IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : India History From 8th to 15th Century - Central and Eastern India

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

History India From 8th to 15th Century

Central and Eastern India

Structure

23.0 Objectives
23.1 Introduction
23.2 Malwa
23.3 Jaunpur
23.4 Bengal
23.5 Assam
23.5.1 Kamata-Kamrup
23.5.2 The Ahoms
23.6 Orissa
23.7 Let Us sum UP
23.8 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

23.0 OBJECTIVES

In the present Unit, we will study about regional states in Central and Eastern India
during the 13-15th centuries. After reading this Unit, you would learn about:

the emergence of regional states in Central and Eastern India,
territorial expansion of these regional kingdoms,
their relations with their neighbours and other regional states, and
their relations with the Delhi Sultanate.

23.4 INTRODUCTION

You have already read (in Block 5, Unit 18) that regional kingdoms posed severe
threat to the already weakened Delhi Sultanate and with their emergence began the
process of the physical disintegration of the Sultanate. In this Unit, our focus would
be on the emergence of regional states in Central and Eastern India viz., Malwa,
Jaunpur, Bengal, Assam and Orissa. We will study the polity-establishment,
expansion and disintegration-of the above kingdoms. You would know how they
emerged and succeeded in establishing their hegemony. During the 13th-15th
centuries in Central and Eastern India, there emerged two types of kingdoms:
a) those whose rise and development was independent of the Sultanate (for example : the
kingdoms of Assam and Orissa) and b) Bengal, Malwa and Jaunpur who owed tHeir
existencr ru the Sultanate. All these kingdoms were constantlyat war with each other.
The nobles, ci,' ;s or rajas and local aristocracy played crucial roles in these
confrontations.