2. India before the Times of Shivaji Maharaj

2. India before the Times of Shivaji Maharaj

We shall learn about the various

ruling powers in India before the times

of Shivaji Maharaj in this lesson. Various

ruling powers existed in India during that

period.

‘Pal’ in the eighth century was a

famous dynasty in Bengal. In Central

India, the Gurjar-Pratihar power spread

up to Andhra, Kalinga, Vidarbha, West

Kathewad, Kanauj and Gujarat.

Among the Rajput dynasties in North

India, the Gahadwal and the Parmar

dynasties were the important ones. Among

Rajputs, Prithviraj Chauhan belonging to

the Chauhan dynasty was a valiant King.

In the first war at Tarai, Prithviraj

Chauhan had defeated Muhammad Ghuri.

But Muhammad Ghuri defeated Prithviraj

Chauhan in the second war at Tarai.

Rajaraj I and Rajendra I belonging

to the Chola dynasty in Tamil Nadu were

eminent rulers. The Cholas conquered the

Maldive Islands and Sri Lanka using their

naval strength. King Vishnuvardhan

belonging to the Hoysal dynasty in

Karnataka had conquered the whole of

Karnataka.

During the reign of Govind III of the

Rashtrakuta dynasty in Maharashtra, the

Rashtrakut power spread from Kanauj up

to Rameshwar. Later, Krishna III

conquered the region up to Allahabad.

Three dynasties of the Shilahars

emerged in Western Maharashtra. One

dynasty ruled over Thane and Raigad in

North Konkan, the second in South

Konkan, while the third dynasty ruled

over some parts of the present day

Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli and Belgaum

districts.

The last prosperous power before the

period of Shivaji Maharaj was that of the

Yadavas. The capital of Bhillam V of the

Yadava dynasty was at Deogiri near

Aurangabad. He extended his rule beyond

the river Krishna.

The Yadava period is considered to

be the golden period of Marathi language

and literature. It was in this period that

the Mahanubhav Panth and the Varkari

movement emerged.

Invasions from the North-West

Local dynasties like the Yadava and

Rashtrakuta ruled in Maharashtra. But

invaders from the north-west conquered

the local dynasties there and established

their own rule.

In the meanwhile, the Arab power had

emerged in the Middle-east. Arab rulers

turned towards India to expand their

empire. The Arab General Muhammad￾bin-Qasim, attacked the Sindh province in

the eighth century. Notwithstanding the

resistance of King Dahir, he conquered the

province of Sindh. Due to this campaign,

the Arabs came into political contact with

India for the first time. In the period that

followed, Turks, Afghans and Mughals

from Central Asia came to India and

established their power here.

In the eleventh century ce the Turks

began to invade India. Expanding their

territories they reached the north western

frontier of India. Sultan Mahmud of

Ghazni invaded India many times. He

plundered the rich temples at Mathura,

Vrindavan, Kanauj and Somnath and

carried away enormous wealth with him.

The world famous enriched library of

the Nalanda University was burnt down

by Bakhtyar Khalji.Sultanate in the North

In 1175 ce and 1178 ce, Sultan

Muhammad Ghuri of Ghur from

Afghanistan invaded India. He appointed

Qutubuddin Aibak to look after the

governance of the conquered territories in

India. Later, after the death of Muhammad

Ghuri in 1206 ce, Aibak began to rule the

Indian territories under his rule,

independently. Aibak, who was initially a

slave, became the ruler of Delhi. He died

in 1210 ce.

After Qutubuddin Aibak, Krishnadevaraya

Iltutmish, Razia, Bulban, Alauddin

Khalji, Muhammad-bin-Tughluque,

Firuz Tughluque, Ibrahim Lodi and

other Sultans ruled over India.

Do you know?

Ibrahim Lodi was the last Sultan. He

made many enemies because of his peculiar

temperament. Daulatkhan Lodi, Governor

of Punjab, invited Babur, the ruler of

Kabul to fight against Ibrahim Lodi. Babur

defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the battle and

thus the Sultanate came to an end.

The Kingdom of Vijaynagar

During the reign of Sultan Muhammad￾bin-Tughluque of Delhi, there were many

revolts in the South against the central

power of Delhi. From these revolts arose

the formidable Vijaynagar and Bahamani

kingdoms.

The brothers Harihar and Bukka,

from South India were Sardars in the

service of the Delhi Sultanate. Taking

advantage of the instability in the South

during the reign of Muhammad-bin￾Tughluque, they founded the kingdom of

Vijaynagar in the South in 1336 ce.

Hampi in today’s Karnataka was the

capital of this kingdom. Harihar was the

first king of Vijaynagar.Harihar was succeeded by his brother

Bukka. Bukka brought the region up to

Rameshwar under his control.

Krishnadevaraya : Krishnadevaraya

ascended the throne of Vijaynagar in

1509 ce. He conquered

Vijaywada and

Rajmahendri and

annexed the regions

to his kingdom. He

defeated the combined

forces of the armies

of the Sultans who

had united under the

leadership of the

Bahamani Sultan

Mahmud Shah. During Krishnadevaraya’s

reign, the kingdom of Vijaynagar extended

from Cuttak in the east up to Goa in the

west and from the Raichur Doab in the

north up to the Indian Ocean in the south.

He died in 1530 ce.

Krishnadevraya was a scholar. He

wrote ‘Amuktamalyada’, a Telugu

compendium on polity. The Hazar Ram

temple and Vitthal temple were built in

Vijaynagar during his reign.

The decline of the Vijaynagar kingdom

began with the death of Krishnadevaraya.

In 1565 ce, at Talikot in the present State

of Karnataka, there was a battle between

Adilshahi, Nizamshahi, Qutubshahi,

Baridshahi on one side and Vijaynagar

on the other side. Vijaynagar was defeated.

Thereafter, the dominance of Vijaynagar

came to an end.

The Bahamani Kingdom

While Muhammad-bin-Tughluque was

still reigning, some of his Sardars in the

Deccan rose in rebellion against him.

The leader of these Sardars, Hasan

Gangu, defeated the army of the Sultan

of Delhi. A new kingdom, known as the Bahamani kingdom, came into existence

in 1347 ce. Hasan Gangu became the first

Sultan of the Bahamani kingdom. He

made the city of Gulburga in Karnataka

his capital.

Mahmud Gawan : Mahmud Gawan

was the Chief Wazir of the Bahamani

kingdom. He was a good administrator.

He strengthened the Bahamani kingdom.

He started paying the soldiers their

salaries in cash instead of through land

grants. He brought discipline in the army.

He introduced many reforms in the land

revenue system. He opened a madarsa at

Bidar for Arabic and Persian studies.

After the death of Mahmud Gawan,

factionism increased among the Bahamani

Sardars. The conflict with the Vijaynagar

kingdom had an adverse effect on the

Bahamani kingdom. The provincial

Governors began to act more independently.

This led to the disintegration of the

Bahamani kingdom into five small powers￾Imadshahi of Varhad, Baridshahi of Bidar,

Adilshahi of Bijapur, Nizamshahi of

Ahmadnagar and Qutubshahi of Golconda.

Mughal Power

In 1526 ce, the Sultanate of Delhi

came to an end. Mughal power was

established there.

Babur : Babur was the founder of

Mughal power. He was the king of Farghana

in Central Asia in today’s Uzbekistan. He

had heard of the wealth in India. So he

planned an invasion of India.

The reigning Sultan of Delhi at that

time was Ibrahim Lodi. Daulatkhan Lodi

was the Governor of Punjab under the

Sultanate. The relationship between Ibrahim

Lodi and Daulatkhan Lodi was strained.

Daulatkhan Lodi invited Babur to march

on India. Taking this opportunity, Babur

invaded India. To repel Babur’s invasion,

Ibrahim Lodi started with his army. There

was a battle between Ibrahim Lodi and

Babur on 21 April 1526 at Panipat. In this

battle, Babur made use of an artillery

effectively for the first time in India. He

defeated Ibrahim Lodi’s army. This is

known as the First Battle of Panipat.

After the battle of Panipat, Rana Sanga

of Mewad brought all Rajput kings together.

There was a battle between Babur and

Rana Sanga at Khanua. Babur’s artillery

and reserved force played a key role in this

battle and Rana Sanga’s army was defeated.

Babur died in 1530 ce.

After Babur, Humayun (1530 ce to

1539 ce and from 1555 ce to

1556 ce) ascended the throne. He was

defeated by Shershah. Shershah

established the Sur dynasty on the

throne of Delhi. After Humayun, Akbar

(1556 ce to 1605 ce) ascended the

throne. There was a battle between

Akbar and Hemu at Panipat in

1556 ce. This is the Second Battle of

Panipat. Akbar’s ambition was to bring

the whole of India under his one central

authority. After Akbar, Jahangir (1605 ce

to 1628 ce) became the Emperor. During

his reign, his wife Nurjahan played an

active role in the administration.

Jahangir was followed by Shahajahan

(1628 ce to 1658 ce) as the Emperor.

The next Emperor after Shahajahan,

Aurangzeb (1658 ce to 1707 ce) reigned

for a very long time. After his death,

the Mughal Empire became weak.

Do you know?

Akbar was the most powerful King

of the Mughal dynasty. When he tried to

bring India under his central authority, he

had to face opposition. Maharana Pratap,

Chandbibi, Rani Durgavati struggled

against him. Their struggle is noteworthy.

Maharana Pratap: After the death of

Udaysingh, Maharana Pratap ascended the

throne of Mewad. He continued the struggle for Mewad’s

existence. Till the

very end, he

struggled with

Akbar to maintain

his indepedence. He

has become

immortal in history

due to his qualities

of valour, courage,

self-respect, sacrifice, etc.

Chandbibi : The Mughals attacked

Ahmadnagar, the capital of Nizamshah’s

kingdom, in 1595 ce. The Mughal army

put the fort of

Ahmadnagar under

siege. Chandbibi, the

capable daughter of

Husain Nizamshah of

Ahmadnagar, bravely

defended the fort. At

this time, there was an

internal strife among

the factions of the Sardars in Nizamshahi’s

kingdom. This resulted in the murder of

Chandbibi. Later, the Mughals captured

the fort of Ahmadnagar. But, the Mughals

could not bring the entire kingdom of

Nizamshahi under their control.

Rani Durgavati : Gondvana can

broadly be said to comprise the eastern

part of Vidarbha, part of Madhya Pradesh

to its north, the western part of today’s

Chhattisgarh, northern part of Andhra

Pradesh and the western part of Odisha.

Durgavati, born

in the dynasty Chandel

Rajput became the

queen of Gondvana

when she was married.

She was an excellent

administrator. The

struggle of Gondvana

queen Durgavati against the Mughals is important in

medieval history. After her husband’s

death, Durgavati laid down her life while

fighting against Akbar, but she did not

surrender.

Akbar was well versed and vigilant

ruler. His religious policy was liberal and

tolerant. He gave equal treatment to

people from all religions. He founded

Din-i-Ilahi by incorporating noble

principles from all religions, but never

compelled anyone to adopt Din-i-Ilahi.

Aurangzeb : Aunrangzeb won the

war of succession amongst other sons of

Shahjahan and became the Emperor by

detaining his father

in 1658 C.E. Dara

Shukoh, the elder son

of Shahjahan was

famous for religious

tolerance. He

translated more than

fifty Upanishadas in

Persian language

when Aurangzeb

became the Emperor, at that time, the

Mughal empire extended from Kashmir in

the north up to Ahmadnagar in the south

and from Kabul in the west up to Bengal

in the east. To this Aurangzeb added

Assam in the east, and the regions of

Adilshahi of Bijapur in the south and

Qutubshahi of Golconda after he ended

these kingdoms.

Conflict with the Ahoms : In the

thirteenth century CE, the people of the

Shaan community settled down in the

valley of river Brahmaputra. They

established their Kingdom there. They

were locally known as Ahom people.

While Aurangzeb ruled, the Ahoms

had a prolonged struggle with the Mughals.

The Mughals attacked the Ahoms’ region.

The Ahoms united under the leadership of Gadadharsinha. Commander Lachit

Borphukan gave an intense battle against

the Mughals. The Ahoms used the guerilla

technique in the conflict against the

Mughals. It became impossible for

Mughals to create a strong base in Assam.

Conflict with the Sikhs : The ninth

Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Teghbahaddar,

protested strongly against Aurangzeb’s

policy of religious

intolerance. Aurangzeb

imprisoned him and

beheaded him in 1675 ce.

After him, Guru

Gobindsingh became the

Guru of the Sikhs.

Guru Gobindsingh

organised his followers

and encouraged their

martial spirit. He organised the Sikh

youths into a fighting force called the

‘Khalsa Dal’. Their headquarters were at

Anandpur. Aurangzeb sent his army to

fight the Sikhs. His army attacked

Anandpur. Although the Sikhs fought

fiercely, they did not succeed. After that,

Guru Gobindsingh came to the Deccan in

1708 ce. There was an attempt on his life

when he was at Nanded. Soon after, the

Guru succumbed to his wounds.

Conflict with the Rajputs : Akbar

had secured the cooperation of the Rajputs

with his policy of amicable relations.

Aurangzeb could not obtain the cooperation

of Rajputs. After the death of Rana

Jaswantsingh of Marwad, Aurangzeb

annexed his kingdom to the Mughal

empire. Durgadas Rathod crowned

Jaswantsingh’s minor son Ajitsingh as the

King of Marwad. Durgadas Rathod fought

hard against the Mughals. Aurangzeb sent

Prince Akbar to Marwad to crush the

resistance of Durgadas. Prince Akbar

joined hands with Rajputs and rose in

revolt against Aurangzeb. An effort was

made to seek help from the Marathas in

Maharashtra. In this revolt. Durgadas

Rathod continued this struggle against the

Mughals for the existence of Marwad.

Conflict with the Marathas : In

Maharashtra, Swaraj was established

under the leadership of Shivaji Maharaj.

In his efforts to establish Swaraj, Shivaji

Maharaj had to fight the Mughals too

along with the other enemies. Aurangzeb

came down to the Deccan after the death

of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with the

intention of conquering the whole of

South India. But the Marathas offered

stiff resistance to Aurangzeb and defended

their independence. We shall study this

struggle later on.