UGC NET History Unit 4 Complete Overview Notes: Sources of Medieval Indian History

Unit 4 of 10 · Medieval India. This unit has two halves: the sources historians use for medieval India, and the political history from the Ghorids to the Marathas. Questions test the type and bias of each source, the sequence of rulers and battles, and the causes of rise and decline.

• How to use these notes: learn the source types first, then the chronology as a timeline, then the causes; try the practice questions before the explanations.
• Official topics covered: all 11, in the official order.

What this page is: complete overview notes for every official topic: the key facts, the historians’ debates and how UGC asks it, short enough to revise a whole unit in one sitting. For the fuller explanation behind each topic, use the full Medieval India notes.

1. Archaeological, epigraphic, numismatic sources; monuments; chronicles

The idea. Medieval India has far more written evidence than the ancient period, but most of it was written for or by the court, so the bias runs one way.

• Epigraphy. Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit inscriptions on mosques, tombs, forts and temples record rulers, building dates and grants (collected in Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica).
• Coins. The Sultanate silver tanka and copper jital, Muhammad bin Tughluq’s token coins, the Mughal gold mohur, silver rupaya and copper dam, and Jahangir’s zodiac coins show metal, mint and political claims.
• Monuments. The Qutb complex, Alai Darwaza, Tughluq forts, Sher Shah’s tomb and the Taj Mahal show patronage and style.
• Chronicles. Minhaj-us-Siraj’s Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, Barani’s Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, Afif, Babur’s Baburnama (a personal memoir in Turki), Gulbadan’s Humayun-nama, Abul Fazl’s Akbarnama, Jahangir’s Tuzuk, Lahori’s Badshahnama and Badauni’s critical Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh.

Reading the sources. Persian inscriptions in India use Arabic and Persian titles (Alauddin’s coins call him Sikandar-i-Sani). Chronicles are court-centred: Barani wrote with a purpose (see his Fatawa-i-Jahandari), and Afif praised Firoz Shah. Compare any chronicle with coins, inscriptions and archives.

How UGC asks it. Match chronicle to author and reign. Trap: an official history (Akbarnama) is not neutral; set it beside a critical one (Badauni).

2. Literary sources: Persian, Sanskrit, regional languages

The idea. Poetry, biography and devotional literature supply social and cultural evidence that chronicles omit.

• Persian: Amir Khusrau (Khazain-ul-Futuh, on Alauddin’s campaigns), Isami’s Futuh-us-Salatin, Abul Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari; the malfuzat (Sufi conversations such as Fawaid-ul-Fuad), maktubat (letters) and tazkirahs (biographical dictionaries).
• Sanskrit: Kalhana’s Rajatarangini (1148) and its continuations; Gangadevi’s Madhura Vijayam on the Vijayanagara conquest of Madurai.
• Regional: Chand Bardai’s Prithviraj Raso (its authenticity is much debated), Jayasi’s Padmavat, Tulsidas, Kabir, Surdas, the Marathi bakhars, and Krishnadevaraya’s Telugu Amuktamalyada.

Source criticism. The Malfuzat-i-Timuri, purportedly Timur’s memoirs, is treated with considerable caution because its authenticity is questioned.

More detail. Amir Khusrau’s Khazain-ul-Futuh records Alauddin’s conquests; Isami’s Futuh-us-Salatin (1350) looks at the Deccan from a hostile view of Muhammad bin Tughluq. Padmavat (1540) is an allegory; the Ramcharitmanas dates from 1574; the Marathi Sabhasad Bakhar narrates Shivaji. Kalhana’s Rajatarangini stands out for its critical method.

How UGC asks it. Work to author; which sources are doubtful. Trap: al-Utbi’s Tarikh-i-Yamini is an Arabic source on Mahmud of Ghazni, not on the Delhi Sultanate.

3. Daftar Khannas: Firmans, Bahis/Pothis, Akhbarat

The idea. Archives preserve the working documents of the state and of business, which show practice rather than ideals.

• Firmans are royal orders (with nishans and parwanas from princes and officers), granting land, privileges or trade rights.
• Bahis and pothis are account books, kept by merchants, bankers and the pilgrimage priests, especially in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Akhbarat are court newsletters (akhbarat-i-darbar-i-mualla), written by newswriters to report daily events and appointments, and valuable for the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Daftar khanas are the record offices, such as the Rajasthan and Maharashtra archives.

Archives. Major collections include the Rajasthan State Archives at Bikaner (the Jaipur records) and the Peshwa Daftar at Pune. Historians such as Irfan Habib and M. Athar Ali have used akhbarat and administrative manuals (dastur-ul-amal) to study the working of the empire, and the bahis of the Haridwar pilgrim priests record families and gifts.

How UGC asks it. Define each term. Trap: a firman is an order, not a chronicle.

4. Foreign travellers’ accounts: Persian, Arabic

The idea. Visitors describe markets, cities and customs that locals took for granted, with the bias of outsiders.

• Delhi Sultanate: Ibn Battuta (in India 1333–47, a judge at Muhammad bin Tughluq’s court); Marco Polo on the south (c. 1290s).
• Vijayanagara: Abdur Razzaq (1443), Nicolo Conti, and the Portuguese Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz.
• Mughal period: Thomas Roe, Hawkins, Peter Mundy and Pelsaert (Agra), Bernier (a critic of the idea that the emperor owned all land), Tavernier and Manucci.

Why they matter. Ibn Battuta describes the Sultanate’s horse and foot post and his own judgeship under Muhammad bin Tughluq. Abdur Razzaq and Nuniz describe Vijayanagara’s markets. Bernier, Tavernier and Manucci disagree about Mughal wealth and Aurangzeb, and Pelsaert’s report on Agra describes the poverty of the peasants and the poor.

How UGC asks it. Traveller to ruler or kingdom. Trap: a traveller’s claim is a clue, to be checked against Indian sources.

5. Delhi Sultanate: Ghorids, Turks, Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Sayyids, Lodis; decline

The idea. Five dynasties ruled from Delhi from 1206 to 1526, with powerful rulers and repeated crises.

Causes of decline. Weak successors, noble factions, the rise of regional kingdoms (Bengal, Jaunpur, Gujarat, Malwa), Timur’s invasion, and the strain on revenue.

Key features. Balban’s kingship stressed zil-i-ilahi and court ritual (sijda, paibos). Alauddin’s market control worked through the Diwan-i-Riyasat and the Shahna-i-Mandi. Muhammad bin Tughluq moved his capital to Daulatabad (1327) and issued token copper coins (1329-30). Firoz Shah taxed Brahmins with the jizya, and Sikandar Lodi introduced the Gaz-i-Sikandari measure.

How UGC asks it. Dynasty to ruler and event. Trap: the Mamluk “Slave” label covers Aibak, Iltutmish and Balban, but Razia and Balban were not the same line.

6. Mughal foundation: Babur, Humayun, the Suris

The idea. Babur founded the empire by firepower and tactics; Humayun lost it to Sher Shah and regained it.

• Babur: First Panipat (1526) against Ibrahim Lodi, with artillery and cavalry; Khanwa (1527) against Rana Sanga; Chanderi (1528); Ghagra (1529).
• Humayun (1530–40): defeated at Chausa (1539) and Kanauj (1540) by Sher Shah; exile in Persia; recovered Delhi in 1555.
• Suris: Sher Shah (1540–45; administration and the Grand Trunk Road), Islam Shah and the later Suris.

Babur’s tactics. At Panipat he used the tulughma flank attack, carts (araba) and matchlock and gun crews (Ustad Ali Quli). The Baburnama is the key source. Sher Shah’s reign (1540-45) gave the Grand Trunk Road from Sonargaon to the Indus and the tomb at Sasaram.

How UGC asks it. Sequence of battles. Trap: Khanwa (1527) came after Panipat (1526).

7. Mughal expansion Akbar–Aurangzeb; decline; later Mughals

The idea. Akbar built the empire’s structure, and Aurangzeb extended its limits and exhausted it.

• Akbar (1556–1605): Second Panipat (1556); Malwa, Rajasthan (Chittor 1568), Gujarat, Bengal, Kashmir, Sindh, Orissa and the Deccan border (Khandesh, Ahmadnagar). Rajput alliances and religious tolerance.
• Jahangir (1605–27), Shah Jahan (1628–58; Ahmadnagar annexed in 1633, Bijapur and Golconda subordinated in 1636) and Aurangzeb (1658–1707; Bijapur 1686, Golconda 1687; the long Deccan wars).
• Later Mughals. Bahadur Shah I; Farrukhsiyar (made by the Sayyid brothers); Nadir Shah’s sack of Delhi (1739); Ahmad Shah Abdali; Shah Alam II after Buxar (1764).

Resistance. Mewar under Rana Pratap after Haldighati (1576) kept up a sustained guerrilla resistance without being fully subdued.

Policies and debate. Akbar ended the pilgrim tax (1563) and the jizya (1564), founded the Ibadat Khana (1575), issued the Mahzar (1579), and promoted sulh-i-kul. Jahangir’s reign saw the influence of Nur Jahan’s circle. Aurangzeb reimposed the jizya in 1679; historians differ over his motives. On decline, Irfan Habib stresses an agrarian crisis, Satish Chandra the jagirdari crisis, and others the rise of regional elites.

How UGC asks it. Conquest to ruler. Trap: Aurangzeb, not Akbar, took Bijapur and Golconda.

8. Vijayanagara & Bahmanis; Deccan Sultanates: Bijapur, Golkonda, Bidar, Berar, Ahmadnagar

The idea. Two great Deccan powers, one Hindu and one Muslim, fought over the Raichur doab until both broke up.

• Vijayanagara (1336): Harihara and Bukka; the Tuluvas, especially Krishnadevaraya (1509–29); defeated at Talikota (1565) by the Deccan sultans.
• Bahmanis (1347): Alauddin Bahman Shah at Gulbarga, later Bidar; Mahmud Gawan (d. 1481).
• Successors (c. 1490–1518): Bijapur (Adil Shahis; Gol Gumbaz), Ahmadnagar (Nizam Shahis; Malik Ambar and Chand Bibi), Golconda (Qutb Shahis; Hyderabad founded 1591), Bidar (Barid Shahis) and Berar (Imad Shahis).

More detail. Krishnadevaraya won at Raichur (1520) and wrote the Amuktamalyada; Domingo Paes describes his capital. Robert Sewell called Vijayanagara a “forgotten empire”; Phillip Wagoner shows its rulers adopting Indo-Islamic court styles. Bijapur’s Gol Gumbaz was built under Muhammad Adil Shah, Golconda’s Charminar dates from 1591, and Malik Ambar organised Ahmadnagar’s revenue and guerrilla war.

How UGC asks it. Match state to founder and capital (Vijayanagara: Harihara and Bukka; Bahmanis: Alauddin Bahman Shah, Gulbarga) and name the five successor sultanates. Trap: Talikota (1565) was won by a combination of the Deccan sultans, not by one.

9. Eastern Gangas; Suryavamshi Gajapatis

The idea. Odisha had its own long line of rulers and temple builders.

• Eastern Gangas: Anantavarman Chodaganga (12th century; began the Jagannath temple at Puri) and Narasimhadeva I (the Konark Sun temple).
• Suryavamshi Gajapatis: founded by Kapilendra (1435); Purushottama; Prataparudra, a contemporary of Chaitanya who fought Krishnadevaraya. The line ended in the 16th century.

Details. The Madala Panji is the Jagannath temple’s chronicle. Narasimhadeva I built Konark (13th century). Kapilendra’s Gajapatis fought both the Bahmanis and Vijayanagara; Krishnadevaraya took Udayagiri from Prataparudra in 1514, and Chaitanya lived at Puri from 1510.

How UGC asks it. Match the Eastern Gangas to the Jagannath and Konark temples and the Gajapatis to Kapilendra and Prataparudra. Trap: the Konark temple is Eastern Ganga, not Gajapati.

10. Rise of the Marathas: Shivaji’s Swaraj; Peshwa expansion

The idea. Shivaji built a regional state on forts, mobile cavalry and direct revenue, which the Peshwas then expanded.

• Shivaji (1630–80): early forts (Torna, 1646); Afzal Khan (1659); the raid on Shaista Khan (1663); the sack of Surat (1664); the Treaty of Purandar (1665); his escape from Agra (1666); coronation at Raigad (1674).
• Peshwas: Balaji Vishwanath, Baji Rao I (Malwa, Gujarat), Balaji Baji Rao (to Panipat in 1761).

Rise and debate. Shivaji’s power rested on hill forts (Raigad was the capital), light cavalry, and revenue assessed by measurement. The Ashta Pradhan and chauth and sardeshmukhi followed. Historians differ: Jadunath Sarkar and Grant Duff reached different verdicts, and later scholars read him as a state-builder in a wider Deccan context. Under the Peshwas, Baji Rao I won at Palkhed (1728) and Bassein (1739).

How UGC asks it. Order Shivaji’s events (Afzal Khan 1659, Purandar 1665, coronation 1674) and name the early Peshwas. Trap: the Treaty of Purandar (1665) was with Jai Singh and came before the Agra visit (1666).

11. Mughal-Maratha relations; Maratha Confederacy; causes of decline

The idea. A long war with the Mughals shaped the Marathas and drained the empire, but internal division weakened them in turn.

• The Mughal war. Aurangzeb executed Sambhaji (1689); Rajaram and Tarabai continued the struggle; Shahu was freed in 1707. A treaty of 1719 recognised Shahu’s swarajya and his claim to chauth and sardeshmukhi.
• The Confederacy. The Peshwa at Pune with the Scindias (Gwalior), Holkars (Indore), Gaekwads (Baroda) and Bhonsles (Nagpur).
• Decline. Defeat at Panipat (1761), rivalry among the chiefs, the lack of a unified administration, and the three Anglo-Maratha wars (1775–82, 1803–05, 1817–18).

Later events. At Panipat (1761) the Afghans under Abdali defeated Sadashivrao Bhau; Madhavrao I recovered Maratha strength, and Mahadji Scindia restored Shah Alam II to Delhi in 1771. The Treaty of Salbai ended the first Anglo-Maratha war (1782). The Marathas have been called predatory (Sarkar) or state-builders (Stewart Gordon).

How UGC asks it. Chauth and sardeshmukhi; the chiefs and their seats. Trap: the Confederacy’s chiefs were semi-independent, not simple Peshwa agents.

Revision checklist

• I can name the major source types and one bias for each.
• I can give a timeline of the Sultanate dynasties and the causes of decline.
• I can order Babur’s and Humayun’s battles correctly.
• I can describe the Deccan states and their rise from the Bahmanis.
• I can explain Shivaji’s rise and the Confederacy’s decline.

Next: the official Unit 4 topics · free unit test · Unit 5 complete overview notes.