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Shah Jahan (1627-1658) When Shah Jahan ascended the throne in Agra his position was secure and unchallenged. Yet the affairs of the empire needed attention. The Afghan Pir Lodi, with the title Khanjahan, who had been governor of the southern provinces of the empire was hostile. Despite Shah Jahan’s order transferring him from the government […]
Jahangir (1605–1627) Akbar was succeeded by his son Salim with the title Nur-ud-din Jahangir. He was Akbar’s son by a Rajput wife. His ascension was challenged by his eldest son Prince Khusrau who staged a revolt with the blessings of Sikh Guru Arjun Dev. Prince Khusrau was defeated, captured and blinded, while Guru Arjun Dev […]
Emperor Akbar (1556–1605) During Humayun’s wanderings in the Rajputana desert, his wife gave birth to a son, Jalaluddin, known as Akbar, in 1542. Akbar was crowned at the age of fourteen. At the time of Akbar’s ascension, the Afghans and Rajputs were still powerful and posed a great challenge. Yet he had a guardian and […]
Humayun’s Return from Exile After Sher Shah’s death in 1545 his weak successors ruled for ten years. Humayun,who had fled after his defeat at Kanauj, had taken asylum in Persia. Humayun then went to Afghanistan with Persian troops. He succeeded in capturing Kandahar and Kabul. But his brother Kamran did not allow him to hold […]
Sher Shah and Sur Dynasty From the time Humayun abandoned the throne in the Battle of Kanauj to his regaining of power in 1555 Delhi was ruled by Sher Shah of the Sur Dynasty. Born in the family of a Jagirdar and named as Farid, he received the title of Sher Khan after killing a […]
Humayun, a cultured and learned person, was not a soldier like his father. He was faced with the problems of a weak financial system and the predatory Afghans. Bahadur Shah, the ruler of Gujarat, also posed a great threat. Humayun’s brother Kamran who was in-charge of Kabul and Kandahar extended his authority up to Punjab. […]
The race for political supremacy in Central Asia amongst the Uzbeks (Turkic ethnic group), the Safavids (the members of the dynasty that ruled Iran patronising Shia Islam) and the Ottomans (Turkish people practicing Sunni Islam) forced Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, the ruler of Samarkand, to seek his career prospects elsewhere. Historically the trade conducted by countries […]
Introduction India had been invaded from the west/north-west several times over the centuries, beginning with Alexander. Various parts of north India had been ruled by foreigners like the Indo-Greeks, Sakas, Kushans and Afghans. The Mughals, descended from the Mongol Chengiz Khan and the Turk Timur, founded an empire in India which lasted for more than […]
Kabir Kabir is probably the most important cultural figure of medieval India. His iconoclastic poetry which Kabir ridiculed ostentatiousness and ritual, and emphasized the universality of god won many adherents. Little concrete historical evidence is available on his life. He was probably a weaver. Said to be a disciple of Ramananda, he learnt Vedanta philosophy […]
1.The bhakti reformers preached the principles of monotheism (oneness of God) 2. They believed in freedom from the cycle of life and death. They advocated that the salvation could be attained only by deep devotion and faith in God. 3. They emphasized the self-surrender for obtaining the bliss and grace of God. 4. Gurus could […]
Impact of Sufism In parallel with the Bhakti movement in Hinduism, Sufism played a similar role in Islam. The terms Sufi, Wali, Darvesh and Fakir are used for Muslim saints who attempted to develop their intuitive faculties through ascetic exercises, contemplation, renunciation and selfdenial. By the 12th century, Sufism had become an influential aspect of […]
When the popularity of the bhakti movement in south India reached its peak, the doctrine of bhakti was expounded at the philosophical level by a series of Vaishnava scholars and saints. Ramanujar expounded the philosophy known as Vishistadvaita, or qualified monism. His teaching qualified Adi Sankara’s emphasis on absolute monism or the oneness of the […]
Bhakti Movement in the South The transformation of a tribal society into a wellstructured social order and the emergence of a powerful monarchical system of governance necessitated patronizing one religion or the other to legitimize authority. Buddhism and Jainism were predominantly patronized by the merchant class and they were also supported by the States. The […]
Introduction Like all cultural traditions, religion too does not exist in isolation. It adapts to existing situations and meets both social and spiritual needs of the people. As a country with a long history, religion in India developed by interacting with various traditions. Vedic religion, which came with the advent of Aryanspeaking peoples to India, […]
The king was the ultimate authority in the kingdom. He was also the supreme commander of the army. He was assisted by several high-ranking officers. The chief minister was known as the mahapradhani. He led a number of lower-ranking officers, like Dalavay (commander), Vassal (guard of the palace), Rayasam (secretary/ accountant), Adaippam (personal attendant), and […]
Origin and Expansion T here are different traditions regarding the foundation of the Vijayanagar kingdom. It is now generally accepted, on the basis of contemporary inscriptions, that the two brothers Harihara and Bukka, the eldest sons of one Sangama, earlier serving the Hoysala rulers of Karnataka, asserted their independence and laid foundation for a new […]
Alaudin Hasan Bahman Shah (1347–1358) Rivalry with the Vijayanagar kingdom over the fertile Raichur doab, lying between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, not only marked the early history of the Bahmani kingdom, but continued to be an enduring feature over two centuries. Bahman Shah had also to contend in the east with the rulers of […]
Introduction At the beginning of the fourteenth century, when the Delhi Sultanate was preparing to extend southwards, the Deccan and south India were divided into four kingdoms: the Yadavas of Devagiri (Western Deccan or present Maharashtra), the Hoysalas of Dvarasamudra (Karnataka), the Kakatiyas of Warangal (eastern part of present Telengana) and the Pandyas of Madurai […]
On 26 July 1830, the Bourbon king Charles X issued four ordinances dissolving the Chamber of Deputies, suspending freedom of the press, modifying the electoral laws so that three-fourths of the electorate lost their votes, and calling for new elections to the Chamber. In protest, the Parisian masses took to the streets for the first […]
Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc (1811-1882) An influential French socialist, Louis Blanc, in 1839, started the Revue du Progres, a journal of advanced social thought. His most important essay “Organisation of Labour” serially appeared in 1839. In his writings, he proposed a scheme of state-financed but worker-controlled “social workshops” that would guarantee work for everyone […]