Medieval History of India

The medieval era in India starts approximately with the rise of the Rajputs. The Rajputs were an image of feudalism and chivalry. Though they were devoted warriors, the Rajputs fought among themselves and weakened their empire. The medieval history of India is largely dominated by incidents of foreign rule and invasion due to lack of stability in Indian rulers. This was the main reason that attracted invaders from outside India to come here and establish their kingdoms. The Indian medeival history is full of such incidents where you find foreign rulers coming here and ruling India.

The weakening of the Rajputs attracted the Turks who invaded India on every given opportunity. The Turks were not just interested in India's wealth but also wanted to establish their empires and take over other kingdoms. The ruler of Delhi and one of the bravest Rajput soldiers Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated by the Turkish invader Mohammad Ghori. He captured Delhi and appointed one of the military slaves Qutub-ud-din Aibak as the in-charge. Qutub-ud-din Aibak started a series of new rulers and thus arose the Slave dynasty. This marked the beginning of the Delhi Sultanate.

After the Slave dynasty came the Khilji dynasty. The Khilji dynasty was marked by gruesome battles and capturing of power from one another. The last ruler of the Khilji dynasty was not an able ruler and was murdered which ended the Khilji dynasty. Then came the Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodhis who ruled Delhi one after the other in quick succession. After this, the first battle of Panipat took place which marked the end of the Lodhi dynasty and the start of the Mughal rule in India. Medieval India also saw the rise of a culture called Sikhism and was also influenced by Sufism. Medieval architecture was a blend of Hindu and Islamic styles of architectures. Our related sections shall discuss each and every aspect in detail.

Bahamani Kingdom
The Bahamani kingdom in India extended from the northern Deccan region to the river Krishna. This empire was founded by Hasan Gangu who waged a battle against Muhammad bin Tughlaq and freed the Bahamani kingdom.

Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire was founded by the great warrior Chatrapati Shivaji during the year 1674. The Indian Maratha confederacy was established at the area around Pune from Bijapur. The Marathas came to power as the Mughals started to decline around the 17th century.

Post Mughal Kingdoms
The Mughal era saw its decline during the reign of the Emperor Aurangzeb. He was one of the last great Mughal rulers who ruled India and when he died at the age of ninety, there were around 17 major plaintiffs for the throne. Aurangzeb sadly saw his sons and grandsons fight against each other to claim the throne.

History of Rajputs
During the 7th and 8th century emerged a new clan of people who came to be known as Rajputs. They basically belonged to the warrior class of people and were located in Rajasthan and some central parts of India. However there is conflict regarding the rise of the Rajputs and there are many theories that put forward different incidents that led to the rise of the Rajput empire.

Chhatrapati Shivaji
One of the most able administrators and ruler in India was undoubtedly Chhatrapati Shivaji. He was the founder of the Maratha Empire in India. With his flawless warrior skills and unlimited courage, he ruled the Deccan region, parts of central India and parts of modern day Pakistan with a firm hand.

Sufism
Sufism is basically a religion based on the truth of life. It is a mystic tradition that consists of a varied range of ideas and practices that emphasize on the attainment of divine love and compassion of the heart. In the 14th century, a Sufi saint wrote a book known as the "Principles of Sufism" that defines the essence of Sufism as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God".

Turkish Invasion
The Medieval Period in India starts with the Turkish invasion. With the death of Harshvardhana, an era of feudalism rose in India. There was a lot of political disheveling in the north India and everyone was too busy capturing small kingdoms than to take notice of the aggressive invasion of the Turks.

Vijayanagar Empire
Vijayanagar Empire was an empire established in the southern state of Karnataka in India. It covered the entire Deccan region of Peninsular India. The Vijayanagar Empire was founded by a ruler named Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I around 1336.

Alauddin Khilji
The second ruler of the Khilji dynasty in India was Alauddin Khilji. He was the nephew as well as the son-in-law of Jalal-ud-Din Khilji. During the reign of Jalal-ud-Din Khilji, Alauddin Khilji was appointed the Governor of Awadh and Kara. However, he wanted to consolidate his position by becoming the ruler of the Khilji dynasty.

Bhakti Movement
The Bhakti movement in India took place as an effort to inculcate loving devotion and belief in God. The Bhakti movement in India aimed at the principle of monotheism, i.e. existence of one God. It started in the South of India and slowly spread to the north of India.

Mohammad Bin Tughlaq
Mohammad Bin Tughlaq was the second Tughlaq ruler of Delhi. He was born in 1325 and ruled Delhi from 1325 to 1351. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq was the eldest son of the founder of Tughlaq dynasty in India, Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq is supposed to have killed his father to gain authority to the throne.

Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate basically refers to the Muslim rulers who ruled India through Delhi. This basically came into existence after Mohammed Ghori captured Delhi after defeating Prithviraj. After Prithviraj was captured, the Delhi Sultanate went into the hands of one of Ghori's generals known as Qutub-ud-din Aibak.

Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire in India lasted from 1526 to 1858. The Mughal dynasty was established by able Muslim rulers who came from the present day Uzbekistan. The Mughal rule in India saw the country being united as one single unit and being administered under one single powerful ruler.

Sikhism
Ranked as the world's fifth largest religion in the world, Sikh religion was founded around 500 years ago by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Today the religion has over 20 million strong devotees all over the world. Sikhism preaches that there is only one God and denounces any kind of ritualism or superstitions.