidence of the use of more scientific and permanent methods of flood control, damming of river waters, sluice construction (with piston valve and cisterns) both a t the heads of canals and of lakes and tanks. Flood controkwas achieved gradually through breaching of rivers for canals and mud embankments which ensured the regulated use of water resources. Lakes or reservoirs were more commonly used in semi dry and rain fed areas, a s well QE
r;.,ar
h ~ c ; n c x x ~ h o r ot h o r i ~ ~ o rAc AoA
1.-
in
c..mmar
Pnnr+rmmnt;nn
nf
..r-tar
mcomtn;rr
Agrarian Economy
was initiated by ruling families and maintained by local institutions such as the sabha (Brahrnana assembly) and ur (non-Brahmana village assembly) in Tamil Nadu. Maintenance of lakes/ tanks etc. i.e. desilting, bund and sluice repair was looked after by a special committee of local assemblies and cesses were levied for the purpose.
Early Medieval Economy : 8th- 13th Century
Royal permission was accorded for digging tanks or wells, when gifts were made to Brahmanas and temples. Land was demarcated for construction and maintenance of canals and tanks, etc. Digging of tanks was considered a part of the privileges enjoyed by the grantees and an act of religious merit. Hence, resourceful private individuals also constructed tanks. No less significant were the improvements in agricultural implements. For example, a tenth century inscription from Ajmer refers to 'big" plough. Similarly, separate implements are mentioned for weeding parasitic plants. VrikshsyuvcBP mentions steps to cure diseases of trees. Water lifting devices such as nrqghatta and ghatiyantra are mentioned in inscriptions and literary works. The former was specially used in the wells of Rajasthan in the ninth-tenth centuries. The Krishisukti of Kashypa prescribed that the ghatiyantra operated by oxen is the best, that by men was the worst while the one driven by elephants was of the middling quality. Advanced knowledge about weather conditions and their use in agricultural operations is noticeable in such texts as the Gurusunhit. and Krishinarashwara. More than one hundred types of cereals including wheat, barley. lentils, etc. are mentioned in contemporary writings on agriculture. According to the Shunyapwarn more than fifty kinds of paddy were cultivated in Bengal. The knowledge of fertilizers improved immensely and the use of the compost was known. Cash crops such as arecanuts, betel leaves, cotton, sdgarcane, etc. find frequent mention. Rajashekhara (early tenth century) tells us about the exmllent sugarcane of north Bengal which yielded juice even without the use of pressing instrument. Commodity production of coconut and oranges assumed special importance in peninsular India during this period.
,
Marco-Polo hints at increased production of spieces when he says that the city of Kinsay in China alone consumed ten thousand pounds of pepper everyday which came from India. He also mentions the great demand for Indian ginger in European markets. Harvesting of three crops and rotation of crops were known widely. Thus, advanced agricultural technology was being systematised and diffused in various parts of the country causing substantial boom in agricultural production.
------
6. A Knnnnda Inscription (on hero-stone) of 9th century A.D., from Nnvnli, records the construction o f n +-.,I
:-
-8 La-,.
2.
-2-
-r mf:--
.~-rn:-~.
,
Agrarian Econornj
.
.
.
,'
.
.
.
7. A- Tenth centurl Tamil Inscription from Erode which +eli!ibns-a$o;i the ci)&trucIion of a tank and 3virig of money For its ma;-tenance hy u person named ~ u n j i - $ dl'ili. .
Cheek Y ourTrqgccss.2
1) How did' brahmadeyas helped in a g r a d expansion?
..................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................. 2)
What is the difference between brahmadeya, secular. and devadana grants?
................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................ .......................................................................................................... ..................... ................................................................................................................................ 3) What was the nature of rights enjoyed by land grantees?
................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................
1.
Early Medievd Fxonnmq : 8th 13th Century
-
4)
Describe bfiefly the main methods of irrigation.
................................................................................................................................
1.5 RURAL TENSION Notwithstanding agrarian expansion, the rural landscape was far from being a homogeneous sceue. There is, to begin with, heterogeneous and stratified peasantry. Unlike the age old and pre-Gupta gahapatis we now have graded personnel associated with land : Xshetrik, hrshaka, hnlin and a r d ~ k .Regrettably, there is hardly any indication of landownership in these terms, which seem to be refemng to various categories of cultivators. The conversion of the brahmadeyas into nonbrahmadeyas and that of the latter into ngrnharns were potential sources of tension in rural areas. The damarn revolts in Kashmir, rebellion of the Kaivarthas in the reign of Ramapal in Bengal, acts of self immolation in situations of encroachments on land in Tamil Nadu, appropriation of donated land by shudras in the Pandya territory, are indices of distrust against the new landed intermediaries. The fact that donors often looked for land where cultivation was not disputed also shows the seeds of turmoil. The possibility of the hero-stones in and around agrphams also has the potential of throwing light on rumblings beneath the surface in agrarian settlements. Why does the concept of brahmahatya (killing of a Brahmana) become very pronounced in early medieval times? Answers to this question raise doubts about the validity of "brahmana-peasant alliance* and "peasant state and society" (see Sec. 1.7). This is, however, not to deny other possible areas of tension within rural society between Brahmanas and temples and within ranks of secular land holders.
1.6 AGRICULTURE AND THE EXCHANGE NETWORK It is sometimes maintained that in the early medieval economic organisation, which was a predominantly agrarian and self-sufficient village economy, production was mainly subsistence oriented and was not in response to the laws of the market. Hence there was little scope for economic growth. Craftsmen and artisans were attached either to villages or estates or religious establishments. H e n a t h e n was no significant role for traders and middlemen, who only procured and supplied iron tools, oil, spices, cloth, etc. to rural folk. In other words the functioning of the market system was extremely limited. The aforesaid picture is certainly true for the period 300-800 A.D. However, the subsequent 500 years witnessed a rapid increase in the number of agrarian settlements and the growth of local markets (see Unit 2) initially for local exchange. Subsequently, the need for regular exchange within a region and with other regions led to organised commerce. This in turn led to the emergence of merchant organisations, itinerant trade and partial monetisation from the ninth century. Though the relative importance of these features varied from one region to another (See also Units 3 and 4) the increasing role of agriculture in this new economy is easily seen.
..
Agricultural products d h e to be exchanged with items of long distance trade carried on by itinerant traders. This development also led to a change in the pattern of landownership towards the close of the early medieval period. Merchants and economically influential craftsmen, like weavers, .invested in. land . . . . . .-. -- i.e. purchased land
called the Jagati-kottali (community of weavers) and the community of Telligas (oil pressers) were active participants in agriculture. The former are repeatidly mentioned as excavating tanks and laying out gardens.
1.7 THE CHARACTERISATION OF EARLY MEDIEVAL AGRARIAN ECONOMY
~
Different views have been put forward regarding the nature of the overall set up of early medieval agrarian economy. On the one hand, it is seen as a manifestation of feudal economy, while on the other it is dubbed as a peasant state and society.
I
The salient features of 'Indian Feudalism' are: 1 ) Emergence of hierarchical landed intermediaries. Vassals and officers of state and other secular assignee had military obligations and feudal titles. Sub-infeudation (varying in different regions) by these donees to get their land cultivated led to the growth of different strata-of intermediaries. It was a hierarchy of landed aristocrats, tenants, share croppers and cultivators. This hierarchy was also reflected in the power/administrative structure, where a sort -of lord-vassal relationship emerged. In other words, Indian feudalism consisted in the gross unequal distribution of land and its produce.
,
Another important feature was the prevalence of forced labour. The right of extracting forced labour (vishti) is believed to have been exercised by the Brahmana and other grantees of land. Forced labour was originally a prerogative of the King or the state. It was transferred to the grantees, petty officials, village authorities and others. In the Chola inscriptions alone, there are more than one hundred references to forced labour. Even the M s a n t s and . artisans come within the jurisdiction of vishti. As a result, a kind of serfdom emerged, in which agricultural labourers were reduced to the position of semi-serfs.
3) Due to the growing claims of greater rights over land by rulers and
b
intermediaries, peasants also suffered a curtailment of their land rights. Many were reduced to the position of tenants facing ever growing threat of eviction. A number of peasants were only ardhikas (share croppers). The strain on the peasantry was also caused by the burden of taxation, coercion and increase in their indebtedness. 4) Surplus was extracted through various methods. Extra economic coercion was a conspicuous method. With the rise of new property relations, new mechanisms of economic subordination also evolved. The increasing burden is evident in the mentioning of more than fifty levies in the inscription of Rajaraja Chola.
5) It was relatively a closed village economy. The transfer of human resources along with land to the beneficiaries shows that in such villages thk peasants, craftsmen and artisans were attached to the villages and hence were mutually dependent. Their attachment to land and to service grants ensured control over them by the beneficiaries. In brief, a subject and immobile peasantry, functioning in relatively self-sufficient villages buttressed by varna restrictions, was the marked feature of the agrarian economy during the five centuries under survey. The theory of the existence of autonomous peasant societies is put forward in opposition to the theory of Indian feudalism. It is based mainly on the evidence from south Indian sources. According to this theory, autonomous peasant regions called the nadus evolved in South India by early medieval times. They were organised on the basis of clan and kinship ties. ,Agricultural production in the nadus was organised and controlled by the nattar. i.e. people of the nadu, organising themselves into assemblies, 1.e. nadu. Members of this assembly were velahs or non-Brahmana peasants. Their autonomy is indicated bv the fact that when land erants were made bv the kings and lesser
Agrarian Economy
F ; ~ ~ Medieval I? Economy :
8th- 1.3th Century
. . chiefs, oiders were issued with the consent of the "attar. Orders were first addressed ,:. . to them. They demarcated. the;'gift-land and supervised the ex&utibii.df.the grant . . . because they were the organisefs.of produc~ion.'ihe~ritimiha'i~arid dbniinait ..... peasants became allies in the productibA prbckss. ' ~ ~ ~ a r e n tttie l j l ejtpcincnts , of..this hypothesis share the notion of rural-self-~ufficiency,which:,is 11 ibp&&nt:. . . component of Indian feudalism. T h e theories df lndian feudalism and a u t o n o ~ o u s peasant societies have their a d h e r e ~ t.and s claim .to :be?ba'&d:o n ' e m p i ~ ~&iderice. ~al ...... However, early medieval agrariari'kconomy' w&.a high& cohplex onk.';~n:&dir,.to understand its character and t o prbvide',i .general framework for ~ts'study,detailed studies of its regional patterns will' have 10 be ~ o r k e d ' ~ & t . ,
Check Your Progress 3 I) Give a few causes for tensions In rural areas during the period under review.
2)
What was the pattern of commerce in early medieval period? Did it effect the pattern of land ownership?
3) Give five saiient features of Indian feudalism.
............................................................................................ ..................... ................................................................................................................................ i.................
1.8 LET US SUM UP In this Unit the survey of agrarian economy during the five centuries between the eighth and thirteenth highlights: Perceptible expansion of agriculture in practically all over the Indian sub-continent as a result of land grants. While the hitherto virgin lands and forested areas attracted this expansion, grants were also made in regions which were already under cultivation, the deep rooted ideological interests of religious establishments-both brahmanical and non-brahmanical, which sang praises of gifts of land, the einergence of various types of agrarian settlements with graded land rights, growing interests of non-agriculturists in land. specially those of state officials, traders, artisans. etc., .
..
the spurt in technological improvements-in rrn...?
-..,A
rrnrr;""
rs..rr..
~rrigation,agricultural implements,
the mutual relationships amongst different groups related to land underlining seeds of rural tension, and
A p v h n Economy
the debate on the characterisation of early mdieval agrarian economy focussing on the distinguishing traits of 'Indian feudalism" and "Peasant State and Society".
1.9 KEY WORDS
-
Agrahara : Primarily a rent free village in the possession of Brahmanas. Ardhika :A cultivator who t:lls land of others and gets half the crop as his share. Basadi : Jaina monastic establishment. Brahmadeya :Generally tax free land or village given as gift to Brahmanas. Damar : Powerful officials in Kashmir who developed landed interests and were opposed to Brahmanas. Devodana : Rent free land gifted to brahmanical temples deities. Its Jain and Buddhist counterpart is pallichanda. Dharmashastra : Brahmanical scriptures, law books. Halin : Ploughman Karshaka : Tiller of soil. Mahajana : A sort of assembly of Brahmanas. Mahasamanta : The 'great chieftainn, feudatory of a higher rank than samanta. Parihara : Exemptions from taxes and obligations (privileges granted to the donees of rent-free land). Peasant State and Society : A set-up where peasants are "freen to own means of production and cultivate land according to their interests. Peasantisation : Process through which people unconnected with land were encouraged to undertake cultivation as a profession. Ranaka :Title of feudatory ruler. Shrotriya : Brahman, learned in the Vedas.
1.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES Check Your Progrgss 1 1) i) ii) iii) iv)
Central India, Northern Deccan and Andhra Bengal, Orissa, Gujarat and Rajasthan Tamil Nadu, Karnataka Kerala
2) You should include in your answer items like foodgrains, gold, money, cultivable land, garden, plough, cows, oxen, etc. Gift of land was considered the best. Also see Sub-sec. 1.2.2 Check Your Progress 2 1) Bnhmrdeyr could help in agrarian expansion because these were exempted from land revenue and enjoyed other ptivileges, therefore, the grant holders had more incentives to develop these lands. Besides most of these lands were virgin and making them cultivable helped in expanding the cultivable area. Also see Subset. 1.3.1. 2) Brahmadeya grants were given to Brahmanas only while secular grants were given to state functionaries in lieu of their salaries and devadam grants were ":.,-..*,. L-,.L-..-i--l -- ..,-11 -- --- L--L-..-:--l . - - . - I - &I-- - - - O . . L ---
I
1 1
Early Medieval Economy : 8th 13th Century
-
3) The grantees had such rights as collection of land revenue, other taxes and maintain administrative control. See Sub-sec. 1.3.2.
4) Your answer should include such devices as wells, tanks, lakes, canal. You should also mention the water lifting devices such as ghatiyantra, rrrghattr and the use of animal power. See Sec . 1.4. Check Your Progress 3 1) The main reasons for tension were the conversion of brahnmdcya lands into nonbrahmadeyas and rgraharas, encroachment on other land and number of intermediaries. See Sec. 1.5.
2) The commeicial activities within a region, and with other regions were undertaken. Agriculture produce was exchanged with other products often from distant regions. The investment in land by merchants and influential craftsmen changed the pattern of.landownership. Also see Sec. 1.6. 3) Your answer should include such features of Indian feudalism like emergence of hierarchical landed intermediaries, prevalence of forced labour, curtailment of land rights of peasants, economic subordination by surplus extraction and existence of a relatively closed village economy. Also see Sec. 1.7.
UNIT 2 URBAN SETTLEMENTS
~
I
Structure 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
Objectives Introduction Form and Substance of Urban Centres The General Pattern Regional Variations and Types 2.4.1 2.4.2 2.4.3 2.4.4
2.5 2.6 2.7
Rural Centres Transformed into Urban Centres Market Centres. Trade-ndwork and Itinerant Trade Sacred/ Pilgrimagr: Centres Royal Centres or Capitals
Let Us Sum Up Key Words Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises.
2.0 OBJECTIVES --
After reading this Unit you should be able to explain the: factors responsible for the rise of urban centres, various phases in the history of urbanism, criteria for identifying settlements as urban, general pattern of the post-Gupta urban growth, regional variations in urban settlements, and a types of towns.
INTRODUCTION The study of urban settlements is an indispensable element in the understanding of socio-economic history of the post-Gupta centuries. It should be taken as a complementary component along with the agrarian economy. Recent writings have particularly focussed on the place of urban settlements in the overall framework of Indian feudalism. This and the two subsequent Units make an attempt to review the problems associated with such developments.
2.2
FORM AND SUBSTANCE OF URBAN CENTRES
Study of urban czntres is an important aspect of socio~conomichistory. Urbgn centres in early medieval India have generally been studied in two ways :
i)
As a part of economic history i.e. history of trade, commerce and craft production, etc., and
ii)
as a part of administrative or political history, i.e. as capitals, administrative centres, centres of major and minor ruling families and fort towns.
Hence the focus of urban studies has so far been mainly on types of urban centres. Accordingly towns or cities have been listed under various categories such as market, trade or commercial centres, ports, political and administrative centres, religious centres, etc. However, there has been no sufficient attempt to explain the causes behind the emergence of towns. In other words the form of an urban centre is studied but not its meaning or substance. In order to understand both' the form and
..
.-.
.
.-
. .
.
. .
Early Medievd Economy : 8th 13th Century
-
to study the processes of urban growth as a part of the broader socio-economic changes.
Phases and Dciinition How do we define an urban centre and what are its essential traints; are some of the questions that we take up here. Prior to the coming of the Turks, the Indian sub-continent experienced a t least three phases of urban growth: 1) During the bronze age Harappan civilization (fourth-second millennium B.C.), 2) Early historic urban centres of the iron age (c. sixth century B.C. to the end of the third century A.D.),
3) Early medieval towns and cities (c. eighthlninth to twelfth centuries A.D.). Amongst the earliest attempts,to define an urban centre one can easily mention Gordon Childe's notion of 'Urban Revolutionn. He listed monumental buildings, large settlements with dense population, existence of such people who were not engaged in food production (rulers, artisans and merchants) and cultivation of art, science and writing as prominent features to identify an urban centre. Further, Chi-lde laid great stress on the presence of craft specialists and the role of agricultural surplus which supported non-food producers living in cities. Not all these traits, which were spelt out in the context of bronze age cities, are to be seen in the towns of iron age. There has been no dearth of urban centres with sparse population and mud houses. Though agrarian surplus collected from rural areas is almost indispensable for the existence of a town, merely a settlement of non-agriculturists cannot be regarded as an urban centre. Early medieval literary texts refer to towns inhabited by people of all classes surrounded by a wall and moat and marked by the prevalence of the laws and customs of the guilds of artisans and merchants. A recent study based on excavated data from 140 sites spread over the entire Indian subcontinent (R.S. Sharma, Urban Decay in India, c.A.D.300-1000) focusses on: Quality of material life and the nature of occupations, and need t o study urban centres not as parasites thriving on agricultural surplus but as centres integrally linked with rural hinterland. Accordingly, some prominent traits of urban centres which can be applied to early medieval settlements as well, are identified as : i)
Size of a settlement in terms of area and population.
ii)
Proximity to water resources-river
iii)
Presence or absewe of artefacts representing activities of aitisans, e.g. axes, chisels, plough-shares, sickles, hoes, crucibles, ovens, furnaces, dyeing vats, moulds for beads, seals, sealings, jewellery, terracotta, etc.
iv)
banks, tanks, ring wells, etc.
Evidence of coin moulds signifying mint towns. The discovery of metallic . money, when listed with the presence of artisans and merchants, certainly lends
a clear urban chatacter to such sites. v)
Presence or otherwise of luxury goods such as precious and semi-precious stones, glassware, ivory objects, fine pottery etc. The possibility is not ruled out that luxuries of ancient towns might become necessities for superior rural classes of early medieval times.
vi)
Considering the moist, rainy climate of many alluvial plains such as themiddle Ganga plain, baked brick (not just burnt bricks) structures on a good scale assume special importance. Thoug) in Central Asia towns consisting of mud structures are also not unknown.
vii) Streets, shops, drains and fortifications also give a good idea of the nature of the urban settlement. At several places in the Deccan and elsewhere silos and granaries occur at historical sites, like at Dhulikatt in Andhra Pradesh. Apparently such structures were meant to store surplus foodgrains for feeding
I
Urban Settletiwnts
Check Your P r o m 1 1) List the ihrce'kain phases of urban growth in India prior to the coming of the Turks.
................................................................................................................................
2) What are the important features of a town spelt by Gordon Childe?
3) List the important traits of urban centres applicable to early medieval India. '
.......
................................................................................................................................ . ................................................................................................................................ .
2.3 THE GENERAL PATTERN The post-Gupta centuries witnessed a new socioeconomic formation based on the system of land grants. The gradual expansion of cultivation and agrarian economy through land grants (for details, see Unit 1) had an impact on the growth of towns and cities between the eighth and twelfth centuries. Though the overall picture of the Indian sub-continent is that of revival, of urban centres, there are some regional variations as well. Such variations are seen in the nature, category and hierarchy of such centres due to operative economic forces, ecological and cultural differences and the nature of political organisation. Regional studies of urban centres are, therefore, essential for providing the correct perspectives. Such studies are available only for a few regions like Rajasthan, Central India and South India.
2.4 REGIONAL VARIATIONS AND TYPES In a vast country like India there are a lot of regional variations in the pattern of emergence and growth of urban centres. In this section we will discuss some important variations.
2.4.1
Rural Centres Transformed into Urban Centres
The brahrnadeyas and devadanas which are seen as important sources of agrarian expansion of the early medieval period, also provided the nuclei of urban growth. The Brahmana and temple settlements clustered together in certain key areas of agricultural production. Such centres, initially rural, became points of convergence
Early Medieval Economy : 13th Century
cl(h
-
Examples of such centres of urban growth are datable from the eighth and nineth centuries and are more commonly found in South India. The Cola city of Kumbakonam (Kudamukku-Palaiyarai) developed out of agrarian clusters and became a multi-temple urban centre between the ninth and twelfth centuries. Kanchipuram is a second major example of such a n urban complex. While Kumbakonam's political importance as a residential capital of the Colas was an additional factor in its growth, Kanchipuram too had the additional importance of being the largest craft centre (textile manufacturing) in South lndia.
2.4.2
Market Centres, Trade-Network and Itinerant Trade
Early medieval centuries also witnessed the emergence of urban centres of relatively modest dimensions, a s market centres, trade centres (fairs, etc.) which were primarily points of the exchange network. The range of interaction of such centres varied from small agrarian hinterlands t o regional commercial hinterlands. Some also functioned beyond their regional frontiers. However, by and large, the early medieval urban centres were rooted in their regional contexts. This is best illustrated by the nagnram of South India, substantial evidence of which comes from Tamil Nadu and also t o a limited extent by the existence of nakhara and nagaramu in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh respectively. The nagaram served as the market for the nadu or kurrrrn, an agrarian or peasant region. Some of them emerged'due to the exchange needs of the nadu. A fairly large number of such centres were founded by ruling families or were established by royal sanction and were named after the rulers, a feature common t o all regions in South India. Such centres had the suffix pura o r pattana. Nagarams located on important trade routes and at the points of intersection developed into more important trade and commercial centres of the region. They were ultimately brought into a network of intra-regional and inter-regional trade as well as overseas trade through the itinerant merchant organisations and the royal ports. Such a development occurred uniformly throughout peninsular India between the tenth and twelfth centuries. During these centuries South lndia was drawn into the wider trade network in which all the countries of South Asia, South-east Asia and China and the Arab countries came t o be involved (See also Units 3 and 4). The nagarams linked the ports with political and administrative centres and craft centres in the interior. I n Karnataka nagarams emerged more as points of exchange in trading network than as regular markets for agrarian regions. However, the uniform features in all such nagarams is that they acquired a basic agricultural hinterland for the non-producing urban groups living in such centres. Markets in these centres were controlled by the nagaram assembly headed by a chief merchant called pattanasvami. A similar development of trade and market centres can be seen in Rajasthan and western parts of ~ a d h ~ a i ~ r a d eHere, s h . the exchange centres were located in the context of the bases of adrarian production i.e. where clusters of rural settlements occur. In Rajasthan these centres were points of intersection for traffic of varying origins, giving rise t o a certain measure of hierarchy. The network was further elaborated with the growth of generations of well-known merchant families in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. They are named after their places of origin such as Osawala (Osia), Shrimalis (Bhirimal). Pallivalas and Khandclvalas, etc. The resource bases, the main routes for the flow of resources and the centres of exchange were integrated through the expansion of these merchant families. Rajasthan provided the main commercial links between Gujarat, Central India and the Ganga \.alley. Such links were maintained through towns like Pali, which connected the cca coast towns like Dvaraka and Bhrigukachcha (Broach) with Central and North India. Gujarat, with its dominant Jain merchants, continued to be the major trading region of Western lndia where early historic ports or emporium like Bhrigukachcha (Broach) continued to flourish as entrepots of trade in early medieval times. Bayana, another notable town in Rajasthan was the junction of different routes from different directions. The range of merchandise started probably with agr~culturalproduce (i~tcludingdairy products) but extended to such high-value items as horses, elephants. horned animal4 and jewels. In Karnataka, the steady increase in towns during the period under review is marked
Shimoga. In the trade with the West i.e. Arabia, Persian Gulf and beyond, the West Coast of Peninsular India played a consistently dominant role from the early historic period. Several ports such as Thana, Goa, Bhatkal, Karwar, Honavar and Mangalore developed during the revival of long distance trade, between the tenth and twelfth centuries, with evidena of coastal shipping and ocean navigation. Surprisingly, this commercial activity was taking place (see also Unit 3) only through limited monetization. Incidentally, the Konkan coast (under the Shilaharas) does not even show any signs of risc of markets and their network. Wider trade networks also existed between Karnataka. Andhra and Tamil Nadu, for the presence of Kannada, Tamil and Telugu merchants is well attested in several towns such as Belgaun (Karnataka), Peruru in Nalgonda district (Andhra Pradesh) and coastal towns of Visakhapatnam and Ghantasala. The Andhra coast turned to the south eastern trade with Motupalli, Visakhapatnam and Ghantasala acting as the major outlets. Market centres of inter-regianal importance are represented by places like Nellore, Draksharama, Tripurantakam and Anumakonda in Andhra Pradesh. On the northern and southern banks of Kaveri in its middle reaches arose a number of exchangt points between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu such as Talakkad and Mudikondan. Kerala developed contracts with the West and foreign traders such as the Jews, Christians and Arabs who were given trading towns under special royal charters. Coastal towns such as Kolikkodu, Kollam etc., became entrepots of South Asian trade. The location of such trading groups aa the Anjuvannan and Arab horse dealers enhanced the importance of coastal towns in Karnataka and Kerala. Major craft centres which developed in response to inter-regional trade were weaving. centres in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Some of the craft and commercial centres of the early historic urban phase survived till the early medieval period and were brought into the processes of re-urbanisation which llnked them with the new socioeconomic institutions like the temple. Kashi (Varanasi) in the north and Kanchipuram (near Madras) in the south are two very prominent examples of such processes.
2.4.3 Sacred/Pilgrimage Centres The idea of pilgrimage to religious centres developed in the early medieval period due to the spread of the cult of Bhdcti. Its expansion in different regions through a process of acculturation and interaction between the Brahmanical or Sanskritic forms of worship and folk or popular cults cut across narrow sectarian interests. As a result, some local cult centres of great antiquity as well as those with eerly associations with brahmanical and non-brahmanical religions, became pilgrimage centres. The pilgrimage network was sometimes confined to the specific cultural region within which a cult centre assumed a sacred character. However, those cult centres, which became sacred tirthas attracted worshippers from various regions. Both types of pilgrimage centres developed urban features due to a mobile pilgrim population, trade and royal patronage. The role of emerging market in the growth of tirthas is now being recognised by historians in a big way. Pushkara near Ajmer in Rajasthan was a sacred tirtha of regional importance with a dominant Vaishnava association. Kasi (Banaras) acquired a pan-Indian character due to its greater antiquity and importance as a brahrnanical sacred centre. In South India, Srirangam (Vaishnava), Chidambaram (Shaiva) and Madurai (Shaiva) etc. developed as regional pilgrimage centres, while Kanchipuram became a part of an all India pilgrimage network. While Melkote was a regional sacred centre in Karnataka, Alampur, Draksharama and Simhachalam show a similar development in Andhra Pradesh. Tirupati was initially an important sacred-centre for the Tamil Vaishnavas but acquired a pan-Indian character later in the Vijayanagara period. Jain centres of pilgrimage emerged in Gujarat and Rajasthan where merchant and royal patronage led to the proliferation of Jain temples in groups in centres such as Osia, Mount Abu, Palitana, etc. In South India the elaboration of temple structures in sacred centres show two types nf anrhsn nrnurth
.
First, it was organised around a single large temple as in Srirangam, Madurai, Tiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu), Melkote (Karnataka), Draksharama and Simhachalam (Andhra Pradesh).
firly ~ e d i c v d&orlomy : 8th 13th Century
-
-
The second type involves the growth around several temples of different religions such as Shivaism. Vishnuism and Saktism. The early medieval urbanisation is sometimes characterised as "temple urbanisation" particularly in the context of south India. Sacred centres also provided important links in the commerce of a region as temples and the mathas attached to them were the biggest consumers of luxury articles and value goods.
2.4.4 Royal Centres or Capitals Royal centres of the seats of power of the ruling families were a major category of urban centres in early medieval India. Some of them had been the seats of royal power even in the early historic period, for example, in the Janapadas of North India or in the traditional polities of South India. Royal families also developed their own ports, which were the main ports of entry into their respective territories and which also linked them with international commerce. Thus, the commercial needs of royal centres created new trade and communication links and built up much cIoser relationships between the royal centre and their agricultural hinterlands or resource bases. In all the region$ south of the Vindhyas, where brahmanical kingdoms came to be established by the eighth century A.D. there is substantial evidence of the growth of such royal centres. Some representative examples are: Vatapi and Vengi of the Chalukyas in the northern Karnataka and Andhra. Kanchipuram of the Pallavas with their royal.port at Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram). a Madurai of the Pandyas with Korkai as their port.
Tanjavur of the Colas with Nagappattinam as their port. Kalyana of the Western Chalukyas, Dvarasamudra of the Hoysalas, and Warangal of the Kakatiyas with Motupalli at their port. Warangal was a rare example of a fortified royal city in South India. Examples of royal centres in North India are: the Gurjara Partihara capital at Kanyakubja (Kanauj). Khajuraho of the Candellas. Dhara of the Paramaras, and Valabhi of the Solankis. A fairly large number of cities emerged under the powerful Gurjara-Pratiharas, Chahamanas and Paramaras in Rajasthan. Most of them were fortified centres, hill forts (garhkila and durga). Examples of fort-cities in Rajasthan are.: Nagara and Nagda under the Guhilas. b
Bayana, Hanumanghrh and Chitor under the Gurjara-Pratiharas, and Mandor, Ranathambor, Sakambhari and Ajmer under the Chauhans and so on.
On the basis of various sources, a list of 131 places has been compiled for the Chauhan dominions, most of which seem to have been towns. Nearly two dozen towns are identified in Malwa under the Paramaras. Gujarat under the Chalukyas was studded with port towns. The number of towns, however, does not seem to be large in Eastern India although all the nine victorv camps (jayaskandavars) of the Palas (Pataliputra, Mudgagiri, Ramavati, Vata Parvataka, Vilaspura, Kapilavasaka, Sahasgand, Kanchanapura and Kanaui) may have been towns. To these may be added four capitals of the Senas in northern and eastern Bengal,-.viz. -. Lakhnaut~,
in the Candellas records. The Palas and the Candellas also account for nearly twenty and twentyfour fortresses respectively. Sometimes, important trade and market centres were also conferred o n feudatory families. Examples of such minor political centres a r e numerous in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. 3
Check Your Progress 2 1) What led t o the transformation of some rural centres in to urban?
2) How did the trading activities help in the growth of towns?
3) Did religious centres p h y a role in the process of urbanisation?
4) Write five lines on "administrative centres a s towns".
--
2.5
-
LET U S S U M U P
----
- -- -
--
-- ---
--
---
--
The changes introduced by the system of land grants in the post-Gupta c e n t ~ ~ r i e s were not confined t o a new agrarian economy. Urbdn settlements, which had been in the state of decay in the few centuries after the arrival oT tlre Guptab, saw a new life infused into them. The revival of trade, rise of new markets, dispersal of political authority and consolidation of economic power by religious establishments had given rise to numerous towns and cities in different regions of the lndian sub-continent with only minor variations noticeable in the relative importance of causative factors.
2.6
KEY WORDS
Kurram : sometimes the same a s nadu (see below) but sometimes only a part of a nadu. Nadu :a district o r a subdivision; also used in the sense of the local asscmblv t o
Urban Scttlancnts
E u l y Medltvd Economy : 8th 13th Century
-
N r p n m / N a k h i r l / N u g i l l n u :a sort of merchant assembly located in market towns with wide ranging commercial interests. Skrndhrvrr : military camps-functioning
as mobile capitals.
Tirthr :sacred/ pilgrimage centre. -
--
2.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES Check Your Progress 1 1)
See Sec. 2.2 under the heading phrases and definition.
2)
Your answer should include features like I a ~ y cst.ttlcr~len(s.dcllsc population, large sections of people engaged ill iirtis;i~lcr;~ftsarltl conlnlcrcc ctc. See Sec.2.2 :1lso.
3) Seven such traits lihted in Sec. 2.2. Please read tllcrll and write in britt five of them. Check Your Progress 2 1)
In some cases the rural e n t r e s provided a nuclei for the growth of urban centres. At times rural centres became a point of convergence of trade and developed in to towns. See Sub-sec. 2.4.1.
2)
Your answer should include factors such as the' I ~ c a t i o nof place on it major trade route, interaction of route or market for regional trade or inter-regional trade of a port. See Sub-sec. 2.4.2.
'
3)
A numbcr of religicrus centres developed in towns bccausc these were visited by a vast number of people and in due course markets elc. developed. Also read Sub-sec. 2.4.3 agaid.
4)
You should write a s t o how adm~nistrativccentre\ or \c;lts of poucr dvvclopd in established towns. Sec Sub-sec . 2.4.4.
UNIT 3 TRADE AND COMMERCE Structure 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3
Objectives Introduction Trade : Definition and Phases The First Phase (c. A.D. 700-900) 3.3.1 Media of Exchange 3.3.2 Relative Decline of Trade 3.3.3 Urban Settlements : Decay
3.4 , The Second Phase (c. A.D. 900-1300) 3.4.1 Crafts and Industry 3.4.2 Coins and other Media of Exchange
3.5
Aspects of Trade 3 5.1 Inland Trade a) Commod~tiesof Trade and their Consumers. and
b) Trade Routes and Means o f Communications 3.5.2 Maritime Trade a) The Chief Participants b) Cornmoditla Exchanged c) Ports d) Safety and Security of Merchants 3.5.3 Revival of Towns
3.6 3.7 3.8
3.0
Let Us Sum Up Key Words Answers to Check Your ~ ; o g ~ e sExercises s
OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit you should be able to explain: the importance of trade and commerce in the overall economic history of India during the six centuries between c.A.D. 700 and c.A.D. 1300, the historical features of trade in two broad phases: i) c.700-900 and ii) c.9001300, the relationship between trade and commerce with i) metallic-currency, ii) village economy and iii) towns, the role of crafts and industry in the trade operations, about the commodities of trade and their consumers-both foreign trade,
in the inland a & '
the principal trade routes and means of communication, and the role of political authorities in furthering the intemsts of traatr. merchants.
I
?d
-
3.1 INTRODITC'TIGX ----
---
.-
---
The study of urbar. settle-ireas UIA,,.,. 2,. in the cecond Umt would l r i n r ~ incomplete :f it is not reliltcd to trade and commeize. 5specr :.f Indian cconcnly in the early rnecii=val cencmz: an integrai component. Like the tv~t pece2in:~ L1nits ( I and 21, 2r f-im: ;a iiii~cht&l~ a~er~!,orls took place are ~ r iisved : in this . Unit in the bdckarop of the deuelr~:.,tr.' c v -:.-.i,; f y L h i.-, Thp- n..turc and extin; .,f tire ;.a. of r*.. I:, r:.? --
-CAL-
A
r r r .
.
.
period of the first four "pious Caliphs" (Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman and Afij dynastic rule ' became the norm when the Umayyads took over the Caliphate in 661 A.D. from their base at Damascus in Syria. After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate the Abbasids came to power in the mid-eighth century as Caliphs at Baghdad. However, with the decline of central authority, the centralised institution of Caliphate (Khifajat)broke into thrw centres of power based in Spain (under the rule of a branch of the Umayyad Caliphs), Egypt (under the Fatimids) an'd the older one at Baghdad - each claiming theexclusive loyalty of the Muslims. Nearer home, towards the north-west, many minor dynashes carved out small states, one of which was based at Ghazna (Ghazni). The significant pqint to remember .is that, theoretically, no Muslim could have set up an "independent" state, big or small, without procuring tpe permission from the Caliph, else its legitimacy could become suspect amongst the Muslims. And, yet, all this 'was nothing more than a Gmality which could be dispensed with impunity. The recognition of a Caliph by the Delhi Sultans seen in the granting of robes of honour, letter of investiture, bestowing of titles, having the name .of theelCali inscribed on coins and reading of khutba in Friday prayer in his name symbolized an acceptance and a link with the Islamic world, though in reality it only-mdant an acceptance of a situation whereby a ruler. had already plaad himself in power. The Sultans of Delhi maintained the fiction of the acceptance of the position of the Caliph. Under the Saiyyids (1414-1451) and the Lodis (1451-1526 A:DX the legends on the coins continued in the sense of a &$ition being maintained but it was purely a nominal allegiance. In actual effect, the Caliphate, weakened and far removed as it was, had little direct role to play in the Delhi Sultanate. Check Your Progress 1
1) What was the position of the Caliph? .......................................................................................... -
2) Who,were the four "pious Caliphs'?
I
......................................................................................... ' Z
. .
3) Name the three centres of the Caliphate.
4) What were the symbols of allegiance maintained by the Delhi Sultans with respect to the Caliphate?
16.3 THE NqTURE OF THE DELHI SULTANATE The early Mulism Turkish State established itself in north India by virtue of conquests. sin& the Turks were far fewer in number than the indigenous population over whom they sought to govern and since they also lacked resources, they, of necessity, had to control the resources of the country. This had an important bearing a
nn the nature of the Turkish State.
'?
,
i
I I
In a theoretical and formal sense, the Delhi Sultans recognized the supremacy pf the Islamic law (sharibh) and tried to prevent its open violation. But they had to supplement it by framing secular regulations (zawabit), too. A point of view is that the Turkish State was a theocracy; in practice, however, it was the p;oduct of expediency and necessity wherein the needs of the young state assumed paramount importance. The contemporary historian Ziauddin Barani distinguished.betwen j a w ("sgsular") a d ~ ~ c m sand "accepted ) the inevitability of some secular features, because of the contingent situations coming up. Thus, the needs of the emergent State shaped many policies and practices not always consistent with rslamic fundamentalism. For example, during the reign of Sultan lltutmisli (121 11236), a s h u i a n group (shajai) of Muslim divines approached the Sultan and asked him to enforce the Islamic law strictly, that is, giving the Hindus the option of Islam g h t h . On behalf of the Sultan, the wuzir; 'Junaidi, replied that this could not be done for the moment as the Muslims were like salt in a'dish of food. Barani records a conversation that Sultan Alauddin Khalji had with one of his leading theologians, Qazi Mughisuddin, over the question of appropriation of booty. While the Qazi pointed out the legalistic position which prevented the Sultan from taking the major - share of the booty, the Sultan is said to have emphasized that he acted according to the needs of the State w.hich were paramount. These instances show that, in practice, the Turkish State was not theocratic but evolved according to its special needs and circumstances despite the fac! t h t the main ruling class professed Islam;
Adminbtntion of the Sultanate
16.4 CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION 1
The central administrative machinery of the Sultanate consisted of the nobles controlling various offices with the Sultan at the helm of affairs.
16.4.1 The Sultan 7
In the early Islamic world, there was no sanction for the position of the Sultan. With the disintegration of the Caliphate, the Sultan began to appear in the sense of a powerful ruler-an independent sovereign of a certain territory. The Delhi Sultans could make civil and political regulations for public welfare. Khutba and sikka were recognised as important attributes of sovereignty. The khutba was the formal sermon following the congregational prayer on Fndays wherein the name of the Sultan was mentioned as the head of the community. Coinage was the ruler's prerogative : his name was inscribed on the coins (sikka).
,
The ~ u l t k a t ewitnessed a rapid rise and fall of dynasties. The Sultan, or a contender to the t'lrone, could only keep himself in power with the support of the nobles who were themselves divided into numerous groups. Barani says that Balban stressed the special position of the Sultan as 'shadow of God' (zill a1 Allah) on earth. Balban emphasized courtly splendour decorum and etiquette. He also believed in severe exemplary punishments even to the nobles. All this bore relevance to a situation where the throne was never safe from the ambitions of the nobles, many of whom felt that they had an equal right to rule. There were many officials to look after the royal household. The wakil-i-dar looked after the entire household and disbursed salaries to the Sultan's personal staff. The amir-i-hajib functioned as the master of ceremonies at the court. All petitions to the Sultan were submitted through the latter. There were other minor officials also.
16.4.2 The Wizarat (Finance) The wmir, as the head of the diwan-i wizarar, was the most important figure in the central administration. Though he was one of the four important departmental . heads, he exercised a general supervisory authority over others. The wizarar organised the collection of revenue, exercised control over expenditure, kept accounts, disbursed salaries and allotted revenue assignments (iqra) at Sultan's order. There were several officials who helped the wizaraf such as the mushif-i mumalik or the accountant-general and the mustaufi-i mumalik or the auditor-general. During
Indian Polity : The Sultanate
the reign of Alauddin Khalji, the diwan-i mustakhraj was made responsible for the collection of arrears of revenue.
16.4.3 The Diwum-i Arz The diwan-i arz or military department was headed by the ariz-i mumalik. He was responsible for the administration of military affairs. He inspected the troops maintained by the iqta-holders. He also supervised the commissariat duties (supply and transport) of the Sultan's army. During the reign of Alauddin Khalji, some measures were introduced to maintain a check on recruitment and quality. He ordered a descriptive roll (huliya) of every soldier to be kept and also ordered the branding (dagh) of horses to be done so that horses of poor quality were not brought by the amirs or iqta-holders to the muster. It seems that the branding qf horses was strictly maintained till the reign of Muhammad Tughluq. The army consisted of troops maintained by nobles as well as the standing army (hashm-Cqalb) of the Sultan. In the thirteenth century, the royal cavalry, in lieu of cash salary, was assigned the revenue of small villages in the vicinity of Delhi which Moreland calls "smdll iqta". Under Iltutmish, the number of such cavalry was about three thousand. Balban tried to do away with these assignments which led to much dissatisfaction. Alauddin Khalji was successful in doing so, and he started paying his soldiers in cash-a trooper was paid 238 tanka while one who brought an additional horse used to get 78 tanka' more. Feroz Tughluq gave up the practice of paying his royal soldiers in cash: instead, he. gave them a paper called itlaq - a sort of draft on whose strength they could claim their salary from the Sultan's revenue officers of the khalisa ("Crown" or "reserve" land).
16.4.4 Other Departments The diwan-i insha' looked after State correspondence. It was headed by dahir-i mumalik. This department dealt with all correspondence between the Sultan and other rulers, and between the Sultan and provinc~algovernments. It issued jarmans and received letters from subordinate officials. The barid-i mumalik was the head of the State news-agency. He had to keep information of all that was happening in the Sultanate. The administrative subdivisions had local barids who sent regular news --letters to the central office. The barids reported matters of state - wars, rebellions. local affairs, finances, the state of agriculture etc. Apart from the barids, another set of reporters existed who were known as munhiyan. The diwan-i rhalat was heided by the sadr-us sudur. He was the highest religious officer. He took care of the ecclesiastical affairs and appointed qazk. He approved various grants like waqj for religious and educational institutions, wazfi and idrar to the learned and the poor. The Sultan headed the judiciary and was the final court of appeal in both civil and criminal matters. Next to him was the qazi-ul mumalik (or qazi-ul quzzat), the chief judge of the Sultanate. Often, the offices of the sadr-us sudur and qazi-ul mumalik . were held by the same person. The chief qazi headed the legal system and heard appeals from the lower courts. -4 The muhatsibs (public censors) assisted the judicial department. Their task was to set that there was no public infringement of the tenets of Islam. \
16.4.5
Slaves and Karkhanas
Slaves were an important feature of the royal household. Alauddin Khalji owned 50,000 slaves, while Feroz Tughluq is reputed to have had 1.80.000 slaves. During his reign, a separate department of slaves (diwan-i bandagan) was set up. The slaves were used for personal service and acted as body-guards (the latter numbering' 40,000). Afif also records that a large number of Feroz's slaves (12,000) worked as artisans (kasibs). Baradi describes a large slave market at Delhi, but by the first quarter of the 16th century there is no mention of slave markets. The needs of the royal household were met through karkhanas which were broadly
I
\
I
(kitabikhana) was considered as karkhana. Under Feror Tughluq. k m e - 3 6 karkhanas. Each karkhana was supervised by a noble who had the rank of a malik or khan, and a mutasarri/ who was responsible for the accounts and acted as the immediate supervisor. A separate diwan or accounts office existed for the karkhanas.
r:
The karkhanas manufactured articles for Imperial household as well as for military purposes. It is said that Muhammad Tughluq had employed about five hundred workers in gold brocade and four thousand weavers to manufacture cloth required by the court and for making robes of honour to be given in gift to the favoured ones. It must be remembered, however, that articles produced in the royal karkhanas were not commodities, i.e. not for sale in the market. Nobles, too, maintained their own karkhanas (for further details see Block 6).
1
I
-
f
Check Your Progress 2
1). Examine the nature of Turkish state under Delhi Sultans.
......................................................................................... .........................................................................................
I ,
2)
Outline the main [unctions of the diwan-i wizarat.
......................................................... 3) writ; a note. on karkhanas.
1
l
I
4)
Mark ( ) the right answer : Khutba was: a) the right to coin m&ey b) a robe of honour C) the recital of sermon after the congregational Friday prayer.
5 ) Who were the following : a) mushrij-i ntumalik .................................................
b) ariz-i mumalik
..................................... ;...............
...
................................................... 16.5 REVENUE ADMINISTRATION d) qari-ul mumalik
\
What was the revenue system during the 13th century'! We do not get a clear picture; even the exact magnitude of the revenue-demand under the llbarite rule is-uncertain. Perhaps the old agrarian system continued t o function with the difference that the coyposition of the suprerile appropriators of the surplus produce at the centre had ehanged, that is. the Turkish ruling gro;p had replaced q e prekious receivers of the land revenue. However. some reconstruction can be made by projecting back the account .of Barani about the situation prevailing in this respect under Sultan Alauddin Khalji's early rule. Briefly, we are told of three groups of rural istocracykhot. muqaddam, and chaudhuri-who collected land revenue (kharaj) from the peasants on behalf of the state. and deposited the same with the officials of the diwan-i nizarat. For this service,.theFwere allowed perquisites (haqq-i khoti) as remuneration by the state which consisted of being exempted from the revenue of a portion of land held by them. Also. they took something from the peasants as their share of the produce which Harani calls qismat-i khoti. Besides land revenue (kharaj), every cultivator had to pay house ?ax (ghari) and cattle or grazing tax 1,-hnrnih I n r i A ~ n t a l l v t
h
/*hntlrlht~ri ~ m i o h t nrlt h a w e hppn A i t p r t l v invnlverl i n t h o
Admhlrtntlon of the Suknmte
I d a n Pdity :Tbe sultanate
'
collection of the revenue because, according to Ibn Battuta, he was the head of "hundred villages" (paygana): this inference is reinforced. by the fact that Barani always employs terms 'like haqq-i khoti or niuqaddar~ii,but never haqq-i chaudhrai. W.H. Moreland, howdver, uses the term intermediaries for all the three groups; and we shall be doing the Same henceforth. What motivated Alauddin Khalji in introducing stern measures is explained by Barani in detail (see Block 6 Unit 20). In short, the intermediaries had become intractable-always in readiness for rebellion. The Sultan levelled the following main charges against them: a) They did not pay the revenue themselves on that portion of their land which was not exempted from assessment; rather they shifted their 'burden' onto the peasantry, that is, they realised additional levy from the peasants besides the fixed demand of the state in order to pay their own dues. b ) They did not pay the grazing tax. c) The ill-gotten 'exass of wealth' had made then4 so arrogant that they flouted the orders of the revenue officials by not going to the revenue office even when summoned to iender accounts. As a result, the Sultan had to strike at their resources for economic and political reasons. The measures taken by him were as follows: The magnitudi of the state demand was set at half the produce of the land. The land was'to be measured (masahat), and the land revenue fixed on the ~ i e l dof each unit of the area. The term used was la fa-i biswa (rvafa = yield; hisrc.a = 1120th of a bigha). Most probably, it was levied separately on the holding of each individual cultivator. ii) The intermediaries and the peasants alike were to pay the same standard of the demand (50%) without any distinction, be they intermediaries or 'ordinary peasant' (balahar). iii) The perquisites of intermediaries were disallowed. iv) The grazing and the house tax were to be taken from the intermediaries'also. i)
a
It can be seen, then, that one objective was to free the peasants from the illegal exactions of the intermediaries. That is exactly what Barani means when he says that the sultan.'^ policy was'that the 'burden' (bar) of the 'strong' (aqwi,*a) should not fall on the 'weak' (zuaja). We know that this 50% demand was the highest in the agrarian history of India. On the other hand, though the peasanis were protected now from the economic oppression of the intermediaries, the former had to pay a higher rate of taxation than they did earlier. Since the rate was uniform in a sense it was a regressive taxation. Thus the state gained at the cost of the intermediaries, leaving the peasants in the lurch. Such peasants as were weak and without resources were completely made prostrate, and the rich peasants who had resources and means, turned rebels. Whole regions were devastated. Cultivation was total& abandoned. The peasants of distant . regions, hearing of the ruin and destruction of the peasantry of the D,oab, fearful that the same orders might be issued for them as for the latter, turned away from obedience and fled to the j u d e s . The two years that the Sultan was in Delhi (c. 1332-4), the country of the ~o&;%win~to the rigours of revenue-demand and the 6 set fire to the multiplicity of abwab,(additional cesses), was devastated. ~ & Hindus a ~ drove d away cattle from/their homes. The Sultan grain heaps and burnt ordereq the shiqqdar$ (revenue collectors and commanders) to lay waste and plunder the country. They killed many khots and muqaddams, a n d p n y they blinded. Those who escaped gathered bands and fled into jungles; and the country became ruined. The Sultan in those times went to the district of Baran . (modern Bulandshahr), on a hunting expedition; he ordered that the entire district of Baran be plundered and Ia5d waste. The Sultan himself plundered and laid waste from ~ a n a u j ~ Dalmau. to Whoever was captured was killed. Most (peasants) ran away and fled into the jungles. They (the Sultan's troops) surrounded the jungles and killed every one whom they found within the jungles.
.
-
,
I . Ziauddin Barani's account of the oppression of the peasantry during Alauddin Khaljl's reign. English
translation is from, The Cdmbryge Economic History oilndia, Vol. I. ed. Tapan p a y Chaudhun and Ir&n Habib, London, 1982, p. M.
I t is 'true that the intermediaries were eliminated from-direct revenue collection. but fhey'were still expected to maintain law and order in the countryside and help the revenue officials without any remuneration or perquisites. The state's direct ;elations with the peasants resulted in an expansion of revtnue officials called variously 'ummal, mutasarrij, mushrij, muhassilan, navisindagan, etc. Soon, large scale corruption and embezzlements surfaced among the revenue officials for which they were ruthlessly punished by the naib wazir, Sharaf Qaini: about 8 to 10 thousind officials were imprisoned. The process for discovering the deceit was simple: the bahi or the ledger of the village [mtwari was meticulously scrutinised by the auditors. The 'bahi contained every payment, legal or illegal, made to the revenue collectors, and these payinents were then compared with the receipts. Corruption occurred in spite of the fact that Alauddin Khalji had raised the salary of the revenue collectors.
Barani gives an indication of the extent of the area where these measures were operative: it was quite a large area, covering the heart of his empire. But Bihar, Awadh, Gujarat and parts of Malwa and Rajputana are not mentioned. At any rate, it must be borne in mind that these measures were largely meant for the khalisa ("crown" or "reserve" land). (Also see MAP at the end of the Block.) As for the mode of payment. Moreland thinks that ordinarily payment in cash was the gendral practice during the 13th century, and it had become quite widely prevalent by the 14th century. However, Alauddin himself preferred collection in grain. He decreed that the whole revenue due from the khalisa in the Doab should be realized in kind, and only half the revenue due from Delhi (and its suburbs) in cash. The reason for his preference for collection in grain was not only to have a large reserve of grain stofed at Delhi and other areas for contingencies (such as scarcity owing to drought or other factors), but also to utilize the storage as a lever for his price-fixation measures in the grain market. Two important changes were introduced by Ghiyasuddin Tughluq: a) The intermediaries got back their haqq-i khoti (but not qismat-i khoti). They were also exempted from the house and cattle tax. b) the procedure of measurement (masahat) was t o continue along with observation hukm.hasi1). or "actual yield" (bar ... 2
As for Muhammad Tughluq, there is a confusion that he enhanced the rate of land tax beyond 50%. It is also thought that after the death of Alauddin Khalji, the rate was reduced by the Khalji rulers which was later raised to the previous level by Muhammad Tughluq. Both these views are incorrect: the rate fixed by Alauddin was never sought to be tampered. What Muhammad Tughluq actually did was to im;ose new cesses (abwab) as well as revive the older ones (for example, charai and ghari on the intermediaries). Apart from this, it seems that measurement alone was retained for assessment purpose. The matter aggravated when assessment in kind (grain) was carried out not on the principle of the "actual yield" but on the officially decreed yields (wafa-ifarmani) for each unit of the measured area. Again, for payment in cash, commutation was not done according to the market prices but on the basis of the rates as "ordered by the Sultan" (nirkh-ijarmani). And, then, as Barani says, all these taxes and cesses were t o be realized rigorouslv. The area covered under these regulations was the khalisa land in the Doab. The result was obvious: an unprecedented rebellion of the peasants, led by the intermediaries, occurred which led to bloody confrontations. Feroz Shah claims to have abolished twenty three cesses including charai and ghari. Another development that took place, especially under the Tughluqs, was thepractice of revenue-farming, that is, the task of collecting the revenue of some areas was sometimes given to contractors who perhaps gave a lump sum in advance for the right of revenue collection for a certain period. Under Feroz Shah, 'water tax' (haqqi sharb) was taken from those cultivators who irrigated their land from the water supplied from the canals constructed by the state. It must be pointed out that in case of bad harvest, the state tried to adjust the land tax, and also gave agricultural loans to the peasants called sondhar in Muhammad Tughluq's reign. What was the total estimated revenue during any period of the Delhi Sultanate? No such attempt seems to have been made before the reign of Sultan Feroz Shah Tughluq. 'Afif tells us that a t t & w r c k d ~ g l t a n , Khwaja Hisamuddin Junaid
Administration of the Sukuuri
Indm PoUty :tbe Sultmate
determined the jama (estimated revenue) of the kingdom according to the "rule of inspection" (bar hukm mushahada). It took six years to do this job, and the figure arrived at wac six krar and seventy-five lakhs tanka.t (a silver coin: see Block 6 ) which continued t o bf valid for the entire reign of the Sultan. For further details 04 Revenue Administration during the fourteenth century see Moreland's Appendix 'C': "Some Forteenth Cenrury Passages" in BlocK 6. Check Your 'Progress 3 I ) What measures did Alauddin Khalji take to eliminate the intermediaries?
2) Define the following :
L
d) Sondhar
16.6 IQTA SYSTEM AND PROVINCIAL ADMINIBTRATION
I
The territorial expansion and cdnsolidation of the Sultanate was a process which continued throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. It involved varying kinds of those brought under direct administration and those control in terms ~f~territories: which paid tribute and remained semi-autonomous. The expansion of the Sultanate and'& difficulties involved in administering areas that were far away from the centre shaped different kind$ of control.
16.6.1
.
-
...............................................:.........................
1 . .
Iqta System
The initial Turkish conquests in the early 13th century d.isplaced many local chiefs (whom the contemporary sources refer to as rai and rana). In order to conso~idat~, the Turkish rulers made revenue assignments (iqta), in lieu of cash,'to their nobles (umma). The assignees (known as rnhqti and wcrli) collected revenue from these areas, defrayed their own expenses, paid the troops maintained by them and sent tbe surplus uawozil) to the centre. lqta is an Arabic word and the institution had been in force in the early lslamic world as a form of reward for services to the Sthte. It was used in the Caliphate iqdministration as a way of financing operations and paying civil and military officers. The grant of iqta did not imply a right t.0 the land nor was it hereditary though the holders of jqta tended to'-acquire hereditary rights in Feroz Tughluq's reign. These revenue assignments were transferable, the iqta-holder being transferred from one region to another every three or four years. Therefore, iqta should not be equated with the fief of medieval feudal Europe, which were hereditary and non-transferable. The assignments could be large (a whole province or a part). Assignments even to nobles carried administrative, military and revenue collecting responsibilities. Thus, provincial administration was headed by the muqti or wuli. He had to maintain an army composed of horsemen and foot soldiers. "They.(the muqtis) should know that their right over the subjects is only totake the rightful amount of maney or perquisite (mal-ihqq) in a peaceful manner... the life, property and the family of-thesubject should be immune from any harm, tbe muqtfs have no right over them, if the subject desires to make a direct appeal to the Sultan, the m h t i should not prevent him. Every mu# who violatea there laws should be dismissed and punisW... the muqtir and wulfs are so many supyintendentsover them aa the king is sup!erintenbent over other muqtid... After three or four years, the umih and the muqtis should be transferred so that thw may not be too strong" ,
12
2. A pwrO from N i m u l ! Mulk Tusi'r slycwrnama on the rights of nnrq~lr.Endub (nnurtmn from A.B.M. HabibuU.b, The Fowdcrrkm 01Murlbn Rukln Inr#o'AILb.bd,~1976pp. r n 1 0 .
16.6.2 provincial and Local Administration I
Admhirtrrtion of the Sultanate
As the State became more settled and efforts were made fbr greater centralization, provincial administration also underwent a change. A separation between fiscal and fiilitary responsibilities started evolving. During the reign of Muhammad Tughluq, fiscal responsibilities were partially withdrawn from the muqris or walis and placed under central officers. According to Ibn Battuta, the iqra of Amroha was placed , . under two officers, one called aniir (possibly in charge of the army and , administration) and the other as ruli-ul kharai (in charge of revenue collection). Muhammad Tughluq also brdered that the salary of the soldiers maintained by iqfaholders be paid by the diwan-i wizarar to prevent fraud by the officers.
, i
1 b
I
I
iI
11
l
J
I
I
Greater control also came to be exercised over fiscal matters. The diwanS office, at the centre, received and examined detailed statements regarding income and expenditure in the provinces. It supervised the work of the revenue officials in the provinces. The provinces had a sahib-i din+an,whose office kept books of account and submitted information to thecentre. It was assisted by officials like murasarrijs. The entire lower revenue staff was called karkun. By the end of the thirteenth century. conternporary sources refer to an administrative division, known as shiqq. We do not have adequate information about the exact nature of shiqq. However. by the time of Sher Shah ( 1 540-1 545 A.D.) shiqq had emerged as a well-defined administrative unit, known as sarkar. Administrative officials, mentigned with respect to shiqq, were shiqqdar and faujdar. The demarcationlof,tp\ir duties is not very clear.
,
According to Ibn Battuta, chaudhuri was the head of hundred villages. This was the .nucleus of the administrative unit later called pargana. The village was the smallest unit of administration. The functioning and administratih'of the village remained basically the same as it had existed in pre-Turkish times. The main village functionaries were khor, muqaddam (headman) and parnVari(see Unit 16.5). The judicial administration of the sub-division was patterned on that of the centre. Courts of the qazi and sadr functioned in the provinces. The korwal maintained law ' and order. At the village level, the panchaj*ar heard civil cases.
-
Check Your Progress 4 I)
Write a note on iqra.
.......................................................................................... ......................................................................................... i
,
.
2) What were the functions of the wali or muqri? .
.........................................................................................
3)
I
I
1 I
What steps were takcn to curb the powers of thc rr~iryriin the 14th century?
4) Define the following: a) shiyy ".......... b)
korn,cll
""
............................................................
........ ' . " " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Indian Polity :The Sultanate I. *A
16.7 LET US SUM UP We pave seen how the Delhi Sultanate was shaped by its historical experience of being a part of the wider Islamic world and how it changed and evolved as a result of its needs and circumstances during the 13th century. We have studied the administrative framework of the Sultanate at the cerltral and local levels. The need of maintaining a large army (for defence and expansion) and maintaining an administrative apparakus shaped many of its institutions, such as the iqra. Greater centralization brought about changes 1n the nature of administrative control.
,
16.8 KEY WORDS Abwab
: Cesses
Amir
: Officer
Bahi
t
Balahsr
: Village menials/ ordinary peasants
Biswa
r
Ledger/ accounts books 1120th part of a bigha
Charai
Grazing-tax
Chaudhuri
Head of Hundred villages or pargana
~agh
Branding (of Horses)
Diwm-i Wizarat
Finance Department
Fawazil
Surplus amount
Ghari
House-tax
Hashm-i qalb
Central/ royal cavalry
Hasil
Actual reveAie,,,
ldrar
Revehue-free land grant
Idaq
Draft, assignment order
Jama
Estimated Revenue
KhaUPa
YCrownn("resthe") land whose revenue was reserved for the Sultan's treasury'
Khot
Village officia1,lrevenue collector
Khutba
A sermon recited in mosques on Fridays wherein the name of the ruler was included
*
\ .
Measurement Revenw collectors
Muqaddam
Village headman
Muqti or Wali
Iqta-holder/ governor Revenue officer Auditor
Navhindagan
Clerk
Nirkh-i farmani
0fficially.decreed prices
Patwari
Village-accountant
Qbmat-i khoti and Hnqq-i khoti
Perquisites
. Rais and Rams
Chiefs
Shariat
Islamic law
Tanka
Silver coin
Ummal
Pfural of amil (revenue officer)
.4
Wafa-i farmani Waqf
: Officially decreed yields \
4-
: Grants assigned for the r n a i n t i d d e of
retigious institutions
Wazifa
: Stipend
Zawabit
16.9
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES~ I
Check Your Progress 1 1 ) See Sec. 16.2 2) See Sec. 16.2 3) See Sec. 16.2 4) See Sec. 16.2 Check Your Progress 2 1) See Sec. 16.3 2) See Sub-sec. 16.4.2 3) See Sub-sec. 16.4.5 4) a) x b) X c) w 5) See Sub-sec. 16.4.2, 16.4.3, 16.4.4 Check Your Progress 3 1) See-Sec. 16.5 2) See Sec. 16.5 Check Your Progress 4 I) See Sub-sec. 16.6.1 2) See Sub-sec. 16.6.1 3) See Sub-sec. 16.6.1 4) See Sub-sec. 16.6.2
I
'
UNIT
W--FORMATION OF-THE SULTANATE RULING CLASS
Structure 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3
Objectives Introduction , The Ruling Class at the Time of the Ghorian Invasion Composition of the Ruling Class
.
17.3.1 The llbaritcs 17.3.2 The KUjh 17.3.2 'Ibe Tughluqr
17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 17.8
Iqta and the Dispersal of Resources Among the Ruling Class Ulema
-
Let Us Sum Up. -. Key Words Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
In Unit 16, y e have discussed the administrative structure of the Delhi Sultanate. In this Unit we will analyse the nature of the Sultanate ruling class taking into consideration the following : its role as an appqopiiator of surplus, the composition of the ruling class, changes in the ruling class, and the interests that bound it together.
17.1 INTRODUCTION The most important ptoblem of the Sultanate in its early stages, and even later, was to consolidate the conquered territories. To this end, the ruling class served as an important pivot who shared the resources of the country. The Turks brought with them the institution of the iqtas (see Sec. 16.6), which helped in the centralization of authority to a great extent. As greater.ceotralization was sought to be effected, changes could be seen in the institution of the 'iqta'as well as in the composition of the ruling class.
17.2 THE RULING CLASS AT THE TIME OF THE GHORIAN INVASION
, I
At the time of the Ghorian invasions, north India was divided into a number of principalities r u l d by rais and ranas (local chiefs). At the village level, khots and muqaddams (village hadman) stood on the borderline of the rural aristocracy. In between, the chaudhursi can spotted as the head of hundred villages. .
I
\
Atany rate, we can accept a broad definition of the position of the pre-Ghorian ruling class as one which appropriated the surplus produce of the peasants, by exercising superior rights over land. In analyzing the formation of the ruling class in the Sultanate, some pertinent questions arise : How did the new ruling class supplant this older ruling class? What measures did it adqpt for appropriating the surplus revenue? How was it different from the class that it supplanted?
'.
i
/
17.3
COMPOSITION OF THE RULING CLASS
Throughout the thirteenth century, the Turkish armies furthered the political and military control over North India. By the mid-fourteenth century, it spread to the Deccan. A large alien territofy had to be pacified and governed and the ruling class had to be maintained and sustained. The early Turkish ruling class was very much in the'nature of a co-sharer of political and financial powers with the Sultans. In the beginning, the nobles (amirah) were practically independent in distant areas of the conquered territories where they were sent by the Centre as governors. The latter were designated muqti or wqli agd their territories were known as iqtas. Gradually, the practice began of transfekring muqtis from one iqta to another (a detailed discussion on iqta system is given in Unit 16). The pre-Ghoriar! political structure seems to have continued, wiyh tribute being realised from the rais and ranas, who were expected to collect taxis as they had done before. From our contemporary historians, like Minhaj Siraj and Barani, we learn that the most important nobles, and kven the Sultans, 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 reckived letters of manumission (khat-i azadi) before becoming Sultans. One such was Qutbuddin Aibak. On his death in A.D. 1210, Ilturmish, 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 by Barani turkan-i chihilgani ("The FO;~~"). 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.). The problem of succession after the death of lltutmish brought into light the division within the nobles. In spite of the internal quarrels within the ruling class, there was a basic solidarity which manifested itself in it$ hostility to outsiders. For example, Raziya's (1236-4240 A.D.) elevation of an Abyssinian, Jamaluddin Yaqut, to the post of amir-i akhur ("master of the royal horses'? caused great resentment. Similar was the case of Raihan, a Hindu covert to Islam. Thus, the nobility was seen as the preserver of the certain groups, sometimes under the principle of 'high birth', as reflected in the policies ascribed to Balban by Barani. Now you can understand how an identity of interests bound the dominant groups. Race and perhaps religion, too, played important role in the formation of ruling groups. Actually, the ruling class was not a monolithic organization. There were numerous factions and cliques, each trying to guard their exclusive positions jealously. The Turkish military leaders who accompanied and participated in the Ghdrian invasion formed t i e core of the early Turkish ruling class: they acquired most of the key-posts at the centre and provinces. I
17.3.1
The Ilbarites
I
Qutbuddin Aibak who sucdeeded to the Indian territories of Muhammad Ghori, had no greater right than the other nobles like Yalduz and Qubacha who asserted their independenqe and autonomy at Ghazna and Sind respectively. This was to be a feature of the early history pf the Sultanate. The Sultans needed the support of the nobility to establish and maintain themselves in power. For instance, lltutmish came to the throne with the support of the nobles of Delhi. The Turkish nobles played an important part in elevating Sultans to the throne and supporting contenders to the throne. According to Baradi, the older Turkish nobility used to tell each other : "What are thou that I am not, and what will thou be, that I shall not be." I The early Turkish nobility kought to emphasize their exclusiveness and their monopoly to rule. Efforts by other social groups to challenge their monopoly were resented and resisted. The hobles of Iltutmish called turkan-i-chihilgani ("The Forty") wielded considerable power-after his death. They were an important group, and efforts by the Sultans to incorporate other groups were met with much resistance. As already mentioned,. Raziya Sultan had to face stiff opposition from the
~orktbn of the Sultuute
R u h g Clan
Indian Polity :
nc Suitmmte
-
Turkish amirs, when she elevated an Abyssinian, Jamaluddin Yaqut, to the office of amir-i akhur. Efforts of Nasiruddin Mahmud (1246-1266 A.D.) to break the vested power of this group by dismissing Balban (who was one of the 'Forty') from the court and replacing him by an Indian cbnvert, Im'aduddin Raihan, did not meet with much success. Minhaj ioiced the anger of the " ~ u r k sof pure lineage" who "could not tolerate lmaduddin Raihan of the tribes of Hind to rule over them." The opposition of the Turkish ruling class forced the Sultan to remove Raihan and reinstate Balban. On his accession to ths throne, Balban (1266-1286 A.D.) took measures to break the power of the turkon-i ~hihilgoniby various measures. He himself was the creation of a group of nobles loyal to him. Barani states that Balban had several of the older ! Turkish nobles killed. This was an effort to intimidate the nobility, who could and did pose, a challenge to the Crown. Balban himself, according to Barani, kept Sultan Nasiruddin as a "puppet" (nomuno); therefore, he was vary of the leading old nobles.
17.3.2 The Khaljb In A.D. 1290, the llbari dynasty was overthrown by the Khaljis. The coming to power of the Khaljis is seen as something new by contemporary historians. Barani mentions that the Khaljis were a different "race" from the Turks. Modern scholars like C.E. Bosworth speak of them as Turks, but.in the thirteenth century no one considered them as Turks, and thus it seems that the accession to po\ker was regarded as sdmething novel because earlier they did not form a significant part of the ~ u l i n gclass. Alauddin Khalji further eroded the power of the older Turkish nobility by bringing in new groups such as the Mongols (the 'New Muslims?, Indians and Abyssinians (for t h t latter, the example of Malik Kafur is well-known). This trend towards a broadehing of the composition 'of the ruling class continued during the rule of the Tughluqs. It may be incidentally mentioned here that there was a very small group called kotwolion (pl. of kotwol) at Delhi during the reign of Balban and Alauddin Khalji. Infact, this was a family group, headed by Fakhruddin who was the kotwol of Delhi. This group appears to have played some political role during and aftQr Balban's death. ,
I
17.3.3 The Tughlu~s Under Muhammad Tughluq, apart from the Indians and the Afghans, the ruling class, became unprecedemtally more heterogenous with the entry of larger numbers of foreign elemen,ts, especially the Khurusoni, whom the Sultan called oizzo (dear ones). Many of them were appointed as omir sadoh ("commander of hundred'?. Concerning the non-Muslim as well ps the converted Indians, Barani laments that the Sultan raised the "low-born" (jawohir-i lutroh) to high status. He mentions musicians, barbers, cooks, etc. why got high positions. He gives the example of Peera Mali (gardener) who was given the diwon-i wimrot. Converts like Aziz-ud Din khommor (distiller) and Qawamul Mulk Maqbul, Afghans like Malik Makh and Malik Shahu Lodi Afghan, Hindus lihe Sai Raj Dhara and Bhiran Rai were given iqto and positions. The reign of Feroz Tughluq does not give us any clear pattern about the social otigins of the nobles. T k situation was fluid with a false veneer of peace between the Sultan and the ornird. Certain designations were used with reference to the nobles - khan, molik and omir. Khan was often used with reference to Afghan nobles, omir came to mean a commander, molik-a chief, ruler, or king. Along with their titles of honour, the nobles were given some symbols of dignity designated as morotib which signified privileges-khilot (robe of honour), sword and dagger presented by the Sultan, horses and e!ephants that they were entitled to use in their processions, canopy of State and the grant of parasol (chhotri) and insignia and kettledrums. It is significant to note that every Sultan sought to form and organize a group of nobles which would be personally loyal to him. This obviated the necessity of depending upon previou groups whose loyalty was suspect. That's why we find the ? contemporary historians employing terms like Qntbi (ref. Qutbuddin Aibak), Shamsi
\
-
i
I
I I
Fornrtba of the S u b a t e
(ref. Shamsuddin Iltutmish). Balbani and Alai amirs. But one thing was quite certain: every group tried to capture the kkention of the Sultan-whether weak or strongbecause all privileges andpower issued forth from the sovereign. This, in turn, went to a great extent in strengthening gradually the position of the Sultan himself if he was a man of strong will.
Rmlbg Clnr
The Afghans were frequently recruited into the feudal bureaucracy of the Delhi Sultanate. With the coming of the Lodis (145 1-1526), the Afghan predominance got enlarged.
'
Check Your Propess 1 1) ~ x a m i n ethe composition of the ruling class under the Ilbarites.
2) What changes were brought about in the composition of the nobility under the Khaljis and the Tughluqs? Write in about five lines.
.........................................................................................
......................................................................................... 3) Mark ri,oht ( v .or) wrong ( X ) against the following statements : a) In the thirteenth century the Turkish nobles were paid in cash. b) Muhammad Tughluq incorporated different social groups into his nobility. c) Barani regards the Khaljis as Turks.
17.4 ZQTA A N D THE DISPERSAL OF RESOURCES AMONG THE RULING CLASS We have studied the institution of iqra, its early history in the Islamic world, apd its application in India in Udit 16. The income of the Sultanate was primarily and largely derived from the land revenue. Khalisa was the term for the land whose revenue was exclusively meant for the Sultan himself, while the revenue from the land, called iqra, was assigned by the state to the nobles. The muqris or iqra-holders were required to furnish military assistance to the Sultan in times of need, apart from maintaining law and order in and collecting the revenue from their iqra. I
I I
These revenue assignments were generally non-hereditary and transferable. In fact, it was through the institution of iqra that the Sultan was able to contrbl the nobles. The muqri collected land revenue from the peasants of his territory and defrayed therefrom his own salary as well as that of his soldiers. The demand to send the excess amounts Cfawazil) to the diwan-i wizarar was symbolic of the trend towards centralization. The muqri had to submit accounts of their realisation and expenditure to the treasury. Auditing was severe to prevent fraud. 1
-
Indian POMY :The ~ ~ l b m a t c
Alauddin KhaIii also took other measures for controlling his nobility. Regular reports from the barids (intelligence officers) kept him'posted with the actions of the nobles. A check was kept on their socialisihg, and marriages between them could not take place without thk permission of the Sultan. These measures have to be seen against the background of recurrent incidents of rebellions in which the muqris utiliqeQ and appropriated the resources of their areas, to rebel or to rhake a bid for the throne. This explains the principle of transfer also. Under Muhammad Tughluq ' (1325-1351 A.D.), the nobles were given iqra in lieu of cash salary but their troops were paid in cash by the treasury in contrast to the earlier period. These new fiscal arrangements and the,greater control over assignments possibly contributed to the conflict between the Siultan and the nobles since they were deprived of the gains of the iqta management. However, during the reign of Feroz Tughluq there was a general retreat from the practice of increased central authority over iqra. In practice, Feroz started granting iqra to the sons and heirs of iqta-holders. The long reign of Feroz Tughluq comparatively witnessed few rebellions but it also saw the beginning of the disintegration and decentralisation. By the time of the Lodis (1451- 1526 A.D.), the iqradars (now called wajhdars) do not seem to have been subject to constant transfers.
17.5
ULEMA
The u l m the theologtcal class; had an important position in the Sultanate. It was from them that important legal and judicial appointments were' made-the sadr-us sudur, shaikh-ul Islam, qrui, mujti, muhrasib, imam and khorib. The ulema can be seen as an adjunct of the ruling class, maintained by revenue grants from the Sultan, and often by members of the ruling class. The ideological significance of the ulema was great as they provided legitimacy to the ruling class. They exercised an influence which was not only reli&ious but sometimes political, too. a1
-
- CbtcL Your Prograr 2 1) Write two main characteristic features of the iqra system.
2) What measures were undertaken by Alauddin Khalji to control his nobility?
.......................................................................................... ......................................................................................... ........................ . *. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... I
!
3)
ark right (4) or wrong ( X )against the following statements : a) i) lqras were hereditary assignments. ii) lqras were the personal property of the nobles. iii) Generally iqras we're transferable revenue assignments.
; r
h
b) i) Muqris were personal body-guards of the Sultan. ii) Muqris were religious teachers. ' iii) Muqris were governors to whom the revenue from the iqras were assigned.
FolroHoa of the Sultanate R u b 8 Chra
1
C) Fawazil was : i) Extra payment met to the nobles. ii) Excess amount paid to the exchequer by rhe iqredars. iii) Revenue assigned in lieu of salary.
17.6 LET US SUM UP With the establishment of the Sultanate a new ruling class emerged which was entirely different in its nature and composition to its predecessars. In the beginning, primarily, it maintained its alien (Turkish) character, but, later, as the process of amalgamation deepened, the Sultans started recruiting nobles fr0.m other social groups as well. Thus, the nature and the character of the nobility widened greatly and not only the Turks, but Indian Muslims, non-Muslims and even foreigners (Abyssinians, etc.) were incorporated into its fold. The ulema can also be seen as an adjunct of the ruling class who were primarily maintained by revenue-free land grants or wazifa (cash).
17.7 KEY WORDS Ami-i akhur
: Master of royal stable/ horses
Amir-i sadah Khat-i azadi
: "Centuriansw, "Commander of hundred"
T@jfi
: a racel'free-born nobles"
: Letter of manumission
Turhn-i chihilpni : "The Fortyw(corporate body of Turkish nobles of Iltutmish) Ulema
: Theologians
Wajhdar
: Salaried persons / iqra-holders
17.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES Cheek Your Progress 1 1) See Sub-sec. 17.3.1 2) See Sub-sec. 17.3.2, 17.3.3 3) a) x b) v c)
I
Check Your Progress 2 1) See Sec. 17.4 2) See Sec. 17.4 3) a) (i) (ii) X b) (i) X (ii) V c) (i) x (ii)
(iii) (iii) (iii)
x
,/ x x
I
UNIT 18 PROBLEM, CRISIS A N D DECLINE
,
Structure Objectives Introduction Nature of Kingship Conflict between the Nobility and the Sultans C r i e fn Revenue Administrption Rise of Regiond States The Mongols Let Us Sum Up) Key Words Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
18.0 OBJECTIVES The Sultans of Delhi faced many political and administrative problems. With the passage of time, these problems became so critical that they generated political crgis and eventually led to the decline of the ruling dynasties. This Unit attempts to , consider the following aspects : Nature of kingship, Conflict between the Sultan and the nobles, Crisis in the Revenue Administration; Rise of Regional Stbtes, and. The Mongols.
18.1 INTRODUCTION During the Sultanate period (1206-4526'A.D.), five dynasties ruled India. Since the Turks came from Central Asia, they,b&cinitial stage, were unaware of the Indian political and economic systtnf:To maintain their rule, the Turks introduced many administrative practice which, by and large, continued for a long time with some changes. A study of the political history indicates that the rulers had to cope with internal strife and external dangers, especially the running struggle between the nobility ancfthe Sultans which contributed towards the gradual decline of the Delhi Sultanate.
18.2 NATURE OF KINGSHIP No clear and well-defined law of succession developed in the Sultanate. Hereditary principle was accepted 'but not adhered to invariably. There was no rule that only the eldest son would succeed (primogeniture). In one case, even a daughter was nominated (for exempl, Raziya Sultan). At any rate, a slave, unless he was manumitted, that is, freed, could not claim sovereignty. In fact, as it operated in the Sultanate, 'the longest the sword, the greater the claim'. Thus, in the absence offany succession rule in the very beginning intrigues surfaced to usurp power: After Aibak's death, it was not his son Aram Shah but his slave and son-in-hw Iltutmish who captured the throne. Iltutmish's death (1236 AID.) was followed by a long period of struggle and strife when finally Balban, Iltutmish's slave '
Prdan. Crbb and Dcdhe
of the "Forty" fame, assumed power in 1266 A.D. You have already seen how Balban attempted to give a new shape to the concept of kingship to salvage the prestige of the office of the Sultan, but the struggle for power that started soon after . Balban's death confirms again that the 'sword' remained the main deciding factor. Kaiqubad was installed at the throne agaipst the claims of Balban's nominee, . Kaikhusrau. Later, even he was slain by the Khalji Maliks (1290 A.D.) who laid the foundation of the Khalji rule. In 1296 A.D. Alauddin Khalji, killed his uncle, Jalaluddin Khalji and occupied the throne. Alauddin Khalji's death signalled civil war and scramble for power. Muhammad Tughluq's reign weakened due,to the rebellions of amirs. Rivalries that followed after Feroz Tughluq ultimately led to the .rise of the Saiyyids (1414-51 A.D.). With the accession of the Lodis (1451-1526 A.D.) a new element-the Afghans was added. The Afghans had a certain peculiar concept of sdvereignty. They were prepared to accept the position of a Sultan over them, but they sought to partition the empire among their clans (Farmulis, Sarwanis, Niyazh, etc.). After the death of Sultan Sikandar Lodi (1517 A.D.), the empire was divided between Ibrahim and Jalal. Even the royal privileges and prerogatives were equally shared by the clan members. For example, keeping of elephants was the royal privilege but Azam Humayun Sarwani is reported to have possessed seven hundred elephants. ~esides, the Afghans entertained the concept of maintaining tiibal militia which in the long run greatly hampered the military efficiency of the Central Government. It is true that Sikandar Lodi tried to keep the ambitious Afghan nobles in check, but it seems that the concept ?f Afghan polity was more tilted towards decentralization that created fissures in the end. -
18.3 CONFLICT BETWEEN THE NOBILITY AND THE SULTANS ~ h c ~ o l i t i chistoe al of the Sultanate period testifies that consolidation and decline of the Sultanate were largely the result of constructive and destructive activities of the nobles (umara). The nobles always tried to maximise their demands in terms of the economic and political gains. Under the Ilbarite rule (1206-90 A.D.), the conflicts usually revolved around three issues: succession, organization of the nobility and division of economic and political power between them and the Sultans. When Qutbuddin Aibak bacame the Sultan, his authority was hot accepted by the influential nobles such as Qubacha (governor of Multan and Uchh), Yilduz (governor of Ghazni), and Ali' Mardan (governor of Bengal). This particular problem was inherited by Iltutmish who finally overcame it through diplomacy as well as by force. Later, Iltutmish organised the nobles in a ' corporate body, known as rurkan-i chihilgani ("The Forty'? which was personally loyal to him. Naturally, other groups of nobles (see Unit 17) envied the status and -privi!eges of the members of the "Forty", but this does not mean that' the latter were . free from their internal hickerings. At the most they united in one principle: to plug the entry of non-Turkish persons in the charmed circle as far as possible. On the other hand, the "Forty" tried to retainits political influence over the Sultan who wouldnot like to%alienatethis group, but at the same time would not surrender his royal privilege of appointing persons of other groups as officers. Thus, a delicate balance was achieved by Iltutmish which broke down after his death. For example, Iltutmish had declared his daughter, Raziya, as his successor during his life, but some nobles did not approve her svccession after his death, because she tried to 'organize non-Turkish groups (Abyssinians and Indians) as counterweight to the "Forty". That was one main reason why a number of nobles of this grouprsupported her brother, Ruknuddin whom they thought to be incompetent and weak, thereby giving them an opportunity to maintain their position. This spectacle continued during the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud (1246-66 A.D.) also, as exemplified by the )rise and fall of Immaduddin Raihan, an Indian convert. This episode coincided with ,the banishment of Balban who was the naib (deputy) of Sultan Mahmud (and also belonged to the "Forty'? and his subsequent recall. '
lodm P a r :me Sub-
During Balban's reigtll(1266-87 A.D.), the influence of the turkan-i chihilgani was minimised. Since he hhmself was a member of the "Fortyn before his accession, he was fully aware of the! nobles' rebellious activities. Therefore, he eased out the "tallest poppieswamongst them through assassin's dagger or poisoning, even including his cousin. On the other hand, he formed a group of loyal and trusted nobles called "Balbanl". The removal of many members of the "Fortyn deprived the state of the services od veterans and the void could not be fulfilled by the new and not so experienced 'Bhlbani" nobles. This situation inevitably led to the fall of the llbarite rule, paving the way for the Khaljis. . b
The reign of Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316 A.D.) saw a broadening in the composition of nobles. He did not admit of monopolisation of the state by any one single group of nobles. State office$ were open to talent and loyalty, to the exclusion of race and creed. Besides, he controlled them through various measures (see Unit 17). Moreover, the enhancement of land revenue up to 50 per cent of the surplus produce (see unit 16) must have pacified the nobles because an increase in the revenue of their respective iqta wbuld have raised their salarjf, too. Territorial expansion also provided enough resources towards recruiting persons with talent. The case of MaIik Kafur, an Abyssinian slave, is well-known. But this situation was shortlived: the death of Alauddin Khalji brought out once again the dissensions and conspiracies of the nobles, leading to the elimination of the Khaljis as rulers. As for the Tughluqs, you know (see Unit 17) how Muhammad Tughluq made attempts to organize nobles again and again, with turns and twists. But all his efforts failed to put them under check. Even the Khurasanis, whom he used rn call "Aizzah" (the dear ones), betrayed him. The problems created by the nobles can be gauged from the fact that twenty-two rebellions took place during his reign with the loss of a t least one territory, later known as Bahmani kingdom.
I
The crisis set in motion after Muhammad Tughluq's death seems to have gone out of hands. Under these circumstances, Feroz Tughluq could not be expected to be stern with the nobles. They were given many concessions. They succeeded in.making their iqtas hereditary. The appeasement policy of fultan pleased the nobles, but in the long run, it proved disastrous. The army became inefficient because the practice of branding (dagh) of the horses introduced By Alauddin Khalji was almost given up. It was not possible, henceforth, for his descendants or later rulers to'roll back the tide of decline of the Delhi Sultanate. Under the Sayyids (1414-51 A.D.) and the Lodis (1451-1526 A.D.), the situation did, not appear to be comfortable: the former were not at all fit for the role of saviours. Sikandar Lodi made the last attempt to prevent the looming catastrophe. But dissensions among the Afghans and their unlimited individual ambitions hastened the final demise, actually its murder, with Babur as the executioner.
Check Your Progressit, I) Critically examinethe role of nobility in the disintegration of the Sultanate.
I
......................................................................................... . ,
2) How far did'the absence of law of primogeniture contribute to the decline of the , Sultanate?
3) Discuss the chief characteristic features of the Afghan theory of kingship.
Problem, Crisis and Dedinc
.................................................................................... ....................................................................................... ......................................................................................... ......................................................................................... i
-. 18.4 CRISIS IN REVENUE ADMINISTRATION lltutmish had introduced a sound system of revenue assignments (iqta) through which the vast bureaucracy was maintained. Feroz .Tughluq's reign, however, saw deterioration in its working. During his reign, revenue assignments tended to be hereditary and permanent. This applied even to the (royal ?) soldiers (yaran-i hashm). "If a person died," says Afif, "his office would go permanently to his son; if he had no son, then to his son-in-law; if he had no son-in-law, then io his slave; if he ,had no slave then to his women." Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517 A.D.) stopped to / dclaim the balance Cfawazil). The tendency of the principal assignees to sub-assign their territories also increased greatly during his reign. All this had deep implications. It meant not only loss of vast revenue resources to -the state exchequer but by making the assignments permanent the Sultan allowed the {assignees to develop strong local roots which led to wide-scale corruption and turbulence.
18.5 RISE OF REGIONAL STATES You have already studied that the clashes between the nobles and the Delhi Sultans marred the Sultanate from the beginning of its foundation. But, so long as the centre was powerful to retaliate. the rebellions were succesrfully crushed. S~gnsof physical disintegration were witnessed for the first time during Muhammad Tughluq's reign in 1347 A.D. with the establishment of the Bahamani kingdom. But the Sultanate remained intact at least nearly for fifty years when finally the Timurid invasion (1398 s It provided ample opportunity for the nobles to A.D.) exposed ~ t weakness. establish their own areas of influence, independent of the Sultan. Governors like Khwaja Jahan (Jaunpur) in 1394 Khwaja in 1394, Dilawar Khan (Malwa) in 1401, Zafar Khan (Gujarat) in 1407, and some regions in Rajasthan also declared their independence during the 15th century. Bengal was already .a semi-independent kingdom since the days of Bughra Khan (for details see Block 8). The Sultanate practically shrank to the radius of 200 miles around Delhi. It had deep implications. Loss of the fertile provinces of Bengal, Malwa, Jaunpur and Gujarat curtailed greatly the vast revenue resources of the state. That, in turn disabled the centre to wage long wars and organise campaigns against the refractory elements. The situation became so critical under the Sayyaids and the Lodis that even for regular revenue exactions the Sultans had to send yearly campaigns. For example, forces were sent repeatedly to suppress the Katehr and Mewati chiefs with frequent intervals from 1414 to 1432 A.D. Similarly, the chiefs of Bayana and Gwalior also showed their reluctance to pay revenue and, as a result, repeated campaigns~followed from 1416 to 1506 A.D. All this shows that the control of the Sultans during the . 15th century remained nominal and only minimum efforts would have sufficed t o overihrow the Sultanate.
18.6 THE MONGOLS To what extent the Mongol invasions could be heldresponsible for the decline of the Block 4, the Mongol danger first appeared Delhi Sultanate? As.you have read . . . . . . - . ..
Indim PoMy :Tbe S u l t . ~ t e
,
overcome it through diplomacy. Their invasions continued up to the period of Muhammad Tughluq with intervals. Balban, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq were very much conscious of the Mongol assaults and resisted them successfully. True, much money and time had to be spent and thousands of soldiers were sacrificed, but it does not seem that these invasions enfeebled the Sultanate in any substantial manner. Occasional shocks were awesome but without any visible damage to the economy.or the state apparatus.
I) Discuss the implications of Feroz Tughluq's policy of making the assignments (iqta) permanent and hereditary?
\
2) To what extent risp of the regional states led to the decline of the Delhi Sultanate?
LET US $UM UP One political reason fot the decline of the Sultanate was the absence of any wellestablished and universally accepted law of succession. This was in line with the entire history of the Ishmic polity. As long as a Sultan was strong and was able to gain the suppo~tof some groups of'nobles, he could continue with some superficial semblance of dynastic stability. Dissensions and conflicts amongst the ruling groups might remain apparently dormant in such circumstances; but at the slightest opportunity their internal struggle would come to the force often in a viblent fashion. Initially, the iqta system served the central authority: its elements of transfer and non-permanence elsured the Sultan's power. On the other hand, the gradual disappearance of these principles, especially during Feroz Tughluq's rule, paved the way for the steady dissipation of the state's authority. The Lpshot was the emergence of autonomous and, then, independent political centres in different regions. The Mongols might have hammered the Sultanate off and on but, on the whole, their forays did not affect the Sultanate's political and economic fortune.
KEY W O R D S Aiz2.k
: "Dear Ones" (Khurasani nobles under Muhammad Tughluq).
: Nobles (plural of amir) Umara yuan-i hashm : Soldiers
.
18.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES Check Your p r o p & 1 I) See Sec. 18.2 2) See Sec. 18.2 3) . See Sec. 18.3 Check Your P r o b e s 2 1) See Sec. 18.4 2) See Sec. 18.5 I
SOME USEFUL BOOKS FOR THIS BLOCK b
A.B.M. Habibullah, The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India. W.H. Moreland,.The Agrarian System of Moslem India. (Chapters I1 & 111; Appendices A, B and C). R.P. Tripathi, Some Aspects of Muslim Administration. K.S. Lal, History of the Khafiis (Chapter XI). klohammhd Habib & K.A. Nizami, A Comprehensive History of India, Vol V. Tapan Ray Chaudhuri & lrfan Habib, The Cambridge Economic History oj India, Vol, I , pp. 45-82.)
Problan, Crisb and Dedine
APPENDIX
- -. .
A REPRODUCTION FROM W.H.MORELAND, AGRARIAN SYSTEM O F MOSLEM INDIA Provincial Governors in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries The words "Province; and "Governor" are used in Chapter 11 to represent two groups of terms, which 1 take to be either precisely synonymous, or else distinguished only by minor differences, of no practical importance for'our present purpose. The first group is wilayat, wali. The word wilayat is used in the chronicles in various senses, which can almost always be recognised with certainty from the context: it may mean (1)a definite portion of the kingdom, that is, a province; (2)an indefinite portion of the kingdom, that is, a tract or region; (3) the kingdom aS a whole, (4) a foreign country; (5) the home-country of a foreigner .(in which last sense a derived form has recently become naturalised in English as "Blighty"). Wali occasionally means the ruler of a foreign country, but the ordinary sense is Governor of a*province of the kingdom, that is to say, a localised officer serving directly under the orders of the Kin8 or his Ministers. So far as 1 know, it has never been suggested that the Wali held anything but a bureaucratic position a t this period, and the word Governor represents it precisely, as is the case throughout the history of Western Asia. The position is different in regard to the second g o u p of terms iqta, muqti (more precisely, iqta, muqti). Various translators in the nineteenth century rendered these terms by phrases appropriated from the feudal system of Europe; their practice has been followed by some recent writers, i& whose pages we meet "fiefs", "feudal chiefs", and such entities; and the ordinary reader is forced to conclude that the organisation of the. kingdom of Delhi was heterogeneous, with some provinces ruled by bureaucratic ' Governors (Wali), but most of the country held in portions (iqta) by persons (Muqti), whose position resembled that of the barons of contemporary Europe. It is necessary, therefore to examine the question whether these expressions represent the facts, or, in other words, whether the kingdom contained any element to which the . nomenclature of the feudal system can properly be applied. The question is one of fact. The nature of the European feudal system is tolerably well known to students: the position of the Muqt~sin the Delhi kingdom can be ascertained from the chronicles; and comparison will show whether the use of these archaic terms brings light or confusion into the agrarian history of Northern India.
I
The ordinary meaning of Jqta in Indo-Persian literature is an Assignment of revenue conditional on future service. The word appears in this sense frequently in the Moghul period as a synonym (along with tuyuf) of the more familiar jagir; and that it might carry the same sense in the thirteenth century is established, amqng several passages, by the story told by Barani (60, 61) of the 2000 troopers who held Assignments, but evaded the services on which the Assignments were conditional. The villages held by these men are described as their iqtas, and the men themselves as iqtadars. At this period, however, the word iqta was used commonly in a more restricted sense, as in the phrase "the twenty iqtas", used by Barani (50) to denote the bulk of the kingdom. It is obvious that "the twenty iqtas" points to something of a different order from the 2000 iqras in the passage just quoted; and all through the chronicles, we find particular iqtas referred to as administrative charges, and not mere Assignments. The distinction between the two senses is marked most clearly by the use of the derivative nouns of possession; at this period, iqtadar always means an assignee in the ordinary sense, but Muqti always means the holder of one of these charges. The question the^ is, was the Muqti's position feudal or bureaucratic? T o begin with, we may consider the origin of the nobility from whom the Muqtis were chosen. The earliest chronicler gives, us the biographies' of all the chief nobles
1-T. Nasiri, book xxii, p. 229 ff. 1 follow the Cambridgc History in usingthe form lltutmish for the name usuallj written Altamash.
ProvhcLI Govemon in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries
of his time, and we find from them that in the middle of the thirteenth century practicafly every man who is recorded as having held the position of began his career as a royal slave. Shamsuddin lltutmish, the second effective king of Delhi, who had himself been the property of the first king, bought foreign slaves in great numbers, employed them in his household, and promoted them, according to his judgement of their capacities, to the highest positions in his kingdom. The following are a few sample biographies condensed from this chronicle. Taghan Khan (p. 242) was purchased by Shamsuddin, and employed in succession as page, keeper of the pen-case,' food-taster, master of the stable, Muqti of Badaun, and Muqti of Lakhqauti, where the insignia of royalty were eventually conferred on him. Saifuddin Aibak (p. 259) was purchased by the king, and employed successively as keeper of the wardrobe, sword-bearer, Muqri of Samana, Muqri of Baran, and finally Vakil-i dar, apparently, at this period, the highest ceremonial post at Court.? Tughril Khan (p. 261) also a slave, was successively depuQ-taster, court-usher, master of the elephants, master of the stable, Muqti of Sirhind, and later of Lahore, Kanauj, and Awadh in succession; finally he received Lakhnauti, where he assumed the title of king. Ulugh Khan (p. 281), afterwards King Balban, is said to have belonged to a noble family in Turkistan,3 but was enslaved in circumstances which are not recorded. He was taken for sale to Baghdad, and thence to Gujarat, from where a dealer brought him to Delhi, and sold him to the King. He was employed first as personal attendant, then as master of sport, then mkter of the stable, then Muqti of Hansi, then Lord Chamberlain, and subsequently became, first, deputy-King of Delhi, and then King in his own right. It seems to me to be qliite impossible to think of such a nobility in terms of a feudal system with a king merely first among his territorial vassals: what we see is a royal household full of slaves, who could rise, by merit or favour, from servile duties to the charge of a province, or even of a kingdom-essentially a bureaucracy of the normal Asiatic type. The same conclusion follows from an examination of the Muqti's actual position: it is nowhere, so far as I know, described in set terms, but the incidents recorded in the chronicles justify the following summary. 1. A Muqti had no territorial postion of his own, and no claim to any particular region: he was appointed by the King, who could remove him, or transfer him to another charge, at any time. The passages proving this statement are too numerous to quote: one cannot usually read ten pages or so without finding instances of this exercise of the royal authority. The biographies already summarised suffice to show that in the thirteenth century a Muqti had no necessary conhection with any particular locality; he might be posted anywhere from Lahore to Lakhnauti at the King's discretion. Similarly, to take one example Erom the next century, Barni (427 ff.) tells how Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, on his accession, allotted the iqtas among his relatives and adherents, men who had no previous territorial connection with the places where they were posted, but who were apparently chosen for their administrative capacity. Such arrangements are the antithesis of anything which can properly be described as a feudal system.
I Da~sat-dar.The dictionary-meaning of "Secretary of State" does not seem to be appropriate here, for we are
told that on one occasion Taghan Khan was sharply punished for losing the king'sjewelled pen-case, and 1 take the phrase to d'enote the official responsible for the care ofthe king's writingmaterials. In later times the Chief Dawatdar was a high officer. 2 Th'eexaa status of the vakil-idar at this period isa rather complex question, but its discussion is not necessary for the present purpose.
I
i I
I I
I
3 The chronicler is so fullsome in his praise of Balban, under whom he was writing, that this statement may b.
'
merely a piece of flattery, but there is nothing intrinsically improbable in it, having regard to the circumstances of the time. Writing in the next century, Ibn Batuta recorded (iii 171)a much less complimentary tradition; it is unnecessary for me to enquire which account is true, because both are in agreement on the essential point, that Balban-was brought to India as a slave.
Indim Polity :The - -- S u h--. nat~ -
-
-
-
>
-
2. The Muqti was essentially administrator of the charge to whichqhe was posted. This fact will be obvious to any careful reader of the chronicles, and many examples could be given, but the two following are perhaps sufficient. Barni (p. 96) tells at some length how Balban placed his son Bughra Khan on the throne 'df Bengal, and records the advice which he gave on the occasion. Knowing his son to be slack and lazy, he insisted specially on the need for active vigilance if a king was to keep his throne, and in this connection he drew a distinction between the position of King (iqlimdari) and that of Govefnor (wilayatdari) a King's mistakes were, he argued; apt to be irretrievable,.and fatal t o his family, while a Muqti who was negligent or inefficient ip his governorship (wilayatdari), though he was liable to fine or dismissal, need not fear for his life or his family, and could still hope to return to favour. The essential function of a Muqti was thus governorship, and he was liable to fine o r dismissal if he failed in his duties. As an instance from the next century, we may take the story told by Afif (414), how a noble named Ainulmulk, who was employed in the Revenue Ministry, quarrelled with the Minister, add was in consequence dismissed. The King then offered him the post of Muqti of Multan, saying, "Go to that province (iqta), arld occupy yourself in the duties (Karha wa kardarha) of that place." Ainulmulk replied: "When I undertake the administration (amal) in the iqta, and perform the duties of that place, it will be impossible for me t o submit the accounts to the Revenue Ministry; I will submit them to the Throne." On this, the King excluded the affairs of Multan from the Revenue Ministry, and Ainulmulk duly took up the appointment. The language of the passage shows the position of a Muqti as purely administrative.
3. It was the Muqti's duty to maintain a body of troops available at any time for the King's service. The status of these troops can best be seen from the orders which Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq issued! to the nobles "to whom he gave iqtas and wilayats." "DO not," he said, "covet the smallest fraction of the pay of the tropps. Whether you give or d o not give them a little of your own rests with you to decide; but if you expect a small portion of what is deducted in the name of the troops, then the title of noble ought not to be applied to you; and the noble who consumes Any portion of the pay of servants had better consume dust."This passage makes it clear that the strength and pay of the Muqti's troops were fixed by the King, who provided the cost; the Muqti could, ij he chose, increase their pay out of his own pocket, but that was the limit of his discretionary power in regard to them. 4. The Muqti had to collect the revenue due from his charge, .and? after defraying sanctioned expenditure, such as the pay of the troops, to remit the surplus to. the King's treasury at the capital. To take one instance (Barni, 220 ff.), when Alaud$in Khalji (before his accession) was Muqti of Karra and Awadh and was planning his incursion into the Deccan, he applied for a postponement of the demand for the surplus-revenue of his provinqs, so that he could employ the money in raising additional troops; afid promised that, when he returned, he would pay the postponed surplus-revenue, alohg with the booty, into the King's treasury. 5. The Muqti's financial transactions in regard to both receipts and expenditure were audited by the officials of the Revenue Ministry, and any balance found t o be due from him was recovered by processes which, under some kings, were remarkably severe. The orders of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, quoted above, indicate that under his predecessors holders of iqtas and wilayats had been greatly harassed in the course of these processes, and he directed that they were not to be treated like minor officials in this matter. Severity seems to hpve been reestablished in the reign of his son Muhammad, for Batni insists (pp. 556, 574) on the contrast furnished by the wise and lenient administtation of Firuz, under whom "no Wali or Muqti" came to ruin from this cause. The processes of audit and recovery thus varied in point of severity, but they were throughout a normal feature of the administration.
'
This statement of the Muqti's position indicates on the face of it a purely bureaucratic organisation. We have officers posted to their charges by the King, and transferred, removed, or punished, at his pleasure, administering their charges under his orders, and subjcicted to the strict financial control of the Revenue Ministry. I Barni. 431.
,
'
'-
None of these features has any counterpart in the feudal system of Europe; and, as a student of European history to whom 1 showed the foregoing summary observed, the analogy is not with the feudal organisation, but with the bureaucracies which rulers like Henry I1 of England attempted to set up as an alternative to feudalism. The use of feudal terminology was presumably inspired by the fact that some of the nobles of the 'Delhi kingdom occasionally behaved like feudal barons, that is t o say, they rebelled, or took sides in disputed successions to the throne; but, in Asia at least, bureaucrats can rebel as well as barons, and the analogy is much too slight and superficial to justify the importation of feudal terms and all $he misleading ideas which they connote. The kingdom was not a mixture of bureaucracy with feudalism its administration was bureaucratic throughout.
I
I
The question remains whether there were differences in status or functions between the Wali and the Muqri. The chronicles mention a Wali so rarely that it is impossible to prepare from them a statement similar to what has been offered for the Muqri. The constantly recnrring double phases, walis and Muqris, or iqras and wilayats, show that the two institutions were, at any rate, of the same general nature, but they cannot be pressed so far as to exclude the possibility of differences-in detail. A recent writer has stated that the difference was one of distance from the capital,' the nearer provinces being iqras and the remote ones wilayats; but this view is not borne out by detailed analysis of the language of the chronicles. Looking at the words themselves, it is clear that Wax is thecorrect lslamic term for a bureaucratic Governor; it was used in this sense by Abu Yusuf (e.g. pp. 161, 163) in Baghdad, in the eighth century, and it isstill familiar in the same sense in Turkey at the present day. I have not traced the terms Iqra or.Muqri in the early Islamic literature-to which I have access through translations, but taking the sense of Assignment in which the former persisted in India, we may fairly infer that the application of iqra to a province meant originally that the province was assigned, that is to say, that the Governor was under obligation to maintain a body of troops for the king's service. It is possible then that, at some period, the distinction between Wali and Muqri may have lain in the fact that the former had not to maintain troops, while the latter had; but, if this was the original difference, it had become obsolete, at any rate, by the time of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, whose orders regarding the troops equally to both classes, to "the nobles to whom he gave iqras and wilayats."'
...
,
I
1 I I
f
The chronicles indicate no other possible distinction between Wali and Muqri, and the fact that we occasionally read2 of the Muqri of a Wilayat suggests that the.terms were, at least practically, synonymous. The possibility is not excluded that there were minor differences in position, for instance, in regard to the accounts procedure of the Revenue Minktry, but these would not be significant from the point of view of agrarian administration. In my opinion, then, we are justified in rejecting absolutely the view that the kingdom of Delhi contained any element to ivhich the terminology of the feudal system can properly be applied. Apart from the regions directly under the Revenue Ministry, the entire kingdom was divided into provinces administered by bureaucratic Governors; possibly there may have been differences in the relations between these Governors and the Ministry, but, so far as concerns the agrarian administration of a province, it is safe to treat Wali and Muqri as practically, if not absolutely, synonymous. I Qanungo's Sher Sh& p. 349, 350. Baini, however, applies the term wilayat to provinces near Delhi such as Baran (p. 58), Amroha (p. 58). or Samana (p. 483); while Multan (p. 584) and Marhat, or the Mafathacountry (p. 390) are described as iqra. Some of the distant provinces had apparently a diffaent status in parts of the fourteenth antury, beingunda a minster (Vazir) instead of theGovcrnor (Barani, 379,397,454. & C.), but they cannot be distinguished .either as wlhjwts or as iqrm. 2 For instance, T. Nasiri; Mugti of the Wila yat of Awadh (246,247); Muqriof the Wilayat of Sarsuti (p. 256): As has been said above, Barani (96) describes the duties of a Muqri by the term Wilayatdari.
.
Provinci. nl Governors inathe T hirfemih and Fourtetrih pnturirs
!dim PoWy : The Sukanrte
It may be added that the latter term did not survive for long. In the Tarikh-i Mubarakshahi, written about the middle of the fifteenth century, the title is preserved in summaries of earlier chronicles, but in dealing with his own times the . writer consistently uses the term Amir. This term had already been used by Ibn Batuta a century earlier; he speaks of Indian Governors sometimes as Wali, sometimes as Amir, bCt never, so far as I can find, as Muqti; and possibly Amir was ' already coming into popular use in his time. Nizamuddin Ahmad, writing under Akbar, usually substituted Hakim, as is apparent from a comparison of his language with that of Barni, whom he summarised; Firishta occasionally reproduced the word Muqti, but more commonly used Hakim, Sipahsalar, or some other modern equivalent; and Muqti was clearly an archaism in the time of Akbar.
STATE AND ECONOMY Structure 19.0 19.1 19.2
Objectives Introduction Distribution of Revenue Resources '
19.3
19.2.1 Iqta and lrhPtlsl 19.2.2 The iqta System in Operation 19.2.2 Land Grants
Land Revenue and its Extraction 19.3.1 Agrarian Measures of Alauddin Khalii 19.3.2 Agrarian Measures of Muhammad Tughluq
19.4 19.5 19.6 19.7 19.8 19.9
Alauddin Khalji's Market Control Currency System Slavery and Slave Trade Let Us Sum Up Key Words Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
This Unit discusses how the Ghorian conquest and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate affected the Indian ecoriomy. It also attempts to highlight the changes that occurred during the course of the Sultanate.
-
After-going through this Unit you will be able to learn about: the nature of land revenue system and its extraction, the mechanism of distribution of revenue resources, price control measures of Alauddin Khalji, the use of slaves in urban economy and sources of enslavement, and thk increasing use of money in economy and the currency system.
19.1 INTRODUCTION The conquest of,Northern India by the Ghorids and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate not only changed tfre existing political structure but also brought, economic change?. The conquerors came with fairly well-defined concepts and piactices , ,. regarding tax collection and distribution, ahd system of coinage, etc. But the existing systems could'not be changed altogether immediately: in the beginning, these were superimposed on the older systems, and modifications and changes were introduced by different Sultans uptb the close of the 15th century.
-
The new rulers wanted luxuries and comforts according to their taste and habits. The slave labour was thus a great help to provide these. In the opinion of Muhammad Habib, the economic changes that occurred as a consequence of the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate created an organisation considerably superior to the one that had existed before. He felt that the changes were drastic enough to deserve the designation of 'Urban Revolution' and 'Rural Revolution'. D.D. Kdsarnbi recognised that 'hidebound customs in the adoptation and transmission of new techniques' were broken down by the 'Islamic raiders', but he regarded the changes no more than intensifying elements already present in Indian .'feudalism'. In this Unit we will study the economic institutions and changes that the Delhi Sultanate introduced.
19.2 DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE RESOURCES During the 13th century, large territories rapidly passed into the hands of the Sultans.
'-
Economy of Delh. . ..
-
...,-_L,d rhi-c.c.ve$ And their troops by plundering or by~xtracting tribute from the defeated and subjdgated rural aristocracies. Unlike the previous rulers, the soldiers were paid their salaries in cash.
The regions that refused to pay land-tax or kharaj were known as mawas and were plundered or forced to pay through military raids. Gradually a mechanism of simultaneous revenue rcollection and distribution had tohe introduced.
19.2.1 Iqta and Kbalisa The new rulers brought with them the iqta system that combined the two functions of revenue collection and distribution without immediately endangering the unity of political structure. 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 statesinan of the 11th century (see Block 5). ~ c c o r & g to Tusi's definition, the iqta was a revenue assignment that the muqti held a t the pleasure of Sultan. m e muqti was entitled to collect in proper manner t& 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 s were frequent. Khalisa: The territory whose revenues were directly collected for the Sultan's own treasury was designat d khaIiba. Its size seems to have expanded quite considerably under,Alauddin Khal". But the k h d h did not appear to consist of shifting territories scattered throughout he country. In all probability, Delhi along with its surrounding district, including parts of Doab remained in khalisa. In Iltutmish's time, Tabarhinda (Bhatinda) too was in khalisa. Under Alauddin Khalji, the. khelisP.cdvered the whole of middle Doab and parts of Rohilkhand. But during the days of Feroz Tughluq, the khalisa perhaps had reduced considerably in size.
4
Iltutmish (1210-36) is reported to have assigned in lieu of salaries "small iqtas" in the Doab to the soldiers bf the Sultan's army (hashm qalb). palban (1266-86) made a half-hearted attempt tit' their resumption without success. It was Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316) who established firmly the practice of payment of salaries in cash to the soldiers. A practice that was again altered by Feroz Tughluq who began to assign villages to soldiers in lieu of their salaries. These assignments were called wqjh and the holders wajhdars, These assignments tended to be not only permanent but hereditary.
19.2.2 The Iqta Spstem in Operation
L
_ & & _
-
-.=*
-.
>.
You have already read about the Iqta system in Block 5. Here, we are adding a few more aspects. In the tarly 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. 'I'he real interventiorl in the iqta administration came under Alauddin Khalji. The central finace department (diwan-i wizarat) perhaps prepared some sort of an estimated revenue inicome from each iqta. The audit was stringent, punishments severe, transfers frequent and enhancements (taufir) were often made in the estimated revenue i w m e of theiqta on various pretexts. Ghiyasuddin ~ u g h l u q(1320-25) introduced some moderation. The enhancements in the estimated revenup income by the central finance ministry wds not to be more than 1/10 or 1111th annually. The muqtis v:ere allowed to keep 1110th to 1120th in excess of their sanctioned salqies. The auempt at centre1 intervention reached its climax during the timi of Muhwmad Tughluq (1325-51). h several cases. a walk and an Pmir was appointed to the same temtory. The wali wbs to collect revenue and, after deducting his pay, to send the rest or commander had nothing to do with revenue realization to the treasury. anrl thn ealnmr
nf h i e t r n n n e in ,-sch
nrmcmnmghlv
Fmm th..
I
State and . Eammv
reign the troops of the iqta holders were paid in cash by the state's treasury. This possibility infuriated the commanders and created political problems for Muhammad Tughluq. Feroz Tughluq, therefore, decided to make concessions. He enhanced the cash salahes of the nobles and got new estimates of revenue (mahsul) prepared which , was designated jama. There was no attempt to restore central control by the successors of Feroz. Under the Lodis (1451-1526),'the administrative charges and revenue assignments were combined together and these were no more called iqta but were simply called sarkars and parganas. A system of sub-assignments came in vogue particularly under Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517). The main assignees used to sub-assign portions of their assignment to their subordinates who in turn made sub-assignments to their soldiers.
19.2.3 Land Grants As you know already, the religious persons and institutions such as dargahs, mosques, madraw and other dependents of the ruling class were maintained by making grants of revenue income. These revenue grants were called milk, idrar, and in am. These grants were not generally resumed or transferred. But the Sultan had the right to cancel them. Alauddin Khalji is reputed to have cancelled almost all grants. Ghiyasuddin Tughluq too cancelled large number of grants. However, Feroz Tughluq made a departure and not only returned all the previously resumed grants but also made new grants as well. In spite of this generosity of the Sultan, according t o the figures recorded by Afif, the total grants by the Sultan accounted only for about one-twentieth of the total jama (estimated revenue income). Nobles, too, made revenue grants out of their own iqtas. Noticeably, the Sultans made grants not only in the khalisa but also in the iqtcrs. These grants covered cultivated as well as cultivable areas not yet brought under plough. Check Your Progress 1
1) How will you define iqta?
. .......................................................................................................... ,
t
......................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................... 4
,
.
.
2) p a t changes were introduced in the iqta system by Muhammad Tughluq?
.
3 Mark ( d )against the correct and (x) against the wrong statements given below: (a) Alauddin Khalji allowed the muqtis to keep the excess income from their .iqtas. . (b) Ghiyasuddin Tughluq handed over iqtas to revenue-farmers. (c) The jama under Feroz Tughluq meant the estimated revenue income.
.
3
19-3
LAND REVENUE AND ITS EXTRACTION
f i e Islamic land tax with which the new rulers of India were familiar was kharaj. The essentially a share in the produce of the land and not a rent on the land?
,kharaj was
During the 13th century, the kharaj took by and large the form of tribute. As mentioned earlier, this tribute was paid, in lump sum, either by the potentates
,
Economy of ~elbiSultanate
some arrangement. Alternatively, from the recalc~trantareas (mawas) where such arrangements were hot possible, the tribute was extorted through plundering raids. It, was thus probably mostly in the form of cattle and slaves. The sources of ~ e l d Sultanate i do not suggest that before the reign of Alauddin Khalji (12961316) any serious attempt was made to systematise the.assessment and realization of kharaj.
'
19.3.1 Agrarian Measures of Alauddin Khalji You have already rehd (Block 5) .in some detail about the agra;ian measures of Alauddin Khalji. ~ iattempt i wa%toincrease the revenue collection by enhancing the demand, introducing direct collection and cutting down the leakages to the ' intermediaries. As you know, the demand was thus fixed in kind but realization appears to be mostly in cash. Barani informs us that the revenue collectors were ordered to demand the revenue with such rigour that the peasants should be forced to sell their produce immediately at the side of the fields. At another place, Barani says that Alauddin Khalji brought the q o a b into khalisa apd the tax (mahsul) from there was spent on paying the cash salaqies to the soldiers. Yet there is a rathericontradictory statement by the same author that the Sultan ordered that the peakant should pay tax in kind and not in cash. According to Itfan Habib, it seems to hdve reference to only some parts of the khalisa in the Doab. From there the Sultan wanted to obtain supplies for his granaries. Otherwise the realization was normally in cash'. Yet these new measures affected the rural intermediaries which we will discuss in Unit 20.
. The system of taxation introduced by Alauddin seems to have lasted for long though Gh~yasuddinTughluq (1320-25) modified it to.some extent and exempted the khots aod muqaddamsfrom paying tax on their cultivation and cattle. But he did not permit them to impose any cesces on the peasants.
19.3.2 Agrarian Measures of Muhammad Tughluq ~ u h a m m i dTughluq, first extended Alauddin Khalji's system of revenue collection based on measurement to Gujarat. Malwa, Deccan, South India and Bengal. At a later,stage, the scale of agrarian taxation wgs enhanced considerably. Barani's statement that the increase amounted to 20 or 10 times is undoubtedly a rhetoric but it certainly gives the impression of an enormous increase. Barani suggests that additional new imposts (abwab) were levied. Of the other taxes. kharaj, chard and ghari were more rigorously collected. According to Yahya, cattle were branded and ~ important than these cottages counted to avoid any concealments. B U more measures was the fact that for assessment of kharaj, wafa-i-farmani (officially decreed yields) and drkh-i-farmani (officially decreed prices) were used. The statement very clearly implies that the yields and prices used for'calculating revenue were not actual. One could very well expeCt that the decreed yields and prices were certainly inflated. Use of inflated yields instead of actual and prices much-higher than what were prevailing, had the obvious result of overstating the value of produce and thus the share of the state. This tremendous increase in revenue demaqdresulted in contraction of area under plough, flight of peasantry, and, as wswill see in Unit 20 in a b ~ gpeaqant revolt in the Doab and around Delhi. This caused failure of grain supplies to Delhi and a famine that lasted for about seven years, from 1334-5 to 1342. Faced with these problems, Muhammad Tughluq became the first Sultan to attempt to formulate an agrichltural policy for promoting agriculture. He introduced the ' practice of giving agrkultural loans named sondliar for increasing the area under ~ Barani says that 70 lakhs tenkas (according plough and foidigging wells f o irrigation. to Afif 2 krors t a n k 4 were given till 1346-7 in sondhar but perhaps hardly any
A new ministry designated diwan-i amir-i kohi was established to promote agriculture. Its two main functions we-re to extend the area under cultivation and to reclaim the land that went out of cultivation and improving the cropping pattern. It was recommended that wheat should.be replaced by sugarcane and sugarcane by grapes and dates. The Sultan was so determined to introduce his project of agricultural improvement that when a theologian said that giving loan in cash and receiving the interest in grain was sin, he executed him. Barani, however, says that alr these measures were almost a complete failure. Feroz Tughluq (1351-88) abandoned these projects but abolished agrarian cesses, forbade levying of ghari and chard. But he is reported to have imposed a separate tax -jiziya -distinct from kharaj (land-tax) on the peasants. He also introduced an irrigation tax in Haryana where he d u g canals. There is little information forthcoming for the intervening period but in all probability the land tax continued to be collected in cash by whomsoever be the rulers, till the time of Ibrahim Lodi (1517-26). Owing to the scarcity of currency and cheapening of the grains, he is reported to have ordered collection of land revenue in kind or in grain.
Check Your Progress 2 1) Discuss the land revenue system introduced by Alauddin Khalji.
2) Indicate the correct and wrong statements given below hy marking ( d )or ( x ) . (a) The areas which did not pay kharaj without the use of force were called mawas. (b) Ghiyasuddin Tughluq imposed tax on the cultivation and cattle of khots and muqaddams. (c) Ibrahim Lodi ordered for the collection of revenue in cash.
19.4, ALAWDDIN KHALJI'S MARKET CONTROL Alauddin Khalji's measures did not remain confined to rural economy but extended to urban market as well. He is credited for issuing a set of seven regulations which came to be known as market-control measures. Barani,who is our main source on this aspectis the only authority who gives these regulations in detail. The Sultan fixed the prices of all commodities from grain to cloth, slaves, cattle, etc. (Regulation 1). These prices were really to be enforced since the Sultan carefully made all arrangements for making the measure a success. A controller of market (shahna-i mandl), barids (intelligence officers) and munhiyan (secret spies) were appointed (Reg. 2). The grain merchants were placed under the shahna-i mandi and sureties were taken from them (Reg. 4). The Sultan himself was to receive dailjl reports separately from these three sources (Reg. 7). Regrating (ihtikar) was prohibited (Reg. 5). While ensuring strict control in the market, the Sultan did not overlook the more essential requirement, namely the regular supply of grains and
jcctivcs I~~lrc)tluc-lio~~ Agricultu~.;~l I'rotluclio~~ 0thr.r Agrict~ltur;tl I'rt~~lttcs 2 . 2 . I (".OIPS;IIII~ 211.2.2 .(*;tt1;11 lrrig:t~ta~t~ ; t t r ~ l11s IIII~P~IC~ Agr;lri;ln l < c l ; ~ l i o ~ ~ s 3 . 3 I 1'r~~ls:lll~s 20.3.2 l Key Wortls AIISW~~S( t i ('kc.ck'Yotrr I'rogrcss Iini-c~-i'isc.s
.
20.3
.
4 I
.
0
.
--
-
20.0
OBJECTIVFS
III t l ~ i s\ ! ~ ~ i wc t . will iliscuss tllc. ;I~~;II:~;III c c o ~ ~tl11ri11g t ~ ~ I~l ~ l~ 13111y 14111c c . ~ ~ l ~ ~Werics. ~ t l l I ~ ) ~ l SUII;III:IIC l~i ,:~l'l'cc.tetl will ;IIWt l y t~ g;lugc ill wllilt W;IYS tllc C S I ~ I ~ ~ ~ S ~ I I I I ~ . I ~of 1l1c. : ~ g r i c ~ ~ l ~~u>r ;rroI c l u c ~;111tl i o ~;rgr;rri;~l~ ~ rc.l;rlio~ls.Al'lcr going tllrough this \ Init. yo11 ~ l \ i ~ t l I t l ;ll>lc~to Ic;1r11;1I>ot11: tllc cxlc-111ol' c.ulliv:~lic~~~, lllc crops grown by Illc. ~II>;ICI,
IX:IS;III~, ~;III;I~ ir~igilti011 ;III~ ils
:IIICI
I 1 will of c.oursc. I>c. IIIII'~.;IS~II;I~>~C l o c*xpcc.l'~l~il tllc cst;~l>lisll~~lcnl of III~. I)c.llli SI~I:II;IC wo11ltl Il;lvc. cl'li.c~ctl ri~tIic;~l c11:111gc~s i n the SYS~CIII of ; ~ g r i c ~ ~ l t u r i ~ l l x o ( l ~ ~ c . ~Illcnlph i o ~ ~ .the COIII~II~ ol' cc.rt;lil~I I ~ W ~c.c'l~~~ologic.s scc.111to II;IVC Ilcll>c-tl icrig;~tio~l ;IIICI 111c.r~ was sprc;1il ol' SOII~* 111i1rketcrtq9s SIICII S I; i ~ ~ t l i g;III~I t ) gr;~l>c.s. Ilowc.vc.r. i t was tllc. ;~gr;lri;l~l rcI:11io11stl1;11 IIIICI~~W~III 3 signiCi~i1111 c.Ii;~k~gc-. ACcorclillgft) I).0. KOS~IIII~I~. IIICSC C~I;III~C'S tlitl IO IIIO~C' III;III i111c11sit'y t 1 1 ~-ITIII~*III~ ~
:III.~:I(IY I ) ~ - cill ~ l~ l l t.l i~; ~'I'II~~;I~~sI~I'. ~ ~ WII~I~ MII~;IIIIIII;I~~ t !:lhiI> ~.cg;~rtIs IIIC'SC fo Ilc- 1101 ollly r;~tiic.al~III so (>rog~.cssivc111 Ilaturc ~II;II l o II~III Ihcsc iIcsc*~-vctI IIICi I e ' ~ i ~ ~ l ; o~fl i o ~ l 'rur;11 rc.vcdt~rio~l'.
4
The control over bits o land was, therefore, not as important as on.persons cultivating them We 11 discuss the implications of this for agrarian relations at the prop.tr place. Hc 'ever) the land-man ratio is also cmcial for understanding the nat of agricul rre. 4 favourable ratio of land to man naturally implies agriculture to t ,: extensive. .n simple terms, extensive agriculture is that where the increase in production is attempted by bringing more area under crop. On the other hand, ;~g~iculture is called intdnsive if the production is sought to be increased on the same tract by using higher agt.icultural inputs: for example, more labour, better ploughiag 'ind irrigation. Owing to abundance of cultivable land in the Delhi Sultanate, agriculture was extensive in nature. The large area of cultivable waste and fallows n,i:,-rallyprovided good pasturage facility for cattle. The author of the M d i k d Ah-.ar records that in Iqdia cattle were innumerable and their prices were low. Afif I ,sin means of carryingigrains and other goods.
20.2.1 Crops and oiher Agricultural Produce One of the most remarGable feature of the agriculture of the time was the large number of crops grown by the peasants of the Delhi Sultanate. This has perhaps no parallel in other parts of the wo_rld except perhaps in South China. Ibn Battuta was struck by the multiplicity of crops grown and described in sufficient detail the various crops grown in the two cfropping seasons. He also suggests that in the region around Delhi double cropping was also practised, that is, on the same soil both the kharif and the rabi crops were raiqd. Thakkur Pheru, the mint-master at Delhi under Alauddin Khalji, writing in c. 12% lists some twenty-five crops grown under two harvests and ; gives also their yields. While the yields cannot be comprehended owing to the uncertainty of the units used, one gets a fairly good idea of the crops raised. Among food crops, he mentions, wheat, barley, paddy, millets -juar, moth etc. arid pulses (mash, mung lentils, etc,). For cash crops, sugarcane, cotton, oil-seeds, sesamurn, linseed, etc. are referred to. One may perhaps legitirbately assume that improved facilities of higation w o J d have hetpcd extend the area under rabi (winter) crops suck as Wheat, sugarcane etc. With the 'Islamic raiderd' making of wine from sugarcane became widespread and a new rural industry emer&ed,atleast around Delhi and in the Doab by the 14th century as is evident from Baraqi's account. Thakkur Pheru surprisingly omits the dye-crop (indigo) though its prodvction is testified to by the fact that indigo was already an important item of export t o Persia. It is recorded thar the I1 Khanids tried t o encourage indigo plantation in Persia to avoid dependence upon India for its supply. The probable use of lime-mortar in the indigo-vats by providing apknproved surface should have helped the qnanufacture of dye. From Ibn Battuta's accohnt, we get information on fruit growing in thk Delhi Sultanate. It appears thar technique of 'grafting' was not known by peasants. Earlier grapes were grown only Cn the few places besides Delhi but Muhammad Tughluq's urging to peasants to improve cropping by shifting from wheat to sugarcane to grapes and Feroz Tughluq's laying down of 1200 orchards in the vicinity of Delhi t o grow seven varieties of grapes seems to have made them so abundant that, according to Afif, the prices of grapes fell. However, the Indian peqsants did not practise sericulture (rearing of silk-worm) at that time and no true silq was produced. Only wild and semi-wild silks,namely, tasar, eri and m u p were knoNn. Ma Huan, the Chinese navigator in 1432, makes the first reference to sericulture ib Bengal.
20.2.2 Canal irrigation and Its Impact Agriculture was general]$ dependent upon natural irrigation, that is, rains and floods. Since cultivation was largely based o,n natural irrigation, the tendency was to grow / mostly single, rain-waterpd kharif (autumn) crop and coarse grains more. Canal irrigation is described in our sources. The Delhi Sultans themselves got the canals cut for irrigation. /Ghiyasuddin Tughluq (1320-25) is reported t o be the f i ~ s t Sultan to dig canals. But he cutting of canals in a much bigger way was undertaken by Feroz Tughluq (1351-88),. Feroz Tughluq cut two canals from the river Yamuna
f
carrying them to Hissar. one from the Kali river in the Doab joining the Yamuna near Delhi; one each from the Sutlej {nd the Ghaggar. Certainly, it was the biggest canal network in India till the 19th century.
Agrarian Structure
Canal irrigation helped greatly in the extension of cultivation in the eastern Punjab. Now there was an emphasis on the cultivation of cash crops like sugarcane, etc. that required more water than other crops. Afif says that a long stretch of land of about 80 krohs (200 miles) vast irrigated by the canal Rajabwah and Ulughkhani. According to Afif, as a result of abundance water available, peasants in the eastern Punjab raised two harvests (kharif and rabi) where only one was possible earlier. This led t o new agticultural settlements along the banks of the canals. In the areas irrigated by the canals 52 such colonies sprang up. Afif comments enthusiastically, "neither one village remained desolate nor one cubit of land uncultivated." Cheek Your Rogress 1 1) What were the implications of the prevailing favourable land to man ratio during the Delhi Sultanate?
.......................................................................................................... 2) Write a note on canal irrigation.
.......................................................................................................... .-
or X ) 3 ) Which of the following statements are correct or wrong? (Mark i) Muhammad Tughluq built a number of canals for irrigation. ii) Double cropping was practised during the Sultanate period in the Doab. iii) ~ericulturewas practised by Indian pEasants during the 13th-14th centuries.
20.3 AGRARIAN RELATIONS Crucial to any discussion of agrarian economy is, indeed, the nature and extent of change that resulted in the agrarian relations since the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. This involves. first of all, an assessment of the pre-1200 agrarian structhre. Without entering into the debate whether the prevailing socio-economic order deserves the appellation 'feudal' or not, we can perhaps say with some certainty, that on the eve of the Ghorid conquest, the ruling class.was heavily ruralized like contemporary feudal aristocracy of Western Europe. Minhaj Siraj designates the chiefs opposing the Ghorians and the early Delhi Sultans . as rai and rana and their cavalry commanders as rawaeFrom the epi'graphic evidence from different parts of Northern India, the earlier feudal hierarchy of raja (rai), ranaka (rana) and rauta (rawat) is fairly well established. In the early phase. the Sultans tended to enter into settlement with this defeated and subjugated rural aristocracy. As discussed earlier, kharaj was largely the tribute r replacement of this tribute by imposed upon them. It seems that e v e ~ a f t ethe vigorously assessed tax imposed on the peasants under Alauddin Khalji, the older rural aristocracy had some role to play in revenue collection. This can be inferred from an incident of Alauddin Khalji's reign. Ghazi Malik, the governor of Dipalpur when wanted to pressurise Rana Mal Bhatti. according to Afif, one of the rais (rajas)
'
lic;~dmcn)and chaudhudis. The incidcnt suggests that though the members of auhjug;~tedi~risloeracv.rherever present, werc at leilst till the earlv years of the 14th ccntul.y, held responsit~lcfor collcctinp;~~id paying the land revcnuc. The administration, t o o . exercised the right to collcct it directly through village headmen and cbaudhuris.
20.3.1 Peasants
!
1!
Cultiv;~tionwas hascd o individu;~lpc;~s;~t~t. farming. Hut this pc;t.s;lnt economy was ~ nc. sizc of land cultiv;~tcdby 1hc.111prci111y varied in sizc. From not at ;III c g ~ l i t i ~ r i ;1' . , Barani's i~ccountit i ~ p pars tli:~l a1 one cstrcmc werc the khots anti muqaddams . , . having large holdings ;II cl enjoyilig superior rights on ordinary pasants; and at tlic oihcr was the habhar, t c vill;lgc nicnial holding i1 petty plot of land. Hclow tlic Ixasilnt. thcrc must h;l\.iF hCc~i a tn;iss of landlcss labourers hut their presence col~ltl only he disccrncil from Ihc Ixtcr sources. since wc did 1101 find any mention in contcmpcjrar~accourltxj '
.
1 !
In spite o f tlic ahundan+c 01' ct~l~iv;~lrle Ii~ntl.there was no proprietary right o f the peasant over the I;lnd Ilk tillccl. 0 1 1 the contrary. .cven on his producc there wmc claims of the supcrior c[;~sses.71'licpeasant. though recognised n 'free horn' at times was deprived of the frrcedom t o Ic;~vethc I;~lidat will or t o change the domicile. .
,
According to Afif. ;I vill;~gcIi;~tl2lY) to 3(H1 nialt' nic~nhcrsand Rariini says that each villagc hid a patwari tti keep accounts. I-lishnhi (;~ccountregister) was scrutinized to discover every p;~vnicnti.Icg;~lor illegal. made hy the peasants t o the revenue officials. Thc patwari was not n hovcrnment officiill hut a vill;lgc official. fle was certainly not a creation o f thc I)clhi bult;ln;~tc..l'lic prcscnce of ;I village clerk for.njaintaining accounts may sbppcst thi~ttlic vill;~gcwas an administrative unit outside the adniinistr;~tivoS!lstc~i~({l'the Sult;~~i;~tc. I t seems th;~ltlic villase was collectively a tax paying unit othcrwiac $h!. ;I clerk to keep villugc j~ccountswas needed. The presence of patwnri ; I I I ~the 11:1tu c o f his duties thus indicate cxistcncc of village community. It sccms that in spite of A itudclin ~1ialji's.cf'orts'toasstsss the tax on individual peasant, in pri~cticcthe villi~gcc+ntinuccl to rcliiai~ithe unit of land r h e n u e payment: Barani's complaints qhout the 'ldurdcn of tlic rich fallins on the poor' further indicates that the uilliigc commu~iit!.w;~slnota n ide;ll i~istitutic~n hut itself a machinery of exploitation.
1
20.3.2 Rural lnterbediaries You have ;~lrc;ldyrcsdlin Block 5 aljout tlic rural aristocracy called khaQ, muqaddrrms and ch.aut(huris. 7'hey helongui to thc highest stratum of the peasantry. From Harani's i~ccou~il/ it ;~ppc;~rs that hcforc Alauddin Khalji's agrarian measures : they held rcvcnuc frcc lands. A> a el;~ss,the village headmen were prosperous. Barani with malacious plc;lsuri. records thilt Ali~udttinKhalji imposed fuU land revenue upon tlicm and witlidrcw 1114 cuc~iij~tio~i froni house and grazing tax. He prohibited them fro111lekyi~lga n \ ~.c.sscbof their ow11;11ic1thus he kvelled them to the ordinary ~Ic;ls;lnts. I I
llo~vcvcr.\111ccthcac Iural internirdi:~rtcswere necessary for the system of land revenue r c a l ~ ~ a t i otn .esc stern measures against them were not t o last longer. Ghiyasuddin l'ughluq ~ntroduccdmoderation. The exemption from grazing as well as t ~ ograntcd n again. But they were not allowed to impme tax on thcir onn c u l t ~ ~ i ~was ;my cc\\ upln the peasantry. They received further concessions under Feroz Tughluq and,intc~cstlnglycnoygh,thcse concessions and a resulting affluence are very approvingly dcacr~hedihy Harnn~. \
1
'1
Aniong these rural In er~iiediaric~, the chaudhuri seems to have emerged during the 14th century. Hc is no mcntioncd hy Minhaj br any other source of the 13th century. It is during the middl c ~ the f 14th century that he makes hls appearance in Barani's account. Ibn Battuta efines him as the 'chief of a group of l(H! villages' he c a f l s w . ) However. the usual tdrm from the middle of the 14th century for a group of villagesis par gana. lrfan Habi suggests thar the chaudhuri was in fact a successor. though much reduced in aut ority, of the head of the c h r u r d (group of eighty four villages) of Gujara-Pratiharas bnd Chalukyas.
$
From the time of Ferbz Tughluq. all thcse intermediaries werc given a blanket
.
Check Your Progress 2 1) Write 50 words o n each of the following: (a) Village Community
(b) Chaudhuri /
.................................................................................................... (c) Patwari
2) Put ( d )against correct and ( x ) against incorrect statement given below: (a) During the Delhi Sultanate peasant had proprietory rights over their holding. (b) The patwari was a village official who maintained an accounts book. (c) During the Sultanate period cultivable land on laGe scale was yet to be brought under cultivation.
20.4 LET US SUM UP To sum up. in the present Unit we have focussed on the agrarian structure agricultural production, means of irrigation, peasants and the rural intermediaries -of the Delhi Sultanate. During this period large scale cultivable land was yet to be brought under cultivation. Double cropping was prevalent in the Doab. Canals were the major source of artificial irrigation. At village level differentiation (hierarchy) existed between the superior right holders (khots, muqaddams and chaudhuris) and the ordinary peasants (raiyat).
Cash-crops Distillation
: Crops produced for
markets
: Lit. substance was turned to vapour by heating. then the condensed
yapour was collected KrohrKuroh : Used for measuring distance. 1 Kuroh = 2.5 miles Kharif
: Autumncrop
Kharaks
: Cattle-pens
Rabi
: . Winter crop
-
- ..
Agrarian Structure
Economy of Delhl Sultanate
20.6 ANSWER8 TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISBS Check Your Rognsp 1
1) See Sec. 20.2 2) See Sub-sec. 20.2.2 3) (i) X (ii) V (iii) x Check Your Prognrs 2 1) See Sub-sec. 20.3.1+20.3.2 2) (4 x (b)V (c) V
UNIT 21 RISE OF URBAN ECONOMY TRADE & COMMERCE Structure 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4
Objectives introduction Growth of Towns Urban ~ a n u f a c t u r e s Trade and Commerce 21.4.1 Inland Trade 21.4.2 Foreign Trade: Seaborne and Overland 21.4.3 Commercial Classes 21.4.4 Transport
21.5 Let Us Sum U p 21.6 Key Words 21.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
21.0 OBJECTIVES In this Unit, you will study the development of urban economy and expansion of trade during the 13th-14th centuries. After reading this Unit, you should be able to learn that in the Delhi Sultanate three interrelated developments occurred : a considerable increase in the size and possibly in the number of towns, a marked rise in craft production, and a corresponding expansion in commerce.
21.1 INTRODUCTION The available evidence suggest that the urban economy on the eve of the Ghorid conquest waq on a low ebb. The towns were fewer in number and smaller in size in the centuries preceding the establish'ment of the Delhi Sultanate. D.D.Kosambi shows that even the capital was a camp city on the move. The higher ruling class wandered from place to place along with the army while the lower ruling class was almost completely ruralized. This view of urban decline has been supported by R.S. Sharma who has cqnvincingly reasserted his theory of urban decay with the help of enormous archaeological data painstakingly collected. This theory of decay of towns is further corroborated by the evidence of sluggish trade: The near complete disappearance of gold and silver currencies and the almost total absence of foreign coins in the Indian coin-hoards of the period are indicators that the foreign trade was at a very low scale. Moreover, the fact that not even the coins of various regional dynasties are found in the coin-hoards of other regions ,suggests that inland commerce was not widespread. All this scenario changed almost immediately with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. The archaeological and numismatic evidence corroborate the literary evidence of growth of towns and - increase in commerce. This led Muhammad Habib to postulate a theory of 'Urban Revolution' as mentioned earlier in Unit 19.
21.2
GROWTH OF TOWNS
Before discussing the evidence of increase in number and size of towns, we must first understand what we mean by town. There are two simple definitions of a town : (a) the usual modern definition of a settlement of 5 0 0 o r above, and (b) a settlement where an overwhelming majority of population (say above 70%) is engaged in occupations other than agriculture. The two definitions are not mutually exclusive but
Economy of Delhi Sultanate
While the archaeological evidence available for earlier period is not forthcoming from the 13th-14th centuries owing to the much less attention paid to medieval archaeology, the literary dvidences testify growth of urbari centres. Some major towns m e n t i ~ n e d ~ the i n contemporary sources are Delhi (the capital), Multan, Anhilwara (Patan), Cambay, Kara, Lakhnauti and DaOlatabad (Deogiri). Lahore was a big town but decayed after the Motlgol invasion in the 13th century. However, in the 14th century it flourished again. While not even a guesstimate of the population of any town is available in our sOurces there are reliable indications to assume that at least some of these were cities big enough by contemporary standards. Ibn Battuta, who visited Delhi in 1330,.deseribes it as of enormous extent and population, the largest city in the Islamic East in spite of the fact that Muhammad Tughluq had shifted much of its population to Daulatabad. H e describes the latter too, as large enough to rival Delhi in size. Some new tDwns were established during the period, such as Jhain (Chhain) in Eastern Rajasthan that was named 'Shahr Nau' during Alauddin Khalji's reign (1296-1316). Factors for Urban Expansion
f i e strength of the invader, of course, lay in combination and not in dispersal in an unfamiliar land and, thus, in initial stages, it was but natural for the members of the ruling class to prefer to stay at their iqta headquarters along with their cavalry. These iqta headquarters having the concentration of cavalry, its hangers - on and the retinue and household of the rnuqti thus emerged in the early phase as camp cities. Most of the 13th century towns are infact defined as iqta headquarters in our sources; for example, Hansi, Kara, Anhilwara, etc. These towns were to be fed and provided for. In the beginning, theltroops had to go for realising khar&j/mal by plundering the surrounding villages; but gradually by the 14th century, as pointed out by Moreland, cash nexus developed. The revenue was realised in cash from the peasants who were thus forced to sell their ptoduce at the side of the field. The merchants catered to the needs of towns giving risk to what we will discuss below as-'induced trade'. The ruling class coming from a different cultural milieu had needs of leisure and comforts of a different type; they wanted songs in Persian'and dances of a different style, books, silk to wear and arcuate light architecture (not !he stone edifices). Out of the resources that were indeed enormous by contemporary standards at its command, the new rulers naturally.wanted to get luxuries and comforts of their taste which encouraged immigration from Islamic culture area. These immigrants were not only soldiers, but craftsman, artisans, singers, musicians, dancers, poets, physicians, astrologers and servicemen as described by Isami. The immigrant master-craftsman most probably introduced new techniques and articles of technology (you will read the details in Unit 22). In due course, Indian artisans must have learnt the new crafts.
*
Check Your Pfogress 1 I ) Enumerate the factors responsible for rise of towns during the 13th-14th centuries.
2) Mark the following stdements true (d) or false (X): a) The pre-1200 coin-hoards do not usually contain foreign coins. b) Lahore remained a big town during the Delhi Sultanate.
.
I
21.3
I' I I
I
I
, I
t
URBAN MANUFACTURES
It seems that the urban craft droduction received a twofold impetus with the establishment of the Delhi sultanate. First, the Sultanate ruling class remained town-centered and spent the enormous resources it appropriated in the form of land revenue mainly in towns, either on buying services or procuring manufacturers. Even the money spent on the service sector partly went to help the urban craft sector through multiplier effect. While the nobility created demand for high-priced skill-intensive luxury items, its hangers-on in all likelihood created a mass market for ordinary artisanal product. The second factor that contributed to urban manufacturers was the introduction of a number of technological devices that reached India with the invaders. (You will learn about them in detail in the next Unit). In the luxury sector, silk weaving expanded and carpet-weaving came from Persia. The other notable urban manufacture was papermaking. Perhaps a major sector of urban employment was building industry. Barani says that Alauddin Khalji employed 7b,000 craftsmen for his buildings. One may well be justified in saying that there was considerably more masonary per acre of occupied space in the towns of 1400 than in those of 1200. Organization of Production
It is indeed important to know how production was organized. Whether the town artisans carried out production under the 'domestic system', that is, they owned their tools, raw material and the end product and also sold their product themselves; in other words, whether they were self employed or while tools were their own and they worked at their homes, raw material was provided to them by the merchants, that is whether they worked under the 'putting-out system'. The contemporary iources shed little light on these aspects. One can, however, legitimately assume that since the tools of production even after the introduction of new devices were still simple and mainly of wood and little of iron should have remained cheap. The artisan wis thus master of his own tools, though varied forms of labour organization seem to be prevalent. Certain artisans hawked or hired out their services such as cotton-card& who with a bow- string on his shoulder, went door to door selling his services as is evident from the account given in Khair-ul Majalis. Spinning was done usually by women staying at their homes. The weavers too usually worked at their own looms at home weaving'cloth for sale, out of the yam bought or spun by theplselves. They also worked on wages to weave yarn supplied to them by customers. But if the raw material was expensive such as silk or gold of silver thread, etc. and the products were luxury items, the craftsmen were to work in karkhanas under supervision. We have definite iniormation about the Sultans and high nobles maintaining these karkhanas where the production.was to cater to their own needs and contrary to D.D.Kosambi's assumption was not for market. Shahabuddin al Umari records in his Masalik-ul Absar that in Muhammad Tughluq's karkhanas at Delhi, four thousand silk workers worked as embroiderers. According to Afif, Feroz Tughluq's karkhanas produced cloth and carpets in a big way. While there is no suggestion in our sources, we may only conjecture that perhaps merchants also maintained karkhanas where production was for salc. I
\
Check Your prog;-ess 2 1 ) Discuss the factors that contributed to the expansion of urban manufactures during the 13th-14th centuries.
................................................................. t . . . . . ....................................
' ; .
.......................................................................................................... 2) Briefly d k u s s thelvarious forms of labour organisation in uiban centres.
'.
21.4 TRADE AND COMMERCE We have seen that thkre emerged some considerably big flourishing towns as well as numerous townships during the 13-14th centuries. These towns naturally needed to be fed and supplied raw material for craft production. At the same tinye, there was . growing practice of l a d revenue realization in cash. By the time of Alauddin Khalji, the cash-nexus came to be well developed and the-ruling class tended to claim almost the entire peasant suhlus by attempting to reduce the share of rural intermediaries, as we have seen in the previous Unit. . Both these factors wehe conducive to the development of inland trade. T o pay the land revenue in cash, the peasantry was forced to sell its surplus produce while merchants had a marldet in newly emerged towns for agricultural products. This trade resulting from the compulsions of land revenue system is termed as 'induced trade'
21.4.1 Inland Trade ...The inland trade devdloped at two levels : (a) the short distance village-town trade in commodities of bulk,'and (b) long distance inter-town trade in high value goods. The village-town trade, as hlready explained, was a natural consequence of the emergence of towns and realizatibn of land revenue in cash. The urban centres were dependent for supply of food grdns and raw material for manufactures from t h e surrounding villages whereas the villages had to sell the agricultural prodpcts to receive cash for meeting the land revepue demand. The peculiar nature of this trade was the one-way flow of commodities. While the towns received grains and raw material from the villages in the vicinity! they had no need to send their products in'exchange to the villages which were by and large self-sufficient. This one-way trade was owing to the land revenue demand imposed upon villages which naturally led to a continuous drain on rural sector and mbde the towns dependent on villages. The turnover of this trade was high in terms of volume but was low in terms of value. The commodities were . food grains, that is wheat, rice. gram, sugarcane, etc. and raw material like c%{on for I urban manufactures.
-
The inter-town trade was mainly in luxury articles and was thus high value trade. The manufactures of One town were taken to another : for example Barani reports . that Delhi, the capita] itself, received distilled wines from Kol (Aligarh) and Meerut. muslin (fine cloth) frdm Devagiri and striped cloth from Lakhnauti (Bengal) while, according to Ibn Battota, ordinary cloth came from Awadh and betel-leaf from Malwa (twenty-four d!ays journey from Delhi). Candy sugar was supplied to Multan from Delhi and Laholie and ghi from Sirsa (in Haryana). , The long distance inter-town trade also carried goods coming from other countries
exit-points. Multan was perhaps the great entrepot for overland fore~gntrade and served as a centre of re-export, while Gujarat port t o h s such as Broach and Cambay were exchange centres for overseas trade
Rise of Urban Econc~:. and Trade and Comn...
21.4.2 Foreign Trade : Seaborne and Overland During the Sultanate period, overland and overseas trade were in a flourishing state. Seaborne Trade
The Khalji annexation of Gujarat must have enlarged trade relat~onsbetween the Delhi Sultanate and the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea Gujarat was connected with the Persian Gulf as well as the Red Sea. Hormuz and Basra were the chief ports for the ships passing through the Persian Gulf, while the ports of Aden, Mocha andJedda along the Red Sea were important for Gujarat. Through these ports, commodities moved on to Damascus and Aleppo, on the one hand, and Alexandria on the other. Aleppo and Alexandria opened upto the Mediterranean Sea with linkages to Europe. Merchandise of Gujarat were also carried towards the East - the port of Malacca situated at the Malacca straits and Bantam and Achin in the Indonesian archipelago.
.
A European traveller Tome Pires, who came to India in the first decade of the 16th century,comments on the trade of Cambay as follows : "Cambay chiefly stretches out two arms : with her right arm she reaches out towards Aden,with the other towards Malacca.. . ." Pires further says : "Malacca cannot live without Cambay, nor Cambay without Malacca, if they are to be very rich and very prosperous. If Cambay were cut-off from trading with Malacca, it could not live, for it would have no outlet for its merchandise." The main export from Gujarat to Malacca was the coloured cloths manufactured in Cambay and other Gujarat towns. These cloths were in demand in these places. In exchange, the Gujarati merchants came back withspices grown there. This pattern of "spices for coloured cloths" continued even after the Portuguese advent in the Asian waters. Varthema, an Italian traveller, who came to India during the firkt decade of the 16th century.says that about 300 ships (annually?) of different countries come and go from Cambay. He adds that about 400 "Turkish" merchants resided at Diu. The I1 Khanid court historian Wassaf reports that 10,000 horses were annually r Cambay from Persia. The Broach coin-hoards (see Unit 19) exported to ~ a ' b a and containing the coins of the Delhi Sultans along with the gold and silver coins of Egypt, Syria, Yeman, Persia, Genoa, Armenia and Venice further testifies to largerscale overseas trade. The ports of Bengal had trading relations with China, Malacca and Far East. ~extiles, sugar and silk fabrics were the most important commodities exported from Bengal. Varthema noted that about fifty ships carried these commodities annually to many places, including Persia. Bengal imported salt from Hormuz and sea-shells from the Maldive islands. The latter were used as coins in Bengal, Orissa and Bihar.
1
, I
Sindh was yet another region from where seaborne trade was carried on. Its most well-known port was Daibul. This region had developed close commercial relations with the Persion Gulf ports more than the Red Sea zone. Sindh exported special cloths and dairy products. Smoked-fish, too, was its speciality.
I I 1 I
I
Coastal Trade .
,
.
It was natural for the coastal trade to flourish right from Sindh to Bengal, touching Gujarat, Malabar and Commandel coasts in between. .Thi; provided an opportunity for exchange of regional products along the'coastal line distinct from inland inter-regional trade.
-
Overland Trade
Multan was the ,major trading 'centre for overland trade. India was connected to th Central Asia, Afghanistan and Persia through the Multan-Quetta route. But, on ,.---.--&
-----*-.-I X#----l
+..---:I
i- Pa-+--I
A
-:-- - A De--:-+hic
..,-.-
1-00
THE MAJOR SEAPORTS 13th-15th Centuries
C H I N A
,
R i of Urban Economy and Trade and Commerce
Imports and Exports The two principal items of import were : (a) horses - that were always in demand for cavalry since superior horses were not bredi? I@ia and Indian climate was not wellsuited to Arabian and Central Asian horses. They were primarily imported from Zofar (Yemen), Kis, Hormuz, Aden and Persia; (b) precious metals viz. gold and. silver, especially silver that was not at all mined in India but for which there was a high demand not only for metallic currency but also for fashioning luxury items. Brocade and silk stuffs were imported from Alexandria, Iraq and China. Gujarat was the major centre from where the luxury articles from Europe used to enter. The Sultanate India mainly exported grain and textiles. Some of the Persian Gulf regions totally depended on India for their food supply. Besides, slaves were exported to Central Asia and indigo to Persia along with numerous other commodities. Precious stones like agates were exported from Cambay. The Portuguese Advent In spite of brisk trading activities, Indian merchants' share in the overseas trade was negligible. Only a small section of Gujarati Banias, Chettis of the South and domicile Indian Muslims used to take part in this large trading activity. Trade was mainly in the hands of the Arab Merchants. With the landing of the Portuguese at Calicut in A.D. 1498 after the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope, a new dimension was added to the Indian seaborne trade, that is, the 'element of force'. On account of better ships armed with cannons, the Portuguese soon imposed their commercial hegemony over the trading world of Asia, includiq the Indian seas, especially in Western part. This curtailed the Arabs' share of the Indian trade, though they survived in the Eastern part, especially at Malacca along with the Indian merchaffts. The Portuguese took Goa in 1510 which became their headquarters, Malacca fell in them hands in 1511. Hormuz in 1515; and Bassem and Diu In 1534 and 1537 respectively. Goa, under their patronage, soon developed as a major centre for import and export. The Portuguese well understood the strategic importance of Goa, which in their opinion, was essential to the maintenance of their position in India.. But the Portuguese possession of Goa was unfavourable to other Western Indian ports. Tome P ~ r e shad rightly observed that the Muslim rulers of the Deccan and Gujarat had "a bad neighbour in Goa". Many ports on the west coast fell into decay during the hundred years of the Portuguese domination In the Indian waters. This happened as a result of the aggressive policies of the Portuguese : i) they controlled the sea-routes, ii) controlled the type and volume of cargo carried by other merchants, and iii) they introduced the system of issuing cartaz (from Persian qirta = paper sheet) which was a kind of permit to ply ships in the Asian waters without which the ships were liable to be confiscated and the cargo plundered. A fee was charged for issuing a cartaz. No wonder, then, all these policies adversely affected the seaborne carrying trade of the Indians as well as of the Arabs.
.
21.4.3 Commercial Classes Two types of merchants are mentioned in the sources of the Delhi Sultanate : the karwanis or nayaks and Multanis. The merchants specialising in carrying grains were designated by Barani as karwanis (a Persian word meaning those who moved together in large numbers). The contemporary mystic, Nasiruddin (Chiragh Delhi) calls them nayaks and describes them as those "who bring food grains from different parts to the city (Delhi) - some with ten thousand laden bullocks, some with twenty thousand" It can be said with a degree of certainty that these karwanis were the banjaras of succeeding centuries. As is clear from the Mughal sources, these were organised in groups and their headman called nayak. The other important group of merchants mentioned in our sources was that of the Multanis. Barani says that the long distance trade was in the hands of these merchants. They were engr)ged in usury and commerce (sud o sauda). It appears that the sahas and Multanis were rich enough to give ioans even to nobles, who, according to Barani, were generally in need of cash. The sahas and Multanis were generally Hindu, but at least some Muslims also were among the Multani merchants:
merchant). Besides these well defined merchant groups, others who had p chosen could take to trade : thus a s*fi (mystic) from Bihar became a slave-merchant trading between Delhi and Ghazni, and a number of pious men from Central Asia came to Delhi and became merchant$. Another important commerc{al class that emerged during the Sultanate period was that of the dallals (brokers). h e y worked as a )ink between the buyer and the seller and took commission from bdth the parties. Barani says that they were the 'masters of market' (hakimnn bsenr) : they were instrumental in raising prices in ihe market. Alauddin Khalji used to condult them about the cost of production of every article in the market in order to fix priaes. The reference to 'Chief brokers4 mihtrm-i d d b h ) by Barani also suggests a somewhat well established guild of brokers, though the details are lacking. ~ o w e v e r during l Alauddin Khalji's reign these 'Chief brokers were severely dealt with. But by Feroz Tughluq's reign, they seem to have regained their position. Feroz Tughlu had abolished rlslnlrt-i bezPrh. (a tax on broker's licence; a cess on brokers). esides, even if a deal between the buyer and t'he seller failed to materialize, the bro ers were not supposed to retwn the commission money. This also shows that during t e Tughluqs 'brokerage' became a fairly well-cstablished institution.
1
4
i
S a d s were yet another m e b n t i l e group whose economic role was no less
important than the brokers. b s money changers, they were most sought after by the merchants, especially the foreign ones who came to India with their native coins. The sarrPfs tested the metallic pabty of the coins (indigenous and foreign) and established the exchange-ratio. They alsq issued bills of exchange (Hindi: huadi: Persian: sldbj.) or letters of credit, thereby qcting as "bankers". The introduction of paper by the Turks into India accelerated the institution of bill of exchange. For all these troubles, the sarraf naturally charged his commission. Thus, both the brokers and the sarrafs occupied pivotal position in the commercial world of their period; they were the custodians of several basic economic institutions. Indeed, no merchant could have dispensed with their services.
21.4.4 Transport It appears that the goods weae transported both by pack animals and on bullock-carts. Perhaps the share of the pack animals was more than the latter. Ibn Battuta mentions 30,000 mans of grains being transported on the backs of 3,000 bullocks from Amroha to Delhi. Bullock-carts were also used, according to Afif, for carrying passengers on payment. The pack-oxen were of course a cheap mode of transport travelling slowly, grazing as they went and mdving in large herds, thus reducing the cost of transport specially along the desert routes. Ibn Battuta describes that highways ran through the empire marked by minarets spaced at set distances. On the testimony of Shahabuddin a1 Umari, the author of the kasalik ul Abser, we may infer that efforts were made to create conditions conducive ko trade. Inns were built at each stage (mruudl). In Bengal, Iwaz Khalji built long embankments to safeguard from floods. Boats were employed for riverine routes to carry bulk goods, while large ships used for seabrone trade. Check Y w r Progress 3
1) Write notes on: a) Banjaras
.
.
.......................................................................................................... b) Multank
,
Rise of U r b m Ecoaomy
...................................................................................................... c) Goods of import and export
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................... d) 'Induced Trade'
.......................................................................................................... e) Brokers and sarrafs
........................................................................................................... .
2) DiscuSs the factors responsible for the expansion of trade.
.......................................................................................................... . .
3) Describe the means of transport.
.......................................................................................................... 4) List major inland and overseas trade'-routes of the 13th-14th centuries.
..........................................................................................................
21.5
LET US SUM UP
In this Unit you have studied that with the coming of the Turks trade and commerce increased. We see increase in the number of coin-hoards after A.D. 1200, and the emergence of large number of new towns. You have also read how manufacturing activities were organised at urban level, the main trading routes - born overland and
. -.
.*
.
- -
---
,
z
and Trade and Commerce
Economy of Delhi Sultanate
