New Kings and Kingdoms

• Introduction & Emergence of New Dynasties

  • Timeline: 7th to 12th Century CE
  • Rise of new elites and warlords across the subcontinent
  • Concept of Maha-samantas and Maha-mandaleshwara (Great lords of a region/circle)
  • Subordination to existing overlords (Rashtrakutas as subordinates to Chalukyas)
  • Rise to power: Gaining wealth, military might, and declaring independence as Maha-rajadhiraja

• Administration in the Kingdoms

  • Resource extraction from peasants, cattle-keepers, and artisans
  • Revenue collection termed as rent
  • 400 types of taxes: Most frequently cited was Vetti (forced labor) and taxes on trade
  • Utilization of funds:
    • Financing the king's establishment
    • Construction of temples and forts
    • Fighting wars for wealth acquisition and territory
  • Functionaries: Recruitment usually from influential families (hereditary positions)

• Prashastis and Land Grants

  • Prashastis: Composed by learned brahmanas
    • Purpose: Praise rulers, detail achievements (e.g., Nagabhata the Pratihara king)
    • Historical reality vs. Ideal image (e.g., claims of sweeping victories)
  • Land Grants:
    • Rewarded to brahmanas by kings
    • Recorded on copper plates given to recipients

• Warfare for Wealth and Power

  • Tripartite Struggle for Kanauj (Ganga valley control)
    • Competing Dynasties: Gurjara-Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas, and Palas
  • Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (Afghanistan)
    • Ruled: 997 to 1030 CE
    • Raids into the subcontinent (17 times)
    • Primary target: Wealthy temples, notably Somnath Temple, Gujarat
    • Patronized scholar Al-Biruni to write Kitab al-Hind
  • Chahamanas ( चौहान ) later known as Chauhans
    • Ruled: Delhi and Ajmer region
    • Attempted expansion west and east
    • Opposed by Chalukyas of Gujarat and Gahadavalas of Western UP
    • Most famous ruler: Prithviraj III (Prithviraj Chauhan)
    • Defeated Sultan Muhammad Ghori in 1191 (First Battle of Tarain)
    • Defeated by Muhammad Ghori in 1192 (Second Battle of Tarain)

• The Chola Empire (South India)

  • Rise from a minor chiefly family known as the Muttaraiyar
  • Vijayalaya
    • Captured the delta region from Muttaraiyar in the 9th century
    • Built the town of Thanjavur and temple for goddess Nishumbhasudini
  • Expansionist Rulers:
    • Rajaraja I (considered the most powerful Chola ruler, ascended in 985 CE)
    • Rajendra I (raided the Ganga valley, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia; built a navy)
  • Splendid Temples and Architecture
    • Big Temple of Thanjavur (Rajarajeshvara Temple) built by Rajaraja I
    • Gangaikondacholapuram temple built by Rajendra I
    • Centers of craft production: Bronze images of deities (lost wax technique)
  • Agriculture and Irrigation
    • Utilization of the River Kaveri branches
    • Embankments to prevent flooding and canals for field watering
  • The Administration of the Chola Empire
    • Settlement of peasants: Ur
    • Groups of villages: Nadu
    • Justice and tax collection managed by the Nadu
    • Rich peasants of the Vellala caste exercised control over Nadu under the central Chola authority
    • Categories of land:
      • Vellanvagai: Land of non-brahmana peasant proprietors
      • Brahmadeya: Land gifted to brahmanas
      • Shalabhoga: Land for the maintenance of a school
      • Devadana / Tirunamattukkani: Land gifted to temples
      • Pallichchhandam: Land donated to Jaina institutions
    • Sabha: Assembly of brahmana landholders (managed irrigation, roads, temples via committees)