Postclassical India
c. 600 to c. 1450
Political fragmentation
India was mostly decentralized
through most of the postclassical age, though it
exerted strong economic and
cultural influences across
south and southeast Asia.
 caste system and Hinduism in
south Asia
 Hinduism, Buddhism and
eventually Islam to SE Asia
via trade
Islam to India via three routes
1) Sind (the Indus River Valley) remained
nominally under the jurisdiction of caliphs
from 700s to 1200s (first the Umayyads, then
after 750 the Abbasids).
Islam to India via three routes
2) Islam infiltrated the coastal regions of
northern and southern India as Muslim
merchants dominated trade and
transportation networks, setting up
diasporic communities in major port cities,
where they played prominent roles in
commercial life and married local women.
Islam to India via three routes
3) Migrations and invasions of Turkish-
speaking peoples from central Asia
•
Mahmud of Ghazni (1001-1027): plundered
and demolished hundreds of sites
associated with Hindu or Buddhist faiths
in northern India, hastening the decline of
Buddhism in the land of its birth
Islam to India via three routes
3) Migrations and invasions of Turkish-
speaking peoples from central Asia
•
Mahmud’s successors later established the
Delhi Sultanate in northern India (12061526), which built mosques, shrines and
fortresses but imposed only a thin veneer
of Islamic political and military authority
Islam to India via three routes
Explain the three main ways in which
Islam became implanted on the Indian
subcontinent.
The weak Delhi Sultanate
• The Delhi Sultanate had no permanent
bureaucracy or administrative apparatus … or
even firm control of its own court: more than half
of its 35 sultans were assassinated!
• Despite commanding an army of 300,000 men,
they depended on the goodwill of local Hindu
kings to carry out their policies.
Islam and its appeal
Islamic conquerors offered little incentive for
Indians to convert to Islam, but gradually many
did. By 1500, about one-fourth of India’s 100
million inhabitants were Muslim. Many –
especially among the lower Hindu castes –
adopted Islam in hopes of improving their status
in society. Sometimes whole castes or subcastes
converted en masse.
Do you recall?
1. Why couldn’t the Delhi Sultanate
exert a strong influence over northern
India?
2. Around the time of Columbus, what
percentage of India’s population had
converted to Islam – and why?
The bhakti movement
The bhakti movement was a cult of love and devotion that
ultimately sought to erase the distinction between
Hinduism and Islam. Emerging in southern India in the
12th century, the movement initially promoted a pious
devotion to Hindu values … but evolved, as it moved
northward and encountered more Muslims, to reject the
exclusive features of both religions and teach that Shiva,
Vishnu and Allah were all manifestations of a single,
universal deity. It built bridges but failed to harmonize
Hinduism and Islam.
Compare it to …
Compare the bhakti movement to some
other syncretic belief system that you’ve
learned about emerging elsewhere in the
world.
Southern India
India south of the Deccan Plateau largely
escaped the invasions, chronic war and turmoil
that plagued the subcontinent’s north … but a
coherent, distinctive society flourished on the
basis of trade, common social structures and
inherited cultural traditions.
Caste and Indian society
India’s caste system adapted to the arrival of
Turkish peoples and Muslim merchants by
recognizing them as distinct groups and
establishing codes of conduct to regulate their
dealings with other castes.
Caste and Indian society
The castes that most people identified with were
the subcastes (jati), which often took the form of
workers’ guilds. Merchant guilds – representing
the common interests of those working in
particular types of commerce, such as the silk,
cotton or spice trades – in particular wielded
political and economic influence.
Indian emporia
Anchoring the center of the Indian Ocean basin,
India was a natural site for emporia and warehouses
– a clearinghouse for the increasingly heavy oceanic
trade of the postclassical era. India gained a
reputation for high-quality cotton textiles; China
produced silk and porcelain; SE Asia provided fine
spices; SW Asia traded in incense, horses and dates;
East Africa contributed gold, ivory and slaves.
India’s influence on SE Asia
The temple
complex
dedicated to
Vishnu at
Angkor Wat
reflects the
deep influence
of Indian
traditions in
southeast Asia.
Islam’s arrival in Southeast Asia
Islam maintained a quiet presence in SE Asia
for several centuries before ruling elites
became interested in the faith. Its spread was
greatly facilitated when the powerful state of
Melaka sponsored it throughout the region
beginning in the 15th century.
Melaka
 Melaka began as a
Hindu state before
converting to Islam.
It welcomed
theologians, Sufis
and other Islamic
authorities.
 Its navy patrolled
the region’s waters,
guarding against
piracy, and
compelled ships to
call at its port,
levying taxes on
their cargoes.
Do you recall?
1. How did southern India’s history differ
from northern India’s history?
2. What have you learned about the
development of India’s caste system
through the Middle Ages?
Do you recall?
3. Explain India’s role in the Indian Ocean
Maritime System.
4. Show off what you’ve learned about
India’s contributions to the development
of Southeast Asian history during the
Middle Ages – and what political change
during the 15th century helps to explain
why Indonesia now has more Muslims
than any other nation.