Chapter 9
Medieval period
history is generally
divided into three periods - the ancient, the medieval and the modern. In Class - Vi, we have studied about the
ancient history the period from pre - historic times to seventh century CE. In Class - VII, we are going to study about
the history and civilisation of medieval period in India and the world, in
Europe, the period from fifth to fifteenth century CE is known as the medieval
period. In India, the period from eighth
to eighteenth century CE marks the beginning and the end of the medieval
period. During this period, several
important changes took place in the social, economic and political structures
of Europe, America and Asia. Though in
the ancient period, Indian culture had remained aloof from the outside world,
during the medieval period Indian culture was highly influenced by changes that
took place in other countries. These
influences are evident in the culture, administration, economy, language and
religious beliefs of the people even today.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION The main sources of information of the medieval
period are literature and archaeological findings. The literature of this period consists of
religious works and commentaries (based on Puranas, Smrities, etc.). We get a lot of information about the social,
economic, political and military conditions of that period from non-religious
works on medicine, astronomy, dramas, stories and other literature. The autobiographies, orders of the rulers and
letters written during that period also help us to understand the life of the
people during the medieval period. For
example, Prithviraj raso written by Chand Bardai throws light on the
administration and the life of the people in north India during the reign of
Prithviraj Chauhan. Muslim rulers
encouraged the writing of historical accounts.
The well - known works of history of this period are Tahqiq - i - Hind
(Al - Biruni), Ain - i - Akbari or Biography of Akbar (Abul Fazl), etc. , which were written mainly in Persian. The travel accounts of foreign visitors, like
Ibn Battutah, Marco Polo and Bernier, are also important sources of information
about that time. The significant
achievement of this period was the popularity and availability of paper, which
encouraged the writing of records.
Rulers, temples and monastries collected these manuscripts which Marco
Polo 69
CHA 100 COHTO SER LES
TOSANLVN AND HORA 30000 YO 23 are major sources of information about this
period. Historical records of that
period exist in a variety of languages.
Over a period of time, they have undergone various changes in
grammar. vocabulary and meaning or
interpretation of different words. For
example, the word "Hindustan is referred by some people, as a place where
Hindus live. But today many people take an exception to the word and want to
refer to it as 'India' only. According to 4134 our Constitution, the name of our country is A Mughal Kitabkhana India,
ie India. Hence, terms that are used in different context, at different times
take into account the cultural, social and political conditions. Though
articles provide a lot of useful information to historians, yet the fast pace of development during this period makes
their job quite tough. The movement of people in search of opportunities do you
know? resulted in exchange of ideas regarding agriculture weaving, food,
etc. documents and manuscripts emerged
in the society. This was also a period of in the Archives. New Delhi.
wheel, spinning wheel, etc.
Excavation of medieval towns, sarais and villages along with paintings,
monuments, sculptures, coins and inscriptions, also give us a lot of
information about the different aspects of the society and culture. Let us have a close look at India during the
Medieval Period in the following chapters.
Old Fort Delhi Keywords manuscript handwritten text or document: sarals:
inns for travelers. scribe: a person who
copied out documents
Comments
Post a Comment