Expand the content of the features of the economic and political systems, the spiritual life of the Arab-Muslim civilization.

Isl.civ. arose on Arabian Peninsula. In 630, the Arab Caliphate arises at this place (until 1258)

Islamic world Middle East and North Africa (Arabs), Iran (Persians), Central Asia (Turkic-speaking peoples)

Economic signs:

Supreme ruler the main owner of land and property;

Increasing importance of cities;

Development of private trade and entrepreneurship, which are limited by the ban on usury;

Duty to pay tax for the benefit of the poor.

Political signs:

Power is concentrated in one hands (Khalif)

Politics and religion do not compete

Spiritual Signs:

Arabic alphabet

Development features:

1) Statehood appeared on the basis of a newly born religion (religion originated in 622). Religions were born everywhere after the rise of the state. Religion in the Arab-Muslim civilization was immediately adapted to the needs of the emerging state. This religion was very specific.

2) The Islamization of the peoples proceeded rapidly. Most were in solidarity with the Muslim Arabs and saw them as their liberators.

3) From the point of view of Islam, a reasonable economic policy(ushr, kharaj)

4) they did not persecute either Jews or Christians, they persecuted Gentiles.

5) There was Arabization. The Arabs settled in the occupied lands and married representatives of this population.

6) Religion and politics did not compete.

7) The owner of the land was the state (formally, the land belonged to Allah, but on his behalf, the Caliph disposed of the land.

8) There were slaves, but only captives.

Reasons for the collapse:

1) The Cordoba Caliphate was created on the Iberian Peninsula, which did not accept the Abbasids.

2) Huge territory, different mentality and traditions.

3) In 1055 Baghdad was taken by the Turks. Under the Turks, the caliph seizes secular power and remains with spiritual power.

4) in 1258, the Mongol-Tatars captured Baghdad, executed the high priest and the Arab Caliphate ceased to exist.

The caliphate as an institution of the spiritual leadership of the Arabs lasted until 1517.

Conclusion: natural stage historical development, in which statehood arose on the basis of a newly born religion.

The division into varnas according to their main occupations and duties is priests (brahmins), warriors and rulers (kshatriyas) and pastoralists (vaishyas).

The duties of each varna were written down in the laws of Manu. This is a collection that established the rules of conduct.

The basis of society was not a guest, but a communal caste system. Caste is an association of people according to their specialty.

The richest were the rulers, Hindu temples, monasteries.

Buddhism in India did not particularly take root, the spiritual component of India is Hinduism

The land belongs to the state, the ruler grants to the official, but the land is not included in his property. In the later period of the Middle Ages, the keepers of the tombs (sheikhs), poets, officials and merchants disposed of the land.

On the territory of medieval India there were several dozen large and small states that were at enmity with each other

From 1206-1526, the Delhi Sultanate existed in India.

In 1526, the commander Babur laid the foundation for the Mughal Empire.

Conclusion: in medieval India there was no single guest, but the originality was preserved.

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

Posted on http://www.allbest.ru/

Non-state educational institution

higher professional education

Omsk Law Institute

Test

by discipline "History of state and law foreign countries »

Features of the stateabout the development of India in the Middle Ages

Performed:

student of group No. 143-yuuz

Musatova N.V.

Option 27

Checked by: Ph.D., Associate Professor

A.V. Minzhurenko

OMSK 2013

Introduction
1. Features of the state development of India in the Middle Ages
1.1 Rajput (pre-Islamic) period (VII-XII centuries)
1.2 Delhi Sultanate (XIII - early XVI centuries)
1.3 The state of the Great Moghuls in the XVI - ser. XVII centuries
Conclusion

Literature

Introduction

India is one of the cradles human civilization. A mysterious country in which a highly developed culture has developed, which has had a considerable influence on the culture of many peoples of the East.

In this work, I will analyze the processes that took place in the Middle Ages, trace the features of the formation of civilization that left their mark on the course of Indian history in the Middle Ages. Whatever features of the development of certain societies we would not note, each of them, to a certain extent, obeys the general rhythm of the history of mankind, because history has always been world-wide.

The scientific study of the history and science of India began at the end of the 18th century. In India itself, interest in the study of its history and culture became noticeable in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

According to the author of the book "Medieval India" Alaev L.B. the allocation of the "medieval period" in the history of the countries of the East, in this case India, is problematic and causes a lot of controversy Alaev L.B. Medieval India. - St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2003. - p.3. . It is generally accepted that the Indian Middle Ages began in the 6th century. The end of the medieval period is considered to be the beginning of the collapse of the Mughal state - 1707.

In our country, the study of the medieval history of India is described in the works of Antonova K.A., Kotovsky G.G., Alaev L.B., Ashrafyan K.Z., Vanina E.Yu., information from which formed the basis for the disclosure of the topic of this essay. Scientists study medieval Indian society and evaluate the stages of its evolution solely on the basis of information about economic, social and administrative-political institutions.

1. Features of the state development of India in the Middle Ages

As noted above, a clear boundary of the transition of the countries of the East from the era ancient world to the Middle Ages it is almost impossible to carry out, unlike the countries of Europe. In the countries of the East there were no such huge changes as in Europe. The development of these countries was formed, as in previous centuries, within its traditional framework.

Most Soviet Indologists consider the 7th-18th centuries to be the time of the dominance of the feudal system in India. But given fact is disputed by many scientists, since the socio-economic system of medieval India differed from the European medieval system, which was originally called feudalism. Some historians note that in the countries of the East in the "Middle Ages" there was no feudalism in its classical, Marxist sense, there was no antiquity. The development of Eastern civilization is characterized by cyclicity: periods of prosperity are combined here with periods of decline.

The medieval political structure of India is characterized by constant instability of power, both in the north and in the south of the country. The dynasties and states that arose in the Medieval period were short-lived and weak.

Medieval India was politically fragmented. Fragmentation was accompanied by endless internecine wars, the temporary emergence of large states.

The state development of India in the Middle Ages is divided into several periods:

I. Rajput (pre-Islamic) period (VII-XII centuries)

II. Delhi Sultanate-(XIII - early XVI centuries)

III. State of the Great Moghuls in the XVI - ser. XVII centuries

1.1 Rajput (pre-Islamic) period (VII-XII centuries)

The Rajput period is very difficult to describe as states came and went. The boundaries of the political development of each of them were short.

The political history of India of this period is characterized by the preservation of the traditional division into the Dravidian South and the Aryan North. Moreover, the levels of development in the cultural and socio-economic spheres differed significantly between them. Also this period is characterized by constant instability in the political sphere in both parts of the peninsula. The rapid rise and fall of states due to their internal weakness and imbalance of power between them, ruin due to external wars and internal conflicts; alternation of long eras of decentralization and short-term periods of centralization and relative stability Govorov Yu. L. History of Asia and Africa in the Middle Ages. - Kemerovo: Kemerovo State University, 1998. .

The Gupta era (4th-6th centuries AD), perceiving it as the golden age of India, was replaced in the 7th-12th centuries. period of feudal fragmentation.

The conquering tribes of the Huns-Ephthalites who came from Central Asia settled in the north-west of the country, and the Gujarats who appeared with them settled in Punjab, Sindh, Rajputana and Malwa. As a result of the merging of the Hephthalites and Gurjars with the local population, a compact ethnic community of Rajputs (children of the Raja) arose, which in the 8th century. began expansion from Rajputana into the rich regions of the Ganges valley and Central India. The Gurjara-Pratihara clan, which formed a state in Malwa, was the most famous. Here the most striking type of feudal relations with a developed hierarchy and vassal psychology developed. World history G. B. Polyak, A. N. Markova. - M.: Culture and sport, UNITI, 1997. - 496 p. . .

During this period, a system of stable political centers was formed in India, fighting each other under the banner of different dynasties.

The first strong state was the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. It arose as a small principality in western Rajasthan at the beginning of the 8th century, but then covered the whole of northern India. In the east, the Gurjara-Pratiharas had a powerful rival - the state of Palov (750). In the south, the rivals for these states were the Rashtrakutas. In the tenth century the leading powers of the country fell into decline. The Chalukya dynasty (Dakana state) succeeded the Rashtrakut dynasty. The Palov state, having weakened since the middle of the 10th century, no longer interfered in the political struggle for Northern India. And the state of the Gurjara-Pratiharas retained formal supremacy and broke up into principalities.

The south of India lagged behind the north in its development. This is due to the fact that there were a lot of tribes in the South, but even here independent states arose - principalities. So, for example, back in the III-IV centuries. the state of Palavas was formed, and in the 7th century. in the southern part of Maharashtra - the principality of the Chalukyas, in IX - the principality of the Cholas, which for some time controlled all of southern India.

The southern states of India were larger, more stable, and made a significant contribution to the development of Hindu India and its culture. These states are the "embryo" states of national India. There were attempts to create mini-empires, but intra-dynastic wars undermined the trend towards national consolidation.

The political fragmentation of the country proved especially tragic for India during this period. Since XI Northern India has been regularly raided by troops Mahmud Ghaznevid(998-1030), the ruler of a vast empire that included the territories of the modern states of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Punjab and Sindh. To early XIV in. South India becomes easy prey for the Delhi Sultanate, which by this time had reached its greatness.

The states of the Rajput period were arranged very simply: the court was reduced to a minimum, the main institution of the state was the army, which consisted of detachments of vassals. The mercenary army was unknown. The main branch of the army was the infantry, the cavalry was an insignificant part of the army. Elephants were used, as before.

The socio-economic development of India during the Rajput era was characterized by the growth of feudal estates. Along with the rulers, the Hindu temples and monasteries were just as wealthy. If initially only uncultivated lands complained to the feudal lords, then from the 8th century. more and more often, not only lands are transferred, but also villages, the inhabitants of which were obliged to bear a natural service in favor of the recipient. However, the Indian community at that time still remained relatively independent, large in size and self-governing. A full-fledged community member hereditarily owned his field, but trade operations with land were controlled by the community administration.

City life, frozen after the 6th century, began to revive only towards the end of the Rajput period. The old port centers developed faster. New cities arose near the castles of the feudal lords, where artisans settled, serving the needs of the court and the landowner's troops. The development of urban life was facilitated by the increased exchange between cities and the emergence of groupings of artisans according to castes. Just as in Western Europe, in the Indian city the development of handicrafts and trade was accompanied by the struggle of citizens against the feudal lords, who imposed new taxes on artisans and merchants. Moreover, the value of the tax was the higher, the lower was the class position of the castes to which the artisans and merchants belonged.

At the stage of feudal fragmentation, Hinduism finally took over Buddhism, defeating it with the power of its amorphousness, which was the best match for political order era World history: Textbook for universities / Ed. - G. B. Polyak, A. N. Markova. - M.: Culture and sport, UNITI, 1997. - 496 p. . .

1.2 Delhi Sultanate-(XIII - early XVI centuries)

As already noted, there was no strong power on the territory of Hindustan for thousands of years of history. Some states stood out and sought to subjugate others. However, having exhausted its potential in wars against its neighbors, it perished and fell apart again.

Starting from the XI century. India becomes the arena of devastating raids of the Turkic conquerors - Muslims. Since India was feudally fragmented, the Indian principalities were unable to resist these invasions. Significant changes in the life of India began in the XII century, when its northern regions were conquered by Muslims. They sought to subjugate India from the 8th century, but their actions were unsuccessful. So gradually in the north of India a new state was established, headed by Muslim conquerors, which received the name in history - Delhi Sultanate Antonov K.A. History of India ( short essay). /K.A. Antonov, G.M. Bongard - Levin, G.G. Kotovsky. M., "Thought", 1973. P. 175. . The governor of this state was the governor of the Sultan Qutb-ad-din Aybek. From the end of the XIII century. The Sultanate quickly increased its territory and by the beginning of the XIV century. captured almost the entire Hindustan peninsula. emergence Delhi Sultanate, had a significant impact on the history of India.

The Delhi Sultanate was relatively centralized state. This centralization rested on the strength of the Delhi rulers, who maintained their power by methods of brutal suppression of popular resistance and rebellions of individual feudal lords.

During the period Delhi Sultanate one dynasty succeeded another. Consider the features of the reign of these dynasties.

Gulyam dynasty (1206-1290).

As mentioned above, one of the Turkic slaves, head of the guard, commander and governor of the North of India, Qutb-ud-din Aibek (1206-1210) was proclaimed the first ruler of the sultanate. His main support was his army.

During this period, Sunni Islam became the state religion. official language- Persian. Only Christians and Jews, the "People of the Book", were allowed to maintain their faith on the condition that they recognized themselves as subjects paying kharaj (land tax) and jizya (poll tax). Later, as Islam spread and the number of its followers grew, the difference in land taxation between Muslims and non-Muslims disappeared, and kharaj became the universal land tax.

After the death of Aibek, the Turkic nobility placed Shams-ud-din Iltutmysh (1210-1236) on the throne.

Long-term wars of Shams-ud-din led to the expansion of the Sultanate and to the relative strengthening of the Sultan's power. The glory of Delhi went far beyond India. In 1229, the Sultan of Delhi received an investiture (recognition as such) from the Caliph of Baghdad Loginov A.N. History of Asia and Africa in the Middle Ages Volgograd: VolGU Publishing House, 2002. - 106p. .

Due to the constant threats and invasions of the Mongol conquerors, the Muslim nobility united around the throne of Delhi. The military nobility in this period consisted mainly of Central Asian Turks, who rallied into a strong organization called "Forty" by the number of its founders. Officials and clerics were Khorasanians (i.e. Tajiks and Persians). Sunni Islam became the state religion, the Hindus were considered despicable, unfaithful (“zim-mi”).

The first two Delhi sultans were elected by Muslim commanders, Iltutmysh sought to make the monarchy hereditary and appointed his daughter Razziya as the successor, whom he considered a “better man” than his sons, but she could only rule for 4 years. Discord began between the confidants and the ghoul commanders; anarchy reigned in the state

In 1246, the youngest son of Iltutmysh, Nasir-ud-din, was elevated to the throne. However, all power was in the hands of his able adviser Giyas-ud-din Balban. Having taken the throne after the death of Nasir (1265-1287), Balban managed to drive away the Mongols and build a chain of fortresses on the northwestern border as strongholds. His reign was spent in the struggle to strengthen his power.

Under Balban, a strong state apparatus and a huge standing army of Central Asian, Afghan and Iranian mercenaries were created in the Delhi Sultanate. All power was in the hands of the Sultan. His closest assistant was the chief vizier, who directed and supervised the work of numerous departments. The main departments were tax and military. The territory of the Delhi Sultanate was divided into several regions. To manage them, the sultan appointed governors (wali) from the highest Muslim nobility, often from members of his family. The regions, in turn, were divided into tax districts, headed by chiefs, also from Muslims.

After the death of the elderly sultan, strife began again between the feudal factions. In this struggle, the commanders from the Turkic Khilji tribe gained the upper hand. The 70-year-old Jalal-ud-din Firuz (1290-1296) came to the throne.

Khilji's reign

Under the first representative of the Khilji dynasty, Mongol troops again invaded India. Jalal-ad-din Firuz was a gentle and merciful sultan.

In 1296, having killed his father-in-law, Ala-ad-din Khilji (1296-1316) became the ruler of Delhi. Cruel and resolute, Ala-ad-din was a capable military leader and a talented administrator.

To replenish the treasury, the sultan took the lands of the clergy and rich military leaders and taxed them. The tax on Hindus was raised from 1/6 to 1/2 of the crop. They were forbidden to carry weapons, dress richly, and ride horses. In order to avoid conspiracies, the Sultan created a system of espionage and sent his spies everywhere. He forbade the nobles to drink alcoholic beverages and stopped drinking himself. But then he allowed noble people to drink, but only at home. Marriages between noble people were allowed only with the consent of the Sultan.

Khilji's special concern was the army. He introduced the cash payment of iktadars instead of the distribution of allotments that existed before. Soldiers' salaries have been increased. These measures gave Ala-ad-din the opportunity to create a huge combat-ready army of 475 thousand horsemen and repel the Mongols' raids. Then the sultan organized a big campaign to the Deccan and within three years (1308-1311) conquered it.

Only most of Northern India was under the direct control of the Sultan. The empire of Ala ad-din was not a centralized state. Riots broke out everywhere. And after the death of Khilji, the struggle for the throne began.

Tughlaq dynasty (1320 - 1414 )

In 1320, one of the most famous commanders of Ala-ad-din, Malik Gazi, overthrew and killed the last sultan of the Khilji dynasty. The Delhi nobility proclaims him Sultan under the name of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.

The new sultan carried out a number of measures, seeking to eliminate the shortcomings that were the result of the reforms of Ala ad-din. The land tax was reduced to 1/10th of the crop, and irrigation canals were built with public funds.

Like his predecessors, Ghiyas ad-din actively foreign policy. He subjugated East Bengal and forced the ruler of West Bengal to recognize himself as a vassal of Delhi. On this occasion, his son arranged a magnificent meeting in Delhi, but during the procession of elephants, a wooden pavilion collapsed, and Ghiyas-ud-din died under its rubble.

Muhammad Shah (1325-1351) ascended the throne. Muhammad Tughlaq was a capable general. For his time, Muhammad Tughlaq was a capable commander, a well-educated man. But he was terribly cruel. Muhammad toyed with fantastic plans for the conquest of Persia and China, and by his ill-conceived actions brought the state into a chaotic state.

The country was ruined by his crazy plans and heavy taxes. The famine began, and then the uprisings. For the cruelty of the reprisals, the Sultan received the nickname Huni, that is, the Bloody. In 1351, the sultan, pursuing the rebellious emirs, arrived in Thattu (Sindh), where he died of a fever. Right there, in Sind, the nobility elevated the late sultan's cousin, Firuz Tughlaq (1351-1388), to the throne. state of india middle age

Firuz had to take drastic measures to eliminate the harmful effects of the reign of Muhammad. Abwabs were no longer levied, the land tax was reduced, five irrigation canals were built to increase productivity in Doab, high market duties were abolished, "villages, towns and cities" were distributed to military leaders, and an order was issued to prohibit torture. Muslim military leaders had to be granted a number of privileges, but this only encouraged their separatist tendencies. Antonov K.A. History of India (short essay). /K.A. Antonov, G.M. Bongard-Levin, G.G. Kotovsky. M., "Thought", 1973. C 180 .

Firuze failed to preserve the integrity of his state. Bengal, which had separated under Muhammad Tughlaq, was not reattached. The dean actually broke away from the empire, campaigns against Orissa and Sindh ended in failure. When the aged sultan dies, a struggle flares up between powerful factions of feudal lords, each of which supported its protégé to the throne.

The final blow to the decaying empire was delivered by the invasion of the troops of Timur, the ruler of Samarkand (1398). In India, after his invasion, famine and disease began. The empire collapsed.

Sayyid dynastyand Lodi

In 1414 Khizr Khan Sayyid, former ruler Multana, who joined Timur and left him as governor of Multan and the Punjab, captured Delhi and took power into his own hands. The year 1414 is considered the beginning of the rule of the Sayid dynasty.

Khizr Khan (1414-1421) and his relatives held on to power until 1451. Devastation continued in the country, land tax was collected only with the help of troops, and the treasury was replenished from military booty. His son and successor Mubarak Shah (1421-1434) in Last year of his reign, he refused to obey the Timurids and began to mint coins with his names.

In 1451, the Pashtun Bahlul Lodi (1451-1489), an able military leader, seized the throne. Under him, the Sultanate was politically strengthened and expanded.

Bahlul's son Sikandar Shah (1489-1515) expanded the borders of the state in the east - up to the borders of Bengal, suppressed uprisings, tried to make the Afghan authorities more obedient. Restored espionage. He resumed tax reporting checks, executions for embezzlement and theft. Under his rule, the country's economy revived somewhat. He founded Agra (1504), which became one of the capitals of India.

Si-kandar showed himself as a zealous, fanatical Muslim. He fiercely persecuted the Hindus, destroying temples, breaking statues, etc.

His son Ibrahim (1517-1525) tried to continue his father's policy of strengthening power, but at the same time he showed excessive straightforwardness. Ibrahim's largest military activities were his campaigns against Jaunpur and Gwaliur, which ended in the subjugation of both principalities. However, his despotic rule and attempts to break the power of the Afghan warlords led to mutinies. Feudal strife and discontent of the feudal lords did not stop. Then the nobility invited the Timurid Babur to India with a request to save them from the tyranny of the Sultan. Babur took advantage of this invitation. He himself sought to seize the rich Indian lands. In 1526, Babur defeated Ibrahim at the Battle of Panipat and occupied Delhi.

Has begun new period Indian history. Thus was born the Mughal Empire, whose dominance determined the history of India for two hundred years.

It should be noted a number of states that existed on the territory of India from the middle of the XIV to the middle of the XVI centuries. some of them played an important role in the history of India than the Delhi Sultanate.

While the Delhi state was in decline, two states arose in the Deccan. One in the south, named after its capital, Vijayanagar, and ruled by Hindu rulers (1336). And the state of Bahmani. (1347) in the northern part of the Deccan.

The political life of the Bahmanid state was determined by wars with Vijayanagar and internal strife between two groups of Muslim feudal lords - dekans (i.e., descendants of Muslims who have long lived in the Deccan) and afaks (i.e., foreigners who have recently arrived from Persia and other countries).

The fierce ruler Ahmad Shah Bahmani (1422-1435) mercilessly plundered the lands of Vijayanagara and slaughtered the Hindu population. He moved the capital of the state to Bidar. Feudal strife and civil strife weakened the state, and in the XVI century. The Bahmanid empire collapsed.

Of the five principalities that arose on the ruins of the Bahmanid state (Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmadnagar, Bidar and Berar), Bijapur was the largest. The history of the Deccan of this period is filled with the wars of these principalities, both with Vijayanagar and among themselves. Although the rulers of these states were zealous Muslims and mercilessly destroyed the Hindu population in the occupied territories, the wars with Vijayanagar were determined not by religious, but by political considerations.

In 1565, all five dean states formed an alliance against Vijayanagara. At the Battle of Talikota on the Krishna River, Vijayanagar was defeated.

The second major dean sultanate was Golconda, which essentially occupied the territory ancient state Telingans. Golconda was a wealthy state

A rich state ruled by a Muslim dynasty was also Gujarat, located in the west of India and not included in the number of dean states. Gujarat was one of the most economically developed areas in India.

During the reign of the Delhi Sultanate, Europeans began to penetrate India. In 1498, under Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese first reached Calikat on the Malabar coast of western India. As a result of subsequent military expeditions - Cabral (1500), Vasco de Gama (1502), d "Albuquerque (1510-1511) - the Portuguese capture the island of Goa, which became the backbone of their possessions in the East. The Portuguese monopoly on maritime trade undermined India's trade relations with countries East, isolated the deep regions of the country and delayed their development.To the same wars and the destruction of the population of Malabar led.Gujarat was also weakened.Only the Vijayanagar empire remained in the XIV-XVI centuries powerful and even more centralized than the former states of the south.Its head was considered Maharaja, but the fullness of real power belonged to state council, the chief minister, to whom the governors of the provinces were directly subordinate. State lands were distributed in a conditional military award - amara. A significant part of the villages was in the possession of the Brahmin collectives - sabkhs. Large communities have collapsed. Their possessions narrowed down to the lands of one village, and the community members increasingly began to turn into incomplete sharecroppers. In the cities, the authorities began to pay the collection of duties at the mercy of the feudal lords, which strengthened their undivided rule here.

1.3 State of the Great Moghuls in the XVI - ser. XVII centuries

The final stage of the medieval history of India was the rise in its north at the beginning of the 16th century. new powerful Muslim Mughal Empire, which in the XVII century. managed to subjugate a significant part of South India. Timurid was the founder of the state Babur(1483-1530).

In 1526, Timurid Babur (Timur's grandson) invaded India. His army (muskets, cannons) defeated the 40,000 army of the last of the Delhi sultans (Ibrahim Lodi) and the Rajput militia in the decisive battle of Panipat and occupied most of the Ganges valley. This is how the Mughals appeared in India. The conquest of India by the Mughals is explained by the weakness of the Delhi Sultanate and the dominating in India feudal fragmentation and the interest of different strata of the rural and urban population (merchants associated with transit caravan trade) in ending civil strife that hindered the development of agriculture, handicrafts and trade.

Babur did not rule for long, in 1530 his son Humayun replaced him, but the struggle with the brothers for power led to the fact that the ruler of Bihar and Bengal, Farid Sher Khan (the Afghan Sur tribe) seized power in Delhi, and Humayun had to seek refuge in Iran . In 1540, Sher Khan became Shah (1540-1545) and began to strengthen the central government. He conducted the main roads with caravanserais, connecting Delhi with Bengal, Rajputana, Indus, etc .; streamlined land relations (compilation of the general land cadastre was started), the tax system (1/3 of the harvest - the average size requisitions), the nature of the landownership of the military leaders - the jagirds, raised the status of some Hindus, providing them with a number of influential positions. The death of Sheh Shah was used by Humayun, who in 1555 regained power. But in 1556, Humayun died in an accident, and power passed into the hands of his 13-year-old son. Akbar (1556-1605).

The period of the reign of this padishah is the "golden age" of the Mughal Empire. There was an expansion of the territory - Gondwana, Rajputana, Bengal, Gujarat, Kashmir, Orissa. The country has developed a centralized system of government. The Shah had unlimited power. The administration was in charge of the first minister - vakil and the heads of several departments subordinate to him, the most important of which was the financial department (divani). It dealt with taxation and distributed jagirs(land grants on the terms of carrying military service). The second most important department was headed by the chief commissar and treasurer of the troops, who monitored the performance of their military duties by the jagirdars and the delivery of the military booty they captured to the treasury. The functions of the economic department were limited to control over state-owned workshops and supervision of palace property and construction. A special department was in charge of the appointment of clergymen, judges, as well as the distribution of land to the Muslim clergy. The army consisted of detachments of jagirdars. The entire state was divided into provinces ruled by governors, which in turn were divided into regions and districts. At the same time, there were civil and military administration acting independently of each other. Unlike the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals often appointed Hindus to administrative and military posts.

Akbar completed Sher Shah's reforms - all lands were declared state lands, he completed the cadastre of lands, the amount of tax collection from each of the districts was determined (1/3 of the crop from arable land was collected in favor of the state, and all cultivated lands were divided into 3 categories: lands cultivated annually, sown after a five-year break and virgin lands; when collecting taxes from the last two categories, discounts were made; in central regions the state quitrent in kind was replaced by cash; only on the outskirts and in the lands inhabited by Afghan tribes, this tax was levied in kind, in addition to paying the tax, the peasant had to serve labor service); part of the land was given on the terms of conditional non-hereditary service possession to military leaders - jagirdars. Jagirdars had to maintain an army in accordance with the size of the jagir. But it was necessary to refuse to replace the jagirs with a monetary reward, since the jagirdars were against it. And the jagir system created conditions for abuse, which both Sher Shah and Akbar tried to fight, but to no avail. So, in 1580-1582. The Jagirdars rebelled against Akbar. It was possible to pacify the feudal lords only after new decrees on the award of jagirs.

There were possessions of vassal princes - zamindars, paid tribute to the treasury and independently disposed of all other income. Over time, zamindars became privately owned. The heirs were introduced into the possession of the land by a special letter. Zamindars did not carry out military service.

About 3% of the land was owned by the Muslim clergy, and Hindu temples also had some land. These complaints were called soyurgals. Lands of this type had tax immunity.

Akbar sought to strengthen state ownership of land. Not allowing court factions to influence the administration of the state to any extent, he divided the huge staff of his courtiers into 3 separate categories.

Under Akbar, a number of measures were taken to encourage crafts and trade: fees from crafts and additional duties on the sale of various goods were abolished, and internal duties at crossings and river piers were reduced. Single monetary units and a single system of measure and weight were introduced, caravan roads were improved, caravanserais and markets were built.

He attached great importance to religion. He tried to create a synthetic religion ("one sovereign - one religion"), designed to eliminate religious differences among his subjects. Akbar canceled the jizya. Taking Islam as a basis, Akbar used the idea of the Sikhs about unquestioning submission of students to their supreme mentor - guru; fire, from the Mahdi - the doctrine of a righteous ruler, etc. Adhered to the principle of religious tolerance. Many of Akbar's innovations (especially religious policy) were not supported by the feudal lords.

Son of Akbar Jahangir(1605-1627) continued his father's active foreign policy, started wars in the Deccan, opposed the Sikhs in the Punjab. But there were also failures, for example, in Assam, there were problems in Bengal. Under check Jahan(son of Jahangir) (1627-1658) were subordinated to Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, Golconda, who became vassals, i.e. The whole of India came under the rule of the Mughal Empire. But this period was the beginning of the decline of the empire.

Shah Jahan replaced by son Aurangzeb(1658-1707), despot, put his father in prison. He ruled for a long time, but not with talent. As a Sunni, Aurangzeb persecuted both Hindus and Shiites. He made attempts to introduce the poll tax for non-Muslims, canceled by Akbar. Constantly robbed jagirdars. Frequent unrest of the peasants. Under him, the economic rhythm of life was falling, at the beginning of the 18th century. India survived the famine, separatism took place on the outskirts.

In the 17th century increased penetration of Europeans into India - the British, Dutch, French, Danes. After the death of Aurangzeb, the vast Mughal empire broke up into a number of separate feudal estates, the rulers of which were constantly at enmity with each other.

Taking advantage of the collapse of the empire and ousting the French, the British in the 60s. 18th century expanded their possessions in India and then turned it into their colony.

Conclusion

The first thing I would like to note, after analyzing the educational literature, I came to the conclusion that the allocation of Medieval India is practically not considered in history.

In general, the following can be noted. Medieval India embodies the synthesis of a wide variety of socio-political foundations, ethnic cultures, and religious traditions. The study of India attracts with its fabulousness, exoticism, secrets, wealth. If we compare India during this period with Europe, in which at that time the domestic market, international relations developed, social contradictions deepened. In India, a typical Asian power, the despotic state was a strong deterrent to capitalization. With its weakening, the country becomes an easy prey for European colonialists, whose activities interrupted the natural course of the country's historical development for many years.

After analyzing the works of famous medievalists, we can conclude that in India during this period the development of production, labor productivity was very slow, the productivity of the land increased, the state system became more formalized and mature, culture underwent a restructuring associated with the development of national identity. Because of this, India during the Middle Ages lagged behind in its economic, political and spiritual development from the countries of Western Europe, which had pulled ahead. L.B. Alaev, who studied the basic patterns of Indian civilization, as main characteristic singled out the extreme moderation of the pace of its history: it looks "like one continuous transitional period."

Over the years, interest in the study of the Indian Middle Ages does not disappear. Until now, there are two groups of qualified historians: one considers pre-colonial Indian society as feudal, the other group, no less numerous and qualified, is opposed to the concept of feudalism. Both groups build their arguments on the analysis of a wide range of sources, and often the same texts serve to confirm opposing points of view. I studied with interest the works of some scientists who devoted many years of their lives to the analysis of the processes that took place in the Indian Middle Ages.

Literature

1. Alaev L.B. Medieval India. - St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 2003 - 304 p.

2. Antonov K.A. History of India (short essay). /K.A. Antonov, G.M. Bongard-Levin, G.G. Kotovsky. M., "Thought", 1973. 558 c

3. World history I: Textbook for universities / Ed. G .B. Polyak, A. N. Markova. - M.: Culture and sport, UNITI, 1997. - 496 p.

4. History of the state and law of foreign countries. Part 1. Textbook for universities. Ed. prof. Krasheni nnikova N.A and prof. Zhidkova O. A. - M. - Publishing house NORMA, 1996. - 480 p.

5. Loginov A.N. History of Asia and Africa in the Middle Ages: Volgograd: VolGU Publishing House, 2002. - 106 p.

Electronic sources

1. Story (P.S. SAMYGIN AND OTHERS) 7th ed. - Rostov n / a: Phoenix, 2007. - 480 p. http://studlib.com/content/category/4/9/13/

Hosted on Allbest.ru

§ 34. Medieval India

India is located on the Hindustan Peninsula. In the north of the country rise high mountains The Himalayas, from which two great rivers originate - the Indus and the Ganges. From the west and east, Hindustan is washed by the sea. The only way for a foreign army to get into India is to pass from the northwest along a narrow passage between the mountains and the desert. Therefore, all the numerous invasions into this country began from here. India can be conditionally divided into two parts - North and South. Since ancient times, North India has been inhabited by the descendants of the Aryans. In the south lived people who spoke Dravidian languages. Significant differences between these parts of India persist to this day.

Cultivation of rice. Indian drawing

The climate of India favored agriculture. It is always warm here, and the land is fertile. Indian farmers grew wheat, rice, barley, legumes, cotton, sugar cane, and spices. The coconut palm was highly valued in coastal areas. Indians were good pastoralists. In their farms they bred cows, buffaloes, camels, goats, horses. They managed to tame even the largest land animal - the elephant.

Elephant. Indian sculpture

In India, since ancient times, there has been big number cities. The skilled artisans who lived in them owned many professions. Blacksmiths, casters, jewelers, goldsmiths, gunsmiths were famous far beyond the borders of the country. The Indians learned how to make beautiful fabrics from cotton, which were so thin that a woman's wedding dress could easily be threaded through an engagement ring.

A feature of Indian society was its division into four groups (estates) - varnas: brahmins (priests), kshatriyas (warriors), vaishyas (farmers and merchants) and shudras (dependent people). They originated in antiquity after the conquest of India by the Aryans. In the Middle Ages, the structure of society became more complicated, the development of the economy led to the emergence of new occupations for people. Varna gradually began to break up into smaller castes. Castes of officials, doctors, and teachers arose among the Brahmins. Not all kshatriyas were now engaged in military affairs - landowners appeared among them. In total, there were several thousand castes in India. There was a disparity between them. Castes of priests, rulers, warriors, representatives of the top of the peasant community were considered the highest. The middle position was occupied by communal farmers, merchants, and artisans. Servants and slaves belonged to the lower castes.

Castes appeared below the Shudras. They were called "untouchables". They included slaves, as well as people from tribes living in the conditions of a primitive system. The "untouchables" performed the dirtiest work - they were cleaners, butchers, tanners. They were forbidden to touch people from other castes, enter temples, have land. The villages of the "untouchables" were located at a distance from the villages of representatives of the "pure" castes. They could leave the house only after dark, so that their gaze would not defile the neighbors from the higher castes.

The transition from one caste to another was impossible, and it was impossible to marry if the bride and groom were from different castes. Castes were isolated from each other, their members had, as a rule, one occupation, passing on its secrets by inheritance. Relations between castes were determined by ancient customs and religion. Rule breakers were punished. The caste system hindered the economic development of India, as it led to the disunity of the people and prevented people from the lower castes from showing their talents.

Remember how the ancient Indians explained the appearance of varnas.

In the Middle Ages in India, there were several dozen small and large states that were at enmity with each other. Their rulers bore the titles of rajas (princes) and maharajas (kings). The power of the rajas relied on the army, which consisted of representatives of the warrior caste. In addition to infantry and cavalry, Indian rulers used war elephants during the war. The huge thick-skinned animal was not afraid of arrows and spears. On his back were warriors who smashed enemies from a height. Elephant legs were also a formidable weapon, breaking chariots and trampling enemy foot soldiers.

Battle scene. Medieval miniature

As in other countries of the East, all land in India belonged to the state, and the Raja disposed of it. For the duration of his service, he granted his officials the right to collect taxes from certain villages. The land itself did not become the property of the official. He could not inherit either his position or the rights granted to him. However, over time, officials and soldiers began to seize ownership of land with peasants.

How did the position of the Indian nobility differ from the position of the Western European feudal lords?

The power of the Rajas was not unlimited. Since ancient times, rural communities have enjoyed great rights. They consisted of one or more villages, the inhabitants of which were often relatives. Farming was a business that only a large family could cope with - several generations of relatives. The land was the hereditary possession of the community members, and the community managed the meadows, forests and rivers jointly. The community members cleared the jungle together, fought against wild animals. However, there was no equality in the Indian community. The position of a person depended on his belonging to a higher or lower caste. The peasants elected the council of the community and the elders. They distributed land among families, collected taxes and paid taxes to the government on behalf of the entire village, judged fellow villagers. Artisans and merchants living in the cities also had their own associations headed by elders.

Court scene. medieval relief

In ancient times and in the Middle Ages, India often fell victim to foreign conquerors, who were attracted by rumors about the fabulous wealth and fertility of this country. In the 5th century, tribes of nomadic Huns invaded here. In North and Central India, the Huns managed to create their own states. Over time, the former conquerors merged with the local population, adopting its language and religion.

Mahmud's troops storm the city. Medieval drawing

The relationship of the Indians with the Muslims who invaded the country in the 11th century was completely different. Taking advantage of the strife between the Indian states, they devastated northern India. These raids were led by the ruler of the state of Ghazni Mahmud. He justified his predatory campaigns in India as a matter of sacred struggle for Islam, since the majority of Indians adhered to pagan beliefs. In the 13th century, all of northern India came under the rule of Muslim sultans. The city of Delhi became the capital of the state that arose here, and it itself was called the Delhi Sultanate. Its rulers had unlimited power, they could, at their own discretion, dispose of the life and property of their subjects.

The lands taken from the rajas were given to the Muslim nobility, who passed them on by inheritance. The Sultans of Delhi tried in this way to ensure the loyalty of their close associates. However, they failed to consolidate the state. Numerous rebellions of the nobility and conspiracies weakened the Sultanate. He was shaken by uprisings of Indians who did not want to obey foreigners and accept Islam.

The Muslim rulers ordered the destruction of thousands of Indian temples and the construction of mosques in their place. One day, the Sultan brought images of Indian gods and statues of rajas from a destroyed temple and buried them at the gates of a mosque in Delhi so that Muslims would trample them on their way to prayer. Some Indian rulers, wishing to preserve their power and wealth, converted to Islam, but most of their subjects remained faithful to the former gods.

India in the 12th-15th centuries

Where were the conquests of Muslims directed? How did the territory of the Delhi Sultanate change in the 14th-15th centuries compared to the 13th century?

Buddhism, which once had a large following, lost its influence in India in the Middle Ages. His place was taken Hinduism. The Hindus (as the followers of Hinduism were called) worshiped many gods, the main of which were Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The Hindus believed that after death, the soul of a person moves into another living being. If a person led a righteous life, his soul should be embodied in a representative of a higher caste, if he sinned, a lower one, or even in some animal. Therefore, Hinduism taught that one should not harm any living creature on Earth - after all, the soul of a deceased person may have been embodied in it.

God Shiva. Indian bronze sculpture. 11th-12th centuries

India was famous not only for its treasures, but also for its developed culture. The Indians created beautiful works of art. They depicted their gods, rulers, heroes of legends. The walls of the temples of Ajanta carved into the rock are filled with paintings depicting the solemn departure of the raja with his retinue, battles with many war elephants, riders on rearing horses, and fleeing warriors with huge shields. The Indians built their temples from stone or carved from a whole rock, giving them intricate shapes. Each sacred building was decorated with sculptures.

Murals of Ajanta

Summing up

In medieval India, there was no single state and strong power of the ruler. It was often subjected to foreign invasions, and in the 11th century the north of India was conquered by Muslims. India has experienced the influence of different peoples and cultures, but has retained its originality.

castes - closed groups of people united by a certain occupation, customs; occupying a certain position in society.

Hinduism - ancient pagan religion in India.

“One of the most original civilizations of the East was Indian. Its contribution to the general culture of mankind is truly enormous.”

(Russian historian G. M. Bongard-Levin)

1. Name the occupations of the inhabitants of India.

2. What are varnas and castes? What effect did the caste system have on Indian life?

3. What role did the community play in Indian life?

4. What conquerors did India have to face? How did they affect Indian life?

5. Why was the power of the Delhi sultans weak?

6. What religions existed in India? How did they influence Indian culture?

Head the paragraphs and draw up a detailed plan of the paragraph (for the rules for drawing up the plan, see: task 1 to § 5).

This text is an introductory piece. From the book Medieval France author Polo de Beaulieu Marie-Anne

Medieval France

From the book Mad Kings. Personal trauma and the fate of peoples author Green Vivian

III. The Medieval Trilogy The Roman emperors we talked about were absolute rulers, their psyche was broken and destroyed by the power they had. The kings of medieval England were people of different stocks, brought up in Christian traditions, their

From the book History. General history. Grade 10. Basic and advanced levels author Volobuev Oleg Vladimirovich

§ 7. Medieval Europe in the XI - XV centuries Economic development. The medieval economy was characterized by low labor productivity. The inability to create significant stocks for future use often led to famine in lean years. Mortality was high among

From the book Following the heroes of the books author Brodsky Boris Ionovich

Medieval Beauty Quentin first saw the young Countess Isabella de Croix at the Lily Hotel. The beauty of the girl struck the Scot. Since the author did not describe the medieval beauty, we will try to do it ourselves. Apparently, Isabella was plump, tall and ruddy.

From the book 400 years of deceit. Mathematics allows you to look into the past author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich

4.1. Medieval Astronomy Five planets are visible to the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. Visible trajectories of their movement pass near the ecliptic - the line annual movement Sun. The word "planet" itself means "wandering star" in Greek. AT

From the book History of the East. Volume 1 author Vasiliev Leonid Sergeevich

CHAPTER 6 Medieval India before Islam The medieval political structure of India did not know such empires as the Mauryan or Kushan, at least before its Islamization. Characteristic for it since the time of the Guptas (4th-6th centuries) was not so much even the division into the Aryan north and

From the book Vienna author Senenko Marina Sergeevna

From the book Debt: The First 5000 Years of History author Graeber David

Medieval India (Flight to Hierarchy) I left India when Ashoka turned to Buddhism and noted that his project eventually failed. Neither his empire nor the church proved durable. However, their downfall took quite a long time. Maurya Dynasty

From the book Unknown Africa author Nepomniachtchi Nikolai Nikolaevich

Medieval Rhodesia According to Cayton-Thompson, the foundations of Zimbabwe "belong to the period between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, and perhaps a little later, when ... as the presence of porcelain shows, these places were literally teeming with life." But the first building, according to her

From the book Philosophical Abode author Fulcanelli

From the book Essay on Gold author Maksimov Mikhail Markovich

Medieval Europe Restoration of gold coinage In Europe, after the fall of Rome, there was an "extinction" of gold money, and 750-1250. were the period of domination of the Western European silver denarius. „In medieval Europe“ they usually paid in gold only with some trade

From the book Great Secrets of Russia [History. Ancestral home. Ancestors. Shrines] author Asov Alexander Igorevich

Medieval history A little more is known about the medieval history of Sourozh, because since that time it has also existed “officially”. But here, too, the Book of Veles significantly complements the generally accepted picture. ancient history this ancient Slavic principality. At the beginning of III

From the book The New Discovery of Ancient Africa author Davidson Basil

Medieval Rhodesia According to Cayton-Thompson, the founding of Zimbabwe "dated between the ninth and late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, when, as shown by the porcelain shards, the area was already fully settled." But the first building, in her opinion, may have been built

From the book General History. History of the Middle Ages. 6th grade author Abramov Andrey Vyacheslavovich

§ 34. Medieval India India is located on the Hindustan Peninsula. In the north of the country rise the high mountains of the Himalayas, from which two great rivers originate - the Indus and the Ganges. From the west and east, Hindustan is washed by the sea. The only opportunity for foreign troops

From the book Christian Antiquities: An Introduction to Comparative Studies author Belyaev Leonid Andreevich

From the book Numbers Against Lies. [Mathematical investigation of the past. Criticism of Scaliger's chronology. Shifting dates and shortening history.] author Fomenko Anatoly Timofeevich

4.1. Medieval Astronomy Five planets are visible to the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. Visible trajectories of their movement pass near the ecliptic - the line of the annual motion of the Sun. The word "planet" itself means, in Greek, "wandering star". AT

Even in ancient times in India there was a division of society into four varnas (estates). it Brahmins(priests) kshatriyas(warriors, rulers) vaishyas(farmers, herdsmen, merchants) and sudras(artisans, servants, slaves).

At the beginning of our era, significant changes are observed in the organization of varnas. Each varna began to be divided into higher and lower castes (in ancient Indian "jati" - birth, lineage). The most disenfranchised lower caste were the so-called "untouchables", who were despised. They performed the hardest and dirtiest work: they were servants, cleaned out garbage, slaughtered cattle, etc. Some backward tribes also belonged to this caste. During the Gupta period, dozens of castes already existed.

Belonging to a certain caste was determined by the origin of a person, the ability to hold on, as well as clothing, hairstyle, a symbolic mark on the forehead, food culture. Members of a particular caste characteristic type dwellings. No one had the right to arbitrarily move from one caste to another. Marriages between members of different castes were generally prohibited. However, there was no condemnation in society when a man from a higher caste took a wife from a lower one.

The specificity of Indian society since ancient times was the presence of a rural community in it. It was based on several tens or hundreds of families of communal farmers who owned allotments and had inheritance rights to them. The community supervised irrigation works, organized the necessary mutual assistance and defense. The resolutions of the community were often carved on stone slabs embedded in the walls of temples. Gradually, artisans began to stand out among its members: blacksmiths, carpenters, potters, masons, weavers, copper workers, etc. They served the community and received from it everything necessary for life.

The community was headed by a headman and several of his assistants. Council was of great public importance. That is, the Indian rural community existed as a self-governing unit that provided itself with everything necessary. This led to an almost complete absence in medieval India of internal trade between the city and the countryside, which hampered the development of society throughout the country.

Record of 918 about a rural community

We, the members of the assembly... of the village... made such a decision on the election of committees, starting from this year, annually, namely: "annual committee", "committee of gardens" and "committee of reservoirs".

[In the village] there are 30 clans. The members of each shall assemble and write on the special tickets for the drawing of lots the names of those (inhabitants) who have more than a quarter of the field of land that is taxed, live in houses erected on their own plots; between the ages of 30 and 60 ... smart in business: bodily and spiritually clean; did not perform community duties during three years and are not close relatives of elders who have performed communal duties before.material from the site

[Then these tickets] are collected in each quarter, and the boy, who still cannot distinguish the signs, takes them out one after another so that one person from each quarter is elected. Thus elected, 12 people make up the "annual committee". Before that, it is also necessary to draw out tickets [with the names of members] of the “gardens committee”, and let 12 people make up the “gardens committee”. [People listed] on the remaining six tickets form a "reservoir committee".

The three committees... let them carry out their duties for a full 360 days...

Caste - a closed social group whose members are connected by origin, occupation and social position.

Didn't find what you were looking for? Use the search

On this page, material on the topics:

castes and communities in india
castes and communities of india
varnas and castes of medieval india briefly

Features of the state development of India in the Middle Ages. Castes and Communities in Medieval India Structure in Indian Society in the Middle Ages

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Introduction

1. Features of the state development of India in the Middle Ages

1.1 Rajput (pre-Islamic) period (VII-XII centuries)

1.2 Delhi Sultanate-(XIII - early XVI centuries)

Conclusion

Literature

Similar Documents

§ 34. Medieval India

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Introduction

1. Features of the state development of India in the Middle Ages

1.1 Rajput (pre-Islamic) period (VII-XII centuries)

1.2 Delhi Sultanate-(XIII - early XVI centuries)

Conclusion

Literature

Similar Documents

§ 34. Medieval India

Read also