CLASS- VII

SOCIAL STUDIES (History)

CHAPTER-1 The Medieval Period In
India (AD 700- AD 1700)
Introduction
The term medieval has been derived from the
Latin words ‘medius' and ‘ aevum’ which
means middle age. Thus it is that period of
Indian history which falls between the Ancient
period and the Modern Period .
The medieval period is again divided into two
parts:
1 The Early medieval period ( AD 700- AD
1200).
2 The Late medieval period (AD 1200- AD
1700).
The long rule of the Mughals in the late
medieval period stabilized the Indian society
and helped in uniting the people from
different regions of India.
Society
Spread of agriculture led to the clearing of
forests. The forest dwellers migrated to other
areas.This gave rise to many peasant societies.
The society was now divided into sub-castes or
jatis instead of varnas.
Religion
Major changes took place in Hinduism during
this period. Many new temples were
constructed. People began worshipping many
new deities. Islam,a new religion was
introduced in India. Guru Nanak led the
foundation of Sikhism.
Trade
Due to greater interaction of India with other
countries trade flourished. This in turn led to
the rise of new towns and cities.
How geography shaped our history
Turks,Afghans,Mongols,and other invaders
entered lndia through the passes in the
Himalayas. Southern India is cut off from the
northern India by Satpura and Vindhaya
ranges.The long coast line in south India
encouraged the southern rulers to establish
trade relations with other countries.
Main features of Medieval period
• Many foreign powers were attracted to
India because of its wealth.
• This was the period of new technologies.
• Many languages spoken in India today,
developed during this period.
• Many social customs, beliefs and traditions
in India today have there origin in the
medieval period.
• Intermingling from different parts of the
world brought new ideas and ways of life.
Sources of medieval period
Historians have gathered the information
from various sources such as inscriptions,
coins, sculpture and buildings, paintings,
historical writings, etc.
Inscriptions are writings engraved on hard
surfaces like stones, pillars, rocks etc. which
gave us glimpse of history of the period.
Coins give us the names of kings and queens
who issued those coins .They help the
historian to verify the dates about the rule of
the king.
Sculpture and buildings: Monuments and
ancient buildings including temples tell us
about the religious practices, social and
economic conditions etc. of the period.
Paintings tell us about food habits, dresses,
jewellery, customs, festivals and celebrations
of the important event of the period.
Historical writings or literary evidence
Literary sources includes plays, novels, epics,
biographies and scrolls in archives, museums
and libraries.
Literary sources of the period are of two types
Indigenous sources include manuscripts
written in birch bark, palm leaf, bamboo leaf,
cloth and paper.
Important biographies tells us many
important facts about rulers. It give us a
detailed and vivid picture of life during the
period.
Chronicles: recorded text in which events are
described in the order in which they occurred
is called Chronicle.
Biographies describe the lives and
achievements of the kings.
Folk Tales are stories that were handed down
verbally over generations before being written
down.
Foreign sources: during the medieval period
several foreigners travelled to India as
travellers, pilgrims or as students.The
accounts of these foreign travellers gave us an
objective pictures of the places and the rulers
they visited in India. For example Al-Masudi
an Arab traveller, Al-Beruni the Persian
traveller, Ibn-Batuta the Moroccan traveller
etc.
ASSESSMENT ZONE
A Explain the following terms:
a) Medieval Period: The term medieval has
been derived from the Latin words ‘
medius' and ‘ aevum' which means
middle age.
b) Inscriptions: Inscriptions are writings
engraved on hard surfaces like stones,
 pillars, rocks, or on metals like coins or
copper plates.
c) Prashasti: It is a long poem in praise of a
king written by poets appointed by the
king.
d) Miniature Paintings: Many manuscripts
had beautiful paintings in water colours
to illustrate the text . Since these
paintings are very small in size they are
called miniature paintings.
e) Archives: The places where the historical
records are kept are known as archives.
f) Manuscripts: Manuscripts were
handwritten books.
g) Biography: A detailed description of a
person’s life.
h) Autobiography: The life story of a person
written by the person himself.
i) Chronical: Recorded text in which events
are described in the order in which they
occurred.
j) Folk tales: Folk tales are stories that were
handed down verbally over generations
before being written down.
B Fill in the blanks:
1 The medieval period in India began after the
death of Harshavardhana .
2 The study of coins is calledNumismatics.
3 William Hawkins was an ambassador of king
James I in the court of Jahangir.
4 Alberuni , a Persian traveller visited India
with Mahmud of Ghazni.
5 Akbarnama was written by Abul Fazal.
6 Turks, Afghans and Mongols entered India
through passes in the Himalayas.
7 Islam was the new religion introduced in
India by Muslim traders and merchants.
8 Padshahnama written by Abdul Hamid
Lahori describes the rule of Shah Jahan.
9 Some of the new crops introduced in India
during this period were Potatoes , Corn , Chilly.
10 Raja Tarangini written by Kalhan is a history
of Kashmir.
C Answer the following:
Ques1 How has India’s geography shaped its
history?
Ans.1.Turks, Afghans, Mongols, and other
invaders entered India through the passes in
the Himalayas.
2.Northern India faced many foreign invaders.
3.Southern India is cut off from the Northern
India by the Satpura and Vindhaya ranges.
4.The long coast line encouraged the southern
rulers to establish the trade relations with
other countries .
Ques.2 Describe the main features of
Medieval period.
Ans. Main features of Medieval period are
1.Many foreign powers attracted to India
because of its wealth.
2.This was the period of new technologies.
3.Many languages spoken in India today, like
Hindi and Urdu,developed during this period.
4.Many social customs, beliefs and traditions
in India today have there origin in the
medieval period.
5.Intermingling with people from different
parts of the world brought new ideas and ways
of life.
Ques3.List some of the technological changes
associated with medieval period.
Ans. The medieval period was the period of
new technologies like -the fire arms, Persian
wheel for irrigation, and spinning wheel for
weaving cloth.
Ques4. What were some of the major
religious developments during this period?
Ans. The major religious developments of this
period are-
1.Many new temples were constructed by the
rulers .
2.People began worshipping many new
deities.
3.Brahmans or priests became an important
social group.
4.Islam,a new religion was introduced.
5.The intermingling of Hindu and Muslim
culture led to the development of a unique
culture known as the Indian culture.
6.Guru Nanak laid the foundation of Sikhism.
7.The period saw the emergence of Bhakti and
Sufi saints who preached equality of all.
Ques.5 Describe with suitable examples,how
do the following help in reconstructing
history :
a) Inscriptions- Inscriptions recorded
proclamations by kings and gifts to
temples and learned men. Medieval
inscriptions on copper plates have been
found around many south Indian
temples.
b) Coins- Coins give us the names of kings
and queens who issued those coins.The
coins of a particular kingdom found in
other places help us to know the extent
of his kingdom or indicate that the
kingdom had trade relations with the
place.
c) Monuments- Monuments including
temples tell us about the religious
practices, social and economic
conditions, etc.of their period. Some of
 these monuments are ,for eg. Red Fort, Agra
Fort, Amer Fort.
d) Paintings- Paintings tell us about food
habits, dresses, jewellery, customs,
festivals and celebrations of important
events of the period. They gave us very
clear picture of the society of their time.
Many manuscripts have beautiful
paintings in water colours to illustrate the
text for eg. Miniature paintings.
Note:Students are requested to note down
the above exercises in their note book .