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Introduction
The study of the political history of 10th–12th century India relies heavily on contemporary Muslim chronicles, which provide detailed accounts of political events but lack information about the people. The primary sources for understanding social and economic conditions during this period are the accounts of foreign travellers, although none have been found from women travellers. When evaluating these accounts, historians must consider the reliability of contemporaries, the character and position of the writers, and the extent to which their accounts are corroborated by other historical evidence. Striking a balance between scientific inquiry and literature is essential in understanding the social and economic conditions of medieval India.
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Textual questions and answers
Very Short Answer Type Questions
1. Give any one feature of the writings of the foreign travellers to India during the medieval period.
Answer: The accounts given by them do not have much information about the people.
2. What did Marco Polo write about the food habits of the Hindus?
Answer: The Hindus were strict vegetarians and abstained from alcohol.
3. When did Niccolo visit Vijayanagara kingdom? Name the country to which he belonged.
Answer: Niccolo visited Vijayanagara in 1420-21. He belonged to Italy.
4. What does Paes write about the Hampi Bazar?
Answer: Paes describes the Hampi Bazar as a place where one could find all sorts of rubies, diamonds, emeralds, pearls, and every sort of thing that one may wish to buy.
5. What do you know about Abdul Razak?
Answer: Abdul Razak was a Persian envoy who visited Deccan in 1542-44 and spoke of the habits and economic life of the people of Vijayanagara.
6. What did Niccolo write about the social condition of Vijaynagara?
Answer: Niccolo speaks of the practice of Sati and slavery, mentioning that many of the slaves were insolvent debtors.
Short Answer Type Questions
1. Describe the features of the writings of the foreign travellers in India during the medieval period of Indian history.
Answer: The accounts given by them do not have much information about the people.
2. Why is Al-Biruni text “Kitab-ul Hind” considered as a voluminous text?
Answer: It is voluminous text divided into 40 chapters on many subjects such as religion and philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, manners, and customs, social life, weights and measures, iconography, laws, and metrology.
3. Describe the social condition of India as described by Al-beruni in the 12th century.
Answer: About the social condition of the Hindus, he writes that child marriage prevailed among them. Widows were not permitted to marry again. The practice of Sati was in vogue. Idol worship was common throughout the land and vast riches were accumulated in temples. The vulgar people were polytheists, but the cultured classes believed in one God, eternal without beginning and an end, acting by free will, almighty, all-wise, living, giving life, ruling and preserving.
4. Describe the social customs and manners of Indians described by Ibn Battuta during the time of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.
Answer: Ibn Battuta writes a good deal about the social customs and manners of the time. Slavery was common and to keep slaves (boys and girls) was recognised as a fashion of the time. Battuta mentions with horror the scene of a woman burning herself in the funeral pyre of her husband with great beating of drums. According to him, permission from the Sultan had to be taken for the performance of Sati.
5. “Ibn Battuta found cities in the Indian subcontinent full of exciting opportunities.” Explain the statement with reference to the city of Delhi.
Answer: Battuta found the cities of the subcontinent full of exciting opportunities for those who had skills and resources. The cities were densely populated and prosperous. Most of the cities had crowded streets and bright and coloured markets stocked with a variety of goods. Battuta tells that Delhi was a vast city with a great population, the largest in India.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. Discuss Al-beruni’s understanding of the Caste system.
Answer: Al-Biruni pointed out that the society in general had degenerated. The caste system had become more rigid and tyrannical. People had become more exclusive and sectarian. Women had also lost their old honoured position in society and were no longer treated with sympathy and consideration. People had become more superstitious, and they had developed a very unprogressive outlook. The important characteristic of the society of this period was that people had grown more exclusive and haughty. This is best described by Al-Biruni in the following words: “The highest castes are the Brahmana, of whom the books of the Hindus tell us they were created from the head of Brahman. And as the Brahman is only another name for the force called nature, and the head is the highest part of the body, the Brahmana are the choice part of the whole genus. Therefore, the Hindus consider them as the very best of mankind. The next castes are the Kshatriya, who were created, as they say, from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. Their degree is not much below that of the Brahmana. After them follow the Vaishya, who were created from the thigh of Brahman. The Shudra, who were created from his feet. Between the latter two classes, there is no very great distance. Much, however, as these classes differ from each other, they live together in the same towns and villages, mixed together in the houses and lodgings.”
2. Who was Ibn Battuta? Briefly describe what does he write about the condition of India.
Answer: Ibn Battuta was a well-known African traveller who visited India in 1333 during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq (1325-51). He was the greatest traveller of the Middle Ages and spent more than twenty-five years of his life in visiting all the important countries of the Islamic world. Ibn Battuta was a native of Morocco. He was born at Tangier in 1304. His full name was Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Battuta, but he is generally known as Ibn Battuta. From his early life, he displayed a great liking for travels. At the age of 21, he left his country to see the different countries of the world. He spent eight years in North Africa, Arabia, and Persia. In 1333, he reached India seventeen years after the death of Alauddin Khalji. His account of Alauddin was probably based on information derived from eyewitnesses of the period.
Ibn Battuta remained in India for eight years, from 1333 to 1342. Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq received him with great honours and even appointed him Qazi of Delhi. He has given an interesting account of Muhammad Tughlaq’s reign in his famous work Tuhfat-un-Nizzar fi Gharaib-ul-Ansar. For several years, he continued to enjoy royal favour. But in the end, his extravagance and liberality threw him into debt and caused the displeasure of the king. After some time, he was again received into favour, but he never forgot the punishment that the Sultan had given him. Hence, he carried from India a strange hatred for the Sultan, which is so clearly reflected in his book.
Ibn Battuta was a keen observer of men and things. He has given a vivid description of the Sultan’s character. He writes, “Of all men, this king is the most humble and of all men he most loves justice.” Whereas Battuta praises the generosity of the Sultan, he also narrates his great acts of cruelty. He writes, “Muhammad is a man who above all others is fond of making presents and shedding blood. There may always be seen at his gate some poor persons becoming rich or some living condemned to death.” He particularly mentions the heavy punishments which the Sultan inflicted upon the Sheikhs and Qazis, men of the sacerdotal order. The king, according to Ibn Battuta’s account, “Slew both small and great and spared not the learned, pious or the nobles. Daily they were brought to the council hall, men in chains, fetters and bonds, and they were led away—some to execution, some to torture and some to scourging. May God preserve us from such calamities.”
Ibn Battuta in his narrative writes a good deal about the manners of the masses, the various customs, and the “strange things” of India. For instance, his description of the practice of Sati among the Hindus is very interesting. But during and after the days of Muhammad Tughlaq, it appears that the state began to interfere, and the woman who wanted to be buried with her dead husband had to get the king’s permission. He also describes the postal system which prevailed in those days in India. He was greatly amazed to see the efficiency of the runners (or Dawats) who would carry the letters from one place to another with great speed. Slavery was common and to keep slaves (boys and girls) was a recognised fashion of the time, but the state encouraged the practice of manumission. Riding on an ass was looked upon with contempt, as it is today, and a man was flogged and paraded on an ass when he was punished for some offence proved against him.
3. Describe why Al-beruni, Ibn Battuta and Bernier visited India. What did they write and for whom they wrote?
Answer: Al-Biruni came to India with Mahmud Ghazni and lived in Punjab for several years. He was brought to Ghazni in Sultan Mahmud’s time either as a prisoner or a hostage. He entered the service of Mahmud in AD 1017 when he was about forty-five years of age. He had much love for learning since his childhood. Al-Biruni came to India with Mahmud Ghazni and lived in Punjab for several years. While in India, he learnt Sanskrit and made a thorough study of Hindu philosophy and other branches of Indian science. The results of his literary and scientific research, he embodied in his work entitled Kitab-ul-Hind (An Enquiry into India). This work has been translated into several European languages and is an important source of information regarding eleventh-century India. It records numerous accurate observations on the history, character, manners, customs and scientific knowledge of the Hindus.
Ibn Battuta came to India in 1333 during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq (1325-51). He was a keen observer of men and things. He has given a vivid description of the Sultan’s character. He writes, “Of all men, this king is the most humble and of all men he most loves justice.” Whereas Battuta praises the generosity of the Sultan, he also narrates his great acts of cruelty. Ibn Battuta’s account is useful for understanding the social and cultural conditions of India during the 14th century. He observed various customs and practices, such as the practice of Sati and the efficiency of the postal system. His narrative provides a good deal of information about the manners of the masses, various customs, and the “strange things” of India.
Francois Bernier was a French physician who visited India from 1656 to 1668. He was highly educated and possessed an acute sense of observation. He has left an interesting account of what he saw in the country during the reign of Shah Jahan and the earlier years of the reign of Aurangzeb. At Delhi, Bernier entered into the service of Danishmand Khan, an important nobleman of the Mughal Court. He was familiar with translations and adaptations of Sanskrit, Pali, and Prakrit texts into Arabic. These books ranged from fables to works on astronomy and medicine. Bernier wrote his accounts for European readers, providing them with detailed descriptions of the Mughal Empire’s political, social, and economic conditions. His writings influenced Western thinkers and provided a comparative analysis of Indian and European societies.
4. What did the foreign travellers write about the social and cultural condition of the kingdom of Vijayanagara during the Medieval period?
Answer: Some foreign travellers who visited South India during the medieval period give us information about Vijayanagara. The Italian traveller Niccolo Conti (1420-21) throws light on the special customs prevailing in the Vijayanagara empire in the time of Raya kings. Niccolo speaks of the practice of Sati and slavery. Many of the slaves, he says, were insolvent debtors. The Portuguese traveller Fernao Nuniz, who visited Vijayanagara in 1535, appears to have been particularly astonished with the practice of Sati and polygamy current in Hindu society. Speaking about the king Deva Raya, he writes that “the king takes to himself 12,000 wives… a large number of these are employed on kitchen duties, a number of these ride on horseback and follow him wherever he goes and a large number is taken as his wives on condition that at his death, they should voluntarily burn themselves with him.”
Abdur Razzaq, the Persian envoy, who visited Vijayanagara in 1542-44, speaks of the habits and economic life of the people of Vijayanagar. He says, “Roses are sold everywhere. The people could not live without roses and they look upon them quite as necessary as food… Each class of men belonging to each profession has shops contiguous to one another. The jewellers sell publicly in the bazaars pearls, rubies, emeralds and diamonds. In this agreeable locality, as well as in the king’s palace, one sees numerous running streams and canals. Behind the King’s palace are the houses and hall allotted to the Diang. To the left of the said palace are several cells, like basins, filled with bullion forming one mass. All the inhabitants, whether high or low, even down to the artificers of the bazaar, wear jewels and gilt ornaments in their ears and around their necks, arms, wrists and fingers.”
The Portuguese traveller Domingos Paes (1522) was also struck with the size and magnificence of the city of Vijayanagara. Domingos Paes and Nuniz describe the Hampi Bazaar (Vijayanagara) thus, “In the street lived many merchants and there you will find all sorts of rubies and diamonds, and emeralds and pearls, and seed pearls and cloths and every sort of thing there is on earth and that you may wish to buy.” They go on to describe some inhabitants of the city laden in all their finery. “Who is he that could tell of the costliness and the value of what each of these women carries on her person? So great is the weight of the bracelets and gold and jewels and carried by them and women accompany them assisting them by supporting their arms.” Paes considered Vijayanagara as the best provided city in the world where the number of houses exceeded 100,000 and the number of inhabitants was beyond computation. The city had a very busy life. “The streets and markets,” observed Paes, “are full of laden oxen without count, so that you come upon as many of them that you have to wait for them to pass or else have to go by another way.”
5. Do you think Ibn Battuta’s account is useful in arriving at an understanding of life in contemporary urban centres? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Ibn Battuta’s account is indeed useful in arriving at an understanding of life in contemporary urban centres. His detailed observations and descriptions provide valuable insights into various aspects of urban life during the 14th century. For example, he describes the postal system, which was efficient and well-organised. Muhammad Tughlaq made arrangements for post being carried quickly from one part of the country to another. This was done by relays of horses or even more efficiently and quickly by runners who were posted every mile or so in towers built for the purpose. The runner continually clanged a bell as he ran so that the man on the next relay might be able to see him from the tower and get ready to take his burden.
Ibn Battuta was excited to see many things with which he was quite unfamiliar, for instance, coconut and Paan. He writes that betel (Paan) is cultivated in the same way as the grape vine. The betel is used for eating. Some pieces of broken arecanut are placed on a betel leaf, then a little chalk is applied to them. This is eaten and masticated. Battuta found the cities of the subcontinent full of exciting opportunities for those who had skills and resources. The cities were densely populated and prosperous. Most of the cities had crowded streets and bright and coloured markets stocked with a variety of goods. Battuta tells that Delhi was a vast city with a great population, the largest in India. The city of Daulatabad was no less and easily rivalled Delhi in size.
In Daulatabad, there is a marketplace for male and female singers which is known as Tarababad. It is one of the greatest and most beautiful bazaars. The shops are decorated with carpets, and at the centre, there is a swing on which sits a female singer who is decked with all kinds of finery, and her female attendants swing her. Battuta was also excited to see the postal system. It was efficient that the reports from Sindh to Delhi would reach the Sultan through his postal system in just five days.
Ibn Battuta writes a good deal about the social customs and manners of the time. Slavery was common, and to keep slaves (boys and girls) was recognised as a fashion of the time. Battuta mentions with horror the scene of a woman burning herself in the funeral pyre of her husband with great beating of drums. According to him, permission from the Sultan had to be taken for the performance of Sati.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Where was Al-Biruni born?
A. Uzbekistan
B. Morocco
C. France
D. Greece
Answer: A. Uzbekistan
2. Khwarizm was an important centre because of:
A. Education
B. Trade
C. Politics
D. Craft
Answer: A. Education
3. Al-Biruni was a scholar from:
A. Syria
B. Hebrew
C. Persian
D. Sanskrit
Answer: C. Persian
4. Who is the author of ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’?
A. Ibn-Battuta
B. Francois Bernier
C. Al-Biruni
D. None of the above
Answer: C. Al-Biruni
5. ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’ is written in which language?
A. Persian
B. Hebrew
C. Arabic
D. Sanskrit
Answer: C. Arabic
Competency-Based Questions
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of the following statements is incorrect regarding Buddhism?
A. Slaves were sold in market places just like any other commodity.
B. Some of the slaves were knowledgeable and tried to get involved in the state matters.
C. Some of the female slaves under the service of the Sultan were masters in music and dance.
D. Slaves were only used for household work.
Answer: D. Slaves were only used for household work.
2. Match the right pairs and select the correct option.
List I
(i) Manuci
(ii) Jean Baptist Tavernier
(iii) Duarte Barbosa
(iv) Abdur Razak
List II
(a) Samarkand
(b) Italy
(c) France
(d) Portuguese
Options:
A. (i) – (b), (ii) – (c), (iii) – (d), (iv) – (a)
B. (ii) – (c), (i) – (d), (iii) – (b), (iv) – (a)
C. (i) – (d), (ii) – (b), (iii) – (c), (iv) – (a)
D. (i) – (a), (ii) – (d), (iii) – (c), (iv) – (b)
Answer: A. (i) – (b), (ii) – (c), (iii) – (d), (iv) – (a)
3. State which of the following statements is incorrect regarding Kitab-ul-Hind and Al-Biruni?
A. Kitab-ul-Hind is written in Arabic language which is simple and clear.
B. The topics covered in it are – travel, festivals, games and science, social life, sculptures, law, etc.
C. It is divided into 60 parts.
D. Kitab-ul-Hind is also known as Tarikh-ul-Hind.
Answer: C. It is divided into 60 parts.
4. Al-Biruni depended mainly on the works of Brahmins and often quoted from the Vedas, the Puranas, the Bhagavad Gita, the works of Patanjali, and the Manusmriti. From the above line, which of the following can be inferred?
A. He understood the oppression that untouchables faced in Indian society.
B. He read extensively about the existence of different religions in India.
C. He had a clear understanding of state diplomacy and administration.
D. He learned a lot about Indian society by reading ancient texts.
Answer: D. He learned a lot about Indian society by reading ancient texts.
5. Match the right pairs and select the correct option.
List I
(i) Al-Beruni
(ii) Ibn-Battuta
(iii) Marco Polo
(iv) Abdur Razak
List II
(a) Morocco
(b) Samarkand
(c) Italy
(d) Uzbekistan
Options:
A. (i) – (d), (ii) – (a), (iii) – (c), (iv) – (b)
B. (ii) – (a), (i) – (b), (iii) – (c), (iv) – (d)
C. (iv) – (d), (i) – (a), (iii) – (c), (ii) – (b)
D. (ii) – (b), (iv) – (d), (i) – (a), (iii) – (c)
Answer: A. (i) – (d), (ii) – (a), (iii) – (c), (iv) – (b)
Case-based Questions
1. Read the following passage and answer the questions:
Giovanni Careri, on the basis of Bernier’s account tells the amount of wealth in the Mughal empire. He writes, “That the readermay form some ideas of the wealth of this (Mughal) Empire, he is to observe that all the Gold and Silver, which circulate throughout the world at last centres here. It is well known that as much ofitcomes out of America, after running through several kingdoms of Europe, goes partly into Turky (Turkey), for several sorts of commodities. … which is afterwards sent over in ships to Indostan (Hindustan). Besides the Indian, Dutch, English and Portuguese ships, that every year carry the commodities of Indostan to Pegu, Tanasserri (parts of Myanmar). Siam (Thailand), Ceylon (Sri Lanka) the Maldives Islands, Mozambique and other places, most of necessities convey much gold and silver thither, from those countries….”
1. What is the estimate of Giovanni about the wealth of the Mughal empire?
Answer: Giovanni estimates that all the gold and silver circulating throughout the world eventually centers in the Mughal Empire.
2. According to Giovanni, name the countries from which gold and silver poured into the Mughal Empire.
Answer: According to Giovanni, gold and silver poured into the Mughal Empire from America, Turkey, Pegu, Tanasserri, Siam, Ceylon, the Maldives Islands, and Mozambique.
3. Tell much of gold came to Europe from which country?
Answer: Much of the gold came to Europe from America.
2. Read the following case carefully and answer the questions that follow:
The system of varnas
This is Al-Biruni’s account of the system of varnas: The highest castes are the Brahmana, of whom the books of the Hindus tell us they were created from the head of Brahaman. And as the Brahman is only another name for the force called nature, and the head is the highest part of the … body, the Brahmana are the choice part of the whole genus. Therefore, the Hindus consider them as the very best of mankind.
The next castes are the Kshatriya, who were created, as they say, from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. Their degree is not much below that of the Brahmana. After them follow the Vaishya, who were created from the thigh of Brahman. The Shudra, who were created from his feet..
Between the latter two classes there is no very great distance. Much, however, as these classes differ from each other, they live together in the sametowns and villages, mixed together in the houses and lodgings.
1. Which caste is created from the head of Brahma?
A. Brahmana
B. Vaishyas
C. Krishna
D. None of these
Answer: A. Brahmana
2. Name the caste which is created from the shoulders and hands of Brahma.
A. Vaishyas
B. Shudras
C. Untouchables
D. Kshatriyas
Answer: D. Kshatriyas
3. Which caste is created from the thigh of Brahma?
A. Vaishyas
B. Chanelalas
C. Shudras
D. None of these
Answer: A. Vaishyas
4. According to the “system of Varnas”, which caste is considered the highest caste?
A. Shudras
B. Merchants
C. Brahmana
D. Kshatriyas
Answer: C. Brahmana
Extra/additional questions and answers
1. What are the four considerations to keep in mind when weighing the value of any historian’s source material?
Answer: First, contemporaries are never good judges. Second, the character and position occupied by the contemporaries should be taken into account. Third, the acid test for the versions of the contemporaries is how far they are corroborated by other historical evidence. Lastly, the writer has to be extremely impartial when associating historical data.
45. Describe Bernier’s account of the economic situation in Mughal India, including the condition of artisans and the state of trade and commerce.
Answer: Bernier mentioned that the Karkhanas (workshops) were numerous in Mughal India, resulting in a large number of artisans. However, the nobles often forced the artisans to work for them, and artisans sometimes received lashings as partial payment. Despite these hardships, trade and commerce flourished in the Mughal period, particularly in Bengal, which Bernier confirmed as a very prosperous province. Numerous goods, such as cotton, silks, calico, and saltpetre, were exported from India. Bernier inaccurately stated that in Delhi, there was no middle class and that one must either live in the highest state or live miserably. Additionally, he mentioned that preference was shown for fair complexions, and high-ranking officers often preferred wives from Kashmir. Bernier also described the Portuguese people as acting with great impunity, forcibly converting people to Christianity and boasting about it.
Extra/additional MCQs
1. Who was the foreign traveler that came to India with Mahmud Ghaznavi?
A. Ibn Battuta B. Al-biruni C. Marco Polo D. Niccolo de Conti
Answer: B. Al-biruni
75. What did Bernier criticize the Mughal army for?
A. Size B. Weapons C. Discipline D. Strategy
Answer: C. Discipline
Ron’e Dutta is a journalist, teacher, aspiring novelist, and blogger who manages Online Free Notes. An avid reader of Victorian literature, his favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. He dreams of travelling the world. You can connect with him on social media. He does personal writing on ronism.
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