class 7th history l. no. 1

1. Tracing Changes Through A
Thousand Years
History - L.no. 1

2. Changes in map
Map 1 - 1154 Arab cartographer (Al-Idrisi)
Map 2 - 1720 French cartographer
First map was upside down.

3. New and Old Terminology
13 Century
Minhaj-i-Siraj - Hindustan
Punjab, Haryana and land between
Ganga and Yamuna
16 Century
Babur - Hindustan
Geography, fauna and flora
14 Century
Amir Khusrau - Hind
Same as Babur

4. Foreigner = a person from other
country
Pardesi = stranger (from same
country)
Forest dwellers were pardesi for
city-dwellers

5. Historian and their sources
Variety and number of textual
records increased dramatically.
(paper had become cheaper)
1. Coins
2. Inscriptions
3. Architecture
4. Textual records
Holy texts, chronicles of rulers, letters, teaching of saints, petition, judicial records etc.
Manuscript - collected by wealthy people, rulers, monasteries, archives and library.

6. Problems faced by scribes
1. No printing press
2. Couldn’t read the handwriting of the other scribes.
3. They were forced to guess particular word so there were small but
significant changes in the copy of scribes.
4. Small changes in words grew over the centuries.
5. Other copies became very much different from original.
6. Authors revised their chronicles. Ex : Ziyauddin Barani - 1356 and 1358
(1960s)

7. NEW SOCIAL AND POLITICAL GROUPS
1. New Technologies - Persian wheel, spinning wheel, firearms in
combat
2. New food - potatoes, corn, chillies, tea, coffee.
Resulted in economical, political, social and cultural changes.
● Period of great mobility - in the search of opportunity.
● One group of people became important - Rajput (Chivalric code of
Conduct, valour and loyalty)
● Other group of people became important - Marathas, sikhs, Jats,
Ahoms and Kayasthas (a caste of scribes and secretaries)

8. ● Clearing of forest
● Migration of forest dwellers in villages
● Started tilling land and became peasants
● Affected by regional markets, taxes , offering goods and
services to local lords.
● Significant difference between peasants (more productive
land, artisanal work, cattle)
● People were grouped into jatis or sub-castes based on their
backgrounds and occupations. (not fixed)
● Jatis formed their own rules and jati panchayat. Also
followed village rules.
● Several villages were governed by chieftain and one small
unit of state was formed.

9. REGION AND EMPIRE
● The Cholas, Tughluqs or Mughals encompassed many regions.
● A sanskrit prashasti - Ghiyasuddin Balban (Bengal to Afghanistan
also included south India)
● People of other region fled before his army. (exaggeration)
● By 700 many regions possessed distinct geography, language,
culture.
● Cholas, Khaljis, Tughluqs and Mughals built pan-regional empire.
(not permanent)
● After declination of Mughal Empire : re-emergence of regional
states but with altered character of the regions.
● Regions had shared tradition : realms of governance, economy
management, elite culture and language.

10. OLD AND NEW RELIGIONS
The major religious developments during this period:
● As social worlds of these groups altered so too their beliefs.
● Hinduism - Worship of new deities, construction of temples by royalty,
Importance of Brahmanas and the priests grew and they became dominant groups
of the society because of their knowledge of sanskrit.
● There was also the emergence of the idea of bhakti i.e. of a loving, personal deity.
● Muslim religion - Religions like Islam appeared in the subcontinent who brought
the teachings of holy Quran in the 7th C,
● Shia muslims - Prophet Muhammad’s son-in–law , Ali
● Sunni muslims - Early leaders Khalifas
● Many rulers were patrons of Islam and the ulama.

11. THINKING ABOUT TIME AND HISTORICAL PERIODS
● To make the study of time easier past is divided into large segments -
periods : 1. Hindu 2. Muslim and 3. British
● Division was based on religion of the rulers.
● Few historians follow this periodisation today.
● Most look to economic and social factors & they divide history into :
1. Ancient 2. Medieval and 3. Modern
● Ancient : hunter-gatherers, early farmers, people living in towns and
villages, early empires and kingdoms.
● Medieval : Spread of peasant society, rise of regional and imperial
state formations, cost of pastoral and forest people, development of
Hinduism and Islam, arrival of European trading companies. (because
of prosperity)

12. T H E E N D