history-notes

History Notes Iltutmish -> Iltutmish, who belonged to a noble Turkish family was purchased by Qutub-uddin aibak and was later on raised to the position of Amir-i-Shikar. He also married his daughter to Iltutmish.

Having defeated and captured Aram shah, the weak son of Qutb-ud-din,Iltutmish ascended the throne in 1211A.D. 1) He defeated Tajud-din Yaldoz at Tarain in 1214-15 2) He took action against Qabacha first in 1217 but it was in1227 that he was expelled and drowned in the Indus river 3) In 1225, Iwaz the ruler of Bengl was defeated. In the years 1232-34 Iltutmish conquered Gwalior,Malwa,Ujjian and Ranthambhor from Rajput In 1229 A.D. Iltutmish was recognised as Sultan of Hindustan by the Khalifa. This greatly strengthened the position of sultan.

1)Rukn-ud-din-firoz(1235-36 A.D)-> After Iltutmish, his son rukn-ud-din became the king. He was a pleasure loving king ang his mother Shan turkan who was the virtual ruler was the cruel and callous lady. So both of them were put to death.

2) Raziya Begum(1236-40 A.D)-> Raziya after her accession, was confronted with great difficulties. Most of the member of the forty did not like to be ruled by a lady.

3) Behram Shah(1240-1242 A.D.)-> Behram Shah was weak ruler and got murdered by his nobles.

4) Masud Shah(1242-46A.D.)-> During his time balban defeated the Mongols who had invaded India. He also conspired and overthrew Masud shah.

5) Nasir-ud-din-Mahmud(1246-66)-> Nasir-ud-Din did not take any interest in politics and as mush Balban was the principal minister and virtual sovereign. He crushed Khokhars and overran mewat, Ranthambhor, Gwalior etc.

Achievements of Balban as a King-> On his accession in 1266 Balban was faced with great difficulties balban followed a very strong policy and created peace and order.

1) Balban put thousands of meos to death as they would loot people in broad day light and jungles , where they lived , were cut off.

2) The robbers who had made roads and highways unsafe in the Doab were also ruthlessly suppressed.

3) In Rohilkhand too Balban killed a number of people who had created trouble anf threatened peace and order.

4) Balban went personally against Tughril Khan of Bengal, who was defeated and murdered along with his relatives and friends.

5) Balban setup a strong military despotism. He spread a network of spies who were punished for not giving prompt of timely information.

6) Balban by various measures once more raised the prestige and authority of monarchy.

7) He was a great Supporter of consolidation.

Alu-Ud-Din-Khilji-> Alu-Ud-Din-Khilji ascended the throne in 1296A.D. he conquered many important states of northern India and also humbled many south Indian states. His conquest may be divided into two heads:A) Conquest of Northern India(1297-1305)-> 1. Ulugh khan and nusrat khan conquered Gujrat in 1297A.D. 2. Alu-ud-Din and nusrat khan marched against Rana Hamir of Ranthambhor. Nusrat khan was killed at last Ala-ud-din came out victorious 3. Raja Ratan singh of Mewar was defeated by Alu ud din Padmini performed Jauhar.

4. In 1305 Malwa was conquered from Mabarak.

B) Conquest of Southern India(1306-1312)-> 1. Raja Ram Chandra of Devgiri was defeated in 1306.

2.Raja Partap Dev hrving been defeated in 1309 also recognized the sultan’s suzerainty.

3. In 1311 Vir Pandya was defeated and expelled with the help of Sundra Pandya by Malik Kafur, huge wealth was gathered. It is said that such a huge quantity of wealth never fell in the hands of king ever before.

Alu-ud-din’s Deccan Policy:- 1. Alu ud din did not annex the deccan Kingdoms.

2. Alu ud din’s object in conquering the Deccan kingdoms was not religious as pointed out by Amir Khusro. It was simply that of amassing wealth.

3. Alu ud din also annexed a portion of the Deccan and reduced the Deccan states Virtually to vassalage of Delhi Sultans.

4. Alu ud din’s policy was successful. It brought him power, wealth and prestige.

Muhammad Tughlak:- After the death of Ghias-ud-din in 1325A.D, his son Juna khan became king in the name of Muhammad tughlak. The new king was a learned scholar but he lacked practical commonsense. It has been saod that Muhammad was visionary some of his projects were:1.)

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Transfer of capital from Delhi to Devgiri Increased Taxation in the Doab (1330 A.D.) Introduction of token currency (1330-32 A.D.) Dreams of world conquest Submission to the Mongols

Administration of Firoz Tughlak:- Firoz was essentially a man of peace. He was not capable of fighting wars but at the same time a great asministrative genius.

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He revived Jagirdari system.

He reformed the land revenue system and made the peasants happy and prosperous.

He got dug four canals to provide irrigational facilities to peasants.

He abolished 23 taxes, levied only four taxes sanctioned by the Qoran plus water tax on those who got water from state canals.

Diwan-I-Kherat was set up to help the poor in marrying of their daughter and to give jobs to the unemployed. Those who had suffered unduty at the hands of the previous Sultan were compensated.

Small coins were issued and the system of currency was reformed.

The Sultan founded cities ,built, mosques ,palaces ,sarais, hospitals and laid out 1200 gardens.

The Sultan being a fanatic, destroyed temples of the Hindus, imposed Jaziya upon them and persecuted them in every way.

Rise and fall of vijayanagar Empire:(a) Sangama Dynasty:- (1) Hari hara and Bukka were two brothers who founded the vijayanagar kingdom.

(2) Harihara2 who governed from 1379 to 1404 was a powerful king. He conquered Trichinopoly, my sore, kanchi etc.

(3) Bukka2nd, DevaRaya1st and VijayRaya ruled from 14-4 to1419.

(4) From 1419 to1449 DevRay2nd was the king, his successors who ruled up till 1490 were weak.

(b) Saluva Dynasty:- Narasinha founded new Saluva Dynasty and weld from 1490 to1496.

His two sons ruled up till 1505.

(c) Tuluva Dynasty:- (1) Naresh Nayak founded Tuluva dynasty.

(2) Krishna Deva Raya was the most powerful ruler of tuluva dynasty who ruled from 1509 to 1530. He was a great conqueror and an able administrator. He was a patron of art and learning.

He was one of the greatest kings of Deccan.

(3) From 1530 to 1570, Achya to Deva and Sadasiva ruled over Vijayanagar Kingdom.

(d) Aravidu Dynassty:- Tirumala founded Aravidu dynasty. He was succeeded by weak kings. In the first quarter of 17th century the Vijayanagar Empire lost its existence.

Bhakti movement:One of the greatest characteristics of medieval India was the birth and progress of a movement for religious reform knows as Bhakti movement. This movement took its birth in Southern India but by and by it spread to the whole of India important among the reformers who played the most

movement us role in the spread of the movement were Ramanujan, Namdev, Jaidev, Chaitanya, Ramanand, Kabir and Guru Nanak.

1.) Shankarachary:- He was a great Brahmin Malabar preached unity of godhead and acted as pioneer of the bhakti movement. Guru Shankaracharya born in Brahmin family at kaldi in 788A.D. 2.) Ramnuj:- Ramanuj was a great bhakti reformer from the south who preached worship of Laxmi-narayan. He was born in 107A.D. at prrubhadur near (kanchipuram) 3.) NamDev:- He was a great reformer form Maharashtra who condemned empty formalism and preached the sincerest worship of god.

4.) Jai Dev:- A great reformer form Bengal he wrote “Git Govind” and spread Bhakti movement in the east.

5.) Chaitanya:- He laid the foundation of vaishnauism in Bengal and preached to doctrine of love and worship of Krishna. He also strongly condemned caste system.

6.) Ramanand:- He preached worship of Rama and condemned caste system. He had many bhakts like Pipa, Ravidas, and Kabir as his followers.

7.) Kabir:- A great worshipper of Rama, Kabir Preached oneness of god, universal brotherhood and equality of man with greatest sincerity. He condemned caste system and Idol worship.

8.) Guru Nanak:- Guru Nanak from the Punjab, preached oneness and greatness of god and his worship by constantly repeating his name he condemned caste system and empty formalism.

Babur:- 1) Buber was born on 24th February 1483. His father’s name was Umar Sheikh and that of his mother Qutlug-nigar-khanum.

2) His grand mother and his grand father taught him a lot. The climte of that hilly country made him stout and strong.

3) After the death of his father in 1494 Buber became the king of farghan.

4) In 1497, Babur conquered Samarkand but fell ill there. He had lost both Fergana and Samarkand.

5) From 1497 to 1504 Babur was simply a wanderer as he had lost both the kingdoms.

6) In 1504, he became the king of Kabul with the help of shah of Persia, he conquered Farghana, Samarkand, Qunduz but soon afterwards lost all the territories. Ultimately he decided to exert himself eastward.

The First Battle of Panipat:- 1) In 1525 Babur led his fifth expedition to India. He occupied Punjab and marched towards Delhi. Ibrahim lodhi marched towards the Punjab to face the enemy.

2) At panipat two forces faced each other. Babur made a regular plan of battle and divided his army into three parts, placed cannons of the centre and flanking parties on the right and left on the other hand Ibrahim had a force of one lakh but he could not plan his armies quite well.

3) The battle took place on 21st April by noon Ibrahim was defeated and killed. It is said that about 40,000 Afghans were killed on the battle field.

Significance of the Battle:- 1) The battle of Panipat put an end to the Lodhi Dynasty.

2) It led to the downfall of the Delhi Sultanate.

3) Foundations of mughal empire were laid as a result to the battle.

4) Artillery hereafter began to be freely used in India and a new era started in India.

The Battle of Kanawha:- 1) Before the bettle of Panipat Rana Sangha had promised to help Babur against Ibrahim but he did not keep his promise.

2) The Rana believed that after defeating Ibrahim Babur would go back to Kabul but when after the battle was over and Babur announced his decision of staying in India and founding an empire, The Rana was stunned. He now determined to fight against Babur.

3) Babur’s Soldiers were feeling discouraged after hearing the stories of Rajput’s bravery but Babur could inspire them and prepared them for the battle.

Course of Battle:- 1) At Kanwah, the Mughls come face to face. Babur had about 40,000 Soldiers while the Rana had about one lakh combatants.

2) On 17th March 1527 the battle started at 9a.m. Babur planned the battle well.

3) The Rajputs fought very bravely but towards the evening they were defeated.

Significance of the Battle:- 1) The battle of Kanawha gave a death blow to Rajput confederacy.

2) The danger of Rajput supremacy was removed from the Muslims almost forever.

3) Mughal empire in India was firmly established.

4) It opened a new stage in Babur’s life.

5) Lastly, the center of gravity of Babur’s power shifted from Kabul to Hindustan.

Akbar:After the death of Humayu in January 1556 his son Akbar ascended the throne of India.

Conquests of Akbar:- 1) Hemu, Prime minister of Mohammad Shah Adil, who had conquered all territories up to Delhi was defeated in the second Battle of Panipat in 1567 by Bairam khan. Thus Mughal empire was saved for Akbar. The victory had far reaching consequences of subsequent political life of India.

2) Akbar thereafter occupied Delhi and Agra without any difficulty.

3) Sikandra Sur having been defeated at Mankot in 1557, recognized the imperial sovereigntly.

4) Gwalior and Jaunpur were conquered during 1558-60.

5) The ruler of Malwar, BazBhabur was defeated in 1562 and malwa was conquered.

6) In 1564, Asaf khan defeated Rani Durgawati who committed suicide. Thus Gindwana was conquered.

7) The emperor personally fought against the Rajputs in 1567. The rajput chief jaimal and phatta died fighting bravely. Chittor was conquered.

8) In 1569, Raja Surjan Hara and Ram chandra the Rajas of Ranthambhor and Kalinjar, respectively submitted to the mughal emperor after little resistance.

9) The Raja of Jodhpur and Binkaner also submitted.

10) Man Singh marched against Rana Pratap of Mewar and defeated him in 18th june 1576 at Haldight but the power of Rana could not be crushed. Mewar continued its struggle even after the death of Akbar.

Rajput Policy of Akbar:- As far as possible Akbar followed the policy of friendship and reconciliation towards the Rajput's. the chief features of his policy were as follows:1.) In 1562, Akbar married thse daughter of Biharmal of Amber. After this he married the daugher of the Rajput's Rajas of Bikaner and Jaisalmer.

2.) Akbar granted high posts to Rajputs like Todar mal, Bhagwan Dass, Mansingh and others 3.) Akbar granted complete freedom of worship to the Hindus and the Rajputs.

4.) As the kingdom of Mewar refused to submit in 1567 Akbar marched against the Rana.

The Rajputs were defeated and Chittor ultimately conquered in 1576, Rana Pratap was defeated in the battle of Haldighat but the Rana could not be subdued either by friendship or by force.

Nur Jahan's Influence in the Administration:- (1)Nur Jahan exercised the third son of Jahangir, was born of Rajput Princess Jodha Bai, at Lahorein 1592.

2) His early education was well looked after by his grand-father Akbar.

3) In 1607, Khurram was made mansabdar of 8000 Zat and 5000 swar and sonn raised to the rank of 10,000 zat and 5000 sawar.

4) Khurram married three ladies the most important of whom was Arjumand Banu Begam daughter of Asaf Khan.

5) In the time of Jahangir, Khurram didtringuished himself by his sucessful war against Mewar and the successful Deccan campaigns. He was also on good terms with NurJahn.

Religious Polisy of Aurangzeb:- 1) Aurangzeb followed a policy of religious intoleration which negative the work enunciated by Akbar.

2) He destroyed the temples of the Hindus.

3) He reemployed Jaziya upon the Hindus which was collected with the greatest severity and strictness.

4) Aurangzeb dismidded all the hindus who were holding jobs of Peshkar, Diwan and Qanungo.

5) Special customs duty of 5% as against 2 1/2% upon the muslims was lived upon the Hindus.

6) Restrictions were imposed upon the Hindus regarding their pilgrimage to sacred places and regarding the celebration of festivals like Diwali and holi in the cities except for the Rajputs, Other Hindus could not ride well bred horses and elephants and palkies.

Rajput Polisy of Aurangzeb:- 1) Aurangzeb reversed Akbar's Rajput polisy friendship and conciliation and followed that of aggressive warfare.

2) After the death of jaswant singh in 1673, Aurangzeb's sent expedition to Marwar occupied it and destroyed temples there.

3) Aurangzeb refused to recognise Jaswant singh's posthumous son, Ajit singh as 'Raja of Marwar' and confined him in his harem in order to bring him up like a Mughal prince.

4) Durgadass, Rathor chief by a stratagem took away Ajit singh and his mother to Marwar in September 1679 Aurangzeb sent forces to Marwar and ravaged it.

5) Rana raj singh of Mewar came to the help of Marwar from november 1679 to 1681 war was fought against the Rajputs of Mewar Udipur and chittor were conquered and ravaged. Aurangzeb appointed prince akbar as incharge and himself went to Delh. The Rajputs later defeated Prince Akbar.

6) Aazam and Muazzam were sent to crush the Rajput of Mewar and prince akbar was transferred to Marwar. He entered into conspiracy with the Rajputs, declared himself Mughal emperor and revolted agaist the emperor. Aurangzeb by a clever trick, caused divison in the rajputs-Akbar clique and was successful in his mission he could thus defeat the prince without war.

7) In 1681. the Rana of Mewar concluded a peace treaty with the Mughals by the Treaty of Udipur.

8) From 1681, to the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 Mewar continued war fare against the Mughals till Ajit singh was recognized as Rana of Marwar by Bahabur shah.

Effects of This policy:- 1) Rajputs who were hitherto great friends of the empire became enemies.

2) The Rajput warfare caused confusion and lawlessness in the empire.

3) Wars against the Rajputs caused a great loss of money and Prestige.

Career of Shivaji and his Struggles against the Mughals:1) Shivaji the son of Shahji and Jijabai was born in February 1630 at Shivnari.

2) He learnt a lot about Indian culture from his mothe, Jijabai and his guardian Dadaji Kondadev taught him to be a good Soldier.

3) From 1646 to 1649 Shivaji conquered torna, Raigarh, Purandhar and Kondana. He stopped his activities in 1649 in order to secure the release of his father from imprisonment. In 1656, he restarted his raids and conquered Jawali.

4) In 1659, Shivaji killed Afzal Khan the Bijapuri general in a duel and inflected many defeats on Bijapur.

Shivaji and the Mughals:- 1) In 1663, when shayista khan the mughal general having conquered various territories was staying in puna furing the rainy days, shivaji made a surprise attack on him, killed his son and wounded him as well. This was his first masterly blow at the Mughals.

2) In 1664, Shivaji looted Surat and secured a booty of one carore of rupees.

3) In 1665, the Mughal under jai singh and Muazzam marched against the marhatas and killed murarji Deshpande. Shivaji entered into the treaty of purandhar.

4) On may 12,1666 Shivaji visited the imperial court at Agra. He was humiliated and imprisoned. Shivaji however by a clever stratagem escaped from Mughal prison.

5) During 1668-89, Shivaji was quiet and got the title of "Raja" from the Mughal emperor from 1670 to 1674 he captured kondana, purandhar, mubili and nanded. He also sacked Surat again.

6) In 1674 Shivaji performed his coronation caremony.

7)From 1674 to 1680 Shivaji conquered territories like vellore, Jinji and others. He died in 13 April 1680.