Economic, Social and Cultural Consequences

2020-04-27 12:17:06

Sources for the Study of 13th Century History

Muhammad Habib : new Turkish fores created economic org superior to the one existed before

Economic
- $ Ibn Battuta : detailed account of food grains, crops, fruits, flower; Soil fertile grew 2 crops per year
- Some crops basis of village industries ex oil processing, jaggery, indigo etc
- & Under FST garden : increase in fruit production esp grapes, canals imp prodcutivity
Rural Society
- Hemachandra 12th cent divided rural folk into 4 categories
- Sharecroppers; plough shares and field labourers; Owner Proprietor aka Malik i Zamin, Khud Kasht; Artisans
- Dharma Shastras : harrowing poverty for peasants, Padma Purana describes condition of Karshaks.
- Growth of cash nexus -> Highly unequal village society
- Hindu chiefs still collected rev
- $ Afif mentions Peasantry affluence under FST
$ Textile major industry Gujarat, Awadh, Bengal were imp centre, Barbossa, Mulla Daud sources
- Spinning wheel inc production; I Habib - came from Iran
- Cotton carder/ Dhunia also speeded prod
- Silkworns reared in Bengal, Shawl from Kashmir
Mettalurgy famed, Mehrauli rust free Iron pillar, Damascened swords, Jewellery
Temple making, Building flourished, Paper making -> availability of books, tannery, salt making, quarrying, extraction of Iron copper

Soldiers paid in cash, Regions that refused to pay land-tax or kharaj called mawas were plundered
iqta system
Khalisa : revenues directly collected for Sultan’s treasury
- expanded significantly under AK, was area around Delhi, included parts of doab
@ Iltutmish (1210-36) : reported to have assigned in lieu of salaries, “small iqtas” in the Doab to the soldiers of the Sultan’s army (hashm qalb). #important
- Balban tried to resume this but did not succeed.
Feroz Shah assigned villages to soldies in lieu of salaries called wajh/ wajhdars.
Religious persons and institutions ex dargahs, mosques, madrasas other got grants of rev income called milk, idrar, and inam.
@ Kharaj was essentially a share in the produce of the land and not a rent on the land. In recalcitrant areas it was mostly in the form of cattle and slaves.

inc in Gold, Silver and Copper coins
& No changes were introduced in the beginning it bore the images of Laxmi or bull and horseman etc
name inscribed in nagri script coins called Dehliwal
@ Iltutmish standardized the coinage system
- intro gold, silver tankas, copper jital which was 1/48th of a tanka in North India and 1/50 in the Deccan
ratio of 1:10 b/w gold and silver was estd
$ Barani also mentions dands and dirams in use at Delhi
Main source of gold, silver were remittances from Bengal, Deccan in later times
decline of silver coinage can be seen from Ghiyasuddin’s reign
MBT intro Copper, brass alloyed coin and it was valued to that of a silver tanka (token currency)
@ Carried 1st time a Persian inscrip could be easily forged
In China Qublai khan(1260-94) and Kaikhatu Khan(1293) in Persia had already tried token currency but failed

! According to Irfan Habib, the Ghaznavid and Ghorid invasions N India were partly for acquiring slaves
Prices of slaves were fixed under Khalji, also exported from India to other parts
@ Feroz Tughluq prohibited the export of slaves
Slave system gave the Turks loyal, able bodies men who were great commanders esp popular among the Sultans of Ghor.