EHI - 4

1st Part

Q.  Discuss the rise of Uzbeg and Safavid powers in Central Asia. Provide a brief on the tripartite relations between the Uzbegs, Persians and the Timurids.     

A.  Rise of Uzbeg power - After the death of Umar Shaikh and Sultan Ahmad Mirza, Sultan Mahmud Mirza was also assassinated. His two sons, Sultan Ali and Baisundhur Mirza, now became rivals for the throne of Samarqand and Hisar. During the anarchy which prevailed in the Timurid empire, the Tarkhan nobles became powerful. They not only usurped the entire revenue but made opportunistic alliances and used one prince as a counterpoise against the other. Taking advantage, Shaibani wrested Bukhara from its Timurid governor Baqar Tarkhan in 1499 and then besieged Samarqand. After negotiations, Shaibani occupied Samarqand in 1500 without a war. After the battle of Saripul(1501), where Babur was defeated by Uzbeg, again Uzbeg's power under Shaibani had to face Timurid power. In early 1503 Shaibani inflicted a crushing defeat upon the joint forces of Babur and his maternal uncles Mahmud and Ahmad Khan, both of whom were made captives. Babur's noble Tambal invited Shaibani to occupy Farghana. Shaibani conquered Farghana and Qunduz (1504) and overran Balkh, Memna, and Faryab in 1505. A galaxy of Timurid princes including Babur, Badiuzzaman and Muzaffar Hussain led by Sultan Hussain Baiqra planned to face the Uzbegs unitedly but failed due to death of Sultan Hussain in 1506. Soon Shaibani undertook a campaign against the Qazaqs of Moghulistan in 1508 and thus established Uzbeg power in Transoxiana. The immediate reasons for this transfer of power from the Timurids to the Uzbegs were:

#  the personal incompetence of the later Timurid Rulers;
#  their mutual rivalry;
#  the absence of any settled rule for succession, and
#  the lack of strong administration.
Rise of Safavid power in Central Asia -

    The power of Safavis (the new dynasty which lasted in Persia till 1736), was based on the support given by the Turcoman tribes, namely Shamlu, Rumlu, Takkalu, Zulqadar, Afshar, Qachar, Ustajlu, and Warsaq. The Safavi Empire sprang up almost in the same geographical area where the Ilkhanid state had once flourished. Hulaku's Empire re-emerged in a diminutive form (the Jalayrid Empire ) extending over Mesopotamia, Azerbaijan and later on covering the region of Shirvan also. The remaining portions of the Ilkhanid territory were lost to the two Turcoman confederations, namely Aq Quyunlu (the white sheep) and Qara Quyunlu (the black sheep). Aq Quyunlu extended their sway over Diyar-I Bakr with their center at Amid. Qara Quyunlus had their center at Arjish (on the eastern shore of Lake Van) spreading in the north to Erze Rum & in the south to Mosul. Under the enterprising Jahanshah, the Qara Quyunlu dynasty expanded from Van to the deserts between Persia and Khurasan and from the Caspian sea to the Persian Gulf. They had become independent of the Timurids. Jahanshah was widely known as a progenitor of the Shias while the Aq Ququnlus were Sunni's. The most famous Aq Quyunlu ruler was Uzan HasaniI1453-78) who defeated Jahanshah and established his suzerainty almost over the entire Persia. Hence, the borders of his Empire came closer to that of the Timurids. At the time of Uzun Hasan's death (in 1478), his Turcoman Empire extended from upper reaches of the Euphrates to the Great Salt Desert and the province of Kirman in South Persia, and from Transcaucasia to Mesopotamia and, the Persian Gulf. 

                Tripartite relations between the Uzbegs, Persians and the Timurids. The conquest of Khurasan had brought the border of the Shaibanid empire closer to the Safavi one. Since Shaibani was ambitious, he demanded allegiance from the Shah which eventually led to a war in 1510, in which Shaibani was defeated and killed. Shah Ismail not only occupied Khurasan but also assisted Babur thereafter to reoccupy Transoxiana from the Uzbegs. Babur received a very warm welcome from the Samarqandis, but the latter disapproved of his association with 'heretic' Shia' Shah Ismail. The subsequent reprisal perpetrated upon the subjects by Babur's greedy

followers further provoked the Central Asians to long for the Uzbeg rule.

Q.  How was the Portuguese Indian trade financed?      

A. Taking into account the details of the Portuguese trade on the Malabar coast in the period between 1500 and 1506, the total investment needed for conducting trade was met through different means. The king of Portugal provided only one-fourth of this amount and the rest was raised by the merchants and financiers who collaborated with the Portuguese king. In 1500 he issued an order permitting native as well as foreign merchants to fit, out their own vessels to the East. Revenues collected in the form of booty, tributes and taxes levied on ships of the private merchants also provided funds for the conduct of trade with India.

European Merchant-Financiers

Italians, especially the Florentines, occupied an important position among the financiers in the sixteenth century. Most of the Italian financiers concluded contracts with the Portuguese king. They supplied cash or materials to the king in Lisbon. The king used them to purchase pepper and other commodities from India. These commodities were given to these financiers at Lisbon in view of the contracts signed. However, some of the financiers also sent their own factors to India. Cash or commodities were always sent under the supervision of the Portuguese authorities to the East. Indian commodities also attracted the German financiers and merchants. Since copper was given in part-payment for Indian commodities, especially pepper and other spices, large quantity of copper was supplied  by the German merchant financiers like the Fuggers who could fit out their vessels, entrust cash and commodities to the India House in Lisbon to be taken to India under the Portuguese flag and buy the commodities from Lisbon according to the terms and conditions of the contracts signed.

Indian Merchants and Rulers

Several Indian merchants supplied commodities to the Portuguese on credit when the latter did not have cash or commodities to furnish in exchange. The merchants of Cochin, especially the Marakkars, was of great help to the Portuguese in this Respect. Some of the local rulers stood surety for the Portuguese when they did not have money to pay to the merchants for the commodities bought by them. For example, the king of Cochin came forward to help the Portuguese several times making the required volume of commodities available to them on credit.

Passes - 

The Portuguese had armed vessels plying in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian sea. Ships carrying commodities that were not given passes (cartaz) by the Portuguese officials were confiscated by them. The booty thus obtained yielded a sizeable source of income which was again invested in trade. Defeated rulers were compelled to pay tributes to the Portuguese, either in cash or kind. This source was also exploited by them several times for investment. The persons interested in sending their ships to other parts of India or to Asian countries were required to take passes (cartaz) from the Portuguese for which fees were charged. 

Q.  Discuss the nature of the Portuguese Indian trade. How was it financed?   

A.  Right from the time Portuguese arrived at Calicut they had demanded that other merchants, Indian as well as foreign, should be ousted and a complete monopoly over trade be granted to them. Portuguese ships equipped with arms and ammunitions threatened other merchants and confiscated their merchandise and vessels. Portuguese introduced an expedient under which those ships which carried a cartaz duly signed by the Portuguese authorities, namely the royal factor, were not to be attacked. Indian merchants, rulers and all those engaged in maritime trade, had to take cartaz from the Portuguese. While issuing such passes, it was specifically mentioned that certain items like pepper, horses, ginger, coir, ship pitch, sulfur, lead, saltpeter, cinnamon, etc. were not to be loaded on their ships. All these were monopoly items of the Portuguese Routes and destinations of such ships were also sought to be controlled. Rulers like Akbar and his successors, Nilam Shah of Ahmednagar, Adil Shah of Bijapur, kings of Cochin, the Zamorins of Calicut and the rulers of Cannanore purchased passes from the Portuguese to send their ships to various places.

Monopoly Trade -

     With the arrival of the Portuguese, this state of affairs underwent considerable change. Kings were pressurized to forbid other merchants from trading with their ports. Similarly, certain commodities were declared forbidden to be traded by others. In other words, the Portuguese demanded a monopoly of trade. The treaties concluded with the Indian rulers specifically mentioned this. The setting up of Portuguese fortresses at strategic places, surveillance by their patrolling vessels, and the insistence on passes for other ships were the attempts made to establish a monopoly of trade in Asian waters.

Passes - 

The Portuguese had armed vessels plying in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian sea. Ships carrying commodities that were not given passes (cartaz) by the Portuguese officials were confiscated by them. The booty thus obtained yielded a sizeable source of income which was again invested in trade. Defeated rulers were compelled to pay tributes to the Portuguese, either in cash or kind. This source was also exploited by them several times for investment. The persons interested in sending their ships to other parts of India or to Asian countries were required to take passes (cartaz) from the Portuguese for which a fee was charged. 

Q  Critically examine the political formations in South India in the 16th century.

A.  During the 16th century, there were four independent kingdoms in the Malabar region: Kolathunad (Cannanore), ruled by the Kolathiris, Kozhikode (Calicut) under the Samudri raja, Venad under the hegemony of the Tiruvadis and, the upcoming Cochin state. During the course of the 16th century, within the Vijaynagar empire, There was an emergence of the Nayak kingdoms of Ikkeri, Senji (Gingee), Odeyar Mysore, Madurai and Tanjore which continued to remain notionally subordinate to Vijaynagar.

Rise of The Nayak Kingdoms

Senji 

The kingdom of Senji (along the eastern coast) under a Nayak emerged during Krishnadevaraya's reign. Its first Nayak was Vaiappa. (1526-1544). Till 1592, all the Nayaks of Senji remained loyal to Vijaynagar. However the Vijaynagar ruler, Venkata I shifted his capital after 1592 from Penukonda to Chandragiri in order to strengthen Vijaynagar's hold over the Nayaks. This gave rise to resentment among the Nayaks as they expected Vijaynagar's interference in their internal affairs. Venkata I followed the.policy of 'divide and rule' to weaken the Nayaks of various tracts within the Empire. All this led to the Nayaks of Vellore and Senji to rebel (sometime after 1600). Later, Vellore and Senji were taken over by Venkata I (1600-1608).

Tanjore 

Tanjore under a Nayak emerged during Achyutaraya's reign in 1532 under Sewappa Nayak. The Nayaks of Tanjore remained loyal to Vijaynagar throughout the 16th century. They always sided with the Empire in its battles.

Madura

Madura (south of the Kaveri) was put under a Nayak sometime during the last years of Krishnadevaraya's reign (1529). The first Nayak was Vishvanath (d. 1564). By and large, he and his successors remained loyal to Vijaynagar even at the battle of Talikota. They helped the Empire against the Portuguese. But in the early 1580s. tension cropped up between Venkata I and Virappa Nayak as Nayak attempted to evade tribute which was taken care of by Venkata I by sending his army to collect revenue.

Ikkeri 

          The Nayaks of Ikkeri (north Karnataka) also arose during Krishnadevaraya's reign. The first Nayak was Keladi Nayaka Chaudappa who served Achyutaraya and Ramaraja. Sadasiva Nayak (1540-65), the successor and son of Chaudappa, was behind Bijapur's defeat at the hands of Rama Raya and, as a reward received the title of 'Raya'; later, his military exploits won him the title of 'Raja' from Ramaraya. Tulu Nayaks of Ikkeri remained loyal to Vijaynagar throughout the 16th century, but in the early years of the 17th century, they became practically independent under Venkatappa Nayaka I (1586-1629). The Nayaks of Ikkeri always remained under heavy pressure from Bijapur, but they were able to repel the latter's attacks.

Odeyar Mysore

         The history of the Odeyar chiefs goes back to 1399 when they settled in this region. But it was under Chamaraja III (1513-53) and his son Timmaraja (1533-72) that the Odeyars came into prominence. Vijaynagar's hold over this territory was never complete. Odeyar Nayaks continued to defy the Vijaynagar might till the Raja finally succeeded in 1610 in ousting the Vijaynagar viceroy of Seringapatam and made it his capital.

States in Malabar

              By the turn of the 15th century, there were three prominent kingdoms in Malabar:

(i) Kolathunad or Cannanore(ruled by Kolathiris) 

(ii) Kozhikode or Calicut(ruled by the Zamorin) 

(iii) Venad or Travancore and the upcoming Cochin state. 

                  The main feature of the 16th century Malabar polity was perpetual warfare between Kolathunad and Kozhikode; and between the latter and Cochin (Nayar) rajas. Both, Kolathunad and Cochin (Kshatriya) rajas claimed superior lineage. Besides these four major rulers, there existed a number of small chiefs/rajas at Tanur, Mangat, Idappalli, Vedakkumkur, Procaud, Kayamkulam and Quilon. The rajas of Cranganore, Idappalli, and Vedakkumkur were subordinated to Calicut. Idappali was important for Calicut for it provided a base for its operations against Cochin. During the 16th century, Calicut had certain distinct advantages over other Malabar kingdoms, first, it was the great center of Western trade; secondly, it had strong naval power and; thirdly, it had the support of Arab traders who provided arms and horses.

Q.  Critically examine the rise of Deccani powers in the 16th-17thcenturies.   

A.  The decline of the Bahmani power gave way to the rise of five kingdoms in the Deccan. The factors which contributed towards the establishment of the Deccan kingdoms had started emerging during the Bahmani rule itself. The founders of all the Deccani kingdoms were at one point of time Bahmani nobles who had served one or the other Bahmani ruler. Yusuf Adil Shah, the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty at Bijapur (1489) was the tarafdar of Bijapur; Nizam Shah Bahri, the founder of the Nizam Shah kingdom at Ahmednagar (1496) was in charge of a number of forts in the Sahyadri ranges; Qasim Barid ul Mamalik, founder of Barid Shahi dynasty at Bidar (1504) served as kotwal of Bidar as well as wakil during Mahmud Shah's reign; Fathullah Imad Shah, the founder of the Imad Shahi dynasty of Berar (1510) served as tarafdar of Berar; and Quli Qutbulmulk, the founder of the Qutb Shahi dynasty at Golkonda (1543) held the governorship of Telangana.

             Out of the five states that emerged after the decline of the Bahmani kingdoms, the founders of the three-Bijapur, Bidar and Golkonda-were Afaqi nobles. Ahmednagar and Berar were under the Deccani nobles. But the Afaqi-Deccani factor hardly dominated their relationships. Instead, it was based more on what suited their interests, circumstances, and exigencies of the time. Accordingly, even an Afaqi state could join hands with a Deccani power against another Afaqi and vice-versa.

               The geographic location of Ahmednagar (in the north), Golkonda (in the east) and Bijapur (in the south) was such that it provided them enough room for extension towards further north and south. Thus, these kingdoms had the natural advantage to

'gain strength. Bidar and Berar (situated in the central Deccan) sandwiched as they were between the power blocks, remained as mere pawns in the hands of one or the other Deccani power. However, the scene in the Deccan changed drastically with the rise of the Mughals who invaded Ahmednagar in 1595. This invasion compelled the Deccani kingdoms to seek for new compromises and balances.

Q.  Briefly discuss the nature of the Afghan theory of kingship. What were the changes introduced in it during Sikandar Lodi's period?     

A.   Afghan monarchy was primarily tribal in nature. For them. king was 'first among equals'. During Bahlul Lodi's time, Afghan nobles enjoyed complete local autonomy. The only bond between them and the Sultan was to render military service when the need arose or required to do so. Such was the position under Bahlul that he never ever sat on the throne in front of his fellow Afghan nobles, nor did he organized an open darbar. He used to call his Afghan nobles masnad-i-Ali.

         However, a distinct change came with Sultan Sikandar Lodi who clearly saw the danger of an unrestrained nobility. He is credited with having introduced such important changes into the political system of the Empire that transformed it into a highly centralized political entity. Unlike- Sultan Bahlul Lodi (his father), Sultan Sikandar Lodi demanded obedience from his nobles. His military success made the nobility completely loyal and Subservient towards him. It also suppressed its sentiments of equality with the Sultan. He is reported to have sat on the throne regularly in an open darbar where the nobles were required to stand showing due respect to the Sultan like servants. Even in his absence, his farmans were received by high nobles with respect. The noble to whom the far-man was sent had to come forward six miles to receive it. A terrace was prepared upon which the courier stood and placed the farman on the head of the noble who had to stand below. Then all those concerned had to listen to it standing. The nobles who failed to retain the confidence of the Sultan fell into disgrace. Though, in general, the Sultan did not tamper with their autonomy at the local level, at times the nobles were transferred and sometimes even dismissed.

         The nobles were also put to closer scrutiny of their iqtas. But, in spite of these changes, the Afghan kingship basically remained unchanged. Some of the offices were made hereditary. The Afghans continued to assume high titles, Khan-i Jahan, Khan-i Khanan, Azam Humayun, Khan-i Azam, etc. They also enjoyed the freedom to maintain informal relations with the Sultan on the playground, marches, hunting, etc. Thus, monarchy under Sikandar was more of a compromise between the Turkish and tribal organizations.

            The process of centralization accelerated under Ibrahim. He believed that "kingship knows no kinship". Under him, the prestige of the Sultan went so high that even the royal tent was considered worthy of respect.

Q.  Give an account of the administrative structure and economy under the second Afghan empire.                                    

A.  Under the second Afghan empire, a number of new administrative measures were taken -         

Administration -   Sher Shah seems to have been inspired by the history of Sultan Alauddin Khalji's (1296-1316) reign. He adopted most of the rules and regulations introduced by the Khalji Sultan. However, like Khalji he was not harsh in their implementation. In the doab region, the sarkar (the successor of shiqq under the Khaljis) was the administrative cum-fiscal unit; while wilayat, comprising a number of sarkars in the outlying regions, such as Bengal, Malwa, Rajputana and Sind, and Multan were retained for the convenience of defense. The sarkar comprised a number of parganas, each pargana consisting of a number of villages. The village was the primary fiscal unit. The noble posted as in-charge of sarkar or wilayat was not given unlimited powers. He was regularly directed through royal farman to implement new rules and regulations. The spies informed the king about the conduct of the officers. Anyone who was found failing in his work was punished.

            In organizing his nobility, Sher Shah took people belonging to different ethnic groups in such a way that his dynastic interest could be safeguarded. No group was strong enough to assume the shape of a pressure group. After Sher Shah's death, his second son Prince Jalal Khan ascended the throne under the title of Islam Shah. He took away the iqtas of the nobles and brought the whole Empire under khalisa. The officers were paid in cash instead of iqtas. The nobility and army were reorganized into new grades. Officers were appointed from among them to look after and inspect the proper maintenance of soldiers and necessary army equipment by the nobles. The nobles were also denied the possession of war elephants as it was king's prerogative. Like his father, Islam Shah ensured the administration of impartial justice in the Empire.

Economy - 

Agrarian Structure - 

     Sher Shah and Islam Shah overhauled the revenue administration of the Lodi period. Apart from appointing new revenue officials at the pargana and sarkar level, Sher Shah curtailed the powers and privileges of the land assignees (i.e. wajahdars and muqtas). The unruly zamindars, who often took to robbery and withheld the payment of land revenue due to the king, were forced into submission. They were also made accountable for every crime committed within the boundaries of their zamindari.

           The governors (for the muqtas) in the provinces, sarkar, and wilayats) were denied a free hand in adopting any of the known methods of revenue assessment at the time of harvest. The methods of crop-sharing and revenue farming were abolished and that of zabt (measurement) was enforced everywhere. The extra taxes called jaribana and muhassilana (fee for measuring the land and revenue collection) were also abolished. The offenders among the officials were punished. Sher Shah ordered the land under cultivation to be measured every year at the harvest time. The state's share in the product was determined according to the royal regulation. This system was prevalent throughout the Empire except for the combined provinces of Multan and Sind. The territory of Multan had been ruined by the oppressive Biloch rule. Therefore, Sher Shah directed its governor to develop the region and realize from the cultivators only one-fourth of the products in accordance with the crop-sharing method. The state revenue demand in other provinces was one-third of the agricultural produce.

             Sher Shah on the basis of the fertility of soil divided the lands into three categories, the good, middling and bad. The average produce of these three types of soil was taken as standard yield per bigha. One-third of this standard yield was fixed as state share. A rai (schedule of crop-rates) was prepared for the convenience and guidance of the revenue collectors. The state share now could be easily converted into cash rates, according to the market prices.

Iqta System

The entire empire was divided into khaIisa and iqta. The khalisa was administered by the state directly through, diwan-i wizarat i.e. the Revenue Ministry. The revenue collected from the khalisa went directly to the state treasury. Sher Shah made Iqta transferable. Any iqta could be transferred from one to the other noble.