The Medieval Period

The medieval period in Indian history began roughly around the 8th century
CE. (After the fall of the Gupta Empire) till the 18th century CE.

The Science of Cartography Medieval Period

When travelers would go to

some unknown places they would

not know the way they should Early Medieval Period Later Medieval Period

proceed in and thus made rough

drawings that indicated places and directions and the first maps were made.
This was a long process. The very first map was made by an Arab
geographer whose name was al – Idris in the year 1154 CE. The second map
was made by Martin Waldeseemuller in the year 1507.

Map of Al – Idris Map of Martin Waldeseemuller

Do this:-

1. Summarize whatever you have read in this page with looking as it

(include the years when the various maps were made and by whom).
 Diverse Terminology

Names used to refer to India

Aryavarta Bharatvarsha

Hindustan India / Bharat

Aryavarta: Land of Aryans.

Bharatvarsha: In the Puranas.

India & Bharat: The name India comes from the word Indus which
originates from the Persian word Sindhi. The words India and Bharat were
used constantly in the place of each other.
Hindustan: The word Hindustan was used to refer to the entire Indian
subcontinent or the north and northwestern regions.

- Minhaj-i-Siraj (a Persian Historian) used the term Hindustan to refer

to the areas of Panjab, Haryana and the lands between the rivers Ganga
and Yamuna.
- When Mughals used the word Hindustan they used it to refer to
geography of a place.
- Subsequent rulers used the word Hindustan to refer to their respected
realms.
- When Amir Khusrau used the word Hind it was used to refer to the
geographical and cultural aspect and it did not cause any political or
national meaning of it.

Fill in the blanks:-

1. The names used to refer to India were __________, ___________,

__________ and ___________.

2. ______________ was a Persian Historian who called India Hindustan.

3. _____________ was the name used by Puranas to refer to India.

Sources of History
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 Sources of History
Literary Sources
Literary sources mean the written
sources.
Paper had become cheap so people
would record the important events
and preserve them in temples, archives,
and monasteries. Wealthy People also
collected the records.
Sources also include prashastis & eulogies.
Prashastis were usually in the praise of
the king, except the Rajatarangini by
Kalahana. (Tells about the history of
Kashmir).
Arabic and Persian writings give the most
information about the medieval period.
E.g. (i) Kitab-ul-Yamini talks about the
early life of Mahumad Ghazni
(ii) Tarikh-i-Hind
Autobiographies and Biographies: -
Babur’s Baburnama tells about the
geographical features of the subcontinent.
Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri which tells us about the
personal life of Jahangir and the ______.
Archeological Sources
Archeological sources mean the
construction related sources.
Coins, ornaments and weapons give us
information about the medieval society.
In south India records of the land
grants were inscribed on copper plates.
Buildings and monuments
Monuments exhibit the economic
conditions of the time along with
understanding of the culture and people.
E.g. Qutub Minar, Red fort, Jama masjid
Coins and Inscriptions
Coin shed light on the socio-economic
conditions of the medieval period. They
also help us know the names and titles of
the rulers who issued them.
Inscriptions are writings engraved on
rocks, pillars and stones.
Paintings and Sculptures
A lot of Arabic and Persian influence can
be seen in the art and architecture of
the medieval period.
Developments in the Medieval Period

Developments

Social Technologies

Food and Beverages Developments in Hinduism

Social: - Castes were divided into sub-casts called Jatis. People belonging to
the same profession had same jatis

Foods and Beverages: - The Turks brought peaches, apricot and melons to the sub
– continent