class 7

1. LIFE DURING THE
SULTANATE PERIOD
Chapter 7,
History, Class 6

3. INTRODUCTION TO
CHAPTER

4. The establishment of the Delhi sultanate marked the
beginning of a new era in India’s political,
socioeconomic, cultural and religious history.
The 300 years of Muslim rule in India led to the
emergence of a fascinating Indo-Islamic culture. Let
us read ahead how the culture influenced the various
facets of life during this period.

5. SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT

6. The society during this period saw an interesting
fusion between the Indian and Islamic cultures. Some
Indians embraced Islam, which led to the absorption
of indigenous ideas and beliefs into Islam.
 The caste system among Hindus continued to be
rigid, and inter-caste marriages continued to be
discouraged.
 Sati, Child marriage and purdah became widely
prevalent. The Muslim women strictly followed the
purdah system.
Education at the primary level, was conducted at a
temple or mosque and included religious learning.

7.  The society of this period was divided into four main
social groups:
Aristocracy: This was the powerful ruling class. The class
comprised the sultans, his relatives, nobles, Hindu
princes and Landlords.
Priestly class: This group included the Ulemas, Maulvis,
Qazis and Brahmans. The Ulemas and Brahmans held
important positions in the administration. The Ulemas
were the chief advisors of the sultan, while the Qazis or
the chief judge was the sultan’s advisors on religious
issues.
Town Dwellers: The town dwellers consisted of officials,
artisans, craftsperson's, merchants, slaves and domestic
servants. Occupations were largely hereditary.
Peasantry: The peasants were exploited and had to pay
heavy taxes. The tax paid by them was a source of
revenue for the government.

9. CULTURAL
DEVELOPMENTS

10. LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
The rise of Persian-speaking sultans resulted in the spread od
Persian language in India.
 Persian became the court language of the sultanate. Amir
Khusrau, a noted writer of the period , wrote about Indians
Events in Persian.
Hindi and Persian fused together and gave birth to a new
language called Urdu. Urdu was also called a ‘camp language’
as it developed in the army camps.
Sanskrit remained an important language. Regional languages
flourished because bhakti Saints preached din vernacular
languages.

12. MUSIC, DANCE AND PAINTING
 Indo-Islamic fusion enriched music, and the north Indian or
Hindustani music came into being.
Amir Khusrau, the poet and musician in the court of many
medieval rulers, produced several ragas or melodies. Qawwali,
a new form of singing in chorus, became popular.
 A new dance form, kathak, emerged.
 New musical instruments such as the table, sitar and sarangi,
were developed during this time.
 Miniature painting flourished in the Sultanate period. Indian
painters were introduced by the Persians style of painting.
Making portraits of the sultans became popular.

14. ART AND ARCHITECTURE
The Sultanate period saw the rise of the Arabic and Persian styles of
architecture in INDIA.
For instance, both the temple and mosque had large open courtyards.
The sultanate period also saw the introduction of 2 new architectural
features- the dome and the pointed or true arch.
Extensive use of bricks enabled the builders of the period to build
larger structures.
The use of red sandstone added color to the buildings.
Indian craftsman were soon trained into Persian styles of arts. They
also implemented some of their own ideas, and soon traditional Hindu
motifs, such as lotus.
They made elaborate use of calligraphy and geometrical designs to

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