Page 6 - Journeys Through Society-7

In the Zend Avesta, India Wow Fact
is known as Heptahindu
Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world.
which is equivalent to Rig
Veda's Saptasindhu. India
was also known as
Aryavarta, which and legal sanctions. Bonded labour was also
essentially referred to prevalent.
the Gangetic Plains and
its peripheries, the Economic Trends
region which witnessed The flourishing of trade and the introduction of a more
the emergence of the The arrival of the Sultans systematic assessment of land revenue were the
earliest kingdoms and republics. significant economic trends of the medieval period.
The Persian Sasanian Inscription of King Shahpur I in As a result of the growing urbanisation during this
the third century CE, talks about Hndstn, from which, period, trade and commerce were well-developed.
it is believed, the name Hindustan, was derived, The use of gold and silver still remained, for the most
although it did not refer to the entire subcontinent, part, confined to the commercial transactions at the
but only to the north-western part of India. higher level. The masses traded commodities through
the barter system.
In 1017, Al-Boruni travelled to the Indian subcontinent
and wrote a book on it, called Ta’rikh al- Hind. Its literal
Religious Development
translation is 'history of India'.
The medieval period of Indian history was also the
Under the rule of the Arabs, Turks, Afghans and
period of the Bhakti and Sufi movements. The
Mughals in the medieval times, the region came to be
continuous interaction of various religions saw the
known as Hindustan. It was Babur, the founder of the
simultaneous rise of two reformist movements,
Mughal Empire, who first referred to the Indian
Sufism and Bhakti. Both stressed upon the realisation
subcontinent as Hindustan.
of God within oneself and union with God through
Social and Political Groups true devotion.
Many new social groups emerged during the medieval
period. Some of these groups also became politically Wow Fact
powerful. Among them were the Rajputs, who were In the spiritual sphere, this period marked
warriors of Rajasthan and its surroundings, the Sikhs, the emergence of forms of Hinduism and
Islam which were more assimilative in
who were a religious group of Punjab, the Jats of
nature.
Haryana who were farmers, the Ahoms, who
conquered and ruled Assam and the Marathas, who
were warriors of Maharashtra.
Sources of Medieval Period
Feudalism or the royal practice of granting land to
The sources of information for the study of the
nobles in lieu of military help was a significant political
medieval period are classified into four categories,
trend of the period. The important social trends of the
namely historical accounts written on paper, historical
medieval age included the proliferation of new castes,
accounts by foreign travellers, literary accounts and
the rise of tribal groups with their own distinctive
archaeological sources.
identities and customs and a sharp distinction
between rural and urban areas. Categorisation of Chief Sources of Medieval India
Women were mostly confined to the four walls of the History
house. Child marriage was a custom prevalent among 1. Historical Accounts of scholars written on paper
all sections of the society. Polygamy had both social
2. Historical Accounts by Foreign Travellers
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