Page 6 - SST Class 07
P. 6
1 1 1
Medieval Period
The Medieval period of India can be viewed as culture developed with the fusion of the
covering the centuries between the end of the Hindu and the Muslim cultural traits.
last great ancient empire, that of the Gupta, and g The fundamental principles of Hinduism
the rise of the great Mughal empire, in the 16th and Islam became mutual harmony and
century. The great trends it witnessed were the tolerable due to Bhakti and the Sufi saints.
development of modern Hinduism, the decline of
MAIN SOURCES OF HISTORY
Buddhism in India and the establishment of
There are two main sources of history :
Islam in the subcontinent. Associated with these
1. Archaeological Sources
changes, in the religious make-up of Indian
society, were important developments in art, 2. Literary Sources
architecture and literature. 1. Archaeological Sources : Archaeological
CERTAIN HISTORICAL TRENDS sources of ancient Indian history refer to the
sources which are obtained by the process
There are certain historical trends in the Medieval
of archaeological excavations. Funda-
Period (8th to 18th century AD) :
mentals of ancient Indian history have
g The languages especially Urdu and Hindi
indeed been available to Indians for thou-
developed during the Medieval period.
sands of years, however arrangement of all
g Sufficient historical material is available as these in a chronological order is important.
compared to the ancient historical period. Archaeological sources of ancient Indian
g Many of our social customs, traditions and history, therefore, have played a major part
beliefs have their origin in the Medieval in delineating history whilst telling the tales
period. The dress we wear and the food we of the ancient Indians and constructing or
eat, bear a clear impact of this period. reconstructing the history of a region.
g The institution of well-minted currency led Archaeological sources of ancient Indian
to economic development of the country. history for identifying the ancient Indian
There was a marked improvement in history consist of coins, inscriptions, monu-
cultivation and great expansion in trade and ments and sculptures and other artefacts.
commerce. Some of the archaeological sources of
g The condition of women in the society was ancient Indian history are as follows:
not good. They had to follow purdah Monuments
system. Methodical and systematic assessment of ancient
g European countries tried to establish direct monuments and buildings and other works of art
trade relations with India. generate archaeological evidence. Red Fort,
g In the Medieval period, the true Indian Tughalaqabad Fort in Delhi, Chittor Fort, Agra
Social Science-7 6
