Ch16 India and the Ocean Basin India After the Fall of the Gupta Dynasty

Invasion of White Huns from Central Asia beginning 451 CE.Gupta State collapsed mid-6th c.Chaos in northern India.Local power struggles.Invasions of Turkish nomads, absorbed into Indian society
King Harsha (r. 606-648 CE)
Temporary restoration of unified rule in north India.Religiously tolerant.Buddhist by faith.Generous support for poor.Patron of the arts.Wrote three plays.Assassinated, no successor able to retain control.
Introduction of Islam to Northern India
Arabs conquer Sind (north-west India), 711.Heterodox population, but held by Abbasid dynasty to 1258.
Merchants and Islam
Arabic trade with India predates Islam.Dominated trade between India and the west to 15th century.Established local communities in India.E.g. Cambay
Mahmud of Ghazni
Raids into India, 1001-1027.Plunders, destroys Hindu and Buddhist temples.Often builds mosques atop ruins.
The Sultanate of Delhi
Consolidation of Mahmud’s raiding territory.Capital: Delhi.Ruled northern India 1206-1526.Weak administrative structure.Reliance on cooperation of Hindu kings.19 out of 35 Sultans assassinated.

Hindu Kingdoms of Southern India
Chola Kingdom, 850-1267.Maritime power.Not highly centralized.
Kingdom of Vijayanagar
Northern Deccan.Originally supported by Sultanate of Delhi.Leaders renounce Islam in 1336.Yet maintain relations with Sultantate.
Agriculture in the Monsoon World
Spring/summer: rains, wind from south-west.Fall/winter: dry season, wind from north-east.Seasonal irrigation crucial to avoid drought, famine.Especially southern India.Massive construction of reservoirs, canals, tunnels.
Trade and Economic Development in Southern India.
Indian regional economies largely self-sufficient.Certain products traded throughout subcontinent.Iron, copper, salt, pepper.Southern India profits from political instability in north.
Temples and Indian Society
More than religious centers.Center of coordination of irrigation, other agricultural work.Some Temples had large...