Chapter 14
Regional Powers
The weakening of the Delhi Sultanate had begun from the time
of Muhammad - bin - Tughlaq. The Sultans
were not able to provide effective supervision over the southern
provinces. The result was that during
the fifteenth century many independent kingdoms emerged in India. Foremost among them were Vijaynagar, Bahmani,
Ahom, Mewar, Marwar and Kashmir. Kashmir
Ladakh Lahore du Sud Tags Dethl. Lodi
Kingdom Baner • Jodhpur Mans Sind Gwalior Sittor Mowa Ganga Sharos Yarne Bengal
Malwa Mandu Mahanadi Khandesh Duutabad Gajapats. Baharani Bidar Bahamani Kingdom.
Page 111.VIJAYNAGAR EMPIRE Vijaynagar Kingdom was founded by
the two sons of Sangam, Harihar and Bukka.
In 1336 CE, with the inspiration of their Guru Vidyaranya, they
established an independent Hindu state of Vidyanagar or Vijaynagar on the banks
of the River Tungabhadra. It is now called
Humpl. Both the brothers dominated the
whole of Hoyasala territories with the assistance of their three brothers. Bukka succeeded his brother Harihar in 1356
CE. He ruled up to 1377 CE. During this Do You Know? period, he expanded his hold further. Devaraya - l and Devaraya - II were the
famous Krishnadevaraya used to dress up as rulers of Vijaynagar empire. Krishnadevaraya common man and roam around
his was the last famous ruler of Vijaynagar kingdom at night to know the
problems of empire. He belonged to Tuluv
dynasty. He his subjects. was a great general and anable
administrator. Tenali Ram, whose stories
children love to his period is considered the best and the read and listen, was
the Chief Minister of the most prestigious period of Tuluy dynasty. He Krishnadevaraya. had a group of eight celebrated
intellectuals, known as Ashta Diggaj.
d. The rulers of Vijaynagar were
mostly involved in battles with Bahamani Kingdom. They were militarily stronger than
Bahamanis. The main reason for the
conflict was the domination on Raichur Doab, which was a very rich and fertile
area. Domingo Paes from Portugal, Abdur
Razzaq from Persia and other foreign visitors have written a lot in praise of
the administration and flourishing trade of Vijaynagar. Administration The head of the state was the
King. He judged with the help of a
Council which included eminent nobles appointed by him. The King was the chief of administration,
army and judiciary. The Council could
advise the king but the king was not bound to act upon it. The coins of that period ending that the King
followed
Do You Know?
Vaishnavism.
The empire was divided into provinces for efficient
administration Vijayanagar Empire
Rajyas - Provinces
Kottam District Nadu - Group of villages
Gram Village Page 111
Vaishnavism was the main religion of the people also. There was a well - organized rever system and
land revenue was the main source of state income along with custom duły,
grazing tax The society was mainly divided into three classes - the nobles and
high officials, big traders and Bahamani dynasty ruling for about 175
years under 18 rulers. Firoz Shah Bahamani was the most marriage
tax, etc. The motto of Vijaynagar kings
was, "Protect the good and punish the wicked Society and Culture the
middle class, and the commoners. Society was governed by the Varna System.
Brahmins enjoyed a respectable position. The women were respected in the
society. They were Educated and well -
versed in Sanskrit and local languages they were also given training in dance
and music. Polygamy existed among the rich but the common people had only one
wife. Soti system and child - marriage were also prevalent. There were Devdasis
in the temples for performing pooja.
Education was mainly imparted in temples and mathas, which were given grants by
the King Sayana was a great scholar of Sanskrit who wrote commentaries on
Vedas. Mahanavmi festival was celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm. Hindus
dominated the population but people of
Other religions also lived in peace and harmony. Art and Architecture
Vijaynagar had many beautiful palaces and temples. Vithalswami and Virupaksha
are t he most famous temples. It is said that the city was surrounded by
seven walls. Large pillared halls known
as Kalyan Mandap and very high gateways (Gopuram) are some of the salient
features of these temples. Life - size
statues of kings and queens are the finest examples of the art of
sculptures. Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil and
Kannada languages and their literature is the valuable contribution of this
period. Virupaksha temple at Vijaynagar
BAHAMANI KINGDOM In 1347 CE, Hasan Gangu, an officer of Muhammad - bin -
Tughlaq, assumed the title of Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah and established a
Bahmani kingdom. He divided his kingdom
into four tarafs (provinces) - Gulbarga, Daulatabad, Berar and Bidar. famous ruler, who judged from 1397 CE to 1422
CE. He was a very learned man. He was a good calligraphist and composed
verses in Arabic, Persian, Marathi, Telugu and Kannada, 112
Firoz Shah wanted to make Deccan a cultural center of
India. Many learned men and scholars
came there from different parts of India and abroad. He built an observatory in Daulatabad. Firoz Shah inducted Hindus in his
administration. Daulatabad Fort Do You
Know? He had to leave the throne to his
brother Ahmad Shah's grandson, Humayun was Ahmad Shah who transferred his
capital from called Zalim Humayun as he was a cruel Gulbarga to Bidar. and merciless ruler during 1463-81 CE, Mahmud
Gawan was the Prime Minister but in reality he controlled the entire
administration. The kingdom was divided
into eight tarafs (provinces), under Tarafdars.
The salaries and perks were fixed for each noble. Salaries were paid in cash or in the form of
Jagir. Gawan built a great Madarsa or
College in Bidar. The building was
beautifully decorated with tiles. It
could accommodate one thousand students and teachers. The Bahamani kingdom was a cultural Mahmud
Gawan Madarsa, Bidar bridge between north and south India. AHOMS The Ahoms originally belonged to
Mongolian tribes of Burma. They
consolidated their kingdom in the eastern Brahmaputra valley, i.e. areas of north Bengal and Assam. The name 'Assam is derived from Ahom. Kamarupa was another kingdom there. Both of them were Hindu kingdoms. Nusrat Shah of Bengal wanted to capture these
kingdoms but could not succeed. During
this period, Ahom was ruled by Suhungming.
He made Ahom a very strong kingdom and it was given the name
'Assam'. This dynasty ruled for more
than six hundred years. MEWAR The
Rajputs established their power in Mewar in the eigth century. In 1303 CE, Chittor, the capital of Mewar,
came under the control of Ala - ud - din Khalji. After his death it again went back into the
hands of Rajputs because of the heroic efforts of Rana Hamir. The most famous rulers of Mewar were Rana
Kumbha, Rana Sangram Singh and Maharana Pratap.
Rana Kumbha was a very brave 113
Kumbhalgarh Fort (at Kumbhalgarh) general and an outstanding
ruler of Mewar. He had built 32 forts
for the defense of Mewar. Rana Kumbha
constructed the magnificient Kirti Stambh to celebrate his victory over
Malwa. He was a very learned ruler. He was a linguist, author, architect and a
veena player of repute. Rana Sangram
Singh popularly known as Rana Sanga, grandson of Rana Kumbha proved Mewar
during fifteenth century. He wanted to
build a vast Rajput empire but it remained only a dream. He was a great general who had won many
battles. But he lost the Battle of
Khanwa against Babur in 1527. Kirti
Stambh at Chittor Maharana Pratap Many Rajput rulers were wooed by the
Mughals; Mewar alone held out. In 1567 Emperor Akbar decided to teach it a
lesson; he attacked Chittorgarh and
razed it to the ground. Five years later
Maharana Pratap (reigned 1572-97) came to rule Mewar - 'a king without a
capital'. He confronted the imperial
armies at Haldighati in 1576. Maharana Pratap and his followers withdrew to the
hills of Mewar, from where they continued to harass the Mughals through guerrilla
warfare for the next twenty years. Do
you know? Maharana Pratap made his
descendents vow that they would not sleep on beds, nor live in palaces, nor eat
in metal utensils, until Chittorgarh was regained. 114
MARWAR The Rathors of Rajputana founded the state of Marwar
during the thirteenth century, Rao Jodha was an important king of Marwar. He founded the city blodhpur which became the
capital of Marwar. He built the famous
fort of Mehrangarh at Jodhpur. His son
Rao Bika, founded the city of Bikaner.
Mewar und Marwar were constantly at conflict with each other, which made
them weak Rao Jodha KASHMIR Kashmir was ruled by Hindu rulers. Due to its geographical condition, the
foreigners could not capture it. In the
middle of fourteenth century, Shah Mirza established a Muslim rule in Kashmir
and ended the Hindu rule. His sucessors,
Sikandar Shah (1386-1410 CE) and Zainul Abidin were the famous rulers of
Kashmir. Zainul Abidin (1420–70 CE) was
a liberal and far - sighted ruler. He
adopted a policy of religious tolerance towards the Hindus. He banned cow slaughter, abolished Jozia on
the Hindus and gave higher position jobs to them. He got Mahabharata and Rajtarangini translated
into Persian and Arabic. He got the
classics of Persian and Arabic translated into Sanskrit. Abidin issued copper and silver coins. Like Ala - ud - din Khalji, he introduced
control on market and prices. He also
imported the items which were in shortage, like salt from Laddakh, Sultan
encouraged many crafts, like shawl and carpet weaving, stone cutting and
polishing, in order to develop the state economy and to provide employment to
the people, Zaina Lanka, an island in
the Woolar lake is a fine specimen of engineering skill of that period. Zainul Abidin built his palace and a mosque
on this island. He is remembered as
Badshah, the great king, by the Kashmiris.
Keywords of her life. devdasi
servant of God or Goddess dedicated to worship and service of a deity or a
temple for the rest madarsa: place for Islamic learning, polygamy, the practice
of keeping more than one wife. raichur
doab: land area between two rivers- Krishna and Tungabhadra. verses: writing in rhythmie style. 115
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