SOURCES OF INDIAN
HISTORY
Devjyoti Das
IEM/UEM
GS Dept.
AGENDA
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Introduction
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Primary goals
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Areas of growth
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Timeline
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Summary
WHAT IS HISTORY?
o A study of Past, particularly human affairs.
o It comes from a Greek origin word called “Historia”, which means
inquiry or knowledge acquired by investigation.
o History starts when human started showing interest towards their past
and consciously become interested in making documents for the future
Handing down the
traditions
Father of history : HERODOTUS – A Greek historian,
contemporary of Socrates.
WHAT IS CHRONOLOGY?
o Arrangement of events and dates in order of their occurrence.
o Terms associated:
o BC: Before Christ
o AD: Anno Dominus ( In the year of our Lord)
o BCE : Before Common Era- Same as BC
o CE: Common Era- Same as AD
o c. : Circa- Approximate year
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES
Geography
International
Relations
Economics
HISTORY
Public
Administration
Science
Literature
DIVISIONS OF HISTORY
It can be divided into 3 parts: Pre-history, Proto History and History
Pre History
Proto- History
History
• Studied mainly by
archaeologists
• NO scripts and
written records
• Differs from location
and continent due to
geographic influence
and human
evolution
• Evidence of rock and
cave paintings
• Period between prehistory and history
• Culture and
civilization in
nascent phase.
• Script started to
developed- NOT yet
deciphered.
• Few written records
are found
• Written records
available.
• Scripts deciphered.
• History continues till
today.
HISTORY
DIVISIONS OF HISTORY IN INDIA
Devjyoti Das, UEM
Kolkata
Pre-History (2 Mn BC to 2800BC)
Proto-History (The transition period)
Ancient History (2600BC to 750AD)
Medieval History (750AD to 1757 AD)
Modern History (1757 AD till present)
PRE-HISTORY OF INDIA
Divided under following important headings
PRE-HISTORY
LITHOS
PALAEOLITHIC
LOWER P.
MESOLITHIC
MIDDLE P.
METAL
CHALCOLITHIC
UPPER P.
Devjyoti Das, UEM Kolkata
NEOLITHIC
COPPER
IRON
SOURCES OF HISTORY
o Literary
o Religious
o Non-religious
o Foreign account
o Archaeological
o Excavation
o Inscription
o Numismatic
THE PURANAS
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BUDDHIST AND JAIN TEXTS
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EARLY INDIAN COINAGE: PUNCH-MARKED
TO POST-MAURYAN
• The Significance of Coins
o Second most important historical source after inscriptions.
o Found in excavations (archaeological finds) or hoards.
o Provide insights into:
o Chronology
o Cultural context
o Economic activity
o Political organization
EARLY INDIAN COINAGE: PUNCH-MARKED TO
POST-MAURYAN
❑ Second Urbanization (c. 6th century BCE): First evidence of coinage.
•Materials: Copper, silver, gold, lead.
•Punch-Marked Coins: Earliest in India.
•Silver (mostly), copper, rare gold.
•Symbols only, no inscriptions.
❑ Indo-Greek Coins:
•Silver, copper, rare gold.
•Beautiful artistic features, king portraits.
•Reveal over 40 Indo-Greek rulers.
❑ Post-Mauryan Coins:
•Lead, potin, copper, bronze, silver, gold.
•Large numbers indicate increased trade.
Coin from Kushan Era
THE GOLDEN AGE: KUSHAN AND GUPTA
COINAGE
• Kushan Coins:
• Gupta Coins:
•
Gold and copper (mostly), rare silver.
•
Gold and silver, gold more numerous.
•
Found throughout North India.
•
Indianized coinage.
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Depict Indian, Persian, and Greek deities.
•
Dinars: Well-executed gold coins with king portraits.
•
Vima Kadphises: Shiva on coins, calls himself
"Maheshvara."
•
Kings depicted hunting, playing instruments,
performing rituals.
Kushan coin with Shiva and bull
Gupta coin with Samudragupta playing Veena
COINS AS HISTORICAL CLUES
❑ Coin legends:
o Reveal rulers' names, titles, dates.
❑ Circulation areas:
o Help reconstruct dynasties' territories.
❑ Images and symbols:
o Offer insights into culture and religion.
❑ Yaudheya and Malava coins:
o "Gana" suggests non-monarchical polity.
❑ Satavahana coins:
o Ship image indicates maritime trade.
Satavahana coin with a ship
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MONUMENTS OF INDIA
❖ Temples and Sculptures:
o Found throughout India from the Gupta period onwards.
o Showcase architectural and artistic history of Indian culture.
❖ Caves:
o Ajanta and Ellora: Large excavated caves with chaityas (prayer halls) and viharas (monasteries).
❖ Rock-Cut Temples:
o Kailash Temple (Ellora)
o Rathas (chariot-shaped temples) at Mamallapuram
❖ Medieval Monuments:
o Reflect grandeur and wealth of ruling class.
o Illustrate regional styles of architecture and influences.
o Excavated Townships (Buddha's Time):
o Taxila, Kaushambi, Kashi (Rajghat), Ayodhya, Vaishali, Bodhgaya.
o All but Taxila said to have been visited by the Buddha in c. 6th century BCE.
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ACCOUNTS FROM MEDIEVAL AND MODERN
INDIA
• Al-Beruni (Abu Rihan):
• Other Important Sources:
•
Contemporary of Mahmud of Ghazni.
•
Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi (Zia-ud-din Barani)
•
Learned Sanskrit to study Indian texts and culture.
•
Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi (Mahammad Quasim Farishta)
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"Tahqiq-i-Hind": Encyclopedic work covering various
topics.
•
Ain-i-Akbari & Akbarnama (Abu'l Fazal)
•
Tabqat-i-Akbari (Nizammuddin Ahmad)
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Valuable source for 11th century India.
•
Identified initial year of Gupta era.
o Later Periods:
• Shahjahan & Aurangzeb: Ample court accounts available.
• Sulaiman:
•
• Modern Period: Abundant historical material in various Indian
and European languages (English, French, Dutch).
Mentioned India in his accounts, likely due to ArabIndian oceanic trade.
o Official Histories (12th Century Onwards):
• Tabkat-i-Nasiri: By Minhaj-ud-din Siraj, earliest example of
commissioned history.
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Devjyoti Das
THANK
YOU