• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

ClearIAS

UPSC: Latest News, IAS, IPS, UPSC Online Preparation

UPSC Prelims Test Series 2021Enroll Now
  • Home
  • Start
    • IAS
    • IAS Exam Eligibility
    • UPSC
    • UPSC Syllabus
    • UPSC Exam Date
    • UPSC Results
    • FAQs
  • Programs
    • Prelims
    • Mains
    • Interview
  • Buy
    • Courses
    • Mock Test Series
    • IAS Books
    • eBooks (PDF)
  • Free
    • Study Materials
    • Guidance
    • eBooks (PDFs)
    • Mock Exams
    • ClearIAS App
    • Downloads
  • Toppers
  • Blog
  • Login
ClearIAS » Indian History Notes » Medieval India: Towns, Traders and Craftpersons (NCERT)

Medieval India: Towns, Traders and Craftpersons (NCERT)

Last updated on December 21, 2016 by Clear IAS Team

In this article on Medieval India, we plan to cover the topic ‘Towns, Traders and Craftpersons in the medieval India’. We have noticed more and more questions being asked in Prelims from this topic, hence the write-up on the same.

One of the major reference material for this post is NCERT History text for Class 7 (Our past -1). Only main points from the chapters are compiled below. These points might come quite handy during preparation of Prelims and Mains to get a quick grasp of the subject.

Towns of Medieval India

Medieval India Towns

There were administrative centres, temple towns, as well as centres of commercial activities and craft production during medieval periods.

Administrative Centres and Towns

  • The best example is Thanjavur.
  • During the reign of Chola Dynasty (King Rajaraja Chola), its capital was Thanjavur.
  • Architect Kunjaramallan Rajaraja Perunthachchan built Rajarajeshwara Temple.
  • Besides the temple, there were palaces with mandapas or pavilions. where kings hold court here and issue order to subordinates.
  • The Saliya weavers of Thanjavur and the nearby town of Uraiyur were busy producing cloth for flags to be used in the temple festival, fine cottons for the king and nobility and coarse cotton for the masses.
  • Some distance away at Svamimalai, the sthapatis or sculptors were making exquisite bronze idols and tall, ornamental bell metal lamps.

Temple Towns and Pilgrimage Centres

  • Thanjavur is also an example of a temple town. Temple towns represent a very important pattern of urbanisation, the process by which cities develop.
  • Towns emerged around temples such as those of Bhillasvamin (Bhilsa or Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh), and Somnath in Gujarat. Other important temple towns included Kanchipuram and Madurai in Tamil Nadu, and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Pilgrimage centres also slowly developed into townships. Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh) and Tiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu) are examples of two such towns.

Small towns

  • From the 8th century onwards the subcontinent was dotted with several small towns. These probably emerged from large villages. They usually had a mandapika (or mandi of later times) to which nearby villagers brought their produce to sell. They also had market streets called hatta (haat of later times) lined with shops.
  • Usually a samanta or, in later times, a zamindar built a fortified palace in or near these towns. They levied taxes on traders, artisans and articles of trade and sometimes “donated” the “right” to collect these taxes to local temples .

Traders

  • There were many kind of traders including Banjaras. (2016 Prelims Question)
  • Since traders had to pass through many kingdoms and forests, they usually travelled in caravans and formed guilds[associations for certain tasks]to protect their interests. Manigramam and Nanadesi were two such guilds.These guilds traded extensively both within the peninsula and with Southeast Asia and China.
  • The towns on the west coast were home to Arab, Persian, Chinese, Jewish and Syrian Christian traders.
  • At the same time Kabul [Afghanistan]became politically and commercially important from the 16th century onwards. Trade in horses was primarily carried here. Slaves were also brought here for sale.

Craftpersons

  • The craftspersons of Bidar were so famed for their inlay work in copper and silver that it came to
    be called Bidri.
  • The Panchalas or Vishwakarma community, consisting of goldsmiths, bronzesmiths, blacksmiths, masons and carpenters, were essential to the building of temples.
  • They also played an important role in the construction of palaces, big buildings, tanks and reservoirs.
  • Similarly, weavers such as the Saliyar or Kaikkolars emerged as prosperous communities, making donations to temples.
  • Some aspects of cloth making like cotton cleaning, spinning and dyeing became specialised and independent crafts.

Major Towns: Surat, Hampi and Masulipattanam

Surat, Hampi and Masulipattanam were the major towns in India during the medieval period.

Hampi

Hampi Musical Pillars

130+ Prelims Marks is Possible. Only if you are guided the right way.

Join ClearIAS Prelims Test Series 2021.

Take a Free Test

  • Located in the Krishna-Tungabhadra basin.
  • It was the nucleus of the Vijayanagara Empire (1336).
  • No mortar or cementing agent was used in the construction of fortified walls and the technique followed was to wedge them together by interlocking.
  • It got splendid arches, domes and pillared halls with niches for holding sculptures.
  • During 15th – 16th centuries, Hampi bustled with commercial and cultural activities. Moors (a name used collectively for Muslim merchants), Chettis and agents of European traders such as the Portuguese, thronged the markets of Hampi.
  • Temples were the hub of cultural activities and devadasis (temple dancers) performed before the deity, royalty and masses in the many-pillared halls in the Virupaksha (a form of Shiva) temple.
  • Hampi fell into ruin following the defeat of Vijayanagara in 1565 by the Deccani Sultans – the rulers of Golconda, Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar and Bidar.

Surat

  • It was an emporium of western trade during the Mughal period along with Cambay (present Khambat).
  • Surat was the gateway for trade with West Asia via the Gulf of Ormuz. Surat has also been called the gate to Mecca because many pilgrim ships set sail from here.
  • In the 17th century the Portuguese, Dutch and English had their factories and warehouses at Surat.
  • The textiles of Surat were famous for their gold lace borders (zari) and had a market in West Asia, Africa and Europe.
  • Decline factors: the loss of markets and productivity, control of the sea routes by the Portuguese, competition from Bombay where the English East India Company shifted its headquarters in 1668.

Masulipatnam

  • Lay on the delta of the Krishna river.
  • Both the Dutch and English East India Companies attempted to control Masulipatnam.
  • The fort at Masulipatnam was built by the Dutch.
  • The Qutb Shahi rulers of Golconda imposed royal monopolies on the sale of textiles, spices and other items to prevent the trade passing completely into the hands of the various East India Companies.
  • In 1686-1687 Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb annexed Golconda.
  • So European Companies took alternatives to Bombay, Calcutta and Madras which lost Masulipatanam’s glory.

UPSC Prelims Question from the topic

Qn 2016: Banjaras during the medieval period of Indian history were

  1. Agriculture
  2. Warriors
  3. Weavers
  4. Traders

Article compiled by: Vibin Laxmanan

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share648
Tweet
WhatsApp
648 Shares

Integrate Learning With Test-Taking!

Is UPSC Prelims your weak area?

Don’t worry!

We can help you score high marks!

Are you ready to practise the right way?

Yes, I want ClearIAS to help me score high!

Get our newsletter

Don't miss our email updates!

About Clear IAS Team

ClearIAS provides free IAS online coaching, guidance, strategies, books, online study-materials and mock tests with a vision that no candidate should be left out of UPSC exam competition due to in-accessibility of expensive IAS classroom coaching.

We write simple, easy to understand articles, but always ensure high standards of quality.

Rated among the best, emerging online test preparation startups, Clear IAS also offers for free, the popular Clear IAS android app.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dheeraj yadav says

    December 20, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    very useful thanks

    Reply
  2. Gajendra Singh says

    December 20, 2016 at 10:04 pm

    Very informative. Thank you very much.

    Reply
  3. vineet says

    December 26, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    Very useful information, thanxx a lot sir..

    Reply
  4. Navpreet kaur says

    January 3, 2017 at 10:35 am

    Thank you for this wonderful knowledge

    Reply
    • Riecha Vohra says

      November 27, 2017 at 9:22 pm

      Very useful in my project

  5. Sumayya Khan says

    November 27, 2017 at 6:53 pm

    Nice work

    Reply
  6. shivanya sudan says

    December 17, 2018 at 7:18 pm

    very useful thankuu very much for helping mee

    Reply
  7. Cheshta says

    December 27, 2018 at 7:50 pm

    Thanks:-)

    Reply
  8. Siri says

    October 20, 2019 at 1:09 pm

    Awesome 😊 very helpful 👍😊😊😊

    Reply
  9. sanki yadav says

    October 20, 2019 at 7:33 pm

    galat hai mujhe kharab laga

    Reply
  10. Amoolya says

    December 5, 2019 at 9:12 pm

    Very very useful to prepare for exam thank you🤝🤝

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Aim to be an IAS Officer?

Nothing can beat practice!

Join ClearIAS Prelims Test Series 2021

Practice 40+ online mock exams!

Limited Period Offer: 40% OFF!

Enroll Now!

ClearIAS Study Materials for UPSC Prelims and Mains

  • Indian History - Indian History and Culture.
  • Geography - Indian and World Geography.
  • Economics - Indian Economy.
  • Indian Polity - Constitution, Social Justice etc.
  • General Science - Science and Technology.
  • Environment - Biodiversity, Climate Change etc.
  • Current Affairs - National and international.

ClearIAS Study Materials for UPSC Mains (Extra-Topics)

  • World History - GS paper 1.
  • Indian Society - GS paper 1.
  • Foreign Relations - GS paper 2.
  • International Affairs - GS paper 2.
  • Internal Security - GS paper 3.
  • Disaster Management - GS paper 3.
  • Ethics - GS paper 4.

ClearIAS Study Materials for UPSC Mains (Paper-wise)

  • Essay Paper
  • GS 1 Paper
  • GS 2 Paper
  • GS 3 Paper
  • GS 4 Paper

ClearIAS Online Mock Exams (Prelims and Mains)

  • Prelims Mock Exams
  • Mains Mock Exams (AWP)

Congrats! You are at the right place - ClearIAS!

  • 1 million+ monthly users!
  • 9,00,000+ ClearIAS App Downloads!
  • 4,50,000+ Facebook Followers!
  • 3,50,000+ Email Subscribers!
  • 3,00,000+ Registered Aspirants!

Prepare for UPSC Online!

Get Started

UPSC Online Preparation Guidance

  • UPSC - Union Public Service Commission
  • IAS - Indian Administrative Service
  • Civil Services Exam (CSE) - Exam Pattern
  • UPSC Syllabus - Subjects to learn
  • IAS Books - Books to learn
  • UPSC CSE Eligibility - Who can appear?
  • UPSC Exam Dates - When should you apply?
  • UPSC Result - Check UPSC Results
  • UPSC FAQs - Clarify your queries

What do toppers' say about ClearIAS?

Poonam Dalal

"Working 24*7 in the police for the last 5 years and been out of touch with the preparation, I took the guidance from your website, especially the ClearIAS prelims test series. I bought it and found it to be the best available online." - Poonam Dalal, ClearIAS Online Student

Read more reviews by UPSC Toppers...

Enroll in

ClearIAS UPSC Prelims Online Test Series 2021

Score High in the IAS Exam!

Trusted by Toppers

Limited Period Offer: 40% Discount!

Enroll now

Don’t lose out without playing the right game!

Adopt the 3 Strategies for Success in the UPSC Civil Services Exam.

Learn UPSC Strategies

  • Home
  • IAS
  • UPSC
  • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Login

UPSC Online Preparation

  • Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
  • Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
  • Indian Police Service (IPS)
  • IAS Exam Eligibility
  • UPSC Free Study Materials
  • UPSC Exam Guidance
  • UPSC Prelims Test Series
  • UPSC Syllabus
  • UPSC Online
  • UPSC Books
  • UPSC Prelims
  • UPSC Mains
  • UPSC Interview

ClearIAS

  • About ClearIAS
  • ClearIAS Programs
  • IAS Coaching
  • Announcements
  • Book Review
  • ClearIAS App
  • Sitemap
  • Work with us
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us

UPSC 2021

UPSC Exam Calendar 2021

Follow us

Follow us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFollow us on YouTubeFollow us on ClearIAS Learning AppFollow us on ClearIAS Test Prep AppFollow us on Telegram

Featured on

ClearIAS Featured in The Hindu
ClearIAS Featured in the Times of India
ClearIAS Featured in the New Indian Express
ClearIAS Featured in the Yourstory

and many more...

Copyright © 2020 - ClearIAS.com