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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 […]
Socialist ideas in the modern sense came to be articulated by the Physiocrats or the economists who were making enquiries into the production and distribution of food and goods. Étienne-Gabriel Morally, the Utopian thinker, in his Code de la Nature (1755), denounced the institution of private property and proposed a communistic organisation of society. He […]
Introduction Europe in the nineteenth century was infl uenced by the developments in France. Klemens von Metternich, the Chancellor of Austria-Hungary, who formed a ‘Holy Alliance’ between the monarchies of Austria, Russia, Prussia and France to suppress democratic and nationalistic trends in Europe, famously said, “When France sneezes, Europe catches a cold.” France sneezed not […]
In the aftermath of the French Revolution, when Napoleon was holding the entire Europe to ransom, another revolution which was destined to affect the history of mankind was taking place in England. This was the Industrial Revolution. Industrial Revolution refers to the adoption of a system of producing commodities on a large scale in huge […]
The regions of Latin America were conquered by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. The Portuguese and the French also had their presence there. The political power of the South American cultures such as the Incas and the Aztecs was destroyed by these colonial powers. The colonizers (conquistadores) brought to an end the local religious […]
In the 18th century, Europe was ruled by monarchs of various dynasties, and they wielded absolute powers. Along with the nobility and clergy they enjoyed hereditary privileges. In France the clergy and nobility did not pay taxes like the common people. It was in this context that the French Revolution occurred and stood for liberty, […]
During the Age of Discovery, adventurous seafarers explored the so-called New World and discovered new trade routes with royal support. T his ensured better connectivity and profits. King James I sent an expedition to Virginia where a colony was established in 1607 and named Jamestown. Then the pilgrims from Britain sailed in a ship called […]