Turning Tides: 11th and 12th Centuries | CBSE Class 7 History Notes

This note covers political change in the 11th and 12th centuries, the Ghaznavid and Ghurid invasions, regional kingdoms, Chola sea power, governance, agriculture, trade, historical evidence, literature, science, religious thought and cultural continuity.

What was the historical setting of these turning tides?

The 11th and 12th centuries brought major changes alongside continuing traditions. Earlier Arab attempts to dominate north India had little overall impact on India. Later Turkic invasions reached much deeper into the north, despite stubborn resistance from Indian kingdoms.

Definition: Turkic refers to peoples, languages and cultures historically associated with a vast region across Central Asia, extending to Turkey and Siberia.

A dynasty is a succession of rulers from a ruling family. Many Indian dynasties flourished during these centuries. Their rulers sometimes defeated invaders, conducted naval expeditions, built monuments and extended cultural influence abroad. They also fought one another.

Why must conflict and creativity be studied together?

Wars caused destruction, but the period also produced important poets, philosophers, saints and scientists. Trade and artistic activity continued in many regions. Political changes therefore did not have identical effects everywhere, and an account of warfare alone leaves out much of the period’s life.

History has recorded war and conquest more than peace, good governance or creativity. Understanding destructive events means examining how they became possible. It also means recognising the learning, public works and cultural achievements that continued alongside them.

Note: Past events cannot be erased or denied, but it would be wrong to hold anyone responsible for them today. Historical understanding requires examining the past without assigning inherited blame.

What does the timeline show about change and continuity?

A timeline places events in chronological order, meaning the order in which they happened. Here, the dates connect military campaigns with royal reigns, scientific writing and developments beyond India. Several important developments overlapped rather than replacing one another everywhere at once.

How should the dates be read?

A reign is the period during which a ruler governs. A range marks a span of years, while a single year identifies a particular event. The timeline extends into the early 13th century to include the immediate outcome of the Ghurid expansion.

The naval expedition of 1025 and the attack on Somnath in 1026 show how different regional histories unfolded almost together. The composition of Lilavati in 1150 also reminds us that scientific work belongs in this history alongside battles and changing kingdoms.

Why did the Ghaznavid invasions reach deeper into India?

In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Hindu Shahis ruled across present-day Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and into Punjab. With help from several Indian rulers, they resisted attempted invasions. They controlled the Khyber Pass, a major mountain passage through the Hindu Kush range.

The Khyber Pass mattered for more than warfare. For at least 2,500 years it was a major trade route between the Subcontinent and Central Asia and beyond. Buddhist scholars and monks also travelled through it.

The Ghaznavids, whose capital was Ghazna, present-day Ghazni in Afghanistan, eventually defeated the Shahis. Mahmud first overcame Jayapala, then defeated his son Anandapala in northern Punjab in 1008, despite support from several north Indian rulers. This opened easier access to the Indus plains.

How did Mahmud conduct his campaigns?

Mahmud undertook 17 campaigns in India, returning to Ghazni after each with booty, meaning wealth seized in war. Strong resistance, including from the Chandellas, brought him close to defeat on a few occasions. Rapid marches and attacks by cavalry, soldiers on horseback, were ultimately decisive.

In 1018, Mahmud destroyed and plundered a magnificent temple at Mathura. He then attacked Kannauj. In 1026, after strong local resistance and severe losses to his army, he destroyed the Somanatha Shiva temple at Somnath, then a bustling seaport.

What were the motives and human consequences?

Mahmud took the title sultan, an Arabic word meaning authority or power that came to mean a sovereign ruler. He did not attempt a permanent base in India beyond Punjab. Historians have often suggested that plunder was the chief reason for his temple destruction.

Large temples often held immense wealth from offerings accumulated over centuries. Contemporary evidence also shows Mahmud’s desire to spread his version of Islam. His campaigns killed tens of thousands of civilians and carried numerous prisoners, including children, to Central Asian slave markets.

Mahmud died in 1030. According to oral history and a 17th-century Muslim chronicle, his nephew Salar Masud attacked the Gangetic region around this time, faced successful resistance from Suheldev at Bahraich and died in battle.

How did eastern kingdoms and the Deccan develop?

While the Ghaznavid raids struck north India, different political developments occurred in the east. After the Palas declined, the Senas became dominant over much of Bengal. Their capital was Nadiya, in the present-day Nadia district.

Sena relations with Kamarupa, in Assam, and Kalinga, more or less present-day Odisha, seem to have alternated between friendship and conflict. The Palas had supported Buddhist institutions. The Senas promoted Hindu thought and literature, including the poet Jayadeva.

Jayadeva wrote the Gitagovindam, which tells the story of Krishna and Radha. Royal support for a poet or institution is called patronage. Such support connected courts with literary and religious life.

What made the Eastern Gangas important?

The Eastern Gangas of Kalinga had marriage alliances with the Cholas, yet also fought them a few times. By the end of the 12th century they were among eastern India’s most stable powers. Some inscriptions claim their kingdom extended from the Ganga to the Godavari.

They initiated the Jagannatha temple at Puri and, in the mid-13th century, the Sun temple at Konark. An inscription is a written record on a lasting surface.

Why did power shift in the Deccan?

In the Deccan, the Western Chalukyas ruled from Kalyani and at one point reached the Narmada. Marriage alliances brought the Eastern Chalukyas into the Chola sphere. Vengi and its fertile surroundings became a focus of fierce Chola and Western Chalukya wars.

The Western Chalukyas faded as the Kakatiyas and Hoysalas grew stronger and eventually replaced them. Marriage alliances and warfare could therefore exist within the same relationships, while the weakening of one dynasty created space for other regional powers.

The map labels the Ghaznavids and Hindu Shahis in the northwest, the Paramaras in central India, and the Senas and Kamarupa further east. Red circular symbols identify capital cities.

See Fig. 4.4 in your NCERT textbook

How did the Kakatiyas and Hoysalas build regional power?

In the 12th century the Kakatiyas strengthened their authority over much of present-day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Their capital was Orugallu, present-day Warangal. They built a fort with stone toranas, meaning gateways.

Some Kakatiya kings composed Sanskrit works, while the dynasty also supported Telugu literature. The Thousand Pillar temple at Hanamkonda is an important example of their architecture. Their rule joined military authority with literary patronage and temple building.

Kakatiya administration relied on village self-governance, meaning local villages taking part in their own administration. An efficient revenue system and irrigation infrastructure supported agricultural prosperity. Revenue here means income collected for governing; irrigation means supplying water to cultivated land.

What distinguished the Hoysalas?

The Hoysalas originated in southern Karnataka. Their capitals were Velapura, present-day Belur, and Dvarasamudra, present-day Halebidu. Under Vishnuvardhana they broke away from Chalukya authority, challenged the Cholas and gradually extended their rule over most of present-day Karnataka.

A legend recorded in inscriptions explains their name through Sala, who obeyed an ascetic’s command to strike a tiger and saved him. An ascetic is someone devoted to a disciplined religious life. The name is said to come from that command; this remains a legend.

Hoysala rule encouraged Kannada literature. Its particularly visible legacy is temple architecture with intricately carved pillars, sculptures and panels. The temples at Belur and Halebidu are especially famous.

Photograph: A partial view of the Hoysala temple at Somanathapura, near Mysuru (NCERT Class 7 Figure 4.12). The photograph shows projecting sections of a stone temple wall, carved human figures and several horizontal bands of decoration near the bottom.

The map labels the Western and Eastern Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Hoysalas, Cholas and Pandyas. Capital symbols mark places including Orugallu, Vengi, Dvarasamudra, Velapura and Tanjavur.

See Fig. 4.10 in your NCERT textbook

Why were the Cholas called masters of the seas?

The Cholas became powerful in present-day Tamil Nadu. Their capital cities included Tanjavur, Gangaikondacholapuram and Kanchi. Rajaraja Chola I reigned from 985 to 1014, conquering parts of present-day Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and northern Sri Lanka, including Anuradhapura.

His inscriptions mention conquered islands that most historians identify with the Maldives. He built the Brihadishvara temple at Thanjavur. Although the Cholas were predominantly Shaivites, devotees of Shiva, he helped a Shrivijaya ruler establish a Buddhist vihara, or monastery, at Nagapattinam.

Rajaraja’s son Rajendra Chola I ruled from 1014 to 1044 and expanded into parts of present-day Odisha and Bengal. His title Gangaikondachola means the Chola who seized or brought the Ganga, linking his northern campaigns with the river’s sacred importance.

What caused the expedition of 1025?

The Shrivijaya Empire occupied parts of present-day Malaysia and Indonesia. Its ruler controlled the Strait of Malacca, a narrow sea passage between Malaysia and Sumatra. One route to China passed through this strait, creating competition with the Cholas, whose Chinese trade was thriving.

In 1025, Rajendra’s navy defeated Shrivijaya’s forces and captured its capital. Many Indian merchant guilds, organised associations of traders, supported this punitive expedition, meaning an expedition intended to punish. Rajendra did not occupy the defeated empire; the expedition seems to have achieved its objectives.

Relations between India and Shrivijaya were generally peaceful and culturally close. A Shrivijaya ruler donated to Nalanda and received land from a Pala king for a monastery. One naval conflict should not be treated as the whole relationship.

Why did Chola power decline?

The Cholas built roads, tanks, wells, canals and artificial lakes. Yet frequent, extensive wars with neighbours, particularly the Western Chalukyas, Pandyas and Sri Lankan rulers, drained their treasury and contributed to decline. By the 13th century the weakened empire was finally absorbed by the Pandyas.

Rajendra had expanded the conquest of northern Sri Lanka. It remained part of the empire for half a century or so, until Vijayabahu I drove the Cholas out after several battles.

What was the legacy of Bhoja and the Paramaras?

The Paramaras began as vassals of the Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas. A vassal is a subordinate ruler under a more powerful ruler. In the second half of the 10th century the Paramaras became independent in Malwa, in present-day Madhya Pradesh, with Dhara as their capital.

Their best-known king, Bhoja, ruled from 1010 until his death in 1055. His campaigns extended his kingdom from the Konkan coast to parts of Rajasthan. After his death the dynasty gradually weakened, partly because of conflicts with neighbouring powers.

How did public works support his kingdom?

Bhoja is credited with founding Bhojpur. He constructed a vast lake between Bhojpur and Bhopal by using water from several rivers. It served irrigation and water management. Only a small portion, Bhojtal near present-day Bhopal, survives, with remains of embankments further away.

He also built the Bhojeshwar Temple, which remained unfinished. His public works and efficient governance formed one part of his reputation; his support for scholarship formed another.

Why is he remembered as a scholar-king?

Bhoja supported Sanskrit literature and attracted scholars, poets and artists to his capital. He also wrote on many subjects. His Samarangana Sutradhara, a detailed scholarly work, discusses architecture, town planning, temples, sculpture and mechanical devices.

Other works include writings on governance and Sanskrit poetics, a commentary on Patanjali’s Yogasutras and medical texts among the works attributed to him. His reputation inspired stories and folk tales.

Note: Bhoja Paramara, who ruled in 1010 to 1055, must be distinguished from the Bhoja of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, who lived in the 9th century.

How did the Ghurids change the course of northern politics?

After Mahmud, the Ghaznavid Empire faced attacks and disintegrated. The chiefs of Ghur, a mountainous region west of Ghazni in Afghanistan, had been Ghaznavid vassals. They took control of Ghazni and strengthened their position.

Their leader Muhammad Ghuri brought parts of Punjab and Sindh under his rule. His attempted expansion into Gujarat failed in 1178, when the Chaulukya king Mularaja II defeated him near Mount Abu.

Another version credits Mularaja’s mother, Queen Naikidevi, with leading the victorious army. Historians are divided over which ruler deserves credit because the chronicler Merutunga wrote more than a century later. Muhammad’s defeat there is recorded, but whether Mularaja II or Naikidevi led the victorious army remains disputed.

What happened at Tarain?

The Chahamanas, also called Chauhans, were a powerful Rajput dynasty based at Ajayameru, present-day Ajmer. Their 12th-century conquests included Delhi, Haryana, parts of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, and most of Rajasthan.

Prithviraja III, often called Prithviraj Chauhan, defeated Muhammad Ghuri at Tarain in 1191. Muhammad returned with a larger army. In the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192, he defeated and executed Prithviraja after fierce fighting.

Muhammad then captured Delhi. He returned to Ghazni but left trusted commanders to consolidate his conquests. His general Qutb-ud-din Aibak expanded Ghurid territory despite much resistance and later founded the Delhi Sultanate, a kingdom ruled by a sultan.

Which similar dynasty names must be distinguished?

The Chaulukyas, or Solankis, of Gujarat and Rajasthan were distinct from the Chalukyas of the Deccan. The Chaulukya capital was Anahilavada, present-day Patan. Similar names do not mean these ruling houses were the same dynasty.

How did Mahmud and Muhammad Ghuri differ in their campaigns?

Mahmud of Ghazni and Muhammad Ghuri were different rulers operating in different phases of this history. Comparing them requires attention to their aims, methods and political results, rather than confusing their similar names.

Why does the distinction matter?

Mahmud’s destruction at Somnath in 1026 and Muhammad’s victory at Tarain in 1192 had different political settings. Both histories include violence and resistance, but repeated raids and sustained territorial expansion did not produce identical patterns of government.

Muhammad’s return to Ghazni did not end his Indian conquests. His commanders remained and administered territory. Conversely, Mahmud’s campaigns should not be described as an attempt to establish permanent rule throughout India.

Their outcomes also had geographical limits. Large parts of northern India and all of southern India remained outside Turkic control during the two centuries under discussion. Regional kingdoms continued their own political and cultural histories.

What were the consequences of Bakhtiyar Khilji’s eastern campaigns?

Bakhtiyar Khilji, an army commander under Aibak, campaigned in eastern India from the end of the 12th century. He conquered Bihar and Bengal. On the way to Bengal he destroyed large Buddhist monasteries and universities, including Nalanda and Vikramashila, seized wealth and killed many monks.

Historians of Buddhism agree that destroying these major centres of learning precipitated Buddhism’s decline in India, although a few other factors may have also played a role.

What happened to Nalanda’s learning community?

Nalanda’s library occupied three multi-storey buildings and held lakhs of manuscripts, meaning handwritten texts. Its visitors included the Chinese pilgrims Yijing and Xuanzang. The library is said to have burned for months after the attack.

Tibetan scholars carried away as many manuscripts as they could. Some three decades later, the Tibetan monk Dharmasvamin found the site half ruined. Rahula Shribhadra, aged 90, still taught about 70 students, perhaps Nalanda’s last class.

How was further expansion checked?

Around 1203 to 1204, Bakhtiyar surprised the Sena ruler at Nadiya and ended Sena control over much of Bengal. For reasons that are not too clear, he then attempted an expedition into Tibet.

Passing through Kamarupa in 1205, he suffered severe losses against local forces. The local population is said to have destroyed food and fodder, starving the invading army. He escaped with only a handful of men and returned weakened to Bengal.

Muhammad Ghuri was killed in 1206. Bakhtiyar was assassinated that same year, apparently by his own men. Their northern Indian territory remained under Muhammad’s generals, so their deaths did not immediately remove the administration they had established.

How did different social groups participate in economic life?

How did rulers and soldiers depend on revenue?

Powerful rulers needed sizable armies. Maintaining soldiers, weapons, horses and elephants required considerable resources. In parts of north India, camels carried provisions. Administrations collected tribute, payments from subordinate rulers, and taxes from traders to support government and warfare.

Muhammad Ghuri’s administration was more centralised, meaning more authority was concentrated at the centre. Officers received temporary land assignments in return for collecting revenue and providing military service. This arrangement developed further under the Delhi Sultanate.

How did farmers and irrigation sustain the economy?

Agriculture remained the main support of the economy. Irrigation works could, to some extent, reduce the difficulties caused by uncertain seasonal rains. The Kakatiyas’ irrigation systems, Bhoja’s lake and Chola waterworks show royal involvement in supporting cultivation.

How did merchants connect regions?

Trade within India and overseas was brisk, supported by a few powerful guilds. Trade with China and Southeast Asia grew despite political disturbances. Coins and pottery from these regions have been found at many west-coast locations, providing evidence of overseas connections.

West-coast seaports and shipyards supported seafaring activity. Merchant guilds survived disruptions and adapted. External trade also carried Indian cultural traditions towards Southeast Asia and China. Farmers, soldiers, rulers and merchants thus contributed in different ways to the period’s economy.

How did scholarship, devotion and architecture flourish?

Bhaskaracharya, also called Bhaskara II, was born in 1114, probably in present-day Maharashtra. His family included scholars and astronomers. Astronomy is the study of celestial objects; his writings joined mathematical learning with astronomical calculations.

His Sanskrit works included Lilavati, composed in 1150, which taught basic mathematics through lively problems; Bijaganita, on more advanced algebra; and Siddhantashiromani, on mathematical astronomy. Algebra uses symbols to express mathematical relationships.

Clear explanations, proofs and poetry helped make his work influential. Later scholars wrote commentaries, and several works were translated into Persian during the Mughal period. Scientific knowledge declined in north India a little later but continued to flourish in other regions.

How did thinkers broaden religious life?

Ramanujacharya developed vishishtadvaita vedanta, a philosophical school treating the world and individual souls as real. It emphasised bhakti, personal devotion, and surrender to the divine as the path to liberation. He challenged the dominant philosophical school of his time.

Basaveshvara, or Basavanna, left a ministerial position at Kalyani to become a reformer. His Lingayat movement rejected caste distinctions and ritualism, emphasis on ritual observance, and taught personal devotion and dedicated work. He affirmed the equal spiritual potential of women and men.

His Kannada poems, called vachanas, expressed his ethical and spiritual vision. At Kalyani he established the Anubhava Mandapa, literally pavilion of experience, where people from every social, economic, religious and linguistic background could discuss life, moral values and religion.

What did buildings and books contribute?

Someshvara III’s Manasollasa covered royal life and governance alongside subjects such as astronomy, music, architecture, medicine, cooking and games. The Chandellas built Khajuraho temples including Kandariya Mahadeva and Lakshmana. Literary production, religious thought and monumental construction developed together.

In Cambodia, Suryavarman II built Angkor Wat in the 12th century. Originally dedicated to Vishnu, it had Old Khmer and Sanskrit inscriptions. Later that century, after a political change, it was gradually converted into a Buddhist temple.

Its five shikharas, or towers, symbolise Mount Meru in Hindu mythology. Its carved reliefs depict scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. A relief is a design carved so figures project from a surface. Its architecture shares many features with south Indian temples.

Photograph: The Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia (NCERT Class 7 Figure 4.23). The photograph shows the temple’s towers beyond an approach lined with structures, with green grounds and trees around the complex.

What historical sources help us evaluate these accounts?

Historical sources are surviving accounts or material evidence used to investigate the past. This period can be studied through inscriptions, coins, pottery, buildings, manuscripts and narratives. Different kinds of evidence reveal different aspects of political, economic and cultural life.

What do written observers contribute?

Al-Biruni, a Persian scholar from Khwarizm in present-day Uzbekistan, accompanied Mahmud around 1017. He learnt Sanskrit, read Indian writings and spoke with scholars. He surveyed religion, philosophy, literature, geography and sciences, often comparing Indian achievements with Greek and Islamic traditions.

His writings also describe scholarship moving away from conquered regions towards places such as Kashmir and Varanasi. Al-Utbi, Mahmud’s court historian, described the splendour of Mathura’s temple before its destruction in 1018 and recorded the violence of Mahmud’s campaigns.

A chronicle is a written narrative of past events. Merutunga’s semi-historical chronicle concerning the defeat of Muhammad Ghuri in 1178 was written over a century afterwards. Historians remain divided over whether Naikidevi or Mularaja II should receive credit for leading the victory.

How should evidence and qualifications be connected?

Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani wrote about Bakhtiyar’s Bihar campaign some 60 years later. His description of a supposed fortress included shaven-headed inhabitants and many books, then identified the place as a college. Such details help interpret the nature of the institution attacked.

Inscriptions support accounts of Chola conquests and cultural gifts. Coins and pottery provide evidence of trade. The Hoysala naming story is a legend recorded in inscriptions. Nalanda’s library is said to have burned for months.

What lasting significance did the period have?

The most visible political change was the advance of Turkic military power and the beginning of foreign rule in parts of north India. Destruction affected cities, temples and centres of learning. Muhammad Ghuri’s conquests and his commanders’ administration altered the balance of power.

The period also marked the spread of Islam as a new creed, or religious belief, in India’s religious landscape. Yet large parts of northern India and all of south India remained outside Turkic control during these two centuries.

What continued through political disturbance?

Neighbouring kingdoms often fought, although alliances were not uncommon. On a few occasions Indian rulers formed coalitions, groups acting together, against foreign invaders. Regional power therefore involved cooperation as well as conflict.

Trade and cultural creativity persisted. Guilds adapted, Indian traditions travelled abroad, and scholars produced works in Sanskrit and regional languages. New religious and philosophical schools developed, while architecture demonstrated the skills of builders and sculptors.

These continuities do not erase the destruction. Equally, the destruction does not describe every region or every activity. Studying both makes the period understandable as a transition: authority changed while many forms of economic, intellectual and cultural life endured.

The lesson of the period, if there is one, is resilience amid conflict and the continuing power of knowledge, learning and creativity. That cautious conclusion leaves room for the different experiences of regions, institutions and communities.

Glossary

• Turkic — Relating to peoples, languages and cultures historically associated with Central Asia, extending to Turkey and Siberia.
• Dynasty — A succession of rulers belonging to a ruling family.
• Sultan — A title of Arabic origin meaning authority or power, later referring to a sovereign ruler.
• Cavalry — Soldiers who fight on horseback, including the mounted archers used in Mahmud’s campaigns.
• Booty — Wealth and other possessions seized during warfare or military campaigns.
• Vassal — A subordinate ruler who recognises the authority of a more powerful ruler.
• Patronage — Support offered to scholars, poets, religious institutions or other cultural activities.
• Inscription — A written record on a lasting surface that can provide historical evidence.
• Merchant guild — An organised association of traders supporting commercial activity within India or overseas.
• Vihara — A Buddhist monastery, such as the institution supported at Nagapattinam.
• Tribute — A payment from a subordinate ruler to a more powerful ruler.
• Bhakti — Personal devotion to the divine, emphasised by Ramanujacharya and other saints.
• Vachanas — Basavanna’s short Kannada poems expressing his spiritual and ethical vision.
• Manuscript — A handwritten text, such as those preserved in Nalanda’s library.
• Chronicle — A written narrative of past events used as historical evidence.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: Mahmud and Muhammad Ghuri were the same ruler. Correct: Mahmud conducted early 11th-century raids; Muhammad Ghuri pursued territorial expansion in the late 12th century.
• Misconception: Mahmud established permanent rule throughout India. Correct: He did not attempt a permanent base beyond Punjab and returned to Ghazni after his campaigns.
• Misconception: Naikidevi’s leadership in 1178 is undisputed. Correct: Historians are divided over whether she or Mularaja II deserves credit for the victory.
• Misconception: The Chola expedition permanently annexed Shrivijaya. Correct: Rajendra conducted a punitive expedition and did not try to occupy the defeated empire.
• Misconception: Bhoja Paramara and the Gurjara-Pratihara Bhoja were identical. Correct: They belonged to different dynasties and different centuries.
• Misconception: Nalanda’s destruction was the only possible cause of Buddhism’s decline. Correct: It precipitated decline, although a few other factors may have also played a role.
• Misconception: Warfare ended trade and learning everywhere. Correct: Trade continued, guilds adapted, and scientific, literary and artistic activity flourished in many regions.
• Misconception: Present-day people are responsible for medieval violence. Correct: Past events must be examined, but responsibility must not be assigned to people today.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. The Hindu Shahis controlled the Khyber Pass, used by invading armies to reach the Indus plains. Traders and Buddhist scholars used this route between the Subcontinent and Central Asia. State two reasons why controlling it mattered. [2 marks]

1. Control helped the Shahis resist invading armies seeking passage towards the Indian plains.
2. The pass also connected regions through trade and the movement of Buddhist scholars.

Q2. Mahmud returned to Ghazni with booty after his campaigns and did not attempt a permanent base beyond Punjab. Muhammad Ghuri sought conquest and left commanders to consolidate territory after returning to Ghazni. Give two differences in their policies. [2 marks]

1. Mahmud repeatedly seized wealth and withdrew; Muhammad Ghuri sought lasting territorial conquest.
2. Mahmud avoided a permanent base beyond Punjab; Muhammad left commanders to consolidate conquered territory.

Q3. Chola trade with China thrived. Shrivijaya controlled the Strait of Malacca, through which one Chinese trade route passed, creating competition. Rajendra’s navy defeated Shrivijaya but did not occupy it; the punitive expedition seems to have achieved its objectives. Explain its cause, action and outcome. [3 marks]

1. The cause was competition over maritime trade: the Cholas traded with China, while Shrivijaya controlled a strait used by one of the sea routes.
2. Rajendra used his navy against Shrivijaya and defeated its forces, responding militarily to the competition connected with this trade route.
3. He did not occupy the defeated empire. The expedition was punitive and seems to have achieved its objectives, rather than creating permanent Chola occupation.

Q4. Bhoja constructed a lake for irrigation and water management, supported scholars and Sanskrit literature, and wrote Samarangana Sutradhara on architecture, town planning and related subjects. Explain three aspects of his reputation as a scholar-king. [3 marks]

1. His lake supported irrigation and water management, showing that his activities as a ruler included public works serving the needs of his kingdom.
2. He supported scholars and Sanskrit literature, so his reputation rested partly on patronage that encouraged other people’s learning and literary work.
3. He was also an author. His Samarangana Sutradhara discussed architecture, town planning and related subjects, demonstrating his own contribution to scholarly writing.

Q5. Bakhtiyar destroyed Nalanda and Vikramashila and killed many monks. Tibetan scholars rescued manuscripts. Historians agree that the destruction precipitated Buddhism’s decline, although a few other factors may have also played a role. Nalanda’s library is said to have burned for months. Explain four consequences or qualifications in this account. [4 marks]

1. The destruction damaged major Buddhist centres of learning and killed many members of their monastic communities, directly disrupting institutions devoted to study.
2. Tibetan scholars carried manuscripts away, preserving some written learning despite the destruction and the danger faced by the institutions.
3. The attacks precipitated Buddhism’s decline, but this should not become an exclusive explanation because a few other factors may have also played a role.
4. The library is said to have burned for months; the precise duration of the fire is therefore uncertain.

Q6. Consider these developments: Turkic conquests established foreign rule in parts of north India; cities, temples and learning centres suffered destruction; internal and external trade continued; guilds survived and adapted; literary and scientific works appeared in Sanskrit and regional languages. Explain two changes and three continuities. [5 marks]

1. A political change was the establishment of foreign rule in parts of north India through Turkic conquest, altering who controlled those territories.
2. A destructive change affected cities, temples and centres of learning. Military campaigns damaged important places that had supported social, religious and intellectual life.
3. Trade showed continuity because exchange continued within India and with regions overseas, despite the political disturbances associated with warfare.
4. Merchant organisation showed continuity: guilds survived and adapted, allowing organised commercial activity to persist through disruptions instead of disappearing altogether.
5. Intellectual activity also continued. Literary and scientific works were produced in Sanskrit and regional languages, demonstrating ongoing learning alongside political change.

Q7. Basavanna left a ministerial post to become a reformer. His Lingayat movement rejected caste distinctions and ritualism, taught devotion and dedicated work, and affirmed equal spiritual potential for women and men, valuing inner worth rather than social rank. His Anubhava Mandapa welcomed all social, economic, religious and linguistic backgrounds. Explain five features of his reform. [5 marks]

1. His movement rejected ritualism, challenging the emphasis on ritual observance in religious life.
2. His movement rejected caste distinctions, challenging the use of inherited social divisions to determine a person’s standing in religious life.
3. It taught personal devotion and dedicated work, giving these practices an important place in spiritual life.
4. He affirmed that women and men had equal spiritual potential, valuing people’s inner worth rather than judging them through social rank.
5. The Anubhava Mandapa welcomed people from every social, economic, religious and linguistic background, creating a setting for discussion across those differences.

Q8. Muhammad Ghuri was defeated near Mount Abu in 1178. One account credits Mularaja II; another credits Queen Naikidevi. Merutunga’s semi-historical chronicle was written more than a century later, and historians remain divided about the leader. State two conclusions that preserve the evidence’s limits. [2 marks]

1. Muhammad Ghuri’s defeat near Mount Abu in 1178 is recorded.
2. Credit for leading the victory remains disputed between Mularaja II and Queen Naikidevi.

Key takeaways

• The 11th and 12th centuries combined major political changes with continuing trade, learning, artistic production and regional power.
• Mahmud’s repeated raids differed from Muhammad Ghuri’s territorial conquests and the consolidation undertaken by commanders he left behind.
• The Kakatiyas, Hoysalas, Cholas, Paramaras, Senas and Eastern Gangas contributed to regional government, literature, public works and architecture.
• Rajendra’s expedition against Shrivijaya arose from maritime competition and did not lead to permanent occupation of the defeated empire.
• The destruction of Buddhist learning centres precipitated Buddhism’s decline, although a few other factors may have also played a role.
• Agriculture supported the economy, while irrigation, merchant guilds, seaports and shipyards helped cultivation and exchange continue.
• Bhaskaracharya’s scholarship, Ramanujacharya’s philosophy and Basavanna’s reforms illustrate the period’s continuing intellectual and religious creativity.
• Historical interpretation must retain uncertainty, distinguish legends from established events, and avoid blaming present-day people for past violence.

Test yourself

What did the title sultan come to mean?

Originally meaning authority or power in Arabic, it came to refer to a sovereign ruler or king.

Why must the identification of Rajaraja’s conquered islands remain qualified?

The inscriptions refer to “islands of the sea” without naming the Maldives; most historians identify these islands with the Maldives.

Where were the two Hoysala capitals?

They were Velapura, present-day Belur, and Dvarasamudra, present-day Halebidu, in Karnataka.

What happened in the two battles of Tarain?

Prithviraja III defeated Muhammad Ghuri in 1191. Muhammad returned and defeated Prithviraja in 1192.

What was distinctive about Muhammad Ghuri’s administrative arrangements?

His more centralised system gave officers temporary land assignments in return for revenue collection and military service.

What evidence supports the existence of overseas trade?

Coins and pottery from China and Southeast Asia have been found at many locations on India’s west coast.

What did al-Biruni do to understand Indian knowledge?

He learnt Sanskrit, read Indian texts and conversed with scholars, often comparing Indian achievements with Greek and Islamic traditions.

How did Angkor Wat’s religious use change?

Originally dedicated to Vishnu, it was gradually converted into a Buddhist temple later in the 12th century.