HISTORY

MEDIEVAL WORLD ...AN INTRODUCTION

The word “Medieval'' means the middle age. It is used in History to refer to that
period which lies between the Ancient and the Modern periods, and quite literally
the middle period.
There were many changes taking place in Indian society in the 8th century AD, and
these changes influenced many aspects of Indian society for example political and
economic aspects, social laws, religion, language, art, in short almost everything.
So, we recognize that a new stage in Indian History has come about. We may say
this change took place around the 8th century.
We have to be just a little vague about the date because just as a person does not
change suddenly in one year, similarly societies also take time to change. Nor does
everybody become influenced by new ideas at the same time. Some of these
changes in the Indian History began earlier than the 8th century and in some parts
of India their influence was felt a little later.

We saw in the Ancient period that evidence, or the “clues” of history, are collected
from 2 main types of Sources - Literary and Archeological.
The same is true for the medieval period. In the early part of the Medieval Period
i.e. from the 8th to 13th century, we have a great deal of information from the
inscriptions. These were written on plates of copper or on stone and have been
found in large numbers in villages and temples all over India. It is not surprising
that the study of inscriptions, or Epigraphy, as it is called, became a major source
of evidence in this period.
There are also a great variety of literary sources. The early writings were mostly
on palm- leaf and birch bark, but from the 13th century paper was used for writing.
A large number of these books have survived. Some of them are Chronicles or
Accounts of the life and activities of various rulers and Dynasties. Some of them
are memoirs of Babur (Baburnama) and Jahangir (Tuzuk -i - Jahangiri). There are
also many accounts written by travelers who visited India during this time. Others
are works on Religious subjects or Literature. Many of them are illustrated with
beautiful little paintings called Miniature paintings.

The power of Europe had declined considerably after the end of the Roman
Empire. Rome was attacked by a series of Barbarian tribes such as Hunas, Goths
and the Vandals that led to its destruction in about 500 AD. Europe suffered as a
result of this. There was little political security and constant wars. Law and order
suffered and farmers particularly had their food looted from them. Trade declined
and this resulted in the decline of big cities. Less value was placed on knowledge
because few people had the access to education. Learning became limited to
religious centers and Christian monasteries. Christianity gradually became popular.

Another major change that took place in Europe during this period was the
emergence of Feudalism. The word feudalism comes from the Latin word
“Feudum” that means a piece of land which is granted in return for services. Land
was given to officers instead of cash salaries by the king. It was also given to
others whom the king wished to reward. The peasants worked for the lords, who
were also known as vassals. Among the duties of the vassals was to provide
soldiers for the king. Most of the peasants were serfs i.e. they had to work on the
land of the vassal. They were not slaves and not owned by the vassal, but they were
often treated badly. The advantages of feudalism were reaped by the vassals. The
peasants put in all the hard work and labor, working on the land, but the wealth
was not equally divided. The vassal and the king took most of the wealth and lived
in great luxury. The peasants remained poor.

The spread of Islam also worried the newly converted Christians of Europe. So a
series of religious wars called the Crusades were organized, in which European
kings and knights with their armies fought the Arabs and the Turks in the eastern
Mediterranean. The crusaders did not succeed in conquering the land. But the wars
did bring the Arab and the European worlds closer together and the Europeans
began to take part in the Arab trade. The Europeans also began to take interest in
Arab learning. The knowledge of the Arabs played an important part in the
development of learning in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Meanwhile the power of the Mongols increased as they controlled Western Asia,
Southern Russia and China. This increased their political power and wealth.
Central Asia was important at this time as the trade between China and Western
Asia went through Central Asia. The route taken by trading caravans was known as
the “Silk route”, because Chinese silk was an important item of trade. In addition
to this, new inventions from China travelled with the cargo to Western Asia. The
making of gunpowder, paper, invention of compass and printing - all came from
China. Thus, Central Asia was a useful area to control.

Thus, we see that the Medieval period was one in which the whole world was
coming closer together. Trade was bringing people from various areas into contact.
No country could be completely isolated anymore.
India too was drawn into all these events. To begin with, Indian contact with the
Arabs and the Chinese was through trade. The Turks and the Mughals in Central
Asia encouraged trade. Later they came to India as conquerors. The pattern was the
same with the Europeans who came at first as traders and later became rulers.
In the early medieval period Northern India was divided into a number of
kingdoms. These kingdoms frequently fought with each other. In south India this
period saw the rule of the powerful Cholas.