Medieval India refers to a long period of post-classical history of the Indian subcontinent between the "ancient period" and "modern period". It is usually regarded as running approximately from the break-up of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century CE to the start of the early modern period in 1526 with the start of the Mughal Empire, although some historians regard it as both starting and finishing later than these points. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the early medieval and late medieval eras.
One definition includes the period from the 6th century,[10] the first half of the 7th century,[11] or the 8th century[12] up to the 16th century, essentially coinciding with the Middle Ages of Europe. It may be divided into two periods: The 'early medieval period' which lasted from the 6th to the 13th century and the 'late medieval period' which lasted from the 13th to the 16th century, ending with the start of the Mughal Empire in 1526. The Mughal era, from the 16th century to the 18th century, is often referred to as the early modern period,[10] but is sometimes also included in the 'late medieval' period.[13]
An alternative definition, often seen in those more recent authors who still use the term at all, brings the start of the medieval times forward, either to about 1000 CE, or to the 12th century.[14] The end may be pushed back to the 18th century, Hence, this period can be effectively considered as the beginning of Muslim domination to British India.[15] Or the "early medieval" period as beginning in the 8th century, and ending with the 11th century.[16]
The use of "medieval" at all as a term for periods in Indian history has often been objected to, and is probably becoming more rare (there is a similar discussion in terms of the history of China).[17] It is argued that neither the start nor the end of the period really mark fundamental changes in Indian history, comparable to the European equivalents.[18]Burton Stein still used the concept in his A History of India (1998), referring to the period from the Guptas to the Mughals, but most recent authors using it are Indian. Understandably, they often specify the period they cover within their titles.[19]
Fragmented South Asian polities circa 600 CE, after the retreat of the Alchon Huns and the disintegration of the Gupta Empire.[20]
The start of the period is typically taken to be the slow collapse of the Gupta Empire from about 480 to 550,[21] ending the "classical" period, as well as "ancient India",[22] although both these terms may be used for periods with widely different dates, especially in specialised fields such as the history of art or religion.[23] Another alternative for the preceding period is "Early Historical" stretching "from the sixth century BC to the sixth century AD", according to Romila Thapar.[24]
At least in northern India, there was no larger state until the Delhi Sultanate, or certainly the Mughal Empire,[25] but there were several different dynasties ruling large areas for long periods, as well as many other dynasties ruling smaller areas, often paying some form of tribute to larger states. John Keay puts the typical number of dynasties within the subcontinent at any one time at between 20 and 40,[26] not including local rajas.
Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, was the last largest dynasty of northern India which rivalled the Gupta empire in extent and ruled a large swath of northern India from the 6th century to 11th century. They can be differentiated from other kingdoms as they were called Imperial Pratiharas.
Chalukya dynasty ruled most of the western Deccan and some parts of South India, between the 6th and 12th centuries. Kannada-speaking, with capital at Badami.
Rashtrakuta dynasty, was a Kannada dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries and built the World Heritage site of Ellora, Maharashtra.
Eastern Chalukyas, 7th and 12th centuries, a South Indian Kannada-Telugu dynasty whose kingdom was located in present-day Andhra Pradesh, they were the descendants of Western Chalukyas.
Pala Empire, the last major Buddhist rulers, from the 8th to 12th centuries in Bengal. Briefly controlled most of north India in the 9th century.
Chola Empire, a South Indian empire which ruled from Tamil Nadu and extended to include Southeast Asian territories at its height. Ruled from the 9th century to 13th century.
Western Chalukya Empire, ruled most of the western Deccan and some of South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. Kannada-speaking, with capital at Badami.
Kalachuri dynasty, ruled areas in Central India during 10th-12th centuries.
Western Ganga dynasty, was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka, often under the overlordship of larger states, from about 350 to 1000 CE. The large monolithic Bahubali of Shravanabelagola was built during their rule.
Oiniwar dynasty, 1325–1526 in the Mithila region and successors of the Karnats of Mithila
Khanzadas of Mewat, initially ruled Mewat under the Delhi Sultanate from 1372 to 1427 then later under independent rule 1427–1527.
The Sena dynasty, was a Hindu dynasty that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The rulers of the Sena dynasty traced their origin to the south Indian region of Karnataka.
Seuna (Yadava) dynasty, 1190–1315, an old Kannada-Maratha dynasty, which at its peak ruled a kingdom stretching from the Tungabhadra to the Narmada rivers, including present-day Maharashtra, north Karnataka and parts of Madhya Pradesh, from its capital at Devagiri.
Kamata kingdom, established in the middle of 13th century, broke up in 1582 into Koch Bihar (eventually a princely state) and Koch Hajo (eventually absorbed partly by the Mughals and the Ahom kingdom).
Dimasa kingdom, 13th century to 1832, in North Cachar Hills and Barak valley in Assam, eventually annexed by the British.
Tripura kingdom, unknown origin, survived as princely state during the British Raj and absorbed into India.
Manipur kingdom, unknown to 1949, princely state during the British Raj and absorbed into India in 1949.
Early modern period
The start of the Mughal Empire in 1526 marked the beginning of the early modern period of Indian history,[10] often referred to as the Mughal era. Sometimes, the Mughal era is also referred as the 'late medieval' period.
Nayaka dynasties of Kannada, Telugu and Tamil kings that ruled parts of south India after the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1646. Their contribution can be seen in Ikkeri, Sri Ranga, Madurai, and Chitradurga. The earliest of its dynasties date from the early 14th century and the latest in the 19th century.[31][32]
Kingdom of Mysore, a southern Indian kingdom founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. Fully independent after the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1646, reduced in size by the British, but ruled by the Wadiyars as a princely state until 1947.
Mughal Empire, was an imperial state founded by Babur, who had a Turco-Mongol origin from Central Asia. The empire ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th to early 18th century, though it lingered for another century, formally ending in 1857.
Maratha Empire, 1674–1818, was an imperial power based in modern-day Maharashtra in western India. Marathas replaced the Mughal rule over large parts of India in the 18th century, but lost the Anglo-Maratha Wars in the early 19th century, and became rulers of princely states.
Modern historical works written on medieval India have received some criticism from scholars studying the historiography of the period. E. Sreedharan argues that, from the turn of the century until the 1960s, Indian historians were often motivated by Indian nationalism.[34]Peter Hardy notes that the majority of modern historical works on medieval India up until then were written by British and Hindu historians, whereas the work of modern Muslim historians was under-represented.[35] He argues that some of the modern Muslim historiography on medieval India at the time was motivated by Islamic apologetics, attempting to justify "the life of medieval Muslims to the modern world."[36]
Ram Sharan Sharma has criticised the simplistic manner in which Indian history is often divided into an ancient "Hindu" period, a medieval "Muslim" period, and a modern "British" period. He argues that there is no clear sharp distinction between when the ancient period ended and when the medieval period began, noting dates ranging from the 7th century to the 13th century.[37]
^Streusand, Douglas E. (2011). Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. Philadelphia: Westview Press. ISBN978-0-8133-1359-7.
^Charles T. Evans. "The Gunpowder Empires". Northern Virginia Community College. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
^Chakravarti, Mahadev, The Concept of Rudra-Śiva Through the Ages, pp. 153-154, 1986, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., ISBN8120800532, 9788120800533, google booksArchived 19 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine
^According to the article on "Architecture"Archived 16 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine in Banglapedia, "Unlike European periodisation, the medieval period in Indian history is generally regarded to have started with the coming of the Muslims, particularly the conquest of Delhi towards the end of the twelfth century by the Ghorids of Afghanistan." The "generally regarded" is dubious.
^Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. p. 6. ISBN978-81-317-1120-0. Due to such reasons, most historians have discarded the Hindu-Muslim-British periodization of the Indian past in favour of a more neutral classification into the ancient, early medieval, and modern periods. The dividing lines may vary, but the ancient period can be considered as stretching roughly from the earliest times to the 6th century CE; the early medieval from the 6th to the 13th centuries; the medieval from the 13th to 18th centuries; and the modern from the 18th century to the present. The current use of these terms shifts the focus away from religious labels towards patterns of significant socio-economic changes.
^Examples: Farooqui; Radhey Shyam Chaurasia, History of Medieval India: From 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D., 2002, google booksArchived 5 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine; Satish Chandra, Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals, 2004 (2 vols), google booksArchived 5 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine; Upinder Singh, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th century, 2008, google booksArchived 5 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine
^Kamath, Suryanath U. (2001). A concise history of Karnataka: from pre-historic times to the present. Bangalore: Jupiter Books. pp. 220, 226, 234.
^Irschick, Eugene F. Politics and Social Conflict in South India, p. 8: "The successors of the Vijayanagar empire, the Nayaks of Madura and Tanjore, were Balija Naidus."
^Zubair, Syed (4 November 2012). "Before India". Deccan Chronicle.
Avari, Burjor, India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Subcontinent from C. 7000 BCE to CE 1200, 2016 (2nd edn), Routledge, ISBN1317236734, 9781317236733, google books
Farooqui, Salma Ahmed, A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century, 2011, Pearson Education India, ISBN8131732029, 9788131732021, google books
Harle, J.C., The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, ISBN0300062176
Misra, R. G. (1993). Indian resistance to early Muslim invaders up to 1206 AD. Meerut City: Anu Books.
Sarkar, Jadunath. (1997). Fall of the Mughal Empire: Vol. 1–4. Hyderabad: Orient Longman.
Sarkar, Jadunath. (1975). Studies in economic life in Mughal India. Delhi: Oriental Publishers & Distributors.; (1987). Mughal economy: Organization and working. Calcutta, India: Naya Prokash.
Srivastava, A. L. (1970). The Mughal Empire, 1526-1803 A.D. ... Seventh revised edition. Agra: Shiva Lal Agarwala & Co.
Srivastava, A. L. (1975). Medieval Indian culture. Agra: Agarwala.
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