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feudatories. When feudatory wished to declare g The invasions also led to spread of
his independence, he used high-sounding titles communalism and anti-religious feelings
such as Maharajadhiraja (the King of Kings). Of towards the non-Muslim religions.
course, these titles were not precise, but they SOCIETY
sounded impressive. The people who suffered In spite of the fact that the king’s position was
most in this system were the peasants. They not
supreme, politically and economically, he had
only paid the revenue to the lord, but they had to
become weaker now as compared to the earlier
do all kinds of free labour for him as well. Often
period. Kings lived in great pomp and show.
the feudal lord made the peasants pay extra
Much of their income was spent in building
taxes too, such as taxes on using water for
beautiful palaces and temples, in wearing costly
irrigation, roads and mills. The peasants could
clothes and jewellery and on the life of the court.
not appeal to the king because the king’s power
The fashions set by the king were copied by the
over the feudatory was limited. In these condi-
feudatories.
tions, it made little difference to him whether the
Attending the court of the king were not only the
king was a Rajput or a Turk. The peasant just
feudatories, but also the wealthy Brahmins.
went on working harder and harder, but
Many of them were rich and powerful since they
remained generally poor.
too were grantees and owned land. They got
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BATTLE IN THE more revenue from the land since they kept all of
INDIAN HISTORY it for themselves and did not have to pay taxes to
Muhammad Ghori’s invasions of India are the king. Land-owning Brahmins lived in a great
always of great significance in the medieval comfort as they did not even cultivate land
history of India. themselves. It was cultivated by the peasants for
them. In return for the land, they conducted the
g As already mentioned, his invasions laid the
religious ceremonies and rituals for the king.
foundation of the Muslim rule in India.
Some also wrote biographies of the king and
g These Muslim conquests of India led to the
histories of the kingdom or poems in praise of
end of the multi-state system in India.
the king. A number of Brahmins were also
g The invasions of India by the Muslims led to
employed as officers.
the beginning of the centralised political
People living in the towns were still mainly
administration under the monarch which
artisans and traders. Trade with the Mediterra-
was the political ideal of Muhammad Ghori.
nean world and western Asia was well-developed
g During the invasions of India, trade received largely due to the Arab traders living on the west
a new impetus. India got connected to the
coast of India. Indian goods were also being sent
outer Asiatic world after the Ghori’s inva-
to towns in East Africa. India exported saffron,
sions.
silk, cotton and woollen cloth, precious stones,
g For the first time, the invasions proved the scented wood and spices. The most important
weaknesses and in-capabilities of the Hindu item which was brought into India were horses.
rulers in protecting their territories from These came from Central Asia and from Arabia
foreign conquests. and Indian merchants paid huge prices for good
g Ghori’s invasions led to the growth of a new horses. Wine and dates were also imported in
dynasty known as the Slave dynasty. large amount from Western Asia.
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