16. india and the ocean basin · hindu kingdoms of southern india ... maritime power not highly...

Chapter 15

India and the Indian Ocean Basin

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The Quest for

Centralized Imperial Rule

◼ Invasion of White Huns from central Asia

beginning 451 C.E.

◼ Gupta state collapsed mid-sixth century

◼ Chaos in northern India

❑ Local power struggles

❑ Invasions of Turkish nomads, absorbed into Indian

society

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King Harsha (r. 606–648 C.E.)

◼ Temporary restoration of unified rule in north

India

◼ Religiously tolerant

❑ Buddhist by faith

◼ Generous support for poor

◼ Patron of the arts

❑ Wrote three plays

◼ Assassinated, no successor able to retain control

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The Introduction of Islam to

Northern India

◼ Arabs conquered Sind (northwest India/Indus

River Valley), 711 C.E.

◼ Sind stood at the fringe of the Islamic world

◼ Heterodox population, but held by Abbasid

dynasty to 1258 C.E.

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Merchants and Islam

◼ Arabic trade with India predated Islam

◼ Dominated trade between India and the west to

fifteenth century

◼ Established local communities in India

❑ Port city of Cambay

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Mahmud of Ghazni

◼ Leader of the Turks in Afghanistan

◼ Raids into India, 1001–1027 C.E.

◼ Plundered, destroyed Hindu and Buddhist temples

❑ Somnath Hindu Temple of Gujarat, 1025 C.E.

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The Sultanate of Delhi

◼ Consolidation of Mahmud’s raiding territory

◼ Capital: Delhi

◼ Ruled northern India 1206–1526 C.E.

◼ Weak administrative structure

❑ Reliance on cooperation of Hindu kings

◼ Nineteen out of thirty-five sultans assassinated

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Hindu Kingdoms of Southern India

◼ Chola kingdom, 850–1267 C.E.

❑ Maritime power

❑ Not highly centralized

◼ Kingdom of Vijayanagar

❑ Mid-fourteenth century to 1565 C.E.

❑ Northern Deccan

❑ Originally supported by sultanate of Delhi

❑ Leaders renounced Islam in 1336 C.E.

❑ Yet maintained relations with sultanate

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Major States of Postclassical India,

600–1600 C.E.

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Agriculture in the Monsoon World

◼ Spring/summer: rains, wind from southwest

◼ Fall/winter: dry season, wind from northeast

◼ Seasonal irrigation crucial to avoid drought,

famine

❑ Especially southern India

◼ Massive construction of reservoirs, canals, tunnels

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The Trading World of the Indian Ocean Basin,

600–1600 C.E.

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Population Growth in India

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Trade and Economic Development in

Southern India

◼ Indian regional economies largely self-sufficient

◼ Certain products traded throughout subcontinent

❑ Iron, copper, salt, pepper

◼ Southern India profited from political instability

in north

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Temples and Society

◼ More than religious centers

◼ Centers of coordination of irrigation, other

agricultural work

❑ Some temples had large landholdings

◼ Education providers

◼ Banking services

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Cross-Cultural Trade in the Indian

Ocean Basin

◼ Increased trade in postclassical period

◼ Larger ships

❑ Dhows, junks

◼ Improved organization of agricultural efforts

◼ Establishment of emporia

❑ Cosmopolitan port cities as warehouses for trade

◼ Specialized products developed (cotton,

high-carbon steel)

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The Kingdom of Axum

◼ Example of trade-driven development

◼ Founded in the highlands of northern Ethiopia

about first century C.E.

❑ Adopted Christianity

◼ Displaced Kush as Egyptian link to the south

❑ Destruction of Kushan capital Meroë ca. 360 C.E.

❑ Major territorial expansion to late sixth century

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Challenges to Caste and Society

◼ Migrations

◼ Growth of Islam

◼ Urbanization

◼ Economic development

❑ Development of jati (subcastes), similar to

workers’ guilds

◼ Expansion of caste system from north to south

◼ Promoted by temples, educational system

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Religious Developments

◼ Jainism, Buddhism lost much of following

◼ Buddhism displaced as Turkish invasions

destroyed holy sites, temples

◼ Destruction of library of Nalanda by Muslim

forces, 1196

❑ Thousands of monks exiled

◼ Hindu and Islamic traditions prevailed

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The Increasing Popularity of

Hinduism

◼ Growth of devotional cults

❑ Especially Vishnu, Shiva

◼ Promise of salvation

◼ Especially popular in southern India

◼ Expansion to north

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Hinduism and Philosophy

◼ Shankara, brahmin philosopher of ninth century

❑ Devotee of Shiva

❑ Synthesized Hindu writings in Platonic form

❑ Preferred rigorous logical analysis to emotional

devotion

◼ Ramanuja, brahmin philosopher eleventh to early

twelfth century

❑ Challenged Shankara’s emphasis on logic

❑ Laid philosophical foundations of contemporary

Hinduism

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Conversion to Islam

◼ Twenty-five million converts by 1500

C.E.(quarter of total population)

◼ Possibilities of social advancement for

lower-caste Hindus

❑ In fact, improved social standing rarely achieved

through conversion

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Sufis

◼ Personal, emotional, devotional approaches to

Islam

◼ Important missionaries of Islam to India

◼ Some flexibility regarding local customs

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The Bhakti Movement

◼ Attempt to bring Hinduism and Islam closer

together

◼ Twelfth-century southern Hindu movement,

spread to north

◼ Guru Kabir (1440–1518 C.E.)

❑ Taught that Shiva, Vishnu, Allah all manifestations of

one deity

❑ Largely unsuccessful

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Indian Influence in Southeast Asia

◼ Influence dates from 500 B.C.E.

◼ Evidence of Indian ideas and traditions

❑ Kingship

❑ Religions (Hinduism, Buddhism)

❑ Literature

◼ Caste system not as influential

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The States of Southeast Asia

◼ Funan

❑ Lower Mekong River, first to sixth century C.E.

◼ Kingdom of Srivijaya

❑ Centered in Sumatra, 670–1025 C.E.

◼ Kingdom of Angkor

❑ Region of Cambodia, beginning in ninth century

❑ Magnificent religious city complexes

❑ Abandoned 1431 C.E.

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Early States of Southeast Asia:

Funan and Srivijaya, 100–1025 C.E.

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Later States of Southeast Asia: Angkor,

Singosari, and Majapahit, 889–1520 C.E.

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The Arrival of Islam

◼ Early populations of Muslim traders

◼ Increasing popularity with Sufi activity

◼ Many conversions, retaining some Hindu or

Buddhist traditions

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Melaka (aka Malacca)

◼ Founded late fourteenth century C.E. by

rebellious prince from Sumatra

◼ Dominated maritime trade routes

◼ Mid-fifteenth century, conversion to Islam of

Melakan ruling class

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