Introduction:
During the seventh century, there were many big landlords or warrior chiefs in the subcontinent, who were often acknowledged by the kings as their subordinates or samantas.
The samantas were expected to do the following for the kings or the overlords:
Bring gifts for them
Attend their courts
Provide them with military support
Emergence of New Kings:
As the power and wealth of the samantas increased, they declared themselves to be mahasamanta or maha-mandaleshwara (meaning the great lord of the ‘circle’ or the region).
In some cases, they even asserted their independence over the overlords. One such instance was that of Rashtrakutas in the Deccan.
Rashtakutas:
They were initially subordinate to the Chalukyas of Karnataka.
Dantidurga, a Rashtrakuta chief overthrew his Chalukya overlord in the mid-eighth century.
He performed a ritual called hiranya-garbha which literally means the golden womb.
In this context, the ritual meant ‘rebirth’ i.e. rebirth of the sacrificer as a Kshatriya (even if he was not one by birth) after performing the ritual with the help of Brahamanas.
In some cases, men from enterprising families carved out kingdoms using their military skills.
For example the following were Brahamanas who gave up their traditional professions and successfully established kingdoms:
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Name
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Region
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Kadamba Mayurasharman
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Karnataka
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Gurjara-Pratihara Harichandra
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Rajasthan
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Administration in the kingdoms:
Many of the new kings used titles which made them feel very powerful and influential. Some such titles were:
Maharaja-adhiraja meaning great king, overlord of kings
Tribhuvana-chakravartin meaning lord of the three worlds
They often shared their power, in spite of such high-sounding titles. They shared their power with samantas and with associations of peasants, Brahmanas and traders.
Obtention of resources:
The resources were obtained from producers who were often persuaded or compelled to surrender their produce partially.
These producers included peasants, cattle- keepers and artisans.
Sometimes their produce was claimed as ‘rent’ due to a lord who asserted that he was the owner of the land.
Revenue was also collected from traders
Uses of the resources:
The resources were put to the following uses:
Financing the king’s establishment
Building temples and forts
Fighting wars which were expected to lead to more wealth by way of plunder and access to land and trade routes.
Appointment of functionaries:
The people who were recruited for collection of revenue were often from influential families and the positions were often hereditary.
Even in the army; people were recruited in the manner mentioned above.
In many cases, these positions were held by close relatives of the king.
PRASHASTIS AND LAND GRANTS:
Prashasti:
Prashastis contain details which may not necessarily be literally true.
They tell us the way the rulers wanted to depict themselves; for example as great achievers, victorious, fearless, valiant, etc.
Brahamanas composed the prashastis, who occasionally helped in the administration also.
Land grants:
Brahamanas were often rewarded by grant of land.
These were recorded on copper plates, which were given to the people who received land.
An unusual aspect during the twelfth century was a long Sanskrit poem containing the history of kings who ruled over Kashmir.
An author named Kalhana composed it.
The sources he used for this were inscriptions, documents, eye witness accounts and earlier histories.
He was often critical about the ruler and their policies, unlike the prashastis which always praised them.
Warfare for wealth:
Each of the ruling dynasties were based in a specific region. But they tried to show their power in the following manner:
Trying to control other areas: All the rulers tried to conquer and control other areas. A very sought after area was the city of Kanauj in the Ganga valley.
Building large temples: Building large temples was another way of showing power by rulers. Hence when they attacked each other’s kingdom, they often targetted large temples which were also extremely rich.
Tripartite Struggle:
The rulers belonging to the Gurjara-Pratihara, Rashtrakuta and Pala dynasties fought for control over Kanauj, for centuries. Since this long drawn conflict involved ‘three’ parties, it is termed as the ‘tripartite struggle’.
Kings who engaged in warfare:
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, Afghanistan:
The period of his rule was from 997 to 1030 and his control extended over parts of Central Asia, Iran and north-western part of the subcontinent.
Almost every year he raided the subcontinent, mainly targetting wealthy temples as mentioned above.
One of such temples he raided is that of Somnath, Gujarat. He used the wealth he plundered to create a splendid capital city at Ghazni.
Since he was interested in knowing more about the people he conquered, he entrusted a scholar named Al-Biruni to write an account of the subcontinent.
His Arabic work called Kitab al-Hind is still an important source for historians. To prepare this account he consulted Sanskrit scholars.
Chahamanas:
The Chamanas, later known as the Chauhans ruled over the regions of Delhi and Ajmer.
Their attempt to expand their territory in the west and the east was opposed by the Chalukyas of Gujarat and the Gahadavalas of western Uttar Pradesh.
Prithviraja III, who ruled during the period 1168 and 1192, was the best known Chahamana ruler.
He defeated an Afghan ruler, Sultan Muhammad Ghori in 1191. But he lost to him the next year.
The rise of Cholas:
In the Kaveri delta a minor chiefly family known as the Muttariyar held power.
They were subordinate to the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram.
The control of the Cholas from Uraiyur to Thanjavur was done by Vijayalaya who belonged to the ancient family of the Cholas from Uraiyur.
In the mid-ninth century he captured the delta from the Muttaraiyar and built the town of Thanjavur and also a temple of Goddess Nishumbhasudini there.
The kingdom grew in size and power with the conquest of neighbouring areas by the successors of Vijayalaya. The Pandyans and Pallava territories to the south and north became part of the Chola kingdom.
Rajaraja I:
He was considered the most powerful Chola ruler.
He became king in 985 and expanded control over most of the areas mentioned above.
He reorganized the administration of the empire, and his son Rajendra I continued his policies and even raided the Ganga Valley, Sri Lanka and countries of south-east Asia; developing a navy for these expeditions.
Architecture:
The architectural and sculptural marvels of the period include the big temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram, built by Rajaraja and Rajendra.
Settlements grew around the temples of the Chola period and hence these became the nuclei of settlements.
The temples were endowed with land by rulers as well as by others.
The specialists who worked at the temple and often lived near it included priests, garland makers, cooks, sweepers, musicians, dancers, etc.
The produce of the land went for their sustenance.
Besides being places of worship; temples were the hub of social, cultural and economic life as well.
Craft:
The most distinctive amongst the crafts associated with the temple was the making of the bronze images.
The bronze images of the Chola period are considered among the finest in the world.
Though most images were of deities, some images of devotees were also made.
Agriculture:
New developments in agriculture made many of the achievements of the Cholas possible.
The river Kaveri (which was a part of the regions controlled by the Cholas) branches off into several small channels before entering the Bay of Bengal.
The overflowing of the channels deposits fertile soil on their banks and also the water from them provides moisture needed for agriculture, particularly for rice crop.
Only in the fifth and sixth century large scale agriculture was started in Tamil Nadu.
For this purpose forests were cleared in some regions and land was levelled in some areas.
Flooding in the delta region was prevented by building embankments and canals were constructed for carrying water to the fields.
Two crops were grown annually in many areas.
Irrigation:
A variety of methods of irrigation were used in areas where crops had to be watered artificially.
These included digging of wells and construction of huge tanks to collect rainwater.
Most of the new rulers and village people took active interest in the irrigation activity which included careful planning-organising of labour and resources, maintenance of the works as well as deciding on water-sharing.
Administration:
With the spread of irrigated agriculture, settlements of peasants called or became prosperous.
Groups of such villages formed larger units called nadu.
The village council and the nadu performed many administrative functions which included dispensing justice and collecting taxes.
Considerable control over the affairs of the nadu was exercised by the rich peasants of the Vellala caste.
However they were under the supervision of the central Chola government.
Some rich landowners were given the following titles by the Chola kings:
Muvendavelan which means a velan or a peasant serving three kings and Araiyar meaning chief. There titles were a mark of respect.
The rich landowners were entrusted with important offices at the centre and the state.
Types of Land:
The Chola inscriptions mentioned various types of land as follows:
Brahmadeya: These were the lands gifted to Brahmans. Therefore a lot of Brahamana settlements emerged in the Kaveri valley and in the other southern parts of India.
Vellanvagai: Land of non-Brahamana peasant proprietors.
Shalabhoga: This refers to the land of the maintenance of a school.
Devadana, tirunamattukkani: Land gifted to temples.
Pallichchhandam: Land donated to Jaina institutions.
Administration of brahmadeya:
An assembly or sabha of popular Brahamana landowners looked after the affairs of the brahmadeya.
These worked very efficiently and their decisions were recorded in detail in inscriptions often on stone walls of temples.
Occasionally, the administrative functions in towns were performed by associations of traders known as nagarams.
The details of the way in which sabha was organized are given in the inscriptions from Uttaramerur in Chingleput district of Tamil Nadu.
The sabha had separate committees to look after irrigation, garden, temples, etc.
The names of people who were eligible to become member of the sabha were written in small tickets of palm leaf and these were put in an earthenware pot.
A young boy was asked to take out these tickets one by one for each committee.
Eligibility for membership:
According to the Uttaramerur inscription, all those who wish to become members of the sabha should
Be owners of land from which revenue is collected. Have their own homes.
Be between 35 to 70 years of age. Have knowledge of the Vedas.
Be well-versed in administrative matters and honest.
Have submitted their accounts and those of their relatives.
Not have been members of any committee in the last three years, for becoming a member of another committee.
Tax Collection:
The inscriptions of the Chola period refer to more than four hundred terms for different kinds of taxes. The most frequently mentioned taxes are:
Vetti: Taken not in cash but in the form of forced labour.
Kadamal: Land revenue
Taxes were levied also on thatching the house and ladder usage to climb palm trees. Cess was levied on succession to family property etc.
Tang dynasty:
An empire was established under the Tang dynasty in China during the period from the seventh century to the tenth century i.e. for about 300 years.
Its capital was Xi’an which was one of the largest cities in the world.
It was visited by Indians, Japanese, Koreans, Turks and Iranians.
The administration of the empire was done by a bureaucracy recruited through an examination which was open to all.
Till 1911, this system of recruitment was in place, with some changes.
