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  9.THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES We tend to associate each region with distinctive kinds of food, clothes, poetry, language, dance, music and painting Regional cultures are often the product of complex processes of intermixing of local traditions with ideas from other parts of the subcontinent     THE CHERAS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MALAYALAM Example : for use of regional language in official record  [  Mahodayapuram (Kerala) - The Chera kingdom, established in 9th century and the rulers introduced the Malayalam language and script in their inscriptions] The Cheras also drew upon Sanskritic traditions First Malayalam literary works dated to about 12th century Lilatilakam - a 14th century text, composed in Manipravalam referring to two languages    RULERS AND RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS:  THE JAGANNATHA CULT The local tribal people make the wooden image of the deity was later identified with Vishnu In 12th century - Anantavarman decided to erect temp...

8.DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE people perform rituals of worship, or singing bhajans, kirtans or qawwalis  such intense devotion is the legacy of various kinds of bhakti and Sufi movements       THE IDEA OF A SUPREME GOD Different groups of people worshipped their own gods and goddesses The idea that all living things pass through countless cycles of birth and rebirth came to be widely accepted some attracted to the idea of a supreme god who could deliver humans from such bondage if approached with devotion Shiva, Vishnu and Durga - supreme deities   A NEW KIND OF BHAKTI IN SOUTH INDIA - NAYANARS AND ALVARS They drew upon the ideals of love and heroism as in Sangam literature and blended them with the values of bhakti The Cholas and Pandya kings built elaborate temples to strengthen the link between the bhakti tradition and temple worship There were 63 Nayanars and 12 Alvars   Best known Nayanars - Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manikkavasagar (compi...

  7.TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES Important social, political and economic developments had taken place over the centuries but social change was not same everywhere because different kind of societies evolved differently In most places, society was divided based on varnas prescribed by Brahmanas      BEYOND BIG CITIES: TRIBAL SOCIETIES Tribes - They did not follow the social rules and rituals prescribed by Brahmanas nor they divided into numerous unequal classes Many tribes do agriculture, others were hunter-gatherers or herders Some were nomadic and moved from one place to another     WHO WERE TRIBAL PEOPLE? Tribal people did not keep written records, but they preserved rich customs and oral traditions Tribals were found in almost every region, some powerful tribes controlled large territories In Punjab, the Khokhar tribe was very influential, later the Gakkhars became more important (their chief, Kamal Khan Gakkhar , was made a noble by Empe...

6.TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSONS Types of towns  - a temple town, an administrative centre, a commercial town or a port     ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRES Thanjavur (the capital of the Cholas): Kaveri (the perennial river flows), water supply for town (from well and tanks) Rajarajeshvara temple (Architect - Kunjaramallan Rajaraja Perunthachchan ), palaces with mandapas or pavilions, army barracks are there bustling town with markets, the Saliya weavers producing cloth for temple flags, the sthapatis or sculptors are making idols     TEMPLE TOWNS AND PILGRIMAGE CENTRES Thanjavur - also an example of temple town Temples - often central to the economy and society, rulers built temples, endowed temples with grant of land and money, pilgrims also made donations Temple towns - Bhillasvamin (Bhilsa / Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh), Kanchipuram and Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh Pilgrimage centres to townships - Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh), Tiruvanna...

4.THE MUGHAL EMPIRE From the latter half of the 16th century Mughals expanded their kingdom from Agra and Delhi , until in the 17th century they controlled nearly all of the subcontinent From their mother's side they were descendants of Ghengis Khan , the Mongol ruler From their father's side they were the successors of Timur , the ruler of Iran, Iraq and modern-day Turkey Mughals did not like to be called as Mughal or Mongol but they were proud of their Timurid ancestry     MUGHAL MILITARY CAMPAIGNS     1. BABUR  (1526-1530) The first Mughal emperor  1494 - succeeded to the throne in Ferghana, forced to leave the kingdom by the Uzbegs invasion 1504 - seized Kabul 1526 - defeated Ibrahim Lodi, at Panipat and captured Delhi and Agra (First Battle of Panipat) 1527 - defeated Rana Sanga, Rajput rulers and allies (Battle of Khanua) 1528 - defeated Rajputs at Chanderi      2. HUMAYUN  (1530-1540),(1555-1556) he divided his inheritance wi...

  3. THE DELHI SULTANS Delhi became an important city only in the 12th century Tomaras Rajputs and Chauhans of Ajmer made Delhi an important commercial centre Then in 13 th century, Delhi Sultans built many cities ( Siri, Jahanpanah, Delhi-i-Kuhna, Tughluqabad, Adilabad, Firuzabad )  They constructed several temples, minted coins ( Delhiwal ) and transformed Delhi into a capital five dynasties altogether made Delhi Sultanate     FINDING OUT ABOUT THE DELHI SULTANS sources - Inscriptions, coins, architecture  tarikh / tawarikh - valuable histories of Delhi Sultanate were written by learned men in Persian (   language of administration) authors of tawarikh lived mostly in cities, wrote histories to earn rewards  they preserved ideas on basis of birthright and gender distinctions In 1236, Sultan Iltutmish's daughter Raziyya , became Sultan Minhaj-i-Siraj , a chronicler recognised that Raziyya was qualified than all her brothers but he don't like a ...

  2. NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS     THE EMERGENCE OF NEW DYNASTIES New dynasties emerged after 7th century Samantas - big landlords or warrior chiefs, subordinates to the kings, later declared themselves as maha-samanta, maha-mandaleshvara Rashtrakutas - sub ordinate to Chalukyas In mid eighth century, Dantidurga , a Rashtrakuta chief performed a ritual called hiranya-garbha (lead to the rebirth of the sacrificer as kshatriya) From Brahmanas to  Kings - the Kadamba Mayusrasharman and the Gurjara-Pratihara Harichandra     ADMINISTRATION IN THE KINGDOMS Titles - Maharaja- adhiraja (great king, overlord of kings), tribhuvana-chakravartin (lord of the three worlds) taxes collected to finance the king's establishment, construction of temples and forts, used to fight wars close relatives of the king held important positions, positions were often hereditary Inscription of the Cholas - Tamil Nadu, more than 400 terms for different kinds of taxes such as vetti ( in...

  1. TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS Cartography - the study and practice of making maps science of cartography differed in these two periods, produced with different historical backgrounds and contexts Map 1 -  made in 1154 CE by Arab geographer Al-Idrisi , showing Indian subcontinent from land to sea South India where we would find North India and Sri Lanka at top (upside down map)  marked in Arabic, important places like kanauj in U.P were also marked  Map 2 - 600 years after Map 1, made in 1720s by French cartographer  used by European sailors, had detailed account on coastal areas       NEW AND OLD TERMINOLOGIES  Historical records changed over time - not only grammar and vocabulary; the meanings of words also changed  Term 'Hindustan' used in 13th century by Minhaj-i-siraj , chronicler in Persian (meant the areas of punjab, Haryana and the lands between the Ganga and the Yamuna) Babar used same term 'Hindustan...